Kevin David Anderson's Blog, page 6

Long Beach Comic Con Recap

I had so many fun moments this weekend at the LB Comic Con - Seeing my wife in her homemade Batgirl costume, watching my son battle a Doctor Who angel with his lightsaber, taking in the smile on my daughter's face when she met and posed with a David Tennant cosplayer that was spot on - you had to look hard to make sure it wasn't really him, meeting a cosplayer Jessica Edmonds and her mom, that I've been FB friends with for years but never met in person, and this one (Picture) not only meeting a zombie red shirt Lana Holt, but finding out that they are an organized horde that stagger through the halls at conventions like Star Trek Las Vegas.


Made some new friends and caught up with some old ones. Next to me is Chad Stroup, the smartly dressed gentleman with a noose for a tie on the end is Oz Monroe, and next to him is his wife Heather, a dynamite promoter who really knows how to rock minotaur horns. Big thank you to Janet J Holden for doing so much organizing, and making sure everything went smoothly. All in all it was a fantastic weekend. 
Some of the works from the fine folks I hung out with this weekend.
Janet Joyce Holden
Anton Weiss, father of all vampires, returns from a long, mysterious sabbatical and swears genocide on his entire family. His letter of intent is abrupt, its reasoning unclear, and consequently his descendants choose to ignore the threat, and assume their beloved creator has simply gone mad.

Until the slaughter begins.

Unprepared and caught by surprise, the survivors are forced to leave their sanctuaries and forge new, hasty alliances in a desperate bid to protect themselves. But can they stop their revered ancestor? And whom can they trust?

In the struggle to survive, Gilles and Mina are joined by Mark, an enigmatic and vengeful newcomer, who was tortured and left for dead by one of their society's powerful Elders. Subsequent events suggest the three have been brought together for a purpose, but one that proves elusive.

But when loved ones are threatened, and companions begin to die, enemies must become friends, and for Mark in particular, that might also include the man who brutally murdered him.
Oz Monroe
Jon Aesop, a man without religious belief, is forced to question everything when his family is tortured and killed by what appears to be an angel. Desperate to find his wife's soul, he must survive murderous angelic forces while seeking answers to the afterlife.

Var is a freak to humanity and an abomination among angels. For centuries he's hunted in the shadows, living a life of self-destruction, but obsessed with revenge.

What they both discover--hidden in the depths of hell--will change everything
2016 Independent Publisher Book Award: Gold Medal-Horror
2016 Next Generation Indie Book Award: Winner-First Novel
Readers' Favorite Book Review: Five Stars

Walter Jarvis
What if you could live forever? Would you do so if you knew that first you had to die yourself? Or that other people would have to die at your hands so you could maintain your immortality? 

Would you be willing to become a monster that feeds off the living by making love to them, knowing eventually your love-making will destroy them? 
You would, if you were one of the Chosen, a secret and select group of immortals under the sway of Andre Van Dorn, who has discovered a serum that blocks the aging process—but at a terrible price. Van Dorn has only one rule for those in his circle: the secrecy of the Chosen is inviolable. Anyone who breaks this rule by resuming contact with people from their past life must be destroyed. And not only the perpetrator, but those closest to him as well.

James Barlog (J.M. Barlog) 
The adventure continues ... Minno 2 packs more zany adventure, more creatures, and new characters into this thrill-a-minute sequel. Every chapter sweeps you along in the strange and marvelous world of Ambrosia. For Minno and Hailey there's no time to rest. They must forge alliances to take on even more bizarre adversaries. The bond forged between Minno and Hailey is about to be tested. Can the girls' unlikely friendship survive another harrowing exploit in an unfamiliar land? Hugely engaging, the Minno series is the perfect one-two punch of excitement for middle school and young adult readers.

Naomi Brett Rourki
Science Fiction and Fantasy inspired by life on America's Indian Reservations. Life on a reservation embodies two of the major themes in Speculative Fiction- The Other, and Being Human. The people (both Native and non-Native) who live on a reservation encounter (or are forced into) situations on a daily basis that explore what it is to be The Other in society, or challenge what it means to maintain one's humanity in the face of change. So join us inside as we travel from a dusty street in Northwest Montana to the icy moons of Jupiter; as we discover long-lost tribes and meet the newest member of the family in the near future; and as we find that life on the rez isn't only for the living (at least not if the number of ghosts there is any indication!)

Long Beach Comic Con

Just a quick note to say that I will be at the Long Beach Comic Con all this weekend (Sept 17 & 18) signing copies of my new book, Night of the ZomBEEs, and my old book, Night of the Living Trekkies at the Horror Writers Association's table. I should have a few trekkies posters, and a FREE audio CD of many of my podcasted stories (Pseudopod, Drabblecast, The Dunesteef) for anyone who gives a snot rocket.

FREE Audio Edition - Night of the ZomBEEs

Interested in receiving a FREE copy of the audio edition of Night of the ZomBEEs . Just send an email to Kevin@KevinDavidAnderson.com, put Night of the ZomBEEs in the subject and I'll send you an Audible download code. First come first serve.

Midsummer Scream 2016! What is Midsummer Scream? It's Disneyland for people who wish it was Halloween every day. It took place at the Long Beach Convention Center, last weekend in July, and I got to meet and hang out with fellow writers at the HWA table. This was the first annual for this all Halloween convention and I think it got off to a fantastic start. I was only there on Sunday, but attendance appeared pretty good and I'm looking forward to next year.


Drake Vaughn, Naomi Brett Rourki, Janet Joyce Holden, and me
Forgot to blog about this (I do that a lot...not blog I mean) The Inland Empire's main newspaper The Press Enterprise ran an article on me and my Zombie related work last month. If you follow me on Facebook you've already read the article talking about my novels being apart of the curriculum at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania for a course taught to incoming freshman entitled, How I Learned To Survive College from the Zombie Apocalypse. I was pleased with the article and the pictures. My wife thinks I look smug in the pictures and she's probably right. She usually is. 
TEMECULA: How an Inland author's zombie books wound up used in a college course
From the Press Enterprise By AMY ZAHN, Published:  July 4, 2016 5:50 p.m.        

Temecula’s very own zombie author, Kevin David Anderson, will be seeing his work’s impact carried all the way to Pennsylvania, where two of his books will be required reading for a course at Mansfield University this fall.
Night of the Living Trekkies and Night of the ZomBEEs, Anderson’s two novels, will be assigned in English professor and longtime zombie enthusiast Dan Mason’s first-year seminar, a class designed to use the zombie theme to introduce students to the world of college and the new situations college will expose them to.   Read Full Article

ZomBEEs Audiobook now available!

The audiobook version of Night of the ZomBEEs is now available, produced by Parsec Award winning podcaster, Rish Outfield. To listen to a FREE sample, visit my ZomBEEs Page to download an MP3 of chapters 1-3, or listen to chapters 1-3 on Youtube in the Night of the ZomBEEs audiobook preview video that mixes in images of folks in their best homemade ZomBEE costumes! Review copies of the audiobook are available. Contact me for a download code. Kevin@KevinDavidAnderson.com



To celebrate the audiobook release the kindle edition of Night of the ZomBEEs will be FREE for 72 hours, starting July 4th! Last day to download the kindle edition free of charge is July 6th.
The Press Enterprise, a Riverside County Inland Empire newspaper showed me a little love with their recent article - How an Inland author's Zombie Books Wound Up Used in College Seminar - A story about Mansfield University's course offered to incoming freshman called How I Learned to Survive College from the Zombie Apocalypse. As with Night of the Living Trekkies , Night of the ZomBEEs has been added to the students reading list for the class. 

In none ZomBEE news, my story Contractions, will be available July 14th in The Gargantuan Book of
Horror Tales - The Beauty of Death, with a list of contributors that I am very proud to be among; Peter Straub, Ramsey Campbell, Edward Lee, John Skipp, Poppy Z. Brite, Nick Mamatas, Shane McKenzie, Tim Waggoner, Lisa Morton, Gene O'Neill, Linda Addison, Maria Alexander, Monica O'Rourke, John Palisano, Bruce Boston, Alessandro Manzetti, Rena Mason, Kevin Lucia, Daniel Braum, Colleen Anderson, Thersa Matsuura, John F.D. Taff, James Dorr, Marge Simon, Stefano Fantelli, John Claude Smith, K. Trap Jones, Del Howison, Paolo Di Orazio, Ron Breznay, Mike Lester, Annie Neugebauer, Nicola Lombardi, JG Faherty, Kevin David Anderson, Erinn Kemper, Adrian Ludens, Luigi Musolino, Alexander Zelenyj, Daniele Bonfanti, Kathryn Ptacek, Simonetta Santamaria, edited by Bram Stoker Award Winning Author Alessandro Manzetti, cover art by George Cotronis. 
In reprint news my story story Scarecrows and Devils got picked up by Digital Publishing Corp. a Canadian publisher, which I think plans to sell single stories and collections in horror, science fiction, and fantasy on Amazon. I think that is what they are going to do. To be honest the contract was very long and I have a short attention span sooo....I guess I'll find out eventually. 
I plan on attending the Long Beach Comic Con in September with my fellow members of the San Diego and LA chapters of the Horror Writers Association promoting the HWA and signing copies of Night of the ZomBEEs and Night of the Living Trekkies . More on that as it nears. 
LINKS
Download FREE audiobook sample - ZomBEE PageAudiobook sample (Video) on YoutubeNight of the ZomBEEs on AmazonNight of the Living Trekkies on AmazonPress Enterprise Article -  How an Inland author's Zombie Books Wound Up Used in College Seminar  

Night of the ZomBEEs in Academia

In 2014 I was extremely honored to find out that my novel Night of the Living Trekkies was apart of the curriculum at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania in a course offered to freshmen entitled, How I learned to survive college from the Zombie Apocalypse . I skyped in that fall to the class for a Q&A session, and had a blast talking zombies, survival, writing and general mayhem with the students.  Other authors that have skyped into this very unique class have been David Moody, Jonathan Maberry, and Joe McKinney. I was thrilled to be asked the first time, but last month I found out that my new novel Nightof the ZomBEEs will be added to the course curriculum this fall, and I’ve been invited back for another Q&A session. So much fun. Where were the cool zombie courses when I was in college? 
In other news my story Contractionswill be published in The Beauty of Deathanthology from Independent Legions Publishing edited by Bram Stoker Award winner Alessandro Manzetti. Out of the 1,250 submissions, 39 stories were chosen including tales by Ramsey Campbell, Peter Straub, Poppy Z. Bright, Monica J. O'Rourke, John Palisano and so many more – Go here for the TOC. It was originally scheduled for a late May release but I'm guessing it may be June before this one comes out.
The audiobook version of Night of the ZomBEEs should be available in a few weeks. To kick off the audiobook I'll have the kindle version available for free, and the first 3 chapters in audio available on youtube and as a MP3 download. More on that later. Buzz buzz
Love this review from BuyZombie.com - Night of the ZomBEEs - Book Review
And last month the first meeting of the newest chapter of the HWA (Horror Writers Association) took place at Mysterious Galaxy. I’ve been an Active member of the HWA for a while now, but never really been too involved beyond the occasional posting on the message board. I’m hoping to change that and joining this group seems like a step in the right direction.    I'm the grey haired dork in the back row. 
I hope everyone had a great FREE Comic Book day. My kids and I walked away with handfuls of graphic stories, mostly independents, but there was a few Marvel and DC inclusions. Had a blast and I got Trek'ed by artist Joenell Luma!


LIVE LONG AND PROSPER!

The Beauty of Death

I’m excited to announce that Independent Legions Publishing has picked up my story “Contractions” for their upcoming anthology, The Beauty of Death. My story is a companion piece to another tale of mine called, Momentum, which debuted on the The Drabblecast: Strange Stories for Strange Listeners, so many years ago. This one should be available in the Spring and will feature yarns by Peter Straub,Ramsey Campbell, Poppy Z. Brite, Monica J. O'Rourke, Rena Mason, Gene O'Neill, JG Faherty, John Skipp, and many more. 

5 Science Fiction Films for Valentine's Day

A short list of romantic science fiction just right for this Valentine's Day weekend.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)If you had the technology to remove the pain of a breakup from your memory would you do it, and would it really take? A funny, sad, sci-fi romance that really stays with you.

Solaris (2002)
When death ends a relationship how far is too far to go to get a second chance? This one is moving and haunting.

The Fifth Element (1997) 
In all honesty my favorite parts of this funny, action packed sci-fi are not the romantic bits, but they give the film its moving conclusion. And Chris Tucker has never been better.
Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) This indy pic is a slow burn, but endearing, quirky and funny. Who needs sanity when you're falling for someone?


Blade Runner (1982) A futuristic film noir, with a femme-fatal, a morally challenged hero, genetic engineering and Frankenstein's monster fighting for just one more day in a world that doesn't want him. This one is sad, moving and has more atmosphere than ten films. Not to mention the sexiest soundtrack ever composed.    
Happy Valentine's Day

FREE Kindle Editions

Starting Monday, December 21st, I'm giving away my new novel Night of the ZomBEEs and the 2nd edition of my short story collection, Blood, Gridlock, & PEZ away for FREE. Happy Holidays. Don't say I didn't get you anything...


Night of the ZomBEEs is perfect for that teen of yours sitting at home this winter break. Its a fast, funny read guaranteed to get them to put down the video game controllers for a few hours. For ages 12-18 plus.

It’s Founders Day in Honeywell Springs, a day residents dress up in black-and-yellow costumes to celebrate the insect that gave the town its prosperity, the Honey Bee. But when a mad scientist releases a contagious swarm of mutant bees, it turns the townsfolk of Honeywell Springs into the walking dead, in bee costumes. It’s thirteen-year-old Shaun Ripley’s worst nightmare. Plagued with apiphobia, asthma, and panic attacks, Shaun must draw on his knowledge of his hero, James Bond, to stay alive. With his best friend, Toby, a fellow 007 enthusiast, and Sam, a bullying tomboy, Shaun must overcome his bee phobia and find a way to escape Honeywell Springs. Terrified, surrounded, and running out of time, the three must work together if they are to survive the Night of the ZomBEEs!
Blood, Gridlock, & PEZ: Podcasted Tales ofHorror, 2nd Edition , has been completely redone -new images, improved layout, and a bonus story. This collection is comprised of short stories that first appeared in audio form on popular fiction podcasts like The Drabblecast, Pseudopod, and The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine. Visit a post-apocalyptic world where it becomes difficult to distinguish friends from food. Experience the dead reaching forward from the past to influence the future of the living. Summon nerves of steel to remove the spiders living in a human brain. Conspire with malevolent jack-o’-lanterns to stop a mad man. And stand up to death in the middle of a traffic jam with only your wits, and PEZ. 


The last day to get your FREE copy of Night of the ZomBEEs and Blood, Gridlock, & PEZ: 2nd edition is Wednesday December 23rd. 

Pop Cultist Interview - Movie News

Had the pleasure of speaking with the new podcast and web presence, Pop Cultist, created and hosted by writer, reviewer, and zombie aficionado Tony Schaab. The show is co-hosted by Tony’s accomplice in all things nerdy, his wife Emily Schaab. We talked about everything from my new novel, Night of the ZomBEEs to how to make a mixed geeky marriage work. Tony’s knowledge of the undead genre and culture made the conversation a lot of fun for me, and I got to plug away at the new project I’m involved with, a Night of the Living Trekkies movie-like venture, currently in pre-production.  Follow the link to give the interview a listen and show Pop Cultist some love. I know an upcoming episode will have an interview with well-known horror scribe Jonathan Maberry  Pop Cultish - Episode 12 Interview with Kevin David Anderson
Night of the ZomBEEs is doing well on Amazon. It’s available in trade paperback and kindle. An audio version should be out sometime in December produced and performed by Parsec Award winning podcaster Rish Outfield, co-host of The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine, one of my favorite podcasts, co-hosted Bigg Anklevich. If you wish to receive a review copy please email me at Kevin@KevinDavidAnderson.com 

And lastly if you’re looking for something fun to read this holiday season, can I recommend Santastein by Mr. Brian K. Morris. Read my review here and at goodreads. 
Santastein: Or The Post-Holiday Prometheus by Brian K. MorrisMy rating: 4 of 5 starsI think if Mary Shelly had an irreverent sense of humor and had penned Frankenstein during the height of the Christmas season she could have written Santastein. Brian K. Morris takes our classic, beloved horror story, Frankenstein, and mashes it up, at warp speed, into the holidays. There is short list of writers that have made me laugh out loud; Douglass Adams, Terry Pratchett, Jeff Strand, and now Brian K. Morris. 
View all my reviews
LINKS
Pop Cultist - Episode 12 Kevin David AndersonNight of the ZomBEEs on Amazon The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine Santastein on Amazon

So Much Buuzzzzz!

Hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween. Mine was a little slower than usual but I did get in a really good scare. Several middle schoolers dressed in Star Wars costumes walked up to my door and before they had even rung the doorbell, a carefully placed demon (string operated) flew up, roared, and Jedi screaming could be heard up and down my street. The trick or treater dressed as the new Star Wars character Kylo Ren, (suppose to be the new big bad guy) dropped his full bag of candy and lightsaber on my porch, before running for his life. I'm not a jerk, I did not keep the candy or the lightsaber (although I really wanted to,it  was the new tri-saber) I returned everything. I got at least a dozen good screams throughout the night, but the Star Wars kids were my favorite. I wonder if kids dressed in Star Trek outfits would have been a little braver?

The kindle edition of Night of the ZomBEEs is now available, and the Audio Book will be ready in December produced by Parsec award winning podcaster Rish Outfield. Very excited this is finally getting out there and read. I think its the best thing I've produced since Night of the Living Trekkies.


The book is getting a bit of buzz, no pun intended, and if you need a review copy please contact myself or Janice Bohica at: JBohica.RoninBooks@gmail.com
Thanks to the members of the LA Chapter of the Horror Writers Association for participating in an event that raised needed funds for Pet Orphans of Southern California. I contributed a few books and posters but theses handsome HWA members went the extra mile and not only contributed books but showed up to sign copies for fans. 

Some pictured: Walter Jarvis, Hal Bodner, Janet J Holden, Joel Eisenberg, Tracy L Carbone, Steven Booth and Steve Johnston at Pet Orphans of Southern California.
In other news, my article "The Horror of Star Trek" was published right before Halloween on the Geeks of Doom entertainment web site. Its a fun little guide describing, and recommending some of the best Star Trek episodes to view if you are looking for a little horror in your Science Fiction. And if you do not follow and read Geeks of Doom, you are really missing out. It is a fantastic news source for comics, video games, genre movies and all things geeky.


Lastly, but by no means least, I'm really looking forward to my next writing project. In the next few days I'll be working on a film project and I'd like to say more about it, but it's just a little early for details. But I'm as excited about this project as I was the day Quirk Books said they wanted to buy Night of the Living Trekkies. I will share when I can.

Please take care of one another 
LINKSNight of the ZomBEEs on Amazon Pet Orphans of Southern California The Horror of Star Trek on Geeks of Doom