C.A. Verstraete's Blog, page 60

Killer Nashville Falchion Award Nominees - #fantasy #mystery #horror

Killer Nashville announced the 2016 nominees for its Silver Falchion Awards!

All are deserving, but I'm noting here a few books from authors I know personally and "know" from online.

These include:  

Best Fiction Short Story Anthology    Kaye George - Murder on Wheels About the Book:Eight authors from the Austin Mystery Writers “put the pedal to the floor” in 11 stories set on an 18th century sailing ship to the roads of modern Texas.
Includes:
INTRODUCTION, by Kaye George

A NICE SET OF WHEELS, by Kathy Waller

FAMILY BUSINESS, by Reavis Z. Wortham

ROTA FORTUNAE, by V. P. Chandler

MOME RATH, MY SWEET, by Gale Albright

THE WHEELS ON THE BUS GO ROUND AND ROUND, by Kaye George

BUON VIAGGIO, by Laura Oles

APORKALYPSE NOW, by Gale Albright

HAVE A NICE TRIP, by Kaye George

DEAD MAN ON A SCHOOL BUS, by Earl Staggs

HELL ON WHEELS, by Kathy Waller

RED’S WHITE F-150 BLUES, by Scott Montgomery

Joe McKinney (also known for his zombie books) - Shrieks and Shivers from the HorrorZine - New fiction collection from The Horror Zine online magazine.New fiction including: TAPEWORM by Martin Rose
OLD HAUNTS by Nathan Robinson
“I’LL BE WATCHING” by William F. Nolan
NAILS IN YOUR COFFIN by Rachel Coles
PETE’S BIG BREAK by Joe McKinney
THEM by James Marlow
STASH HOUSE by Shaun Meeks
THE SAMPLE by Ray Garton
HARD RAIN by Bruce Memblatt
SQUATTERS by Elizabeth Massie
I STILL LIVE by Wayne C. Rogers
CENTER STAGE SIDESHOW by Christian A. Larsen
STALKER by Tim Jeffreys
FOR SHE IS FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE by Tim Waggoner
RAMPART by Amy Grech
SOMNIPHOBIA by P.D. Cacek
FUNERAL MEATS by Kristen Houghton
TRANSPOSITION by Jason V. Brock
THE LAST BOTTLE by Dean H. Wild
THE WOODS by Nicholas Paschall
THE HOTEL SAN DIGOT by Joseph Rubas
DADDY’S GIRL by Lisa Morton
BLURRED by Matthew Nichols
THE HOUSE by Jonathan Chapman
THE NEST by Cory Cone
REFLECTOR EYES by Garrett Rowlan
WHAT HAPPENED IN VEGAS… by Rena Mason
PRIVATE FRANKS by Gary Robbe
ONE LAST TWEET by Eric J. Guignard
BECAUSE WHAT IS MINE IS MINE by Tom Piccirilli
CHICKEN by Geoff Nelder
Best Fantasy and Judges’ Choice Award
Donald J. Bingle and Jean Rabe - The Love-Haight Case Files  About the Book:San Francisco. Haight-Ashbury. It is midnight in the Summer of Love. 
    Thomas Brock and Evelyn Love are attorneys who crusade for the rights of OTs—Other-Than-Humans. Their clients include ghosts, gargoyles, vampires, and things that have not yet been given names. The city’s OT element is sometimes malevolent, sometimes misunderstood, and often discriminated against. Brock and Love represent them, whatever the case, whatever the species. 
Best Mystery / Crime

BV Lawson - Dies Irae, Day of Wrath - A Scott Drayco Mystery About the Book: A mysterious music puzzle. A murdered co-ed. Sinister secrets.
   Three years ago, Scott Drayco left the FBI after an incident involving his partner, Mark "Sarg" Sargosian. Now a freelance crime consultant, Drayco often helps law enforcement on cases, but he never imagined his estranged former partner would turn up on his doorstep, pleading for Drayco's help. A co-ed at an elite Washington, D.C., private college has been murdered, and the victim's friend - Sarg's own daughter Tara - might be the next target.
   The killer left behind a puzzling music code at the crime scene, and Drayco soon learns he has two things in common with the murdered girl - a music background and synesthesia. The case takes an even stranger turn after a second murder and a second music code, with signs pointing toward a possible ritualistic killing. Then, Drayco himself starts receiving coded messages and finds himself locked in a deadly game with a madman where only one of them may come out alive.
Congrats all! Be sure to check out all the interesting nominees at the site link at top.

Lizzie Borden, #Zombie Hunter Pre-Order Sale!!

NOW AVAILABLE ON PRE-ORDER!!! 
It's Alive!! 

LIZZIE BORDEN, ZOMBIE HUNTER is now on pre-order at Amazon! 

 Am I excited? You bet!!!!

Get it now  -- limited time sale! 

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. 

#1LineWed - 1LineWednesday - #zombie #mystery

Another Wednesday, another 1 Line Wednesday!  Mystery and zombie - mystery - horror today! And a tid-bit from my upcoming book,  Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter --  a hint at the special inclusions you'll get with the story!

 Today's guest 1 Line is from Luke Murphy, author of Dead Man's Hand... 

Dead Man’s Hand takes readers inside the head of Calvin Watters, a sadistically violent African-American Las Vegas debt-collector, who was once a rising football star, now a murder suspect on the run.

About the Book:

 What happens when the deck is stacked against you…
From NFL rising-star prospect to wanted fugitive, Calvin Watters is a sadistic African-American Las Vegas debt-collector framed by a murderer who, like the Vegas Police, finds him to be the perfect fall-guy.
…and the cards don't fall your way?
When the brutal slaying of a prominent casino owner is followed by the murder of a well-known bookie, Detective Dale Dayton is thrown into the middle of a highly political case and leads the largest homicide investigation in Vegas in the last twelve years.
What if you're dealt a Dead Man's Hand?
Against his superiors and better judgment, Dayton is willing to give Calvin one last chance. To redeem himself, Calvin must prove his innocence by finding the real killer, while avoiding the LVMPD, as well as protect the woman he loves from a professional assassin hired to silence them.





 1Line from  Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter  (coming Sept. 13!)

For those who like a bit of gore with their zombies and horror - and yes, this line is true - taken from the actual 1892 inquest testimony.

This is one of the opening lines in the book. (There is a real-life or related quote at the top of each chapter so you get the actual history, too.) 

Q. Did you see his eyeball hanging out?
A. No sir.—Lizzie Borden at inquest, August 9-11, 1892, Fall River Courtroom

About the Book:
What if Lizzie Borden did do it... because she had no other choice??
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.

Lizzie Borden Jailed! #horror #zombie

(Photo: Elizabeth Montgomery in The Legend of Lizzie Borden, 1975)

This was a momentous weekend in Lizzie Borden history.

Lizzie Borden was arrested on August 11, 1892, following a three-day inquest regarding the murders of her father and stepmother, Andrew and Abby Durfee Borden.

On August 12, Lizzie entered a plea of "Not Guilty" and was sent to the jail in Taunton, eight miles from Fall River, Mass. 

   


  Here's a little glimpse at Lizzie's arrest leading up to her being put in jail from my upcoming book, Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter : (The pre-order will be up soon!)

“Liz, I will be there for you, every step of the way,” Emma assured her, taking Lizzie’s hand in hers. “Don’t worry, if…” She paused and continued, her voice breaking, “if the trial is set, know you have to but look up and see me sitting there. None of us will let you go through this alone.”
Lizzie nodded and embraced Emma, words still failing her as she nervously picked up her reticule and checked that her hair was in place. After all, what could she really say?
A clatter downstairs told her they had arrived. Marshal Rufus B. Hilliard’s sonorous voice floated to where she stood waiting in the upper hall.
“I am here for Miss Lizzie Borden,” he called out. “Miss Borden, please come downstairs.”
Lizzie walked down the stairs, head held high, and stopped at the bottom of the steps where John and her attorney, Mr. Andrew Jennings, quickly moved to her side.
Her voice strong and sure, she stated, “I am Lizzie Borden.” 

#1LineWed- Dark Carnivals and Patent Medicine

 
  Today’s #1LineWed – 1 Line Wednesday is from a creepy, cool-sounding book from Lee Ryder, author of Carnival of Darkness:

There is beauty in the grotesque, there is also power. ~Hans My Brother’s Keeper

About the Book:The children all knew the old rhyme their Grandparents whispered to them at night.... 

Beware Ye the Carnival 
that comes in the night. 
Beware ye the evils hiding 
behind those bright lights. 
Beware ye, beware the 
hypnotic sounds 
of music and laughter 
and brightly painted clowns. 
Beware ye these strangers 
from a strange land, 
for no soul is safe 
at the carnival of the damned. 

They heard the warning, yet every year at midnight on All Hallow's Eve the carnival rolls into town. They flock to its gates seeking thrills, chills, and something more sinister... 
Do you dare enter the gates of the Carnival of Darkness?




And for something completely different… My #1LineWed – 1 Line Wednesday -   from Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter (coming Sept. 13):

“… Lydia Pinkham’s… a cure for all those powerful complaints and weaknesses so common to our best female population.”

Huh? You have to read the book to learn about the strange connection!! Find out more about Lydia Pinkham.

Lydia Pinkham’s was a herbal remedies firm located in Lynn, Mass. The best-known product, Lydia Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound, was distributed until the 1930s when the FDA labeling laws forced it to change its ingredients. (Patent medicines back then had huge alcohol content and often opium as well.) 
Guess what? A new herbal version for “women’s problems” is still being sold today (by a pharmaceutical company.) 

#Mystery Solved! Why Writers Write!

Today I offer something a bit different....Mystery Author Donald J. Bingle offers some insight into the reasons...

Why Writers Write
By Donald J. Bingle
Writers write for all sorts of reasons, but the general public always seems to want to create a simple dichotomy between writers who write for money and writers who write for the love of writing. Of course, then they generally sneer at the former and laugh at the latter.

As with most things, all is not as simple as it might appear to those who glibly gloss over subjects, rather than giving them any serious thought. Even with minimal thought (I like to think I'm efficient, not lazy), I've come up with a number of more subtle categorizations on the infinite 3D grid scale of why people write and thought I would pass them on for consideration.
People who love to write:

There are some people who simply need to write constantly and in quantity. They hurt if they don't write and may or may not care if what they write is any good or is ever read by anyone else. They may find joy in the process of writing or, if not joy, perhaps therapy ... or at least a calming of their OCD impulses to create content. While this can manifest in a workaholic obsession in professional writers, it is, I believe, more often seen in amateur writers, for whom the process is pleasurable or cathartic, or relaxing. Although professional wordsmiths may often match the word count of these lovers of writing, the professionals tend to match the lovers of writing word-for-word more out of work ethic, professional responsibility as to deadlines, and trying to make a go at a successful career as a full-time writer, than those who simply love to write.
Full-time pros also, I believe, spend more time editing and re-writing and definitely have more prolonged periods in which the writing is "work"—arduous, wearying, and draining--than lovers of writing, many of whom seem simply content with writing down what their characters "tell" them to write. In some cases, finishing a novel or story isn't really the point and someone who simply loves to write may have multiple unfinished projects and not be concerned at all about the lack of completion, perhaps because completing a project means the end of writing the project and they love writing the project too much to ever want to do that.

People who love to have written:

For these people, the process of writing isn't what is pleasurable, it's the accomplishment of having written that floats their boat. Whether simply goal-oriented, competitive about their word count, or simply desirous of announcing (and perhaps gloating over) their accomplishment, these people get pleasure out of having done something that the world values in some way (even if not monetarily), although the process of getting to that goal may have been a long, hard slog, perhaps even painful.
These are the type of people who, in another context, run marathons to say they have run a marathon, rather than having any particular joy in running itself. There may be importance in being able to say "I am a writer" or "I am an author" or "I wrote a novel." Page count (rather than the more professionally relevant and accurate word count yardstick) may be quite important, whether in total or over some arbitrary time period. Publication is not necessarily the point and such writers may have a trunk full of unpublished (even unpublishable) product. Someone who writes for "posterity" may be in this category or, if their ego is sufficiently large, they may be in one of the next categories.

People who love to have their writing read: 

For these people, writing and having written are just means to an end. The writing may be fun at times and an irksome slog at other times, and they don't mind the adulation they may receive from friends and colleagues for having written, but what they really care about is being read. They crave an audience. Some may be satisfied if a special someone reads their words. Others may be content to produce a family memoir or local organization newsletter. Others may need a broad public audience, but they want an audience of some kind. They may seek to impress or receive a pat on the back or they may seek to influence public opinion (frequent writers of letters to the editor often fall into this category) or a broader audience, but they want their words to have some kind of impact.
This may force such writers to be more concerned about the marketability or commercial quality of their writing as, at least traditionally, there have been gatekeepers who have some control over whether writing is actually read by the public--editors, agents, publishers and the like. These writers may also have various threshold goals that they believe help them ensure being read (submitting, perhaps, stories only to publications of a certain circulation or which pay "professional" rates, as these avenues are more likely to assure consistent readership).

People who want to be acknowledged/famous:

Closely related, perhaps, to the foregoing category, these people seek attention, fame, notoriety, and accolades, and they see writing as their steppingstone to achieve such goals. Although writing, having written, and being read may be interim steps toward such goals, the key to satisfaction is not necessarily found in any of those preliminary items, but only in the acknowledgment that stems from them. Let's face it, there are plenty of people who are known for being writers that not that many people actually read. And some of these authors are not bothered by their lack of readership, provided that they still receive the accolades and/or money associated with being an author.

People who write for money:

These people may or may not enjoy all or some of the process of writing, they care only about having written because it impacts the bottom line. They care only about being read to the same extent. For them, writing is a paycheck, a job. It may be a more pleasant job than digging ditches or working direct sales and they may be adept at it because of talent, practice, or study, but writing is simply a way to earn a living.
Copywriters, ghostwriters, technical editors, and the like may fall into this category (or those people may simply be doing such things to pay the bills while they pursue writing about which they have greater passion). Some--especially those who have never actually written much--may have pie-in-the-sky dreams about how much money can be made for little effort in the writing biz, while others see it simply as a serviceable job or a way to make a bit of extra money on the side without having to work a second full-time job. Of course, those with more grandiose dreams of writerly income may be severely disappointed, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of them out there--and they all have a screenplay they really want to show Steven Spielberg.

Writers don't fall on a simple x/y graph of love vs. money. I'm sure you may have an axis or two to add to the multidimensional graph this article suggests. If so, please let me know in the comments.

Me, I mostly write to be read. Sure, parts of the process can be fun and I like having written, but if it's never read or widely read, I feel unfulfilled. Money and fame would be nice, but I tamp down these feelings because they are unlikely outcomes.

I'd love it if you would like to read more of my writing. I'd love it even more if I know I've been read--whether via a private comment or a posted review or skyrocketing sales due to word of mouth. As always, you can find more about me and my writing, including Frame Shop , my murder mystery set in a writers' group, at www.donaldjbingle.com and can find my books and stories on Amazon, as well as on my website and other typical marketplaces.

  About Frame Shop: Critiquing Another Writer Can Be Murder
Print: http://amzn.to/2aWKX7EKindle: http://amzn.to/2aWKd2EEbook: Nook:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/frame-shop-donald-j-bingle/1120894740?ean=2940149991730
Frame Shop is a 42,000 word mystery/thriller set in a writers' group. Unlike a traditional who-dunnit, Frame Shop mixes violence, humor, and occasional writing advice in a format that will keep mystery lovers, aspiring authors NaNoWriMo participants, and established writers turning the pages.
​From its lurid, over-the-top prologue to its quirky addendum, Frame Shop delivers fun, intrigue, and variety to its readers, whether they are long-time mystery fans or aspiring writers attracted by its writers' group setting.

Harold J. Ackerman thinks his latest cat mystery proves he is the best writer in the Pleasant Meadows Writers’ Guild and Critiquing Society, not that the motley assortment of poets, poseurs, and wannabe writers in the PMWGCS provides much competition. But then Gantry Ellis, the NYT best-selling author of the Danger McAdams mystery thrillers, joins the group and wows everyone. Still, Harold hopes to leverage his connection to the famous author into a big break, agreeing to help his mentor with some crime research between contentious critique sessions. Soon, though, his efforts lead to murder ... and then more murder.

Another #Zombie Meme Monday

Another quote to whet your appetite from Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter - Coming Sept. 13!! (Pre-order is coming soon!!!!) 

Lizzie Borden Murder Anniversary

Today marks the day in 1892 that Andrew Borden and his wife, Abby Durfee Borden were murdered, allegedly at the hands of their daughter, Lizzie Andrew Borden.


It was a violent murder which inspired the childhood rhyme still known today....
Lizzie Borden took an axe,And gave her mother forty whacks, When she saw what she had done,She gave her father forty-one. 

The rhyme is exaggerated, of course, with the autopsy reports describing 18 and 10  wounds respectively.
The crime timeline for August 4, 1892 is as follows:
7 a.m. Andrew and Abby Durfee Borden have breakfast with Mr. John Vinnicum Morse (the brother of Lizzie and Emma's late mother, Andrew Borden's first wife.)
8:45 a.m. Mr. Morse leaves the house and returns at 11:30 a.m.
8:50 a.m. Lizzie comes down for breakfast by herself. 
9:15 a.m. Mr. Borden leaves. 
9:30 a.m. Mrs. Borden is murdered in the second floor guest bedroom. 
10:45 a.m. Mr. Borden returns and is murdered in the first floor sitting room.
Did Lizzie do it? Or did someone else?
No one really knows, though reasons and theories abound.
Of course, I have my own theory. 
Read about it in.... LIZZIE BORDEN, ZOMBIE HUNTER 
** Coming out Sept. 13! (which is Andrew Borden's Birthday!)

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?

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.

#1LineWed - #Horror #mystery #Zombie

It's another #1LineWed - 1 Line Wednesday - so I have several authors sharing their "one lines."


  1Line from the just released Zombie World (Book 4) by Mark Cusco Ailes, fifth book in the  Zombie Park series.

"I'm not going to make the same mistakes my parents made."

About the Book:


Think Jurassic Park, Zombie-style. Zombie World provides a tropical-island habitat for an array of genetically zombiefied humans and animals including tigers, polar bears and gorillas. Professor Ted Hollman has perfected his parent’s serum and has created zombies that will attract people from around the world. With tight security measures in place, he believes he has created the greatest and safest zombie park in the world. 
(Oh, and we know what happens next, don't we?)
  * See how it all starts in the prequel, Creation of the Living Dead. (Free on Amazon.) 


 If you're into role-playing games... Jean Rabe has a new mystery, Shadowrun RPG: Shadows Down Under . Here's 1Line:

Don’t like weather in Sydney? Ninn recalled an old local comedienne quipping. Stick around a minute or two. It will change for the worse.

About the Book: 
 Someone - or something - is killing nightclub entertainers in Kings Cross, Australia, wrapping the colorful community in a thick blanket of terror. Ninniniru `Ninn` Tossinn, a troubled private investigator, joins forces with Barega, an elderly Aborigine shaman, to uncover the truth behind the malevolent force - and put themselves on the Cross Slayer`s list! But can they defeat the darkness, survive Sydney`s powerful mana storm, and reach the true heart of the evil threatening the city?


* Shifters by Jaime Johnesee, book 1 in the Samantha Reece Mystery Series. Here's her 1Line:

It prompts me to remember that you can pick yourself off the junkyard floor and make something of yourself. 

About the Book:When a serial killer begins leaving remains of victims in hotel bathtubs all over town FBI Agent Samantha Reece makes it her business to stop him. This detective's got an ace up her sleeve - her ability to shift into the guise of a were panther.


  1Line from Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter (coming Sept. 13!)

As if sensing its victory, the creature shuffled faster, dragging its bony feet across the paving stones with a sickening scrape.

About the Book:
What if Lizzie Borden did do it... because she had no other choice??
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.

Coming #Horror #Apocalypse Books!

(Holy cow, it's August!!! Where'd the summer go?? )

To make you feel better, there are some GREAT-sounding books coming out soon!  (I'll also be posting on some recent new releases next time.) 

For now, take a look at some of the to-be-published books I found:




  Infection - (Aug 19 - pre-order) M.P. McDonald - When Cole Evans first heard about the "flu" outbreak at a military base on a remote island, he was certain it wasn't the common flu. As a former Navy epidemiologist, he was well aware of the horrible diseases the military studied. And, knowing first-hand the government's stance on sharing information with the public, if the media already learned about the disease, then it was too late to stop the spread.

Cole's only chance to save his family is to establish a safe haven. He knows the perfect location -- isolated, hard to reach, and with enough space for his brother's family as well -- but his son, Hunter, is on the other side of the country. Can they all reach it in time...  
 The Monster Pit - (Aug 15 - pre-order) Robert W. Walker -  In an abandoned construction site sits a monstrous pit designed to spawn the tallest building in the U.S., the Chicago Spire. But the pit now harbors something far more sinister…  
   Detective Aubrey (Brie) Hamilton and her team of retired detectives, the Old Fart Squad, are called in to investigate the disappearance of people and pets who have wandered too close to the gaping hole. When a mother and child come forward with film footage of the pit, Brie, Wiz, Reggie and the others realize that whatever lurks at the bottom is something otherworldly—and dangerous. 
   Armed with a special weapon, Brie’s team of unsung heroes descends into the hellish abyss and its tunnels and come face-to-face with nightmarish creatures. 
   Can the Old Fart Squad succeed where SWAT and the National Guard have failed? And what exactly dwells deep within what locals call “The Monster Pit”? 
Shadyside  - C. Le Mroch - Coming Fall 2016...A storm. A stranded couple. A ghost town haunted by mannequins. Or is the escaped mental patient moving them around?








Other Upcoming Books:

** Laurell K. Hamilton's 25th Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter adventure -  Crimson Death  -  comes out (Oct. 11). (Info and photo not  up yet.)

** Also coming out (Feb. 7, 2017): The Burning World -  Warm Bodies Series book 3 by Isaac Marion. (Info and photo not up yet.)

** I also just saw that Diana Rowland has a new zombie novel coming - White Trash Zombie Unchained - (April 4, 2017.)  (Info and photo not up yet.)






** Don't forget LIZZIE BORDEN, ZOMBIE HUNTER!! coming Sept. 13! (Pre-order coming soon!!!)