Strangely Funny II Authors: Meet John Lemut!

John Lemut, author of “Labor Eco-nom-nom-ics” lives in Wisconsin. He spends his time watching too much TV, brewing and drinking beer, writing, editing, and marrying people. In addition to showing us how zombies can improve the economy, his short stories appear in the anthologies First Time Dead, Say Goodnight to the Bad Guy, Vampires Aren’t Pretty, and Night Gypsy: Journey into Darkness. His website is johnrambles.com.

When did you know you wanted to become a writer?
I read The Catcher in the Rye when I was in the 4th grade. I didn’t think, “I can do that…” I thought, “I want to do that…”

How did you come up with the idea for your story in Strangely Funny II?
I first intended “Labor Eco-nom-nom-ics” as a fairly direct homage to Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” – one of my favorite short stories. I thought the concept of a zombie nobody cared about, in place of an angel, had potential. As I developed it, my preconceptions of what I wanted to happen in my story changed significantly, and while it may no longer bear much of a resemblance to Marquez’s story, I certainly owe its existence to the Marquez story.

Do you think certain genres lend themselves to a humorous twist?
I definitely think some of the horror sub-genres (zombie and vampire fiction, in particular) are rife with potential for humor. In all honesty, zombies are pretty absurd. It doesn’t mean I don’t love them, but it also doesn’t take much of a tilt in perspective to find the humor there. I have a sardonic way of looking at most things in the real world. I find mixing zombies in there actually helps mask my attitude a bit.

Plotter or pantser?
I’m a little of both. Usually I’ll work from at least a basic outline, but one of the most enjoyable aspects of writing is a story taking shape in ways you didn’t anticipate. Then I’ll completely ignore the outline where appropriate.

Which author do you most admire, and why?
I swear this isn’t a shameless plug for a friend, but I most admire Eric Pollarine, a self-published author I’ve done some editing for. First off, Eric writes stories that he wants to write, and I admire that confidence. His ability to write – to push through all the mental blocks and doubts, and get words on the screen – is a gift. I have been fortunate to have been a small part of his process and have learned so much from that. I take inspiration from his work ethic, and value the opportunities I’ve had to work with him.

Okay, so you're an author. What do you enjoy reading?
I broke the habit of only reading authors with names everyone recognizes several years ago. Now I enjoy finding stories from independent publishers and self-published authors that I think will interest me. They aren’t necessarily going to be the most polished books you’ll find, but for originality, edge, and sensibility, few bestsellers compare. Genre-wise I tend to read horror (mostly zombie horror), sci-fi, bizarro, humor, and thrillers – usually my favorite books have been blends of more than one of these. Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid series is an excellent example.

Thank you for talking with us!

Strangely Funny II is now available in print or Kindle from Amazon, plus it is also available on Smashwords. Our Goodreads Giveaway only has a couples of days left, so if you want in, now's the time to enter!

Summer of Zombie 2014 SPOTLIGHT ON: Timothy Baker

Timothy Baker is a retired firefighter and an aspiring, perspiring, horror writer. He is published in Fifty Shades of Decay by Angelic Knight Press with his zombie/erotica story, Love Stinks, and the forthcoming Midian Unmade: Tales of Clive Barker's Nightbreed from Tor. Tim has also received a commendation in the Australian Horror Writer’s Association 2009 Short Story Competition. We're grateful to feature him on the Summer of Zombie Tour today!

So: What is your latest zombie release?

Path of the Dead (Hungry Ghosts I)

Quick description of it (no spoilers)

In Tibet, in a village riding a foot of Seche La Mountain, the zombie apocalypse arrives. With hundreds gathering for a holy day, the carnage is overwhelming and the town burns. Five survivors, a Chinese soldier, a Buddhist High Monk and his bodyguard nun, a ten-year-old boy, and a Nirvana seeking Shoalin monk, flee in the only direction they can: into the high mists of the mountain to barricade themselves against the following dead in the long abandoned, cliff-clutching monastery, Eagle's Nest.

There's a lot of zombie stories out there. Tell us something unique about yours.

The Tibet setting, a rural village that thrives near the top of the world. And it has a Kung Fu monk and a mute, badass, warrior nun!

Learn more about Timothy Baker at:

http://www.ragnarokpub.com/#!hungry-ghosts/c1eew

There's also a great interview with him at Beauty in Ruins!

The stench of rotting flesh is in the air! Welcome to the Summer of Zombie Blog Tour 2014, with 33 of the best zombie authors spreading the disease in the month of June.

Stop by the event page on Facebook so you don't miss an interview, guest post or teaser… and pick up some great swag as well! Giveaways galore from most of the authors as well as interaction with them! #SummerZombie

AND so you don't miss any of the posts in June, here's the complete list, updated daily:

http://armandrosamilia.com/2014/06/01/summer-of-zombie-blog-tour-2014-post-links/

Goodreads Giveaway: Undead of Winter

You may wonder what I've been doing between posting interviews. Well, I was editing and helping format Undead of Winter, the newest offering from Mystery and Horror, LLC. As part of our launch, we're giving away three copies on Goodreads.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Undead of Winter

by Sarah E Glenn

Giveaway ends December 13, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

This book is darker than our previous offerings. Some of the stories have a little warmth or humor, but the majority of them are best described as... chilling.

I encourage you to enter the giveaway, and to check the lengthier description of the book on Amazon. It might be the blast of cold air you're looking for!

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Strangely Funny Authors: Meet Suzanne Robb!

"I started writing when I could hold a crayon."

Today, I'm interviewing Suzanne Robb, author of "No More Blue Pills". She also wrote Were-wolves, Apocalypses, and Genetic Mutation, Oh my! and Contaminated. I also discovered that she belonged to one of the other writing teams in The ePocalypse: emails at the end. Loved the idea for that anthology!

1. You wrote a fun takeoff on the craze for 'ED' pills. Were you inspired by an actual desire to get rid of the pills, or did a piece of spam land in your inbox at a propitious moment?

The idea for the story occurred when I was watching a parody on medications and their side effects, and going through my junk folder. I thought what if a woman (tired of all the ED spam, like myself) decided to do something about it, but it all went sideways.

2. You have a string of stories that sound like great fun. What got you interested in writing?

I started writing when I could hold a crayon. I think it had a lot to do with being an only child and living in the middle of nowhere. As for the fun element in my stories, I like to make people smile or laugh. I embrace the goofiness that is life.

3. What is your current project? Tell us a little about it.

Current project, just one? I have several, but the one I am hoping will get picked up is The Moonlight Killer, a different take on the werewolf mythology. Basically, a man decides to bite back his lupine attacker and chaos ensues on the next full moon.

4. How did you get into LEGOs? Uh, as a presumed grown-up?

LEGOs are an anxiety reducer for me. I tend to get stressed out easily and when that happens I head into a room, toss several LEGO on the floor and see what happens. I find it is a good way to focus and forget about the things bogging me down.

5. We know you're an author. What do you enjoy reading?

I like to read almost everything. Christopher Moore, Jasper Fforde, Jeff Lindsey, early Dean Koontz, Phillip Pullman, and loads of others. If it is in print I will likely read it.

Thanks for talking to us today!

Learn more about Suzanne on her blog:

http://suzannerobb.blogspot.com/

And don't forget: Strangely Funny is now on sale in print, Kindle, and other email formats.

Guest Post: T.W. Brown

T.W. Brown visits us today, courtesy of the Summer of Zombie Blog Tour!


One of the things that I hear from time to time is that “zombies are history” or “The market is oversaturated”.
Five words: What a load of crap. People have been saying that about vampires for over a decade…guess what? Twilight blew away box offices, despite all the people who openly grouse about it.

I have a different take; I think BAD zombie offerings are what are on the endangered species list. With so much out there, the readers can now be more selective. The days of just being glad you could find a zombie book on the market have been replaced by a wide variety and some very creative takes on the classic ideas.

I think most of the people banging the drum on the undead hordes are the people who either A) were never along for the ride to begin with; or B) can’t help but share the sour grapes in the bowl at their desk. One thing there has never been a shortage of is negative spewing, armchair quarterbacks.

As I write this, World War Z is just a few weeks away from opening. Brad Pitt folks. It doesn’t get much more mainstream than that; The Walking Dead is one of the most watched cable programs in history; the Amazon Top 100 Horror Writers list is like a zombie author minefield. And just recently, my friend John O’Brien was entrenched for several days at number three behind King and Koontz. I don’t care who you are, that is a horror writer’s dream to be sitting at that table.

So, I return to my premise that it is not the zombie that is old news, it is the abundance of mediocrity that has suffered a bullet to the brain. Not that they are gone, but I think that cream has risen to the top. That is a good thing. It makes it easier for those seeking to carve their own niche to find some quality examples because, let’s face it, that was a real hit-and-miss exercise just a year ago.

As a writer, I enjoy picking up a good zombie book and seeing where a talented author will take me. This past few months, I have had the pleasure of reading offerings by Armand Rosamilia, Mark Tufo, and the aforementioned O’Brien. As a person who has watched the original Dawn of the Dead over a hundred times (not an exaggeration), I love zombies. A good book blows away a movie any day, and as recently as 2005, that was not easy to do by any stretch of the imagination. David Wellington’s Monster Island was one of the rare gems. Other than that, the offerings were sparse and difficult to find. At one point, I had every single title that Amazon had to offer in the “zombie fiction” search.

It is easy to forget that e-readers were still being resisted and the self-pub scene was comparable to FM radio in the early seventies. For those of you old enough to understand that reference, I think it might still come as a bit of a shock when you take in the landscape that unfurls before us.

So, let people continue to scream about how the sky is falling on the zombie genre. Those acorns that are falling are growing into mighty oaks.

To learn more about T.W. Brown, check out his blog or, better yet, Dead Confrontation - now available!

Celebrity Roast

I think this is the best term for this past weekend. Memorabilia dealers, film professionals, gaming stores, and authors (mostly better known than me) set up shop during FandomFest Weekend in Louisville. Many celebrities, including John Carpenter, were featured guests of the convention. The program was great, but the hotel hosting the event shot itself in the foot. Their AC wasn't working during a time when the temperature outside was hitting 100 degrees.

Gwen and I were there representing Pill Hill Press, and dutifully baked away. Fortunately, we'd packed a cooler with water and Code Red, which was drained of all fluids by the end of the con. I suppose we could have sold drinks to the attendees and made a small fortune, but we selfishly valued our health above our bottom line. The first day was really the worst: we'd come directly from work and still had our work clothes on. The next two days, we wore shorts and tees. We'd packed nice clothes, but nice clothes were too hot. And hey, my Sandman tee was a big hit!

We weren't staying onsite, which was a splendid decision. We kept our room at the Holiday Inn set to 69 degrees and flopped on the bed every evening, feeling the heat leave us in waves.

The good part: the other writers. Gwen and I both attended - and sat in on - some wonderful panels. Gwen led a workshop on writing historical fiction, and she was also featured on panels for shopping your first novel and the mistakes beginning novelists make. I sat on the panels for paranormal novels and fan fiction, where I discovered that my first fanfic efforts probably began with The Black Stallion. I'd only traced my roots back to Betty and Veronica because I was thinking of human fanfic. Gwen and I both sat on the mystery panel, which was also great fun.

The other good part: the books. We were surrounded by book dealers. Oh, how I love books... I spent more money than we made, I assure you. The best selling items we had were our chapbooks of Gwen's Civil War short story and my horror story set in the Greek Isles. Overwhelmingly, however, the item passersby were most interested in was the postcard for zombie anthology Gone With The Dirt. I seriously think PHP might want to consider selling the cover design as posters or on T-shirts.

Many thanks must go to Stephen Zimmer for creating such an enjoyable literary track. He also spent most of his time trying to make life easier on us, rather than peddling his own books. I recommend that you go to Seventh Star Press and buy some of them to make up for his sacrifice.

FandomFest Weekend

In case you haven't heard of FandomFest, it's taking place in Louisville the weekend of July 22-24. It's a gathering for fandoms of all sorts - gamers, comic collectors, horror movie fans, zombie fans... everyone from John Carpenter to yours truly will be there!

Gwen Mayo and I will both be participating in FandomFest's Literary Track. My schedule is below:

Friday:
7:00 pm     Concourse: Signing
10:00 pm   Panel Room C: Reading

Saturday:
2:00 pm     Panel Room B: Mystery Writing

Sunday:
10:00 am    Panel Room B: Writing Fan Fiction
3:00 pm      Panel Room B: The Paranormal in Fiction

Gwen Mayo and I will also be running the Pill Hill Press booth in the vendors' area. Come by to get a signed copy of All This and Family, Too or Circle of Dishonor! Gwen and I will also be offering Tarot readings.

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