Holiday Horror: A Visit with Samie Sands

1. Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to write in the horror genre.

My name is Samie Sands, I am 27 and I live in the UK with my husband and 1 year old daughter. I am new to writing, I have always worked within the media industry - design, photography and PR, but have always wanted to use my creativity in this way. My new years resolution last year was to follow this dream, and I have come such a long way since then! I have a novel being published (which will be released early next year) and now my story in Holiday Horrors.
I have a particular interest in horror as it is such a wide ranging genre. I love the fact that when faced by really horrific situations, characters find things out about themselves that they never knew. I enjoy writing this new depth.

2. What was your inspiration for your story in the Holiday Horrors Anthology?

My story that has been featured in Holiday Horrors is actually a mini spin off story from my novel, Lockdown, which is going to be released. It's about the very beginning of what is to become a zombie apocalypse, and the main character, trying to wrap her head around a very strange occurance!

3. Tell us one thing about you that most people don't know.

I am a huge anime and manga geek. One of the best things to ever happen to me was to visit Japan and see the home of where it all comes from - I even got to visit a working animation studio.

4. Name three things on your desk.

My daughters scan photo, a Hello Kitty plush that was a gift from one of my closest friends and a long line of pens.

5. What are your favorite kinds of characters to write about?

It's always fun to write the villian! Looking from an entirely different perspective is a challenge I love. Saying that, the hardest characters to write are the ones that are similar to yourself.

6. Do you plot your work or wing it?

I always have a strong plan, which never ever seems to work out! I have found the best ideas I actually come up with, are the ones that naturally appear as the story is developing.

7. Tell us your process for working through a novel as opposed to a short story. How do they differ in your mind?

With a novel, you can flesh out your story with character and plot development and details which explain what is happeneing better, so once I have got the basics down, I write around that to make it all more interesting.
With a short story, you have to get everything across quicker and in a much more precise way, every word is vital. I plan out longer stories beforehand, whereas I always just start short stories with a small idea.

8. What is one thing you would tell aspiring horror writers that has helped you in your writing career?

Start with what interests you. It sounds simple, but if you don't like your story, it's unlikely others will.

9. Do you listen to music when you write? What does your soundtrack look like?

I prefer to work without noise as I can focus better. However, that is impossible with a 1 year old so my soundtrack has become childrens songs - something she can sing along to whilst playing so I can have 5 minutes to myself!

10. What's next in your writer horizon?

Lockdown will be released in spring, and the sequel wont be long behind! I am currently working my butt off at the moment to get it done.

Twitter: @SamieSands

Bio:

Samie Sands lives in a small seaside town in England with her husband and daughter. She has a degree in Media Studies and has spent her career working as a Graphic Designer. She enjoys reading books from all genres, particularly horror and spends far too much time with her head in a book. Her debut novel, Lockdown, is a Sci-Fi story that will be coming out soon.

http://thelockdown.co.uk

http://www.facebook.com/SamieSandsLockdown

http://www.twitter.com/SamieSands

http://samiesands.tumblr.com

http://www.wattpad.com/SamieSands

http://instagram.com/zombies_lockdown

http://www.pinterest.com/sslockdown/

 

Website: http://tri-pub.com/authors/samie-sands

Facebook Party: https://www.facebook.com/events/195952477261715/196867143836915/?notif_t=like

Holiday Horror: A Visit with Mark Parker

1.     How did you get started writing horror?

Ans: When I was fourteen years old, I came across a tattered copy of Stephen King’s Carrie.  For some reason I was absolutely fascinated by it.  Not only was the whole ‘horror’ thing cool, but it amazed me that someone could create a world with words.  It was love at first sight, and I never turned back. 

2.     Tell us about your story in Holiday Horror. What inspired you?

Ans: I have two stories featured in Holiday Horror.  I recently wrote a Halloween-themed short story titled, Halloween Night, which I’ve tagged as, “not your average Halloween story,” because it isn’t what it seems on the surface.  It’s based more on the ‘real life’ creeps that can confront us.  Then I reworked a story I’d written several months back, Lucky You, which is a psycho-sexual short story that considers what might happen if someone accidentally kills another person through an act of exuberant sex, only to find out that the act of killing—accidental or otherwise—leads the killer to become even more sexually aroused after having committed the accidental crime.  The rework was to shape it into a Saint Patrick’s Day-themed story.

3.     You designed the cover for your anthology, Wrapped in Red. Tell us a little about the book and your story.

Ans: Wrapped in Red – Thirteen Tales of Vampiric Horror is not my anthology, but rather an anthology I have a story in (The Scarlet Galleon), which is a story set aboard a 17^th century Spanish Galleon.  The cover design was not made by me, but rather was based on a concept I proposed.  The anthology title was something I came up with one day when several of the contributing authors were kicking around possible titles for the anthology with the publisher.  It was later that day that I was told that my title had been chosen to represent the collection, which of course, was both a thrill and an honor.  This spring, Sekhmet Press LLC will offer the second volume in this ongoing series: Wrapped in White – Thirteen Tales of Ghosts, Spirits, and Specters. It’s slated for a March 2014 publication, and promises to be a ghoulish read.

4.     Plotter or pantster?

Ans: If you’re asking whether I plot my stories, or fly by the seat of my pants, I would have to admit to the latter.  I generally go into a story with only a concept in mind.  I know that many writers opt for a more organized approach, and perhaps they are right in doing so.  For some reason the process, for me, has always been an organic one.  I remember reading an interview with Stephen King years ago, where he was being asked the same question and replied, “I generally look for the whole in the page and fall in,” and that’s very much the same for me.  I find myself saying, “I pull a string and see what unravels,” but they both equate to the same thing in the end.  It is more of a surprise to me if I don’t know what’s going to happen until it does.  The only drawback to this approach is that the rewrites tend to be a bit more complicated.  I have to make sure all the bits make sense, which isn’t always a given...especially when a piece I’m writing is historically set.  I am not the greatest researcher, so I oftentimes have to change things along the way do to the fact that certain details either didn’t exist yet in the period I’m writing about, or things happened in a different sequential fashion.  Writing in a ‘see what happens’ manner is causing me to become better at researching, which isn’t a bad thing at all. 

5.     Have you done mostly short fiction or have you also taken a foray into novels/novellas?  How are they different for you?

Ans: At the moment all of the pieces I have published are shorter in length.  This hasn’t entirely been intentional, although there was a bit of method behind my madness, in entering the indie market as I have.  I thought it would be a cool way for folks to become familiar with my writing, my style, my choice of subjects to cover, etc.  I have several longer pieces ‘in-process,’ which include several full-length novels.  I am working on a suspense thriller titled HINDSIGHT, and also a novel I’m tagging as a ‘psycho-spiritual thriller’ that is set against the backdrop of the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Boston, where I studied for a time.  That book will be titled PERFECT DARKNESS, and is only in its first draft at present.  It is my hope to follow it up with a sequel, titled PERFECT LIGHT.  There must be balance…always!

6.     Name three things on your desk.

Ans:  I have a Lucite angel in the corner of my desk that (for me) represents my mother watching over me.  She passed during my senior year of college, and never got to see me published.  In this way, she ‘sees’ the stories before anyone else does.  Only seems fitting.  I also have a copy of Stephen King’s Carrie close by, because it was that story after all that started this whole journey for me.  And I also have a photo of my sister.  She is generally the first person who reads anything I’ve written.  She is a tough critic, and is brutally honest in her responses to my stories.  If she likes it, I know it’s going to be a cool read.  She isn’t afraid to tell me if it sucks.   

7.     Tell us one thing that most people don't know about you.

Ans: That I studied for the Roman Catholic priesthood.

8.     What is your favorite holiday?

Ans: That’s a difficult one.  On a spiritual level, I would have to say Christmas.  But on a writing level, I would have to say Halloween.  I have always loved the month of October, and the sights and sounds of Halloween have always had an enduring effect on me.  The chills linger, you know what I mean?  I don’t know why, but orange and black have always been two of my favorite colors.  Purple and fluorescent green, too.  When writing, it’s admittedly always the chill I go for.  No screaming necessary…

9.     Tell us about your favorite kind of character to write about.

Ans: I always come to characters for the enduring impression they leave.  For me, it is always about someone’s motivation… what has made them the way they are or caused them to act in the manner they do.  It’s always about the puzzle beneath the puzzle for me.  Causation is everything—the cause that ‘causes’ the cause—if you will.  For it is in the past that the deepest secrets are buried.  I love characters like Stephen King’s Dolores Claiborne and Annie Wilkes…or even the devil in his novel, Needful Things, who, at his core, is such a coward.  King got that character spot on!  

10.  What music do you listen to when you write?

Ans: I am mostly one of those writers who needs total silence when writing.  But if I was to listen to music while writing, it would have to be something heavy.  I like balls-to-the-walls rock with a sharp edge to it when writing.  Takes me to that place of menace, where the truly awful things happen.  (LOL)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mark-Parker-Books/135151989990878?ref=hl

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkParkerBooks

Current Projects:

Upcoming projects:

Check out Mark's amazing story in Holiday Horror.

Amazon

Join us for the Facebook Release Party on December 31st for a chance to win $850 in prizes!

https://www.facebook.com/events/195952477261715/

My Life as a Teenage Zombie Book Tour and Giveaway

Hi Dana, thanks for letting me stop by your cool blog as part of my Book Launch Blog Tour for Girl Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie, which was released August 1.

* Be sure to comment for a chance to win assorted prizes. Leave an email, blog or website link to contact you.*

Synopsis for GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie:

Sixteen-year-old Rebecca Herrera Hayes' life changes forever when her cousin Spence comes back to their small Wisconsin town carrying a deadly secret—he's becoming a zombie, a fate he shares with her through an accidental scratch.

The Z infection, however, has mutated, affecting younger persons like her, or those treated early enough, differently. Now she must cope with weird physical changes and habits no girl wants to be noticed for.

But time is running out... Becca needs the help of her friends and other cousin to fight off hungry zombies and find their missing mothers.

Most of all, she needs to find something, anything, to stop this deadly transformation before it is forever too late...

Excerpt:

A virus. A freaking virus.

I'd been sick before, you know, measles, mumps…kid stuff…but not really sick.

Never like this.

This...this couldn't be happening.

I tuned back in to the doctor's explanation…new diet, pills, blah-blah-blah…and let his words fade again into the background.

Gone was the golden tan I'd nurtured over the summer with tanning cream and hours sunbathing by the pool with one of my cousins. My skin had a weird grayish tone, like I'd rubbed myself with fireplace ash.

I gazed at my legs, now mottled with strange gray blotches, and my pretty pink toenails peeking out from beneath the sheet.

The machine next to me made a frantic beep-beep.

I turned and caught my reflection in the metal canister sitting on the table next to the bed. Whimpering, I rubbed a hand over my cheek, wondering at the scaly texture, while at other times I felt almost nothing.

Large, deep brown eyes under ebony bangs stared back. I saw a decent nose.

Spots.

I took in the pinkish patches and my uneven skin tone, which reminded me of those old battleships on the PBS show I'd watched with my aunt.

For the first time in my sixteen-year-old life I was...ugly.

I struck the bed frame over and over, the pain barely registering. The machine's whir-click-whir turned into a wail almost louder than mine—beep-beep-beeeeeeep.

A nurse in blue scrubs rushed in and tried to reassure me, even as she attempted to keep me immobile on this slab they called a bed.

"Relax, it'll be fine," she said.

"No, it won't," I yelled, "it won't!"

How could looking like freaking King Tut without his wrappings ever be fine?

BUY:
Amazon:  *Canada - China - France - Germany - India - Italy - Japan -Spain - US - UK

* Books-A-Million   *Barnes & Noble   *IndieBound   * Powell's

Website: http://cverstraete.com

Blog: GirlZombieAuthors - http://girlzombieauthors.blogspot.com

1. Tell me a little about your inspiration for GIRL Z.

Like most everyone else, I got hooked on The Walking Dead, but I've long been a horror, monster, and zombie fan. (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead). But I wanted to do a story from the point of view of someone who is part-zombie and part-human yet.

2. What is your favorite character from the book and why?

Only one? I love my main character, Becca. She's sassy, funny, and not always sure of herself, but that's okay. She finds her way. But her cousin, Carm, is no pushover, either.

3. Tell us about your favorite three zombie movies and TV shows.

I loved Zombieland. Fun and funny.

Typical, yeah, I really like The Walking Dead.

And... there's still something fascinating about re-watching the original Night of the Living Dead.

4. What five things would you want with you in a zombie apocalypse?

Funny thing is I'm not a weapons fan, but in that world it's a necessity. So: gun, huge knife , baseball bat, flame thrower, and it might be impractical, but gotta have my dog.

5. Cheeseburger or sushi?

Burger, but I like Turkey.

6. Favorite ice cream?

Anything chocolate.

7. Plotter or panster?

I plot and outline, but do get different ideas to add while I write.

8. What must you have on your writing desk?

Notebooks. I like to write ideas down longhand.

9. What are you working on next?

A horror book with a historical figure and a GIRL Z sequel, along with assorted short stories.

10. What do you want readers to get from your book?

Being different is okay. Ignore the naysayers and be yourself.

Bio: Christine Verstraete is a big Halloween fan who enjoys a good scare or two. Her short fiction has appeared online and in anthologies including Timeshares and Steampunk'd from DAW Books. Her new YA book, GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie was released August 1. Stop by her website at http://cverstraete.com or blogs, http://girlzombieauthors.blogspot.com and http://candidcanine.blogspot.com.

*** Don't forget to follow along the rest of the tour! ***

GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie Book Launch Blog Tour - August 5-15

Monday, 8/5 - Marian Allen,- http://www.marianallen.com

Tuesday, 8/6 - Armand Rosamilia, http://armandrosamilia.com/

Wednesday, 8/7 - GirlZombieAuthors, http://girlzombieauthors.blogspot.com

Thursday, 8/8 - StraightFromHel, Helen Ginger, http://straightfromhel.blogspot.com/

Friday, 8/9 - Dana Wright, ZombieGirlShambling, http://zombiegirlshambling.blogspot.com/

Saturday, 8/10 - GirlZombieAuthors, http://girlzombieauthors.blogspot.com

Monday, 8/12 - AR Von, Dreamz of Dragons, http://dreamzofdragons.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, 8/13 - B. Swangin Webster, Books, Shoes, Writing, http://booksshoeswriting.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, 8/14 - DB Corey, http://dbcorey.blogspot.com/

Thursday, 8/15 - Wrap-up - GirlZombieAuthors, http://girlzombieauthors.blogspot.com

London Falling: Paul Cornell the Interview

A writer of the acclaimed modern incarnation of Doctor Who

begins a nail-biting contemporary dark fantasy series with

LONDON FALLING

“Featuring an assemblage of super-natural baddies and two terrifying villains,

Cornell’s foray into dark fantasy isn’t for the faint of heart, but it’s one absorbing, brilliant read. Even with four principal characters, Cornell knows how to go deep with each, switching among their perspectives and steadily building the reader’s emotional investment. If this is just the series opener, I can’t wait to see what’s coming in book two.”

-- RT book review, 4 ½ stars and Top Pick!

Paul Cornell is a British writer best known for his work on the television show Doctor Who, most notably for penning three Hugo Award-nominated episodes, as well as several spinoff novels. This is why TOR is proud to announce the release of Cornell’s latest fantasy novel LONDON FALLING (A Tor Hardcover; On Sale: April 16, 2013)!

Police officers Quill, Costain, Sefton, and Ross know the worst of London—or they think they do. While investigating a mobster's mysterious death, they come into contact with a strange artifact and accidentally develop the Sight. Suddenly they can see the true evil haunting London’s streets.

Armed with police instincts and procedures, the four officers take on the otherworldly creatures secretly prowling London. Football lore and the tragic history of a Tudor queen become entwined in their pursuit of an age-old witch with a penchant for child sacrifice. But when London’s monsters become aware of their meddling, the officers must decide what they are willing to sacrifice to clean up their city. 

The Interview:

1. What inspired you to write London Falling?

I wanted to write something set in the modern world, with a group of professionals (in this case undercover police officers), encountering the supernatural.  The way their procedures and tactics help them get past their shock and terror is what interested me most. 

2. Are you a panster or a plotter?

I don't know what a panster is, but I assume it's a sort of cook.  I do all the cooking for my family.  And I'm going to call it that now.  I'm going to say 'well, I'm not much of a panster, but I can make a great jambalaya'.  I actually plot in vast, enormous detail before writing a book, then have to horrifyingly revise it when the writing of that plots unravels it.  But I do have a sheet showing what I'm meant to be doing at all times. 

3. Open your book to any page and tell us what is happening.

Okay, randomly, page 232 of the UK edition: my broken genius of an intelligence analyst, Lisa Ross, has just learned something terrible from a woman in the remains of a Victorian dress at a New Age fair, having had the 'Tarot of London' read for her.  While her boss, Detective Inspector Quill, is having a punch up outside with a man who can use vanes to make the winds hit him. 

4. If you were going to take your characters out to dinner, where would they like to go and what would they eat?

A police pub near Gipsy Hill police station, where they're based, like The Black Sheep.  They'd have pub grub, heavy on the carbs, and three or four 'pints of therapy'.

5. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

I'm lactose intolerant, but I will risk the wrath of my stomach for a Raspberry Ripple. 

6. Do you have any hobbies for when you are not chained to the computer?

I love cricket, and run a fantasy cricket league, so I follow the scores avidly.  I don't get to watch as often as I'd like, because we have a six month old baby, and our lives are not our own.  (What did I do with all that spare time?!)

7. If you have pets, tell us about them.

I don't!  Erm, sorry. 

8. What has been the toughest part about being a writer and do you try to balance your writing life with a day job?

I'm a full time writer.  The toughest bit is actually the plotting.  If you get that right, then everything else is easy.  I've just had to write two plots for two different things in a week, and after that I felt like I'd been attacked with hammers.  (Without wanting to belittle the experiences of those who've actually been attacked with hammers.  Our thoughts and prayers are with you.)

9. What advice would you give someone who is trying to write a novel length piece for the first time?

It's about memory.  It's remembering what everyone's motivation was the last time you saw them.  It's about remembering how the whole thing feels while you're writing a small piece of it.  If you get an awful feeling, like you're a terrible writer (some people call this 'writer's block', but I don't believe in that, because this is an alarm, not an off switch), then read back, not the bit you're on now, but from a few pages back.  Your brain is telling you you've done something wrong, and you've been building on top of it for a little while.  Or maybe that's just me.  

10. What is on your writing horizon?

I've just delivered the sequel to London Falling, which is called The Severed Streets ('Jack the Ripper is back, and this time he's only killing rich white men'), and I write the Wolverine comic for Marvel every month.  Apart from that, there are a few lovely things I can't talk about, and my new Wild Cards story, 'The Elephant in the Room' will be on Tor.com next month. 

Stay tuned for a review of this awesome book. I have started it and don't anticipate much sleep in the next few days! :)

Evil Girlfriend Media: An Interview with Bite

1. How did you get involved in publishing? I self-published a short story collection, "He Left Her at the Altar, She Left Him to the Zombies". The growing pains of that experience started me on a journey to help other writers who wanted to consider the path. A member of my writing group decided she wanted to self-publish and after talking to her about my experience we agreed to use my LLC- Evil Girlfriend Media to publish it. What started as a small endeavor to help her out has become a real publishing company. I realized that I only wanted to put out great work under the name and help writers, artist, and editors work for something they could believe in. I've been blessed to find talented editors for our anthologies, an amazingly guiding entertainment law firm to help us with contracts, and I have great friends who already work in the business giving advice that has helped keep me on track. 

 

2. What was the inspiration for the name Evil Girlfriend? It's the nickname my husband gave me over seven years ago when I drew a very evil cartoon. I was being bullied in nursing school. (I should make this clear though, it was not a fellow nursing student or one of my professors. I'd hate to tarnish their name. They are good people.) I'm from the south, women are always taught to smile, be nice, and polite even when you want to physically hurt someone for torturing you. After that day, I started being sarcastic around him and letting him see a side of me that I've always hid from the world. The side that is a little dark. He's the person who encouraged me to start writing again and pushed me to be authentic even if it's not always pretty, sweet, and cute. So, Evil Girlfriend Media is not always pretty, sweet, nor cute. We are writers who have deep dark twisted places that need to come out and scare the crap out of other people. Of course, we want to entertain them as well. 

 

3. Cheeseburger or sushi? Oh, definitely sushi with gluten free tamari. A big slab of tuna with wasabi all over it. YUMMY.

 

4. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? I'm a huge fan of coconut milk ice cream, vanilla bean flavored. I'm one of those people that food hates me.

 

5. What sorts of anthologies are you thinking about going forward? Oh my goodness, so many ideas... Well, if it isn't apparent, I love alliteration, assonance, consonance, and dissonance. The Three Little Words anthology series will continue and we plan to put out calls for certain themed manuscripts to give guidance on what we are looking for in a story. 

 

6. Tell us about some things that really make you love a story... The minute that I open the book or start the story, I'm in it. The world is open to me. I'm sitting beside the character watching the events unfold or I am in their head looking out at their world. 

 

7. What are some pet peeves that you wish you didn't see in a submission? I don't give a damn about the color of the wallpaper unless you are telling me that blood just splattered all over it when the zombie ripped the person's face off. I know some people love that stuff, but give me good compelling characters, a solidly structured world, pull me in and I'll create the rest. With that said, we will consider super detail oriented people because I'm weird and I know this. There are readers that love to know what each strand of hair looks likes on the top of the heroines head so as a publisher I need to recognize that other people need that. 

 

8. What are some tips for writers to get them thinking in the right direction? Be yourself. Be honest to who you are as a person and writer. Your authentic voice is what will set you apart. The people who read, "He Left Her at the Altar, She Left Him to the Zombies" (people not related nor affiliated with me aka my friends), told me that they forgave every single grammatical error and formatting problem because the voice of the characters really blew them away. So, remember that. Of course, I've pulled the book and am fixing all the grammatical errors and formatting problems, but hearing that from complete strangers made me realize I had to continue to write in a way that was uniquely mine. 

 

9. Chocolate or angel food cake? Chocolate but it has to be gluten-free other than that. I'm happy.

 

10. What are some of your favorite books? This question always gets me because there are so many! I'm going to give you a list that has influenced me and then your readers can see where I'm coming from. I'm an old school sci-fi reader and been loving post apocalyptic dystopian since a very tender age. Mom didn't know what censoring meant and it was a good thing! I will give you a couple childhood favorites then go from there: 2nd grade- Madeline L'Engle, "A Wrinkle in Time", 4th grade- Nevil Shute, "On the Beach", Aldous Huxley, "A Brave New World"....various Babysitter Club books to fill the time (uh yeah, Scholastic book flyer to blame). 5th grade, George Orwell, "1984",  7th grade, Ray Bradbury, "Fahrenheit 451",  9th grade, Stephen King's, "The Stand". 10th grade Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale". Got picked on for being a nerd, only read what was instructed by teacher for a couple of years. Started reading for fun again and found Max Brooks, Timothy Long, Octavia Butler (where was she all my life?), and now I read a book every two weeks for enjoyment plus all the submissions for Evil Girlfriend.  

Thanks Katie for hanging out with us at Zombiegirl Shambling! I hope this inspires you all to write some great submissions to Evil Girlfriend.

 

Trucker Ghost Stories: An Interview with Annie Wilder

In a uniquely entertaining book by a rising star, here are uncanny true tales of haunted highways, weird encounters, and legends of the road.

It may have happened to you; it’s happened to almost everyone who’s ever driven down a highway at night, or in the fog, or snow. Something suddenly appears: a flash of movement, a shadow...what was it? It could be, as the true stories in this book attest, a ghost.

These are true stories from the highways and byways of America. These firsthand accounts are as varied as the storytellers themselves—some are detailed and filled with the terror and suspense that made people feel they had to share what happened to them with others; others are brief and straightforward retellings of truly chilling events.

Here is a chupacabra attack on the desert highway between L.A. and Las Vegas; ghost trains and soldiers; UFOs; the prom girl ghost of Alabama; a demon in Texas, and other accounts of the creepy, scary things that truckers and other drivers and passengers told to editor Annie Wilder.

With so many different stories, Trucker Ghost Stories moves beyond the usual haunted house to offer stories to entice any ghost story reader...and anyone who’s ever wondered...

TRUCKER GHOST STORIES

And Other True Tales of Haunted Highways, Weird Encounters, and Legends of the Road

Edited by Annie Wilder

“Soon summer’s campfires will be extinguished, but it’s not too late to study up on scary stories to pack along with the marshmallows.

These “true first-person accounts of strange encounters on the highways and byways of America” include the tale of the “Alabama Prom Girl Ghost,”

the always popular “Hitchhiker in Red” and the unbelievable (we mean just that) “Kentucky Train Track Monster.”

-- NY Daily News

An Interview with Annie:

1.  How did you get started with paranormal investigations?

I wrote a book about my experiences living in a house filled with ghosts and the investigators came calling.

2.     What was your favorite thing about writing this book? Reading the ghost stories that came in and hanging out occasionally on the online trucking forums. I like the colorful vernacular and blue-collar vibe of trucker world. Also, I ‘ve really enjoyed working with some of the truckers and other contributors who are now writing their own books, or finishing up books or stories they started years ago. 

3.     What is the weirdest story you have ever heard or experienced? That’s a hard question to answer; there are so many good stories in the book…The hitchhiker who had goat legs and hooves was pretty weird. Or the skinwalker chasing two boys in a pickup truck in Arizona.  There’s a witch story in the book that filled me with a sense of dread. Lots o’ weirdness out there on the roads — I think we captured some of the best of it with this book.

4. Open up the book to any page and tell us what is happening.

 It’s nighttime. A trucker is driving solo near the Little Big Horn Battlefield in Montana. He hears a voice saying, “Can you help me?” coming from inside the truck. In the driver’s words:

“Now I am running 68 mph at the time. I looked over and there in buckskins was Custer, plain as day. He said, ‘I need reinforcements’ and disappeared.”

4.     Tell us about your other books, House of Spirits and Whispers and Spirits Out of Time.

My first book, House of Spirits and Whispers, is my account of living in a house haunted by spirits and characterized by astral anomalies of all kinds. The main house spirit, Leon, described the house to one of the psychics as “Grand Central Station for ghosts.”

My second book is a book of true family ghost stories from my Irish and German relatives, and has stories of things ranging from fairies and death coaches to animal omens, Bloody Mary, and a mysterious ghost girl.

6. Pepperoni pizza or sushi?

   Pepperoni pizza. No. Sushi. Ever.

7. Margaritas or sparkling water with lime?

   Is a tequila shot an option?

8. What is it like having your home investigated by ghost hunters?

It’s interesting and novel and usually fun. It also requires a lot of trust, since you’re letting strangers go through your home. I do request that all visitors in my home be respectful of my property and of the beings residing here, whether they are physical, spirit, or animal. I also ask guests not to summon or invite anything into my house that isn’t already here.

The group that investigated most recently told me that when I left for a few minutes to walk our dog, the atmosphere of the house changed. It became more guarded, as though the spirits were nervous about the investigators being there without me in the house. I thought that was pretty cool.

What have you found out about the haunting?

Hmmm, this is hard to answer, since it’s kind of a neverending ghost story. Each psychic, paranormal investigator, and sometimes the haunted tea party guests add a bit of information or some new insight to the story.

I talk about recent investigation findings, plus the latest weird happenings, quite often on my Facebook page. I also have a bunch of material that I plan to use in additional books.

9. Tell us about what you are working on now.

I’m collaborating with the house spirits on my next book, a short Q&A, but with the spirits providing answers to the questions I’m most often asked by readers or by my haunted tea party guests.

There’s a psychic in Texas, Linda Drake, who is really good at getting really interesting and informative responses from the ghosts in my house. So I booked a couple of readings with Linda and, as I had hoped, the spirits had a lot to say. I’m working now on following up on some of their comments to see if I can corroborate or add any details. I think it’ll be a fun book to read.

10. What are some of your favorite spooky reads?

I started reading Anne Rice’s The Witching Hour when I lived alone and it was so terrifying to me that I had to put it away for a few years. I started reading it again when one of my kids moved back home for a bit and got weirdly hooked on it, even though I found it so frightening that I was almost afraid of the book itself — as if the story’s evilness could seep out of the pages and into my house.

In nonfiction spooky reads, I love Colin Wilson’s Poltergiest and FATE Magazine. I’m also a huge fan of the fabulous UK magazine Fortean Times. And I’m reading all of Nick Redfern’s books now and digging them.

Thanks Annie for hanging out with the zombies today!! Weird is wonderful and we can't wait to read your book.

This Case Is Gonna Kill Me Blog Tour and Giveaway

A fresh, entertaining urban fantasy debut featuring a human lawyer
in a vampire firm who just won’t quit…
THIS CASE IS GONNA KILL ME by Phillipa Bornikova

“[Bornikova’s] characters, human and supernatural alike, possess complexity and depth, and her heroine is tough and immediately likable…
Strong storytelling, appealing characters, and an intriguing setting make this urban fantasy series opener
likely to have great appeal to the genre’s many fans.”
-Library Journal, «starred review« & SF/Fantasy Debut of the Month

“A refreshing new take on an old idea, with a strong, intelligent, and independent protagonist: a highly promising debut.”
-Kirkus Reviews

TITLE: THIS CASE IS GONNA KILL ME

Author: Phillipa Bornikova
$14.99 / 320 pages

INFORMATION ABOUT THE BOOK/AUTHOR

Linnet Ellery, the offspring of an affluent family dating back to Colonial times, is no stranger to the supernatural. Fresh out of law school, she’s beginning her career in a powerful New York “white fang” law firm. She has high hopes of one day making partner. But in a workplace where some humans will eventually achieve immense power and centuries of extra lifespan, office politics can be vicious beyond belief. When she’s assigned to a dead-end case with a dead-end boss, Linnet can only hope that she’ll be able to carve a place for herself within the entrenched hierarchy of the firm.



Then, for no reason that she can see, she become the target of repeated, apparently random violent attacks, escaping injury each time through increasingly improbable circumstances. For some inexplicable reason, her dead-end case is now worth her life. However, there’s more to Linnet Ellery than a little old-mone y human privilege. More than even she knows. And as she comes to understand this, she’s going to shake up the system like you wouldn’t believe…



THIS CASE IS GONNA KILL ME introduces a new type of heroine to urban fantasy, one who works within the system and not outside it, and uses the power of the law and her personal sense of justice to save the day.

1. What is your favorite thing about blending legal thrillers and the paranormal?



Figuring out how the presence of vampires, werewolves and elves would affect the shape and structure of the law.  Also finding a way to win using money and power rather than brute force.



2. What was the toughest scene to write in This Case Is Gonna Kill Me?



The sex scene.  I have this sense that sex is really only interesting for the participants.  Because seriously everybody looks and sounds kind of silly in the moment.  George R.R. Martin and I jokingly debate about this all the time.  He wants the sex scenes played out.  I want to cut to falling leaves, and swelling music,



3. I love Linnet's character and the world you have created. What inspired you to write this story?



When I looked at the urban fantasy landscape it seemed like what was missing was an analysis of how the halls of money and power would react to the presence of supernatural beings in our world.   Vampires were totally going to be controlling the levers of power behind the scenes.  I was curious what would happen it they were up front about their power and control.  And as I looked at werewolves I thought they'd make great bond traders, agents and soldiers.



4. Will there be more installments? (God I hope so!)



The second book, BOX OFFICE POISON is delivered and in the pipeline.  I need to start the third book



5. The play on women in the work force and vampire/were politics was very interesting. Especially the taboo on Making a woman into either supernatural Power, so to speak. Will a woman ever get made?



Not at this point, but things are about to happen to Linnet in the third book, and she will meet a _very_ old female vampire.



6. Do you write to music? If so, what?



I do.  For Linnet I tend to listen to my pop/dance playlist that is my workout music.  For my other books it tends to be more classical music.



7. Plotter or pantster?



Total plotter/architect.  I have a cork board and 3x5 cards, and the act outs and the major scenes all go up on the board.



8. Kickboxing or yoga



Both



9. Cheeseburger or sushi?


Both



I'm eclectic, what can I say?



10. What is next in your writing universe?



A big space opera.

 Overall:

What do you do when you are the new kid on the block at a legal firm and a girl to boot? Ramp it up by adding vampires, werewolves and some serious politics and you have a thriller that is going to keep you reading past the midnight hour, long after I should have been catching some sleep.

 But you  know what...it was worth every second and I am waiting like mad for the second book to be released. Think Grisham meets Underworld. It rocks. 

Linnet has been raised as a human in a vampire world. She knows the ropes and when she gets hired on at a prestigious law firm and a seemly dead end case, things start to go a little weird. Cranky werewolves and murder don't mix well with office politics. Neither does sleeping with one of the partners. 

One of the things about this book that makes it unique is the blend of legal thriller and paranormal page turner. The intricate steps one takes in politics are upped when there is a murder at the firm and Linnet is put in the position of having to fight for her job and her life with compelling and humorous consequences. 

The action is spot on here.  You won't find a better book with fight scenes that will have you pumping your fist in the air and screaming. The chase scenes are nail biters too.  The tension is palpable and  I could barely leave the book to go to work. It was painful to put it down because all of the characters became living breathing people I wanted to get to know. Linnet with all of her strengths and foibles is a person that fights for those she is loyal to. Fans of Kim Harrison books will love it. 

This book is a 5/5. If I could give it higher, I would. It was an amazing foray into a world I want to see more of. Vampire gentry and all the levels of politics and traditions that make for an excellent world building experience. Complete thumbs up!

Want to win a copy? Tor is hosting a giveaway of three copies. Enter the rafflecopter form at the end of the post. You want to win this one!!!

PHILLIPA BORNIKOVA has been the story editor of a major network television series, a horse trainer, and an oil-company executive. She lives in the Southwest. This is her first novel.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.