zombies

All posts tagged zombies

News Headlines Often Provide Inspiration for Horror

Posted by R.A. Evans writes... on May 7, 2012
Posted in: R.A.'s Musings. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 comments

It’s the second most frequently asked question fans and readers pose at events and signings – “Where do you get your ideas from?”  I am sure the question is posed to nearly all authors – regardless of their chosen genre. With horror, however, the inquiry always seems to be laced with a healthy dose of fear – which is good – because fear is the fuel which powers my gray-matter engine. Everything I write boils down to me trying my very best to elicit fear in my readers – the humor and warm & fuzzy scenes I sprinkle into my stories are merely icing on the proverbial “nightmare cake”.

Dive Into the MysterySo where do I get my ideas? The answer might just surprise you.  Asylum Lake/Grave Undertakings started as a journal entry about struggling with the death of my father and the memories I would sometimes encounter when I travelled home to the small town where I grew up. Of course, there was no abandoned psychiatric hospital in my neighborhood or haunted board games to deal with. The inspiration for the story and the dark turns I take that inspiration are two very different things.

For FLIGHT, the project to follow the release of Grave Undertakings, inspiration came from a TIME Magazine article about the military’s use of passenger aircraft to transport the bodies of soldiers killed in action during the Gulf War.  The practice was eventually discontinued, but I oculdn’t get the visual out of my head of those flag-draped boxes next to the luggage in  the cargo holds of planes.  I merely, added a diabolical pharmaceutical company doing military rsearch and a spreading zombie apocalypse – just small elements which  make the actual story much more interesting (insert evil laugh here).

The lesson I’ve learned is that inspiration is a real bitch and that you sometimes have to take what the world gives you and turn it to your own dark devices.  You can imagine my glee when this headline from the BBC scrolled across my computer - SOUTH KOREA TO TARGET POWDERED HUMAN FLESH CAPSULES.

Will I do anything with this story? The jury is still out. I’ve been wrestling with a vampire story inspired by an article from Newsweek. You see, apparently scientists are on the verge of identifying the gene responsible for causing mosquitos to crave blood. Once modified, these malaria-carrying insects could be erradicated or at least controlled to no longer spread dangerous diseases.  In more capable hands this story would practically write itself.

So what will I do with these powdered human flesh capsules? As much as i would like to turn my imagination loose on developing the horrific who, what, where, and why – I just don’t have the time.  For now, I’ll just allow myself to quietly wonder what a powdered human flesh capsule tastes like and whether it is a  better strategy to  swallow them whole or to bite through and enjoy every last grainy morsel? 

Cheers from Bedlam Falls!

R. A. Evans

William Knight’s GENERATION breathes new life into the undead

Posted by R.A. Evans writes... on March 19, 2012
Posted in: Book Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 10 comments

The Story

In 2001 scientists isolated the gene for regenerating damaged organs from the DNA of a South American flatworm. Within five years it had been spliced into the chromosomes of a rhesus monkey, transported through the cell walls by a retro-virus denuded of its own genetic material.

Attempting to regrow impaired or elderly tissues, a scientist will one day modify the DNA of human beings by injecting the gene-carrying virus. It is just a matter of time.

Before consenting to treatment, you may want to ask a simple question: could there be a situation in which you would want to die but were unable to do so?

A crime-thriller with an injection of horror

Journalist Hendrix ‘Aitch’ Harrison links bodies stolen from a renowned forensic-research lab to an influential drug company.

Aided by Sarah Wallace, a determined and beguiling entomologist, he delves into a grisly world of clinical trials and a viral treatment beyond imagining.

But Aitch must battle more than his fear of technology to expose the macabre fate of the drugged victims donated to scientific research.

The Review

When the opportunity to read and review GENERATION by William Knight was presented I found myself debating whether I could stomach yet another story of the undead. Between AMC’s The Walking Dead television series and a slew of recent books and movies, I feared that my taste for zombies was waning.  Fortunately, Knight’s tale has left be hungry for more.

GENERATION falls squarely into the Medical Thriller genre, blending science, mystery, and, of course, impending doom.  Knight balances each of these elements very well, never speaking too far above his readers with techno-babble, nor feeling obliged to water things down. The story of GENERATION causes you to think far beyond the what if’s of whether science can do what Knight suggests, but rather, what will happen when science ventures down this path.

Knight writes believable characters free from stiff dialogue and cliches.  Although their journey kept me engaged throughout, I left GENERATION disappointed by a lack of true horror or chills.  That isn’t a complaint, merely an observation from a reader and author who prefers his zombies to be a bit more blood thirsty.

Knight’s foray into the mind of the undead was highly entertaining and although I won’t go so far as to say I have a new-found sympathy for these lifeless walkers, I must admit that I will think twice before engaging in any medical trials.

I give GENERATION 3.5 stars.

Novel Publicity Blog Tour Notes

Get Generation on Amazon or Barnes & Noble– you know you want to!

Be sure to enter for your chance to win an autographed copy of Generation : ENTER HERE.

William Knight is a British born journalist and technologist currently living and working in Wellington, New Zealand. He’s chased a varying career starting in acting, progressing to music, enjoyed a brief flirtation with handbag manufacturing and was eventually wired into technology where he’s been since 1989. In 2003 he published his first feature in Computing magazine and has since written about the many successes and failings of high-tech for the Guardian, Financial Times and the BBC among many others publications. He continues to maintain a lively IT consultancy. Connect with William on his website, blog, facebook, twitter or Goodreads.

Coffin Hop Poll Question: What Will Trigger the Zombie Apocalypse

Posted by R.A. Evans writes... on October 25, 2011
Posted in: Events, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . 42 comments

In case you haven’t noticed, zombies are everywhere! It used to be that in order to get your zombie-fix you would have to visit the Horror section of your local video store. It was always tucked way into a far corner so as not to upset the kiddos as they scoured the shelves looking for the latest Disney flick. Nowadays, however, zombies are always within easy reach. Whether it’s flipping over to AMC’s The Walking Dead or searching the thousand of undead titles on Amazon, the shambling masses of death are never to0 far away.

This explosion of zombie popularity has me wondering – what will actually trigger the real zombie apocalypse? Yeah, I said real because it’s inevitable, right? I mean, jusy check out the multitude of zombie survival gear and accessories you can purchase online; people wouldn’t just make that stuff up, would they? 

So let’s be scientific and see what the masses think will be the triggering event. That way, we can all plan accordingly. One lucky respondent will receive an official Asylum Lake tshirt. Simply answer the poll question and leave a commen to register.

Minions of Misery

Posted by R.A. Evans writes... on September 9, 2011
Posted in: R.A.'s Musings. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 5 comments

It’s happening again – my good friend and fellow dark author  Belinda Frisch is allowing me to ride her coattails into celebrity. She’s nomiated me to be a Minion of Misery and I couldn’t be happier about joining the elite roster of authors.

My duties as a minion of misery are to list a dark film, a dark book, and a dark secret. Simple enough – even for a horror writer!

The Dark Film

Two American students are on a walking tour of Britain and are attacked by a Werewolf. One is killed, the other is mauled. The Werewolf is killed but reverts to its human form, and the local townspeople are unwilling to acknowledge its existence. The surviving student begins to have nightmares of hunting on four feet at first but then finds that his friend and other recent victims appear to him, demanding that he find a way to die to release them from their curse, being trapped between worlds because of their unnatural deaths.

Call me twisted, but I enjoy a few laughs with my horror and the orignal An American Werewolf in London delivers plenty of both.For those who have read my stuff you know I’m a huge music guy and the soundtrack to this movie is ridiculous! You gotta love Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising”.

The Dark Book

The Headhunter is loose on the streets of Vancouver. The psycho’s victims are everywhere – floating in the Fraser River, buried in a shallow grave, nailed to an Indian totem pole on the university campus. All are women. All are headless. Then the taunting photographs arrive. Carefully posed shots of the women’s heads stuck on poles. The Mounties of Special X are up against a unique brand of killer. A killer whose sexual psychosis stretches back through Ecuador’s steaming jungle and a scream-filled New Orleans dungeon to a dead-of-winter manhunt in the Rocky Mountains a century ago.

One of my fondest book-related memories was when an old college pal turned me onto Michael Slade’s HEADHUNTER. Michael Slade is the pseudonym of Vancouver criminal lawyer Jay Clarke and his collaborators and let me tell you – they must be quite the crew to tell scary stories around the campfire with. Plus, as Belinda Frisch can testify, I enjoy non-linear plots-lines and the Slade gang can spin a non-linear yarn with the best of them.

The Dark Secret

So what’s a horror writer do in his spare time? He tries his hand at writing romance, of course! Okay, romance may be stretching it a bit but I’ve recently finished a manuscript that is quite the departure from my usual murder and mayhem. I’m not sure what will come of it, but for the time being I have good ol’ B. Frisch referring to me as Nicholas Sparks. Personally, I think it’s just because I whooped her butt in the Cage Match!

My Nominations

Steve Emmet @chukkie58

Ania Ahlborn @aniaahlborn

Cover Art for FLIGHT Revealed

Posted by R.A. Evans writes... on May 22, 2011
Posted in: NEWS & Events, R.A.'s Writings. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 8 comments

I’ve just finalized the artwork for my upcoming thriller FLIGHT and wanted to share it with you. The very talented author/designer A.J. Powers nailed it with this one! Tell me what you think.

U.S. Air Marshal Liz Downie thought she had lucked out with her assignment – a half-empty red eye from London to the states. The passengers – an odd assortment of State Department staffers freshly plucked from the embattled U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan. These arent your usual friendly skies, however. Tucked into the passenger jet’s shadowy cargo hold hides a secret the U.S. Military will do anything to protect – and Liz Downie everything to stop.

Where do you run when you are 33,000 feet in the air?

FLIGHT

Scheduled for take-off soon

FLIGHT gives the term red-eye a brand new twist

Posted by R.A. Evans writes... on April 19, 2011
Posted in: R.A.'s Writings. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 6 comments

I’ve just completed the first draft of my new project, FLIGHT.  I may be biased, but I think it’s goin to be something special.

U.S. Air Marshal Liz Downie thought she had lucked out with her assignment – a half-empty red eye from London to the states. The passengers – an odd assortment of State Department staffers freshly plucked from the embattled U.S. Embassy in Iraq. These aren’t your usual friendly skies, however. Tucked into the passenger jet’s shadowy cargo hold hides a secret the U.S. Military will do anything to protect – and Liz Downie everything to stop.

Where do you run when you are 33,000 feet up?

Flight

The new novel from R. A. Evans
Scheduled for take-off soon

 

A Horror Writer’s Perspective on the Importance of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline

Posted by R.A. Evans writes... on April 13, 2011
Posted in: R.A.'s Musings. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 12 comments

I sometimes wonder what my neighbors must think on warm days like today when every window in my house is open and my iPod is jamming.  They’ve only recently come to know me as the writer of horrifying tales that lives next door. For several years I was merely the man with the beautiful family who works in advertising. That changed when local newspapers and tv stations started promoting my novel Asylum Lake. Suddenly I was the author of this dark and chilling tale set right in their backyard. I became “that guy”. You know, the one that neighbors will one day claim, “Was just an ordinary guy – I had no idea he had a collection of feet and hands in his basement freezer.”

Anyway, I digress.  The windows are open and the music is jamming and here I sit completely immersed in my current project – FLIGHT (think snakes on a plane but with Zombies, and without Samuel L. Jackson).  The first draft is done and I am merely revisting one of the more more disturbing chapters. It’s the big reveal – when U.S. Air Marshall Liz Downey finally realizes what’s lurking within the cargo hold. I’ve never been completely satisfied with this chapter…until today. I’ve nailed it – the tension is high and Ms. Downey is sufficiently freaked out. All is right with the world once more.

That being said, my neighbor has walked by twice in the last forty-five minutes. My desk has a wonderful view and I’ve waved each time she’s passed. I’m not sure what’s she thinking, but I’m fairly certain that the sound of Neil Diamond’s SWEET CAROLINE through my open windows is causing her some confusion. She sees me typing and knows full well what I am capable of. But who would ever think good ol’ Neil could be the soundtrack to such darkness.

So now you know my secret. Although I’m a huge fan of Pearl Jam (as those of you who have read Asylum Lake know first-hand), only Neil Diamond can lead me to the dark places I need to go to really write the messy parts of my novels.

It all makes me wonder where other authors get their inspiration. Surely I can’t be the onlyone who believes every Neil Diamoind song is based on some dark secret he is harboring. In fact, I believe I have proof.  CLICK HERE and witness the darkness that is Neil Diamond!

The only thing we have to fear is…

Posted by R.A. Evans writes... on March 28, 2011
Posted in: R.A.'s Musings, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 5 comments

I respect Franklin Delano Roosevelt immensely, but he was dead wrong with his “only thing we have to fear is fear itself” bravado. FDR never had to plan for a zombie apocalypse or battle the nefarious forces of the underworld. Hell, I bet Mr. Roosevelt would have sung a far different tune had he so much as dipped his toe in the murky waters of Asylum Lake.

But that’s neither here nor there. I may not agree with his statement about fear, but I do take it as a personal challenge to make my readers suffer with horrifying delight as they turn the pages of my novels – fearful of what they may find, yet giddy at the very thought of how terrible it may be.

That being said, it’s not as easy as it used to be to scare people. Thanks to television, movies, video games, and the walking horror that is LADY GAGA people have become desensitized to most things frightening. I have even fallen victim to this epidemic of numbness. There was a time when Vampires were scary. Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot introduced readers to Straker – quite possibly one of the most frightening vampires ever imagined. Now, thanks to Twilight, we have the new breed of vampire. You know, the kind that wears make-up, uses hair-gel, sports six-pack abs, and makes teenage hearts swoon. We now have an entire generation who will never understand the darkness, depravity, and unquenchable thirst of the vampire.

We still have zombies, right? I hope so (crossing my fingers), although recent treatments of the undead including Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has me questioning how long these flesh-eaters have before they too become nothing more than a punchline.

So with vampires out of the equation and zombies tap-dancing precariously close to the edge of coolness, what does that leave? Easy – only the darkest, and most twisted of all things to fear – man. Let’s be honest, monsters are fun, but the reality of what one man is capable of doing to another is by far more frightening. Man is the one monster that reigns above all others. And, the one monster whose actions we will never become numb to. We know their names and faces – Manson, Bundy, Dahmer, Gacey – and we remember their crimes. I’ll see your zombie and raise you one Jeffery Dahmer!

With monsters you know what you’re getting. Fangs, pale skin, and a penchant for moonlit strolls – probably a vampire. Rotting flesh, guttural groaning and a limp – I vote for zombie. But with the human monster, it’s what’s going on inside, behind the toothy grin and sky-blue eyes, that you have to fear.

So what do you fear? I’m dying to find out…muah ah ah ah!

.

Buy Asylum Lake and get the sequel Grave Undertakings for free

Posted by R.A. Evans writes... on March 15, 2011
Posted in: Contests & Promotions. Tagged: , , , , , , . 1 comment

I’ve been called crazy for a variety of reasons – most of which are just too embarrassing to mention here. But my latest bout with craziness might just be the most deeply disturbing yet. You see, I’m literally counting the days until the release of GRAVE UNDERTAKINGS – the anticipated chilling sequel to my debut thriller ASYLUM LAKE. In just a little over a month readers will be able to unearth all of the secrets about Dr. Wesley Clovis, his dark experiments inside the ominous Lakeview Asylum for the Insane, and how Brady Tanner and his small group of companions will attempt to stop the Dr.’s plans to part the veil of death once and for all. Yeah – I’m pretty psyched.

Anyway, back to my crazy offer. The next 10 people to buy the Asylum Lake ebook on Amazon and send me confirmation of their purchase will receive a free download of Grave Undertakings upon its release in May. Furthermore, one lucky winner from that group of 10 will have a character named in their honor in my new zombie project FLIGHT.

It’s really that simple! CLICK HERE to purchase and download your copy of Asylum Lake and then email your confirmation to raevans@asylumlake.com. Help me spread the word!

Guest Post by Author Jennifer Hudock: Writing for my Young Adult Reader

Posted by R.A. Evans writes... on March 14, 2011
Posted in: Guests Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 comment

Editor’s Note: When I asked Jennifer if she would be interested in a guest post here on my blog she gave me the usual response – “What’s the topic?” I never know how to reply to this for fear that I will suggest something completely out of bounds or just plain uninteresting. Fortunately, Jennifer sent me an email just a short while later with the idea of writing about how she has undertaken the challenge to write a YA piece with her YA daughter in mind. I hope you enjoy reading about her experience as much as I did.

 

Everything I’ve ever written has been written because it was a book I wanted to read, but couldn’t find anywhere else, but recently my perspective shifted. I have a sixteen-year-old daughter who loves to read, and since she was a tween on the verge of Twilight mayhem, we’ve been swapping books. I’ve discovered a lot of fantastic reads, thanks to her, many of which I might never have learned about on my own.

My husband recently signed a contract with his publisher to write his first young adult novel, but before that I’d been toying around with writing something young adult too. I wanted to write a story my daughter and I could share, but so many of the storylines are riddled with vampires and werewolves and wizards, oh my! I didn’t want to just write the same type of thing we’d read together a hundred times.

One afternoon she came home from school, and I said, “I want to write a young adult urban fantasy for us.”

She got excited and said, “Ooh. Ooh! You should write about vampires.”

I refrained from wrinkling my nose in front of her because I know how much she loves the bloodsuckers. “Maybe, but I was thinking something like this.”

It was her turn to crunch her nose up and sneer at me, but she nodded and said, “Sounds cool. Have fun with that.”

Not exactly the excitement I was hoping for, but then I reminded myself that I wasn’t just going to write this book for her. I was also writing it for me. Despite her lukewarm reaction to the plot, I sat down and started writing the first chapter and by the time I got the end of that chapter, I was pretty happy with what came out.

During a recent job-shadowing experience she signed up for at school, she got to spend the entire day following me around my home office to see what a day in the life of an author was like. As we wound down our final hour of job-shadowing, I asked if she wanted to read the YA book I had started. She answered with the same lack of enthusiasm she showed when I first told her about the idea, but shrugged and said, “Yeah, okay.”

I slid my laptop over to her and went downstairs to change my clothes. By the time I’d come back, she’d finished and was eagerly pressing the arrow key down, down, down looking for the next chapter.

“What do you mean, that’s it? Where’s the rest? I want to read it.”

“Did you like it?”

“Well, duh! You better finish it so I can read the whole thing,” she warned.

And as she sauntered off to fill the rest of her afternoon with non-Mom things, I couldn’t help the giddy anticipation inside me. I’d managed to excite one of the pickiest YA readers on the planet with my first chapter. There’s nothing on earth that’ll ever beat that feeling… well, maybe her reaction once it’s finished. At least I hope so.

About Jennifer

Jennifer Hudock is an author, poet and freelance writer from Northeastern Pennsylvania. She holds a BA in English and Creative Writing from Bloomsburg University, and enjoys writing in a variety of styles from dark fantasy and horror, to drama and creative nonfiction.

She has been writing for nearly twenty-four years, and has been published in zines like Strange Horizons, eMuse, The Watershed, had one of her short stories appear in Library of the Dead’s Book of the Dead: A Zombie Anthology, and has upcoming work to appear in two Library of the Living Dead Press anthologies.

Her first full-length novel, The Goblin Market, is currently available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. For more information about Jennifer Hudock, including updates on upcoming fiction, visit her official website: The Inner Bean.