Coming late March/early April 2010 is the next story in the Deviant Dollar series called [RECALL].

“More than 4 million babies are born in the United States each year, but in the near future, that number is regulated by the government. Babies are created in test tubes, and leased to those deserving. It’s controlled, and safe. Until there’s a glitch in the system, and 1 million leased newborns, known as Units, have to be recalled.

Victor is a Bringer, called upon to go in to the slums and retrieve one of the recalled Units, but what Victor doesn’t know is that there’s a part of the population hiding a secret that could bring down the government’s system, and he’s forced to make a choice that could change everything…forever.

[RECALL] is the exciting new story in the Deviant Dollar series by James Melzer.”

Coming late March/early April 2010 to Amazon.com, Smashwords, and JamesMelzer.net for just 99 cents!

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Not sure whether or not you want to purchase the new story in the Deviant Dollar Series, PTS? Check out the free sample below. If you like it, consider buying a copy from the website in PDF and epub format, or if you have a Kindle or appropriate iPhone app, visit  Amazon.com and grab a copy from there.

I’m thinking of including a free sample each time a story goes on sale, so if this happens to generate some sales, you’ll probably get one each time. For right now, consider this a tease.

PTS tells the story of Anthony Delgato, a businessman living in a post-9/11 world. He may have survived that day, but when Anthony’s subway stops on a bridge 200 meters above ground, he’ll learn what it really means to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress.

Enjoy!

PTS FREE SAMPLE

“Post Traumatic  Stress Disorder is caused by a psychologically traumatic event involving actual or threatened death or serious injury to oneself or others. Such triggering events are called ‘stressors’; they may be experienced alone or while in a large group.” – CANADIAN MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION

The subway came to a halt and for the next ten minutes, Anthony Delgato wondered if he was going to die.

Between Castle Frank and Broadview stations is a bridge where the train peeks out from its underground lair for just a few seconds, and passengers squint their eyes as the sunlight hits them. That bridge is two hundred meters above ground, sitting over a highway like a suspended death trap for those on it, and those below who may be driving by at the wrong time should it decide to collapse. Usually the subway zips right along it, and when you open your eyes again, you’re back in the tunnels, approaching the next stop.

Not today though, and not for Anthony Delgato. He was stuck in mid-air, being held up by nothing but thirty-year-old steel and a prayer, and he wasn’t very good at praying.

He studied the faces of the other passengers and they were all registering the same expression: confusion. He had seen those looks before, when he was working in the tower of a very large structure that had been struck by a very large plane. It was the day the earth stood still, only it wasn’t a movie. Not for Anthony, and not for the thousands of others that had been affected. It had been the day everything changed, and here he was, surrounded by those same faces wondering what was happening.

Anthony looked over his shoulder out the window and saw nothing by empty sky. It gave him the feeling that he was soaring through the air like a bird spreading its wings. Until he looked down. Cars as big as cockroaches crawled along the highway in their desperate attempt to reach home. He no longer felt like he was flying. Now he just wanted to go home, too.

The subway car lurched forward an inch, throwing those standing off balance. A young woman landed in his lap, putting a tremendous amount of pressure on his thighs as she struggled to regain her footing. “Sorry,” she said, as Anthony’s face contorted. He caught her eye and saw that she genuinely meant it.

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”

He was about to continue speaking, but a baby at the other end of the compartment started crying, dismantling his school of thought. The woman turned her back to him and that was that.

It became glaringly clear to Anthony that she may very well be the last person he ever talked to. This woman who fell on him, put enough pressure on his legs that if he survived would be bruised in a few hours, could be his last form of contact with another human being.

He silently thanked her for moving him to such thought and making him see that no matter what, there was no way in hell he was going to die on the subway with fifty other people. Not after surviving The Day so many years ago.

Of course, there was no way of telling if he was stuck here because of terrorists, or due to a mechanical error. It could just be chance that the subway happened to stop on a bridge that if it collapsed would kill everyone on board.  As a regular rider, he knew firsthand that these things were always breaking down at the most inopportune time. During rush hour. When he was late for work. When he had a doctor’s appointment. In the sweltering heat of a city summer. He should be used to it by now. The only problem with that, and the thing that got him thinking that it was not a mechanical mishap, was that the conductor had yet to come over the loud speakers and announce what the problem was. Usually that happened in the first thirty seconds of stopping. Not this time though. Was he being held captive? Did he have a heart attack? Maybe he was dead? Impaled on a blade that was being gripped by someone who was hell bent on proving his religion was better than all the rest. Some crazy terrorist that was strapped to the nines with C4 that would blow them all to bits at the push of a button.

Perspiration tickled Anthony’s upper lip. He was gripping his briefcase handle so tight that his knuckles had turned ghost white. This was it. It was the end. He just knew it. He’d never attend another board meeting, never submit another quarterly sales report, and never attend another company picnic where Charlie in Finance always got drunk to the point where he’d take off his wedding ring and start hitting on Diane in Payroll. His wife would be at home, taking care of their two year-old son and watching it all on the news. She could probably see him through the window right now. Sitting there like another useless human who was too scared to do anything. Not this time, honey. Not this time. I made it out alive before, and I can do it again.

~END~

PTS is Copyright 2010 by James Melzer

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As many of you know, I have started selling digital versions of my stories. Ebooks, if you will. These have gone up for sale here on the website, Amazon.com, and on Smashwords.

As someone who has never dabbled in the ebook market, I was a bit flustered when it came to converting my regular manuscript in to a format that would suit the various ereaders that are out there. I tried once, twice, three times, and failed. I read the Smashwords style guide, Googled a bunch of info, and still it didn’t seem like I would ever get it.

I tried Calibre for conversion, that didn’t work. I tried the Amazon uploader, that didn’t work. GAH! How frustrating. Then I finally caught a break…by accident, and figured this whole mess out.

So here are my tips for converting your manuscript to a format that will look nice and pretty on a Kindle, Sony, or Nook. I’m using WordMac, by the way.

Turn off the auto correction function – When you write a document, there’s a whole bunch of stuff that you don’t see. When you convert that document to an ebook, all those things become glaringly clear, and they’re not good. Turning off the auto correction will eliminate the Word program from inserting invisible things that could be harmful to your ebook.

Never hit the ENTER key more than 5 times – This could cause a whole bunch of blank space to show up in your ebook. If you need to separate pages, use the Insert Page Break Function. To see how many times you’re hitting the ENTER key, click on the reverse P thingy on your menu bar at the top. That will show you all the non-printing characters your document has.

Don’t indent your work manually – This was the hardest thing for me to grasp. You start a paragraph, you indent 5 spaces, right? Not so with a ebook. It won’t work and will look all hokey on your finished document. Instead, Select All in the Edit section of your document. Then up top on the ruler bar, slide the top arrow over to where you want your paragraphs to begin. This will indent the beginning of each paragraph for you, thus saving you a whole lot of headaches later on.

Those are the biggest hurdles, I think, when it comes to converting your manuscript to an ebook. Once you have that all done, save it as a .doc file. Not a PDF, not a .txt and certainly not a .rtf. Amazon best converts .doc files when uploading to the Kindle. PDFs look funny, and so do all the other formats. The good thing about the Amazon DTP uploader, is that it lets you preview what your book will look like on the Kindle before you hit the publish button.

So while it may all seem a bit daunting, once you get the hang of it, you’ll be off to the races. Do I have all the answers? No, and I’m sure there’s some things that others do that work much, much better. For now though, I’ve learned what works for me, and as long as I can get my books up on the Kindle, I’m happy.

~JM

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The next story in the Deviant Dollar Series is hot of the digital press and ready for you to consume.

PTS tells the story of Anthony Delgato, a businessman living in a post-9/11 world. He may have survived that day, but when Anthony’s subway stops on a bridge 200 meters above ground, he’ll learn what it really means to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress.

***Praise for PTS***

“James Melzer has taken the mundane, twisted it, and doused it in a blood-chilling bucket of paranoia. When the subway engine in PTS stops, the fear revs into overdrive.” ~ J.C. Hutchins, author of Pesonal Effects: Dark Art and 7th Son: Descent

PTS is currently available on Smashwords, on the Amazon Kindle, or here on the website for just $0.99 cents!*

Just click the BUY NOW button below to have PTS delivered directly to your inbox in multiple formats including PDF and epub for the Sony Reader and Nook. For purchase on the Kindle, please visit Amazon.com to have it delivered to you via Whispernet. While there, you can grab the first Deviant Dollar story, SNOWMEN, also for $0.99 cents.*

So what are you waiting for? High quality short fiction for a low, low price. Get it NOW!

* For international Kindle orders, price may be slightly higher due to Amazon’s price chart. I have no control over this so please don’t bitch at me.

Deviant Dollars

PTS $0.99

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Remember that old tune by Olivia Newton John, Let’s Get Physical? Yeah, me too. I’ve had that song in my head all day today, only I’ve been replacing the word ‘physical’ with ‘digital.’

I’ve been fighting it for so long, not wanting to accept that my beloved paperbacks were going the way of the dinosaur. Oh, it’ll still be a few years before they’re completely extinct, if at all, but they are certainly dwindling away for various reasons. I didn’t want to accept the digital age of fiction. Who the hell would want to read books on a hand held device? The answer, as it turns out, is a lot! I got curious, ended up buying an e-reader and low and behold, I’m one of those people. Now I’ve embraced digital fiction like a long lost lover and am slipping it the tongue.

I recently announced a series of short stories that I’m doing called Deviant Dollars. These are short, 2,500-3,000 word stories that I am writing and selling for $0.99 cents. At first I was just going to sell them on my website in PDF form. Then I decided that I was going to put them up on Smashwords and try and gather some sales that way. Now I’ve decided that I’m publishing them myself directly to the Amazon Kindle. I’m getting digital.

As a content creator, this is an exciting time for me. I’m learning so much about digital publishing, what works in terms of marketing and getting the word out there. It’s basically a chance for me to step away from the FREE model that I’ve been using for so long, and test the waters of the digital age of fiction as it relates to e-readers and e-books. Will it be successful? Who knows, but I’m willing to be one of the first of my kind to branch out and try new things in terms of monetizing my fiction. My short story, SNOWMEN, just went up for sale in the Kindle store this morning, and already it’s selling better than 371,000 other e-books that are there. It’s not ranked at a high number, but it’s certainly far from the middle and right now, that gives me hope and validates my decision to do this.

I know that it’s going to take time and effort and a little ingenuity to sustain those numbers, and make them climb higher, and I’m okay with that. Nothing happens over night. The important thing right now is to keep writing, keep telling stories, keep giving stuff away for free, develop a presence on Amazon by leaving a digital paper trail so that when my book Escape hits the shelves in March of 2011 from Simon & Schuster, people will already know me. They’ll know me from my short stories, my novellas and say, “Hey, he’s got a novel out now. I think I’ll check that out.”

Whether I fall flat on my face, or end up scaling the mountain that is before me, I just want to be able to say that I did my best, and for any author, creator, artist, musician, that’s what it’s all about. Doing the best you can with the tools you have so at the end of the  day you can look back and say you gave it your all. If you succeed, great! If it fails, you can pick yourself up, dust off the cobwebs and move on to scaling another mountain. Rest assure, there will always be new models to try.

So if you want to help support this creative venture that I’m on, head on over to Amazon and grab a copy of SNOWMEN. If you don’t have a Kindle, you can buy it at Smashwords, and if all else fails, you can order a PDF copy directly from me. All formats for just $0.99 cents.

Let’s get digital, baby!

~JM

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Yesterday I tried something a little different. I wrote a short story, converted it to digital, sold it on Smashwords and here on the website. It sold for 99 cents and was called SNOWMEN.

Why did I do this? Various reasons.

The biggest being that as a writer, a content creator, I should get paid for what I create. Not Stephen King or James Cameron dollars, of course, but something. I give away free podcast novels that no one donates to…that’s the brutal truth. It seems that for people to fork over their hard earned dollars to a creator, they feel they should be getting something specific. Like a short story, a piece of art, a song or two. I’ve got hundreds, hell, maybe even a few thousand supporters of my work, yet no one donates to help me continue to do what I love to do, and what they apparently love to hear: storytelling.

That’s fine. I’m not placing the blame on any one or any model of creative output. I will continue to tell stories for free and put them up on the website. I appreciate the support and hopefully when the time comes for my book to be on shelves, you’ll go out and buy a copy to show your appreciation for the hundreds of hours I’ve put into podcasting my fiction. Thank-you in advance.

However, I’ve come to the conclusion that the FREE model is no longer a sustainable one for the creator. Sure, there may be the odd person that breaks out of the mold and goes on to have great success by giving their work away for free, but those people are few and far between nowadays.

I’m getting married in a few months, moving to a new country, and starting a new life with my wife and daughter. FREE just doesn’t cut it anymore and I need to generate some extra income, no matter how little it may be, every cent helps.

I sold SNOWMEN to sort of test the waters to see if most of you thought I was worth 99 cents. Based on the response, I’d say the majority of people agree that yes, the content I create is worth a buck. I’m still scratching my head over why more people don’t donate willingly to content creators, but that’s for another blog post.

So based on the response I got from yesterdays little experiment, I’ve decided to move forward with a project I’ve been noodling on for a while now. I’m calling it ‘Deviant Dollars.’

Once or twice a month I’ll be putting up a short story here on the website and on Smashwords and selling them for a dollar. The price of a taco, as my buddy Matt Wallace puts it. The goal is to, of course, generate some income for me and my family, while doing what I love to do: tell stories. If 50 people purchase a Deviant Dollar story, that’s 50 bucks. By selling directly to the you, the reader, I’ll most likely earn more money than if I were to submit them to short fiction markets, and you won’t have to wait the 6 months to a year to see that story in print. It’s fast, it’s direct, and it cuts out the middleman. That’s another factor that weighed in on my decision to do this.

There are going to be people that say I am undercutting the market. That I am bringing down the cost one should expect to pay for something, thus making it hard for other creators to charge more for their work if they should choose to do so. To those people I say this: you pay your bills your way and I’ll pay mine my way. I’m not worried about the online fiction market, it’ll be just fine whether anyone charges or not. I think a buck is a reasonable price to pay for a short story of 2,500-3,000 words. If you don’t, that’s your problem. Not mine. Don’t buy one.

I have yet to decide if I am going to offer audio versions of these stories. If there’s enough call for it, then maybe I will. But I’m telling you now that if I do, those will sell for 2 bucks. Audio takes up a lot more of my time than sitting down to write, and I know that my time is worth 2 bucks. At least.

I hope you can appreciate my position here, and why I am doing this. I’m not greedy, money hungry, or a snake oil salesman. I’m just a guy that likes to tell stories, and thinks he should be paid for his wares every once in a while. I don’t think that’s too much to ask from anyone.

Thank you for your continued support and even if you never purchase a Deviant Dollar story or donate to my free fiction, you and I are still cool. Keep the emails of encouragement coming, and I’ll continue putting out content for you to enjoy.

~James

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Lately I’ve been thinking a great deal about making money from my writing. Yeah, I have sold three books to Permuted Press and yeah, the first one has been picked up by Simon & Schuster and will be coming to print in March, 2011…but that’s a long ways away. I won’t start to see any income from that until around August, 2011, if I make back my advance, that is.

In an effort to bring in a little extra cash flow (and when I say little, I mean little), I’ve decided to start selling some short stories on Smashwords, and directly here on my website. Why sell and not give away for free? Well, the way I see it, my time and creativity is worth money. Maybe not a lot right now, but surely it’s worth 0.99 cents, which is how much these short stories are selling for.

So if you agree, and want to support my work and creative endeavours, please, head on over to Smashwords and download a digital copy of my first short story for sale, called SNOWMEN, it can be found HERE.

A yearly display of snowmen brings joy to children all over Pennsylvania, but when builder Edgar Davies takes a tumble, his true secret is revealed.

If you’d like to buy it directly from me, and cut out the middleman, thus giving me your entire 0.99 cents, click the BUY NOW button below and I’ll send you a PDF of SNOWMEN directly to your inbox. Please specify in the PayPal notes that your purchase is for SNOWMEN.

Thanks for your support!

~JM

SNOWMEN

SNOWMEN $0.99

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On March 16, 2010, the next book in the Permuted Press/Simon & Schuster deal that I am a part of hits the shelves.

The re-release of EMPIRE by David Dunwoody is finally here! I first read this book long before I ever had a book deal, or even began podcasting. I was attracted by its premise, and was not disappointed. Here’s the skinny:

The crippled U.S. government and its military forces are giving up the century-long fight against an undead plague. Born of an otherworldly energy fused with a deadly virus, the ravaging hordes of zombified humans and a nimals have no natural enemies. But they do have one supernatural enemy: Death himself.

Descending upon the ghost town of Jefferson Harbor, Louisiana, the Grim Reaper embarks on a bloody campaign to put down the legions that have defied his touch for so long. He will find allies in the city’s last survivors, and a nemesis in a man who wants to harness the force driving the zombies—a man who seeks to rebuild America into an empire of the dead.

Hailed as “A MACABRE MASTERPIECE OF POST-APOCALYPTIC ZOMBIE GOODNESS” on the Library of the Living Dead podcast, Empire brings stunning new twists to a shattering and unforgettable scenario of the not-too-distant future.

Sounds pretty cool, eh? Trust me. IT IS!

Dunwoody’s prose is quick, sharp and gritty. EMPIRE is easily a page-turner to rival some of the best NYT Bestsellers out there on the market right now.

The Grim Reaper killing zombies? Hell yeah! How can you not get excited about that?

Pre-Order the book from the following retailers to help drive early sales. Your support will continue to show Big Publishing that the small, indie presses like Permuted Press and its authors, are a force to reckoned with and that they made the right decision in making this deal.

Plus, you get a damn fine read in the process!

AMAZON.COM

BARNES & NOBLE.COM

Go. Buy. NOW!

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Almost two months ago now, I announced my new non-fiction project with partner Corey Graham, tentatively titled ‘The 100 Horror Movies You Have to See.’

It’s been 2 months of watching lots of horror movies (along with lots of beer), with Corey and I each compiling a list of 75 of the some of the greatest horror movies ever made.

I am pleased to say that we have each finalized our selections. After combining the two, we found that we both had 34 of the same titles on our lists. Cool. Now we just need 66 more. Mathematically, it works out great. Corey had 40 left over on his and I had 40 left over on mine. So we each need to axe 7, to bring it down to 33, and BOOM! There’s your 66, thus compiling the 100 Horror Movies You Have to See.

I think the hardest part of this project is almost over, because really, selecting 100 horror movies is not as easy as it sounds. There’s a lot of crap out there. We’re almost there, and once those 100 are selected, we’ll divvy them up and start writing about them, each from our own perspective.

Anyway, just wanted to give you guys and gals an update as to what’s going on. We haven’t forgotten about it, oh no, quite the contrary. We’re both excited, psyched, and ready to get writing and doing interviews for the book!

~JM

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I’m pleased to bring you part 3 of my free serial project, Cthulhu This! Lovecraft, crime noir and EC gore all mashed together in one tale that I’m having a hell of a lot of fun writing.

If you missed the previous parts, you can grab part one HERE, and part two HERE.

Enjoy!

CTHULHU THIS! (Part III)

The next day, it’s time to get down to business. Forget the dream, the photos; forget it all like a bad case of heartburn. I was given a job to do, and by God I was going to do it. If Deep Pockets wanted me to find his sister, then that’s what was going to happen. No bones about it. While I couldn’t completely ignore the night previous, I had to put it out of my head enough to start digging, so that’s what I did.

My first stop was the Internet. In the old days when I needed to find a place, I would ask around, grab an atlas, or phone directory assistance. These days, the entire world is at your fingertips with the click of a few buttons, and you don’t even have to get dressed to do it. There I was, sitting at my desk with a pair of boxers that were fraying at the waist and a black pair of dress socks on my feet that were sweating too much. I still hadn’t showered so I guess that was okay. Ah fuck, what do I care what you think?
I brought up Google and there it was, Hull’s Landing.
It wasn’t what I was expecting.
It may sound stupid, but based on the dream I had, I thought it would be near the water, on the coast somewhere. I was prepared to drive a great distance for answers, and maybe take a dip in the process. Instead, I found out that it was a quiet little town nestled at the base on the Appalachians in Pennsylvania. Population: 1300.
What the hell would the sister of a millionaire be doing in this place?
Yeah, I jumped in the shower, threw on some clothes, and got myself ready to find out.

The tools of my trade are pretty simple. I have an iPhone, a GPS in my car, a camera with a telephoto lens, and yeah, even a few hidden devices that record sound. I could be recording you right now as you’re reading this and you wouldn’t even know it. That’s the truth.
After punching in Hull’s Landing on Madge, I learned that it was roughly a four and a half hour drive away. Great. Cause you know, that’s what I was in the mood for. Four hours on the road with nothing but my thoughts and maybe some Sinatra to keep me company. After the night I had just went through, it would be tough to stay awake with the hypnotic road laid out before me. The hum of the tires on the pavement droning on like white noise in the background.
I stopped at the drug store and got some caffeine pills, then at Starbucks and grabbed the biggest fucking latte they had. Venti? It that what they call it? Jesus Christ. It’s a large. Friggin’ corporations.

There were a lot of things on my mind as I drove on and on and on. For one, what was this chick, Caroline, doing in Hull’s Landing? How the hell did what Money Bags have in his mansion tie in to all of it? Don’t try and tell me different because I know it did. After that dream, there was no doubt in my mind that this wasn’t my ordinary missing persons case. He obviously had enough information to know where she might be, so why didn’t he just go get her himself? Why me? I told you a while ago that this was the weirdest trip I had ever been on, and I meant it. Too many questions, too many loose ends, not enough information. It just wasn’t my style. The paycheck though, that was the only thing fueling me right now, and I hated it. Like a crack addict desperate for the next hit, I was desperate for that money to get me out of here for good.

Two hours into the trip and my stomach was purring like a pussy. I passed a Jelly Belly restaurant of some sorts and pulled a U on the empty road. A snack shop named after jelly beans? Whatever. Out here in the middle of nowhere anything was possible, including what I was about to be told by the waitress.

Once inside I caught a whiff of homemade lemon meringue and ordered a slice along with a cup of coffee. I popped two more caffeine pills and chowed down like a bull dog, much to the chagrin of…what was on her name tag? Wendy? She walked over to take my empty plate and refill my cup.
“You’re not from around here, are you?”
It took me a second to actually realize she was talking to me. In New York, you don’t get that a lot, so it’s not something I’m used to.
“What gave it away?”
Wendy somehow took my response as an opportunity to take a seat across from me. She was young, maybe mid-twenties, yet she looked like she had been doing this job for about fifty years. The bags under her eyes and unkempt hair told me that she probably had a kid at home, maybe a husband that didn’t treat her very well. I’d seen her before, in a hundred different girls.
“I’m here almost everyday and I’ve never seen you before.”
She didn’t quite have a New York accent and she didn’t quite have a Pennsylvania one. It was some bastardized version of the two and I found myself smiling at it.
“What? Something funny?”
“No,” I said. “It’s just that you’re about as perceptive as a peephole.”
She squirmed in her seat a bit, not sure how to take my comment. Hell, I’m not even sure I knew what I meant. I was so high on pills and coffee.
“Actually,” she went on, “I saw your license plate.”
This was a woman after my own heart.
“So what are you? FBI?”
I couldn’t hold it in any longer and I giggled like the daughter I was now sure she had back at her trailer.
“Would an FBI agent be dressed like this?” I held out my hands, inviting her to look at my jeans, wrinkled dress shirt and loose tie.
“No, I guess not,” she said.
It occurred to me that this girl must get all kinds of people like me who come through here. Strangers just passing through, on their way to nowhere, somewhere, and any destination in between. It also dawned on me that if Wendy was as polite with all of them as she was with me, she just might know something about where I was headed.
I reached into the briefcase I had with me and pulled out the picture of the Welcome sign. I slid it across to her and as she reached to take it, our fingers touched and for a moment I felt a dark cloud pass over head, like the ones in the photograph.
“What can you tell me about that place, Wendy?”
She was smiling when she took the picture, but she wasn’t smiling now. Her hands started to tremble a little and the table was moving as her knee was knocking it from underneath.
“Wha…what do you want to know about that place for?”
“Cause that’s where I’m going, Wendy.”
She let the picture drop to the floor and she stood up, wiping the scum it had left on her hands away on a dish rag she had in her apron.
“You can’t go there, mister. You can’t.”
“Why not, Wendy? What’s wrong with Hull’s La..”
“Shhh. Don’t say it. Please don’t say its name.”
She started walking away, sobbing her apologies.
“Wendy,” I said as I bent over to pick up the photo.
She sensed my movement and turned back around. Her eyes had changed in a matter of moments. There was something behind them that wasn’t there before. Not fear, but rage, as if the picture had sparked something in her memory, much like a scent will bring back thoughts of a lost love. Only Wendy was clearly not in love with Hull’s Landing.
“Evil!” she screamed. “That place is evil!”
Her words rattled the spoon beside my half empty cup and the picture in my hand began to smoke. Little tiny wisps emanating off it like Indian signals. Then it burst in to flames.
“Jesus Christ!”
The commotion had been heard and as one of the cooks came out of the kitchen, I knew that was my time to jet.
“What the hell’s going on out here?” said Brutus. Seriously, he was one big dude that I didn’t want to mess with.
“It’s okay,” said Wendy. “It’s not his fault.”
He stomped on the picture as it disintegrated there on the floor. He must have caught a glimpse of it before it became completely unrecognizable.
“Hull’s Landing? Hey, Wendy. Isn’t that your old stomping ground?”

Before I could say another word, I was back in my car and peeling out of there like a banana in the hands of an Ethiopian. Evil, eh? Well we were going to find out just how evil this pace was, because I still had a few tricks up my sleeve that even the fucking Old Ones didn’t know about.

…to be continued

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Welcome back to another episode of UNLEASHED! Sponsored by Permuted Press.

It’s a jam packed episode this month! I talk about some news that hit the podcast fiction world pretty hard recently, as author J.C. Hutchins has decided not to give away his work for free anymore. I agree with everything he said on his website, which you can check out HERE. This is something that has been weighing heavy on my mind ever since I read Amanda Palmer’s blog post HERE.

Corey Graham joins us for his first ever segment on UNLEASHED, as he reviews the classic horror flick, Candyman!

This months interview is with Peter Clines, who is the author of the brand new book from Permuted Press, EX-HEROES. It’s a great read, and Peter and I sat down for an hour to talk about the book, his more than 15 years spent in the movie business, and his gig as a writer for Creative Screen Writing Magazine.

PROMO – Beneath by Jeremy Robinson, found on Podiobooks.com

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On October 31, 2010, myself and fellow podcast author, Jennifer Hudock, will be joined together in holy matrimony in Muncy, Pennsylvania. We have started a Chip In page to give our friends and fans from all over the world who may not be attending the wedding a chance to ‘chip in’ to help us get started with our new life together.

Being creative types, we don’t have a lot of funds in the bank at this point. While we have the little things needed to get started, we think this is a great way for our friends to help us get the ‘bigger’ things. You know, a place to live, a car, a honeymoon. Stuff like that. Rather than gift cards, tea towels, pillows, cutlery sets, and the like, you can help us defer costs for the wedding, as well as get started on building a life together in our new home. Wherever that may be.

We appreciate all your support and well wishes, and anything you can help with is already overwhelming. Just click the widget at the side to donate, or visit our Chip In page.

With All Our Love,
James & Jenny

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I don’t pretend to know a lot about the publishing world. Hell, we’re probably on even playing field here. The fact that I have a book coming out in March of 2011 doesn’t make me some publishing guru or know it all. I’m a guy who writes books, sells them, and then does his best to promote them however he can. I’ve never been to NYC to visit Simon and Schuster, and I have no idea what goes on in those tall, ivory towers people seem to think they can’t break into. I write books. That’s about it.

Some of you may have heard that on Friday the shit hit the fan between Amazon and Macmillan. Macmillan wants to raise the price of their ebooks and Amazon said no, so they stopped selling all Macmillan titles in protest. Something like that, anyway.

Upon observing this pissing contest between two giants, I noticed something funny about the authors involved. I follow some of them on twitter, read their blogs from time to time, and I wanted to see their reaction to the whole thing, so my spidey senses were heightned during this whole kerfuffle (which still isn’t over yet, BTW), and I watched and read.

Here’s what I saw: Pretty much all of the authors that I know of who are involved were tweeting and facebooking and blogging about Amazon pulling their titles. They posted links to other authors and newspapers and bloggers who were talking about it, and how it’s all wrong.

For the record, I agree. It is wrong.

Pretend for a second that you’re average joe reader. You hear about a book, think it sounds good and want to buy it. You go to Amazon this past weekend and find that you can’t. It’s not there. WTF? You’re inclined enough to go check out the authors website and find all this mumbo jumbo about Amazon pulling titles and not selling the authors book. What a pity. The author has posted this big, long rant on how Amazon is the devil and blah blah blah.

Yet he doesn’t tell you where you CAN buy the book online.

Now, you just don’t care and go on to find an author whose book is listed and that you can get delivered to your home in a few days. Done and done.

The author that posted that big, long rant about how Amazon is the devil and blah blah blah just lost a customer. A reader.

My point to this whole thing is that most of the authors involved in this Amazon vs. Macmillan thing were bitching and complaining and linking here and there, but they weren’t telling their readers, their FANS, where they COULD buy their books. Amazon is not the only place online to buy books, yanna. There’s Powell’s, Barnes & Noble, Borders and if you’re Canadian like me, Indigo. Yes, people who are savvy enough know this and would have most likely gone over there to grab a title, but wouldn’t it be nice to hear it from the author who you’re giving your money to? No. Most of them just assumed that people knew.

A simple, “Hey, sorry you can’t buy my book on Amazon right now. Here’s where it can be found,” would have been nice.

Is that too much to ask of an author who wants his readers to find his books? More so, attract new fans and readers? If someone who doesn’t know you or perhaps isn’t that web knowledgeable wants to buy your book but can’t find it on Amazon, then tell them where they can find it for goodness sake. The average joe reader doesn’t necessarily care about what Amazon or Macmillan are doing, they just want to read a damn book. Hopefully a good one. If they can’t find yours, they’ll go on to another author, and perhaps forget all about you.

Never to return again.

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Seven days ago I debuted a new story here on the website. It’s a mix of crime noir with some old EC comic feel blended with H.P. Lovecraft mythos. I’m calling this mashup CTHULHU THIS! Based on some emails I got, the comments on the site and on twitter and facebook, I’m going to keep going with this one. I’m having a hell of a lot of fun writing this and I think you guys are enjoying it. So if you’re new here and have no idea what the hell I’m talking about, or just missed it, go read the first part HERE, then come back to read the next part, which begins…now!

CTHULHU THIS! (Part II)

Not to get all CEO on your miserable existence, but do you ever notice that people don’t stop enough to examine their own lives? They’re too busy grabbing and groping, clawing and scratching, buying the latest fashions, seeing the newest movies, dishing on the current gossip like chickens with no eggs to lay. Self-made, self-help, self-righteous. Everyone’s too busy grasping for the brass ring. That brass cock ring that they think will solve all their problems, and when they get it, they always want more. No matter how much people have, there’s always another rung to climb on the never ending ladder that goes nowhere.

No one is exempt from this. Least of all, me. I’ve been guilty of not stopping to smell the roses on more than one or two occasions. After that encounter with money bags though, I thought. I thought  a lot.

I get back to my apartment, see, and I sit on the couch with a severed-finger of scotch, stroking Pepper whose motor is running like a remote control helicopter. I’m in a trance. Thinking. The envelope that bucks gave me sits on the coffee table. Unopened.

I think about my life. All the things I’ve done and the regrets I have. It all flashes before me double time. Some of it’s as clear as day, and the rest is like trying to watch porn through a scrambled signal. It’s one of those moments where you know that after it’s over, you’ll be a changed man. It’s a moment that everyone needs, but are too preoccupied with self-indulgence to take it. My childhood where I raised myself. My teen years where I masturbated my way to failing grades. Twenties, where I first had sex. The things I’ve done in my work. It’s amazing the details I recall in mere moments.

When it’s over and my metamorphosis is complete, I take the glass to pound back the rest of the scotch, only to realize that it’s already gone. Pepper is no longer humming, but rather she’s looking at me with black pearl pupils. I smile at her and she runs. So much for loyalty.

I eye the manila envelope. Everything I need to do the job is in there, he said. I pick it up and turn in over in my hands, feeling the fibers between my fingers like braille.

While I’ve already committed to doing the job, something tells me it’ll be my last for a while. After it’s over I’ll have to disappear. Become a ghost in a city that’s full of substance. A great shift is coming, perhaps one that will change the whole world, if not just my life. I know it. You know it, and Pepper sure as hell knows it. I can see it as clean as a teenage girl fresh out of the shower. It’s disturbing, but I welcome it. There’s nothing else to say.

When all these thoughts are gone, my day is done. I leave the envelope where it is, and head for the bedroom. My teeth can wait until morning. I kick off my puppies, drop my pants in the hallway, and throw my shirt in the hamper. Before I know it my head is resting on a pillow of peace and I’m out like a runner trying to steal home off a ground ball.

I’m standing in front of an ocean. Naked. It’s a body of water larger than any I’ve ever seen. It stretches as far as the eye can see on all sides. I’m on land. Not land. An island. I am a man. The sky is a mix of purple people eater and menstrual red. There are turkey vultures circling overhead. There’s wind, but nothing for it to rustle except the hair on my head. My penis is erect. Like a boy scout standing at attention. I open my mouth to scream but nothing comes out, or if it does, I can’t hear it. I can’t hear anything. I’m deaf. Some great distance out the water starts to bubble like someone is breathing below the surface. Not breathing. Rising. They’re coming up from the ocean. Hundreds. Thousands. Millions. Too many to count. They’re all around me, but too far away to see. I spin like the vultures above. Trying to scream. Nothing comes out. One of the birds dives. When it emerges, it is holding a head in its mouth. A severed head. My head. Its jaw hangs loose. I still can’t hear. The people are getting closer. Not people. Things. Creatures. Old Ones. How I know this, I don’t know. Spider-like, squid-like. Elephantiasis. Tentacles. Spikes. Slugs. Toads. Glowing. Entrails. They’re whispering. Chanting. Praying. I regain my hearing, but it is faint. Cthulhu fhtagn. Cthulhu fhtagn. Cthulhu fhtagn. Over and over and over. What does it mean? Death. Life. Knowing. Power. Nothing. Void of all sense. A second bird dives. It does not come back up. The Old Ones part and a woman appears. It’s always a woman. She’s formless. I can’t make her out. But I know she’s a she. Getting closer now. Chanting still. What do I do? Their sounds now fill my brain like memories brought on by scent. Flooding. Like water. It’s peaceful. Serene. Like it’s supposed to be this way. The woman gets closer. Closer. Closer. There’s something not right about her. She’s like a puzzle piece that doesn’t fit in its slot. Yet still I come. She’s ecstasy mixed with poison. I can’t help but drink. She smiles. Revealing teeth that are blade sharp. Then from behind her, from behind the Old Ones, from behind everything, it raises. The Master. The I Am. The Thing that was here before and that history has yet to find. Cthulhu fhtagn. Cthulhu fhtagn. Cthulhu fhtagn. I scream again. This time I hear everything…

…As I wake up it echos off the bedroom walls and back into my head like a boomerang. It takes me a few minutes to get my senses together. Like I’ve just been sucker punched at the end of the fifth. There’s no light seeping in through the blinds. Still night. Clock blinks 3:30 AM. I feel something wet and notice that my sheets are soaked in semen. I expect the woman to come through my door at any second. Not opening it, but passing through it like mist. She doesn’t. My heart is pounding. I need a drink.

I’ve had weird dreams before. The kind that after you wake up and shake the cobwebs away, you just chalk it up to two extra spicy burritos and your conscience being a bitch. Nothing even comes close to that monster though, and that’s exactly what it was. And I know where it came from.

I sit on the couch and clap-on a light. Pepper jumps up and laps the water from my glass before I can even catch a gulp. Guess I wasn’t the only one with bad dreams.

The envelope still rests unopened, and before I know it I’m tearing at the edges and spilling the contents out on the coffee table like a collage. I look at the one on top and I know that’s where it will end. No fear. No doubt about it.

The picture is of a town sign. The kind you see driving through the country on a Sunday afternoon after picking a batch of blueberries with the wife and kids. Maybe you wave to the boys on their bikes as you pass them. Or maybe you don’t. Either way, the sign up ahead still gets closer, and as the wind blows through your hair because the windows are down it welcomes you with down home cheeriness.

The difference is that my picture is in black and white. Not crisp but grainy. Like an old Universal horror flick. The sky in the background is a dark gray. Darker than the rest of the picture. A storm is coming as ominous clouds cluster together like a street gang.

I take a sip of water and just sit there, staring at the photo.

Welcome to Hull’s Landing.

…to be continued

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I am pleased to announce that the former host of The Midnight Podcast, and my friend, Corey Graham, will now have his own segment on UNLEASHED, beginning in February, doing movie reviews.

Corey is a stand-up guy, says what he believes with no bullshitting, and will definitely give it to you straight on UNLEASHED. He’s a great guy, someone I am proud to call my friend, and will make a great addition to the UNLEASHED family along with Ron Earl Phillips, who just started doing book reviews on the last episode. His extensive knowledge of horror movies is unparalleled, and look for Corey to review everything from mainstream and indie titles, to crap you or I have never even heard of.

For those of you that don’t know, we’re also working on a book together, which we’re calling the ‘100 Horror Movie You Have To See’ project. Read all about it HERE.

So welcome, Corey, we look forward to having you give it to us straight on UNLEASHED!

~JM

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Welcome back to another episode of UNLEASHED, still sponsored by Permuted Press.

It’s been a while, but I’m back with a new segment called the Bedlam Book Report, hosted by Ron Earl Phillips. On his very first segment, Ron reviews The Pack: Winter Kill by Mike Oliveri .

Escape has a release date of March, 2011. Stay tuned to learn more about how you can pre-order one of a limited number of signed copies, with some special bonus content thrown in for good measure.

Seth Harwood announced that his book, Young Junius, is coming to print from Tyrus Books. We’re happy and excited for the return of PALMS SUNDAY!

NYT Bestseller Scott Sigler also has his new book, Ancestor, available for pre-order right now on Amazon.com. It’s shaping up to be a summer blockbuster in true FDO fashion.

This episodes interview is done by a special guest host. My boy, Marco Gennuso, sits down to talk with Jermaine Crawford from the HBO series, The Wire, about a project he’s involved in called CODE BLUE. We learn all about that and more in this fantastic interview that Marco was gracious enough to let me play on the show.

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Yesterday Steve Jobs and Apple launched their new iPad, and the Internet has already been buzzing with the feminine hygiene jokes. Well this one tops them all.

It may be two years old, but MadTV hit it out of the park with this one. Who knew they could predict the future?

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There are few things in this world that I love with all my heart. My wife, daughter and family. Writing. A nice, cold beer after a long, hard day at work. That’s about it.

Of course there are other things I enjoy. Podcasting. Talking to you fine folk on twitter, facebook, and wherever else our paths may cross. I also enjoy stories of all shapes and sizes. I have a deep love for old horror comics of the EC kind. Tales from the Crypt. House of Mystery. Weird Tales. You know the ones. The other kind of old stories I enjoy are those of a pulp nature. Old crime noir tales with cliched characters, similes, and dames that bring nothing but trouble. You may know those, too. Lastly, I love Cthulhu. While I’ve never been what you would call a hardcore H.P. Lovecraft fan, I’ve read his stuff and enjoy the mythos he created.

I’ve been reading a lot of old comics lately to prepare myself for future endeavours. Then, to my surprise and glee, the last time I was in Pennsylvania I happened upon a comic shop that had some rags called CTHULHU TALES from BOOM! Studios. I flipped through them, liked what I saw, and bought all the issues they had. After reading them, I read them again. I was in love. With my need to feed on more Cthulhu, I reread Lovecraft’s Call of Cthulhu. That was pretty much all it took to put the wheels in motion.

What follows is a mix of old crime noir and Cthulhu and yes, there will even be some EC love thrown in for good measure. It’s going to be a serialized project in text form only, so don’t ask me when it’s going to be podcasted. It won’t be. The language is raw and gritty and will probably offend some of you. Hell, maybe most of you. To be honest, I don’t care. I’m writing this for me, and giving it to you, so I’ll do with it what I want. Of course, your feedback in the comments section is always welcomed. It’s pretty much encouraged, as it’s what keeps me going most times. There will be no set schedule as of yet for what I’m calling CTHULHU THIS!. It will come as it comes. Maybe weekly, perhaps bi-weekly. We’ll see.

I hope you enjoy reading it, because I’m having a hell of a lot of fun writing it.

~JM

CTHULHU THIS!

PART 1

Everyday I walk the streets of this city, smelling its stench. They cling to me like a piece of linen. Assaulting me until I can do nothing but go back to my apartment and wait for someone to call, while choking down my own bile. Their conversations are like a factory line. Same shit new day. I hear them as I trudge along. Inside the coffee shops and shopping malls, outside the cafes and bistros. My ears vibrate like a cell phone, taking in every call. No I.D. is needed. I know who they are. They’re the people who go to work, do their jobs, and go home to beat their wives and husbands, diddle their kids, sell some smack, choke themselves with a cum stained stocking. They are the bottom feeders. Leeches. And somewhere there’s someone who needs me to sort it all out for them because they’re too weak and feeble to do it themselves. Everyone wants help, but no one is willing to help themselves.

I’m an ambulance chaser. A leech of a different kind. I don’t go to you, you come to me. I’ll tell it to you straight and empty your wallet with no strings attached. It’s what I do. I’ll give you the results, but there’s no guarantee you’ll like them. That’s not my problem, honey. Your husband was fuckng that rubbed glove stuffed water bottle long before I came along. Now it’s up to you to do something about it. I just confirm suspicion and in this place, everyone’s a suspect.

Have a nice day. Here’s my card.

I’ve seen and done a lot of strange things in my line of work. You don’t get to where I am by simply hiding in the bushes with a telephoto lens like the paparazzi. It takes creativity. You gotta blend in. Go with the flow. Shake a hand or two.

How ya doing I’m an old friend of Sarah’s from college we met at that party last year I like your hair that’s a nice suit have you lost weight?

Connection. You have. To find. A connection. Something that ties us all together in this daisy chain of life. After all, we’re all going to the same orgy, so I may as well call you by your first name.

There was this one set once who suspected that her husband was a homo. How in the world he would want to play batter when he had a piece like that at home was beyond me. She was gorgeous. But like all gorgeous women, her head wasn’t completely intact. That’s what I’ve learned over the years. The more beautiful they are, the higher they are in the clouds. Fuck the 30,000 foot ceiling. They’re shootin for the moon.

She wanted me to find the truth, so I did.

First I followed him around like a rough case of herpes, and when that turned up nothing I got in close. Real close. Introduced myself to him at a night club and we got friendly. After three months I went back to the wife and gave her the photos of her man bobbing up and down like a sea buoy on my shaft.

You gotta find a connection. Remember?

She paid in full and I fattened my nest egg.
Last I heard she was getting her muffin topped by a gal named Silky. Serving twenty-five to life for murder.
That’s the biz, as the saying goes.

But nothing, and I mean nothing, tops this one gig I had. Weirdest trip I ever went on, and if you’re not ready to say goodbye to everything you think you know about this crazy life, then maybe I shouldn’t tell you. Perhaps you’d be more comfortable in your Snuggie, playing with your Slap Chop and not knowing what’s really out there. Something tells me that’s not the case. You want… no…you need to know. Don’t you? It’s gnawing at your brain like cancer. Well fuck it then. My conscience left me right around the time of my second wife. Maybe you can make some sense of it. I sure as hell can’t.

Last September I get a call from a guy on the outskirts. Where the seven-figure folk live. He tells me his sister’s gone missing and he wants me to find her. No problem. I’ve located a few missing persons in my day. Some dead, but most still alive. Funny thing about this wallet though, he asks to meet me in person. No one ever wants to meet me first. It’s easier for them that way. I’m usually nothing but a bad blind date to my clients after the fact. I think of how I can swing this to my advantage, and tack on an extra grand. If he batted an eyelash, I couldn’t hear it.

“Do you want anything to drink?” he asks, after my ass is in the most expensive chair it’s ever been in. No, but I’d like to take a skinny in that wine glass you call a swimming hole out back.

“I hear you’re a man who knows how to find things, Mr. Chambers,” he says. “I want you to find my Caroline.”

He speaks like a hypnotist. In slow pours with a soothing body, and before I know it I feel like I just ate a Christmas ham and it’s time for a nap.

I distract myself by admiring the decor. I don’t know what this guy does for a living and after looking at the stuff he’s got on the walls and mantles, I’m not sure I want to. Creatures and symbols and rivers the color of a virgin first violated, mixed with hieroglyphics that would puzzle a sand nigger. It looks old, and I don’t just mean in style, I mean old. Like he found something that history didn’t. My eyes dart back and forth like mice, letting his voice slip in between the cracks. Then they land on a piece that’s sitting alone in the corner.

A large marble pillar that’s a shade shy of forest green. Spiraling upwards from the base to the tip are words I can’t pronounce, or ever wrap my head around. Perched on top of this thing is a figure so grotesque that if you took a squid out for dinner, you’d bring it home afterward just to save your eyes from ever gazing upon it. Over sized head. Tentacles, lots of them, protruding from where it’s jaw should be. It’s crouched on hind legs and the claws run down the side of the pillar like oil. The front legs also have them. One each. One long, thick, black claw on each foot. They curl down over the edge like they’re peaking into some abyss not meant for human eyes. It’s eyes. Not eyes, but slits. Thin red slits that don’t seem to be looking out, but inwards into your soul. My soul. It doesn’t like what it sees.

I’m usually pretty good at keeping myself in check. I have to be or else I would’ve been in Arkham about the time Hoffa took a dirt nap. After lingering on that thing though, my chest has begun to tighten like dried up leather and my breathing isn’t right. Like there’s a pebble in my respirator.

“Mr. Chambers?”

His voice has brought me back to the present and I’m looking at him. What the hell just happened?

“Can you find her? Can you find my Caroline?”

I swallow glass and nod my head. Whatever will get me the fuck out of there. He hands me an envelope and tells me it’s all I’ll need to get started.

“Good luck, Mr. Chambers,” he says.

I peel out of the driveway like I’m racing the sun and that’s when it occurs to me that I never told him my name.

…to be continued

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On September 1st, 2008, I began podcasting the first draft of my debut novel, The Zombie Chronicles: Escape. Four days later the podcast had a sponsor in the way of Permuted Press. Then, in November of 2008, I announced that all three books in the trilogy had been sold to Permuted Press before the first one was even finished. That made me the world’s first podcast author to acheive such a feat. Selling three books off of one unfinshed manuscript. Yeah, I claim bragging rights for that one.

Then in July of 2009, I revealed that TZC: Escape had been picked up in the deal between Permuted Press and Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.

While Escape was going to be published late in 2009 from Permuted Press, the deal between Pocket Books changed all that. I was okay with that. Why? Because with Simon & Schuster behind the novel, it would get a North American release, finding its way into book stores everywhere. How cool is that?

I am now pleased to announce that I have a tentative release month for The Zombie Chronicles: Escape. As of right now, it will be hitting book shelves across the country in March, 2011. Yes, 2011.

That may seem like a ways away, but in the world of Big Fiction, that’s actually not too bad. See, when  S&S picked up seven books from Permuted Press, they decided to take a chance on mine. Initially, they only wanted books with proven sales records. With the success of the podcast version of Escape though (over 500,000 downloads and counting), they went with it.

So together, you and I are going to band together in March, 2011, to show them that they made the right decision, and that they should pick up the sequels as well.

There’s going to be big things happening over the next year, including an announcement soon about how you can pre-order signed copies of the book, and how you can help start spreading the word.

In March of 2011, we’re going to take the publishing world by storm and everyone will realize that there is no escape from the book New York Times bestseller Scott Sigler calls, “The 1984 of zombie novels…”

THE ZOMBIE CHRONICLES: ESCAPE!

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I am pleased to announce my first non-fiction project, tentatively titled, 100 Horror Movies You Have to See. The book will be a write-up of some of the greatest horror movies of all-time, as well as some you may have never even heard of, and will feature interviews with the filmmakers, screenwriters and actors of some of the best horror films ever.

I’ve always wanted to do a non-fiction book and late last year I got the seed of an idea, and now it’s finally coming together. I love everything about horror movies and what they represent, and now’s my chance to write about them. Of course, undertaking a project like this is a huge job for one person, so this book will not just be written by me, but with the help of a collaborator.

Corey Graham, from The Midnight Podcast, is going to be co-writing the book with me. Corey is a hell of a guy and knows his stuff. He’s proficient in the horror genre, loves doing interviews, and after more than 150 episodes of The Midnight Podcast, is ready to branch out into other areas. Plus, he’s a heck of a writer, whether he wants to admit it or not. When I asked Corey if he’d like to get involved, he immediately jumped at the chance, and we’re so happy to be bringing this project to you.

It’s going to take a while, perhaps all of 2010, to get ‘er done (as the saying goes), but when it’s finished, you’ll be able to hold in your hands one of the greatest horror movie guides ever produced.

Subscribe to the blog for updates as they roll in so you’re sure not to miss everything to do with the project. We’ll be trying to post on a regular basis, so you don’t want to miss out.

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Just moments ago on Twitter and Facebook, author Jonathan Maberry released the cover art for his new Young Adult novel, Rot & Ruin, which hits stores everywhere September 7, 2010.

The first in a series, Rot & Ruin focuses on a young boy growing up in a post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested America.

I got the chance to interview Maberry for UNLEASHED, and after meeting and talking to him at Horror Realm, I have to say that he’s a hell of a guy. Patient Zero was the first novel I read, then I went back and snacked on everything else the man has done. A superb writer, an excellent guy, Jonathan Maberry really is a class-act.

I love the cover and cannot wait for the book to be released.

Pre-order Rot & Ruin NOW!

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I said I wasn’t going to do a year-end review blog post, and I’m not. I mean christ, we’re already six days into January and at this point I forget most of what happened in 2009 anyway. Most of it…

Let’s face it. 2009 was a banner year here at the ol’ Melzer household. I finished podcasting Escape: A Zombie Chronicles Novel. The friggin’ book got picked up by Simon & Schuster. I attended my first convention, Horror Realm, all on my publishers dime. I got engaged to be married, picked up a couple of freelancing gigs and yes, I got a Sony eReader. I love it!

But this isn’t a recap.

It’s out with the old and in with the new.

I used to be one who lived in the past alot. Quite alot, actually. In recent years though, I’ve learned the importance of letting go. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to have memories of those important moments in your life, the ones that shaped you and taught you so much, but it’s not cool to sit and dwell on the ‘what if’s.’ I used to do that.

Therefore, 2010 can be summed up in one word for me: FORWARD

This year will be all about moving forward. Not only with my personal life (the wedding’s in October, by the way), but with my career as well. I’ll be trying to write more than ever in 2010 in terms of novels, short stories, freelance work, all of it.

You know what the best part about all of this is?

I’ll be taking all of you along for the ride.

The website has a new look and with that new look comes a new commitment and attitude. A commitment from me to blog more, post more of my fiction, thoughts, up’s and down’s, whatever. An attitude that begets holding nothing back, speaking freely and from the heart. A no-holds-barred king of attitude. You dig? There’s just lots of cool stuff happening this year and I want to be able to share it with all of you.

So here we are. January 6th, 2010. It’s time to start kicking-ass, taking names, and moving FORWARD.

Who’s with me?

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While the audio is still a couple of weeks away for the next episode of TZC: INVASION, I thought I’d try something a little different by dropping the PDF for episode two first.

My thanks to all those that have been patient with the new book. The first episode dropped way back on Halloween in audio and PDF form, and I know many of you have emailed me asking, “Where’s the next episode? Where’s the next episode?” With my upcoming wedding, freelance gigs and the hub-bub of the holidays, I never got a chance to get into the groove of things yet. With the new year almost upon us though, and the holidays coming to an end, that will soon be remedied and your eyes and ears will once again be able to feast on the next book in The Zombie Chronicles series on a regular basis.

So without further ado, here’s The Zombie Chronicles: Invasion – Episode Two

“The gang make their way to The Coffee Shack where David and Jenny seem to patch things up. Danny and Kate run into some trouble before one of them dies, and the Beings make their way to earth.”

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It’s Friday, and that means it’s time for the weekly round-up of all the freelance articles I’ve written around the web. You may remember how I told you about my freelancing gigs, and how you can help me out, so without further delay, here’s the list.

EXAMINER.COM ARTICLES

• Sigourney Weaver drops ‘Ghostbusters 3′ bomb (with video)
• Charges dropped in ‘Twilight Saga: New Moon’ piracy case
• ‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon’ still going strong overseas
• Top 10 horror films of the decade
• Terror Tuesday: Horror DVD & Blu-Ray releases for December 15, 2009
• ‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon’ most watched online video of 2009
• Second ‘Alice in Wonderland’ trailer released
• Top 10 worst horror films of the decade
• Dan O’Bannon dead at 63

REAL TV ADDICT ARTICLES

• Tuesday Trivia: I’d Like to Buy a Vowel
• Jack Frost: A Tale of Christmas Love

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Welcome back to another episode of UNLEASHED. Sponsored by Permuted Press.

I’m still in shock over the news of the death of Z.A. Recht. Zach was a great guy, a great author, and his death is just a sad, sad loss for the horror community. Words cannot express how much my heart goes out to his family, friends and fans everywhere. I met Z.A. at Horror Realm and he was such a nice, quiet guy. All class, as the saying goes. Zach, you will be sorely missed. Rest in peace.

OBITUARY

Zachary Allan Recht, 26, died on Dec. 10, 2009, at his home.

He was born Feb. 4, 1983, to Keith A. and Mary Recht of Bunker Hill.

Zachary is survived by his parents; a brother, Adam Recht, of Pittsburgh, and a sister, Alison Recht, of Bunker Hill.

Zachary was a professional writer and the author of two published books of apocalyptic fiction. He was recently recruited by Simon and Schuster.

He was also under contract with Audible Books for his books available to download for listening read by a professional actor.

Zach attended Inwood Primary School and Bunker Hill Elementary. He was a graduate of the Powhatan School in Boyce, Va. He also attended Handley High School, of Winchester, Va. Colleges attended were West Virginia University and Northern Community College. He was a unique self-educated historian.

Zachary was employed in 2007 as a staff writer at The Journal newspaper. This year he was an invited guest author to the “Horror Realm” convention in Pittsburgh, where his fans were able to meet and greet him, as well as listen to readings from his books. He also has participated in the “Poetry and Prose” Writer’s Day here in Berkeley County.

He completed boot camp in the U.S. Army at Fort Jackson, S.C., where he graduated as 1st squad leader and won the sharpshooter competition.

Services and interment will be private. A public memorial service will be held and announced at a later date. Please contact Brown Funeral Home at http://www.BrownFuneralHomesWV.com.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Z.A. Recht Scholarship-Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 193, Bunker Hill, WV 25413.

His sparkling wit and intelligence surely will be missed by his family, friends and by all of his fans.

INTERVIEW – S.G. BROWNE

Scott G. Browne is the author of Breathers, a dark comedy about life after undeath told from the perspective of a zombie.  His second novel, Fated (scheduled for release in November 2010), is a dark, irreverent comedy about fate, destiny, and the consequences of getting involved in the lives of humans. We sit down to talk about his life, his writing career, and we give away some books. Fun times!

PROMO

7th Son: Descent by J.C. Hutchins

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Earlier this week I mentioned that I have a new freelancing gig over at Examiner.com, in addition to my RealTVAddict one, and how you can help me out when it comes to generating revenue. I also mentioned that I’d be doing a round-up each week of articles I’ve written, so you can click on them, read them, and maybe even comment on them.

This is the first ever FREELANCE FRIDAY post, where you can find all the articles I’ve written throughout the past week on the web, all in one place. I’ve taken the liberty of breaking them down by where they appear.

Now go forth, read and most of all…enjoy!

~JM

EXAMINER.COM ARTICLES

• Top 5 Holiday Horror Movies
• ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ going through re-shoots
• ‘Famous Monsters of Filmland’ coming back to print
• ‘Halloween 3D’ going in a different direction
• No chance of ‘Buffy’ remake without Whedon, says Hannigan
• ‘Wolfman’ gets an R from MPAA
• Tim Burton’s ‘Dark Shadows’ begins shooting next Fall
• ‘Zombieland’ hits DVD and Blu-Ray February 2, 2010
• ‘Twilight Saga: Eclipse’ coming to IMAX
• ‘SAW VI’ coming to DVD and Blu-Ray this January
• First ‘Clash of the Titans’ one sheet revealed
• Disney acquires ‘Fallen’ books for film
• Watch the first 5 minutes of ‘[REC] 2′
• Natalie Portman to star in big screen version of ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’

REAL TV ADDICT ARTICLES

• Twas the Night Before Christmas: A Little Classic with Lots of Heart
• TV Icons: Eric Cartman
• A Flintstone Christmas: Santa Comes to Bedrock

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If you don’t follow me on facebook or twitter, you’ll have yet to realize that I have a second freelancing gig. Aside from writing for Real TV Addict, I’m also now the Harrisburg Horror Movie writer for Examiner.com.

While Real TV Addict pays on a per-post basis, the Examiner gig is a revenue sharing one. That means that for every click I get on my articles, I get a small sum of money. Eventually that money adds up to a large sum and allows me to continue funding my various habits which include rent paying, smoking and the occasional spirit. It also keeps my internet running, and pays for my server costs, and every once in a while puts food in my mouth.

So here’s how you can help…

Below is a list of articles I’ve written so far. Click on them, read them, and hey, why not throw in a comment or two? You can also subscribe to my page and get all my articles delivered right to your in-box, rather than having to go back and check every so often. I’m also going to start doing weekly round-ups here on the site of all the articles I’ve posted around the web, so look for those as well.

By doing this, your helping me continue to do what I love, and that’s write. Not just novels and stories, but about the genre I love–horror.

Thansk for all your support, gang, and keep on keepin’ on!

~JM

EXAMINER ARTICLES

Top 5 Holiday Horror Movies

‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ going through re-shoots

‘Famous Monsters of Filmland’ coming back to print

‘Halloween 3D’ going in a different direction

No chance of ‘Buffy’ remake without Whedon, says Hannigan

‘Wolfman’ gets an R from MPAA

Tim Burton’s ‘Dark Shadows’ begins shooting next Fall

‘Zombieland’ hits DVD and Blu-Ray February 2, 2010

‘Twilight Saga: Eclipse’ coming to IMAX

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I got some emails yesterday asking me where TZC: Invasion was. As you recall, I said it would be starting a regular podcast schedule on December 1st. Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.

What was I thinking?

It’s the frakkin’ holidays, man. With those holidays comes lots of work, travel, and not much play. I must’ve been out of my mind thinking that I’d have time to record some podcasts during the month of December.

Rest assured, though, that TZC: Invasion will be returning in January, once the hub-bub of the Christmas season dies down, and after I get right drunk on New Years Eve. Aw yeah!

Have a great holiday season everyone! I’ll still be releasing 2 more episodes of Unleashed during the month, since those are already complete. So pound back a few eggnogs for yours truly, and I hope Satan-I mean Santa-get’s you everything you sold your soul for!

~JM

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Welcome back to another episode of UNLEASHED. Sponsored by Permuted Press.

This episode is a little late, due to the fact that I was in Pennsylvania for a few days. My apologies. It was worth the wait though, because this week I sit down and chat with David Moody.

Two new book releases in the past coupe of weeks that are worth noting. First, J.C. Hutchins released 7th Son: Descent. Pick up a copy if you haven’t already. Second, Stephen King released Under The Dome. Fans of old-school King, like myself, will not be disappointed. Pick up your copy today!

David Moody is the author of HATER, as well as the Autumn series. He began releasing his fiction online for free, and since then has had great success in the traditional publishing world. He sold the film rights for HATER without even having an agent to Guillermo del Toro, and the big screen adaptation of Autumn was recently released in the UK as well. We sit down to talk about all that and more, as David Moody joins me on this weeks episode of UNLEASHED.

PROMO

Phil Rossi’s Harvey

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In addition to providing you with the serialized audio version of The Zombie Chronicles: Invasion, you’re also getting a free PDF of each episode. The PDF files will usually go up within 24-48 hours after the audio version has been posted.

Listen, or read. The choice is yours.

Enjoy!

~JM

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In honor of The Zombie Chronicles Volume 2: INVASION, dropping this Saturday to the general public, my fiance, and biggest fan, Jennifer Hudock, has released a special short story on her website. It’s called, Mental Illness. It’s set in the TZC universe, and is told from the point of view of one of the main characters, Jenny.

I encourage you all to listen to it, then check out Jennifer’s website for more on her reasoning for writing the story.

Enjoy!

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Happy Halloween!

Welcome to the first episode of The Zombie Chronicles: Invasion. The second book in the trilogy.

I made an executive decision to add no intro chatter to this one, since most of you have been waiting for this story for 6 months, we’ll just get right to it.

A big thank you goes out to my long time listeners, who helped to spread the word and make Escape everything it became. We’re almost at half-a-million downloads for the first book. If you’re just joining the story, you might want to go back and play catch-up HERE. You can listen to the entire first draft of Escape and the original podcast episodes. When the book hits shelves from Pocket Books in 2010, I’ll revisit that, too. Re-recording Escape as it appears in print.

I’ll talk about all that in the second episode of INVASION, which begins December 1st on a regular podcast schedule, and when the intro chatter returns. For now though, let’s get to what we all came here for. The INVASION!

Six months after the daring escape from The Facility, David Hyde, along with Jenny, Labern, Guv, Kalomi and Victorya, is still looking for answers as the impending invasion from an alien race draws near.

After discovering that their only ally, the head of Project Mirror, seems to have an agenda all his own, the group of rag-tag rebels team up with a rogue zombie hunter to find answers to their questions and begin the fight for their lives.

But in order to survive, together they must do the impossible and fight side-by-side with the undead, and beat back the race that created them, in all out battle for the future or humanity!

With more blood, more gore, and more questions raised in the conspiracy, The Zombie Chronicles: Invasion will continue to leave you on the edge of your seat, episode after episode.

“The Zombie Chronicles is the 1984 of zombie apocalypse stories”
NY Times Bestseller of Contagious & Infected, Scott Sigler

“Melzer masterfully blends the line between sci-fi and horror. It’s raucous, gritty…and gripping.”
J.C. Hutchins, author of Personal Effects: Dark Art & 7th Son: Descent

Episode One

The gang bury some old friends and return to the streets. Caughfield shows some of his true colors, and we’re introduced to two new characters, Danny and Kate.

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Six months ago, I finished podcasting the first novel in The Zombie Chronicles Trilogy, ESCAPE. Since that time the book has been picked up by Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, in the co-publishing deal with Permuted Press, and will be coming to print late in 2010.

Thankfully, you don’t have to wait that long for the sequel.

Beginning this Saturday, October 31st, the second volume in the series, INVASION, begins!

Listeners are going to get the very first episode, and then beginning on December 1st, the regular podcast schedule begins. Why a month in between episodes? Well, during the month of November I am going to be putting the finishing touches on the novel, including edits, so that when it begins a regular podcast schedule, it’ll all be ready to go. I learned my lesson last time by podcasting and writing a novel at the same time. Never again!

Plus, it’s friggin’ Halloween! How could I not do something special for Halloween?

Hold on to your seats guys and this Saturday, October 31st, prepare to get INVADED!

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“The president of the United States is dead. He was murdered in the morning sunlight by a four-year-old boy.”

Thus begins the saga that is author J.C. Hutchins‘ 7th Son Trilogy. One hell of a techno-thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat and leave you fighting for air, if you ask me. AND YOU SHOULD!

First released as a serialized podcast in 2006, it has become the most popular podcast novel trilogy in history, with more than 5 million downloads. Today, October 27, 2009, the first book in the trilogy, Descent, is finally available in book stores everywhere from St. Martin’s Press.

I could go on and on about how good this series is, but I’m not going to do that. Instead, I’m going to give you the first 10 chapters of Descent as a PDF for free (BOOYA!) and let you see for yourself. You will read some of it, and no doubt rush out to buy the book so you can finish the rest. If you don’t, you may as well just bend over and kiss your ass good-bye RIGHT NOW!

This is a momentous day, folks. We’re here to celebrate not only the books release, but also the author, who for years believed that this series had potential, and took it upon himself to prove it. He was right. Of course he was right, he’s J.C. Hutchins for christsake.

So do me a personal favor, okay? Support J.C. Hutchins by heading on over to Amazon.com to buy a copy, or hit your local book store sometime today. You’ll be glad you did, and by getting your very own copy, you’re not only supporting J.C. Hutchins, but you’re supporting the entire community of podcast novelists, who work so hard to bring you the very best content we can for free.

Enjoy the free PDF of Descent, gang. Let me know what you think!

~JM

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If you’re reading this, you’re saying to yourself, “Wait! Did James have a crisis of identity? Did he…get a sex change?!”

“HELL NO!” would be my response.

I’m not a female, but my fiance, Jennifer Hudock is, and she’s been having some problems with her website as of late. Therefore, I am hosting her weekly writers column here, on my website. What a nice fellow I am. So what is ‘She’s Write About That?’ It’s a project between two writers, Jennifer and Michelle Bekemeyer, where each week they pick a topic, and write two different blog posts. One doesn’t see the other before it goes live, so you get a fresh point of view. Two different opinions, two different writers, same topic. Pretty cool, eh? Without further ado, I give you Jennifer Hudock’s side of this weeks, She’s Write About That.

It’s NaNoWriMo time, everybody. In just one week, mad writers all across the world will be scrambling to get the lead out on those wordcounts in hopes of making the 50,000 word novel end goal by November 30th. For those of you who think I’m talking jibberish, NaNoWriMo stands for November is National Writing Month, and you can bet your sweet petunias that I’m diving in again for year number four to try and finish up Running Down the Moon. When Michele Bekemeyer and I started fishing for topics for this edition of She’s Write About That, it struck me that with just one week to go before NaNo, maybe we should blog about how we’re prepping to meet this year’s novel goal.

As I mentioned above, this is my fourth year participating in NaNoWriMo. In the three years prior to this one, I managed to hit the goal only one time, but that wasn’t for lack of meticulous planning and strategising beforehand. No sir. The first year I entered into NaNo, the only year I won, I had some hardcore plans. Full character sheets, statistics and everything I ever wanted to remember about life in the 80s. I had dates on my favorite comics books all ready to add to the plot, and a serious vengeance to get out some personal demons. What I also had was an intense love for and need to tell the story. Needless to say, it worked. During the month of November in 2006, I wrote 51,467 words and won a big fat NaNo medal. Go me!

Then in 2007 and 2008, I barely made it past the 15,000 word mark on both of my projects. While the ideas felt solid when I started, and my plans were pretty strong, once I started writing, the flare for the project just wasn’t there. I could blame a whole list of outside forces, from UFO sightings to exhaustion from work, but the truth of the matter is simply that my heart just wasn’t in either of my projects. So I slacked off, and they fell off the back burner into “never to be worked on again” hell.

So where did I go wrong? The ideas I started out with her exciting at the time, but in all truth, I don’t think I gave myself enough time to get excited about and fall in love with them. Sure, I was excited about doing NaNo, but in both 2007 and 2008, I really didn’t decide to dive in and try NaNo until the last minute. I barely gave myself plenty of time to start plotting and researching, much less time enough to really wrap my head around what I wanted to do and the people I wanted to “do it to.”

Writing for me has always been about creating believable characters and their translating their experiences. If I can’t find some way to relate to my characters on an emotional and mental level, the story stalls. Sometimes I can give myself a few weeks to get to know them better, but with NaNo you don’t really have that kind of time once the ball starts rolling. My first bit of advice, then is that you give yourself time before November to really get to know your characters. You can have a vague idea where you plan to take them, but if you don’t know the people you’ll be carrying along on the journey, the plot itself will stall out and you’ll be left standing there with an empty NaNo word count wondering where you went wrong.

Beyond the basics of character mapping, you might want to try a few short sample endeavors with those characters so you can get a feel for their voice and experience. Short stories and vignettes work wonders here, and let’s face it, you’ve got eleven other months before November to do this. Maybe you have characters and short stories you want to expand on. NaNo is a great time to do this because you’ll be working in a familiar universe with people you have already journeyed with.

That’s just one approach, of course. You can also wing it. Just start writing and see where it takes you.  Some of the best ideas come from that type of writing, and there is no rule in the NaNo handbook that says you have to write a perfect novel. You just need to write 50,000 words–and of course, do your best to make them semi-coherent. Then in January or February, you can go back and edit and rewrite and put it all together the way it was meant to be written. Remember that all ideas have to start somewhere, and if yours happens to pop into your head at midnight on November 1st, get writing and worry about the fine tuning later.

Which is really the greatest piece of advice I have for the NaNo writer. Don’t take this whole thing too seriously. Yes, you want to write a novel, and of course you probably would like to eventually do something with said novel, but if you go into this fun activity with the notion that it has to be word-for-word perfect as you’re writing, you will fall flat on your NaNo butt and completely exhaust yourself. I promise you that much.

Since this blog is coming out just one week before NaNoWriMo, here’s hoping you’ve already done the important research and planning you need to do because most of us have dayjobs and lives outside of novel writing. You need to reach a minimum word count goal of at least 1667 words every day. While some can sit down and pump out 2000 words in an hour or so, not every works at that pace, and it may take everything you have in you to hit your daily word goal. Having notes and plans at your fingertips will save you a lot of time during the actual writing process. If you haven’t done the planning and research yet, you’ve got one week to get organized, and if you’re someone who needs outlines and plot points and little sticky notes, get to it yesterday so you spare yourself a lot of unnecessary stress while you’re writing.

Again, this whole thing is supposed to be fun. An exercise of your talent and your will, if you please. Make sure that as you’re reaching your goals each and every day, you’re doing it because you’re enjoying it and having fun. Don’t pressure yourself, or you’ll wind up with a big fat work of crap you resent every time you try to open the file to work on it.  That being said, I really don’t think there is one set way to approach the NaNo competition. We each have our own methods, and since this is MichBek’s first year as a NaNo participant, you’ll definitely want to tune in to see what she has to say about her own process for preparation. Whatever it is, you can bet your old man’s T-bird that She’s Write About That!

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Welcome back to another episode of UNLEASHED. Sponsored by Permuted Press.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for me. I’ve been working the day gig, hanging with Jenny making wedding plans and such, and writing a boat load of articles for Real TV Addict. I’m having a blast doing all those things.

National Novel Writing Month is just over a week away. Are you signed up? If you are, don’t forget to add me as a buddy and we’ll see if we can’t bang out 50,000 words together in the month of November.

J.C. Hutchins is the author of Personal Effects: Dark Art, as well as the 7th Son Trilogy. After releasing 7th Son as a podcast trilogy in 2006, the first book, Descent, is finally set to hit book stores everywhere on October 27 from St. Martin’s Press. It’s been a long road for J.C. and he sits down to talk with me for an hour about his time in the world of journalism, social media, podcasting, and what it takes to be a success in the publishing world. He pulls no punches, speaks from the heart, and you can hear the love and devotion Hutch has for his fans and for the commitment to his work. Enjoy!

PROMO

J.C. Hutchins’ 7th Son: Descent

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Welcome back to another episode of UNLEASHED! Sponsored by the fine folks at Permuted Press.

This week it’s the last Horror Realm special, in where I bring you the complete authors panel, including readings and the Q & A afterward with myself, Rob Fox and Jonathan Maberry. If you’ve never been to an authors panel or a convention, you’re in for a real treat!

I’ve entered the wonderful world of freelance with a gig over at RealTVAddict.com

Wedding plans are moving right along between myself and Jennifer Hudock

NaNoWriMo is just around the corner. Add me as a buddy and let’s bang out some words during the month of November!

Promo

Mur Lafferty’s I Should Be Writing

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I like writing and I like getting paid to write, so it only seems natural to step into the freelance writing world. Therefore, I am one of the new writers over at RealTVAddict.com, a great site that has television show recaps, breaking news, and topical articles.

I always saw myself doing freelance work, eventually. I mean, not only am I writing about something I enjoy (television), but I’m also earning myself a bit of extra income. Can I live off of this? Pay the rent? Put food on the table? Not yet. I know people that do make their living off of freelancing and maybe one day I’ll get to that point. I’m not gonna lie, it would be nice to write from home, not only as a freelancer but as a novelist. We’ll see.

In the meantime, I’m having lots of fun doing this. Thus far, I have 2 articles posted: Top Cult Shows: The X-Files and The Top 5 Scariest Shows of All Time. Jenny and I will be doing a bunch of articles this Halloween season that I’m really looking forward to you guys seeing. I hope you’ll take the time to read them and even better, comment on them. I love comments because not only do they fuel conversation, but they also let the higher-ups know that people are reading the stuff we write.

For now, I just plug away, earning some extra cash and hoping that one day this freelance thing will take off. Wish me luck!

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Welcome back to UNLEASHED!

Sponsored by Permuted Press.

Hot off the heels of Horror Realm, I got a jam packed episode for you guys. Not one, not two, but eight (yes EIGHT) interviews. All were conducted during the festivities. I also break down my Top 10 Highlights of the con. You’ll be hearing from:

David Dunwoody

Corey Graham

Eric S. Brown

J.L. Bourne

Rhiannon Frater

S.G. Brown

Rob Fox and his wife Darcy

Jacob Kier

BOOYA BABY!

I also talk about some big, BIG news that was brought out into the open yesterday. I’M GETTING MARRIED!!

After the interviews it’s the UNLEASHED Book Giveaway and some HUGE news regarding TZC: INVASION

Enjoy!

Promo

Goblin Market

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This morning on twitter, I announced something that I’ve been holding in for a while. It wasn’t easy keeping it a secret, but it sure was fun. It’s out in the open now though, so I’m writing this to let all of you in who may not be doing the whole social media thing.

I’m getting married!

That’s right! Someone actually said yes. Can you believe that?

Jennifer Hudock and I will be tying the knot in 2010.

Words can’t express how happy I am right now. Jenny is the absolute love of my life. She’s amazing, supportive, creative, talented…she’s everything a guy could want. Everything that I want. When I’m feeling down, she lifts me up, and vice versa. We’re each others inspiration and as two writers, we cheer each other on at every turn. She’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing and I will be proud to call her my wife.

They say that behind every good man is a good woman. In this case, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Jenny is behind no one. She stands right beside me, and hand-in-hand, we go forward together. As equals.

I love you, Jennifer Hudock, and I can’t wait to begin our life together.

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Let’s have some fun, shall we!

Nuff said.

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I took 50 to Horror Realm and I sold half, so now I’m offering the rest to you guys. While supplies last, of course.

Now you can get your very own, limited edition copy of Escape: A Zombie Chronicles Novel in audio book format. These custom made discs are hand-numbered and signed by yours truly and come on one MP3 CD. Over 8.5 hours worth of audio for just FIFTEEN BUCKS! FLAT RATE!

They include a special introduction from me, all 27 episodes of Escape as they originally appeared in podcast form PLUS two bonus audio short stories. One by me and the other by Jennifer Hudock which is called Mental Illness. It’s set in the TZC universe and is told from the perspective of one of the main characters, Jenny.

So get the while the getting is good because once they’re gone, that’s it! No more of these limited editions will be produced, ANYWHERE!

If you want it signed to someone other than yourself, or have a different address that appears on your PayPal account, please specify this in the Special Instructions section before you purchase.

And hey, because I’m feeling generous, the first 20 people to order will also get a TZC Cover Art sticker to go with their order.

What are you waiting for? ORDER TODAY!

Escape Audio Book

Escape Audio Book $15.00

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This past weekend in Pittsburgh, I attended Horror Realm as a guest of Permuted Press. While I learned a lot about conventions my first time out (more on that later), I just want to break down my own top 10 personal highlights of the con.

1. After I was finished with my authors panel reading, I was picking up my pages and Jonathan Maberry leaned over and whispered, “That was really good.” I didn’t know what to say so I just smiled and said, “Thanks.”
2. Meeting S.G. Brown, the author of ‘Breathers.’ Perhaps one of the most humble men I have ever met and one of the nicest, too. We got the chance to talk at length about the roller coaster of a ride his career has been on since his first published novel came out. A true gentleman.
3. Finally having a face-to-face meeting with Jacob Kier, my boss over at Permuted Press. He’s a giant of a man but all heart and it was good to actually talk to him in person.
4. Corey Graham from The Midnight Podcast was all smiles when I met him. We’ve talked before on Skype and twitter but it was really cool to finally meet him. Corey, when I move to PA, we’re definitely gonna hang out more.
5. Signing audio books for people. It was a thrill to meet some great fans of TZC and sign stuff for them. While the majority of people there had never heard of me, it was cool to not only have strangers buy my work, but those few die-hards who showed up made it all worthwhile.
6. Tom Savini showed up and it was cool to meet him in person. He’s always been an idol of mine and to get the chance to shake his hand was very cool.
7. Having Tony Todd knock on my hotel door at 11pm. Apparently he was looking for Ken Foree, who was in the next room over. Oops!
8. Meeting all the people on the Permuted Press forums who I’ve had a great relationship with. It was nice to meet them all face-to-face finally.
9. Jonathan Maberry asked me for some quotes for his new non-fiction book to be released in August of 2010. That was an honor and a privilege to have someone I look up to so much ask me for my input.
10. Getting the chance to read the winners of the Horror Realm Flash Fiction contest. There were lots of great entries but there could only be 3 winners. It was a pleasure reading them all (see video below).

While there were many other highlights from the convention, those are probably my top 10. Like I said, I learned a lot, met a bunch of great people and am now hard at work on something that may see my writing career take an entirely different turn. We’ll see. For now though, I will just sit back and think about all the great moments of a weekend that was perhaps one of the best of my life.

Horror Realm Flash Fiction Contest from James Melzer on Vimeo.

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This past weekend in Pittsburgh I had my convention cherry popped. I was honored to not only be at my first ever convention as a fan, but also as a guest. I was on an authors panel reading from Escape, along with Jonathan Maberry and Rob Fox, and we answered some questions from the audience as well. A grand time was had by all.

I learned a lot about conventions (more of that in part 2), but mostly I’ll remember meeting so many great people. Jonathan Maberry, S.G. Browne, J.L. Bourne, Jacob Kier, Rob Fox and his wife, Darcy and Corey Graham, just to name a few. The friendships and bonds that were created are those that will last a lifetime.

It was also great to meet fans of The Zombie Chronicles. I was outside having a smoke and someone walked up to me and said, “Are you James Melzer?” It was a bit surreal to be recognized like that, but it was my pleasure to sign audio books (and boobies) for so many wonderful people. Two in particular, Dave and Sandy, were around all weekend and I got a chance to talk to them in the lobby for about 20 minutes and I had a blast.

I got advice and made contacts, went to some after-parties, got a little tipsy and did some interviews for UNLEASHED. It was just an all around great weekend. One that I will never forget.

Now I am in Muncy, PA with Jenny to relax for a bit before heading back to Canada. I’ll be writing and recording more on all of this later. For now, I will leave you with my reading of Escape at the authors panel on Friday night, September 18, 2009.

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Welcome back to another episode of UNLEASHED! Proudly sponsored by Permuted Press.

This weeks book giveaway is doubly special due to the fact that I’m bringing you an interview with 16-year old filmmaker, Emily Hagins. Emily graciously donated not one but TWO copies of her film ‘Pathogen’ to give away, so we have not one but TWO winners this week.

I weigh in briefly on the subject of James Patterson signing a 17-book deal. Yeah, that’s right, SEVENTEEN BOOKS!

UNLEASHED goes on holidays once again but will return in two weeks after Horror Realm with lots of great stuff!

Emily Hagins is an independent filmmaker from Austin, Texas. At age 12 she began shooting her first film, Pathogen, making her the youngest female teenager in the United States to make a feature length movie. She’s been heavily influenced by the likes of Perter Jackson and Lord of the Rings as well as a tonne of horror and zombie flicks. She’s currently sending her second film, The Retelling, out to film festivals for consideration and she’s already begun work on her third feature, a comedy-collaboration about kids making a movie. Emily and I had a great time talking and giving away some books ad DVDs.

PROMO

Shadow Publications/TATTOO

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I’m baaaaaack!

After a two week hiatus, UNLEASHED has returned! Still sponsored by Permuted Press.

Part of my brain is still back in Pennsylvania in vacation mode, so I pretty much just talk about that. I also touch on the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of The Zombie Chronicles. THANK YOU!

I also have a great interview with Wayne Simmons, the author of Drop Dead Gorgeous and we give away a copy at the end of the show. Did you win? Ya gotta listen to find out!

Wayne Simmons is not only covered in tattoos, he’s also covered in praise for his debut novel, Drop Dead Gorgeous. It’s a different take on the zombie genre and one that is very, very refreshing. It’s an excellent story, with excellent character development, and I will go on the record and say that it is by far one of the best debut novels I have read in a long, long time. We talk about the novel, the publishing process and of course, tattoos. Wayne is a great guy and you’d do well to pick up a copy of Drop Dead Gorgeous.

PROMO

Variant Frequencies

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On September 1st, 2008, I took a leap of faith. I decided to put the first draft of my novel, The Zombie Chronicles: Escape, up on the web as a podcast novel. I was nervous, scared and excited. Having discovered podcast fiction in April of 2008, I thought it was a pretty cool way to get my writing out to people and perhaps receive a little feedback. As the first episode rolled out on that Monday morning, I held my breath…

The response was overwhelming, to say the least. People commented, sent me emails and I even got a phone call or two. They liked it! They really liked it! Whew…now I could breathe a sigh of relief.

By Thursday of that week I had a sponsor for the podcast in the way of Permuted Press. I had no idea that it would be a relationship that would turn in to my novel being in book stores nationwide.

They sent out a press release and my website got hammered, receiving more than 500 hits on the Friday as people flocked to see what all the fuss was about. They liked it, too! Then Scott Sigler played my promo on an episode of Nocturnal. More people came. Most of them liked it as well.

Two months later, in November of 2008, I signed my very first publishing contract. Thanks to the success of the yet unfinished podcast and truth be told, yet unfinished novel (I had around 25,000 words written at the time), Permuted Press made me an offer to bring all three books in the trilogy to print. That made me the world’s first podcast novelist to get a publishing deal off an unfinished manuscript. Not just one book either, three books. Cool.

The feedback kept coming in the form of emails, comments on the blog and iTunes, twitter, facebook, MySpace and voice mail. People either loved it or hated it. I understood (still do) why people disliked it. It was, after all, a first draft. I’ve always said that if I had to go back and do it all over again, I would wait until the novel was finished and edited before I started to podcast it. Oh well. More people liked it than hated it, so that was okay by me.

Then I got a phone call that I will never, ever forget. It was probably the absolute best phone call I have ever received. It was a Thursday night, June 18th to be precise. Jacob Kier from Permuted Press told me that Simon and Schuster was going to be publishing 7 of their titles through the Pocket Books imprint and that mine was one of them. Oh. My. God. We talked for 30 minutes, discussing the details. The Zombie Chronicles would be going out to stores nation wide under this co-publishing deal, with 25-30,000 copies being printed.

My dreams had come true. Something I had wished for since I was a kid was finally happening. I called my mom. She cried, I cried, then I got drunk.

All this might sound a little narcissistic, like I’m patting myself on the back. You know what? I am. I’m damn proud of everything I have accomplished in the past year. Most writers wait years, moving their way up the ladder by first publishing short stories, before someone will even take notice of their novel, let alone agree to publish it. It’s a new day, though. It’s a new media world and things happen faster than ever these days.

I make no apologies.

However, I am not so blinded by the past year to know that I did not do it all by myself. I had help along the way. Without a few thousand people cheering me on, none of this would have happened. YOU, the listener, is why all this happened. YOU supported me. YOU kept waiting for the next episode to come out. YOU showed me that I was doing something special and YOU made the publishing world stand up and take notice. Without YOU, who knows where I would be right now?

So from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!

Also, thank you to the the many other podcast novelists that have helped me out along the way. Namely, Matthew Wayne Selznick, Mur Lafferty, J.C. Hutchins and Scott Sigler.

It’s been a hell of a year. At the time of me writing this, The Zombie Chronicles has 315,000 downloads. I’m currently writing the second novel in the series, INVASION and things are progressing just fine.

I don’t know what the next year will bring but I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to seeing my novel on the shelves of bookstores everywhere and seeing you guys holding copies of it in your hands. Really, that’s all I’ve ever wanted.

So let’s celebrate, you and I. Let’s have a party, tell some jokes and watch as that guy in the corner gets shot down for the third time.

Happy Anniversary to The Zombie Chronicles!

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As most of you know by now my first novel, Escape: A Zombie Chronicles Novel, will be coming to print in 2010 from Pocket Books, a division of Simon and Schuster. This happened because of a seven book deal that was struck between Pocket Books and Permuted Press (my novels original published) that will see the two companies join forces to bring you some of the best zombie fiction you’ve ever read.

This October, the first book in the Permuted Press/Pocket Books co-publishing venture will be released. Called ‘Day By Day Armageddon,’ this novel was written by J.L. Bourne and has easily become the biggest selling title from the Permuted Press roster, selling over 25,000 copies, which is damn good for a small press like Permuted to have accomplished.

The book has been revamped with a new cover that’s slick, shiny and captures the spirit of the original. What’s best is that none of the content inside has changed. It’s still the same gritty, nail biting zombie story that fans have loved and that’s waiting for new fans to discover it.

I’m telling you all this because I have a mission for you. It’s an important one and it will go a long way towards helping not only other books from Permuted Press authors potentially get picked up by Pocket Books, but it will also go toward showing Big Publishing that they did the right thing by taking a chance on all us small press dudes and maybe, just maybe, it will also help them pick up books two and three of my Zombie Chronicles trilogy. You ready? Here’s what I want you to do…

PRE-ORDER DAY BY DAY ARMAGEDDON NOW!

That’s it. One small little purchase of a book that will go a long way in helping all us authors out. By showing your support for this book, you are showing your support not only for Permuted Press and J.L. Bourne, but you are showing your support for me and my Zombie Chronicles trilogy. The better all these books do, the more of a splash we make and the more of a splash we make, the better our chances are of even bigger things happening down the road.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking you to pre-order blind. I’ve read Day By Day Armageddon many times myself. It really is one of the best zombie books I’ve ever read and I know that all of you will enjoy it. Trust me when I say this, okay?

You’ve supported other authors in the past by pre-ordering their books, now I want you to support another one and indirectly, support me.

So get out there and pre-order Day By Day Armageddon by J.L. Bourne and from the bottom of my heart, thank you!

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From September 18-20, I’ll be in Pittsburgh, PA for Horror Realm at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Pittsburgh South.

I’ll be arriving early Friday afternoon and departing Sunday evening. There will be several author panels, one of which I will be participating in. I will be reading from Escape: A Zombie Chronicles Novel and taking questions afterwards. The following is a list of all author panels for the weekend:

Friday – September 18

Panel 1:  5:00 – 6:00 pm
Jonathan Maberry, James Melzer, Rob Fox

Panel 2: 6:30 – 7:45 pm
David Dunwoody, Steve North, Kim Paffenroth, Paul McConnel

Saturday – September 19

Panel 3: 11:30- 12:30
S. G. Browne

Panel 4: 1:00 -2:00
J.L. Bourne,  Travis Adkins, DL Snell

Sunday – September 20

Panel 5:  11:00 – noon
Robert Best, Rhiannon Frater, Kody Boye

Panel 6: 12:15 – 1:15
Eric S. Brown, Scott Johnson, ZA Recht

This is my first con and since Simon & Schuster has acquired Escape for distribution in 2010, I will not have any books to peddle as planned. However, Saturday I’ll be in the dealer’s room with some surprises. I’ll also be mulling about, talking to fans and doing interviews with other authors for upcoming episodes of UNLEASHED.

On Sunday, same deal. I’ll be around.

It sounds vague and truthfully, it is. Like I said, it’s my first convention and I don’t quite know what to expect. I’m just going with the flow. What I do know is that I look forward to seeing a bunch of you there, buying me drinks and getting me to tell stories about the good old days, whatever those are.

See ya soon!

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Welcome back to another episode of UNLEASHED!

Proudly sponsored by Permuted Press.

This episode is extra special because not only do I have a kick-ass guest, but we’re giving away not one but TWO books! The winner gets a copy of the Permuted Press title, History is Dead, as well as a signed copy of Jonathan Maberry’s newest book, They Bite! which hits stores August 25th.

I talk about some things that may or may not save the publishing business after seeing something Colleen Lindsay posted on Twitter.

This will be the last episode for the next two weeks because I’m going on vacation, baby!

Jonathan Maberry is a multiple Bram Stoker award winner. His novels include Ghost Road Blues, Zombie CSU, Bad Moon Rising and Patient Zero, just to name a few. He’s also the new writer for the Black Panther series over at Marvel Comics. Recently he adapted Universal Pictures reimagining of The Wolfman into a novel and he’s also in the Martial Arts Hall of Fame so watch out, or he’ll kick your ass! We talk about his work, his views on the publishing industry, and we give away some books! A good time was had by all.

PROMO

Scott Sigler’s CONTAGIOUS

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So as most of you know by now, my podcast UNLEASHED now has a sponsor in the way of Permuted Press.

You may also know that each and every week I am giving away a book from the Permuted Press library in the UNLEASHED Book Giveaway (I’m working on a better name).

Well on next week’s show I’ll be joined by Jonathan Maberry, multiple Bram Stoker award winner of such novels as Patient Zero, Bad Moon Rising, Ghost Road Blues and Zombie CSU, to name a few. He is also the new writer over at Marvel, penning their Black Panther series now.

Mr. Maberry has graciously agreed to sweeten the pot of next weeks UNLEASHED Book Giveaway. In addition to the Permuted Press title, the winner will also receive either a signed novel or comic from Jonathan Maberry as well.

How cool is that?!

So get those entries in to me by 5pm EST on Tuesday, August 11. Don’t be late or you’ll miss out! Then tune in to UNLEASHED on Wednesday, August 12th to hear the interview with Jonathan Maberry and find out if you’re a winner!

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Welcome back to UNLEASHED!

We’re still proudly sponsored by Permuted Press and now there will be book giveaways each and every episode. Click on the link to find out how you can WIN!

This week I have some fun and break down the top 5 things I like to do to relax. Being a writer is hard work and sometimes you just gotta get away from it all and chill!

Here’s a fun game you guys can play when you just want some good old mindless zombie killing action!

This weeks interview features Derek Gunn, author of The Estuary as well as the Vampire Apocalypse Series. Derek hails from Dublin, Ireland, and he took some time out of his busy schedule to sit down and chat with me about his new book, what he’s working on now, the publishing business and together we gave away a copy of The Estuary. Derek is a great guy and it was a pleasure to speak to him.

There’s also some feedback this episode. I take a call from the Bloodlines regarding Escape: A Zombie Chronicles Novel and answer some questions and announce who next weeks special guest will be. It’s BIG!

Promo
Michele Bekemeyer’s podcast novel, Trapping a Dutchess

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As you may have heard on this past week’s episode of UNLEASHED, there’s a new sponsor in town in the way of Permuted Press.

Well the good folks at Permuted want to give away some books, and so do I!

Each episode of UNLEASHED, I’ll be giving away one title from the Permuted Press library. All you have to do to enter is send me an email (jjmelzer(AT)gmail.com) with your name and address and UNLEASHED Giveaway in the subject line. As your email comes in, it will be assigned a number. Then, each week I will be asking whomever I’m interviewing to pick a number between 1 – and how many emails I get. Whatever email coincides to the number my guest picks, they will win the book!

Then we’ll do it again all over, every week. If you want to enter each week that’s fine, but you’ll have to send me an email every week with your name and address in it.

Sound cool? I think so!

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Welcome to the new and improved UNLEASHED!

There’s been some changes over the past week and perhaps the biggest one of them all is that there’s a new sponsor in town. That’s right, UNLEASHED is now proudly paying the bills with PERMUTED PRESS on board!

This week I talk about a new collaboration between myself and Jennifer Hudock know only as Twists of Fate.

I also delve into the world of writing horror, giving my brief two-cents on the subject. For a more detailed look at writing horror, check out this great resource from The Horror Writers Association, On Writing Horror.

This week’s interview features Eric S. Brown, one of the greats in the world of zombie fiction. He’s as prolific as they come with more than 10 novels and novellas under his belt as well as over 300 published short stories. WOW! We talk about his writing, his thoughts on the zombie genre as well as publishing. Check out his latest release, Season of Rot, a collection of 5 novellas.

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I just wanted to take a second and let you guys know about an exciting new project that’s going to be starting soon. Indulge me, if you will…

I’ll be teaming up with another great writer by the name of Jennifer Hudock and together we will be bringing you TWISTS of FATE.

What is Twists of Fate? Well, I can’t say too much right now other then that it’s a dark journey in podcast fiction.

Think of it this way…

There are choices we all have to make in life, some of them are easy and some of them are hard.

What if you held the fate of another in your hands? What if their life or death depended on a choice you had to make? What if it all boiled down to just one choice, and that choice was yours?

Could you make it? Could you choose?

Soon…you will have to make a choice.

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This week on another episode of UNLEASHED I get the chance to sit down and talk with another great podcast novelist, J.P. Moore. He’s the author of Toothless. A fantastic zombie story set in the past. Full of history, drama and of course, blood. It’s a great listen and J.P. is a helluva guy.

I also talk about one of my pet peeves when it comes to writing. Adverbs! Stephen King said it best in his book, On Writing. “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” I agree!

Remember, there’s less than 2 months left until Horror Realm in Pittsburgh, PA. I’ll be there on an author’s panel reading from TZC and doing a Q & A. Get your tickets now and join in on all the fun!

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This past weekend I appeared over at www.somethingplanet.com for an interview. John J, Stuey B, David the Day and I talked about TZC, zombies and social media. It was lots of fun and they’re a great bunch of guys.

I’m putting the entire podcast in my feed but if you just want to hear my interview, fast forward a bit. It falls at 01:35:00 into the show. That’s an hour and a half in, for you folk that don’t know numbers.

Thanks again to the guys at Something Planet! I hope all you guys and gals will go check ‘em out.

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Recently I had to good fortune to be the first guest on Seth Harwood’s new Hot Tub Cast. A podcast where he broadcasts from…a hot tub!

We talked about Escape, Simon & Schuster, and what we as new media authors have to do to get our books noticed and promoted. We even gave away free copies of Seth’s book, Jack Wakes Up.

Give it a listen and be sure to check out Seth Harwood online at www.sethharwood.com and while you’re there, pick up a copy of Jack Wakes Up. One hell of a good read, if I do say so myself

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After announcing to everyone on Wednesday that Permuted Press had entered into a co-publishing venture with the Simon and Schuster imprint, Pocket Books, news traveled fast.

By Thursday morning it had already hit Publishers Weekly. While only one of the seven books included in the deal was mentioned, I take great pride at seeing Permuted Press and one of my fellow authors, J.L. Bourne, in PW and just wanted to share it all with you. Hopefully this will just be the first of many publications to spread the word about this amazing experience that will see my debut novel, Escape, hit the shelves in 2010.

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Welcome to another episode of UNLEASHED! That’s 2 episodes in 2 days. Now don’t go getting greedy…

This time around I announce the deal that will bring my debut novel in The Zombie Chronicles trilogy, Escape, to print from Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster in a co-publishing venture with Permuted Press.

Also, another awesome writer, Phil Rossi, is having the AMAZON RUSH for his novel, CRESCENT at 1pm EST TODAY! Get out there and buy a copy!

Finally, I have an interview with Jennifer Hudock. She’s a new media author who just released her novel, Goblin Market, as a free serialized podcast on her website. Go over and check it out!

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I’ve never met the man. I’ve never spoken to him on the phone. I do not know him on any kind of personal level.

What I do know, is that Phil Rossi is a kick ass storyteller and today is his day!

Beginning at 1pm EST, the author of Crescent will bring his fans (including me) to Amazon as we once again storm the gates and rush the charts.

I’ve listened to Crescent on Podiobooks.com and from the first chapter I was hooked. It’s a sci-fi/horror thriller that any fan of the genre will love! Rossi scored a deal with Dragon Moon Press to bring the book to print and now I can’t wait to hold a copy in my hands.

He’s a musician, a writer and from what I hear, an all around class act. So go, support a fellow podcast novelist and help him get the recognition he deserves. At 1pm today, go to Amazon.com and buy the book!

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I am pleased to announce that my debut book, Escape: A Zombie Chronicles Novel, is now going to be published by Simon & Schuster through their Pocket Books imprint!

Here’s the press release that went out today:

New York, New York (July 1, 2009) – Anthony Ziccardi, Vice President and Deputy Publisher of Pocket Books, has announced a new co-publishing venture with Permuted Press, best known for horror, dark fantasy and science fiction novels . The seven book deal was brokered by Marc Gerald at the Agency Group. The books will be Zombie focused, with the first release DAY BY DAY ARMAGEDDON by J.L. Bourne, slated for October 2009.

“I am excited to be the pioneer author for the Pocket Books and Permuted Press joint publishing venture.  Horror fans are in for an absolute thrill and can expect to enjoy bold, fresh and riveting fiction as a result of this project.  The journey with Permuted Press has been a great success and I know that success will be further enhanced as we shift gears into a new and exciting relationship with Pocket Books. Keep your doors locked!”  –J.L. Bourne

Jacob Kier, Publisher, Permuted Press, said “I couldn’t be more excited about teaming up with Pocket Books to bring some of Permuted’s most exciting and thought-provoking tales of the end of the world to a larger audience.”

Permuted Press began its publishing program in 2004 and quickly became noted in the horror fiction genre.  Bourne’s DAY BY DAY ARMAGEDDON is Permuted’s biggest seller, with sales of approximately 25,000 copies. Other titles entering the co-publishing venture have sold between 10-20,000 copies. Permuted has achieved unprecedented success for a small company operating from a remote corner of Missouri and, until now, has utilized only a print on demand (POD) centered publishing model.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Permuted Press and expand their very successful brand.”  said Anthony Ziccardi. “We feel the horror genre and zombies in particular, will be a growing category at retail. Even Hollywood seems to be focused on zombie tales and we feel that we are well positioned to capitalize on this trend.”

* Day by Day Armageddon and sequel by J.L. Bourne
* Plague of the Dead by Z.A. Recht
* Dying to Live by Kim Paffenroth
* Down the Road by Bowie Ibarra
* Empire by David Dunwoody
* The Zombie Chronicles: Escape by James Melzer

This is truly amazing news for all of us. I am humbled and grateful to everyone who has made this deal come to fruition. Since beginning TZC as a podcast novel last September, it has been a wild, wild ride and I have met so many others who have been a tremendous support along the way. Thank you to EVERYONE!

So what this means is that Escape will NOW come out in print in 2010 instead of Fall ‘09 BUT it will now be in bookstores NATION WIDE! This is a huge feather in the cap not only for Permuted Press but on a more personal level, for podcast novelists.

It just goes to show that with hard work and persistence, your dreams can not only pay off, but end up exceeding your expectations!

~James Melzer

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WARNING: THIS PODCAST CONTAINS EXTREME LANGUAGE

Welcome to the third installment of UNLEASHED!

This time around, I respond to the interview I did with Seth Harwood, who last time voiced his opinions on the publishing world and how things have been going with him and his new book, Jack Wakes Up.

Also, Part 2 of J.C. Hutchins reading from his book, Personal Effects: Dark Art. This is the last installment of the audio excerpts, so after listening, feel free to go out and buy the novel to get the rest of the story.

Don’t forget to check out SwordOfBlood.com either, where you can actually enter to WIN the battle-ready sword from the prequel novella to Personal Effects, Sword of Blood.

PROMO: Sword of Blood

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I can’t even put into words how happy I am to have obtained a blurb for Escape: A Zombie Chronicles Novel, from someone who I look up to so much.

Mur Lafferty has been in the game for a long time. So far she’s published one print novel, Playing For Keeps, and is the author of dozens of articles both in print and on the web. She’s also the creator of the Heaven Series, as well as the audio drama, The Takeover. Oh, and in case you didn’t know, she’s also the host of the award winning podcast called I Should Be Writing.

When I asked Mur to blurb the book, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but sure enough, she came through with words that left me speechless:

“I love it when a book surprises me- but The Zombie Chronicles: Escape plain slapped me upside the head. The world James Melzer has effortlessly created will entice those who love zombie horror, cloning thrillers, and government conspiracies. This does everything a horror book is supposed to do and more – it scares and chills and surprises, but also succeeds in weaving together friendship, love, and a complex loyalty within the relationships. When you’re on a mission to save your own clone, you need your friends by you. And when you’re on a mission to scare the crap out of yourself with a good book, you need The Zombie Chronicles: Escape.”

To know that a woman who I have admired for so long, liked the words I wrote, was such a thrill. Mur is a great person, she’s a mentor and someone who everyone would do well to emulate. She’s a real class act and to have her words on my book is a great honor for me.

Thanks, Mur!

You guys would do well to go out and pick up a copy of her book, too. I’ve read it a few times and it keeps getting better with each turn of the page. C’mon, you should know by now what comes next…would I lie to you?

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WARNING – THIS PODCAST CONTAINS EXTREME LANGUAGE

Welcome to another episode of UNLEASHED!

This time, I sit down and chat with author Seth Harwood. His first novel, Jack Wakes Up, hit shelves on May 5 from Three Rivers Press. That’s a division of Random House, baby! I highly recommend the book, as it is a kick ass story that I think you guys and gals will really enjoy. Even if you’re not too much into the crime fiction, like me, you’ll still digit. Trust me.

I also talk briefly about JC Hutchins and his super cool giveaway with Matt Wallace. Those two have teamed up to give away THE ACTUAL sword of blood. That is badass! Check out SwordOfBlood.com for more details.

Thanks again to Seth Harwood for taking the time to sit down and chat with me. It’s a long one, almost 60 minutes, so sit back, grab your smokes and a beer and prepare to get fucked up!

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Welcome to the inaugural episode of UNLEASHED: The Podcast to F*&k Up Your Sh%t!

It’s raw, it’s gritty and it’s unscripted…as you’ll soon hear. It’s me talking to you, and maybe eventually some others. We’ll see about that. Hell, this things so goddamn new that it doesn’t even have it’s own theme music yet!

In this first episode I talk about J.C. Hutchins and his debut novel, Personal Effects: Dark Art. A novel that you have to buy. No, scratch that. A novel you NEED to buy!

To convince you how much you NEED to buy it, I’ve got something special for you. The man himself reading the first 2 chapters of this truly innovative, groundbreaking, transmedia novel.

You’ll also find out how you can win your way to a FREE INVASION membership!

Now if that doesn’t fuck up your shit, I don’t know what will!

SUBSCRIBE TO UNLEASHED

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I am pleased to announce that the first blurb for the print version of Escape: A Zombie Chronicles Novel has been obtained.

The man to blurb it is none other than J.C. Hutchins, author of Personal Effects: Dark Art and 7th Son: Descent.

“The title of this book is completely misleading — there is no escape from Escape. James Melzer masterfully blurs the line between sci-fi and horror in this stellar debut. It’s raucous, and gritty … and gripping. Keep the light on when you read this one.”

Hutchins is a writer whom I greatly admire and respect. His debut novel – a transmedia ride into terror -  Personal Effects: Dark Art, is a chilling, pshycological thriller that breaks all the rules of a traditional novel and is one that I’ve talked about many times and highly recommend. Heck, J.C. even included me in his Supervlurb to help promote the novel.

Of course, Hutchins is also known for his podcast novel trilogy, 7th Son. The first book, Descent, is coming to print this October and has already been optioned by Warner Brothers. Yes, THE Warner Brothers.

It is truly a thrill for me to have J.C. Huthcins speak so highly of my debut novel and I am honored and humbled to have him blurb the book. This is really an exciting moment for me and should be for you guys, too.

Thanks to J.C. and taking the time to read my novel in the first place and for providing such an excellent blurb!

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Recently, INVASION team member RenegadeScribe mentioned to me that he was attending his alumni writer’s retreat. He asked me if I had any flyers for him to pass out. Sadly, I didn’t.

I remedied that real quick!

After a long day at work I came home and whipped something up and sent them to him.

Here is EXCLUSIVE video of RenegadeScribe leaving some flyers in the break room at his writer’s retreat!

The INVASION is SPREADING! JOIN TODAY!

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On June 17, 2009, the INVASION kicked off and so far, it’s been a fun, wild ride. Members are involved, enthusiastic and most off all…committed.

Recently, I put out the call for them to submit me videos to be used in a new INVASION PROMO and man, oh, man – did they answer!

The following is the result of my listeners support. It was a great project to work on and to everyone who appears in this video, THANK YOU! For those that have supported my work from the beginning, THANK YOU TOO!

If you haven’t joined the INVASION yet, what are you waiting for? It’s a new, innovative and creative way to get inside my head and get the inside scoop on The Zombie Chronicles: Volume 2.

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She thought she could sneak one past me but the truth is, I have spies everywhere!

Recently, Mur Lafferty (author of Playing For Keeps, The Takeover and the Heaven series), went looking in places she shouldn’t have been looking. She tried to get some inside information on the INVASION and perhaps the worst sin of all – she tried to share it with YOU!

Mur quickly found out that no one, and I mean NO ONE, can stop the INVASION.

Nice try, Mur. Better luck next time.

The INVASION begins June 17, 2009 RIGHT HERE!

Special thanks to Mur Lafferty for doing this video on such short notice. She ROCKS and you should listen to and buy her stuff!

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On Wednesday, June 17, 2009, the INVASION is coming! It begins at 6pm EST and promises to be something special for all of you. You’ve seen the promos, read the blog posts, snagged the Twitter icons and now, the time is almost upon us.

I just want to clarify something first.

The INVASION is not the podcast of Volume Two of The Zombie Chronicles. There seems to be some confusion on this one, even though I’ve made it clear in the past that while the INVASION is connected to TZC 2, it is not the actual novel.

The INVASION is an ambitious project and something that you are all going to love. For those that have been waiting for TZC 2 though, I must warn you that the INVASION is not what you are expecting.

It is something so much more than that!

You think you’re ready? You think you know what it is?

Trust me…

You have no idea!

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Recently I was asked to join the staff over at eMuse, an online magazine that specializes in fiction, poetry and reviews. They wanted me to do a column and I said sure, as long as I could podcast it, too.

They said that was fine and Behind the Mic was born.

So, while I encourage you to head on over and read my column as well as to check out all the other great content they have, including an interview with me and Matthew Wayne Selznick, I am putting the podcast version of the column in my feed for all of you to hear.

Enjoy and as always, feedback is welcome.

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Today, I realized something. It may strike some of you as obvious but for me, not so much. Pretty soon, my first novel, Escape: A Zombie Chronicles Novel, is going to be in the hands of strangers. People I’ve never met. How cool is that?

I was out on the town with my best friend, Kimmy K., and I snapped this pic of her holding an advance copy of my novel. Staring at the picture now, I can say, “Wow. That’s pretty awesome.” She was proud, I was proud and then we had burgers and beer. Two friends, getting together to chat it up. Same ol,’ same ol.’ Only my book was sitting between us.

Laying back and thinking about this whole process of publishing a novel is pretty intense. Since last September, I started podcasting a story, received a 3 book deal from Permuted Press, have been downloaded over 200,000 times and most recently I’ve been grouped together with 12 other podcasters who were called the “most influential creators in the podcast fiction community,” by J.C. Hutchins.

Pretty amazing stuff.

By the fall, my novel will be in print. I’ll be attending Horror Realm in Pittsburgh, PA and strangers will come up to me and ask me to sign a copy just for them. Not bad for a guy who just one year earlier wasn’t even on the radar.

I have you guys and gals to thank for that, and I look forward to the day when I can post pictures of you all, people I’ve never met but who are near and dear to my heart, holding copies of my novel in their hands.

That, will be one of the best feelings in the world.

I realize that now.

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Next Wednesday, June 17, we’re going to start breaking some rules here. You and I, together. For a while now, we’ve done things by the book. We’ve followed, joined the crowd and emulated those that we love. Now it’s time to break free, to escape the mold that we’ve been placed in.

In just one week, you’re going to get the chance to be part of something special. You’re going to get the chance to join the INVASION! I know you don’t know what that means yet, but you will. Soon enough. It’s an ambitious project that any fan of my fiction will love. I guarantee it!

Is it Volume 2 of The Zombie Chronicles? Yes and no. That’s all I can say right now. For those that loved Volume One: Escape, and have been sending me emails and tweets wondering when the next novel is coming, I think this will do you just fine. For now.

As web savvy as I am though, I cannot do this alone. I need your help. It’s you good folks that spread the word about Escape that made it a success in the first place, and now it’s time to do the same with the INVASION. Below, you will find YouTube viral videos that you can share with friends, as well as some avatars that you can use on Twitter or the sidebar of your website.

We have one week to get the word out about the INVASION. I’m asking you to do this purely on faith, since you guys don’t really know what the exact details of the project are yet. I think you can trust me enough though to know that I will not steer you wrong. By placing these videos and avatars on your website or Twitter account, you are not only showing support for this upcoming project but also for my work in general.

So here we go gang. One week to get the word out. We can do this. We can hook ‘em and reel ‘em in and on June 17, 2009, we can get everyone to join the INVASION!

Are you ready to break the rules?

VIDEOS TO SHARE (If you do share these on your website, drop me an email: jjmelzer(at)gmail.com so I can check it out and tell others.

AVATARS FOR TWITTER OR YOUR WEBSITE

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Ok, so I’m really not sure where this footage came from, since I don’t remember any of it. It seems though, that my good buddy, Drew Beatty, the author of Lost Gods, has been INVADED!

Now, I have know idea what’s going on here. I have heard rumours, speculation, and innuendo floating around Twitter. The INVASION is related to The Zombie Chronicles, but it’s not book two. I mean, he just started to write book two, so it can’t be that!

I am honestly puzzled by all of this. I mean, yeah, there’s something huge going down here on the 17th, but where people like Drew Beatty and James Durham are getting their information is beyond me. I feel fine, contrary to what is displayed in this video, but there it is.

I guess we’ll all just have to wait until June 17 to find out exctly what the INVASION is.

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Today marks one of the most anticipated release dates in fiction history. This is the day that Personal Effects: Dark Art by J.C. Hutchins and Jordan Weisman hits store shelves all over the country.

To celebrate the novels release, Hutchins (who got his start as a podcast novelist) has brought together twelve of the most influential people in podcast fiction. I am proud, honored and humbled to be among this group, who have all come together for what is being called the ‘SUPERVLURB.’

Those included in this amazing testimonial are:

• Philippa Ballantine
  Author of: Chasing the Bard, Digital Magic, Weather Child
• Scott Sigler
  New York Times bestselling author of: Infected, Contagious, Ancestor
• Seth Harwood
  Author of: Jack Wakes Up, Jack Palms 2 & 3, Young Junius
• Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff
  Author of: Number One with a Bullet, Shadow Falls, Diary of a Madman
• Christiana Ellis
  Author of: Nina Kimberly the Merciless, Space Casey
• Matt Wallace
  Parsec Award-winning author of The Next Fix, The Failed Cities Monologues
• James Melzer (Hey that’s me!)
  Author of: The Zombie Chronicles – Escape
• Stephen Eley
  Editor of Escape Pod, and publisher of the horror fiction podcast Pseudopod
• Mark Jeffrey
  Author of: The Pocket and the Pendant, The Two Travelers
• Mur Lafferty
• Author of: Playing for Keeps, the Heaven series, co-founder of Pseudopod
• Phil Rossi
  Author of: Crescent, Tales from the Vault, Eden
• Matthew Wayne Selznick
  Author of: Brave Men Run, Hazy Days and Cloudy Nights

I’ve read Personal Effects: Dark Art (twice) and it scared the crap out of me both times. Do yourself a favor gang, go out and BUY THIS BOOK! You will not be disappointed!

Check out the 10 other ground breaking video trailers right HERE. They are truly fantastic works of art!

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Last night, I saw an interesting blog post from my boy, James Durham. James is the author of the podcast series, FETIDUS (The Foundation for the Ethical Treatment of the Innocently Damned, Undead and Supernatural). A damn fine series, if I do say so myself. Well, it seems that ol’ James Durham has been INVADED!

I’ve been confidentially told that it is NOT Volume 2 of the The Zombie Chronicles, but I can say it is “related.”

Now, I don’t know who told him this or where his info came from, but there was a video to go along with his post.

YOU can JOIN the INVASION on June 17, 2009 – RIGHT HERE!

If you look closely, there’s actually CLUES as to what The INVASION is all about! If you have a guess, call me on the BLOODLINES at 206-350-8638 and I might just be able to get you INSIDE the INVASION!

You can see one other INVASION VIDEO on this site and another one HERE!

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There are times when you just have to think outside the box if you want to stay competitive. You have to do things that are new and fresh and unique. Sometimes, you have to break the rules!

On June 17, 2009, I will be revealing something brand new to this website. Something that will give you guys the opportunity to share in an exciting experience with me. I’ve never done anything like it before and in all honesty, it scares me.

Fear, however, can drive innovative ideas. It can cause you to stretch your own limits as to what you can do as a creative artist. I think in this case, my fears have caused me to come up with an idea that all of you will absolutely love. I’m excited, anxious and completely psyched. I want you guys to be too!

So on June 17, 2009, join me on an exciting journey because on that day:

THE INVASION BEGINS!

Here’s a video promo for you guys to spread the word with. Post it on your blog or wherever you roam.

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On Monday, June 1, 2009, something truly momentous is going down and I want all you Die Hards out there to know about it.

Friend and fellow podcast novelist/author, Mur Lafferty, is debuting the 5th and final saga in her Heaven series. Called ‘WAR,’ it’s been three years in the making and now, the end is upon us.

If you’re not familiar with the Heaven series, here’s the rundown:

Heaven is a contemporary fantasy audio series (also called Bangsian fantasy) about two friends who wander the afterlife together after their untimely deaths. Kate and Daniel find the Christian Heaven a bit too perfect for their liking and receive metaphysical passports to travel to the afterlives of different mythologies, different religions – even different species. As their travels continue, they discover there may a grander plan to their travels than they previously suspected.

Mur’s distinctive voice, her ability to create engaging characters and her attention to detail, all combine to form some of the best fiction I’ve ever heard. Heaven truly is one of the best audio series I’ve ever listened to and I’m saying that as a fan, not as a friend.

To catch up on this truly amazing series, you can listen to the first 4 parts on Podiobooks.com:

1. HEAVEN
2. HELL
3. EARTH
4. WASTELAND

I know that many of you reading this might be going, “Pfft. Whatever. There’s no zombies, why would I want to listen to this?” It’s simple; because I said so. I would not steer any of you wrong. Trust me when I say that after just two episodes, you will be hooked! C’mon, would I lie to you?

So on Monday, June 1, 2009, head on over to Murverse.com, Podiobooks.com or Heavennovel.com to join in on the WAR and hear the end of what is perhaps the best series on the web today.

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This one has a cool intro.

I show off the ARC of ‘Escape – A Zombie Chronicles Novel’ with a kick-ass cover by Chad Michael Ward.

More about the quest for blurbs, some new podcast fic and TZC #2

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This is hopefully the first of many video updates that I plan on doing, so please bare with me while I get the hang of it all.

This one focuses on book blurbs and just some of the people who I have contacted and the progress I have been making.

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About a month ago I read something that I can honestly say scared the shit out of me. It’s not often that a novel can evoke such a primal emotion as fear. In fact, the only other novel I can remember reading that did so was The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. The time has come once again though for you and I to be afraid of the dark. The reason? Personal Effects: Dark Art by J.C. Hutchins and Jordan Weisman.

The story follows Zach Taylor, a gifted art therapist who is employed at Brinkvale Psychiatric Hospital. Otherwise known as ‘The Brink.’ Zach has a way of reaching his patients through art therapy. Allowing them to express themselves to the point where they open up to him so the healing can begin. When a new patient is admitted though, Zach is forced to reevaluate everything his knows about his talents…and his past.

Enter Martin Grace. An alleged serial killer who is under suspicion for 12 murders and is admitted to The Brink for psychiatric treatment to see if he’s fit to stand trial. The only problem is, Martin Grace is blind, so how could he have killed 12 people? Zach is faced with the challenge of unraveling the mystery of Martin Grace and in doing so is plunged into a world so dark, so terrifying, that it not only forces him to question everything he knew to be true, but also forces him to face The Dark Man. A villain so evil that you’d swear that it was the spawn of Satan himself.

Reading Personal Effects: Dark Art was not only a treat (as a lifelong horror fan, I am always looking for the next best scare) but it was also a mind bending experience. Hutchins has a way of grabbing you head first and pulling you in to the darkness to the point where you forget everything that is going on around you. As someone who missed a few subway stops on the way to work, I’m qualified to say that.

Personal Effects: Dark Art isn’t just your everyday book though. What it does is combine the narrative flow of a novel and mixes it with the feel of an alternate reality game. The book comes with actual ‘personal effects’ that allow you to go online and virtually become the protagonist yourself. You can also call Zach Taylor’s voicemail to get clues, visit the Brinkvale Psychiatric Hospital website that allows you to submit your own artwork. Just Google character names and you’ll see websites specifically designed for them that will help you to unravel the mystery. It’s a truly interactive experience and one that is not to be missed!

Personal Effects: Dark Art is unleashed on the world on June 9 from St. Martin’s Press. You can pre-order it here from JCHutchins.net and also watch some of the very cool online video trailers that bring some of the biggest icons of horror together to ‘Vlurb’ the book. Go see for yourself.

Folks, believe me when I say that this novel really is one of the best I have read in the genre in the past 10 years. Is it perfect? No, but what little flaws it has can be overlooked by everything that this book brings to the table. Hutchins and Weisman make the ultimate team and when they say you’ll be afraid of the dark…they mean it!

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The fate of the blood supply is realized. The group find what they were looking for and try to make it out alive but not without a casualty and some missing bodies. The end is just the beginning.

The Zombie Chronicles is sponsored by PERMUTED PRESS

Theme music by MZ ANN THROPIK now available as a RINGTONE

HOUSEKEEPING

Thank you ALL for your support over the past 8 months. It has been an incredible journey!

A feedback show is coming! Send in your email comments and questions to jjmelzer (at) gmail.com or phone them in to the BLOODLINES at 206-350-8638

Remember, if you like free content and want to support New Media and my work, don’t be shy to donate. 10% of all donations go to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of Canada

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I write about horrific things. I know about zombies and blood and guts. My boy Seth Harwood though, he knows about crime, and his novel Jack Wakes Up is one of the best damn crime novels to hit the shelves in a long time.

That’s right folks. Cinco de Harwood has arrived!

Today marks the release of Seth Harwood’s novel from Three Rivers Press, a division of Random House NYC. Like myself, and many others you read about here, Seth began his novel as a work of podcast fiction back in 2006. In 2008 the book was published by Breakneck Books and his fans just ate it up! It reached #1 in Crime/Mystery on Amazon the day of its release and #45 overall in books. That was all it took to catch the attention of Random House and low and behold, here we are today baby!

So what’s it all about? I’m glad you asked:

“In the three years since Jack Palms went clean: no drugs, no drinking,no life, he’s added fourteen pounds of muscle, read 83 books, andplayed it as straight as anyone can ask him. Now, when an old friend from L.A. calls, he hits the streets of San Francisco to help a group of Czech drug buyers make one big score, a single drug deal that hehopes will set him up for life.

But when people start turning up dead, and an old nemesis on the policeforce calls, Jack finds himself with just 24 hours to track down San Francisco’s biggest drug supplier or face charges that will put himbehind bars.

Only an Oscar-caliber performance will get him through this alive.”

Want to know more? Well guess what? Here’s the first 3 chapters of Jack Wakes up in PDF form. BOOYA!

Still want to know more about Seth and how he does his podcast fiction thing? Heh, I got something for that too:

Still not convinced? Well here’s a message from Seth himself. How ya like them apples?

I know most of you visiting this site are into horror and blood and all that good stuff but trust me gang, you will not be disappointed in Jack Wakes Up from Seth Harwood. C’mon, would I steer you wrong?

Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy today or head on over and check out the free podcast version of the novel. I’m going out right now to get mine…

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EPISODE 25
Hyde shows Dr. Caughfield just how far he’s willing to go to get answers. The doctor responds by showing both Labern and David the underbelly of the Facility.

EPISODE 26
Doctor Glenn Caughfield reveals the truth behind Project Mirror and all of a sudden the mission shifts to stopping Jacob before it’s too late.

The Zombie Chronicles is sponsored by PERMUTED PRESS

Theme music by MZ ANN THROPIK now available as a RINGTONE

HOUSEKEEPING

Congrats to JC Hutchins for his 7th Son Trilogy being optioned by Warner Bros.

TZC is almost ready to be shipped to Permuted Press!

PROMOS

J. Daniel Sawyers podcast novel, Antithesis, BOOK I

JC Hutchins‘ novel, Personal Effects: Dark Art

Remember, if you like free content and want to support New Media, don’t be shy to donate. 10% of all donations go to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of Canada

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Something truly amazing happened in the world of online fiction yesterday and you can bet that when something this big happens, one name is attached to it: Scott Sigler!

To coincide with the NFL draft, Scott Sigler released his novel, The Rookie, as a limited edition print run of 3000 numbered copies. Independent of any major publishing house. The catch? You could only buy it online from www.scottsigler.com. Complete with an embossed hardcover and 8 plates inside showing each teams logo, aliens and uniforms, this one of a kind beauty sells for $34.95 but if you use one of the special coupon codes you can save three bucks. Not a bad deal. It’s a story that combines the intense gridiron action of “Any Given Sunday” with the space opera style of “Star Wars” and the criminal underworld of “The Godfather.”.

Sigler has been one of the forerunners when it comes to online fiction, first releasing his novels as free podcasts which eventually landed him a deal with Crown Publishing. Over the years he has built a loyal fan following of ‘Junkies’ and his latest hardcover release, Contagious, debuted on the New York Times Bestseller list. He’s an inspiration to me and a force to be reckoned with in the publishing industry. Case in point: The Rookie.

In just 24 hours, The Rookie sold 806 copies with no help from a major publisher and no media coverage of the sorts. Just good old fashioned word of mouth that spread throughout social networking sites on the web. It was truly an amazing thing to watch as the numbers kept going up and up. At this rate all 3000 copies should be gone by weeks end.

Is this the future of publishing? I don’t know. As someone who is following in the footsteps of Sigler and others like him, I like to think so. Regardless, he made history yesterday once again and that’s all that matters.

Congratulations Scott! I got my copy and wish you nothing but success with this one. When one author succeeds, we all win!

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Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates uttered those words in the classic 1960 film ‘Psycho’ directed by Alfred Hitchcock and you know what? They still ring true today. Now’s your chance to prove just how mad you can get and win one of the hottest, most talked about books on the internet. Signed by the author!

As you know, I have a new columnist gig for the internet zine, eMuse and I couldn’t be more excited. Well right now, in conjunction with author J.C. Hutchins they are having the eMuse Summer Madness contest and it’s a chance to stretch your creative muscles and see how down and dirty you can get. Here’s the scoop:

There’s 3 categories you can enter in. Poetry, art and fiction. What you have to do is write a poem, a short story or do a really cool piece of art that all have one central theme: An insane asylum. Why an insane asylum? J.C. Hutchins’ new book, Personal Effects: Dark Art, has to do with an asylum nicknamed The Brink. It centers around Zach Taylor, a young and gifted art therapist and his quest to discover the truth not only about his own inner demons but also about a crazed and deranged serial killer by the name of Martin Grace. Who is blind!

Whatever you choose to do, make it wild, make it crazy and make it sick enough to get yourself committed and you just might win a signed copy of Personal Effects: Dark Art. Enter the eMuse Summer Madness contest today!

Here’s a little something to get you inspired. A trailer for Personal Effects featuring the creator of Friday the 13th, Victor Miller

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The group storm the Facility with alarm bells going off all around them. Chaos ensues as Labern and Hyde take out some guards before coming across the head of Project Mirror and take him captive.

The Zombie Chronicles is sponsored by PERMUTED PRESS

Theme music by MZ ANN THROPIK now available as a RINGTONE

HOUSEKEEPING

The cover art for the print version of The Zombie Chronicles has been released. Thanks to Chad Michael Ward for doing this up and thanks to Nekromistress for being the model. Those two are amazing! Show them some love and help spread the word.

Remember, if you like free content and want to support New Media, don’t be shy to donate. 10% of all donations go to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of Canada

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The face you are staring at is the face of someone who has been to hell and back, which is why it is the perfect representation for Escape: A Zombie Chronicles Novel.

It pretty much says it all in that one eye staring back at you. There’s blood, half of the mouth is derivative of a zombies chompers and there’s that empty, black hole staring at you on the left, inviting you to delve deeper and deeper to see just what’s inside.

This is the cover art for my debut novel from Permuted Press. Escape: A Zombie Chronicles Novel, which hits shelves this Fall. The artist is the brilliantly insane and talented Chad Michael Ward from Hollywood, California. His body of work includes cover art for novels and CD’’s, art for role playing games, DVD cover and menu art for Marylin Manson and not only that but he’s also a music video director too, with about 10 of them under his belt. Chad was gracious enough to do this amazing cover for me and we should all be thankful because it rocks!

Of course, this is without the typography on it. This is just the art. The title font and my name are still to be added and I’ll be releasing that little nugget in the weeks to come.

Let me know what you guys think. Personally, I think it kicks some serious ass and is gonna look damn good sitting on your bookcase.

* TUESDAY, APRIL 21 ONLY*

I’ll be on the Projekt X Radio Show with Otter and the gang at 8pm EST talking about the art so come join in and listen!

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I am pleased to announce that I will now be a regular columnist for eMuse, the quarterly online magazine dedicated to the idea that art and literature should be celebrated. My column, Behind the Mic, will debut in the June issue.

You might think this to be a bit out of the norm for me, seeing as I write about zombies and all, but there’s another side to me that you guys and gals may not know about and I’m going to let you all in to see it. I love literature, I love art and I love the internet so I’m going to combine all three of those things into one big stew. I’ll be talking about being a podcast novelist, being an ‘online’ writer (even though I do have a traditional publishing deal) as well as how to promote yourself through various channels and also my day to day thoughts and inspirational speeches. Everything you need to keep your writing spirits lifted and to keep pressing on towards accomplishing your own goals and dreams. It won’t be all roses and honey though. I’m going to be honest, going to be frank and just call it like I see it. I may ruffle a few feathers and spark some debates but hey, that’s just me.

My first regular column will appear in the June edition of eMuse so I hope you’ll all join me as I embark on this new and exciting adventure and in the meantime, check out the really awesome Summer Madness Contest they are having where you can win a signed copy of fellow writer and friend J.C. Hutchins’ debut novel, Personal Effects: Dark Art. A superb, supernatural thriller that will make you afraid of the dark once again.

Watch out, eMuse. Melzer is coming!

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Victorya and Labern explain to David just what is going on. The gang regroups and prepares to head into battle once again, as their cover is blown.

The Zombie Chronicles is sponsored by PERMUTED PRESS

Theme music by MZ ANN THROPIK now available as a RINGTONE

HOUSEKEEPING

Initial edits for the manuscript of TZC have been completed.

It is now 100% confirmed that I will be in attendence at Horror Realm this September in Pittsburgh, PA. A couple of girls from the TZC Fangirl Army will be joining me.

Remember, if you like free content and want to support New Media, don’t be shy to donate. 10% of all donations go to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of Canada

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Tonight, 8 months after sitting down to write Volume One of The Zombie Chronicles: Escape – I am pleased to say that the edits on the manuscript are now finished! Well, the initial edits anyway.

I sat in a coffee shop, rolled up my sleeves and went to work on the last 35 pages. Killing many of my darlings and letting others survive. I do all my edits by hand. Sitting there with my work and a pad of paper, X-ing things out, making notes, scribbling on page after page. I like the organic feel of doing all of that by hand. For me, it’s the only way.

What happens now? Well, for the rest of the week (after I record Episode 23 tomorrow morning), I’ll be entering all those edits into my computer. Then I’ll print off The Beast and next Monday it will get shipped to my editor. Team Awesome will then go over it together and we’ll fix maybe a few more things. Then from there The Beast will make its way into the hands of Permuted Press. They may or may not want some more changes, I don’t know.

The point is, we are all one step closer to seeing this baby in print! It will go quick, hopefully, since the cover is already picked out (I’ll be revealing that little nugget soon). Most likely the novel will see a Fall release. Perhaps in time for Horror Realm for me to sign copies for you? We’ll see about that.

Thanks to everyone of you who helped me through this process. Cheering me on, pushing me to keep going to get those edits done. I’ve been sharing my dream with you guys since the beginning and I feel like it belongs to all of us.

We’re almost there gang!

BELIEVE!

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It is now 100% official that I will be attending Horror Realm this September in Pittsburgh, PA. I’ve been asked to speak on their Authors Panel and will be contributing an original short story to the Horror Realm chapbook that will be put out as well.

Horror Realm is being held September 18-20 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and it’s not only a convention for zombie lovers but for fans of the horror genre in general. There’s VIP events, a film festival, author panels and celebrity guests. Some of this years include:

Ken Foree (Peter Washington – Dawn of the Dead)

Jeff Lieberman (Writier/Director/Producer)

It’s shaping up to be a great convention and not only that but it’s also an affordable one. A weekend pass is only twenty bucks. Yup, TWENTY-BUCKS!

So if you’re in Pittsburgh that weekend, come check out me and a whole bunch of other great guests as well and join in the fun that is Horror Realm!

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I sit here on the cusp of finishing my first podcast novel. The Zombie Chronicles: Escape, has just 6 episodes left. It’s been just over seven months since I started on September 1, 2008 and I as I reflect on how I began this journey, I would like to take a few moments here to thank those who have been an inspiration to me in the world of podcast fiction right from the very beginning.

First, there’s Matthew Wayne Selznick. He’s the guy that got me turned on to podcast fiction in the first place. The first Podiobook I ever listened to was his novel, Brave Men Run and since then, I’ve been hooked. Matt’s DIY ethic and strong commitment to excellence have always been an inspiration to me. I even got a chance to interview him once when this site was in its old incarnation and maybe one day, I’ll get the chance to do it again. Matt, you continue to inspire us all through your use of New Media and the World Wide Web. I wish nothing but great things for you in the future!

Second, there’s Mur Lafferty. I was first introduced to her through the most excellent series, I Should Be Writing. A podcast that chronicles Mur’s journey to being a published writer. Along the way there’s hardships, setbacks and even interviews with established writers to help us all out. I Should Be Writing has changed recently, becoming ISBW 2.0 since Mur did accomplish her goal and the novel, Playing For Keeps, was published by Swarm Press. The name may have changed but the content is still the same because just because you’re a published author, doesn’t mean that you don’t have anything else to learn. Mur has become a friend, an ear to bend and I am pleased to say that I know her. Mur, you always inspire me with everything that you do. I look forward to cheering you on in the futrue with your continued success!

Scott Sigler is another guy who has inspired me along my journey. He’s the New York Times bestselling author of the books Infected and its sequel, Contagious. Sigler was a pioneer in the niche of podcast fiction and since then he has built up an army of followers that support him and his creations. Scott is all about busting your ass, working as hard as you can to get the job done because know one knows better than him that it will all pay off in the end. His work ethic and his writing have inspired me to keep going on many occasions. The FDO™ is a stand up guy and will always be an inspiration to me.

Last but certainly not least (I’m writing these names in the order I discovered them) is J.C. Hutchins. When I first heard Hutch’s podcast novel, The 7th Son Trilogy, it blew me out of the water. Since then, I’ve seen him do great things, make history and here’s the thing about J.C. Hutchins: he never stops coming up with new ideas. The guy is constantly thinking outside of the box and he has been a tremendous inspiration to me when it comes to ideas for promoting TZC. I’m nowhere near on the same playing field as him but one day, I hope to be. He’s taught me that it’s ok to go BIG, it’s ok to do things different, even if they don’t work. All you can do is keep trying over and over and over because really, all they can say is, “No.” Hutch has taught me to be fearless and his strong work ethic has always been an inspiration to me.

Those are the four people who have inspired me to do what I do. Some of you may read those names and think, “Bah! He’s just kissing some ass.” That’s your opinion and you’re welcome to it. I will say this though, that I have not seen anyone even come close to those four people when it comes to busting your ass, promoting your work and doing all that needs to be done to tell the world you exist. Their level of commitment and dedication to their work astounds me on an ongoing basis and that is why they inspire me.

So if you don’t see your name on that list, ask yourselves, “What have I done to inspire others lately?” Writing and the publishing business, it’s pretty cutthroat. Even online. Those four people that continue to inspire me though, they transcend expectations and go above and beyond the call of duty to bring exciting new content to their fans. Those are the kinds of people I want to be like and as I sit here about to finish my first podcast novel, I will take what I have learned from them and when The Zombie Chronicles: Volume Two is released, I can only hope to come close to doing what they do.

Remember gang: The World doesn’t owe you anything. It was here first!

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The group break through to the Facility and begin their ascent. Everything comes to a halt though when Nameless snaps and his true identity is revealed!

The Zombie Chronicles is sponsored by PERMUTED PRESS

Theme music by MZ ANN THROPIK now available as a RINGTONE

HOUSEKEEPING

Thanks to Otter and the gang from Projekt X for having me on their show again this past week. I had a blast!

I’ve been invited to be on the Authors Panel at this years Horror Realm in Pittsburgh, PA. BE THERE!

I sing Happy Birthday to one lucky TZC Fangirl. Yes, you heard me…I sing!

Remember, if you like free content and want to support New Media, don’t be shy to donate. 10% of all donations go to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of Canada

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Just a quick note to let everyone know that this Tueday, April 7 at around 8pm EST, I will be appearing for the 3rd time on The ProjektX Radio Show with Otter and the Gang.

ProjektX is an internet radio show made of AWESOME and the guys there have always been great supporters of The Zombie Chronicles right from the get-go. They’re a funny, smart and witty bunch of folks so I’m sure that shenanigans will ensue. Especially when I rag on Otter about joining Twitter and his recent…marriage? WHAAAAAA?

So I hope you’ll join me this Tuesday, April 7 at 8pm EST.

See ya there!

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Jacob and Labern pay a visit to the church and the tunnel is finally finished. Kalomi asks Nameless to do the impossible and Jose has a revelation.

The Zombie Chronicles is sponsored by PERMUTED PRESS

Theme music by MZ ANN THROPIK now available as a RINGTONE

HOUSEKEEPING

Been dealing with the stress of the flu, stress at work and stress editing the novel, which is due in just 50 short days (I think you can hear my cat voicing his frustration).

Thanks to Jennifer and Patricia for setting up The Zombie Chronicles Fangirl Army on Facebook!

Remember, if you like free content and want to support New Media, don’t be shy to donate. 10% of all donations go to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of Canada

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Just wanted to take a second to personally thank TZC listeners and fellow Twitterers, Jennifer (@jennybeanses) and Patricia (@Zodiac_) for setting up The Zombie Chronicles Fangirl Army over on Facebook.

Their enthusiams and support for my work has been tremendously overwhelming and it’s women like this that are helping to make TZC the success that it is.

So if you’re on Facebook head on over and join the TZC Fangirl Army. There’s pictures, videos and the best part? You don’t have to be a girl to join! There’s even a few uterus-challenged men on there!

Thanks, Fangirls!

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Kalomi, Nameless and Jose’s cover is blown. People die. A revelation is revealed that could help the cause but then it all goes to hell at the end.

The Zombie Chronicles is sponsored by PERMUTED PRESS

Theme music by MZ ANN THROPIK now available as a RINGTONE

HOUSEKEEPING

A Feedback Episode is COMING! Get those questions or comments in by email or phone!

Operation ‘@TheHour’ has begun! Join in and help get my mug on a nationally televised Canadian news program!

Remember, if you like free content and want to support New Media, don’t be shy to donate. 10% of all donations go to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of Canada

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Yesterday I blogged about my desire to appear on the CBC news show, The Hour and how I’m going to be using the social media site Twitter to accomplish that goal. I’m not going to re-hash it all here, just go and read the post if you want to catch up on how you can help test the power of Twitter.

This morning at 11am EST Operation ‘@TheHour’ went into full effect as I tweeted out a command and you all followed. It was awesome, it was an adrenaline rush and I can’t thank those that participated enough. It really means a lot to me that you are helping me reach my goals.

So here’s the update:

By 2pm EST, just 3 hours later, I was contacted by one of the producers at The Hour who handles authors and who just also happens to be following me on Twitter (don’t worry, I won’t give your name). He told me where I can send my books and information in order to be considered for a guest spot on The Hour.

Excellent! Almost…

My book isn’t finished yet. It’s about to go into the editing stages and then it will be sent off to Permuted Press and we’ll get the ball rolling on all that publishing stuff.

Seems like a bit of a snag, doesn’t it? Have no fear!

I want to be a guest on The Hour to promote my book, of course. How can that happen though when I have no book in print to promote? Simple, I do have a book – it’s just not in print yet, it’s being released as a free podcast. I think said Producer may have misunderstood me a bit about why I want to be on The Hour. I not only want to talk about my book but I also want to appear on the show to talk about podcast fiction, social media as to how it relates in promoting yourself as well as the world of publishing and how it’s changing.  So here’s what I’m going to do, Producer:

I’m going to send you my book but you’re going to experience it the way everyone else has up to this point. As the audio version. I will put all the episodes up to this point onto a DVD for you to enjoy and send it along with my CV, so I can tell you more about just who I am and what I’ve accomplished. Sound fair? I think so.

Said Producer also said to me that I should have done all this before I started a Twitter campaign to be on The Hour. That it might have been more effective. That might be true but the g