Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Alison Kemper | Your Handy Guide to Zombies
Author Guest / October 8, 2014

October is here! It’s time for scary movies, spooky books, and creepy TV shows. And with the recent success of AMC’s The Walking Dead and SyFy’s new series, Z Nation, more and more people are giving a zombie entertainment a try. For the newcomer, the world of the undead can be confusing. Are they fast? Are they slow? Are they all after one thing: braaaaains? Here’s a quick guide to some of the more common zombie types you might encounter this October. Classic Zombies Classic zombies are brain dead, semi-lethargic cannibals. These corpse creatures populate George A. Romero’s 1968 film Night of the Living Dead, and today’s mega-popular series, The Walking Dead. Remember: classic zombies are especially dangerous in large hordes. Fast Zombies Over the last decade, zombies stopped shambling and started running. And to be honest, zombies are a heck of a lot scarier when they can haul tail. If you’re ready to check out some terrifyingly fast zombies, try 28 Days Later or World War Z (the movie, not the book—the zombies in Max Brooks’ awesome novel are of the classic variety). Romantic Zombies We knew it would happen. We had a rash of devastatingly sexy vampires (Hello, Edward…

Tina Ann Forkner | Reading is Sweet
Author Guest / October 8, 2014

Have you ever taken a bite of cake and been transported to heaven? I bet your answer is yes. For me, it was a slice of my mom’s strawberry-lemon cake served chilled on a hot summer day in Oklahoma. All I remember is the taste of cool lusciousness when the fork met my mouth. When Joy Talley, the main character of my newest novel, WAKING UP JOY, wakes up from a coma, it’s not in heaven, but she creates heavenly desserts in her kitchen to make herself and others feel happy: “Strawberry-lemon, of course—chocolate, carrot, you name it, I wanted it. So, during the weeks after my coma, I cooked up a storm. Baking was my thing. And we’re not just talking cupcakes, although I made my share of those. We’re talking oodles of five-layer cakes with fresh flowers on top, French-looking pastries with Momma’s secret frosting, and even donuts, which Miss Donna’s shop bought to sell at her place in town every Monday morning at 5:30 am.” I wish I could tell you that baking is my expertise, but sadly I’m much better at eating cake than making it. That’s what I love about being an author. If I…

Marie Harte | Ruining Mr. Perfect
Author Guest / October 8, 2014

It’s never easy being a middle child, and that’s kind of how I think of book 3 in my McCauley Brothers series. RUINING MR. PERFECT deals with Cameron, the youngest McCauley sibling, but the book is sandwiched between two books that made me cry at times when writing them. It’s a challenge to write a story about four brothers and not have them all be the same. They’re raised in the same house, by the same people, but must have different flaws and vulnerabilities. Yet they can’t be so polarizing that they’re caricatures instead of characters. Big difference. In book 1, THE TROUBLEMAKER NEXT DOOR, Flynn is a charming, decent guy who hasn’t found Ms. Right yet. Enter Maddie, stage left. In book 2, HOW TO HANDLE A HEARTBREAKER, Brody has some secrets that have molded him into the man he is today. He’s sexy and funny, but wounded emotionally. Abby is just the woman for him, because she won’t take less than she deserves, and that she knows he can give. Book 3, RUINING MR. PERFECT, pits Cameron against a stubborn woman with a hard heart and a troubled parent with a hard head. Cam has always been the…