Top 100 in Horror!

Thanks to a link by Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds, Cities of the Dead has cracked the Top 100 on Amazon's Horror list! W00t! Previously, it had been dead in the water on Amazon, amassing zero sales in the last two months (it's been doing yeoman's work on Barnes & Noble, but not enough to buy a Porsche).

With any luck, serendipity or misfortune, it may rise higher! But for this one brief, shining moment, I've achieved Top 100 status as a writer. Might have to start drinking early, today ... 

Minneapolis Examiner Reviews a CotD Short Story!

Wow, a review of "All Hell Breaks Loose" from my Cities of the Dead collection in the Minneapolis Examiner's book review section! He gave the story 3 out of 5 stories. It's nice to get noticed out there.

A review of the short story "Fight Club" from the Cities of the Dead anthology:

Arrat

Posted March 3, 2013

 Another great short story. About 27ish pgs. In this story we get

Another great short story. About 27ish pgs. In this story we get to meet some young men who are trying to figure out to fight zombies effectively & start taking back thier town. Mr. Young does a great job as always of showing us people trying to survive in the age of zombies.

Of Monsters and Men - Now Available!

"Of Monsters and Men" is now available through Smashwords! Free this week only. It's the sequel to "The Divine World," and our hero David Arris is forced to confront another hidden reality of the world.

In the first story, Arris - a member of a super-elite ultra-black ops commando team - finds himself confronted with a wizard living on a hidden island in The Bermuda Triangle. In this follow-up, Arris is on a mission to eliminate a terrorist encampment inside Iran when a beast of ancient origins is disturbed and takes action against both the terrorists and his special operations team. Confronted with two outsize threats, Arris must choose a course of survival while trying to maintain operational security.

It's a tightly-plotted action-adventure set in the modern world with a heady dose of realistically-done supernatural elements. The "real" world gets even stranger for Arris as he realizes legends and fairy tales may actually be based on real-life history.

Cities of the Dead gets another review

Finally, a second reader review on the Amazon site:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome! January 17, 2013

By Roadvirus

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

A very well-written collection of stories from the viewpoint of survivors all over the world. The author shows us the events leading up to the apocalypse with the encounter of the possible origin of the Zombie infection (very rare in the zombie apocalypse genre) & Patient Zero all the way up to surviving years after things fall apart.

Zombies!
Moments of Suspense!
Zombies!
Detailed storylines!
Did i mention Zombies?

If you are a Zombie story fan, this is worth your money!

Five Star Review for "The Third Time is the Harm" from Cities of the Dead

The most recent review of one of the shorts in my Cities of the Dead zombie apocalypse anthology:

Anonymous

Posted January 3, 2013

 Scariest zombie short story ever

Spoiler-short, well written'keeps your interest. This Zombie story is the first that made me think we really may lose, they are the predators and we are the prey, even when we are organized and `prepared`. They have all the time to plot and wait to eat us while we have to stay alive, find food' shelter and warmth.

Works in Progress

Okay, okay, so I didn't get "Of Monsters and Men" when I thought I would. You can blame me. I blame my wife: she's my (nominal) proofreader, and she had to read - ahem - Fifty Shades first. Well. So, it's coming soon.

On the other hand, I've been making something out of nothing on a story tentatively titled "Three Wishes." It's good. I think. But I always think that, or else I would have quit it by now. Stay tuned, a new story is due any week now. 

The Latest Review of Cities of the Dead

Four stars! And some sentences, albeit by yet another "anonymous" reviewer:

 Good story

This collection on zombie stories, vaguely connected while occupying the same story universe, is simultaneously oddly hopeful and hopeless. I know this was a web series, but I'd have liked a bit more tie-in of the vignettes and a more satisfying and conclusive ending. Otherwise I really enjoyed this collection. The writing was great, and it was a pleasure to read.