C.A. Verstraete's Blog, page 52

Goals for 2017 #zombies #writing #mystery

(art: http://www.fg-a.com/)

It's hard to believe the year is coming to an end. And it's already staying lighter a little longer so spring will be here before we know it. Yay!

I'm a summer person myself, so have to plan for that!

  It's been a pretty good year, with the release of Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter, so hoping 2017 goes even better despite the political and other world upheavals.

A few goals:

* Finish the supernatural mystery novella about Dr. Seabury Bowen and a haunted Fall River, Mass.

If you don't know who he is.... he was the neighbor of Lizzie Borden, the family physician and first on the murder scene.  See his bio. 

What else?

* Finish cover and send dog stories to beta readers. About time I finished this fun little project - stories with dogs in them...  Flash to longer length.

*  Work on a Lizzie Borden sequel. I have some ideas; have to flesh out the outline.

Oh, other stuff will come up, of course.

** What are some of your goals?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to your and your family! 
Have a wonderful and blessed time with family and friends.

   
 Oh, and if you want a view of what a bad family time looks like... Happy Reading!

Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter 
-- Print, Kindle and Kindle Unlimited!

Suicide Squad – A Review

I had been looking forward to watching this movie since the first time I read about it on one of the movie blogs I follow. I love antiheroes. Batman is my all-time favorite. I love how they are conflicted and torn between doing what’s right and wanting revenge. I like how they are human with flaws, emotions, and questions. Having villains become heroes is right up my alley.

Harley Quinn is actually one of my favorite female villains. I’ve watched her in numerous Batman cartoons, so I was interested to see how she would be on the big screen. I thought her character was fine.
I had every intention of seeing this movie in the theater, but time got away from me. Then, when it came out on disc, I couldn’t wait to rent it—but I had to. I didn’t want to buy it just in case it wasn’t that good.

I finally got to watch it last weekend. Amazon had it available for rent. It wasn’t bad. Everyone tells me I need to watch the extended version so it makes more sense, and I’ll probably check it out, but I didn’t think the regular version was terrible. I was upset that my favorite character (who also happened to be the coolest) didn’t make it (I’m not going to tell you who because I don’t want to spoil anything) and the bad bad guys were just meh. I wasn’t fond of the Enchantress. I don’t know a lot about her, so that might have helped.

Overall, though, it was a fun bang bang shoot ‘em up movie. It had eye candy and explosions, so it wasn’t a total loss. I don’t doubt that there will be more in the series, and it ties into the Batman vs. Superman movie and the Justice League movie. If nothing else, it will be interesting to see where the movie goes.

Have you seen it? What are your thoughts?

Great New #Zombie Book Review!

Another great 5-star eview for Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter!

"...It follows the facts so well that, even though you know that zombies are not real, it still makes you wonder what if? I guess that makes this a really well written book. I'd definitely have to recommend this book to any horror, history, or zombie lover. It covered all three and is very much worth the read...".Stormi, Boundless Book Reviews
You can also get a print, signed copy from me via my website! Still time for Christmas giving!
* Have you read it? I can use more reviews!!! 

New Zombie Books

I was thinking about it the other day, and it’s been a while since I’ve had a new book come out. I think the last time was Good Intentions , the third book in my Road to Salvation series. I supposed you could count Wucaii , but that was actually a re-release. It’s about time I publish a new book.


Thankfully, that wish is not far off. I’m working on the final edits for Humanity’s Hope, the first book in my Saving Humanity series. It’s another young adult zombie series, and I’m pretty excited to get it done.

I’ve been working on the sequel, but it’s been slow coming. I think once I’m done with this round of edits, I’ll be more inspired to write. I have to admit, even though the writing has been slow, I’ve been having a lot of fun with this second book. I get to do some things with my character I haven’t done in the past. I can’t tell you what that is—sorry. I don’t want to ruin the surprise.

I will keep you informed of the progress and let you know when Humanity’s Hope is going to be out. As of now, it looks like an early 2017 release. Woooooooooot!

10 More #Christmas Reads! #Horror #Mystery #Zombie

Get some great new reads to get lost in during the holidays!
 (Beats listening to the relatives. haa!) 
All kinds of genres, so enjoy! (See the first Christmas book list here.)
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Holidays to you!
Christmas!

      
 Christmas Carol Critique Collection - Donald J. Bingle: Here's something different! Humorous, line-by-line critiques of holiday favorites you know and love. Perfect-ho-ho-holiday reading! 

Christmas Lites VI -New! Charity anthology benefiting The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Stories by 25 authors featuring everything from Cthulhu to assassins, adventures and even the mob making holidays bright. A.F. Stewart (also author of Horror Haiku and Other Poems) offers a story of one faerie with a tragic history, a human with a secret legacy, and the legendary Snow Queen colliding in a fateful Christmas Eve encounter.

Steampunk Santa - Marc vun Kannon:  A Holiday Short Story! Trouble's brewing in the workshop when a forward-thinking elf wants to embrace the new 19th century technology. 


Horror - Historical:
 A Study in Grey (Sherlock Holmes, Science of Deduction Book 4) - John Linwood Grant:  Intrigue, mystery and touches of horror in this novella where Sherlock and Capt. Redvers Blake work to solve two intertwined cases at once.



Vampires:   New Release! Blood Shackles, (Rebel Vampires Book 2) - Rosemary A. Johns: When your whole species is enslaved-and it’s the humans who are acting like the monsters-how far would you go to free your family?
Blood Dragons: (Rebel Vampires Book 1) Escape into a supernatural world of love, revenge and redemption, where vampires are both predator and prey.* Get it on Goodreads.  * Sign up for Rosemary A. Johns’ newsletter and get a free story, “Tin Soldiers.”



Zombies:

 Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter - C.A. Verstraete: What if Lizzie Borden did it ... because she had no other choice? ** On sale for Kindle: 99 cents to Dec. 15! ** 

  Mutation Z Series: Books 1-3 - Marilyn Peake: Triple the zombie goodness here!








 Nock, Year of the Zombie, Book 10 - Scott McGlasson: Since civilization's collapse, ferals have been turned into docile slaves. Stace has learned to live under the restrictions of her life, but now she'll have to really prove herself to her father - their lives depend on it.  









 Just released! Odium IV: The Dead Saga, Claire C. Riley:  The Dead Aren't the Only Thing to Fear...  There's a new group in town, the NEO's - New Earth Order - that are helping Mikey heal and move forward. But that doesn't mean this is going to be an easy path without more terrors, and something he never saw coming... 

Lizzie Borden: Guilty or Innocent?

Today I'm talking Lizzie Borden: Guilty or Innocent? @ Claire Riley's blog. Take a look.

New #Zombie Book Release: Odium IV!

Today is the release of a new zombie book by author Claire C. Riley!



Odium IV The Dead Saga
The Dead Aren’t the Only Thing to Fear…
A kid, an old lady, and a heartbroken man…what could possibly go wrong?
Mikey is holding true to his promise to Nina, and is doing everything he can to keep the group alive. But when something attacks the threesome in the middle of the night, things begin to take a turn for the worst.
Luckily a new group—the N.E.O.s are on hand to ease Mikey’s burden and help fight alongside him. But first he must prove his worth to the leader Aiken and the people that follow him. Within this new group, Mikey begins to find a form of peace that he didn’t think was possible after losing Nina, and he discovers his place within this new world. A place where killing isn’t for fun, and is only ever committed as a last resort.
His heart is still aching, but at the end of the world there’s no time to stop and mourn, and as he searches out a Circus Freak Show and the horrors begin to stack up around him, Nina slips far from his mind.
It’s probably best, because there are many more terrors in store for him. Because within the folds of a small town, inside an old candy store, he meets a woman named Clare, her two dogs and something that he never saw coming.
Genre: post-apocalyptic zompoc with elements of ridiculous snark!

Contact Links: www.clairecriley.com www.facebook.com/ClaireCRileyAuthor http://amzn.to/1GDpF3I

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Claire C. Riley is a USA Today and International bestselling author. She is also a bestselling British horror writer and an Amazon top 100 bestseller.Her work is best described as the modernization of classic, old-school horror. She fuses multi-genre elements to develop storylines that pay homage to cult classics while still feeling fresh and cutting edge. She writes characters that are realistic, and kills them without mercy. Claire lives in the United Kingdom with her husband and three daughters.
Author of:   Odium The Dead Saga Series (4 books) Odium Origins Series (3 books), Limerence (The Obsession Series) (2 books), Out of the Dark Series, Twisted Magic, Thicker than Blood series (2 books), & Shut Up & Kiss me,

New Mystery Column + Magazine

My latest Author Snapshot column is out in the fall/winter Mysterical-e.



In this issue's column, I include a Q&A with Jean Rabe, author of the recently released The Dead of Winter. Good interview, check it out. Plus other books including a witch mystery, my horror-historical-mystery, Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter , and books by Camille Minichino. Good issue, too.

Also if you like short fiction and mysteries, Mystery Weekly magazine not only has a free story by email, but is putting its issues in print.

I have a story in the  print Nov. '15 issue now up on Amazon. And hopefully I can finish some others to send in. Neat publication.

Happy Birthday & Free #Zombie Story

Hey Happy Birthday to Me today!!!! (I was nice and didn't share the really nasty zombie cakes I've seen. haa!) 


  A reminder - don't forget Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter is on sale for Kindle - 99 cents to Dec. 15!

A free gift to you - a fun little zombie story on my website!! Sign up for the newsletter (on the main page) while you're there too...