Not more zombie books!

[Crusis]

Seriously? More zombie books? 

The guys over at Permuted Press were kind enough to pick up a few of my books. 5 to be exact. One is a reissue but the rest are/will be new. They have kindly reissued Among the Living in all formats with new cover art. My first book had issues, mainly due to a small publisher. Now the book is the way I wish it had been released in the first place. You know, with a professional editor.

Beyond the Barriers is my first new zombie book in 2 years. It is in all formats and will be on Audible.com by the end of the month. If anyone keeps up with these, the narrator is Christian Rummell.

Next up will be Among the Dead, sequel to Among the Living. Then I will do a sequel to Barriers tentatively called Beyond the Barriers: Ghouls. Hopefully both books will be out next year. I am about 80% done with Dead and hope to have a draft by the end of the month.

Anyway, check out the nifty covers they did for my books:

 

[ATB]

That is awesome! Congratulations!

[JayDee]

Will they be getting the ebook treatment?

[Crawley]

Congrats. I really enjoyed Beyond the Barriers it was a fun read. Is this release different than the version that's been on up Amazon (ebook) for awhile? I think you mentioned awhile back there was going to be a more expansive version or something along those lines, maybe you meant the sequel. 

[Crusis]

Will they be getting the ebook treatment?

Hit the book links in the first message. They are available in all ebook formats. There is also an embedded kindle reader so you can check out samples. I believe iBook is due very soon. They tend to be the slowest.

If anyone is curious ... I just got my first quarterly royalty statement but it only covered the last 3 weeks of Sept. ebooks outsold paperbacks by 11 to 1.

[Crusis]

Congrats. I really enjoyed Beyond the Barriers it was a fun read. Is this release different than the version that's been on up Amazon (ebook) for awhile? I think you mentioned awhile back there was going to be a more expansive version or something along those lines, maybe you meant the sequel. 

Thanks for checking out the novella version. That was a 30,000 short book. The full release is about 108k words. It's also book one of a trilogy. I'm projecting about 325k total for the series. Or, a short Steven Erikson book. 

[JayDee]

Thanks Crusis! I was going to say you should get on kobobooks.com since they are one of the biggest ebook retailers here in Canada but I see you already are!

[Crusis]

Thanks Crusis! I was going to say you should get on kobobooks.com since they are one of the biggest ebook retailers here in Canada but I see you already are!

Ack! That's a really old version of the book that was pulled from publication about six months ago. I kind of miss the old cover. Then again, the new cover has a nirvana shirt wearing zombie 

[JayDee]

Thanks Crusis! I was going to say you should get on kobobooks.com since they are one of the biggest ebook retailers here in Canada but I see you already are!

Ack! That's a really old version of the book that was pulled from publication about six months ago. I kind of miss the old cover. Then again, the new cover has a nirvana shirt wearing zombie 

Should I not buy from there then? I have a Kobo Reader so it synchs easy with their website but I want to make sure you see the money. If need-be I'll go elsewhere to get it.

[Crusis]

Should I not buy from there then? I have a Kobo Reader so it synchs easy with their website but I want to make sure you see the money. If need-be I'll go elsewhere to get it.

It's not the money. I would just hate for this to be the really old version with editing errors. Does smashwords work in Canada?

[JayDee]

Should I not buy from there then? I have a Kobo Reader so it synchs easy with their website but I want to make sure you see the money. If need-be I'll go elsewhere to get it.

It's not the money. I would just hate for this to be the really old version with editing errors. Does smashwords work in Canada?

It should, I'll give it a try. Thanks.

[EngineNo9]

So are zombie books now becoming more like games, where you have to make sure to get the post-release patches? 

[Crusis]

So are zombie books now becoming more like games, where you have to make sure to get the post-release patches? 

In that case, Among the Living is version 3.0. 

[Blackjack]

Very cool, though the real question is whether Crusis plays all the zombie games glutting the market right now or if he cringes at the idea of playing them cause he spends all his spare time writing zombie books. 

[Chaz]

Will my 1.0 kindle edition patch itself up to 2.0?

[Crusis]

Very cool, though the real question is whether Crusis plays all the zombie games glutting the market right now or if he cringes at the idea of playing them cause he spends all his spare time writing zombie books. 

That is a good question. I don't really play a lot of zombie stuff. I watch the occasional movie and read a few books. I did just read Jonathan Maberry's new one, Dead of Night, and it was amazing (seriously, GET THIS BOOK) This will sound weird but I'm not really a zombie guy. They just give me an excuse to write about interesting characters facing weird shit.

One of my books is about a guy stuck on a deserted island with a zombie girl. The zombie stuff just gives me a chance to poke fun at relationships. All he wants is a companion and refuses to kill her. All she wants is a meal.

My new book, Beyond the Barriers, has allegorical overtones. The main character faces many barriers and has to deal with them as well. He has inner demons. He meets a woman dealing with her own barriers. The world he lives in is now broken up into sections that are barricaded off .. and so on.

PLUS I like to write about guns, gore, and stuff blowing up. It's win win. LOL.

[Crusis]

Will my 1.0 kindle edition patch itself up to 2.0?

Shoot me a PM with your email and I will send you the newest 'patch'. 

[Eco-Logic]

Congrats Crusis, I'll add these to my wish list.  Also, thanks for the heads up on Maberry's new book.  I've read the ledger trilogy and Dead of Night sounds awesome.

[Crusis]

Congrats Crusis, I'll add these to my wish list.  Also, thanks for the heads up on Maberry's new book.  I've read the ledger trilogy and Dead of Night sounds awesome.

Dead of Night is a great read. It takes place over a day but the book is fast paced. I actually got to hang out with him a few weekends ago. We went to dinner along with some big names in the genre. SG Brown, Roger Ma, a bunch of my fellow Permuted authors. Maberry is a nice guy and very gracious. He is willing to help any writer that asks for it.

Anyway, check out his new one. I give it two severed zombie thumbs up.

[Crusis]

My first audio book is now out on audible.com. I have listened to bits of it and the narrator really has a great voice. The way he reads one of the characters gave me shivers, I swear it's exactly how he sounded in my mind. Anyway, Beyond the Barriers is now live if you care to give it a listen.

[Gratch]

Not to derail, but when do we get more Whacktards?  That book cracked me up.

Cockbugs.

[Crusis]

Not to derail, but when do we get more Whacktards?  That book cracked me up.

Cockbugs.

Sadly the project is on hold. The publisher has had financial problems so - I don't know when it will be out. I really wish my humorous books sold even a tenth as well as the darker books.

[Crusis]

FREE until the end of the month as part of Permuted Press's Black December Sale. They have a number of freebies and discounted books. 

Among the Living

Kindle - sorry this isn't live on Amazon yet. They are slow to update books to free.
Nook
iPad/iPhone

[rickfc]

FREE until the end of the month as part of Permuted Press's Black December Sale. They have a number of freebies and discounted books. 

Among the Living

Kindle - sorry this isn't live on Amazon yet. They are slow to update books to free.
Nook
iPad/iPhone

AWESOME!

[Crusis]

Amazon finally caught up. Now on Kindle.

BTW, my publisher said they have given away over 14,000 books since the sale started.

[Crusis]

My second audio book just hit audible. Among the Living is my best seller, having moved about 8K copies in a few short years. I just finished the sequel and it should be out later this year. Hopefully Audible will pick up the audio as well and they can do a simultaneous release. Under the book cover there is a tiny play button if you give a listen. The narrator is very dramatic. 

[Eightball]

My second audio book just hit audible. Among the Living is my best seller, having moved about 8K copies in a few short years. I just finished the sequel and it should be out later this year. Hopefully Audible will pick up the audio as well and they can do a simultaneous release. Under the book cover there is a tiny play button if you give a listen. The narrator is very dramatic. 

Just finished Among the Living.  I had no idea you were the author until I saw this thread.  Great book, I can't wait for the sequel to arrive.

[Crusis]

My second audio book just hit audible. Among the Living is my best seller, having moved about 8K copies in a few short years. I just finished the sequel and it should be out later this year. Hopefully Audible will pick up the audio as well and they can do a simultaneous release. Under the book cover there is a tiny play button if you give a listen. The narrator is very dramatic. 

Just finished Among the Living.  I had no idea you were the author until I saw this thread.  Great book, I can't wait for the sequel to arrive.

Thanks for checking out Among the Living. 

I am so very very close to delivering the sequel. I have it out to some beta readers for critique and then it will be turned over. The book is the same size but it is (I think) much more focused. Three of the main characters return but Kate is the star of the book.

[Caine]

Looks like you finished it. Gratz Crusis.  when does it hit amazon?

[Crusis]

Looks like you finished it. Gratz Crusis.  when does it hit amazon?

Hopefully this year. It all depends on the publisher's schedule, how fast editing gets done (can take months) and what the cover artist comes up with. This will be a crazy year. I think I'm going to sign for another book to be finished by the end of the year and I'm about to ship the first half of a new book to my agent. No zombies in this one, in fact it's an urban fantasy - fingers crossed it doesn't suck.

If anyone is interested in what happens after a book is done ...

The cover is a lot of fun because the artist will sketch up a few ideas and send them to the publisher. We will talk about them and decide on one and then he goes to town. If it is the same artist that did my last two books I know he paints them on canvas and then scans them in. Sometimes I just get an email saying "Check out your new cover." Either way, I trust my publisher to come up with a good cover. They know the market better than I do.

When they did the cover for Beyond the Barriers I got to see 4 sketches then we talked about the merits of each and how they represented the book.

Editing is a little more complex. I have worked with this editor before and she is fast, accurate, and OCD. Once, I accidentally removed all of the italics from a manuscript. She said "No problem, I remember where they all go."

Manuscripts go back and forth in MS Word with track changes. The first edit is usually a bunch of notes like: "Why was character X named Lora in chapter six but her name changed to George in chapter eight?" as well as grammar corrections, tensing edits (the bane of my existence), and punctuation. As I go through the edited book - and this usually takes about a month - I always find little things to tweak. Drafts suck. Whenever I finish a book my fans will say stuff like "I'll beta read it for you!!!!" but trust me, you don't want to read an author's draft. They suck.

There are always a lot of notes like "restructure this sentence so it makes sense", "if you drop a few words it will read like this ..." and the like. Editing can be fun but also nerve wracking because there are certain sentences I really really love and I don't want them changed. Sometimes there is a phrase or sentence I am proud of and want to defend it. The fact is, if I have to defend something in a book, it means I missed something and the reader will be confused. So I go back and clarify whatever the issue is and fix the writing accordingly.

The editor also does a lot of fact checking. For instance we have already talked about a key scene that involves Seattle's Qwest field. It's not called Qwest anymore, they changed the name to Centurylink stadium but in book one it was still called Qwest. I can't just change the name in the new book because it takes place a day later. They also have to catch mistakes like "He slid his finger to the safety on the Glock 17". The Glock 17 doesn't have a safety and there is someone out there that will get pissed at the oversight.

[JayDee]

Just picked up Among the Living on kobobooks.com (I have a Kobo eReader) for $0.99.

[JayDee]

For my Canadian friends, or anyone else looking for these books online....

Among the Living - $0.99

Beyond the Barriers - $9.99

[Crusis]

I was a guest at this past weekend's Crypticon convention. I was joined by my very own Zombie Wilson on Saturday. She helped me promote The Zombie Wilson Diaries. I signed the books and she offered to bite them.

[Crusis]

I hate to constantly whore my work. That's what Facebook is for - so I try to save up a few goodies and post them at once.

• Among the Dead is done, it's through the editing process and is sitting with my publisher. I expect to see a rough cover soon. No release date yet but it may be as late as March of next year.
• I signed on to write a third book in the series. Among the Ashes will be turned in by the end of the year.
• Zombie Wilson Diaries is now out in audio and it's awesome. The narrator really did a great job. It's also on iTunes but here is the audible link if you want to check it out. I can also post a much longer sample if anyone wants to hear it - just lemme know.
• Believe it or not I've tricked managed to get a production company to give The Apocalypse and Satan's Glory Hole the full audio treatment. I hope it will be out by the end of summer.

[CeeKay]

• Believe it or not I've tricked managed to get a production company to give The Apocalypse and Satan's Glory Hole the full audio treatment. I hope it will be out by the end of summer.

bonus points if they get Morgan Freeman to do it

[Wargus]

Just picked up both of these on Amazon, will start reading them shortly!

[Crusis]

• Believe it or not I've tricked managed to get a production company to give The Apocalypse and Satan's Glory Hole the full audio treatment. I hope it will be out by the end of summer.

bonus points if they get Morgan Freeman to do it

How awesome would that be? Or Samuel L. Jackson.

[CeeKay]

• Believe it or not I've tricked managed to get a production company to give The Apocalypse and Satan's Glory Hole the full audio treatment. I hope it will be out by the end of summer.

bonus points if they get Morgan Freeman to do it

How awesome would that be? Or Samuel L. Jackson.

that could be neat, I really just want to hear Morgan Freeman actually say 'cockbugs' 

[Crusis]

Just picked up both of these on Amazon, will start reading them shortly!

Yay! I hope you dig the books. Thanks for checking them out. I have some zombie wilson post cards and book marks. If you'd like some just message me your mailing address and I'll drop them in the mail.

[Scraper]

I just finished reading Among the Living. I really enjoyed it, a lot more than I thought I would. So the next logical question is, is there  a release date for Among the Dead on Amazon yet?