David Moody's Blog, page 95
November 4, 2011
Beginning to Disintegrate…
Forgive the lack of updates here this week, I'm trying to balance lots of projects at the moment. Here's a little distraction for the beginning of the weekend: I've just added three more very brief stories to www.lastoftheliving.net.
First up is WEBB. You'll not have come across him before, but you'll know all about him by the end of the year, because he's one of the central characters in AUTUMN: DISINTEGRATION. He's not a nice chap.
Then we have PENELOPE STREET. Even though she's survived the infection, Penelope's in a particularly awful position, and there's absolutely nothing she can do about it.
And finally, ANNIE NELSON, a character who first appeared in the Whitchurch Community Centre along with Michael, Carl and Emma in AUTUMN.
Beginning to Disintegrate… is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series
November 1, 2011
Halloween Horror Night
Well what a great event that was. I couldn't think of a better way to spend Halloween…
Last night at the Warwick Arts Centre, I was part of the Halloween Horror Night event alongside Adam Nevill and Gary McMahon.
The evening was hosted by Michael Wilson of Read Horror. Each of us gave a reading, then answered a few questions. Adam read from The Ritual (and you can click here to remind yourself how much I enjoyed that book), I read Muriel (from the recent SFX Zombie special), and Gary read Down, an excellent short from his latest collection, It Knows Where You Live.
It was great to finally meet Adam and Gary, other folks including Joseph D'Lacey, Simon Marshall-Jones, and also more members of Moody's Survivors who'd made the trip to Warwick (now roll on Lowestoft!)
It was truly heartening to see so many people supporting the event with such enthusiasm. Thanks to Adam, Gary and Michael, and thanks also to everyone who came and spent their Halloween evening with us. Writing can be an incredibly insular occupation at times (and that's not necessarily a bad thing), and it's great to have opportunities like this to present your work in public and get such a positive and immediate reaction. Here's to more Read Horror events.
Photographs by Andy McGeechan, used with permission.
Halloween Horror Night is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series
October 29, 2011
Soul Survivors – Hometown Tales (Volume One)
It's been a while since I've mentioned Moody's Survivors: the incredible group of writers, artists, and associated crazy people who gather together on Facebook to talk about writing books, watching films, and pretty much anything else you could imagine. They're a great group of folks, and I'm honoured that they continue to meet together under my name.
And those same Survivors have now gone and done something pretty incredible: they've released their own anthology, and a damn fine read it is too! Thirteen very different visions of the end of the world, with one thing in common – they're all told from the perspective of the last man/woman left standing: the sole survivor.
Sincere congratulations to everyone involved in this project. If you want to read more about the book, click here. Or why not click here and join Moody's Survivors – you'd be hard-pushed to find a nicer group of crazy, funny, thoughtful, dedicated zombie and horror-addicts!
Soul Survivors – Hometown Tales (Volume One) is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series
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October 27, 2011
Signing at Cardiff Waterstone's tomorrow
A quick reminder: I'll be signing at Waterstone's Cardiff on Friday 28th October with Wayne Simmons. We're kicking off at 12:30pm, and hanging around for as long as we're wanted! It's always great to spend time with Wayne, and I'm looking forward to meeting up with some Welsh fans too.
And while I'm on the subject of appearances… don't forget the Halloween Horror Night at Warwick Arts Centre this Monday evening. Adam Nevill, Gary McMahon and I will be reading from our books and discussing our work. It promises to be a great night. Click here for tickets and further details.
Signing at Cardiff Waterstone's tomorrow is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series
October 25, 2011
Them or Us – unique UK launch event
Just a couple of weeks now until THEM OR US is released (my author copies arrived today and they're beautiful) and I'm very excited to announce a unique event to mark the launch of the UK edition of the book.
THEM OR US is the first of my books to heavily utilise existing real-world locations. Although I've always been inspired by places I've known and visited, in the past the settings for my novels have been fictitious. I've enjoyed being deliberately vague, and I haven't wanted to tie my stories down to actual places and landmarks. But this book is different. After the events of HATER and DOG BLOOD, the population (what's left of it) has been scattered to the UK's extremes, away from major cities. Danny McCoyne ends up in Lowestoft – the UK's most easterly point.
On Thursday November 24th I'll be appearing in Lowestoft to launch the book. Following a signing at Waterstone's (5pm – 6:30pm), I'll then be at Lowestoft Library from 7pm where I'll be using specially commissioned videos and artwork to tell the HATER story and show how and why the town features so prominently in the new book.
Tickets are free, but there are only 60 available so get in quick if you want to come along. Click this link to email the library and book your place. Remember to include your full name and address and the number of tickets you require.
It promises to be a great night, and I'm looking forward to seeing you there!
Them or Us – unique UK launch event is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series
October 21, 2011
New free AUTUMN story – The Garden Shed
As promised, THE GARDEN SHED – a new 8,000 word AUTUMN story – is now available to read over at www.lastoftheliving.net.
An Englishman's home is his castle…
Lester Prescott thrives on order and uniformity. His home is pristine and perfect and is situated in a relatively well-to-do residential area. He is well respected socially and is the most accurate and productive accountant ever to have been employed by the firm of Ashcroft, Jenkins and Harman. Lester Prescott thinks in black and white.
Last Tuesday morning, more than six billion people were killed by the most virulent virus ever to blight the face of the planet. Much to his surprise, Lester Prescott survived. As you'd expect, this most pedantic and ordered man is struggling to deal with the aftermath.
The story has been illustrated with another beautiful photograph from Antony White (see yesterday's post for more about Antony and his work). There are still plenty more stories to be added to www.lastoftheliving.net, and I'm still looking for artwork for some of them. If you're interested in getting involved, have a look at this document and get in touch.
New free AUTUMN story – The Garden Shed is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series
October 20, 2011
The Autumn artists – Antony White
I'll be posting another free short story to www.lastoftheliving.net tomorrow – THE GARDEN SHED – one man's desperate fight to protect his home from vast approaching hordes of the living dead. The story has been illustrated for me by Antony White (www.blackpapersky.co.uk). Antony's already illustrated several pieces of free fiction, and I thought it only right that I spend a little time singing his praises.
I first became aware of Antony several years ago when he sent me a few illustrations inspired by AUTUMN (you can see a gallery at the end of this post). A zombie-junkie before the undead were anywhere near as popular as they are today, he told me that back then "…you really had to look for it. A few years ago there seemed to be a barrage of zombie books emerging from the grave, and Autumn was one of them. The book was released free, so I downloaded, printed and was completely absorbed after the first few pages."
As you'll see from the before/after pictures after the break (click to enlarge), Antony's style really lends itself well to creating post-apocalyptic imagery.
A horror fan from a very early age, his fascination with the genre continued as he began to work in film, photography and design, going on to study Graphic Design at university. These studies offered him a chance to experiment, which is clearly visible in his work on www.lastoftheliving.net: "I try to convey a whole story and really capture the atmosphere and feeling in just one picture. It was a challenge, but sometimes great images can come out of the limitations you set within a project."
"I like to create an image that takes a little while to sink in. Something you have to look at a few times and notice small details here and there. I normally start with several images of the same location, then layer them together with textures and images from my stock of dirty grunge and broken things! I have a lot of reference images of damage and broken landscapes."
I asked Antony about his influences. He cites directors such as Romero, Tarantino and Eli Roth, and authors he grew up reading such as Richard Laymon and Dean Koontz. Much of his inspiration comes from films, but he's equally likely to be influenced by books and video games. "Modern video games have really taken a cinematic turn. Back in the 90's games were just games… Today they are all the best bits from films and books, totally immersive, creating a world you become a part of. The Bioshock series blew me away. The world they created was so rich you just became totally absorbed."
Many thanks to Antony for the superb artwork he's created for www.lastoftheliving.net. I hope there will be much more to come. Don't forget to check back tomorrow to read THE GARDEN SHED. In the meantime, you can contact Antony and find out more about his work at www.blackpapersky.co.uk.
The Autumn artists – Antony White is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series
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October 17, 2011
A few quick updates…
Got a few things to quickly tell you about today, and I thought adding them all to one blog post would be the best way to do it:
THE GOODREADS ZOMBIE GROUP
If you're a Goodreads user and a zombie fan, why not join The Zombie Group? For one week from 24th October, Jonathan Maberry, Steven C Schlozman (author of The Zombie Autopsies) and I will there talking about all things undead. By the way, I'm here on Goodreads if you want to add me as a friend.
ALL HALLOWS READ
Have you heard about this great initiative, brainchild of the great Neil Gaiman? Rather than me explain it, just click this link and listen to the man himself talking about his excellent idea for a new Halloween tradition.
EVENTS AND APPEARANCES
Just a reminder that I'm NOT now appearing at the Aliens to Zombies convention in LA this week – apologies to anyone who was heading there to say hello. However I'm pleased to announce that I'll be signing at Cardiff Waterstone's with Wayne Simmons on Friday 28th October from 12:30pm. Also, don't forget to book your tickets for the Halloween Horror Night at Warwick Arts Centre where I'll be reading and talking alongside Adam Nevill and Gary McMahon.
A few quick updates… is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series
October 16, 2011
The Classic Horror Campaign 2011 Halloween Challenge
I've posted about this brilliant initiative before (click here). Those UK readers of a certain age will no doubt remember the classic horror double-bills which used to be shown late at night on BBC TV. Back in the day they were the only way for us horror fans to get our fix!
The team behind this most excellent campaign are at it again (to be fair, they've never stopped!). Please click here to read about their 2011 Halloween Challenge. They're hoping to get more than 2000 signatures on their online petition before they present it to the BBC. They're almost there, so please sign up and help smash the 2000.
There's a serious aspect to this too. Kids today (wow, I'm starting to sound like my dad…) are missing out on a wealth of horror treasures – the same wonderful movies which originally attracted me and countless other writers and film-makers to the genre. In a world drowning in over-sanitized, over-stylized remakes, re-imaginings, reboots and sequels, we owe it to ourselves to get these films back in the public eye. Please sign the petition, and blog, tweet etc. about the campaign if you feel so inclined.
Oh, and if you're in London on Sunday 13th November, why not head along to the Roxy Bar and Screen where the Classic Horror Campaign will be screening Konga and Frogs.
The Classic Horror Campaign 2011 Halloween Challenge is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series
October 15, 2011
A new edition of AUTUMN and a brand new free story
As I was working on the final edits for the US edition of AUTUMN: AFTERMATH recently, it occurred to me that it's an incredible ten years in November since the free download of AUTUMN was released. It's also a year since the book's first 'official' release. The success of the series has been really humbling, and completely unexpected. Thanks to all of you who've enjoyed and supported the books.
Completely coincidentally, a new mass-market paperback version of AUTUMN has been released in the UK this week by Gollancz (with the rest of the books to follow in this format a year after the hardback releases – next February for THE CITY, April for PURIFICATION etc.).
To celebrate the new edition and the ten year anniversary of the book, I thought it would be a good to share a brand new, previously unpublished AUTUMN short story with you. Have you ever wondered what happened to Michael and Emma in the week or so between the end of the first book and their eventual re-appearance in THE CITY? Head over to www.lastoftheliving.net and read Breaking Point to find out. I hope you enjoy it.
A new edition of AUTUMN and a brand new free story is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series
