First up...

With the coming year, I am hoping to launch a new series and generate as much buzz as Indie sensation-now-bestselling-author, H.P Mallory. For those of you who have read my zombie stuff, there is a certain expectation you hold me to that I try my best to maintain. My That Ghoul Ava books will be a departure in that they are supposed to be somewhat humorous.

One of the new frontiers for me will be the exploration of the audio book. I already have two in production through ACX. The narrator for Ava was "love at first listen" for me. I only hope that this will be a big enough success that she will continue to stay with the series for the duration. Celia Aurora de Blas IS Ava's voice. When you hear her...you will know why I am so excited.

So, stay tuned...this year has the potential to be something special. I will also be announcing a merchandise line very shortly. Yep, it just keeps getting better.

One final note, in trying to build a schedule (thank you OCD) that will allow me to balance blogs, editing, interviews, writing, and "regular" life, my normal schedule for blog posts will be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Here's to 100 more!

First, I want to thank every single non-web bot that came here and visited my little corner of the blog world. So many of you have been beyond kind. I have to admit, when I get comments, or see a new review on Amazon, or get a fan letter/email out of the blue (that still blows my mind every single time), or--and this is my evil addiction--I check my sales numbers on Amazon and see that I have sold over 1,000 books in a single month (almost equaling the TOTAL from last year in 30 days!), I am just overwhelmed. What each of you who have taken the time to read one  (or several) of my books do not realize, is that by doing so, YOU have made a person's dream come true. I get to WRITE FOR A LIVING. I may not be raking in the big bucks, but just the difference from last year to this year is so dramatic that I simply can not get over it. So, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

So how can I show you individually that I do actually mean what I say? I figure the best way I know is to offer you FREE STUFF! So, you heard it here first...September 18th (my 47th birthday...yikes), I will be offering up ALL THREE of my Zomblog (Zomblog, Zomblog II, and Zomblog: The Final Entry) books for one day on KDP. But that's not all, I will also put up Dakota, That Ghoul Ava, AND Dead: The Ugly Beginning. "But wait!" you may be saying. "Everybody gets that...I thought I was special." You are, and that is why I have RIGHT here for you my special offer. I will give you DEAD: The Special Edition Compendium free from Smashwords. The code is: LH93Y. Also, how about our newest anthology...Spiders. Again, here is the free code: PX29Q  . These are good until Monday, September 10th.

Not good enough? Okay. You send me an email and I will send you the MP3 file of your choice...in fact, you can have them ALL if you like! You can choose from "Should I Stay or Should I Go(The Clash)", "Santeria(Sublime)", "Tomorrow(by Silver Chair)", "Stranger Things Have Happened(Foo Fighters)" or "Summer Melt(the first song I ever wrote, an all instrumental piece)". I do vocals and lead guitar on all the tracks; the first 3 are live concert recordings. (Stranger Things I actually do 3 of the 4 guitar parts, it is a studio piece). Those are just for you. And finally...because some of you refused to allow Zomblog to end, this Halloween is the release for the fourth book, Zomblog: Snoe. Since there was such a great demand from many of you to have "guest appearances" in the DEAD series, I have decided to choose one of you to be Snoe's "companion" in Book 5. (Kind of like travelling with the Doctor in the Tardis...but no space and time travel...oh yeah...and zombies.) How do you win? Simple. In 50 words, tell me why you think you would survive the zombie apocalypse. The winner will be chosen at random and all entrants will ALSO be put in a drawing for a signed copy of Zomblog: Snoe.

So, while I may not have any movie offers yet, and I still can't quite crack the Top 100 in SALES in Amazon Horror (I do it in the freebies all the time, just not when it comes to folks shelling the bucks...but soon, I believe 2013 will be the year I break into that list), I am doing well enough that it just feels right to give some of that to YOU. After all, if you weren't here...I would still be doing a early morning paper route and spending half my pay just on gas and vehicle maintenance...or bar tending(God forbid...never good to have a person with a drinking problem serving booze). But you have given me a gift I will never be able to thank you enough for...so if you are ever in the Portland area...give me a holler. I'll fire up the BBQ.

So, on behalf of my family(that includes my Border Collie, Aoife), thanks so very much for being a part of my dream come true. Now, go get your presents!

Radio days, the Olympic Games and That Ghoul Ava

Several years ago, I was a sports talk radio host. This was way back when station owners were people...not corporate conglomerates. The problem faced back then was what to do with the AM station. A few came up with the idea of talking about sports. I was fortunate to get an opportunity in a major market (Portland, Oregon) and enjoyed my short stint in radio. However, it was a small assignment where I hit my stride...I was able to write for a few morning show comedy bits. What does that have to do with anything? Very little, except for the announcement that I am pleased to welcome an old friend as a guest on my blog. On a walk with my dog, a voice from my past called me out and asked me why I wasn't sharing my love of sports with folks. "All you talk about is zombies. People are gonna think you're a freak." Starting Wednesday, Vinnie DeSporto will add his two cents worth right here. 

I have scanned my calendar and looked at what I have coming up in the next few months. Of all the projects, I think I am the most excited about my first full length run of a That Ghoul Ava adventure tentatively titled That Ghoul Ava Kicks Some Faerie Ass. For those of you not familiar with Ava, she is--no surprise-- a ghoul. Ava eats the already dead (because eating a live person would be gross). Ava lives in Portland, Oregon and has discovered a thriving supernatural community that lives under the radar of the human conscious. She is snarky, rebellious, and struggling to accept her new reality(think a female Bruce Campbell). The Ava stories are light-hearted and funny (I hope). I hope you will learn to love her as much as I do.

No rants today. In the spirit of the Olympic Games, I want to wish EVERY athlete the best. I heard a comedian do a bit on the games. He talks about how everybody knows who the winners are, but there is always that one person who comes in last and from the comfort of our couch, recliner, or bar stool, we say things like "That person shoulda trained harder." It would be great if they would pluck a spectator out of the crowd before each event to represent the rest of humanity. That would allow us to truly appreciate just how amazing these freaks of nature really are. So, today's note--the cyclists will be biking a distance of 250km (that's 155.343 miles to us Americans) for almost six hours through the beautiful English countryside at a pace of 25 miles per hour--so, one mile in about 2.4 minutes or 144 seconds. Grab your bike, mark off a short 2 miles and then pedal for all you are worth. Now realize that the cyclists will keep that pace for SIX hours.