What a title. I’m saving the best for last, though.
I needed to rework Deadlocked‘s ending. The previous one didn’t feel perfect, which simply will not do at all. I may play with the order the stories come in, after Bedlam. Speaking of Bedlam, I just finished its outline. It certainly lives up to the name, lets just say that.
In news that is awesome, The Zombie’s Bride just got a review from Double Shot Reviews. Head on over and check out what they’re saying, then download the story for free!
You heard it here, and maybe during my self-congratulatory tweets last night. Deadlocked‘s first draft is finally complete! I really struggled with this one, lots of stupid life-stress caused huge amounts of writer’s block. But, I crawled forward in 200-word blocks until the end, where a few more substantive writing sessions finally finished it.
Today, I’m going to be taking the Red Pen of Doom to this lovely manuscript, to fix the damage writing in 200-word segments can do, general coherence and to tighten up my descriptiveness and prose. Whatever prose really means.
In other news, The Zombie’s Bride is approaching 2500 downloads. That’s a nice number, but it seems to have little to no effect on sales. I’ll focus more on the main Zombie Bedtime Stories plot line for now, as I want Bedlam to be released by Christmas. This is, of course, barring extenuating circumstances, such as finding full-time work.
Finally, some artwork. My recently was able to get my hands on a Wacom Bamboo Fun tablet courtesy of my boyfriend’s wonderful negotiation skills. After figuring out how to draw with it, and a crash self-taught course in Photoshop Elements, I came up with this little thing:
Brains
My cover artist‘s job is safe.
At long last, Amazon has made The Zombie’s Bride free for Kindle. This is not a limited time offer, I consider it to be a sampler of my work, put out there as a way to entice people into trying my other work (notably, the Zombie Bedtime Stories.) So please, download it early, and often!
It’s interesting to note that I’ve moved 560+ copies in one day as of this writing. It’s pretty well ranked, and I’m hoping that good things will come of it!
In other good news, I’m pretty hopeful for even more reviews to be out within the next week, thanks to some nice blogger-types. Now, all I have to do is finish Deadlocked already, and I’ll be set for meeting October goals.
October goals:
You read that right. I got a review for Zombie Pride! It’s from the nice people with the Zombie Response Team. If you haven’t checked out Zombie Pride yet, now you can read exactly what you’re missing out on! Don’t worry, it being free isn’t a limited time offer.
In other news, Deadlocked is almost finished. I have to write the conclusion/closing, and it’s time for edits. You’ll see a blurb and cover within the next couple of weeks. I’m excited with how it’s turning out. I’ve been slow writing it, but the deliberate pace seems to have an overall positive effect.
I want to write most of part 4, Bedlam, during October. I’m (liberal estimate) hoping to have part 4 out by Christmas. There’s going to be a delay called NaNoWriMo, but let’s just say that I’m conjuring up something quite different during that month from what you’re used to. Of course, it won’t be available for a long time, so it honestly doesn’t really matter.
That’s right, I said free. My beloved cover artist came up with a suitably nice cover, and now, I’m showing it off to the world, for your reading pleasure.
My Bite-Sized Zombie Stories exist in the same universe as Zombie Bedtime Stories, but they do not follow the story chronology and do not carry on the plot. They’re essentially me killing nasty people with zombies for the amusement of all. The nasty people totally asked for it and deserved it, so no sympathetic characters were harmed in the making of these stories. However, sometimes, a sympathetic character will be mentioned. (Haley from Locked In was mentioned in The Zombie’s Bride, for instance. I wonder why she stopped answering her phone. Hmm.)
Check out the cover art:
Zombie Pride Cover
And now, for links:
Kindle Version (not free yet, that apparently takes a while. I won’t complain if anyone buys it, however.)
Of course, I plan on creating a YouTube video for Zombie Pride, which I will create when I’m over this stupid flu-type bug. I also plan on doing a reading of Locked Out chapter 1.
Today was either objectively terrible and great. Terrible because of circumstances entirely out of my control. Great because I had a very productive day with respect to writing.
To cheer myself up, I’ve decided to polish up my latest zombie flash fiction. (with a little help from my friends, of course – get a blog or something so I can properly credit/praise you!) My logic is, if I make somebody smile, I’ll feel good, and to quote the late (and great) Jack Layton:
“My friends: Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair.” – Jack Layton
I have to say, those words really inspired me. While I may have no aspirations towards political life, I find these are words to live by. So, even though it feels like my life is falling apart, I know there is hope and I need to stay away from the trap of despair.
But you’re not here to listen to me wax poetic about Jack Layton’s philosophies, or my life. You want some zombies.
Don’t worry, I deliver. This will eventually make its way to Smashwords and Amazon, but I have no cover art as of yet.
Content Warnings: Violence (zombies), mature situations (zombies), may not be suitable for the comedically impaired.
Zombie Pride:
The steering wheel was slick with Rex Parson’s sweat. He was a stout, rotund little man. He wore oversized sunglasses that dominated the upper-half of his face. He was sweating profusely under the hot sun. He was anxious, and excited to do God’s work. He was a preacher in a small town church, and he was known for his strength of faith and conviction that homosexuality could be cured through prayer. As he drove to the city’s first annual Gay Pride parade, he felt a quiver of trepidation in his gut. The blatant immorality had to be stopped, and he was the one who was going to show those vile homosexuals that God was to be feared!
He reflected on the hours he’d spent alone at his computer, researching the complete moral degradation that was present at any Pride event. The images of the men’s perfectly toned, oiled bodies made his heart race, and he’d had trouble looking away from them. He knew the lifestyle was sin, and that it was his place to show the wrongdoers the errors of their ways before they tempted weaker souls. He’d decided to undertake this trip alone. He didn’t want to expose his congregation to this blasphemy. This was his trial, his war against the sordid abyss.
He expected the worst–a celebration of blatant carnality in defiance of God and all his laws. He knew he was the last thing that stood between the average person and acceptance of this abomination. He knew the weak-minded women and children would be easily swayed by the display of rippling, masculine perfection, and they would spread the disease of tolerance and appeasement to the rest of their population. Just as they lead Adam to sin, they would lead society to its secular downfall.
He pulled into an available parking spot about a block from the parade route. He seized his well-worn Bible from the passenger’s seat. He would don the armor of God spiritually, but physically, all he had was the Good Book. He would smite any and all who tried to force temptation upon him! He was the last pure soul.
The harsh sun glistened on his balding head. He saw a woman, her exotic costume’s wings torn and dragging behind her, running from the parade. She didn’t turn to look back. It was a clear sign from God–he was needed here to quell the rampant immortality before more minds fell under the sway of the devil.
He charged to the street corner and looked towards the awesome chaos. Bodies lay trampled in the middle of the streets, and shop windows had been smashed. The bright colors of the parade’s decor were strewn across the ground. Rex stepped over a barely-clothed man’s battered and bloody body. The man grasped at Rex’s leg and Rex kicked his arm away in revulsion as he continued towards the epicenter of the strife. He held his Bible tight against his chest, secure in the belief that God would protect him from evil.
A cacophony of terrorized screams echoed around the buildings, the sounds twisting together to become one harmonic, agonized voice. The symphony of horror was punctuated by ghoulish shrieks and howls. A bloody man wearing only black leather chaps leapt from an alleyway and raced towards Rex. “They’re coming! Run!” the man cried out breathlessly. Rex found himself distracted by the man’s powerful, intimidating physique.
“God will protect me!” Rex uttered with contempt. Clearly, this fear and chaos was divine retribution from God. There was no other explanation.
Rex began walking down the alley. He saw three figures crouched over somebody. Their backs were turned to him and they moved frantically over the fallen man. He knew this was his time. “Sinners! Repent and open your hearts to our Lord, Jesus Christ!” he shouted, speaking with a familiarity gleaned from performing so many prayer sessions for homosexual deviants. He knew exactly what they needed to hear.
The forms stirred in the distance. They turned to face him. They were all women, hair cropped short and dressed in simple jeans and white t-shirts. Under normal circumstances, Rex would have admonished them for abandoning the femininity that was demanded of them, but not this time. As they stood, they revealed the still-twitching body of a man, and they turned their faces, smeared in blood, towards him. They were coated in crimson essence from the neck-down, and it soaked through their t-shirts, which clung to their swaying breasts.
Rex took a step back; his hands trembling as they grasped his heavy Bible. He didn’t know what these demon women were, but he knew it wasn’t of God. “Jesus said: I am the way, the –” he said, but he was cut off by their infernal howls. He froze. The sound wasn’t natural.
The women ran towards him, leaping over gruesomely disfigured bodies. He raised his Bible; it was the only object he had to defend himself with. One of them pulled ahead of the others. He swung the hefty book, hitting her in the face. She shrieked as she careened into the wall. The others were gaining ground, close behind her. Rex braced himself and readied his Bible for another smite. It had a bloody imprint on it where it hit the first woman’s face.
He swung the book with all his strength, grazing a stocky blonde-haired woman. She leapt for him and her weight knocked them both to the ground. Rex felt his head slam painfully against the pavement, and the impact knocked the wind from his lungs. As he flailed against the formidable strength of his ungodly assailant, his Bible dropped from his left hand. He felt vulnerable and unprotected for the first time in his life.
The second woman, a brunette with large brown eyes dove onto him, immediately sinking her teeth into his exposed throat. Rex tried to scream despite his painfully empty lungs, but he could not. His arms shook, but would not respond to his will. Fear overcame him as the blonde woman shoved her face into his exposed jowls as she tore the flesh from his face. He couldn’t breathe, and the taste of his own blood crept into his mouth through his ruined face. His world turned red with pain, he couldn’t help but ponder: Why has God forsaken me?
But, it’s not here yet. I said Sept 5, and that gives me plenty of time to ruminate on its “doneness.” Plus, I want to read it out loud to myself. It’s a great way to catch stupid typos. I am of the opinion that I need to read everything I want taken seriously aloud, simply because of the proportional relationship between work importance and stupid typos.
In layman’s terms: The more important a document is, the more likely I am to, for instance, write dick instead of disk. I almost turned in a paper with that one. Glad I caught it.
Now that it’s in an almost finished condition, I’m let with the challenge of promoting it. I have some awesome friends who will be thrilled to assist, but I’d love to get some new eyes.
Some of my ideas:
It’s hard to call Locked Out a sequel to Locked In, because they have vastly different premises. They share a universe, and the realities are the same. I think they can be read in any order. Right now, I’m telling stories about people who are completely unprepared for the horror that awaits them.
At this time, I have a total of 15 stories planned for Zombie Bedtime Stories. The first two are written, and the third is nearing completion of its first draft. This does not count the Bite Sized Zombies stories I put out occasionally for comic relief.
Trust me, it’s going to be a wild ride. I’d love to hear your thoughts on my list, what you think of the overall premise. I’d even love to hear if you think I’ll finish the series before zombies lose their popularity. (Never!)
I hope everyone is having a nice weekend.
I recorded myself reading The Zombie’s Bride on YouTube. It’s hopefully the first of many readings.
In other news, I get the draft of Locked Out back tomorrow. Double yay! It’s much improved, and apparently it is darkly hilarious. Possibly in ways I didn’t intend, but that’s even better.
It’s hard to update when it feels like you’re standing still. I’ve been managing about 400 words/day on Deadlocked. I think it should pick up soon, because it’s approaching what I do best: a bloodbath (or 3, I don’t want to leave my audience unfulfilled.) I’ll just say I have a vivid imagination.
Deadlocked is challenging to write. The character is so jaded, cynical and introspective it’s like writing a villain. I’d compare him to an anti-hero. He’s challenging, complicated and deeply hurt. He wants the world to improve, but knows (even before surprise! zombies!) that it will only get worse.
I think I’ll have the draft done this week. I’m hoping for an early-October release.
I’m also working on another flash-zombie short called Zombie Pride. It continues along the theme of people who deserve to get themselves eaten by zombies in situations that are entirely their fault.
I got around to cleaning up The Zombie’s Bride, and uploaded it to Smashwords. I’m very fortunate to have a creative and dedicated cover artist. Like my covers? He’s willing to take on work.
Let’s have a look at the picture, both because I really like it, and I want a picture in here.
The Zombie's Bride cover
Isn’t it great?
So, I know you want to read it, you know you want to read it. So read it. It’s free!
I have a few more of these cooking, all featuring protagonists who deserve a zombie apocalypse on their doorstep.
Thea Gregory's Zombie Bedtime Stories 
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