Press Release: Dead Stay Dead by Paul Jessup (The Zombie Feed)

Dead Stay Dead by Paul Jessup

From the press release:

"What do you get when you cross Buffy, the Vampire Slayer with equal parts Shaun of the Dead? Well… we’re not sure, but Paul Jessup’s Dead Stay Dead does an admirable job of trying!

Natasha is a ghost whisperer. Her roommate is a gypsy able to explode heads Scanners style with her mind. And campus has been overrun by zombies. What’s a girl to do?

In Jessup’s fast-paced, gore-packed novella you’ll follow Natasha as she attempts to save her school (and humanity, she supposes) from an impending apocalypse. Funny, bizarre, and even a bit sad, fans of hardcore zombie fiction will find plenty to enjoy in Dead Stay Dead.”



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Paul Jessup is a critically acclaimed writer of fantastical fiction. He’s been published in many magazines, both offline and on, with two books published in 2009 (short novel, Open Your Eyes and the short story collection Glass Coffin Girls) and a third in 2010 (the illustrated book, Werewolves). You can visit Paul’s web home at http://www.pauljessup.com

Publicist: Harry Markov, harry.markov.tzf@gmail.com

News From The Zombie Feed

The Zombie Feed, vol. 1 edited by Jason Sizemore is up for pre-order, signed by the editor. The offer runs from February the 21st to March the 29th. The link to the offer: http://thezombiefeed.biz/pre-orders-the-zombie-feed-vol-i/



 

Former Stoker Award-nominated editor Jason Sizemore compiles seventeen tasty, brainy morsels of zombie short fiction in The Zombie Feed: Volume 1.

Zombie fiction from many sub-genres are represented here: zombie apocalypse, zombie survival, zombies in human society, zombie hunters, and more. And the one thread interlocking these disparate groups–ZOMBIE MAYHEM! This action packed anthology takes a syringe full of contaminated adrenaline-laced undead and slams 1000 CCs directly into your chest cavity.

Fast paced, yet thoughtful, The Zombie Feed: Volume 1 will sate your appetite… at least temporarily.

The volume will include:

Undead Introduction by Jason Sizemore
Cold Comfort by Nathaniel Tapley
This Final December Day by Lee Thompson
What's Next? by Elaine Blose
Rabid Raccoons by Kristin Dearborn
The Twenty-Three Second Anomaly by Ray Wallace
Not Dead by BJ Burrow
Tomorrow's Precious Lambs by Monica Valentinelli
The Fare by Lucien Soulban
A Shepherd Of The Valley by Maggie Jamison
Broken Bough by Daniel I. Russell
The Last Generation by Joe Nazare
Goddamn Electric by K. Allen Wood
Hipsters In Love by Danger Slater
The Sickness Unto Death by Brandon Alspaugh
Lifeboat by Simon McCaffrey
Zombies On The Moon by Andrew C. Porter
Biten by Eugene Johnson




About the Editor:

Jason Sizemore is the owner and operator of Apex Publications. He also writes and edits, earning a Bram Stoker Award nomination for his first book, Aegri Somnia. He’s seen over thirty short stories published and four anthologies. He maintains a website at www.jason-sizemore.com.



Publicist: Harry Markov, harry.markov.tzf@gmail.com

Miscellany

Here are some things I came across while reading my favorite blogs; enjoy!

At Floor to Ceiling Books Amanda had two great articles: "Reclaiming The Monster", a list of 10 novels (which I whole heartedly agree with) that celebrates the vampire in all its toothy evil, and "The Ten Commandments of Blogging" which are just very nice words to live by...

Over at Fantasy Book Critic a post announcing Michael Sullivan's Ryria Revelations and Orbit...

At The Steampunk Opera a post showcasing steampunk art based on fairy tales...

Check them out!  Good reading!

New Steampunk Anthology From Echelon Press

On Monday February 14th, Karen Syed from Echelon Press announced an upcoming Steampunk anthology named Her Majesty's Mysterious Conveyance to be released May 2011.  Some of the authors featured will be Nick Valentino (aka Sir Thomas Riley), Sean Hayden, Kim Lankin-Smith, Jennifer Williams and the wonderful Adam Christopher.

I'm very excited about this anthology and as details come out will keep you posted here.  Congratulations to all the authors!

A Chat With Mark Allan Gunnells

Today we're lucky enough to interview author Mark Allan Gunnells whose new zombie novella ASYLUM has recently been released from The Zombie Feed.  I thoroughly enjoyed ASYLUM and was excited to be able to chat with Mark and find out more about the man behind the story...

Hello Mark, it's a pleasure to have you here on Betwixt! Can you give the readers who may be unfamiliar with you and your work a brief introduction of yourself?


Well, I wish I had something very interesting to tell about myself. I’m actually kind of a boring guy. I work, I read, I write, I watch Buffy on DVD…rinse and repeat. However, a lot of interesting things are always happening in my imagination, resulting in what I hope are some entertaining stories.

Your new novella ASYLUM just got released by The Zombie Feed; I thought it was fantastic! Where did you get the idea for this story? Did you have any trepidations about the gay angle of your story? Was it harder to publish it?

I’ve long been a fan of the Romero zombie films, that formula of a disparate group of people barricaded together against an onslaught of the undead. It’s a great way to explore characters, friction between different types of people, the power dynamics. To me, that’s the interesting part of those kinds of stories. As a gay man, however, I used to watch these movies and think, “Why are there never any gay survivors?” That really stuck out to me, how we were never represented in such tales. So I wanted to write a story with the familiar formula but introduce characters that readers might not used to be seeing.

As for whether or not I had any trepidations about the gay angle of the story…truth is, I don’t write that way. When I’m in the midst of creating a story, I rarely give a thought to publication. So I’m not worried about how publishers will view it or readers. I basically write whatever the hell it occurs to me to write then try to entertain myself. Only when I’m done do I start pondering markets and publishers and things like that.

I did have a hard time getting this one published. I actually had almost given up on ever finding a home for it. It wasn’t just the gay aspect that made it had to place, although I’m sure there were some publishers that shied away from that. For some publishers it was too traditional, even with the inclusion of the nontraditional characters. For others, it focused a little too much on character and not enough on horror. These were all things I understood, but I still felt passionately about the tale and was so happy Jason Sizemore at The Zombie Feed accepted it.

I’m glad they accepted it, too or we all would have missed out on a great tale! And I for one loved that it was so character driven... so you’ve always been a horror fan from way back; do you only write in the horror genre? How has your road to publication been as a gay man?

Horror has always been my genre, from a very young age. I was walking down to the local one-screen theater to see the newest Halloween, Nightmare, and Friday films long before I should have actually been allowed in. I’ve been reading horror fiction from a young age as well. Now horror isn’t all I enjoy, and I do write outside the genre, but horror is my first love and my truest passion, and I keep returning to it.

The road to publication has been rough, but I think it is for most, and I don’t think my being gay had anything to do with it. Honestly, at least half the stories I write don’t even feature gay characters, and those that do often treat the sexuality of the characters as merely a mundane trait like eye color or height. ASYLUM is one of the few that really delves deeply into gay issues.

Who has been an influence on you as a writer?

That’s a hard question. I try not to emulate anyone really, but there are many writers I admire and in some cases envy. If I had an idol it would be Joe R. Lansdale, who shows such an eclectic mix of interests, crosses genres with ease, shows how powerful simplicity can be, and seems adept at both shorts and novels. As someone who loves short stories, Clive Barker is someone I admire because he came to prominence for collections before he started putting out novels; also as a gay man I admire his openness. It may be cliché, but King is someone whose talent I respect and who seems to have maintained a genuine passion for storytelling despite all the fortune and fame.

Those are all amazing storytellers and Clive Barker is just...WOW!

How has it been working with the team at The Zombie Feed? It must be exciting to be the FIRST author published by this new imprint!

The team at TZF have been absolutely terrific. They took a chance on this novella and have worked tirelessly to promote it. My experience with them has been a dream and I hope to work with them again in the future. And I was quite honored to be the first TZF release. Honored and humbled.

What else do our readers have to look forward from you?

Yes, I currently have a book, WHISONANT/CREATURES OF THE LIGHT, out from Sideshow Press that features two novellas and is designed as a flipbook, one story with its own cover on one side then flip it upside down and turn it over and you have the second story with its own cover. http://sideshowpressonline.com/?page_id=4&category=3&product_id=28.  My short story collection TALES FROM THE MIDNIGHT SHIFT VOL. I will also be out from Sideshow this winter. And finally, I have a digital short entitled “Dancing in the Dark” available from Darkside Digital.  http://www.darkside-digital.com/dancing-in-the-dark-by-mark-allan-gunnells.html

They both sound great, Mark; I can’t wait to read them! Thank you for taking the time to sit down with me here in my lil’ ol’ piece of the blogosphere and I look forward to more awesome reads from you!