Keep Calm: Zombie Brie

zombie edition
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by Rusty Fischer
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The Author of Detention of the Living Dead Interviews Its Zombie “Bad Girl,” Brie Cunningham by Rusty Fischer, author of Detention of the Living Dead

Once upon a time, Brie Cunningham was just another high school junior. BFFs with Max Compton, popular, well-liked, on the honor roll, going places. But that was before the zombies came to Catfish Cove High School, and before she became one.

Here, exclusively at the VVB32 Reads blog, find out what it’s like to become a zombie from one of the main characters of my new YA paranormal novel, Detention of the Living Dead:

Mr. Fischer: Hi Brie. How are you feeling today?
Brie: Uggh, gross. How do you think I’m feeling? I’m a zombie!

Mr. Fischer: Okay, yeah, you’re right. Sorry about that. Well, anyway, thanks for coming back to life, again, to answer a few questions for me.
Brie: No worries. It’s better than what I usually do.

Mr. Fischer: Which is what, Brie?
Brie: Gross, you don’t want to know. And I’m not just being cute; you DO not want to know what zombies do when they’re not talking to authors or reporters or bloggers or whatever you are.

Mr. Fischer: Okay, moving on. What’s the last thing you remember about being alive?
Brie: I dunno, but… I think… I think I was standing at the vending machine after 7th period. I was trying to decide between a Nutty Buddy, which has a lot of protein and not a ton of sugar, or the raisin and peanut mix, when some clown from the swim team – who I totally used to think was cute, btw – came up and bit me on the arm; the arm with all my change in it. At first I was mad he made me drop my change, then I realized: sucker just bit me. After that, things get pretty hazy.

Mr. Fischer: But… you do remember your time in the Detention room, right?
Brie: Yes, and I wish I didn’t.

Mr. Fischer: Really?
Brie: Yeah, really. What do you think I am, some kind of monster? Just because I’m a zombie doesn’t make me a total jerk.

Mr. Fischer: Well, in this case, Brie, it kind of does.
Brie: Why? Because I bit a few people?

Mr. Fischer: And turned them into zombies…
Brie: Yeah, well, that’s what zombies do. Like I said, things are a little hazy, particularly right after you’ve been bitten by a zombie. The worst part is throwing up. I hate throwing up.

Mr. Fischer: Hmm, really Brie? The worst part about what happened in that Detention room is you throwing up?
Brie: Yeah, I mean, no. Okay, okay, the worst part was turning my best friend Max into a zombie, but… I try not to think about that much.

Mr. Fischer: What do you think about much?
Brie: I try to think about how things might have been different if, you know… if that cute swimmer zombie dude hadn’t bitten me.

Mr. Fischer: How would your day have been different if you hadn’t become a zombie?
Brie: Well, for starters, I’m thinking now I would have bought the Nutty Buddy, cuz I really needed the protein that day. And then I would have eaten it, really slowly, while waiting for Max to get out of Detention. We were supposed to go to the mall that day, look for dresses for the Fall Formal together. And then, well, then… everything happened.

Mr. Fischer: How do you feel about Max these days?
Brie: It’s not how I feel about her, so much, as how does she feel about me?

Mr. Fischer: Okay, I’ll rephrase it: how do you think Max feels about you these days?
Brie: Pretty bad; I mean, it’s my fault she’s a zombie. I know that; I take full responsibility for that. But, it’s like… like that swimmer, who turned me. I don’t… blame him anymore. He was just doing… doing what comes naturally.

Mr. Fischer: Do you think Max blames you?
Brie: I hope not.

Thanks, Brie, for coming to life just this once to let me ask all these great questions! And thanks, Velvet, and all your readers at vvb32 reads for letting me share Brie’s interview with you!

Yours in YA,

Rusty

~end

Guest post created by Rusty Fischer, author of Detention of the Living Dead
© 2012. All rights reserved.

About the Author:
Rusty Fischer is the author of Zombies Don’t Cry, as well as several other popular zombie books, including Panty Raid at Zombie High, Detention of the Living Dead and the Reanimated Readz series of 99-cent living dead shorts.

Rusty runs the popular website Zombies Don’t Blog @ www.zombiesdontblog.blogspot.com. At Zombies Don’t Blog you can read more about Rusty’s work, view his upcoming book covers and read – or download – completely FREE books & stories about… zombies!

Visit Rusty:
Blog
Facebook
Goodreads
Shelfari
Twitter

~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~
by Rusty Fischer
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READ more about this world...

Detention of the Living Dead
by Rusty Fischer
--~ eBook Giveaway courtesy of author ~--
WIN a copy of this ebook!

Open to all.

Offer ends: October 31, 2012

TO DO:

VISIT the author, Rusty.

RETURN here and tell me something you found of interest there.

AND, leave your email (if I don't already have it)

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Contest has ended - winner is here

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~*~
* image source for Keep Calm and Carry On

=== Keep Calm and Carry On: Zombie Edition schedule ===

YA Paranormal Activity: schedule

YA Paranormal Activity
a virtual book event
February 16-29, 2012
oooo, there's something in the air...

can you feel it?

it crackles and sparks in the dark.

could be paranormal activity in this here parts of the vvb32 reads world...

Schedule of events:
details and links will be filled in after posted
per usual links are also on the sidebar

feb 16
Book List with giveaway links
note: giveaway offers end either Feb 29 or Mar 11

feb 17
shapeshifters
Review: The Key by Felicia Rogers

feb 18
ghosts
another visit: The Wedding Gift by Kathleen McKenna

feb 19
psychics
they know, or do they?: Intangible by J. Meyer

feb 20
little people
missing sugar cubes? The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)
The Borrowers by Mary Norton

feb 21
time travel & Alice
Time Slice by Kerry Downing

feb 22
time travel & merfolk
Nikolas and Company: The Merman and the Moon Forgotton by Kevin McGill

feb 23
angels
Forbidden by Syrie James & Ryan M. James

feb 24
angels & demons
Boyfriend from Hell by E. Van Lowe
Earth Angel by E. Van Lowe

feb 25
demons
Lethally Blonde by Patrice Lyle

feb 26
angels
Until Next Time: The Angel Chronicles by Amy Lignor

feb 27
more ghosts
Spirits of Glory by Emily Devenport

still more ghosts
The Humming Room by Ellen Potter

feb 28
and more ghosts
Spirited anthology edited by Kat O'Shea

ever present ghosts
Scary School by Derek Taylor Kent

feb 29
StartJump on LEAP DAY!
Transfer Student by Laura A. H. Elliott

End Credits - with HOP winners

mar 1
ghosts coming
Auraria by Tim Westover

mar 2
werewolves
Silver by Cheree Alsop

mar 4
In My Mailbox: a bit of Paranormal Activity included

mar 5
guest: Spirited with Dawn Dalton

guest: Spirited with Linda Joy Singleton

mar 6
zombies
Wanted: Dead or Undead (The Zombie West Series, #1) by Angela Scott

mar 7
ghosts
Ghosts in The Humming Room by Ellen Potter

mar 8
ghosts and angels
Have You Ever Wondered from T.P. Boje

mar 9
more ghosts
A Scary Tale from Derek Taylor Kent

mar 12
Announcement: winners for giveaways that ended Feb 29

mar 13
Announcement: for giveaways that ended March 11

--~ eBook Giveaway courtesy of author ~--
Vamplayers
by Rusty Fischer
get your copy: kindle version is currently free here
(offer is now closed 2-27-12)
At the Afterlife Academy of Exceptionally Dark Arts, Lily Fielding is a measly trainee who dreams of one day becoming a Savior—those who visit vampire-infested high schools and put down the undead with their deadly crossbows.

When Lily and her classmates Alice and Cara begin their latest assignment, it seems like just another run-of-the-mill gig: they’re to simply spot the Vamplayer—part vampire, part player—identify the popular girl he’s set his sights on, and befriend her before the Vamplayer can turn her to do his bidding.

Before long, however, the Vamplayer sets his sights on Lily's friends, and she is left to face the threat alone while protecting her friends from the dark forces she has sworn to resist.

~*~
* image source for floating book

In My Mailbox - 1.01.12

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren and inspired by Pop Culture Junkie. A post where we share books acquired via mailbox, library, store, etc.

~*~

Free from Kindle: beware some free offers are limited

In the Shadow of the Moonlight
The Awakening
by J. J. Bidell
-paranormal
Thanks for the heads up MAD!

For Review and giveaway:

Lifting the Wheel of Karma
by Paul H. Magid
-spirituality
for tour
courtesy of publisher, Tribute Books
Thanks Nicole!

The Dig:
Zoe and Zeus
by Audrey Hart
-fantasy
Thanks Audrey!

The Moon Coin
by Richard Due
illustrated by Carolyn Arcabascio
-fantasy
courtesy of author
Thanks Richard!
stay tuned: featured in January

Vamplayers
by Rusty Fischer
-vampires
courtesy of author
Thanks Rusty!

The Book of Lost Fragrances
by M. J. Rose
part of tour
-gothic, historical
Thanks Amy!

The Psychology of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
by Robin S. Rosenberg, PhD and Shannon O'Neill
courtesy of publisher, Smart Pop
Thanks Heather!

~*~
Gifts:

Santa Claus visited!

Beautiful Chaos
by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
-paranormal YA
Thanks MAD!

Jane Bites Back
by Michael Thomas Ford
-vampires
Thanks MAD!
i have the US cover, but wanted to share this cover for Brazil

Sinterklaas from Holland visited!

Ganymede
by Cherie Priest
-steampunk
Thanks Sullivan McPig!


~*~
* get a heads up on free or discounted ebooks from Books on the Knob

* per usual, check out the sidebar for my current giveaways to you

* image from Leafcutter Designs - world's smallest postal service and you can get a letter kit at Chronicle Books

Zombies Don’t Cry by Rusty Fischer

Zombies Don’t Cry
by Rusty Fischer

Visit Rusty:
Blog
Facebook
Goodreads
Shelfari
Twitter

Published: 2011
Publisher: Medallion Press
Genre: Zombies
Paperback: 300 pages
Rating: 5

Amazon | Barnes&Noble

In the sleepy small town of Barracuda Bay, Maddy Swift leads the life of a fairly typical teenager, but while attending a party one night, Maddy is struck by lightning and awakens to realize she has been reanimated and turned into a zombie.

While becoming acquainted with her new "lifestyle," Maddy stumbles upon two unexpected undead chaperones, fellow students Dane and Chloe, who begin to teach her the ways of zombie life, including defending the populace from Zerkers—the bad zombies. Together, on prom night, the three teens must ultimately defend Barracuda Bay High from an all-out zombie Armageddon.

Amusing quote:
His fellow Elders murmur, a few of them nodding so severely I think some heads are going to roll, literally.
- page 124, chapter 11

My two-bits:
In-a-word(s): brain sushi
I got a few chuckles from this zombie tale told from the flip side - zombie teen perspective.

Good guy zombies vs bad guy zombies. Yeah, huh?

Overall, the story is told in a light tone with humorous moments that just tickled me.

--~ eBook Giveaway courtesy of author ~--
Pickup your copy HERE
Zombies Don't Read
5 FREE Living Dead Stories (ebook)
by Rusty Fischer

~*~
* review copy courtesy of author

* read Rusty's guest post for September Zombies which is an excerpt from this book

* part of September Zombies event

Zombie Book Fashion runway

ENTER this C A R N I V A L E tent and

FEAST your on peepers on these hunnies...

Tell me your favorite in comments.


#1 - Isis Unbound by Allyson Bird

#2 - The Peculiar Superpowers of Eleanor Armstrong: A Zombie Love Story by K.A. Schloegel

#3 - Zombies Don't Cry by Rusty Fischer

#4 - In the Dead by Jesse Petersen

~*~
* based on my Book Fashion meme - a post where I create fashionable wear with book cover art

* source for silhouettes1&2, 3&4

-+0+o+ October Trix-n-Treatz schedule +o+0+-

Zombie Tale from: Rusty Fischer

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by Rusty Fischer
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Prologue – Zombie Picnic

The graveyard is calm at this hour, an appropriately full moon shining down on acres of freshly mown lawn and miles of evenly spaced headstones.

Their endless rows are surprisingly calming; it’s almost like I’m staring at a big mouth with thousands of teeth smiling just for me. Though the air is chilly this time of year, it’s clear, making everything clean, crisp, and high-resolution; death in hi-def.

I always thought this was a particularly nonspooky cemetery as far as cemeteries go. Most of the ones you see on TV or in the movies are purposefully creepy crawly, gruesome affairs, with crooked headstones leaning and fences broken and the graves overgrown with dried, dead bushes and looking, I suppose, about the way you figure a cemetery should look.

Here in Florida, they take their graveyards pretty darn seriously.

The fence doesn’t creak when you walk by, there is no pack of feral black cats roaming the grounds, the grass is ballpark green, the headstones are all straight, a nice unbroken sidewalk runs the length of the graveyard, the grave markers are clean, and the flowers are all fresh.

I use the moonlight to inspect the contents of the picnic basket at my feet.

Four cans of Mountain Dew?

Check.

Plastic forks and knives?

Check.

Plastic plates?

Check.

Paper napkins?

Check.

Handcuffs if things go south?

Check.

Leg chains if things go really south?

Check.

Hatchet if things go really, really south?

Check.

Fresh brains?

Double-check.

I smile, shut the picnic basket, clasp it tight, and pat the top for good measure. Clouds move across the moon but, thanks to my new zombie vision, I can still see fine, thank you very much.

(Even if everything looks a little . . . yellow. But that’s okay; you get used to it after awhile.)

The grave at my feet is fresh. Half the folded white chairs are still lined up in the back with the rest stacked neatly on a metal dolly someone forgot to haul back to the funeral parlor come closing time.

Well, no surprises there. After all that’s gone down in the last few days, who can blame the gravediggers for being underpaid and overworked?

I don’t need to look at my watch to tell me it’s been nearly 72 hours since I turned him, so by now he should be just beginning to stir down there, six feet under.

I sigh, grab the shovel I brought from the back of the truck, and start digging. It’s hard work, true enough, but I like the constant motion.

Zombies tend to get a little stiff after awhile, so anything we can do to keep moving, to keep our joints from freezing up and stiffening out, well, more’s the better, I always say.

I make quick work of the top layer of soil, step into the grave itself, and dig some more. I take my time; no use exerting myself before our big reunion.

I form a kind of musical rhythm here in this empty graveyard on this moonlit night: shovel in, scoop out, over the shoulder, back again; shovel in, scoop out, over the shoulder, back again. Like that, over and over, until finally the rhythm is interrupted by my shovel hitting casket wood, giving off a shower of fresh, varnished splinters.

I step aside, squeeze alongside the casket, and use the hard end of my shovel like a trowel to carefully scrape away the thin layer of dirt covering the top. When the coating is gone and wood is all that remains, I lean on my shovel, stretch my back, wipe my forehead out of habit (zombies don’t sweat), and listen for a minute or two.

I smile at the sounds of shuffling coming from inside; nothing too terribly urgent, just the generally spooky sounds of funeral tuxedo against coffin satin.

(Trust me: once you hear it, you never forget it.)

Just to make sure I’m dealing with a good zombie and not a bad one (yeah, actually, there is a difference), I tap the top of the coffin with my stiff new army boots. Tap, tap, tap.

I wait, glad for the still, autumn night, until I hear the urgent response beneath my feet: tap, tap, tap. That’s my boy. I use the end of the shovel to pry the casket open and listen to the hiss as the hydraulic cover slowly rises like the trunk of Dad’s reliable old station wagon.

Inside lies a statuesque young man with pale skin, a blue tux, and the most deliciously delectable curl dangling across his marble white forehead. I know I haven’t been a zombie all that long, but I actually think it’s ruined me for regular guys.

Back when I was a Normal, I always had a thing for jocks. You know, the robustness, the ruddy skin, the muscles bulging out of sweaty gray tank tops, the suntans . . . the tan lines.

But now? I gotta tell you, something about the pale skin, the 0 percent body fat, the no heartbeat, and those deep, dark circles under the eyes is really bringing it home for me.

And this one? This one’s got all that in spades.

He smiles faintly, though aimlessly, perhaps in response to the moonlight flooding down rather than to seeing the girl who actually put him in the casket in the first place. At any rate, he certainly doesn’t seem too panicked about waking up six feet under in a wooden box, satin-lined and expensive though it may be.

“Who are you?” he asks quietly. “And why are you carrying that shovel? And where am I? And whose tux is this? And why is it . . . blue?”

Ah, Fresh Meat; always with the questions.

I shoosh him with a pale finger to my gray lips, tasting fresh grave dirt and shovel splinters and swiftly wiping them off on my black cargo pants. Then I haul him out of the casket, drag him up out of the grave, sit him down, open the picnic basket, show him the fresh brains, and watch his eyes. Light. Up.

As he makes short work of the first brain, I sigh, filling in his grave a little more speedily than I dug it out and patting down the top layer so it looks relatively undisturbed. By then he’s halfway through the second brain, and before I can say, “Hey, save some for me,” he’s sitting back in his musty tuxedo, patting his stomach and burping.

I crack open a fresh can of Mountain Dew and hand it to him.

“Thanks, Maddy,” he says finally, sleepy eyes full of recognition, drowsy smile full of gray matter and gore. I shake my head, sigh, and join him on the fresh sod next to his even fresher grave.

Hey, we’re not exactly Leo and Kate on the bow of the Titanic, but when you and your boyfriend are both dead (sorry, undead), trust me, you take what you can get.

~end

Guest post is an Excerpt from Zombies Don’t Cry by Rusty Fischer
© 2011. All rights reserved.

About the author: Rusty Fischer is the author of several YA supernatural novels, including Zombies Don’t Cry, Ushers, Inc., Vamplayers, I Heart Zombie and Panty Raid @ Zombie High. Visit his blog, for news, reviews, cover leaks, writing and publishing advice, book excerpts and more!

Visit Rusty:
Blog
Facebook
Goodreads
Twitter

~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~
by Rusty Fischer
~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~

--~ Book Giveaway courtesy of author ~--
Zombies Don't Cry
by Rusty Fischer
signup to win this book

~*~
* header image source

=== September Zombies schedule ===

Giveaway: Zombies Don’t Cry by Rusty Fischer

Zombies Don't Cry
by Rusty Fischer
Excerpt from the beginning: prologue

The graveyard is calm at this hour, an appropriately full moon shining down on acres of freshly mown lawn and miles of evenly spaced headstones. Their endless rows are surprisingly calming; it's almost like I'm staring at a big mouth with thousands of teeth smiling just for me. Though the air is chilly this time of year, it's clear, making everything clean, crisp, and high-resolution; death in hi-def.

--~ Book Giveaway courtesy of author ~--
Win a copy of this book!

1 - ebook
or
1 - print

Open to all.

Offer ends: October 16, 2011

TO DO: (3-parts)

1. ONE of these:

ADD this book to your Goodreads

or

LIKE this book on amazon.

or

TWEET this: (or click the twitter button on this post)
Giveaway: Zombies Don't Cry by Rusty Fischer http://vvb32reads.blogspot.com/2011/09/giveaway-zombies-dont-cry-by-rusty.html

or

CREATE a blog post.

2. TELL me if you want the ebook or print version.

3. AND, let me know in comments what you did along with your email (if I don't already have it)

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Contest has ended - winner is here

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=== September Zombies schedule ===

In My Mailbox - 9.4.11

Bought:

Die for Me
(Revenants)
by Amy Plum
-paranormal, YA

Free from Kindle: beware some free offers are limited

The Nemesis Worm
by Guy Haley
-action, mystery, novella

For Review and giveaway:

Zombies Don't Cry
by Rusty Fischer
courtesy of the author
Thanks Rusty!
stay tuned: giveaway for this during September Zombies

Song of the Nile
by Stephanie Dray
courtesy of author
Thanks Stephanie & Shelly!
release date: Oct 4, 2011
stay tuned: giveaway goes up in October

Give Me
by LK Rigel
courtesy of author
Thanks LK!
-fairy tale

Free from Netgalley: got mine, get yours!

Dead of Night
A Zombie Novel
by Jonathan Maberry
release date: Oct 25, 2011

The Black Stiletto
by Raymond Benson
-thriller, YA

Pirate King
A novel of suspense featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes
by Laurie R. King

~*~
Won from contest:

Vampire Bites
by Katie Salidas
Thanks to The Worm Hole

~*~
Bookie Brunch schedule
Now follow me to the second Bookie Brunch meeting for a bit of chit chat and find out my answer to the Bookie Brunch Question of the day at Natalie of Songs and Stories.

Bookie Brunch Question of the day:

What is one book that made you cry, and what was it that affected you about that particular story?

~*~
* get a heads up on free or discounted ebooks from Books on the Knob

* per usual, check out the sidebar for my current giveaways to you

* image from Leafcutter Designs - world's smallest postal service and you can get a letter kit at Chronicle Books

* In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren and inspired by Pop Culture Junkie. A post where we share books acquired via mailbox, library, store, etc.