Two Novellas FREE from Monday October 27th to Friday October 31st

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New interview over at Ginger Nuts of Horror

New Release: THE HMS SWIFT ADVENTURES

Just released from Permuted Press, THE HMS SWIFT ADVENTURES by Derek Gunn, a reissue of the first novel in this series, Crimson Seas plus the short story, The Diabolical Plan and the novella, The Island. Buy at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk and many other retailers.

The year is 1791 and Captain Thomas Butler and his loyal crew of The HMS Swift, a frigate in the service of King George III Of England, are sent on a series of missions where nothing is what it seems, and forces far darker than any of them have experienced before, reign supreme. 

"The Diabolical Plan is just a brilliant story!"

--12th issue of THE HORROR FICTION REVIEW, released -21-06 by Novello Publishers

"...delighted me with its convincingly written Aubrey/Hornblower-style high seas adventure style." --The Harrow: Original Works of Fantasy and Horror, Vol 8, No 9 (2005)

Reissue of Derek Gunn’s VAMPIRE APOCALYPSE series plus release of the fourth book – TRAIL OF TEARS.

The Entire Vampire Apocalypse series by Irish author Derek Gunn has recently been re-edited, undergone partial rewrites and has been completely repackaged by Permuted Press.  Plus a fourth brand new book, Trail of Tears, has been released! Check them out at www.derekgunn.com

In a desolate world where communications have ceased…where the global oil supply is quickly dwindling, vampires rise to rule the Earth, In this new era of blood and depravity, you are either a slave to the dark masters or dinner…either a breeding vessel or a rebel. Charismatic leader, Peter Harris is the latter. Join him and his band of comrades as they fight to take back and then rebuild a world torn asunder.

According to author Derek Gunn, the first Vampire Apocalypse book, A World Torn Asunder was first published almost 8 years ago, followed by Descent into Chaos in 2008 and Fallout in 2009 There havebeen over 100,000 downloads of A World Torn Asunder since the first edition was made available in ebook edition in 2010. “I am really excited that Permuted Press has reissued the first three books in the series along with the release of Trail of Tears and I hope they will reach a new generation and a wider audience”

Praise for Derek Gunn’s Vampire Apocalypse books

 “An incredibly original piece of fiction that keeps the reader turning the pages.” ~Horror-Web

 “…it is solid storytelling..kick back and let the action flow over you.” ~Whispers of Wickedness

“Anyone who likes his or her fiction filled with action will enjoy this.” ~Fear Zone

“Gunn weaves a terrific tale.” ~Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest

“…offers an intriguing overall plot, with plenty of action and a concept that is far from ordinary.” ~Dark Scribe Magazine

 “Derek Gunn didn’t reinvent the vampire novel. Instead he stripped it back to its roots... His books are not comforting paranormal romances; they are violent and visceral supernatural thrillers.” ~International Writers’ Association

“For those who like their vampires tough and truly terrifying, Derek Gunn’s entire Vampire Apocalypse series, make for exceedingly pleasurable and satisfying reading.” ~Fear Zone

Latest Release- THE END OF THINGS, a Novella by Derek Gunn

THE END OF THINGS is now available to download at Amazon. This novella was first published as a Podcast in 2007 - Episode 34 of Dr. Pus.

The world has ended with a whimper. The long awaited Zombie Apocalypse took everyone by surprise and everyone is dead. Well, not everyone…

On a small island off the coast of Howth in Ireland a small group of survivers look to the mainland and the hoard of zombies that await them. Ireland’s Eye is only a half mile from the mainland and the small channel of water separating them from the zombies is drying out under the relentless sun. Soon the undead hoards will be able to reach them. Added to that their supplies are running low and one of their number has just died. Things could look better but they are about to get worse. Someone on the island is not what they seem and their dead colleague did not die of natural causes...

Contracts signed with my publisher Permuted Press for the following titles to be released in 2014!

Vampire Apocalypse

Book 4, Trail of Tears is coming in April 2014 in print and ebook editions along with a reissue of the first three books in the series in print and ebook and...new covers!


The HMS Swift Adventures

My novel Crimson Seas and the prequels The Diabolical Plan and The Island is being reissued in one single volume in print and ebook edition probably late Summer/early Autumn (Historical naval fiction with a horror twist!)

Read about these and other forthcoming titles at the Permuted Press blog

Vampire Apocalypse Book 4 title revealed!

Vampire Apocalypse Trail of Tears, book 4 of Derek Gunn's Vampire Apocalypse series, will be released by Permuted Press (www.permuted press.com) in April 2014. Permuted Press currently publishes the first three books in this series in ebook and also in April will be reissuing these books in print also.

Enjoying the Summer!

Well, we're having some heatwave on our little island of Ireland, the likes of which we haven't seen since 1995 (my wife informs me).  I handed in the final script for Vampire Apocalypse 4 by May 1st (my deadline) and I have been taking a couple of months off from writing (though not from the day job) to enjoy the summer (a nice family sun holiday, celebrating my eldest's 21st birthday and our 25th wedding anniversary), to recharge the writing batteries and to think about starting my next books in the VA series and in The HMS Swift series....

Derek

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.....

*****

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

*****

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

*****

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...

*****

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

Weekly Update: New Ebook coming and Octocon

Well, it's Tuesday and Monday's blog is a tad late. Sorry about that. It's been a hectic week and everything got thrown out of kilter due to a family berevement (hence no post last Monday). On the positive side I have a new Anthology coming out that, hopefully, will make up for the late blog. The End of things includes two new novellas as well as a number of short stories that have been published over the years and might be hard to get now. I've also decided to include the 'Prelude to the Apocalypse' short stories and the HMS Swift introductory stories, 'The Diabolical Plan' and 'The Island' as an added bonus for anyone who has put off buying them individually.

This is great value as the three of them alone would cost the cover price and you get so much more with the novellas. This is a great opportunity to introduce yourself to the HMS Swift series and Vampire Apocalypse series. It should be appearing in Amazon listings next week as an ebook edition.

Octocon has come and gone for another year. It was great catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. The panels were as mad as ever but at least we now have a plan for the Zombie Apocalypse. Cork seems to be the consensus as the best place to be - so book your tickets early. Pictures and comments are available on the website, http://www.octocon.com/

Next week's blog will be on time, no matter what happens. How's that for tempting fate? Until next week then.

D

Weekly Update - October 1st 2012 - Whatever happened to the Vampire Apocalypse movie and graphic novel?

Monday again, they seem to come around so quickly. I saw a review today for the third Vampire Apocalypse Book, Fallout, where the reviewer loved the book (thank you for that) but was disappointed that all the story lines were not tied up in the trilogy. I must admit I don’t know where the term ‘Trilogy’ came from in relation to the Vampire Apocalypse series. I suppose it’s because there are three books available and I have taken a break to write other stories. There were, however, a few reasons for this.

Movie?     The first book A World Torn Asunder was optioned for a movie. This was very exciting at the time. First it was optioned as a low budget movie – any movie was a shot in the arm I must admit. Then it was optioned as a TV series – this made me over the moon, especially as there were a lot of really good TV series out at that time and I had great plans. Then that changed again and it was back to being a movie – but this time as a big budget movie with actors’ names I had actually heard of. I mean you would not believe the people who were offered the roll of Harris, I was in seventh heaven. Unfortunately the movie was not made as it turned out. There were many reasons for this but the final decision was to shelve it. So no movie I’m afraid. They paid me for a few years options so I can’t grumble and it was really exciting at the time. Maybe they will pick it up again – who knows?

f     Graphic Novel? The books were optioned for a graphic novel. I love and have always collected comics. I must admit to always having a dream of writing for Marvel and this was somewhat of a breakthrough for the realisation of this dream. It wasn’t Marvel who bought the rights but it was close enough for me. A prologue was produced of twenty or so pages and some lucky Con visitors will have copies that I signed! I still have copies in my room. It was beautifully printed artwork and covered the whole Prologue of the first book. I even took to writing some of the chapters, a totally new experience for me. Unfortunately, issues with late art deliveries and the project taking too long to finish made the publisher decide to go on to other projects. Ah well, Marvel will have to wait for me a bit longer I suppose.  

      Anyway with all the re-writes, screenplays and comic adaptions I was feeling pretty sick of re-writing the VA books so I took a break and went on to write The Gatekeeper, Gemini and Crimson Seas a novel set in the HMS Swift series. This allowed me to recharge and I am now busily writing the next installment in the Vampire Apocalypse series. And it is a series - please don’t assume it will be a quartet! I will continue to write books as long as I can come up with good ideas and as long as people are buying and enjoying the books. Thankfully people are still buying them, long may that continue, and I do have enough ideas – for now anyway.

Okay, that’s it for today – see you all next week.

D

Book Review/Interview: Kin by Kealan Patrick Burke

I am a contributing editor for The Big Thrill, the monthly enewsletter from The International Thriller Writers and most months I have the pleasure of reading a forthcoming release, interviewing the author and writing a review. Although I write what are probably best described as horror thrillers, I do have a fairly wide taste in what I read so, I thought I should post a link at my blog to these articles to bring exciting new releases and introduce some new and talented authors to you - enjoy!

On a scorching hot summer day in Elkwood, Alabama, Claire Lambert staggers naked, wounded, and half-blind away from the scene of an atrocity. She is the sole survivor of a nightmare that claimed her friends, and even as she prays for rescue, the killers — a family of cannibalistic lunatics — are closing in.

Kealan Patrick Burke was born in Dungarven, Ireland and when this book came up I was eager to review it. Not just because he is a fellow Irishman but also because I have enjoyed his previous work; Carnival of Souls and The Hides. It was a happy co-incidence that I was in Dungarven for the weekend visiting friends when I began this novel so it seemed somewhat fated that I would get this book to review.

continue reading...

Weekly Update - review, currently reading and more...

Well, here we are and another week has flown by. True to my new regime and promise I am back with an update to the blog.

I have finished the review of ‘Plague of Lies’ and it will appear on the ITW website on the 1^st of the month, http://www.thebigthrill.org/ The newly designed website looks great and you can check out all the latest releases and author interviews by clicking the link. If you want to know if I enjoyed the book you will have to read the article, go on it’s free.

I got another few thousand words put to bed yesterday on Vampire Apocalypse 4 and the story is coming along nicely. Working title is ‘Trail of Tears’ though I doubt this will be the final one as I have a few other ideas percolating that may take a larger role yet. Early days but I think you’ll like where it’s going.

I am reading James Herbert’s ‘The Secret of Crickley Hall’ at the moment. Herbert has always been one of my favourites. If you haven’t picked up his books start with ‘The Dark’, ‘The Fog’ and ‘The Rats’ and just see if you can stop buying all of them. He is truly a master of the genre and essential reading for anyone who professes to enjoy horror.

There are a few more reviews on Amazon for VA and it’s great to see that they are still mostly positive. Please feel free to post reviews as I love to hear what you have to say, especially the good ones. There’s even one for ‘The Estuary’. For some reason this book has become a love it or hate it book with very few middle star reviews. The latest review is very positive so I was delighted to see that. It’s strange how some books are received. I loved writing ‘The Estuary’ and even had the next instalment sketched out. Maybe if I get more positive feedback I’ll write it ..hint. Still no reviews for ‘The Gatekeeper’ in the UK so if you’ve bought this one and read it please let me know what you think, again especially if you liked it.

Until next week.

D

Book Review - Hybrid by Brian O’Grady

I am a contributing editor for The Big Thrill, the monthly enewsletter from The International Thriller Writers and most months I have the pleasure of reading a forthcoming release, interviewing the author and writing a review. Although I write what are probably best described as horror thrillers, I do have a fairly wide taste in what I read so, I thought I should post a link at my blog to these articles to bring exciting new releases and introduce some new and talented authors to you - enjoy!



 Hybrid by Brian O’Grady
 A virus engineered for genocide has been released in Colorado Springs, leading to mass and seemingly unexplained violence. Some of the survivors of the infection begin to evolve into something that is both less than and more than human. The race is on to prevent world-wide release of the virus. Read my review and interview with the author over at The International Thriller Writers BIG THRILL

If you get a chance to read the book, let me know what you think!