Pavlov’s Dog Blog Tour

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May 222012

Okay… being a psychology major, I’m totally into classical conditioning. But is it me? Or has something gone horribly wrong with the dog in this experiment? My husband’s dog is starting to look like Kujo these days with all the facial hair falling out. Hubby says it’s allergies, but I’m starting to wonder…

Well, that’s another story. Today we have Thom Brannan with us as he shares a bit about his writing.

WEREWOLVES
Dr. Crispin has engineered the saviors of mankind: Pavlov’s Dogs, a team of soldiers capable of transforming into fearsome beasts. But when Crispin and his team welcome a new talented neurotechnician to the island, Dr. Crispin quickly realizes his masterwork has fallen into the hands of a man he does not trust.

ZOMBIES
Back on the mainland, Ken Bishop and his best friend Jorge get caught in a traffic jam on their way home from work. There’s a wreck up ahead. And something worse. The first sign of a major outbreak—and Ken and Jorge are stuck in the gridlock. They quickly realize they not only need to escape, but they also need to save as many people as possible on the way.

ARMAGEDDON
Now Dr. Crispin and his team must make a terrible decision. Should they send the Dogs out into the zombie apocalypse to rescue survivors? Or should they listen to the new neurotechnician, who would have them hoard their resources and post the Dogs as island guards?

Available at Barnes & Nobles || The Book Depository || Amazon

CAUTION: I TEND TO RAMBLE

Thom Brannan here. I’m one of the authors of Pavlov’s Dogs, with D.L. Snell, and would like to speak with the readers of this blog for a moment about my start in writing in general, Pavlov’s Dogs in particular, and why I should probably never do this.

I got my start with horror, even though I really want to be Robert B. Parker, he who created Spenser and Jessie Stone and Sunny Randall. Most of my early reading was icky boy stuff, like all the Robert E. Howard co-authored Conan stories, or Stephen King, or Isaac Asimov. Of the three, I didn’t think I could write a sword-and-sorcery thing, because while I had my fair share of being in fights (I was a minority in my school along the Texas/Mexico border) I didn’t have a lot of experience winning. And the science fiction was great, but I didn’t feel smart enough to make things work in a story. I was keenly aware of the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek, and I didn’t want to have to deal with people telling me I was wrong, physics doesn’t work that way.

But I knew what scared me, and other people. That, I had a solid hold on.

The time came to write something for English class, and my teacher (Mrs. Isela V. Gonzalez) had us working on something for The Canterbury Tales. Everyone was working on their character and the tale they were going to tell on the road with the other pilgrims, and I sat in class all week, wondering what the hell I was going to do. That Friday, I went home and looked at a 3-D poster on my wall of Dracula, flanked by a wolf and a bat, and I couldn’t stop smiling.

I would write a vampire story.

And so I did, pounding it out on my dad’s Commodore-64 all day Saturday. The stack of dot-matrix printed paper I brought into class was… hefty. And it was only marginally good, but I had been bitten by the bug. Unfortunately, the symptoms went into remission rather quickly, and I didn’t write again for a very long while. In the intervening years, I picked up a book called Double Deuce in the ship’s library of the USS Los Angeles (SSN-688) and devoured it cover to cover. I recognized the names on the cover, Spenser and Hawk, from the television show, Spenser: For Hire. I was hooked. When we pulled back into port, and I had time, I raided the book stores for the rest of the Spenser series.

This, this crime business. I loved it. And after finding that Parker had followed in the footsteps of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, I had to read them, too. I had loved the Spenser television show, as well as The Equalizer, and I will but only briefly mention The Green Hornet Greenway show, because I have been known to run off at the mouth about that quite a bit. I loved it.

So when I sat down to write again, it was with a character that would fit in with those other Private Eyes I had read so much about: the Continental Op, Spenser, Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, the Hornet. Except…

Things kept happening to him in the stories that never happened in The Maltese Falcon, or The Big Sleep. There was always something in the story that went bump in the night, and finally I just stopped fighting it. Horror Noir it was.

Fast-forward a decade, and now I have a book on the (virtual) shelves with D.L. Snell called Pavlov’s Dogs. But even now, I’m dragging my past with me. The book’s main regular-joe is a guy named Ken, and he’s read the same stuff I have, and he likes to see himself as a kind of character like Spenser, or even Conan. He’s got his own sense of wrong and right, and he acts accordingly, regardless of the personal cost. His best friend and employee Jorge isn’t any of those things, but he’s good on the inside, where it counts. Even though it’s hard to see through his layers of bullshit.

I should say D.L. Snell had a very large hand where it comes to actually fleshing out these characters. Without his clear vision and constant reminders that we need these characters to be people on the page, not just in my head, who knows how this would have turned out?

Thanks for letting me spend some time on your blog, and I hope it was okay, that I didn’t bore you. I tend to ramble sometimes, and that’s why I should never be allowed to have a blog. You should see me as I type this, all wincing and rubbing my hands together, trying not to run over my allotted space and just talk, talk, talk. It’s very difficult. I’m mouthy.

I remain,
Thom Brannan

About the Authors

THOM BRANNAN (est. 1976) has been a submariner, a nuclear operator, an electrician and now works on an offshore drilling platform. He lives in or around Austin, Texas, with his lovely wife, Kitty, a boy, a girl, a cat and a dog.

D.L. SNELL is an acclaimed novelist from the Pacific Northwest. Anthologies include Pocket Books’ Blood Lite series, edited by best-selling author Kevin J. Anderson. Snell’s first novel, Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines, also attained critical acclaim from popular novelists such as New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry. Visit his website at dlsnell.com.

Follow the rest of the tour!

05/20/2012 Kayla at Bibliophilia, Please Guest Blog

05/21/2012 Mel at Journey with Words Bio/Synopsis/Excerpt

05/22/2012 Reena at Ramblings of an Amateur Writer Guest Blog

05/23/2012 Jess at Wonderland Reviews Review

05/24/2012 Vanessa at The Jeep Diva Guest Blog

05/25/2012 Jessica at Wickedly Bookish Bio/Synopsis/Excerpt,

05/26/2012 Susan at My Cozie Corner Review

Covenant Blog Tour

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May 172012

Not too often we see historical novels here. When I was younger (high schooler), I didn’t have much interest in history. Now that I’m aged (in a good way), I’m fascinated with the past and wished I’d paid attention more. One of the things I do like about not focusing on high school history is the opportunity to explore areas not thoroughly covered in public schools like black history, women’s history, or culture as it pertains to immigration. I could go on and on about the wonders of American history not covered in schools, but that’s not why we’re here today. Today we’re here to celebrate the release of Covenant by CD Harper.

Author, CD Harper is pleased to announce his book, Covenant. This work is a historical fiction novel set during slavery and the Civil War and looks at the relationship of the slave master and his slave love. The story also delves into the impact of slavery, the war and the human impulse to love on lives of everyone on Covenant Plantation. Covenant is told from the perspective of a slave.

The Civil War provides a smoky background for this debut novel that delves into the uncomfortable friction that exists between the waning power of the Southern plantation culture and the emerging identities that lie beneath. The naive Seth Hunter Jr., whose existence has been mapped out for him by domineering patriarchs, finds himself forced to confront his life as pressures from the past and future force him from his pedestal. The divine nature of the American ideal of Manifest Destiny led earlier generations of Hunters from humble Northern beginnings to a precipice of Southern power embodied in Covenant Plantation, Seth Jr.’s inheritance. As the Civil War unseats the stability of the South, Seth’s own life unravels. The estate, the lifestyle and the woman he was given all become harder to hang on to as he struggles to fulfill his destiny.

Dr. Clifford D. Harper is a respected theatrical executive producer and playwright. His written works include Curse and Neva’s Tale. Neva’s Tale was produced by Theresa Larkin, directed by Ted Lange, and earned actor Larry Gammell Jr. an NAACP Award and another from L.A. Weekly in 1993 for his supporting role.

A retired Professor of Theatre Arts and Dance at California State University, Los Angeles, Clif served as the Chair of the Department of Theatre Arts where he established the “Theatre of the Twenty-First Century” and revived the Dance Kaleidoscope program in the LA community. During his tenure, he became the founding Executive Director of the Harriet and Charles Luckman Fine Arts Complex, where he developed the world-renowned Luckman Jazz Orchestra. Dr. Harper’s commitment to the arts was instrumental in facilitating the art retrospective: “African American Artists in Los Angeles, A Survey, Exhibition, 1945-2003.”

Prior to moving to Los Angeles, Clif taught for a year at Sangamon State University before moving on to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, where he served as Chair of the Black Studies Program and Dean of General Academic Programs. Dr. Harper received an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois, a Master’s in Theatre and Speech and became one of the first African Americans to earn a PhD. in English from St. Louis University

Born and raised in a segregated neighborhood of East St. Louis, Illinois, Dr. Harper graduated and later returned to teach at his high school alma mater, Lincoln High. Dr. Harper found this experience to be significant and rewarding. During this time, he discovered his passion for theater and found inspiration in his students, many of whom went on to have gratifying careers.

Dr. Harper’s many accomplishments have included: working with the renowned Katherine Dunham, receiving a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship Award, earning one of the earliest Certificates in Black Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and starting a “Forgivable Loan” program for female PhD’s at CSULA.

Clif and his lovely wife, Linda, have migrated north to the Oregon Coast, settling in the charming town of Gleneden Beach. Clif continues to write and is working on his next novel.

Website: http://cdharperbooks.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CovenantBook
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorCDHarper

Seven Habits of Highly Infective People Blog Tour

Blog Hop, Weekly Schedule, Who Art Thou Thursdays 2 Responses »

May 172012

I see you’ve made it.

Welcome to the next stop on the

Seven Habits of Highly Infective People Blog Tour!

Today, William Todd Rose is here to share a bit about himself and his book, Seven Habits of Highly Infective People. Woot.

Reena Jacobs: Congratulations on your latest release, The Seven Habits of Highly Infective People. I understand it’s a revised and expanded version. Please tell us a bit about it, and what led you to release it.

William Todd Rose: The first edition was independently published and was only on the market for around a month or so before Permuted Press asked if they could see the manuscript. I’ve always loved Permuted and had planned on submitting something to them in the future, but I always felt like I wasn’t quite ready. So, needless to say, I was thrilled when they said they wanted it. The only issue was the word count. The original version was about 25,000 words shorter than their minimum requirements, so they asked if I thought I could expand it a bit. This really wasn’t that much of a problem. When I wrote the original version, I thought it was a one shot tale. But after publication, I realized that The Seven Habits was actually the first book in a much longer story arc, so I took this opportunity to include some seemingly minor details which will play very important roles in the rest of the series. The hardest part was figuring out exactly where to insert the extra content, as I thought the storyline in the first edition was pretty tight. Each chapter basically picked up where the last left off. As I reread the original and made notes, I realized there was one point in the tale where a period of time had passed for both Bosley and Ocean and realized this was be the perfect spot to add the extra scenes.

RJ: That’s totally awesome. I love it when agents and traditional publishers find indie authors. Really makes me believe in the process again. Congratulations! By the way, I cruised your blog. A bit on the… disturbing side. Love it!

WTR: Thanks! I’m ashamed to say that I don’t update it as often as I should. I’ve tried blogging several times before, but never really knew what to put in it. So this time around I decided to mainly write about what I consider to be the most interesting things which have happened to me.

RJ: I’m totally with you on trying to figure out new content. I hear you have a “thing” for zombies. Will you please share with us your fascination with them?

WTR: To be perfectly honest, it’s not so much the zombies themselves which intrigue me but the world that would be left in their wake. I’ve always been interested in the psychological and sociological effects of a single, shared event. Something that would, almost overnight, create entirely new paradigms of survival and morality. I suppose I could have picked nuclear war or a natural disaster, but zombies are great metaphors, you know? They are Death incarnate: unsympathetic and relentless, they’ll just keep coming and coming until they finally get you. More than that, however, I like the additional emotional strain the undead would place upon those who survived the initial onslaught. The walking dead defy all the laws that constitute our collective reality. A pandemic, for example, would be easier for survivors to rationalize. Disease conforms to our agreed upon reality. But seeing hordes of rotting corpses wandering around the landscape would be a constant reminder that the world as we knew it was over. At the same time, it would also topple mankind from our coveted position at the top of the food chain. We’d become prey again and be thrust into roles we haven’t had to fill for a very, very long time.

RJ: Yikes! You’re delving into an area where I start to have nightmares. What got you into speculative fiction?

WTR: In all honesty, it was reading. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved sci-fi, horror, and adventure tales. Books were the best gift I could receive on any given holiday and even as a young boy I had quite an extensive collection. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I could write these types of stories myself and eventually I realized that I was actually pretty good at it.

RJ: Where do you get inspirations for your stories?

WTR: It’s really hard to pinpoint. Most of them just evolve organically. My first novella, “Shadow of the Woodpile”, was all stream of consciousness type stuff. I watched the story unfold without really knowing where it was going until I reached the end. For my second book, “Cry Havoc”, all I knew was that I wanted to start with a scene showing a city embroiled in urban warfare. The only book I can really pinpoint a specific inspiration for is “Shut the Fuck Up and Die!”; my wife and I were watching House of 1,000 Corpses and I told her what I would love to see in one of those types of movies and she replied, “Well then, you should write it.” So I did. But that’s all I can say without releasing any spoilers.

RJ: I loved the trailers for your works. What was your role in the production of them?

I actually made and edited all of them myself. For The Seven Habits trailer, I used stock footage and a song from the German band Lacrimso. For the Cry Havoc trailer, I digitally composed the music using Fruity Loops Studio and edited various images which I felt conveyed the tone of the book. If you watch that trailer, you may notice some black and white images in which I’d added a bit of yellow to certain details with Photoshop. Though I never come right out and said it in the novel, yellow is a very important color in that book. You could probably read through it and never notice. But if you re-read it and pay specific attention to things that are yellow, you’ll begin to see patterns emerge based on that color. So I felt it was very important to have yellow in the trailer. For the Sex in the Time of Zombies trailer, I cannibalized some stills from Night of the Living Dead since its in public domain and colorized them in the same way I’d added yellow into Cry Havoc.

RJ: Very cool. What are you working on now?

WTR: Right now I’m finishing up the second book in the Tides of Time series. It picks up right where The Seven Habits left off and I’m exploring some of the minor characters from the first book in a little more detail while still maintaining the focus on Bosley and Ocean. I wanted this one to be different from the first while still maintaining the rules which govern this particular universe. There’s not as much time travel in it, however Bosley is transported and trapped in the future by a mixture of mysticism and quantum mechanics. It’s based on the theory that a single particle can exist simultaneously in two different locations. He psychically exists in his present and the future simultaneously. Since the particles which make up his body are entangled, anything which affects his body in one timeline also affects his body in the other.

In addition to this, I’m working on a collaborative novel called Black Rain with author Carl Hose. It has that sci-fi/apocalyptic-horror vibe that I really dig. We’re basically taking an alien invasion scenario and stripping away all the technological aspects of it. There are no ray guns, no shining saucers hovering over the nations of the world. Our invaders, for want of a better word, are primordial creatures who’ve come to earth by chance instead of design. Being natural predators, they do what they do best… hunt for game. In this case, the prey just happens to be human.

RJ: Alien Nation meets Predator comes to mind. I like it! Do you have any advice for other writers?

WTR: Be true to your voice and vision. It’s okay to be inspired by other writers, but make sure the story you’re telling is yours and yours alone. At the same time, realize that not everyone out there is going to dig what you’re doing. You’re going to get bad reviews sooner or later, but don’t let those discourage you. If you find the negative reviews weighing on you, remind yourself of this: on Amazon.com, the King James version of The Bible only has a four star rating… and that was supposedly written by God. So, as my wife says, there’s that….

RJ: Awesome point. Anything special you’d like to say to readers?

WTR: I want them to know how much their loyalty and purchases are appreciated. Because of them, I’m able to dedicate even more time to doing what I love; that they would devote their time and money to the stories I’ve created isn’t taken lightly and never will be. So thank you to each and every person who has ever read my work. The importance of my readers in the writing equation will never be taken for granted.

Thanks a bundle for stopping by, Mr. Rose.

Thanks for having me! It’s been a blast!

Seven Habits of Highly Infective People is available at
Barnes & Nobles || Smashwords || The Book Depository || Amazon

About the Author

Named by The Google+ Insider’s Guide as one of their top 32 authors to follow, William Todd Rose writes speculative fiction that lends itself to the dark, and often surreal, realm of the macabre. With short stories appearing in numerous magazines and anthologies, his longer works include The Seven Habits of Highly Infective People, The Dead and Dying, Cry Havoc, and more. For more information, including links to free fiction, please visit the author online at www.williamtoddrose.com

Don’t miss the rest of the blog tour!

Wickedly Bookish	http://wickedlybookish.blogspot.com/	5/14/2012	Review
Bibliophilia, Please	http://bibliophiliaplease.blogspot.com	5/15/2012	Interview
Red Headed Bookworm	http://redheaded-bookworm.blogspot.com/	5/16/2012	Interview
Lissette E. Manning	http://www.simplistik.org/lissetteemanning	5/17/2012	Review
Ramblings of an Amateur Writer	http://reenajacobs.com/blog	5/17/2012	Interview
Books Reviewed by Bunny	http://bunnysreview.com/	5/18/2012	Interview
My Cozie Corner	http://coziecorner.blogspot.com	5/19/2012	Review

Did you Win? Mid-Month Commentator Giveaway

Giveaway, Winners 1 Response »

May 162012

I’ve been quite fortunate to have LOTS of authors visit my blog over the past few months. More authors means a larger selection for readers to choose from and more opportunities to win. A big thank you to all the authors for being generous with their time as well as the blog tour organizers who’ve allowed me to participate in the blog tours.

I’m not going to go into too many details. But basically the Mid-Month Commentator Giveaway is a feature I’m trying out this year. Each month I draw a winner from the blog post commentators. That winner is able to select any book (print or digital) by the author they left a comment for. More details on the giveaways here.

And the winner for this month is

Angela Brown!

Angela has a choice between any work by David Houchins, Scot Thomas, or Nadja Notariani.

The winner has been notified.

A recap of works by these three authors.

“We guarantee this is the only tool you need to survive the zombie.

OK, that’s not really true. But when the SHTF you’re going to want a survival guide that’s not just geared toward day-to-day survival. You’ll need one that addresses the essential skills for true nourishment of the human spirit. Living through the end of the world isn’t worth a damn unless you can enjoy yourself in any way you want. (Except, of course, for anything having to do with abuse. We could never condone such things. At least the publisher’s lawyers say we can’t”

Zombie Apocalypse Preparation: How to Survive in an Undead World and Have Fun Doing It! is the first zombie apocalypse survival manual with entertainment in mind. What fun is living in a world of the undead if you can’t have a bit of fun? The apocalypse is not just about survival it’s about enjoying your new found life.

Inside the covers of this book you will not only find the way to pick the right weapon, building, and survival methods but you’ll find entertaining ways to dispose of the undead, entertain yourself and your group, and dispatch your former friends and family members with a smile on your face and a song in your heart.

Available at Barnes & Nobles || Smashwords || The Book Depository || Amazon

~ ‘One Fate be granted mortal man, used for evil or good as the inner voice directs. Alas, the divine spark draws the eyes of the Fates, the Second Fate sparingly gifted by their hands. Be warned offspring of the gods; guard your gifting well. For if the Third Fate be unleashed, the soul lays bare before one so touched by the gods.’ ~

Cautious and quiet by nature, Paige Kinnell watches life unfold from the sidelines, maintaining her simple existence as a shield to hide behind. But underneath her shy, careful ways, Paige senses a disconnect with the world around her, indulging instead her ever curious interest in the legend and lore of time nearly forgotten.

One chance encounter with an ancient of the undead begins an unraveling of reality as Paige knows it, leaving her to sort through dreams and enchantments, discovering along the way that one’s Fate can be mere illusion, and that the consequences of opening her heart to another may cost dearly.

Cael Maccinnis, the handsome Highlander she’s met, seems the answer to every unspoken longing of her heart, even as he awakens dark, secret desires buried within her soul. As strange and unnerving changes begin occurring in her mind and body, Paige has no choice but to face her life’s unnatural turn and confront the frightening implications. For within Paige’s past a secret lay dormant, hidden even from her. This truth, guarded well and wielded by the Fates themselves, becomes the catalyst invoking the power of The Third Fate.

Available at Amazon