More Beautiful Artwork

Today's art is from long-time poster Watching! Thanks, Watching!

Reminder--I'll be in Whitman, MA at the Whitman library tomorrow at 5! There's a costume contest and make-up tips for the undead, too! What a perfect way to celebrate Walpurgisnight! Hope to see you there!

DetailsHERE.

Texas!

I'll be at the Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, TX on May 14th at 4:30. Sweet!

A Face Made for Radio

Whoah! Check out the book trailer for Kiss of Life!



See if you can figure out the exact moment I am replaced by a Disney animatronic!

***OOOPS! I forgot to mention that the website mentioned in the video gendead.com, isn't live yet (but it is awesome!) Stay tuned!

Connecticut!

I'll be doing a talk/signing in Norwich, Connecticut at the Otis Library on May 21 at 7:00. Many thanks to the awesome Jen, one of my favorite librarians in this world or any other, for the invite.

Or did I invite myself? I'm like that.

Illinois!

I will be visiting Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville on May 13th, at 7:00, doling out many a Kiss of Life, I hope. The book, that is. Not actual kisses. That would just be weird.

Well? Do You?

From the Tomb!!

A special thrill for me is having GD reviewed in #27 of From the Tomb magazine, out now. I haven't even read the review yet; it could trash the book for all I know, that's how happy I am to be in this magazine's pages! FTT is an oversized, graphics-heavy magazine published in England that covers all sorts of horror and science fiction goodness from the past, with articles on great and obscure comics, pulps, books, and other cultural curio alongside interviews with the people who made them great. My favorite issue was the "Invaders From Mars" issue, which not only had an article on the original Mars Attacks cards from 1954, it had a couple of covers from the comic book Mr. Monster, a Michael T. Gilbert classic that was the publication that gave me my first rejection letter! I submitted a couple comic scripts back when I was a wee lad. I still keep over my desk decades later!



















Anyone interested in subscribing to From the Tomb or buying an individual issue can contact the publisher Peter at Peter.Normanton(at)btinternet.com. Be advised, From the Tomb occasionally contains rated R-ish material!

Art is Cool

Today's awesome art is from Anna-Tommy-Lover, who also likes owls! Thanks, Anna!

Library Appearance

Click on the photo to supersize

I'll be visiting the Whitman Library, in Whitman, Massachusetts on April 30, from 4:30-6:30, where I'll be speaking, signing, hanging out, etc. But there is also going to be a costume contest! And a seminar on Cosmetic Tips for the Living Impaired! That's what I'm going for! And snacks!

Many thanks to super librarian Becca for the invite. Hope to see some of you there...

It is Surprisingly Easy for Professional Writers to Stay Humble

or, Why I Rarely Leave My House

Loveschach's Journal, April 8

(BTW, my alter ego Loveschach wears a mask similar to the much tougher ((but shorter)) Rorschach, except mine looks like the inside of a lava lamp with red lava, and it bubbles asymmetrically just like a real lava lamp. And instead of a trench coat, Loveschach sports a full length velour smoking jacket with fake fur trim. PS: Neither he or I actually smoke)

Drove to nearest chain bookstore to ensure new GD paperback prominently displayed. Long drive. Flurries. Last gasp of winter for angry gray sky, flakes turned to water on impact with windshield. Listened to Sandinista! by the Clash. Sometimes cheerful proto-dub music undercut by remembrance of Strummer, gone now some years.

Parking lot empty, first to arrive. Allow band to finish Police On My Back before exiting vehicle. Bargain books in carts in front of the store, cold to the touch. Some bear the marks of rough handling; torn covers, bent edges. What the call distressed I call atrocity.

Sidetracked by Cultural Studies section, discover three books. Necessary for secret project. Write off? Must call accountant. Flow like liquid into YA section, clerks busily scanning, shelving. Check new paperback table, no GD in evidence. Scan new release shelf with same result. Find two hardcovers under "W", rearrange to face out.

Hurm.

Pleasant woman at info desks, asks if she can help. Help Loveschach? Unlikely.

Ask when she expects paperback of Generation Dead. Much typing. "Generation what?" she asks. "Dead." "What?" "Dead." This is actually quite a common experience. Finally understands after spelling "Dead". More typing. "We don't have it," she says. "We have eight copies on order."

Thank her. Turn to go but she isn't finished yet.

"It says that it came out yesterday, but those aren't usually solid dates, except for popular books."

Hurm.

Let her live. Going soft? Gnashing of teeth heard all the way back in back where the pet books are. Thank her for providing exceptional customer service, walk to cash wrap to pay for books.

Console self with delicious early lunch at Panera. Tuna salad on sesame semolina, with Swiss cheese. Don't carry provolone, or beans. Favorite soda brand; free refills. Brought notebook--the fiction one--to work on secret project, but restaurant is mobbed even at eleven, people trudging inside in constant, twisting stream. Give up seat to hungry young mother with stroller, round-faced tot strapped securely within upscale stroller. Finish pickle first. Walk to car.

Universe has no order save that for which we impose. Heated bubbles lengthen and rise, only to cool upon nearing the top, and in cooling, sink to the bottom and pool once again, seeking warmth. Sometimes bubbles resemble animals, or funny celebrity charicatures. Sometimes big round frowny face.

Will try again next week.

Dear Sir or Madam...Would You Take A Look

Generation Dead is now available in paperback at fine retailers and etailers everywhere. The Oprah-approved book now contains these special bonus features:


* TWO intriguing chapters of Kiss of Life, which will be released in May!

* All-New ISBN numbers!

* The distinctive Disney logo! The hardcover was printed way back in the day by "Hyperion*DBG", whereas the modern paperback is put out by "Disney*Hyperion" Neat, huh?

* Three pleasant blurbs from reputable reviewing sources! Including one of my favorites, which from Kirkus Reviews that begins "Stephenie Meyer meets John Green...". How cool is it to be the literary love child of two authors who are both actually younger than me (not by much, though--I ain't dead yet)? Wowzers! Side note: I met and partied like a rock star assuming the rock star was, say, Morrissey during his reclusive years) with John Green in San Antonio, and I found him to be a wonderfully gracious and charming guy. We look nothing alike, however.

But wait! There's more...

* The book is PACKED with EVEN MORE zombies than ever before! Hoo hah, is there lots o' zombies! An all-new zombie character is right there in chapter two of the bonus material! It's zombtastic! You know how when you are playing XBox or Wii and there's all these super-cool unlockable characters? This is just like that, except in convenient book form!

Get yers today!

School Library Journal Article

Here's a link to a very nice article concerning mysocalledundeath.com, from the new issue of School Library Journal:

Blogging From Beyond the Grave

Foolish, Foolish Heart

I've come to the realization that when I go running at the park, no one else is travelling in my direction. Almost everyone that I meet while tromping along the 1.5 mile asphalt loop around park and pond is going clockwise, whereas I go counter. Weird. The realization was one of those paranoia inducing moments out of the Stepford Wives or The Body Snatchers, where first you begin to doubt your own sanity, and then you begin to doubt everyone else's--which is really the same thing, when you think about it.

Speaking of paranoia, here's a couple of pages out of my Rorschach-style running journal (got to get me a cool mask like his and a new moniker--Loveschach, maybe?).

Friday, March 27, 8:00 a.m.: Ran three loops, walked one. Listened to Monsters of Rock Playlist on random, heard many post-Peter but pre-makeupless Kiss songs.

Sunny day, light frost on grass and mist like demon breath on pond. Passed eight people, all going opposite direction. The man who wears Caulfield-style red cap with ear flaps. The cute elderly couple who feed squirrels. Lone stationary fisherman. D&D coffee guy. The two women who talk with their hands. A parks and rec guy I never saw before.

Was hissed at by Canada goose. Mate a few feet away on the shore. Protecting nest. Progeny to follow, more birdies to be laid against the foundations. Cute elderly couple scattered seeds on walkway; squirrels slow, almost obstinate, about getting out of the way. Glad I wore my gloves.

Saturday, March 28, 1:00 p.m.: Ran four loops, walked one. Loops two and three in exactly the same time according to iPod stopwatch. Still listening to MOR on random; but randomizer played songs three and four from side one of Iron Maiden's Powerslave in sequence. Evidence of ordered pattern to universe? Probably not.

Beautiful day, if one judges such things according to warmth and available light. Counted thirty two different people in travels today, only one going same direction. Young woman, walking swiftly, seemed to flinch when I passed her on the right.

Saw Holden Cap guy, D&D coffee guy, and other elderly couple who pick up trash, absent Friday. Community service, removing trash from park. Can never remove enough. Signs at entrance of park say no dogs, no wheels. Nearly crashed into by family of four on bikes. Two just learning to ride. Unleashed Pekingese leaves two piles of waste equal in mass to Pekingese on walkway; pair of leashed children restrained from petting dog. On third lap, saw both piles with waffle-weave tread in center. A plethora of strollers, only half of which with visible babies.

Monday, March 30: 7:45 a.m.: Ran three loops, walked one. Listened to Blast!, playlist of fast songs. First song Misfits' "This Island Earth". Significant?

Gray day, damp. Passed eleven people. Elderly couple that feeds squirrels, elderly couple that picks up trash, D&D coffee guy, Old Holden, talks-to-himself guy, two parks and rec guys working on the gazebo, one of the two women who talk with their hands, woman who I've never seen before. No other runners, but there aren't usually in the mornings.

All moving opposite me; lone boat beating against the tide. Metaphor? Or big hill avoidance strategy on their part? Cluster of squirrels on third hill, second loop little furry balls of resentment. Many are missing tails. Canada goose does not hiss; we've reached an understanding. Pekingese piles squashed flat by waffle treads, hard scabs on skin of the world, resistant to all elements. My side itches. Passed talks-to-himself-guy three times in one loop. Possible? Or some type of tachyon interference? Even elderly couple who pick up trash seem sullen today; greeting on each loop increasingly awkward experience. Wonder what's for lunch?