Sam Stone's Blog, page 13

This Week I'll be At ... MANCHESTER

WATERSTONES ARNDALE CENTRE MANCHESTER, 15th December 2012.
Sam Stone and David Howe will be revisiting this super store in Manchester town centre.



Sam's new Vampire Gene Book Silent Sand will be available as well as
her new Steampunk/Horror Novella, Zombies At Tiffany's.



David's horror collection talespinning will also be available.



Address: Waterstone's Arndale Centre, Arndale Centre, Manchester, Lancashire, M4 3AQ 

Time: 12-4pm

Date: 15th Dec 2012.



See you there!

Apocalypse. Again?

So the world is going to end is it?




I keep hearing from various sources that the world is going to end ... Again! This time it is because the Mayan Calendar comes to an end.




We seem to have an obsession with the apocalypse lately: though I’m sure that this is nothing new. Religious factions have declared the end at many intervals. As a child of about 12 I remember something being bandied around at school about impending doom. Since then it seems that the world has been ready to end in one form or another several times.




In the year 2000 our technology was all going to crash leaving us in total crisis. Well that didn’t happen, unless I missed it?




So I’ve been thinking, how is the world going to end – or rather how would I like it to happen?




Well ideally I wouldn’t like it to end at all. But let’s have some fun with this anyway!




Here goes with a list of my five favourite apocalypses:



1)  Zombie Apocalypse has to be my first choice. If we are going out, at least give us a chance of survival (even a narrow one). And it would be such fun blowing the brains out of the undead, or practising the double-tap on the neighbour, now turned zombie, for all of those annoying, noisy things they did. I only see this as actually possible if some kind of government experiment went wrong like a virus being released into the atmosphere. For the really religious it could be that hell is full and so the dead have nowhere else to go (That’s been done already though and doesn’t really work for me as being quite as plausible). So I’m sticking with the scientific option. Although my vampire Lucrezia did cause a zombie meltdown in New York at one time (http://www.audiogo.com/uk/zombies-in-new-york-zombies-in-new-york-sam-stone-gid-1013665o). That’ll teach her to leave her Renfield alone for too long ... 



2) Why not have an Alien Invasion. I’d love that. It would please all of the conspiracy theorists because – hey they were right all along and ‘the truth was out there’. With aliens let’s make it as sick as possible please. They want us for food ... that’s really not nice for people who consider themselves at the top of the food chain, right? What’s for dinner ... you are! They might want us for breeding because they are trying to make a new race? Ick! Kill me now! (Or maybe not. They might prove to be uber-compatible with humanity. I mean most things have two eyes, a nose and a mouth, don't they? We could surely cope with some extra appendages, tentacles and the like. Those sucker things could be useful if you don't have fingers.) They want us for slaves ... well that one doesn’t necessarily say the ‘end of all things’, though does it? But at least it gives the survivor types time to build a resistance. We could have years of fun with that one! They want to build a new intergalactic highway and our planet happens to be in the way? I think Douglas Adams has that one covered. Okay, my favourite and the most gross ... experiment on us: we are just lab rats to them, and that’ll teach us for all the cruel things we did to animals in our time!



3) We could go Super Nova? That should please the scientists (because, yes, we know they are always saying the Sun is going to explode one day and kill us all) and it is the most plausible ending we could have. So the world is going to end tomorrow ... and we all run about trying to get our affairs in order, praying for salvation or just basically having the best sex we’ve ever had. Of course there will always be those that go looting for the hell of it, but that won’t make any difference if the planet is going to explode in 24 hours. Let them have that new 70" TV if they want it so badly! The world's ending, who cares? The best thing to do in this case? For me it would be best spent with my loved ones, wearing my best clothing, and go out with dignity. The last thing you want to do when you arrive at the pearly gates is look like you were dragged through a hedge backwards. I'd prefer something far more torturous though. Why not the Sun just snuffing out one day, like a light bulb that's burnt out? We'd survive a bit for a while. It would bring out the best and the worst in humanity and some of might even make it off the planet in a giant Space Ark in search of a new world ...



4) Meteoroid Showers sound like fun. If it was good enough to wipe out the dinosaurs then why not humanity when we are only the size of domestic animals compared to them? So we could have a meteoroid shower that infects anyone who watches it with some kind of super radiation. We all mutate and turn into freaks, scrabble about the planet in pathetic, and sometimes amusing ways, before we lose the intelligence to actually grow plants, breed animals and more importantly make wine. Awful ending! A world without wine. Just can't imagine that one. Or the meteoroids could hit the Earth so hard they punch holes in the planet which then stops spinning. Gravity fails and we all fall off into space. Not plausible? Okay how about this: a big asteroid falls into the sea, pushing all the water onto the land, so that we all drown. Erm ... ridiculous (but it's been done time and time again!). Besides, Bruce Willis will probably slip into a vest, get in a rocket, shoot out to space, plant some explosives on the offending lump of space rock, and blow it to atoms long before it hits the Earth. It could all be caused by some mysterious Emperor though, and it might take a blond, buff, football star, a mad scientist and a reporter to thwart his evil plan.



5) Global Warming is my least favourite ending. It’s slow, it’s dull, it’s - so what? I’m slapping on the sun screen and I'll sit this one out ... And there is always a chance that the ozone layer will repair itself, right? Of course there could be a new Ice Age. That’ll teach us! In the UK we’d have no chance; we can’t even cope with an inch of snow or a bit of ice on the roads. When that happens, everything comes to a standstill. I think if this is going to happen I'm moving to Alaska: they probably wouldn’t even notice the difference there and they have all the right vehicles, tools and clothing to cope with it already. As long as the vampires didn't attack of course. We could have a flash freeze though, like they did in The Day After Tomorrow. I liked that one. It was very cruel the way people and things just froze on the spot. But there was hope for survival and some people made it by burning books in a library. That would never work for me though ... I’d rather freeze than burn books.






If the world is going to end any time soon, and I doubt it is because some ancient Mayans didn’t make a long enough calendar, then I think the most plausible options are going to be scientific, and not based around superstition and myth. We’ll know in advance that it really is going to happen, or at least the scientists in the world will.Whether they choose to tell us or not is another matter.




Anyway, if I'm wrong and the world is going to end sometime in the next few weeks, then I had better get my latest book finished. I’m on a deadline and I’d hate to fail to reach it. Now that would be the end of the world ...

The Next Best Thing? Me? Really?

I was recently tagged as The Next Best Thing by editor Brian M Sammons.  I have been fortunate to be chosen on three occasions now for anthologies Brian is editing or co-editing. So I'm really pleased and flattered that he considers me worthy of passing on this mantel. Thanks Brian. Here's to great sales for Eldritch Chrome (Edited with Glynn Owen Barass), Edge of Sundown (Edited with Kevin Ross) and the latest one Atomic Age Cthulhu (Edited with Glynn Owen Barass). All of these anthologies are planned for some time next year.




Now I have the utmost respect for the following people who I believe could also be the next best thing ...




Tagged




Debbie Bennett

Robert Harkess

Jan Edwards

Kit Cox



Now onto answering the questions :)

What is the working title of your
next book?

I’m currently working on two new projects but can’t
really talk about them at the moment because they are subject to contract. As well as those two, there’s
a finished novel which is being considered by an Agency in America at the
moment, and I’d rather not talk about that until it has a publisher attached. There’s
also another novel in the works, but that’s in the early stages of planning at
the moment.

However I’d love to talk about my two most recent books
SILENT SAND and ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY’S.


2)    Where did the idea come from for the book?




SILENT SAND – A Vampire Gene
Novel – is number five in the series and sees the return of my characters
Gabriele Caccini and Lucrezia Borgia. Gabriele is captured and taken to a
secret military base in the Nevada Desert. There Lucrezia is working as a
scientist, doing experiments on a new form of vampire. Like the fourth book,
HATEFUL HEART, SILENT SAND is  a
stand-alone story though it follows on chronologically from the other books.
The idea for the story came from a ‘what if’ question. What if my vampires,
following on from the threat in HATEFUL HEART were to face an even bigger and
better foe?




As always the book contains
blood-thirsty fierce vampires, sex and lots of action.




ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY’S was an
idea that came from a dinner table discussion with my partner David J Howe.
David and I were discussing what title might be evocative in today’s market
and the title came about before the idea of the story. I didn’t want to write
something that was a direct knock-off of the Breakfast At Tiffany’s story that the title might imply. Instead
this is a completely original story, but with some tips to the hat to both Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Shaun of the Dead. It is also my first
dabble at writing within the Steampunk genre. I really enjoyed inventing the
weapons and gadgets which appear, so I’m sure I will be doing more in the
future.




In this book you’ll find
Zombies, Steampunk weapons and a large helping of black comedy.






3) What genre does your book
fall under?



Both books fall into the horror category, but I like to mix the genres so
SILENT SAND is Horror/Fantasy and ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY’S is
Horror/Fantasy/Steampunk



4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a
movie rendition?



If ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY’S was made into a movie, I’d really like to see Frazer
Hines as Rocky the gangster, Mandy Patinkin as the Jewish manager at Tiffany’s,
Anthony Head would be brilliant as the inventor and as for Kat Lightfoot (my
kick-ass heroine) she should be played by an unknown actress who has the look
of a young Audrey Hepburn.



 5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?



SILENT SAND: The ancient vampire family find themselves facing their greatest
foe yet, something primal and insidious, and from which they have no
protection.

ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY’S: A Steampunked
story of diamonds, chutzpah, death and horror from the blood-drenched pen of
Sam Stone.


6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?



I’m not working with an agency at present, but my partner David is checking
contracts and chasing deals for me. Both these books were commissioned prior to
writing.

SILENT SAND was commissioned by
The House of Murky Depths. I pitched the story and plot in a phone call with my
editor Terry Martin and he bought it on that basis. In face I only sent him the
full synopsis when he needed it to commission the cover art.

ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY’S was
commissioned by Telos Publishing after I pitched a four line synopsis to Editor
Stephen James Walker.

I don’t believe in
self-publishing: though I make no judgement for those that do as it is often a way to get known and some people have become hugely successful by doing it. I write because I love it, but I also want to be sure that
what I want to write will also sell. This is also my livelihood and I can’t
afford to spend months writing something that won’t be sold. I love working
with editors to discuss and refine ideas, and I love the process of writing:
creating characters and worlds for them to inhabit.


7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?



SILENT SAND took a few months to write. I am a fast writer and tend to do all
my planning in my head beforehand. This means that when I come to put the words
down, they flow easily as I already know where I’m going with the story.

ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY’S was written
in ten days to first draft. On my first edit I added about 10,000 words more.
It was then passed on to my editor. From beginning to end it took about three
weeks to complete it and I’m extremely pleased with the end result.




8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?



That’s a tough one! I don’t really think that my writing or stories are like
anyone else’s. However, people who like adult, fierce vampires often enjoy my
vampire series. So if you like Anne Rice, Christopher Pike, Stephen King or
Dean Koontz, you will probably enjoy my writing too.

I did have one reviewer say that
my writing in ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY’S reminded him of H G  Wells and Alan Moore, which is a rare complement!




9) Who or what inspired you to
write this book?



My partner David always inspires me. We talk a lot about plots and character
and story – all of which are equally important to me as a writer. David helps
me refine my ideas. He’s my muse.



10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?



I like to write lots of action and try and keep my writing style very
fast-paced. My readers often tell me they find my books to be page-turners. I’m
not a big fan of long wordy sentences, or of using words that make my readers
have to stop in the middle to go and find a dictionary. Reading should be FUN.
It is entertainment. And entertain is what I hope I do most of all because
losing ourselves in a good story is what it is all about. A lot of writers
forget that.

Plus, no matter what subject
you are writing about, it’s usually all been done before in some way or another.
I see it as a challenge to try and approach things differently. My Vampire Gene
series for example, isn’t written in a formulaic manner. Each book is different
and hopefully gives my readers new surprises and new philosophies to consider.
It’s why the zombies in ZOMBIES AT TIFFANY’S aren’t just humans infected by some
communicable disease. They are caused by something evil getting into the hearts
of the soldiers at war. Something sees and fills the darkness within them.

I think it’s important to have multiple
levels within your stories, even though different readers will interpret them in
different ways. It’s what keeps it interesting for me as a writer, and which
keeps the readers coming back for more. And as I say, it’s all about the
readers.

Updated Appearances

LAST APPEARANCE FOR 2012:




WATERSTONES ARNDALE CENTRE MANCHESTER, 15th December 2012.
Sam Stone and David Howe will be revisiting this super store in Manchester town centre.



Sam's new Vampire Gene Book Silent Sand will be available as well as
her new Steampunk/Horror Novella, Zombies At Tiffany's.



David's horror collection talespinning will also be available.



Address: Waterstone's Arndale Centre, Arndale Centre, Manchester, Lancashire, M4 3AQ 

Time: 12-4pm

Date: 15th Dec 2012.





HOWEVER WE ARE STARTING 2013 WITH A BANG ... You can catch up with David and I firstly in COLORADO SPRINGS ...

 

GALAXYFEST 2013, 8-10 Feb 2013, Colorado Springs



For updated information on this event please join the Facebook Event page HERE



To book tickets for this event: BOOK




GALLIFREY CONVENTION, 15-17 Feb 2013, Los Angeles
David J Howe, Sam Stone and Frazer Hines are
among the many esteemed guests attending this year's convention to
celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who.

 

Address: Marriott Los Angeles Airport Hotel, 5855 West Century Boulevard, Los Angeles, USA.

Date: 15-17 Feb 2013

Time: ALL WEEKEND



For further information: GALLIFREYONE



SCI-FI WEEKENDER, Pwllheli, North Wales, 1-3 March 2013.

Sam Stone and David J Howe will be joining the
line-up of media and writing guests at this huge event taking place in
North Wales. The weekend offers a range of panels, interviews, signings
and opportunities to meet your favourite actors and writers currently
working within the genre of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror.



Sam and David will be taking part in panels, interviews and will be available to sign their books.



For further information visit SCI-FI WEEKENDER.



Time: All weekend.

Address: Hafan y Mor Holiday Park, Pwllheli, Gwynedd, North Wales, LL53 6HX.

Date: 1-3 March 2013



WALES COMIC CON, Wrexham, North Wales, 28th April 2013.

Sam and David are
happy to be invited back to this wonderful event. They will be available
for signings, photographs and copies of all books will be available to
purchase at the event.





For more information on this event Wales Comic Con



Time : 11am - 5pm

Address: Glyndwr University, Wrexham, UK

Date: Sunday 28th April 2013.   

Sci-Fi Weekender Competition

There are still some tickets left to win for the SCI-FI WEEKENDER.



ALMOST all other tickets are predicted to be sold out by mid-December, so if you would like to win tickets to the event then here are the details to enter.

This Week I'll be at ...

WATERSTONES KETTERING, Sat 17th November, 2012.
Sam Stone and David J Howe to visit Kettering Waterstones for the first time with their new books.



Sam's new Vampire Gene Book Silent Sand will be available as well as
her new Steampunk/Horror Novella, Zombies At Tiffany's.



David's horror collection talespinning will also be available.



Address: Kettering Waterstones, 72-76 High St  Kettering NN16 8SY

Time: 12-4pm

Date: Sat 29th Sept 2012.

WATERSTONES LIVERPOOL ONE, Sat 10th November, 2012Sam S...

WATERSTONES LIVERPOOL ONE, Sat 10th November, 2012
Sam Stone and David J Howe are happy to be returning to Liverpool One Waterstones this year with their new books.



Sam's new Vampire Gene Book Silent Sand will be available as well as
her new Steampunk/Horror Novella, Zombies At Tiffany's.



David's horror collection talespinning will also be available



Address: Waterstones, Liverpool One, 12 College Lane, Liverpool, L1 3DL.

Time: 12-4pm

Date: Sat 10th November 2012.



AND ON SUNDAY!



DIMENSIONS, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, 11th November, 2012

Meet up with all of your favourite Doctor Who Stars ...



Sam Stone and David J Howe will be joining the line up of celebrity and media guests at this event.



For further details : DIMENSIONS 



Address: THE NEW HOLIDAY INN, GREAT NORTH ROAD, SEATON BURN, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE

NE13 6BP

Time: This is an all weekend event - Due to other commitments Sam and David will only be attending on Sunday. 

WATERSTONES BOLTON, 3rd November 2012.Sam Stone and Dav...

WATERSTONES BOLTON, 3rd November 2012.
Sam Stone and David Howe will be revisiting this super store in Bolton town centre.



Sam's new Vampire Gene Book Silent Sand will be available as well as
her new Steampunk/Horror Novella, Zombies At Tiffany's.



David's horror collection talespinning will also be available.



Address: Waterstones Bolton, 34-36 Deansgate  Bolton BL1 1BL

Time: 12-4pm

Date: 3rd Nov 2012.



LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THERE :)

#ZOMBIEATTACKPLAN - AudioGo Competition!

To celebrate the audiobook release of Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings, AudioGo are giving
you the chance to win one of two signed copies of the book as well as a CD
audiobook of Chilling Ghost Stories and a CD audiobook of Dreadtime
Stories Volume 1




In order to qualify you need to tweet #zombieattackplan to
@AudioGo_UK and I’ll be following the trend and choosing two winners.




For further information check out the rules of the competition
here AudioGo_UK.




Closing date is 11.59pm Wednesday 31st October
2012.




So tell me ... what is your #zombieattackplan?




Enter NOW for a chance to win!




Twitter Account @SamStoneAuthor

ZOMBIES AUDIO GOES LIVE

Fancy listening to something spooky, gory or erotic this Halloween?



You can now download the AudioGo unabridged audio book of the stories from my collection Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings.



This unique audio also contains a bonus zombie tale Walking the Dead, that does not appear in the original print version of the book.



The following links will take you to the whole book or if you prefer you can purchase the stories individually.



There are hours of horror, comedy, gore and eroticism here ... ENJOY!





For the complete collection at the bargain price of £8.59 (RRP £17.19) : ZOMBIES IN NEW YORK AND OTHER BLOODY JOTTINGS



For Individual Stories ...



AMELINE



Something is sapping the strength of the normally robust dancers of the
Moulin Rouge. Author Sam Stone writes: 'A tale inspired by a visit to
Montmartre in Paris combined with an investigation by my favourite
vampire Lucy Collins (aka Lucrezia Borgia).' Warning: This audio
download contains explicit scenes and language. PRICE £1.24



FOOL'S GOLD

A four hundred year old vampire investigates the Ripper murders in
Whitechapel. Author Sam Stone writes: 'I've always been fascinated with
Jack the Ripper and wanted to explore the legends, adding my own fantasy
twist to the proceedings. This story won the British Fantasy Award for
Best Short Story of 2010.' Warning: This audio download contains
explicit scenes and language. PRICE £1.24



LEAD POISONING

A beautiful starlet dies mysteriously of lead poisoning; can the vampire
Lucrezia solve the crime before anyone else dies? Author Sam Stone
writes: 'Gangsters and Hollywood movie stars are a potent mix and gave
me the ingredients to create a good old fashioned mystery. I was asked
to write a crime story ... but no-one said I couldn't have my vampire as
the investigator.' Warning: This audio download contains explicit
scenes and language. PRICE £1.84



ZOMBIES IN NEW YORK

An outbreak of zombies in New York turns club owner Rocco's life upside
down. Author Sam Stone writes: 'After visiting New York in May 2010, I
felt it was the perfect place upon which to inflict a zombie
apocalypse.' Warning: This audio download contains explicit scenes and
language. PRICE £1.84



TAR

The discovery of wolf remains in the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles is
the trigger for a fanatical cult to try and reincarnate their werewolf
god. Author Sam Stone writes: 'I always wondered what would happen if we
could revive the ancient remains and fossils we find, and a visit to La
Brea brought this story to mind after seeing all the wolf skulls on
display there.' Warning: This audio download contains explicit scenes
and language. PRICE £1.24



RED

They say that opposites attract, but can the werewolf, Red, really give
the vampire, Lucrezia, the security she thinks she needs? Author Sam
Stone writes: 'A sexy story in which I was exploring the idea of
obsession and the levels of degradation to which unhealthy emotion can
lead.' Warning: This audio download contains explicit scenes and
language. PRICE £1.84



ANGELS LOVE VAMPIRES

Teaching an angel all about love seems a good idea until Lucrezia finds
herself the object of too much desire. Author Sam Stone writes: 'The
title came to me first: angels and vampires - now there's a mix you just
wouldn't expect.' Warning: This audio download contains explicit
scenes and language. PRICE £1.24



And from the Other Bloody Jottings ...



CLOWN ADDICT

Gay civil servant, Dale, loves clowns but his dalliances result in a
string of strangely humorous deaths. Author Sam Stone writes: 'As a fan
of horror movies I was drawn to the sinister humour of the Doctor Phibes
films and wanted to write my own homage to those wonderfully gruesome
tales. After a visit to an American Circus I had all the inspiration I
needed.' Warning: This audio download contains explicit scenes and
language.  PRICE £1.24



IMMORTAL MONSTER

A struggling writer finds the elusive overnight success he has always
dreamed of, but it comes at a terrible price. Author Sam Stone writes:
'I was asked to write a ghost story but realised that I wanted to avoid
clichés. This story has deliberate ambiguity, is it about a ghost or
not? You decide.' Warning: This audio download contains explicit
scenes and language. PRICE £1.84



CHILLERS AND BREATHERS

Detectives Charlie and Meg live on opposite sides of life and death. Meg
is a chiller - a ghost - and Charlie is a breather - alive - and they
work together investigating crimes. In this story they investigate a
drug which can perhaps bridge the gap between the two worlds. Author Sam
Stone writes: 'I was wondering if the dead and the living could
co-exist and how would they get along, and this story was the result. I
like the ideas and the world and may revisit it again soon.' Warning:
This audio download contains explicit scenes and language. PRICE £1.84



BLOOD LOSS

A mortician discovers that there really is life after death when a
beautiful woman he autopsied turns up in the bar later that night.
Author Sam Stone writes: 'I was exploring what would happen if, even
after death, we could still see and feel. It was a horrible, but
fascinating, concept.' Warning: This audio download contains explicit
scenes and language. PRICE £1.24



SIREN'S SONG

While investigating a rash of unexplainable deaths in the area, a
reporter becomes fixated on a mysterious woman who moves into his
apartment block. Author Sam Stone writes: 'The concept of the Siren has
beguiled sailors for years and I wanted to explore what happens when you
finally come face to face with this most seductive of mythological
creatures, and what lies behind their haunting song.' Warning: This
audio download contains explicit scenes and language. 
PRICE £1.84



THE TOYMAKER'S HOUSE

While working on a gory horror movie, assistant director Caron becomes
suspicious of the special effects created by Mark - an odd and solitary
expert who sees his creations as art. Caron's investigations lead her to
some horrific answers. Author Sam Stone writes: 'Psychological horror
is the worst kind of horror and this story was born from a vivid and
gory nightmare. I tried to recapture in words, the horror and terror of
my dream, in an intense and unsettling piece.' Warning: This audio
download contains explicit scenes and language. PRICE £1.84



Bonus Story ...



WALKING THE DEAD

When the dead begin to rise, the world is plunged into panic. It takes
the common sense of a twelve year old boy to figure out how to handle
the zombie menace. Author Sam Stone writes: 'Zombies appear everywhere
in literature but I wanted to write a story that was atypical. The idea
came from the title, a mis-remembering of the HBO television series 'The
Walking Dead' crossed with another BBC crime show called 'Waking the
Dead'.' Warning: This audio download contains explicit scenes and
language. PRICE £1.24