Alex Laybourne's Blog, page 67
October 31, 2012
October 29, 2012
TW Brown introduces… Zomblog: Snoe
Following from my interview yesterday, TW Brown is once again my guest today, and he is here to talk a little about his writing, and in particular the Zomblog series. He also has a treat for you all in the form of an extract from his new novel. Zomblog: Snoe. Set 20 years after the zombies first rose, this fourth book in the series concentrates on Snoe, the daughter of the two main characters from books I-III Anyways, enough of my banter, take is away Mr. Brown
It has been a crazy road when I look over my shoulder at the Zomblog series. Considering that the very first book was never intended to be published, I would have to say that I have very little to complain about. For those who didn’t know, I actually began work on Zomblog as a daily writing exercise that was supposed to get me warmed up for writing my first real zombie novel—Dead: The Ugly Beginning. When a small publisher found it (as an actual blog), I was asked if I had considered publication. Long story short, a last minute email with a “deal change” that meant less money for me and more for the publisher brought the whole thing to a screeching halt. That year, my wife Denise presented me with the physical copy of Zomblog.
As time went on, due to the ledge that I left readers on with Zomblog, I wrote a second book, creatively titled Zomblog II. Since trilogies are fairly common, I eventually penned Zomblog: The Final Entry. In my heart and head, I was satisfied with the series and prepared to put it to rest. Some of my readers were not exactly happy with that decision. I’ve always claimed that I am in this for the readers and see them almost as my boss. After a few very adamant “requests” from some very dedicated readers, I agreed to return to the Zomblog universe. The question I had for myself was this: What the heck are you going to do now?
Fans of the series know (and many asked) about Sam and Meredith’s daughter. So it seemed logical that Snoe be the central figure for the new book. To that end, I had to put the world on fast forward and then introduce the readers to a world almost twenty years after the first zombie got up and took a bite out of some poor unfortunate individual. Snoe grew up in a world where zombies are a way of life.
The biggest challenge was getting inside the mind of an eighteen-year-old girl; being a forty-seven-year-old man…that was quite a task. I had to go back to all of those excellent History Channel shows, Life After People, to get my brain around how the landscape would be changed. Also, I wanted this to be something different. I did not want it to be “just another zombie story.” Also, I had to take into account that some folks may pick this book up without having read any of the others in the series. I had to balance giving new readers a good story with rewarding the fans of Zomblog. One thing I have learned when it comes to a world that you create…your readers know it far better than you ever will.
I guess if you take anything away from this before you set off on your little adventure with Snoe, it is that this is NOT a “zombie” book. Yes, there are a few zombie appearances, but after twenty years, they really have been managed as far as being a threat. I don’t delve into biology, so just assume that whatever freakish event (like those giant rat-type animals discovered in Indonesia back when I wrote the original Zomblog) that has turned people to zombies is also keeping them from all turning into decomposed piles of goo. What I want to do over this three book story arc (and them I am OFFICIALLY done with Zomblog) is delve into the people. What makes us tick?
I’m no shrink, but I have studied people. I catch some flack about how negative I can sometimes portray humanity. The thing is, if something like this were to happen, it would devastate our infrastructure. First responders would be decimated and hospitals would be a nightmare. Those who are always the first to offer help would also be the first to fall. What would that leave? Cowards? Those people who tend to look the other way? The bad guys? Would some decent folks survive? Sure…but just pick up your paper or watch the evening news if you don’t think there is some legitimate evil right in your own back yard. People out for themselves would outnumber the rest. And with nobody to enforce the rules…have you ever been in a citywide blackout? How about watching some footage of the Los Angeles riots? How much worse would it get if ALL law and order were wiped out? These are the things I considered when I sat down to write Zomblog: Snoe.
Above anything else, I hope I entertain you. When it all comes down to the bottom line…a story should entertain. If I accomplished that one task, then I have succeeded in my ultimate goal. I don’t have any lofty ideals that I am trying to push…I am not into being symbolic or trying to make some grand statement. When I sit down to write, I have one goal: entertain you.
Friday, June 1st
Five years ago, I received my mother’s journal. Now, at age nineteen, I think I have the discipline to begin one myself. Sure, I tried a few times in the past, but it just never took. I would forget, and then, once I remembered, so much time had passed that I would just give up and say why bother.
A few days ago, Mama Lindsay came back from her unit’s escort of the Rose Colony’s president out to the Ten Pacific Nations Confederated tribal lands, something to do with a renewal of a bunch of treaties.
Anyways, she sent a messenger for me to pick her up after her DECON certification. (Everybody who ventures out of the confines of a Safe Zone has to be tested before they are allowed in general population.) It seems she found all my old failed attempts at starting a journal when she was loading out for her trip. She didn’t want to bring it up until she got back just in case we had a blow up over it.
I should probably come clean with the fact that I supposedly have a hot temper. Mama Lindsay says it is proof of genetic influence on personality.
So I guess she decided to wait until she got home to have the big conversation about me keeping a journal. I think she was being a little silly. After all, it was just a little scribbling on paper. We have a rule…no arguing before a patrol. Nobody wants to have their last memories of a loved one be of some fight over something stupid. We started that rule after Mama Janie and her entire farming group were wiped out by a Mega Herd—some reports claim there were over twenty thousand undead that day. I was only five or six at the time, but I think Mama Lindsay and Mama Janie had gotten into it over something like taking out the trash or sorting the compost; basically they had an argument over something mundane. To this day, I’ve never had the heart to ask what exactly they had quarreled over.
Mama Lindsay says the only reason she didn’t kill herself in those rough days that followed was because of me. She said I was her sole reason to live for almost two years after Mama Janie died. A few days later, Mama Lindsay sat me on her lap and we made a pinky promise to never let ourselves separate if we are angry at each other. I am proud to say we kept that promise all these years,
When I met her at the DECON station, I could tell she’d had a tough run. Half of her weapons were either missing from their sheathes, or visibly damaged. Her eyes had dark circles under them and her forehead had those two deep creases that it gets when she is either exhausted or pissed.
I took her field pack and we headed to the supply depot for groceries. At first, she didn’t say a word. Since she had called for me, I knew she would get to it when she was ready. Finally she just stopped walking and turned to look me in the eye.
“Are you leaving?”
When Mama Lindsay asked me that question, I guess I was shocked. More than that, I realized that I guess I’d known for a long time that anybody who knew me, or better yet, knew my birth mother, waited to see if I would leave on some crazy journey.
That is the price you pay when your birth mother is famous for being a Traveller. By the way, that’s as close to an insult here as you can get. Here in the Rose Colony, a ‘Traveller’ is somebody who refuses to be a part of the community.
In the world we live in, not being a part of a community carries the same stigma as the Old World welfare whore. I learned in one of my history classes that there was a small sub-culture of women who had babies, lots of times by different men, and lived off of checks they got from the government. I came home from school with a lot of questions that day.
The problem with Travellers is that they don’t even try to help anybody but themselves. They scavenge the Old World and sell anything worthwhile to the highest bidder. Sure, they risk their lives—not many Travellers live past twenty-five according to the statistics—and usually have some amazing artifacts to show for it, but it all self-centered.
It hurt me a little that, after all these years, Mama Lindsay could think I would do anything like that. I was raised to be a part of the community effort. I can’t really remember much about Mama Janie, but the images I do have are one of a person who always helped others and worked very hard. I have one clear memory about how when she would come in from the fields, she would always have something from the garden hidden in one of her pockets for me to find when I helped take them for washing.
It is sad that I know more about the father who died before I was born and the mother who abandoned me than I do about a woman who loved me, told me bedtime stories, and taught me to read and write.
Seeing how worried Mama Lindsay was at that moment made it that much more nerve-wracking about what I had to say. When the words came out of my mouth, I was not sure how she would react.
“I want to join the Escort and Expedition Force.”
Mama Lindsay has been the commander of the EEF for three years. I still remember how proud I was the day that the colony president handed her the sword and crossbow. I knew on that day that I wanted to follow in her footsteps. I also knew that she wanted me to choose a safer profession.
I honestly believe that one of her biggest concerns over me was that I would get outside the walls and feel drawn to explore the world. After all, it is what made my birth mother famous.
That brings me to my birth mother. Meredith Gainey. She and my birth father, Samuel Todd, have the three best selling books of all time in the ZE (Zombie Era). You might think it is neat to be the daughter of two celebrities.
No. It’s not.
You see, there are a few different sorts when it comes to people and my parents. With Sam, it goes one of two ways; there are the creepy ones who see my father as some sort of demi-god, they get all weird when they meet me and it is actually kinda scary. And then there are the ones who have basically memorized his writings and feel the need to tell me about how “deep and philosophical” my father was as a writer.
The reactions about my mother are, shall we say, a bit different. There are some who see her as this avenging warrior. Her battle with The Genesis Brotherhood is a very popular story. There are some who see her as one of the early pioneers who blazed some sort of trail. There are others who see her as a selfish woman who stands as a reminder for a lot of what was wrong with the pre-ZE society.
I just see her as the person who abandoned me right after I was born. Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful. I had two amazing mothers who loved me and devoted their lives to making me a good person.
I can still see the look on Mama Lindsay’s face. All of that relief that came first…then the typical “motherly” concern. No, her baby was not going to follow in her birth-mother’s footsteps. Yay! Instead, she was choosing the most dangerous profession in the colony. Crap.
Saturday, June 2nd
Jenifer came over today. I guess Mama Lindsay told her about my decision. Jenifer travelled with Meredith for quite a while. She got burned up real bad during the battle with The Genesis Brotherhood.
I guess it is okay to call her “Jenifer” in my journal. Everybody else calls her “Madame President.”
She wanted to congratulate me on my decision to join the EEF. By the big deal she made of it, I could tell she was enjoying Mama Lindsay’s annoyance.
Jenifer used to be the person Mama Janie and Mama Lindsay called when they needed somebody to watch me. I guess they went through a few sitters when I was two or three because I was “a hellion” according to the stories. In an act of desperation, they called Jenifer. I guess they thought a half-burnt young woman with most of her head unable to grow hair because of all of the scars, coupled with her shriveled raisin of a left eye, would scare me straight. Instead, it seems that I formed quite a bond with her.
I was with ‘Aunt’ Jeni when I killed my first zombie. We were out picking wild blueberries when one came out of the tall grass. Creepers are the worst. Missing their lower half, they get through the picket lines more often than a walker. This one had an even bigger advantage: it was a child.
He couldn’t have been any older than six—my age at the time. His clothing had long since deteriorated, and the years had taken their toll on the belly of the wretched thing.
I remember every detail about that boy. The way you could tell his hair had been curly, even though it was so caked and matted with filth, the piece of bone that stuck out from what remained of the left leg—which was missing from just above the knee. The fact that the entire right leg stayed intact and still had a leather boot practically grafted to the foot.
Jenifer gave me a spear and told me it was time that I learned how to put one down. I thought it would be easy. You hear about it or read my birth parent’s journals and think there is nothing to it. Pop it in the head and it’s done.
It took me three tries. The first time, I jabbed and my spear scraped down one side of its face. The second time, I stabbed it through the neck. I got so mad that I kicked it onto its back and stabbed it through the eye.
I remember staring at it for what felt like just a few seconds, but it was noticeably darker when Jenifer took my hand and led me home. I must have counted each of the nine remaining ribs a couple hundred times.
Anyways, it was sweet of Jenifer to come over and wish me luck. I am pretty sure she doesn’t do that for every single person who enlists in the EEF.
Sunday, June 3rd
My last day as a civilian—so to speak. I met with a few of my friends. (It is a bit creepy with how many ‘Sams’ and ‘Merediths’ I know.) We all went out to the corridor with crossbows, sat up on the barricades, and passed around a bottle of homemade blackberry wine while we took turns dropping shamblers with the crossbow.
The parents all hate it when we do it, but kids have been doing this for years. It is some sort of ritual. Nobody knows who started it, but for some reason, if you join the EEF, you come out here on the last day. You and a few friends drink a bottle and shoot the crossbow. The winner is the person who loses the fewest bolts. I remember something in my mom’s journal about her crossbow being fitted with the retriever reel. Of course, that is standard issue now. Nobody has bolts to waste.
I do have a guy that I like…but we already talked it over and decided that we will hold off getting serious until I finish my first tour. We almost ‘did the deed’ a few nights ago, but he was super sweet and it was actually Tim who put a halt to things.
That brings me to my sweetie, Tim Coatney. He was one of the kids rescued from that mansion where The Genesis Brotherhood had their base. He works the farms and is a very BIG boy. He has this baby fine blonde hair that I love to run my fingers through and arms that make the world disappear. I know that I am going to miss him, and I know that it is possible that some other girl will scoop him up when I leave on my first run.
As I lie in bed with my candle and this silly little book, I wonder if I will be able to keep it up. I actually lost it today…it was in the dining hall at the table where I ate breakfast. I am already wondering how my birth parents carried those damn things through all the crap they went through.
TW Brown is the author of the Zomblog series and the Dead series. He is deeply immersed in pursuing his dream of being a “full-time” writer while trying to balance the duties of husband, father, friend, and Border Collie owner. He keeps busy reading and editing the numerous submissions for a variety of upcoming anthologies and full-length titles for May December Publications. He has had short stories published by Pill Hill Press, Living Dead Press, and others.
Tucked away in the Pacific Northwest with my wife Denise, a Border Collie named Aoife, a guitar collection, and an increasing number of aquariums sporting a variety of fish (cichlids are my new favorites), I live for football season when I can cheer on the Oregon Ducks and be disappointed by my Seattle Seahawks once again. I am a fan of Cookie Monster, KISS, and Dr. Who (along with most things British).
His blog can be found at:
You can contact him at:
twbrown@maydecemberpublications.com
You can follow him on twitter @maydecpub and on Facebook under Todd Brown, Author TW Brown, and also under May December Publications.
Book Links:
DEAD
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-The-Ugly-Beginning-ebook/dp/B003L202KW
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Revelations-ebook/dp/B0053CZ76M
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Fortunes-Failures-ebook/dp/B006MVYU8Y
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Winter-ebook/dp/B0087453VW
Zomblog:
http://www.amazon.com/Zomblog-ebook/dp/B003BLPGJ0
http://www.amazon.com/Zomblog-II-ebook/dp/B004GHND7U
http://www.amazon.com/Zomblog-The-Final-Entry-ebook/dp/B005IY568E
Other Titles:
http://www.amazon.com/That-Ghoul-Ava-Adventures-ebook/dp/B004NIFWOO
http://www.amazon.com/The-Exoterrestrials-ebook/dp/B009JQG55A
http://www.amazon.com/Dakota-ebook/dp/B004WSXUD0
http://www.amazon.com/Gruesomely-Grimm-Zombie-Tales-ebook/dp/B0050VXTLQ
http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-Steves-Story-ebook/dp/B00822558K
http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-Vignettes-ebook/dp/B00821TAB4
http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-The-Geeks-ebook/dp/B00821TAWI
http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-Special-Edition-Compendium-ebook/dp/B00822CMZ4
Allow me to Introduce: TW Brown
Today it is my pleasure to hand my blog over to a man who is not only a talented writer, but a friend. TW Brown is a master of horror genre, and will twist your understand of the Zombie Apocalypse upside down with his staggeringly epic Zomblog Series.
Todd is stopping by the promote his newest entry in the series. Zomblog: Snoe. Come back tomorrow for an exlcusive preview of the novel, but in the mean time, let’s take a moment and get better acquainted with the one and only… TW Brown.
From one horror writer to another, I simply must ask….
1. What is your favorite scary movie.
I do know that there is one movie that is embedded into my brain that still scares me after all these years—The Exorcist. I snuck in to see that movie in the theater when I was 6 or 7 years old and it has left a mark. However, my favorite horror movie is the original Dawn of the Dead.
2. If you could be any character in fiction, whom would you be?
Hands down, Stu Redman from The Stand.
When I was younger I got kicked out of my English class for using this classic excuse. The only thing was for me it was true.
3. Has the dog ever eaten your manuscript?
Nope. But my bulldog did eat my textbook once.
4. What do you consider your biggest failure?
Easily it would have to be me as a man from about age 22-35. I was a self-centered ass who cared little about those around him and stepped through anybody who got in the way. I was a terrible husband (with 3 ex-wives to prove it) and worse father. If I hadn’t finally come to grips with the fact that most of the problems in my life were caused by my own actions, I might not be here today.
5. Do you laugh at your own jokes?
Hell yes. They’re funny.
6. What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I have wanted to be a writer since I was about ten years old. Up until that point, I wanted to be a soldier in outer space.
7. How do you react to a bad review of one of your books?
I won’t lie and say it doesn’t sting. Still, I do accept that it is one person’s opinion. I have reached the point where my reviews are now coming from total strangers and so I am getting the untainted versions of what people think. One of my jobs at May December Publications is to select the stories for our anthologies. I purposely have all the author information stripped so that I make an unbiased opinion. I have stories that are my favorites, and then there are a few that just make it in based on the score. When I read a review that goes ga-ga over what was basically a borderline story, it reminds me that taste is very subjective.
8. What’s the most blatant lie you’ve ever told?
I promise I’ll call you tomorrow, baby.
9. What is the biggest sacrifice you have made for your writing?
Time. People do not realize how much of your life it takes up when you write. There are a lot of things that you can do where you can include others…writing is not one of them.
10. What is it about Zombies that so inspires you?
They are a global reset button. I think, as we get older, we all have things we wish we’d done different. Sometimes we wish we could go someplace and just recreate ourselves. The zombie apocalypse is the ultimate do-over.
11. I am currently reading the Zomblog Series. When you sat down to write it, did you have any idea how vast the world would become?
None. When I initially sat down, Zomblog was simply my own exercise to get my brain primed for the DEAD series. Even when we did our initial experiment with KDP, it was with Zomblog because we didn’t expect much. When it gave away 10,000 copies that weekend with no announcements or hype…I was floored. The fact that the fans of that series are so passionate about it is just so overwhelming. I have never denied that I want the DEAD series to be what I am known for, but I will always owe whatever happens to me and my writing career to Zomblog.
12. Zomblog: Snoe is set Twenty years after the first two novels. Can you give us any hints as to what has happened to the world?
Infrastructure deterioration has turned everything into cryptic monuments. Zombies have become a manageable obstacle and now, it is a wild and untamed world waiting to see who rises to power. I will say that a face from the past rears its head.
13. What is the most creative way you have come up with to kill a Zombie?
I guess I don’t give it much thought. I have always seen the zombie as a piece of the scenery. For me, I get more wrapped up in the lives of the people. Maybe I should pay closer attention.
14. I am a huge Stephen King fan. Who is your favorite Author and what one of their stories sticks in your mind the most?
All the way through It, I would say King was my number one. He lost his luster for me after that. The Stand is my favorite book of all time. If I had to choose an author now, it would be Kim Harrison. And she seems to just be getting better. Toss in George R.R. Martin because his “Game of Thrones” is absolutely epic, I just hope he finishes the series some day.
15. What books have most influenced your life most?
The Stand above all others, the Harold Lauder story arc alone is a story in itself. That is the first book I ever read and thought, “I want to do something this big.” Beyond that The Game of Thrones by Martin renewed my belief that you can knock off a few major characters if you want to get your readers fully immersed in your world. It gets real for the reader as soon as they realize that there are no “safe” characters.
16. Was there ever a time in your life when you were truly scared?
Besides that first viewing of The Exorcist? I would say the day my son’s mother had a seizure and almost died in my arms. We found out later that there can sometimes be dangerous side-effects to a complicated birth. A week after my son Cody was born, she had a massive seizure one night right after I got home from work. I was in the shower when she collapsed on the floor and started crying how she couldn’t see. Some of the after-effects of that was a loss of memory…including our first date and for a while, she couldn’t remember me or Cody.
Now for something completely different.
17. What is your favorite color
A dark forest green.
18. What is your favorite word?
Platypus.
19. What’s your favorite fruit?
Watermelon.
TW Brown is the author of the Zomblog series and the Dead series. He is deeply immersed in pursuing his dream of being a “full-time” writer while trying to balance the duties of husband, father, friend, and Border Collie owner. He keeps busy reading and editing the numerous submissions for a variety of upcoming anthologies and full-length titles for May December Publications. He has had short stories published by Pill Hill Press, Living Dead Press, and others.
Tucked away in the Pacific Northwest with my wife Denise, a Border Collie named Aoife, a guitar collection, and an increasing number of aquariums sporting a variety of fish (cichlids are my new favorites), I live for football season when I can cheer on the Oregon Ducks and be disappointed by my Seattle Seahawks once again. I am a fan of Cookie Monster, KISS, and Dr. Who (along with most things British).
His blog can be found at:
You can contact him at:
twbrown@maydecemberpublications.com
You can follow him on twitter @maydecpub and on Facebook under Todd Brown, Author TW Brown, and also under May December Publications.
Book Links:
DEAD
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-The-Ugly-Beginning-ebook/dp/B003L202KW
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Revelations-ebook/dp/B0053CZ76M
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Fortunes-Failures-ebook/dp/B006MVYU8Y
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Winter-ebook/dp/B0087453VW
Zomblog:
http://www.amazon.com/Zomblog-ebook/dp/B003BLPGJ0
http://www.amazon.com/Zomblog-II-ebook/dp/B004GHND7U
http://www.amazon.com/Zomblog-The-Final-Entry-ebook/dp/B005IY568E
Todd’s new novel Zomblog: Snoe available as of October 31st, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for it.
Other Titles:
http://www.amazon.com/That-Ghoul-Ava-Adventures-ebook/dp/B004NIFWOO
http://www.amazon.com/The-Exoterrestrials-ebook/dp/B009JQG55A
http://www.amazon.com/Dakota-ebook/dp/B004WSXUD0
http://www.amazon.com/Gruesomely-Grimm-Zombie-Tales-ebook/dp/B0050VXTLQ
http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-Steves-Story-ebook/dp/B00822558K
http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-Vignettes-ebook/dp/B00821TAB4
http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-The-Geeks-ebook/dp/B00821TAWI
http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-Special-Edition-Compendium-ebook/dp/B00822CMZ4
October 27, 2012
NaNo-Man’s Land
I find myself in a rather unusual quandary. I am but three days away from NaNo kicking off, and I am if anything further away and more confused about what I want to write.
I have several ideas bouncing around in my head, but I am not sure if they are all novels, if they are all individual or if they will be the sort of free-flowing project that NaNo is all about.
The idea I had, was but a small thing, the story line around it I cannot seem to settle on, and I find it rather disconcerting. I like the project, and know there is something there, but I don’t want to force it just for the sake of NaNo.
I could always fall back on my safety net of Highway III, but that just feels like a bit of a cop-out.
I have recently met a new character I really want to write about, but than again, the relationship is new, so maybe not NaNo material.
So I think, I will leave it all up to the writing Gods. I will wait until October 31st, and then scour the news headlines and pick one to develop. It is a challenge and being completely new, I have reduced the risk of me over thinking every page. Besides, I think it will make it fun… even more so than normal.
That being said, I will therefore be going in completely blind; no plan, no idea, and some may say, no clue.
Apart from this one minor details… a story, I am fully prepared for NaNo, and ready for the challenge of the NaNo Diary I plan to keep alongside the main project. Whether it will work I don’t know, but in any case, it will be fun to read in years to come when I am King of the Horror world…. I mean… um…
Top 5 Tips for NaNoWriMo Preparation
Hi lovelies. I’f you’re like me, you can’t ‘pants’ a novel – that is, write one by the seat of your pants. I have to know where my novel is going so that I can actually see the end – I’m a ‘plotter’. With NaNoWriMo around the corner, I’m going to share some tips on how I get ready for the event.
Another nice NaNo post. I am noticing a pattern about having a plan. At the moment I am stuck on what my story is going to be about let alone planning the finer points. It could be an interesting month.
Writer Tip Wednesday - Nano Preparation.
It’s that time of year again when writers all over the world gear up for a serious writing challenge. Nano Writer Month.
Goal? 50,000 words in 30 days.
It can seem a bit overwhelming at first. But, that breaks down to 1,667 words per day. Not quite so intimidating now, huh?
That works out to around two hours a day, three tops.
With NaNo just around the corner I thought this would be a pertinent blog to share.
Scream Queens of the 1940′s
Anne Gwynne
One of the original Scream Queens, Anne Gwynne was the face of the 1940. Born in 1918 she most notable appeared in Weird Women and the House of Frankenstein, having garnered quite the reputation for her performance in the 1940 Flash Gordon series appearing in Chapters 2, and then 6-12.
Anne was widowed in 1965 and passed away in 2003. Anne had two children and in grandmother to among others, the current Captain James T. Kirk (Actor Chris Pine)
Simone Simon
French beauty Simone Simon is arguably one of the most iconic scream queens of any era, let along the 1940′s. Her role in Cat People will forever be remembered as a performance of legend. Famous off screen for her string of lovers and affairs, she most notable had a relationship with MI5 spy Dusko Popov, which resulted in her being under FBI surveillance while filming Cat People. She never married and passed away in 2005.
Evelyn Ankers
Born in Chile to English parents, Ankers was titled Queen of the Screamers thanks to her wonderful.. vocal talent. The figurehead of many Universal horror movies during the 1940′s Ankers was often cast beside the iconic Lon Chaney Jr. in such films as The Wolfman, Son of Dracula and the Ghost of Frankenstein.
Ankers married ‘B ‘movie star Richard Denning in 1942, but the couple never had children. Ankers passed far early, succumbing to ovarian cancer just after she turned 67.
October 26, 2012
The Lords of Salem
I cannot wait to see this movie. I am a fan of Rob Zombie, say what you will about the Halloween movies, I enjoyed them, and think the man loves his horror and certainly isn’t afraid to leave his own mark on things.
Besides, anything with Sherri Moon Zombie in it is more than worth watching (a few times).
The Value of (Social Media) Friendship
This post was inspired by a Facebook Update from the incredibly talented and completely wonderful Kristen Lamb
In the post Kristen talked about how people seem to underestimate or utterly slam Social Media friendships. Why? Is it not a real friendship if you have never met? Is it because you don’t talk on the phone or meet once a week for a run or a few drinks in the local pub on a Friday evening. Is that really how we have been taught to judge friendships by?
I was bought a drink by a friend of a friend in the pub once, about 10 years ago. I’ve neither seen nor spoken to him since, in any way shape or form, yet, but some twisted social convention I am supposed to class him as a friend but not someone who I talk to every day on Facebook / Twitter etc?
Have all all gone insane…
Ok, it’s a bad pun, but it’s Friday
Let’s take a quick look at what Friendship really means shall we
Friendship is a relationship between two people who hold mutual affection for each other.[ Friendships and acquaintanceship are thought of as spanning across the same continuum .The value of friendship is often the result of friends consistently demonstrating the following:
The tendency to desire what is best for the other
Sympathy and empathy
Honesty, even in situations where it may be difficult for others to speak the truth
Mutual understanding and compassion; ability to go to each other for emotional support
Enjoyment of each other’s company
Trust in one another
Positively strong, deep, close reciprocity, mutuality — equal give-and-take between the two parties
The ability to be oneself, express one’s feelings and make mistakes without fear of judgment
I have read the above several times and I cannot see anything that specifically states that a friendship can only be titled as such providing that the interactions occur with all participants within a certain proximity to one another.
I can say for sure that I have had friends over the years who would fail on all or most of the points above, yet I am still to consider them friends, when I know my true social media friendships tick every box. As I hope I do in return.
Friendship is about having someone you can count one, someone you can talk to about anything, it doesn’t care about distance if you have ever met face to face. I have made numerous friends on Facebook, real friends, who have touch my life, and whose experiences I have shared in, we have laughed and cried, been up and down. I have a great deal more acquaintances, and that is the key thing. In real time face to face interactions, we can easily distinguish to others who is a friend and who is an acquaintance. Online it is that much hard, but it doesn’t matter. A real friendship doesn’t have to be advertised, because the only people who need to know about it, already do.
October 25, 2012
Zomblog: Snoe Teaser from TW Brown
Reblogged from Armand Rosamilia:
I hope you enjoyed the guest blog with TW Brown yesterday about his newest release, Zomblog: Snoe. Today he was kind enough to offer a small sample of the story for you! And if you like what you read, you can grab yourself a Kindle copy!
Friday, June 1st
Five years ago, I received my mother’s journal. Now, at age nineteen, I think I have the discipline to begin one myself.
A teaser from one of the novels that I am most looking forward seeing hit the shelves. Zomblog: Snoe from the amazing TW Brown.
