Crazy Ex-Ghoulfriend #Giveaway #YA #Zombies

Random giveaway time! In addition to spring cleaning, I do new year cleaning. It's a good way to purge all the extra holiday promo stuffs crowding up my office space and begin the new year with a clean slate--well, clean floor anyway. 

This round yielded a surprise find: the last free audiobook of my YA zombie novel "Crazy Ex-Ghoulfriend." I'm adding in a signed paperback and the twin to my favorite zombie mug. Whoever wins is also welcome to schedule a Google Hangouts session or a FB chat, and we can share a cup of tea (or coffee) in our fancy matching mugs! We can talk books or writing or life... or just slurp our beverages while gazing awkwardly into our webcams. It will be big fun! : D



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Giveaway & Review: DYING BY THE HOUR by Kory Shrum

If you missed my first post interviewing and gushing about the talented Kory Shrum, you can catch up by reading it HERE. I adored the first book in Kory's Jesse Sullivan series, DYING FOR A LIVING. And I adore the second book, DYING BY THE HOUR, even more!

After 83 deaths, Jesse Sullivan knows how to die. As a Necronite, she is one of the population’s rare 2% who can serve as a death replacement agent, dying so others don’t have to. But using her NRD to save lives is why she’s being hunted.

For Ally Gallagher, death is permanent. If she fails to protect Jesse again, there will be no third attempt. After a quiet year the signs of serious danger have returned. People connected to Jesse are disappearing. Her home is vandalized and threatening messages are turning up in the safest of places.

Then Jesse is taken and Ally has only hours to get her back. But no salvation comes without its price.

My official review: Sexy, Snarky, & Supernaturally Fantastic! This one has it all! Just as awesome as the first! There was a lot more tension and action in this sequel to Dying for a Living. There was also a second POV, from Ally, Jesse's friend/coworker/love interest. I usually don't care for the alternating views when a book is written in first person, but it really made this story that much better. Ally's adventures were critically insightful, and a very interesting contract to Jesse's. This was much darker and more intense than the first book, but I was glad that Shrum still maintained the snark and humor I so enjoy in her work!

To celebrate the release of her much anticipated sequel, Kory is giving away all kinds of awesome goodies!

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You can also chat with Kory and win more goodies after her blog tour concludes, at the Facebook Afterparty on September 16th HERE.

Kory M. Shrum lives in Michigan with her partner and a ferocious guard pug. She has dabbled in everything from fortune telling to martial arts and when not reading or writing, she can be found teaching, traveling, and wearing a gi. She is author of the urban fantasy novels Dying for a Living and Dying by the Hour. She'd love to hear from you on Facebook, Twitter, or her blog: www.korymshrum.com 

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Giveaway, Review, & Interview: All things Kory Shrum!

I've been DYING to do this giveaway! Kory Shrum is one of my favorite new authors. We began talking online a few months ago, and since then, we've started a critique group together (shout-out to the horsemen!) and we're making plans to take over upcoming book conventions. I LOVE Kory's first novel, and I'm pretty tickled that I've gotten to read quite a bit of book 2 in our crit group! Here's my official review of book 1, DYING FOR A LIVING.

"This book and author are now among my favorites! Wow! I might be a little partial to this story because I love morbid comedy, urban fantasy, and a good mystery. I'm also a big fan of original ideas, since they're so rare anymore. 

Jesse is a Necronite, though people still use the z word (zombie). She dies for a living... literally. She's a death replacement agent. Psychics (another dirty word) find people who are near death, via remote viewing, and Jesse gets paid to take their place. As a Necronite, she reanimates after a few hours, heals after a few days, collects a paycheck, and does it all over again. The world isn't quite ready for this heap of awesome, particularly the Church, who have started petitioning for Necronites to be decapitated after death so they can't come back. After a client tries to off her during a death replacement and her handler goes missing, Jesse soon finds herself in the middle of an investigation. With trust issues off the chart and danger around every bend, her only option is to do a little digging of her own. 

This is a spectacular introduction to a series I'm definitely going to be following all the way through. Jesse is a riot, and yet very complex and lovable. All of the characters are really great, and though it's on the back burner, the love triangle was a refreshing twist too, since Jesse is bisexual. Both of the love interests are exciting and sincere, and it makes it so much harder to decide who to cheer for. I'm so torn, but I can't wait to see how it all unfolds."

I had a lot of questions for Kory after I read her debut...

Q: Dying for a Living is a really original take on zombies. How did you come up with the idea? And what kind of research did you do to evolve the idea?

KS: I actually did not set out to write a zombie story—and many would argue that Jesse isn’t a zombie story at all. I wanted a heroine who discovered and came to term with her powers, but I wasn’t sure what that would look like exactly. I read a craft book about how choosing your protagonist’s occupation is really important and that is when I realized what I was missing. So I started to approach it from the position of what is the most interesting job ever and it sort of evolved from there. And the research evolved naturally. As I tried to solve the questions/complications of Jesse’s occupation and world, I sought to answer those questions. 

Q: Love triangles are pretty common in urban fantasy these days, but it's much rarer to find a bisexual love triangle. What inspired this part of the story?

KS: Apart from my own sexuality, bisexuality is a good fit for Jesse’s personality. Sexuality is a part of a person’s personality and I try to match sexuality and personality for my characters in a realistic way. 

Q: Jesse lives in Tennessee, but you're in Michigan. Have you ever lived in Tennessee? Did you have to do anything special to research setting?

KS: I was born in the Midwest—my father’s family is from Granite City, IL near St. Louis—but I was raised in the South, Tennessee in particular—where my mother’s family is from. I also went to college in Clarksville, and drove into Nashville often to visit family, friends, or visit the good bars. So most of what I describe in the book is from personal experience. 

Q: If you died and woke up to discover you were a Necronite, would you sign up as a death replacement agent? Or would you hide your ability to be safe?

KS: I would sign up for as a death replacement agent. I am not good at “playing it safe” and I would love the challenge that death replacing poses. But I am also a bit of a rule-breaker, so I would probably have a hard time following all the rules and would likely do a few things that would get me into trouble later. 

Q: How long did it take you to write Dying for a Living? And how long did it take to write the second installment, and when can we expect to see it?

KS: I banged out the first draft in about 5-6 months. And then I spent a year revising on and off before I got an agent. But several other revisions happened over the span of four years. It took me about 10 months to write the sequel, which should be out September 2014. 

Q: If Dying for a Living made it to the big screen, who would you love to see play your characters and why?

KS: I’ve answered this one in other interviews, and often my ideas change, but here is a good list: 

Jesse:     Emma Stone 
Ally:       Jennifer Lawrence 
Lane:      Liam Hemsworth 
Gabriel:   Ian Somerhalder 
Herwin:   Tom Hollander 
Rachel:    Jena Malone 
Brinkley:  Mark Ruffalo 
Garrison:  Woody Harrelson 
Caldwell:  Tom Cruise 
Kyra:       Emmy Rossum 
Kirk:        Morgan Freeman

If you haven't read DYING FOR A LIVING yet, you're missing out. But fret not! Here's your chance to win an autographed copy!

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5 Things About Kory:

1) She once spent the night in the trunk of a car
2) She has a BB pellet lodged in her arm
3) She has a black belt in Uechi-Ryu
4) She rescued an epileptic pug
5) She can read fortunes

Learn more about her and her work at: www.korymshrum.com

If you too would like to stalk Kory Shrum, you can find her all over the interwebs:

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

We Survived the Prombie Apocalypse 2013!

It has been eleven days since the Prombie Apocalypse in Sedalia, MO, and I still feel like I'm recovering. lol We had such a great time!!! Here is a brief history of how this event came to be... since you're all in for a round two next year!

Back in July of this year (2013), my honey and I were hanging out in Grand Central Station (a.k.a. our living room) and we were discussing my new book, Crazy Ex-Ghoulfriend, which was due to release in October. I have three other titles out in my urban fantasy series, Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc., but this was going to be my first YA novel. I wanted to do something BIG to celebrate the release. In the past, I've always done book signings and blog tours. (btw There's a blog tour for Crazy Ex-Ghoulfriend going on right now! I'm giving away a paperback, a few ebooks, and a $20 Amazon card. Check it out HERE.) I wanted to do something more to commemorate this new genre I was diving into, and I also wanted to do something nice to give back to the community I grew up in. With it being so close to Halloween, and the novel themes of zombies and prom, the idea of the Prombie Apocalypse sprang forth effortlessly. Also, with the Sedalia Public Library preparing to move back to their original building, after the big remodel, raising money for new books seemed like a worthy cause. My honey, being the supportive and adventurous guy that he is, said, "That sounds like a swell idea!" So our work began...

After finding a venue (the Convention Hall at Liberty Park), we secured insurance for the event. Then we began hoarding decorations and other party necessities (i.e. raffle prizes, crowns for the Royally Undead Court, table centerpieces, fog machine, brain jello mold, ect.). Next, we commissioned one of Sedalia's favorite karoke DJs, Char Mickle, and a photo booth from Turpin Photography. We had tickets and flyers printed. We also reached out to the SFCC vo-tech Graph Design class, and they did a tee shirt design challenge for the event. We talked to the radio and newspaper about our plans. We also sought out some fantastic sponsors! 

Sponsors and raffle donors include: Sedalia Reader's World, Stone Laser Imaging, Kay's Bridal & Tuxedo, The Academy of Salon Professionals, The Gallery Salon & Spa, Preferred Properties, Formal Affairs, Woods Supermarket, The Sedalia News Journal, 92.3 Bob FM, Precision Paint & Auto Body, and Pepsi. 

As with any event this big, there was the last minute hand grenade. In our case, it was the insurance, one of the first things we secured. We received a call 4 days before the event stating that underwriting had decided they couldn't insure us. They had even sent us a certificate the month before. : ( So we ran around at the last minute trying to find new insurance. Most places told us it was too short notice for them to put together a bid. When we were just shy of heart failure, Ahrazue Wilt with American Family Insurance in Sedalia came to our rescue! She even found us a great price.

Everything finally came together, and we had a great time! Here are some pictures and a final shout-out to all the fantastic people and businesses who helped us make the night a huge hit!
 





So there you have it. Come join us on the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/PrombieApocalypse 

We'll be discussing themes for next year, music selection, and also, as with this year, we'll have the court nominations and tee shirt designs up on the page for voting! You'll also be the first to know when tickets go on sale. Can't wait to see you all again next year for a spooky good time!

Crazy Ex-Ghoulfriend Blog Tour & Giveaway

Life is currently chaos, and I seem to be running on fumes these days. I have a ton of follow up work to do for the Prombie Apocalypse, and I'll be posting some event coverage in the next day or two. Right now, I'd like to kick off the blog tour & giveaway for Crazy Ex-Ghoulfriend! I've been hearing a lot of really nice feedback. There were even a few teens at the Prombie Apocalypse who tracked me down to let me know how much they enjoyed my new novel. ♥ You all are the greatest!

For the blog tour, I'll be giving away a signed paperback of Crazy Ex-Ghoulfriend and a $20 Amazon card, along with a few swag goodies, like Ghoul hand sanitizer and bookmarks. I'm also giving away an ebook of Crazy Ex-Goulfriend to 3 runner ups. Be sure to check out the other blogs on the tour! There are some fun interviews and guest posts, plus additional ways to gain giveaway entries for tweets and blog comments. For my blog comments, tell me what famous person you'd like to see raised as a zombie! : )

10/21 - Roquet's Reapings 

10/22 - Romance Junkies 

10/22 - Toot’s Book Review 

 10/23 - Fang Freakin' Tastic Review 

10/23 - Must Read Faster 

10/23 - Stacey Clifford 

10/24 - Fundinmental 

 10/25 - EclipseReviews 

10/26 - For the Love of Bookends 

 10/27 - Coffee Talk Writers 

10/27 - Literal Addiction

10/29 - Living an Eternal Fairytale 

10/30 - Book Pages and Dripping Ink 

10/30 - Mythical Books 

 10/31 - Kimber Leigh Writes 

10/31 - Mad Hatter Reads

10/31 - Notebook of Books 

10/31 - Tome Tender 

11/1 - FUONLYKNEW 

11/2 -3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too! 

 11/3 - Books Books and More Books 

11/4 - Salacious Reads 

11/5 - Book Lovin Mamas 

11/7 - Book Monster Reviews 

11/8 - URBAN FANTASY LAND 

11/9 - I SmellSheep 

11/9 - A TiffyFit's Reading Corner 

11/9 - Close Encounters with the Night Kind

 11/9 - Dalene's Book Reviews 

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Janie Parker is in love with the boy next door, but he's dating Miss Popular. That is, until she wraps her car around a tree and bites the dust. Just when things settle down and Janie thinks that she might have a shot at going to prom with the boy next door, Miss Popular comes back from the grave, and she's one crazy ex-ghoulfriend.

 
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OMGZ! Zombies, Books, & Events