C.A. Verstraete's Blog, page 61

AuthorFest - Today! Round Lake Beach IL

I'll be among 25+ authors participating at AuthorFest! TODAY at the Civic Center in Round Lake Beach, Ill.  Stop by and say hello!

 Sponsored by the fantastic This Old Book, there'll be books of all genres, free kid's activities, music and more! Come spend the day!! (Check out the fest info and authors here.)

 


  Featuring Andra Watkins, NY Times Bestselling author of Not  Without My Father: One Woman's 444-Mile Walk of the Natchez Trace and To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis.






AuthorFestSaturday, July 30th at 10 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.Open to the Public - FreeRound Lake Beach Cultural & Civic Center (Located south of the Meijer store off  Rte. 83 ) -  2007 N Civic Center Way, Round Lake Beach, Ill. 

10:00-4:00 Children’s Activity Tent
Edison the Elf coloring page and activity sheet, Sci-fi coloring sheet, Build a Bug, Invent a Gadget, Color a Cookie, Spider Web Art, Creative Writing pages. Face painting
Scavanger hunt for both Children and Adults- Join the Hunt, Win a Prize!
10:15-10:30 Opening Remarks by Robb Chase
10:30-1:30 Various Children’s Book Readings
10:45-12:00 Music by Edison Blake
12:30-2:30 Music by Deezguize at theGazebo
2:30-3:15 Presentation by Andra Watkins
4:00 Close of Authorfest

AuthorFest authors' panel

AuthorFest! will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Cultural and Civic Center, 2007 N. Civic Center Way, (south of the Meijer store off Rte. 83) in  Round Lake Beach, IL.  (The fun of events like this is getting to find out about all kinds of different books you might not have found otherwise!) 

Sponsored by This Old Book, the event features 25+ authors of all genres, free kid's activities, music and more! Come spend the day!! (Check out the fest info and authors here.)

** Here are some highlights from the pre-fest author panel moderated by author/organizer Robb Chase that was held on Wednesday. Featured authors included:


 


   **  Andra Watkins , NY Times Bestselling author of Not  Without My Father: One Woman's 444-Mile Walk of the Natchez Trace and To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis.  (She'll be the keynote speaker Saturday afternoon.) 




* Mark Spreyer, executive director of the 80-acre Stillman Nature Center, South Barrington, Ill. and author of Natural Digressions: Natural History for the 21st Century. The book features essays on raptors, insects and nature. Book sale proceeds are donated to the center, which offers classes, environmental education and sanctuary to injured raptors, animals and feathered friends. 


 * Robb Chase, event organizer and author of Broken Dagger: Adventures of Annuvin Book 12. Chase enjoys writing stories with a fantasy-sci-fi twist that mirror real life.

* John F. Wasik, author of   The Merchant of Power:  Sam Insull, Thomas Edison, and the Creation of the Modern Metropolis. Wasik details the story of former Edison right-hand man and creator behind the national power grid, written with access to Insull's documents.  Wasik also tells the story of another manufacturing giant Nikola Tesla in Lightning Strikes: Timeless Lessons in Creativity from the Life and Work of Nikola Tesla (Coming Oct. 11.) 


 * Christian A. Larsen , author of the sci-fi-flavored Losing Touch about a man discovering he an walk through walls (with a foreword by Piers Anthony),  and The Blackening of Flesh , about a teen's home being haunted by Prohibition-era gangster ghosts. 

* Michelle Cox, author of   A Girl Like You: A Henrietta and Inspector Howard , a murder mystery set in 1930s Chicago, part of a series. (She also has interesting stories of forgotten Chicagoans on her blog.)




Some Fun Q&A's (moderated by Robb Chase):


*What person would you liked to have talked to or learned more about?
Watkins: "Meriwether Lewis so he could tell me how he really died. He may have killed himself, or he may have been murdered." (Lewis finished the first American expedition across the West with William Clark in 1806 at age 32. He was dead at age 35, shot twice, once in the head.)

Wasik: "I would have liked to communicate with Tesla. He came over from Europe. (Thomas) Edison put him to work as a repairman. He completely redesigned Edison's power plant. He was promised a $50,000 bonus and Edison said he was 'just kidding. You don't understand American humor.'  Edison refused to see Tesla had the superior technology."

* What would you say is more important, character or plot?
Watkins: "If you don't have complex characters, I don't think people will read far in the book."

Larsen: "What draws me into a story isn't so much what's happening as (being able to have) identification with the people in the story."

Chase: "Long John Silver comes to mind."

* What scares you?
Larsen: "I'm kind of difficult to scare. I was 11 years old and saw Return of the Living Dead. I didn't stop hearing those zombies for six years."

Wasik: "The scariest thing to me are editors. You can submit a book you spent a year on it, and they'll say this is not what they want."

Watkins: "I think the scariest things are the things that can really happen. I was miles away in this cabin, I picked up a book to read. It was Deliverance."

Chase: "I remember the movie, Willard. I was a little boy when I saw it."

Cox: "I saw the movie, The Exorcist when I was 15. It took me about eight years to get over that thing."

* What one word would you say is most important to your readers?
Watkins: "Escape. I write because I want you to take a glass of wine, sit in the sun for an hour and escape."

Spreyer: "Curiosity. I want them to be curious about things around them."

Wasik: "Insight. Even the best novels provoke you to think in a different way."

Larsen: "Kinship. I want readers to experience stories through the characters' eyes."

Cox: "Intrigue. I like readers to come away really wanting to know what happens in the book."

Chase: "Acceptance. All too often we focus on the dust of our differences instead of how we're all the same."

** Be sure to come out Saturday to check out their books and meet all 29 authors (including me!) 

#1LineWed, 1 Line Wednesday, Lizzie Borden, #Zombie Hunter

It's another #1LineWed - 1 Line Wednesday  - so here's a favorite line from the upcoming  LIZZIE BORDEN, #ZOMBIE HUNTER

Lizzie Borden, #Zombie Hunter Full Cover!

Yes! The full front and back for Lizzie Borden, #Zombie Hunter! 
Whatdya think?  I think it's pretty cool!
I'm reading the PDF proof now for the last corrections! 
And for my dollhouse friends, a mini cover for your dollhouse too!  (Personal use only, please!) 
About the book:
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.


   

Cosplay at Comic Con!

Went to the Milwaukee Comic Con Sunday. Interesting event as far as cosplay goes. Too bad I didn't have any copies of Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter as I could've sold quite a few!

For a break, enjoy some of the interesting characters I spotted. The event had a costume contest, too.

(For me, the rug guy was the best!)

Lizzie Borden, #Zombie Hunter Cover! Really!

Yes, here is the front cover for Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter!  The full flat will come probably by Monday.
What do you think?? (The colors likely will look different on the actual book.)

Lizzie Borden, #Zombie Hunter Full Book Cover!

AND... here it is...

Oh wait. Kind of... 


** BONUS:  I wanna hear what you think! Give me a reaction in the comments to be entered to win one of the first signed print copies!!!! (US shipping only, sorry.)  Be sure to leave a way to contact you! 

Isn't this exciting???  (Now, no grumbling!!)



Are you SCARED yet??????? 

I wanted to extend the fun a bit since the full cover isn't quite done yet (blurbs and reviews are being added and part of the image was being tweaked slightly....)
So in the meantime.... go and see if you can assemble this puzzle -- then you'll see what there is (so far...) I hope the link works right... it did for me.
Hey! Now, I even reduced the number of puzzle pieces for you! I started out with 160 much smaller pieces... heh heh... C'mon, have fun with me!!!




The back copy is the description I've been sharing below.   I'll be showing the finished full cover once it's done...  
 I CAN'T WAIT!!! CAN YOU???
COMING SEPT 13! 


  About  Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter:  by C.A. Verstraete


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, #Zombie Hunter Book Cover Reveal 2!

Yes! The cover reveal is  HERE! 

So, meanie, I am - haaa! - I'm giving you tiny glimpses... 

Keep coming back for more!! 

** BONUS:  I wanna hear what you think! Give me a reaction in the comments to be entered to win one of the first signed print copies!!!! (US shipping only, sorry.) 

Isn't this exciting??? 

*  See the preview  here. - See part 1 here.  Coming: the full cover! 


Are you SCARED yet??????? 
Part 2: 






COMING SEPT 13! 


  About  Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter:  by C.A. Verstraete


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, #Zombie Hunter Cover Reveal 1!

Yes! The cover reveal is  HERE! 

So, meanie, I am - haaa! - I'm giving you tiny glimpses... 

Keep coming back for more!! 

** BONUS:  I wanna hear what you think! Give me a reaction in the comments to be entered to win one of the first signed print copies!!!! (US shipping only, sorry.) 

Isn't this exciting??? 

Preview:  See the first part here.




Part 1: 







COMING SEPT 13! 


  About  Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter:  by C.A. Verstraete


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.

Happy Birthday Lizzie Borden!

Today is Lizzie Borden's Birthday!
The Fall River, Mass. accused murderess was born July 19, 1860.






It was never fully proven that Lizzie, a 32-year-old spinster and Sunday School teacher, committed the crime. No one else was arrested or charged. The crime was never solved. 
Until now.

What if Lizzie did do it...because she had no other choice? 

The "proof"... is in the crime and the autopsy photos. I'll explain more soon... 

My viewpoint is coming soon in: 

  Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter !!!!!


 NEWS!!!    The Release Date is....
SEPT. 13th! (Andrew Borden's Birthday!) 
** Cover Reveal this week! Did you see the preview? Come back for more this week!