May News: The Last Stand from just 99c, Vampire Apocalypse 4 update and more...

Well, after a winter of seven months long, we finally had some warmer weather and even some sunshine over the May bank holiday weekend over here in Ireland!  Also, this was my first free weekend since the end of October last year; yep, I finally got the fourth Vampire Apocalypse book finished and delivered to my publishers :-)  Now we wait and see if they like it.  There will be a fifth book (at least) in the series and the story line is taking shape nicely...  New covers have been produced for books one to three and they are terrific and I can't wait for them to come on stream and to share them.  I'll keep you posted.....

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Wearing my hat as Contributing Editor for The Big Thrill, the monthly ezine from The International Thriller Writers Association, I had the pleasure of reading the latest offering authors Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip who collectively write thrillers under the name Michael Stanley.  It is called Deadly Harvest and is set in South Africa.

To read about it and my interview with the authors in the latest issue of The Big Thrill, click HERE

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For May, the price of The Last Stand has been reduced at Amazon for the ebook edition. 

The Last Stand is a collection of my novellas and short stories, most of which have been previously published. It is a great introduction to my series Vampire Apocalypse and The HMS Swift Adventures.

This collections includes:
The End of Things – new novella
A Prelude to the Apocalypse – novella (Vampire Apocalypse series)The Diabolical Plan – story (HMS Swift series)The Island – novella (HMS Swift series)The Third Option – short storyPayback – short storyIt’s Your Turn – short storySchool’s Out – short storyCollection Day – new novella

From just 99c you can order it at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

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Night Land Issue No. 6 June 2013 features my short story The Diabolical Plan.  Night Land is a Japanese language horror print magazine and I am  thrilled to have my story featured.  The fantastically talented Daniele Serra has done the (inside) illustration for my story...

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Finally, it is great to see new reviews still coming through on Amazon for the first three Vampire Apocalypse Books - many thanks to those who take the time to put them up for all to see - we writers really appreciate it!

Derek

THE ROMANOV CROSS by Robert Masello

My assignment recently as a contributing editor of The Big Thrill, the monthly ezine from The International Thriller Writers was THE ROMANOV CROSS by Robert Masello. This one came in when I was in the middle of another novel. This is not normally an issue as I have two weeks or so to complete the book I am on, leaving me plenty of time for the new one. However, this time I was only half way through Ken Follett’s monster WORLD WITHOUT END. That’s over 1,200 hundred pages for those who have not read it. The reason I mention this is that I was really enjoying the book and hated to put it aside so I could read THE ROMANOV CROSS. Not the best frame of mind to give a book a fair hearing I hear you say, and you would be right.

However, Robert Masello didn’t need a fair hearing from me. The book grabbed me from the start and never really let go. This book is compelling. That’s not a word I use often in my reviews, you can check if you don’t believe me. The book shifts effortlessly between the time of the Romanovs just before the revolution and the present day.We are introduced to Anastasia, Grande Duchess and daughter of the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II as well as the always interesting Grigori Rasputin. There have always been suggestions that Anastasia may have escaped when the rest of her family were killed in 1918 by the secret police. Masello ties into this uncertainty linking reports of the families’ Haemophilia with a possible immunity for the Spanish Flu. READ MORE

Easter Newsletter now up at my website!

Over 85,000 copies of VA 1 downloaded in 2012. VA 4 almost done.

Crimson Seas is my bestselling Ebook.

Easter Freebie!  The Last Stand available to download for FREE at Amazon this Friday and Saturday only


Click HERE

Very Bad Men by Harry Dolan

Book review and author interview for The Big Thrill from The International Thriller Writers Association

By Derek Gunn (ITW Contributing Editor)

ANTHONY LARK has a list of names—Terry Dawtrey, Sutton Bell, Henry Kormoran. To his eyes, the names glow red on the page. The men on the list have little in common except that seventeen years ago they were involved in a notorious bank robbery. Now Lark is hunting them, and he won’t stop until every one of them is dead.

This is the second novel from Harry Dolan featuring his mystery magazine editor, and sometimes detective, David Loogan. I must admit I missed his first novel, Bad Things Happen and I’m sorry I did. The writing draws you in immediately and the characters hold you tightly. The pace is fast throughout and the plotting is tight. I finished this in two sittings, and at over 400 pages that was a major investment in time, especially when I have a lot on this week. READ MORE

Vampire Apocalypse and Permuted Press! Latest interview and Crimson Seas.

VAMPIRE APOCALYPSE
Great news! Permuted Press (my current publishers of my zombie novel, The Estuary and the ebook editions of the first three Vampire Apocalypse books) have picked up all publishing rights worldwide to the first three books and for the fourth book which I am currently writing - a four book deal! 

Here's how this came about: The current publisher of the print editions of my three Vampire Apocalypse books (KHP Publishers who I have been with since 2006)is moving their business to ebooks only and the print rights revert to me at the end of the year. I was sad at the thought of not having Vampire Apocalypse available in print even though a lot of my sales are ebook editions. There are still plenty of readers who want a physical book - myself included! Permuted were not only interested in the rights for the print editions for these three books but all publishing rights, and the same for book four! I am absolutely delighted now that contracts have been exchanged and it is all signed and sealed, so keep an eye out in 2013 for new editions with new covers and a re-edit.


LATEST INTERVIEW
There is a 5 minute interview with me over at The Ginger Nuts of Horror and you can have a read HERE


CRIMSON SEAS
My first novel set in the HMS Swift Adventures series, Crimson Seas, has been selling very well - way beyond my expectations! I am really delighted with this and hope all who purchased it enjoy the story. I have one concern though: I notice that is is being purchased by readers who love historical naval fiction. Although I clearly spell out in the description that it is a horror adventure, and those familiar with my work won't be surprised to encounter the odd zombie or vampire, I do hope the book description is being read and that readers are aware of the horror element. We can but wait and see as reviews come in...

Derek

Weekly Update

Wednesday's Blog ... sounds much better than Monday's blog doesn't it? No? Okay I'm late again. It was a Bank Holiday here so things got mixed up and the days blurred. I did get to see Skyfall though so that's a plus.

I always enjoy a good Bond movie - and this is very much a good Bond movie. No gimmicks, no exploding pens - just good scripting, great acting and a well spent 2 hours and change. If you haven't seen it then you should. This isn't the same on a small screen.

There will be an announcement soon on the Vampire Apocalypse series- so stay tuned over the next week or so. In the meantime my HMS Swift Adventures novel Crimson Seas is doing really well - so thank you all for buying it. It would be great to get a few reviews if you have the time - especially if you liked it.

Now the serious bit. We only see pictures over here of the devastation from Hurricane Sandy but our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected on the East Coast. Stay safe. The stories of heroic rescues serve to ground me and remind me what the human spirit is capable of achieving.

Until next week.

Stay safe

D

Weekly Update:New Ebook now available at Amazon and other news!

Another week and another book available on Kindle. This one is ‘The Last Stand’ and comes in at 350 or so pages. It’s an Anthology – most of the stories feature Apocalyptic themes, hence the title. There’s zombies, vampires and just plain strange in this collection. Before you rush off and buy it please be aware that it includes some old and some new stories. It includes The End of Things – new novella, A Prelude to the Apocalypse – novella (Vampire Apocalypse series), The Diabolical Plan – story (HMS Swift series), The Island – novella (HMS Swift series), The Third Option – short story, Payback – short story, It’s Your Turn – short story, School’s Out – short story, Collection Day – new novella.

A Prelude to the Apocalypse, The Diabolical Plan and The Island are all also currently available individually in Kindle editions priced at 99c at Amazon.com so it’s great value at $2.99 (£1.92 Sterling) when you get so many other stories. If you have these stories then please be aware before you buy. For anyone looking to dip into either my Vampire Apocalypse or HMS Swift series this collection is well worth it for the introductory novellas.

This week also saw the reduction in price for The Estuary. I love this novel, zombies, small town, oncoming Apocalypse – I mean what’s not to like? It’s even set in Ireland so the action is up close and personal, there’s no gun shops here, so it puts a different slant on how to deal with zombies. If it’s one of those you were looking at but putting off buying then this is the perfect time at $2.99 (£1.92 Sterling).

Vampire Apocalypse 4 is coming along and I hope to have some news soon on this series...

Until next week.

Derek