C.A. Verstraete's Blog, page 51

Ooooooo! Zombie Movies

Every so often, it seems to me that the zombie genre is limping along on its last leg, and then something happens to rekindle my faith that zombies are still here—and probably will be for a while—and that makes me incredibly happy.

This week, it was the discovery of some new zombie films. I haven’t seen either of these, but they are on my list. I think they look fabulous!




What about you? Have any of you seen this films? Any thoughts from the trailers?

Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter Top 10!

Thanks to those who voted!




I was a little surprised as Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter  was up and down, but it managed to hang in there and made in the Top 10 of the 2016 Preditors & Editors Readers Poll! I really wasn't expecting it, so thank you!


Every family has its secrets…
   One hot August morning in 1892, Lizzie Borden picked up an axe and murdered her father and stepmother. Newspapers claim she did it for the oldest of reasons: family conflicts, jealousy and greed. But what if her parents were already dead? What if Lizzie slaughtered them because they’d become zombies?
   Thrust into a horrific world where the walking dead are part of a shocking conspiracy to infect not only Fall River, Massachusetts, but also the world beyond, Lizzie battles to protect her sister, Emma, and her hometown from nightmarish ghouls and the evil forces controlling them.

Reading & Writing about Lizzie Borden

Today I thought I'd mention some Lizzie Borden novels I heard about... 

And I want to say thank you to our dedicated followers who come back often to check the blog, even when we slack off!

Well the slacking off for me was due to a reason... to my surprise, I started LIZZIE BORDEN, ZOMBIE HUNTER 2!

(Photo: Stephen D. Sullivan taken at Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum)


I didn't intend on starting it yet. I had thought up some ideas, had a part-outline and have been stewing on it, but I needed a break from the Dr. Bowen novella I've been working on. I'd hit a part that wasn't working so I wanted to stop for a bit and let it simmer...

  To my surprise, the Lizzie 2 idea popped right up!  I've written the first 3 chapters and outlined it up to Chapter 7. It's exciting! I may have to do some tweaks, of course, and change a little bit, but so far, so good! It's fun to be working on this, I might add! I'll have to put my thinking cap on to come up with some new, strange zombies! 


The dilemma is working around and continuing some things from book 1, LIZZIE BORDEN, ZOMBIE HUNTER, without giving a lot away. As some themes have to be continued in the second book, I may have to put in a disclaimer that it's best to read book 1 first. I don't want to spoil the first book's surprises!

It's also hard to not be working around the actual trial for a framework, but I do have some references and flashbacks to the initial events that should work. The trial can't be forgotten...


The Bordens: Lizzie, her father Andrew, and stepmother Abby Durfee Borden.

After all, even if Lizzie was declared not guilty, it's not like there were never any reminders in her life of what happened, or that she ever forgot. The newspaper certainly didn't let her forget it. Nor did neighbors and former friends who shunned her and acted like she was a leper. 

I'd think, try as you might, how can you totally put such a horrific event as your parents' murders out of your mind? How could she? (Especially if she'd done it!) Could you?

For story purposes, of course, Lizzie has to be haunted by past events, since the "other" crime - namely the release of zombies in the area - hasn't ended. It's continued with another outbreak for another strange reason... I love making up the strange reasons. haa!

So stay tuned. I'll post progress - or struggles - as I go along!

In the meantime... there is never a dearth of Lizzie Borden reading material...

* Coming in October: Author Erika Mailman has a new take on the Borden murders concentrating on Irish maid Bridget Sullivan, in The Murderer's Maid, A Novel of Lizzie Borden. 


   * Not so new - I just found that the original Lizzie Borden book, The Fall River Tragedy, A History of the Borden Murders , written right after the trial by reporter Edwin H, Porter, has been reprinted and  is now on Kindle. Not sure who published it. 

* Or read the actual 1893 Lizzie Borden trial transcripts for yourself in two PDFs. 

It may give you a different perspective on the crime. 
Happy Reading!

Gotta Love the Classics

The other day, my boys and I were flipping through the channels trying to find something to watch. It was a slow day, so there wasn’t much on. Finally, I found Jurassic Park and decided to watch it—even though it was going to be plagued with commercials.



Side note: we own this movie on DVD, but it seemed like a lot of work to get it and put it in the player, so I suffered watching it on TV.

This movie is one of my faves. I remember when it came out in theaters. I watched it in the theater. Consequently, I saw all the other films in the theater too and had the opportunity to take my boys to see Jurassic World, which we all loved.

Even to this day, Jurassic Park holds up. Some of the technology is a little outdated, yes, but it’s still fun to watch. The special effects still hold up, and the story is fantastic. Even with commercials, I enjoyed watching the movie.

My boys weren’t convinced that this film is a horror movie—mainly because they don’t find it overly scary. Personally, I don’t find it overly scary either, but I have a high threshold when it comes to horror. However, that doesn’t change the fact that I say it’s horror.

If anything, it falls into the Creature Feature category. Science and scientists are the bad guys in the film because they are messing with forces beyond their control that end up killing people, which is a staple of the horror industry. The events unfold on an isolated island where it’s impossible to get help. Once the raptors get out, there are jump scares. What else do you need to make it horror?

As the movie was playing, I started thinking about the book. The film and the book are different—because they always are—but they are enjoyable in their own ways. I decided that since it had been so long, I was going to read the book again. I ordered a copy, and it showed up in the mail earlier this week.


I don’t know who was more excited about the book: me or my boys. They’ve asked me to read it to them before bed, and we’ll see how that goes. They sometimes have short attention spans when it comes to long stories like that (they are still under 10), but I’m excited to experience it again.

Do you have any books that you’ve read in the past that you have or want to reread?

Best Books of 2016

The reviewers at King's River Life Magazine share their picks for Best Books of 2016!

Mysteries, romance, sci-fi, history, a great selection.


   Halfway down in the story, see librarian Terrance MacArthur's favorites - 

** Thrilled to have Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter included which he calls "Bloody good fun." Yay! See the full story (which includes a link to the great review.)

Vote for Best Horror P&E Reader's Poll

It's January so time to vote in the Preditors-Editors Readers Poll at Critters.Org.


  I'd appreciate your votes for Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter for best horror. Vote HERE. 

 (Don't forget to comment in the filter link at the bottom too! It's easy to overlook.)


About LizzieBorden, Zombie Hunter:
Every family has its secrets…
One hot August morning in 1892, Lizzie Borden picked up an axe and murdered her father and stepmother. Newspapers claim she did it for the oldest of reasons: family conflicts, jealousy and greed. But what if her parents were already dead? What if Lizzie slaughtered them because they’d become... zombies?  

#1LineWed - First 2017 1 Line Wednesday

Happy January!
It's the first 1 Line Wednesday of the year!

Here's a line from  Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter:

The skull hit the wooden rail. She heard the axe fall again.

About Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter:
Every family has its secrets…

One hot August morning in 1892, Lizzie Borden picked up an axe and murdered her father and stepmother. Newspapers claim she did it for the oldest of reasons: family conflicts, jealousy and greed. But what if her parents were already dead? What if Lizzie slaughtered them because they’d become... zombies?  

Lizzie Borden in Fiction 2016

As evidenced by the new books released last year, Lizzie Borden continues to be as fascinating today as the day she supposedly picked up that ax, killing her father and stepmother in 1892. And more are coming next year...

Great way to start the new year! A listing on Mondo Lizzie Borden of several novels about Lizzie, including my book, Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter 



About Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter:
Every family has its secrets…

One hot August morning in 1892, Lizzie Borden picked up an axe and murdered her father and stepmother. Newspapers claim she did it for the oldest of reasons: family conflicts, jealousy and greed. But what if her parents were already dead? What if Lizzie slaughtered them because they’d become... zombies?  



There's Maplecroft and Chapelwood from Cherie Priest, featuring Lizzie fighting Lovecraft-style monsters....


Brandy Purdy, The Secrets of Lizzie Borden , offers a tabloidesque tale of scandal, anger, and dysfunction...

 Walter Satterthwait's The Return of Miss Lizzie. .. Miss Lizzie now is on a mystery-solving trek in New York, teaming up with the girl she met one summer whose stepmother was also found hatcheted in the neighboring house in the first 1989 novel,  Miss Lizzie . 
I'll list some of the upcoming books for 2017 soon.

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a wonderful 2017!
Here's hoping you meet your goals and have fun doing it!!
Looking forward to more books and good reads in the new year. 
New posts coming soon! (Gotta put the thinking cap on!!) 

Assassin’s Creed – A Review

I took my boys and my niece and nephew to see this movie over the break. I’ve never played the game, although I’ve watched my children play it. I had no expectations going into the film, but I was happy to see that
Side note: I’m actually pretty excited to see the new Alien movie; it looks like the first film. However, I’m also staying reserved in case it turns out like any of the AvP movies or Prometheus.

Back to Assassin’s Creed . I don’t ask for much when it comes to movies. I’m usually pretty happy if there are fight scenes, eye candy, and explosions. A plot is nice, but, as I said, I’m not overly picky. Thankfully, this film had it all.

It was a bit slow getting started, and I found myself wanting to be in the past more than in the present; there was so much more action. I also wanted to know a lot more about the other assassins and get their backstory, but that didn’t happen—and the vast majority of them died, so they won’t be getting expanded story lines.

I was also slightly confused as to how all of the assassins were captured and placed in the experimental program. A few, yes, but all? That doesn’t seem possible. And if it did happen, why in the hell didn’t they revolt against their captors? I mean, they’re trained killers. As it shows in the film, a few of them can take out a lot of enemies. What could a whole group of them do?

I’m fully aware that if that did happen Cal wouldn’t have his story, but I felt like that needed to be explained better.

The hypocrisy throughout the film was fantastic. The basic plot is that the Knights Templar are trying to find the Apple of Eden to eradicate Free Will, which, in their jaded minds, will eradicate violence. It will also give them the opportunity to rule the world. The Assassins have been tasked with making sure the Apple stays out of the hands of the Knights, using any means necessary. They follow the “Creed,” which dictates that nothing is more important than protecting the Apple, not even their lives.

As you can imagine, the Knights don’t exactly follow their rule of “no violence” and do whatever they have to do to obtain the Apple. They are much more focused on gaining power and controlling people than they are in helping them. As villains, they weren’t terrible, and the movie brought in a lot of interesting information with the Crusade and using different mediums to control the people from religion to consumerism. If I was inclined, I could look more deeply into the film and tease out the meaning behind it, but I won’t for this post. I need more time to think about it.

Again, I don’t know much about the video game except the bits and pieces I see when the kids play, but I don’t think you have to know anything about the game to watch the movie. It’s pretty self-explanatory. All in all, it was an enjoyable film that I didn’t regret taking my kids to. They really enjoyed it, so it was a perfect afternoon.

Have any of you seen it? What did you think?