Life After The Undead by Pembroke Sinclair

Life After The Undead by Pembroke Sinclair
Published by: Booktrope Publishing
Publication date: October 27th 2015
Genres: Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult, Zombies

Seventeen-year-old Krista must  quickly figure out how she’s going to survive in the zombie-destroyed  world. The one advantage humans have is that the zombies hate humid  environments, so they’re migrating west to escape its deteriorating  effects. The survivors plan to construct a wall at North Platte to keep  the undead out, and Krista has come to Nebraska to start a new life. 

Zombies aren’t the only creatures she has to be cautious of—the other  survivors have a dark side. Krista must fight not only to live but also  to defend everything she holds dear—her country, her freedom, and  ultimately, those she loves. 

Join Krista in her quest to survive in this thrilling apocalyptic novel by Pembroke Sinclair. 

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Behind the Story: Life After the Undead
By Pembroke Sinclair

I am fascinated with zombies—obsessed, if you will—and I have been since the first time I watched Night of the Living Dead many, many years ago. When I get really stressed out, I often dream of the undead and have to find ways to fight against them. That is where the inspiration for Life After the Undead came from.

The dream occurred several years ago, and while I don’t remember the exact details, I recall that my spouse and I were hiding in a small town while all of the zombies were migrating through. They were heading West so the humidity didn’t cause them to deteriorate faster. I woke up and thought, “Hey, that’s a great idea!”  So I fleshed out the story.

It started out as a short story focusing on one small snippet in time. That story was published somewhere (I can’t remember and it’s no longer linked on my blog), and then I decided to expand it into a novel.

The first attempt was an adult novel. I’m fairly certain there were some cuss words in it and a bit more carnage. I decided to send out queries for the story to agents. For the first round, I sent it to 31 agents, all of which rejected it, except one who suggested I turn it into a young adult novel and then resubmit. 

So I did. This required me to clean up the language a bit, take out some of the gore (although it still has its fair share), and make my main character a bit more naïve. I believe I also changed it from third person to first person. I sent it back in, feeling pretty good, and then she rejected it. But that didn’t discourage me. I sent it out again as a young adult novel.

For the second round, I queried 28 agents, all of whom rejected it. After that, I sent it to a few indie publishers, and one of them picked it up. I met a book cover designer online who painted (honest to goodness painted!) covers, so I commissioned him to create the cover. 

The way the deal worked was that he would send the cover idea, then it was up to the publishing company to put on the title and my byline, which they did. The artist was then free to sell the original painting, which he did. However, I decided that I liked it so much I wanted one for my collection, so I asked him to create me another with my title and byline on it. It wasn’t something he normally did, but he did it for me. The painting proudly hangs in my house.

Life After the Undead is one of my favorite stories. One of the things I like so much about zombies is that they allow me to explore the question of what it means to be human. That’s a theme that runs through a lot of my books. Plus, I just really like zombies.

As the years went by, I wanted to breathe some life back into the story (pun intended), so I decided to republish with another publishing house. This allowed me to go back and make edits, expand the story and take out some things that bothered me, and I got a new cover. 

It was a lot of fun to go back and reread the story and make changes. I’m feeling pretty good about the story, and I think it’s closer to my vision of how I originally imagined it. Every time I reread it, I find a new aspect that makes me enjoy the story all over again. 

I would have imagined that after all this time and changes the story would get old, but it hasn’t. It’s still one of my favorites.

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Jessica Robinson is an editor by day and a zombie-killer by night (at least in her books). Since the first time she watched Night of the Living Dead, she has been obsessed with zombies and often thinks of ways to survive the uprising. In addition to her nonfiction book, under the pen name Pembroke Sinclair, she has written YA novels about zombies and the tough teens who survive the apocalyptic world. She has also written nonfiction stories for Serial Killer Magazine and published a book about slasher films called Life Lessons from Slasher Films.  

Author Links:

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ZIA, The Teenage Zombie & The Undead Diaries by Angela Scott

ZIA, The Teenage Zombie & the Undead Diaries
by Angela Scott
Release date: September 20th 2015

Summary from Goodreads:

Zia would give anything to be a typical teenager... again. Heck, she’d settle for being a vampire or smelly werewolf, but a member of the walking dead? The lowliest of all the monsters? No way! Nothing is worse than being a skin-sloughing, limb-losing, maggot-housing, brain-craving undead girl. Nothing.

It wouldn’t be so bad if humans didn’t insist on “Living Impaireds” wearing bands to keep their insatiable appetites in check. And if LIs want to coexist with humans, then rules must be followed, no matter how ludicrous they might seem. Why do undead teenagers have to go to high school anyway?

Zia does her best to blend in and go unnoticed, but when a new group of LIs are bused in from another school and she finds herself part of a growing horde, all bets are off.

Besides, rules are meant to be broken—especially when an unbeating heart is pulled in two different directions.

Buy Links:

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Excerpt:

"Hey, you dropped something." 

I turn around, surprised anyone else was in the hall with me, and see Eli holding something of mine in his hand.   

I’m not sure what to make of this or even where he came from—most likely the stoner boys’bathroom where he snuck a smoke or something. He’s popular in a dangerous, non-lethal, totally human way. He’s been mistaken for a vamp before, with his dark leather jacket and the usual black pants. He isn’t a vamp at all. He just dresses like one.   

Eli Olsen is a normal human. Why is he talking to me?   

I retrace a few of my steps and he meets me in the middle. He holds his hand out toward me, and I’m immediately petrified and embarrassed.   

He’s holding my finger in the palm of his hand. My finger! 

"Oh my gosh!" I look down at my hand, hoping beyond all hope the finger he is holding isn’t mine. But it is. It fell off and I didn’t even realize it. "I’m so sorry." I snatch it from his hand. When I look at his face, I don’t see any hint of horror. He stands there as if he was handing me a piece of gum or something equally common and not my detached finger.   

The bell rings and I hurry and shove it in my pocket, not sure what else to do with it. Kids file out of the classroom and push past, for the most part ignoring us. I turn to leave since I’m already running behind and also want to hide my utter humiliation.   

Eli grabs my arm and stops me. "I can fix that," he says, motioning to the finger in my pocket. "That is, if you want me to." 

I still don’t understand why he is talking to me. He never talked to me before I was a zombie; we didn’t run in the same circles. "Okay." I’m not sure why I say that. Maybe because I had no idea what to do with my finger, anyway.   

He starts to walk away, heading in the opposite direction, but calls back, "Meet me in Mr. T’s room after school." 

I nod, but worry this might be some sort of sick joke. Humans think it’s funny to mock and terrorize us. We’re the monsters, but they’re the bullies. 

***

About the Author

I hear voices. Tiny fictional people sit on my shoulders and whisper their stories in my ear. Instead of medicating myself, I decided to pick up a pen, write down everything those voices tell me, and turn it into a book. I’m not crazy. I’m an author.

For the most part, I write contemporary Young Adult novels. However, through a writing exercise that spiraled out of control, I found myself writing about zombies terrorizing the Wild Wild West—and loving it. My zombies don’t sparkle, and they definitely don’t cuddle. At least, I wouldn’t suggest it.

I live on the benches of the beautiful Wasatch Mountains with two lovely children, one teenager, and a very patient husband. I graduated from Utah State University with a B.A. degree in English, not because of my love for the written word, but because it was the only major that didn’t require math. I can’t spell, and grammar is my arch nemesis. But they gave me the degree, and there are no take backs.

As a child, I never sucked on a pacifier; I chewed on a pencil. I’ve been writing that long. It has only been the past few years that I’ve pursued it professionally, forged relationships with other like-minded individuals, and determined to make a career out of it. 

Author Links:

   

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Four by Zack Scott

Welcome to my tour stop for Four (Their Dead Lives #1) by Zack Scott. This is a zombie apocalypse horror, comedy, action & adventure. The tour runs October 12-23 with reviews, interviews, guest posts and excerpts. Check out the tour page for the full schedule.

About the Book:

A tragic past. A destined reunion. A decaying hope.

In Southern California, four friends must face a haunting nightmare from high school in order to save the future of humanity. But will their personal conflicts get in the way? Battling for survival, these fated four will choose whether to follow a destined path or continue their dead lives, while the zombie apocalypse feeds them one cliche after another.

Amazon | Goodreads

Excerpt:

“Abort! Fall back!” a voice over his earpiece screamed. 

Jeff ignored the cries. He had to. His eyes locked to C4 attached to the bottom of the transport. Not now, not like this. Scampering across the dirt, Jeff shoved his arm underneath the transport, straining to reach the C4. His fingers brushed the bomb, but he was unable to reach it. His teeth clenched and a guttural moan broke off from his lips. Gunfire blasted over his earpiece. He lunged. His arm stretched. Another explosion sent a vibration through his body, and his hand wrapped around the explosive ticking to destroy him and his team. He retracted from underneath, faster than he ever thought possible. 

Lt. Sampson saw the bomb in his hands. “Brennan!” 

Jeff sprinted from the vehicle to the trail they’d arrived on. He saw an opening. A cliff. Sliding through dirt, he cocked his arm. Three quick beeps. The moment became a blur and he lost his footing.

“Throw it!” a voice had called seconds earlier. 

Jeff’s body went numb. His feet launched off the ground. Spinning, burning, screaming, he flew through the air. Fire ate his skin. The ground and sky dwindled as one, becoming a mixture of brown and blue, twisting its way to the infinite black. Visions of his best friends—Alec, Kale, Scot—flashed in his mind, and although his world would go dark, he said those words that always gave him light. 

We leave as four.

*****

Author Bio: 

Zack Scott is the author of THEIR DEADS LIVES, ONE PISSED OFF SHARK, and several short stories he wrote for the 2013 Flash Fiction Challenge, where he made it to the final round. Although he’s visited many areas in the world, Zack has lived in Southern California most of his life. He grew up in Los Angeles, attended undergrad at CSUCI in Ventura County, and completed law school down in sunny San Diego. More recently, he was living the startup life in Silicon Valley with the 500 Startups accelerator program. He is licensed to practice law in California, but more importantly he likes to hang his pants on his desk chair rather than his closet. When he’s not writing stories, Zack can be found in a never-ending wrestling match with his dog Leo or cooking pasta while wearing a Chargers apron.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY:

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Ends Oct. 28th

This giveaway is sponsored by CBB Book Promotions, the hosts are not responsible for prizing.

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M9B Two for Thursday Book Blitz: Dead Jed series by Scott Craven with Giveaway #T4T

Welcome to this week’s Two for Thursday Book Blitz #T4T presented by Month9books/Tantrum Books!

Today, we will be showcasing two titles that may tickle your fancy, and we’ll share what readers have to say about these titles!

You just might find your next read!

This week, #T4T presents to you the:

Dead Jed series by Scott Craven!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

 

Dead Jed is Shaun of the Dead meets Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Jed's not your typical junior high geek. He is, to use the politically-correct term, cardiovascularly-challenged. And while his parents have attempted to shield him from the implications of being 'different' for as long as they could (Jed was 8 and at a friend's sister's birthday party when he blew his lips off onto the cake in front of everyone, finally prompting the “Big Talk” from his parents and an emergency SuperGlue repair by his dad), 7th grade at Pine Hollow Middle School as a target of Robbie the supreme school bully and his pack of moronic toadies is rapidly becoming unbearable.

From being stuffed in a filled trash can as “dead meat” and into a trophy case as the bully's “prize,” to literally having his hand pulled off in the boys' room (Jed's always losing body parts. Luckily, a good stapler and some duct tape and he's back in the action) and a cigarette put in it and try to frame him for the recent reports of smoking in the school, Jed's had enough and is ready to plan his revenge. Besides, it's awesome what you can do when you're already dead!

Google Play | BAM | Chapters | IndieBound | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | TBD | iBooks

 

WHAT READER’S ARE SAYING:

 

“DEAD JED is amazing. It takes true talent to write a book that's witty and has such clever humor. That's exactly what DEAD JED has.” – Courtney, Author

 

” I’m entirely convinced this series is going to be as big and popular as the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, if not more. It might be aimed at middle grade readers, but I will highly and happily recommend it to readers aged 9 to 99!” – Angie, Books4Tomorrow

 

“Middle Grade humor at its finest.” – S.A. Larsen, Author

 

The first part of seventh grade was rough on Jed, but things are looking up now that Christmas is almost here. As with past Christmases, Jed asks for the one thing he’s always wanted–a dog–and again, his parents tell him they’re not ready. But fate has a different plan when Jed sees a dog get run over by a car. Then, it happens. Jed suddenly has a pet, Tread, a zombie dog bearing his namesake–a tire tread down his back. Jed may have gained a dog, but he loses his best friend Luke, who fears the way Jed created his undead pet.

When Jed returns to school, he finds a mysterious group called the No Zombies Now Network spreading rumors of the dangers the undead pose to normal people. Forced to disprove Hollywood stereotypes, Jed has his work cut out for him as stories of a zombie dog begin to circulate. Jed could be expelled if he can’t expose the NZN Network as a fraud. Jed needs help from his kind of girlfriend Anna, especially after he discovers Luke has joined the shadowy group.

Once again navigating the treacherous waters of middle school, Jed does his best to stay in one piece. Only this time he’ll need even more duct tape and staples than usual.

Google Play | BAM | Chapters | IndieBound | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | TBD | iBooks

 

WHAT READER’S ARE SAYING:

 

“Like its predecessor Dead Jed, Dead Jed 2: Dawn of the Jed is an incredibly cute and fun read!” – Angie, Books4Tomorrow

 

“This is a fun story, which was written very well for the age group. I can imagine the series being a huge hit, especially with zombies being so popular at the moment.” – Bri, Natural Bri - Pursuits of Life

 

“...just read it, you will love it and it sooooo funny” – Michelle, Because Reading

 

 

Proud graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, have one son who will turn 18 in March 2013, now a features writer for The Arizona Republic.

 

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter

 

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