Permuted Press to Publish Teenage Wasteland

The ink is still drying on the contract as we speak, but I have officially been given the go ahead to let you all in on something spectacular.

Last week I was approached by my publisher, Permuted Press, about an idea that had been floating around in our heads for a little while. After going back and forth all weekend on story details, I have officially been signed on to write the first ever zombie novel in the young adult genre for Permuted Press.

This is something I am so excited about, because not only do I get the chance to work with one of the best small press companies in the world again, but young adult fiction is something that is near and dear to my heart, and a genre I have always wanted to write in. Up until now, the right project had never presented itself. Now, by combining my love of zombie fiction and YA novels, I get to write the best of both worlds with a novel tentatively titled “TEENAGE WASTELAND.”

I’m keeping the story line close to the chest for now, but will reveal more as the novel progresses. Just know that I intend for this to be the best damn thing I have ever written, and even though it’s classified as a YA novel, there’s still going to be plenty of action, blood, and yes, zombies. Young adult novels have come a long way recently with books like The Hunger Games, Rot & Ruin, and more, raising the bar as to what is acceptable, so I’m looking forward to pushing the boundaries with TEENAGE WASTELAND to make it not only enjoyable for young people, but for all you hardcore adult zombie fans as well.

Permuted Press, as you know, is the leader in post-apocalyptic/zombie fiction these days, with deals with Simon & Schuster, Audible.com, and now they’re just getting into the foreign rights market, so I’m very happy to be working along side them again. As you may remember, I signed a three-book deal with the company back in November, 2008, for ESCAPE and its two sequels, which went on to get picked up by Gallery Books, a division on Simon & Schuster, and will now be available in book stores nationwide this December and is also available to pre-order along with a free gift from yours truly in conjunction with some tremendous authors.

So there you have it, folks. Melzer. Permuted. Together again for what is going to be a rip-roaring fun project for me to write this Summer. I hope you’ll come along for the ride as I reveal more about TEENAGE WASTELAND in the months to come.

~JM