Zombie D.O.A. - New Series Coming Soon

If there's one thing I've learned about writing zombie books it's that the undead really do refuse to die. When I first started writing the D.O.A. series my idea was that it would be a trilogy. I remember debating with my wife whether to expand that first series to four books because I liked the idea of incorporating a "zombie western" (The Dead Men).

Anyway, we settled on four books and after completing Dead On Arrival, I moved on to other projects (Johnny Black, Soul Chaser). But then I started getting e-mails from fans of the D.O.A. series asking what next? Most of you wanted to know what happened to Ruby, so I decided to write a sequel (Return to Dead City). That led to series two and three and ultimately to series four. Sixteen books in all, 17 including the sequel, Dead Meat.

The Dead, The Damned and The Dying was again meant to be the series finale, but I planned on writing a spin-off based on the younger character in the series (mainly Charlie and Jojo). I've now changed that idea slightly and decided to incorporate that "spin-off" into the main series i.e. as Zombie D.O.A. Series 5.

I'm currently outlining the new series (in between completing other writing projects) and hope that I'll be able to get the first book up on Amazon by end January.

What else can I tell you? As in the other series there will be four books, tentatively titled, The Never Dead; Dead & Dangerous; We, The Dead; and Dead Ever After. The action as always will be fast, furious and brutal and there'll be lots of new characters as well as old favorites, Chris, Joe etc. (although in supporting rather than lead roles).

Before I go, let me just thank you all for your continued support and your kind words about my work. Here's a cover reveal to wet your appetite for the new series.

 Leave a comment to let me know what you think about the titles and cover for the new series.



  

5 Winning Habits We Could Learn From The Undead

Zombies - filthy, shambling, brain dead, gore-spattered creatures with b.o., halitosis and terrible posture, not to mention dreadful eating habits (all meat, no greens).

Or are they? It occurs to me that there are a few things that we could learn from watching zombies, things you'd pay thousands of dollars to hear from some superstar speaker at an overpriced self-improvement seminar.

How about these for starters;    

Focus

Zombies are extremely focused creatures. Once they set their minds (minds???) on a task, they won't quit until they've achieved their objective (which usually involves tearing you limb from limb and bolting down your ripped flesh in bloody chunks).

Perseverance

Very little will stop a Z from achieving his objective, not the weather, the time of day, nor any physical barrier. A gunshot to the chest won't do it, nor will the loss of a limb. In fact, the only things that will stop a Z from eating you alive, are a bullet to the brain, or outright decapitation. Now that's perseverance.

Self-Acceptance  

Zombies are pretty cool with who they are. They're not too fussed about wearing the latest fashions or getting their hair done. Manicures, pedicures, facials? Feggedaboutit! A zombie is pretty happy in his own rotting skin, as long as he's snacking on yours.

Co-operation

You'll seldom see a Z walking alone. They have a great sense of community and know that by working together everyone wins (and eats). This is, in fact, a key factor to their success. Let's face it, you'd have to be seriously out of shape to be run down by a Z. But a hundred of them? A thousand? They'll surround you, pull you into a melee. You'll be shish kebab before you can say, "Aarrrrgggghhh!"   

Inclusion

The living dead are a welcoming bunch. As long as you're dead, you're alright by them. You won't hear one Z calling another a "gimp" or a retard. They're pretty cool about your missing limbs, alligator-like dentures and dragging entrails. They won't give you a hard time about your clumpy shoes or a run in your stockings. They're good that way, zombies.

So there you have it, five wining zombie traits that will make us all better people. Thanks Zs.     

Ten Movie Villains Who Will Seriously Creep You Out

Henry (Michael Rooker) from Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Michael Rooker’s deeply disturbing portrayal of a serial killer is one of the most accurate you’ll see on film. Gritty, dingy and menacing, the film has the feel of a psychopath recording his darkest deeds on a camcorder.  

Amon Goethe (Ralph Fiennes) from Schindler's List

Fiennes brooding performance as the sadistic concentration camp commandant will chill you to the bone. Nominated for an Oscar as best supporting actor, he lost out to Tommy Lee Jones in one of the biggest travesties in the Academy’s history.

Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

What could be more terrifying than being chased by a chainsaw-wielding psycho intent on carving you up like a Thanksgiving turkey? Well, if said psycho were wearing a mask fashioned from human skin that would do it! The prototypical slasher, Leatherface still terrifies, decades after the movie’s debut.

Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) from The Shining

Stephen King apparently hated this adaptation of his novel and the movie is somewhat spoilt by an overbearing soundtrack and a rather irritating performance by Shelley Duvall. Nicholson, though, is quite brilliant as a man slipping slowly into insanity.

George Harvey (Stan Tucci) from The Lovely Bones

The movie garner mixed reviews, but Tucci got an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of George Harvey, the quiet, unassuming neighbor who lives a double life as a pedophilic serial killer. A chillingly accurate depiction of a sexual psychopath.

Frank Booth (Denis Hopper) from Blue Velvet

Frank Booth is probably the last guy on earth you’d want to get on the wrong side of. The schizophrenic mobster with a taste for torture, rape and mutilation is one of the scariest guys ever to grace the silver screen. Hopper’s depiction is ultra-menacing and will stay with you for a long time after the credits roll.    

John Doe (Kevin Spacey) from Se7en

Kevin Spacey’s deadpan portrayal of the darkly inventive John Doe leaves a lasting impression in this disturbing police procedural from director David Fincher. Includes some of the most brutal murders ever depicted on screen.

Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) from Misery

Deranged fan Annie Wilkes holds writer Paul Sheldon prisoner in this chilling adaptation of Stephen King’s novel. Bates portrayal of the psychopathic, bipolar Wilkes earned her a richly deserved Oscar.

Jame Gumb a.k.a. Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine) from Silence of the Lambs

Anthony Hopkins garnered the praise and awards but for me Ted Levine’s Buffalo Bill, a serial killer who skins his female victims, exceeded even Hannibal Lechter on the creep-out scale. Even after several viewings, the “metamorphosis” scene is still difficult to watch.

Max Cady (Robert De Niro) from Cape Fear

Few actors do menace as well as De Niro and in this role he plays Max Cady, a recently paroled rapist out for revenge against the lawyer who failed to get him acquitted. The scenes of physical violence are extreme, but for pure creepiness, Cady’s seduction of young Danielle Bowden (played by Juliette Lewis) is right up there. 

What do you think? Who am I missing out? Please add your comments and suggestions below. 

 

The Dead, The Damned and The Dying (Zombie D.O.A. Book 16)

Chris Collins and his family have escaped the catastrophe in New York and made it to the military base at White Plains. But even as they prepare to flee north, Chris realizes that their reprieve will be short-lived as long as Marin Scolfield is still out there.

Now Chris, Joe, Ruby and Hooley are heading back to Manhattan to confront Scolfield. But what chance do the have against Scolfield's massive Z army? What chance do they have when he has forged a deadly alliance with one of Chris's old foes from out west? What chance do they have when he's already started creating his new batch of Z's - quick, sentient and hyper-aggressive?

Click the "Read More" link below to read an excerpt from 

The Dead, The Damned and The Dying 

Kill The Dead (Zombie D.O.A. Book 15)

After the disastrous military campaign on Staten Island, Chris Collins and his team have finally made it back to Manhattan, only to be struck by a new catastrophe. The barricades are down, the city under attack by a zombie army under the control of a half-Z Corporation military commander.

And that's not even the worst of Chris's problems. Marin Scolfield is in town, and the crazed scientist has designs of his own, backed up by a whole new bag on tricks designed to bend the Zs to his will.

As a winter storm rages, as fire begins to take hold of the north side of the city, as the terrified citizens cower in there homes, Chris, Joe and Ruby face their greatest challenge yet. Can they and their loved ones make it out of Manhattan alive? And are they even prepared to run, rather than stand and fight?

Click the "Read More" link below to read an excerpt from

Kill The Dead

Dead Things (Zombie D.O.A. Book 14)

In the sixteen years since the initial zombie epidemic, human beings have drawn themselves into fortified encampments and lived in constant fear of attack.

That is until the ambitious mayor of New York City decides to do something about it. Mayor Rosenthal has sent a force to Staten Island. Their mission, to clear the borough for human habitation.

A noble cause which soon goes horribly wrong, setting off a chain of events that threatens the life of every man, woman and child in Manhattan and beyond.



 

Click the "Read More" link below to read an excerpt from

Dead Things 

The Dead Shall Rise Again (Zombie D.O.A. Book 13)

Chris Collins has been back in New York for a year, and has settled into a fairly normal life in the fortified settlement of Manhattan.

Not all of his family are quite so content, though. Ruby is bored and frustrated and is soon drawn into the New York underworld of brutal cage fighting, venturing into the wastelands of Queens, Brooklyn and New Jersey to pit her fighting skills against the most dangerous of opponents, both human and zombie.

But as Ruby's renown as a cage fighter grows, she attracts admirers, one of them a psychopath determined to pit her against his stable of monstrous Z fighters.

Now Ruby is missing and Chris must venture into the wastelands to find her.

Neither is that his only problem, there's also a murderous, half-Z club owner, warring street gangs, a sleazy politician, a beautiful Corporation assassin, a death-defying escape from the morgue, and a battle royale of a cage fight, not to mention Marcus Pendragon, back in charge of the Corporation and preparing to move his forces against the Manhattan
settlement.

Click the "Read More" link below to read an excerpt from

The Dead Shall Rise Again