Tuesday 12 July 2016

My Zombie Fiancé Countdown - Day 1 - Advance Reviews



With less than a day left until My Zombie Fiancé's release, it's time to find out what reviewers have to say about the book!


From Laura Nelson: "So anyone that knows me, knows that I wouldn’t stop raving about My Zombie Boyfriend after I had read it. As a result, I couldn’t wait to get my grabby hands on a copy of My Zombie Fiancé. I think I love Edward and Kit even more after reading it. What more can you ask for? PNR, m/m, horror and comedy all in one!" (continue reading)

From Christine Payne: "I really enjoyed this book. It's a great read. I would recommend it to my friends and others who asked about it. It is a book I would read again. This is a series I would love to continue reading. I like T. Strange's twist on zombies in this series. I think that's part of what makes it. I really like Kit and Edward's relationship and the entire plot of the book as well." (link to review)


From Books to Curl Up With: "I fell in love with Edward and Kit from the first book and they made me fall in love with them even more in book 2. Edward is still the geeky nerdy medical student but he is getting stronger and stronger as he goes through book two. He is put through the wringer in this book. The author took him on a roller coaster this time. Kit is the calming effect on Edward and for a zombie Kit is pretty fricken hot." (continue reading)



From Lindsay Crook: "This is the first T. Strange novel I've ever read and let me just tell you she's 100% gained a new fan. I loved everything about this story. Edward and Kit are fantastic together and who doesn't want a zombie cat called Boo? This was unlike any zombie book I've read but I guess that's what kept me turning pages. I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves the supernatural. 5 undead stars." (link to review)



From A.M. LeibowitzThis is a terrific follow-up to My Zombie Boyfriend. It has all the delightfully weird elements of the first book without being simply more of the same.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked it up. Total honesty: I didn't even read the blurb. I just wanted more of Edward and Kit (and maybe Bone). I got my wish as well as a great story that had me hooked from the start and kept my interest all the way to the end. (continue reading)



From Sean McKissackThis second chapter of the series, now free of the "origin story" is able to dig into several new plot points and it conjures of a gaggle of ghosts who may we see yet again. Edward's growing powers carry a deeper mystery when he learns why he has them to begin with and what helps keep his bond with Kit. One part romance, one part "Supernatural" and maybe a dash of "Scooby Doo", this book will keep you guessing as to what will happen to Edward and Kit. (link to review)







I’d love to see you at the Facebook release party tomorrow!



Day 2

SaveSave
SaveSaveSaveSave
SaveSave

Monday 11 July 2016

My Zombie Fiancé Countdown - Day 2 - A Wild Author Appears!


With only two days left on the countdown, I had to whip out something really special!

Ok. I was really really nervous about doing this, but ...I made a video! I'm at the place that inspired the first scene in My Zombie Boyfriend... but you don't have to listen to writing me when you can listen to me me. In the video. The video for you, the video created especially for you, your video.
If anyone was wondering, I made this using iMovie (for the first time!) It took me a few minutes, but once I got the hang of it, the program was very user friendly. I've only done video editing twice before, once in grade eight and once in high school, soooo... I'm pretty pleased with the results, all things considered. (Did I mention that I was nervous?)

Special thanks to my Canon PowerShot A530. It's almost ten years old, it goes through batteries like they're...something you eat really quickly...and it's one of the first purchases I made when I got a "grownup" job out of high school. (Before I realized that having a grownup job doesn't really work for me, leading to you watching this video...)

Anyway, grab your popcorn (to throw at the screen)!





There's still time to enter the preorder giveaway! When you preorder My Zombie Fiancé from Torquere Press, not only do you get 15% off and a free short story, you can also enter to win a fabulous prize pack!

Details here.



Day 3

Sunday 10 July 2016

My Zombie Fiancé Countdown - Day 3 - Excerpt

Whoo hoo, we're on the home stretch now!

To celebrate, how about an excerpt from My Zombie Fiancé?

First, if you haven't read it yet, here's the blurb: Edward Grey is no stranger to the undead; since raising his cat as a zombie when he was a child, he and his mentor Mariel have explored and developed his power as a necromancer. Despite everything he’s learned, as a necromancer and a medical student, he’s never encountered a ghost.


While Mariel is unreachable in Haiti on mysterious business, a ghost wakes Edward in the middle of the night, claiming to be his grandfather. When the ghost offers to teach him about this different form of undeath, Edward has little choice but to trust the spirit.

After receiving a phone call from a young girl claiming her father is possessed, Edward and his Undead Canadian fiancé, Kit, must travel to an acreage in Kingston…Ontario.

The haunting proves far more complicated than Edward could ever have guessed, and he finds himself pitted against an ancient evil determined to engulf everyone on the farm.

Edward’s love and connection to Kit will be tested, and his necromancy stretched to his limits as he has to find—and destroy—a twisted spirit more powerful than anything he’s ever encountered.

Saturday 9 July 2016

My Zombie Fiancé Countdown - Day 4 - Character Quiz

I don't know about you guys, but I'm addicted to personality quizzes!

After spending the last two days getting to know the characters from My Zombie Fiancé, it's time to find out...which one you are: serious, studious Edward; fashionable, sassy Kit; wise and mysterious Mariel; or enigmatic and morbid Bone?

Feel free to post your results and how accurate you think they are—I'd love to hear from you!





There's still time to enter the preorder giveaway! When you preorder My Zombie Fiancé from Torquere Press, not only do you get 15% off and a free short story, you can also enter to win a fabulous prize pack!

Details here.



Day 5

Friday 8 July 2016

My Zombie Fiancé Countdown - Day 5 - Pinterest

Yesterday I introduced the characters of My Zombie Fiancé through music, and today I'm going to tackle a different sense!

Much like the playlists from yesterday, I created Pinterest boards for Edward, Kit, Mariel, and Bone for My Zombie Boyfriend's release. I've added to them in the last year and a half.

I've also created a general My Zombie Fiancé board based on different locations and characters (besides the four I mentioned) in the book.

Most of My Zombie Fiancé takes place in Kingston, Ontario, and I've included images of several important places Kit and Edward visit: the library, the Prince George Hotel, and Fort Henry.

Edward is called to a farm near Kingston, Ontario, owned by Jim Robinson. I've included a model image for him and his daughter Sarah, and models for their farmhouse, and historical photographs of farming in Ontario.

Another important location is Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, and I've included images of people and places from there, as well as historical photographs of Mohawk individuals and ceremonial tools.

Who is Mister Jenkins? Why are there runes on this board? You'll just have to read My Zombie Fiancé to find out!




Edward's Pinterest board - (main character) 19th century curio cabinet, full of oddities and specimens.

Kit's Pinterest board  - (undead Canadian, Edward's Fiancé) expect lots of duckies, cats and other soft animals, along with recipes, motivational sayings, and preppy fashion advice.

Bone's Pinterest board  - (Edward's ex boyfriend, undertaker) creepy, dark and strangely full of goats. Everything is just a little bit...off.

Mariel's Pinterest board - (Edward's mentor, Vodou priestess) colour and light, tea and skulls. Flowers growing from skeletons; death giving way to new life.

Boo (Edward's zombie cat) - pretty much what you'd expect; pictures of black, fluffy cats.

Winston (Kit's blue British Shorthair) - adorable cats and kittens with delightful jowls




You can still enter the preorder giveaway!

All you have to do is preorder My Zombie Fiancé from Torquere Press (15% off) and post a comment here with proof of purchase (ie: order number). 







Day 6 ~~~ Day 4


Thursday 7 July 2016

My Zombie Fiancé Countdown - Day 6 - Music

One of the things I shared for My Zombie Boyfriend's release last year were playlists for each of the main characters.

For My Zombie Fiancé, I've added to and updated those playlists, and I'd like to go into a little more detail about them, and why I chose those particular songs (in general, I'm not going to go through each and every song!) for that character.

I think the music someone listens to says a lot about that person, and the same is true for characters, so let me show you a little window into their heads!

The most difficult playlists for me to create were Mariel and Kit's, for similar reasons. Kit favours popular music, and I'm just not cool enough to keep up with his musical tastes! I've added a few songs to Kit's playlist for My Zombie Fiancé. "You Don't Own Me" by Lesley Gore is on my personal playlist, and while listening to it the other day, it struck me how perfect the lyrics are for Kit, as someone raised from the dead who can literally be controlled by Edward (not that Edward would!)


You don't own me
I'm not just one of your many toys
...
And don't tell me what to do
Don't tell me what to say
...
I'm young and I love to be young
I'm free and I love to be free
To live


Did I just break your heart a little? I know how you feel!

Also new to Kit's playlist is a little more Florence + The Machine, both because her songs work really well for Kit and they're a group he'd listen to. In fact, My Zombie Fiancé sees Kit and a reluctant Edward at a F+TM concert!

Kit's playlist on Spotify

While I don't know Mariel's exact age, she's much older than me—and much older than she looks, so it's difficult for me to know her musical tastes and find songs she would listen to, rather than songs that make me think of her—I removed several songs that fell into the latter category.


New to Mariel's playlist is some more Tracy Chapman and Nina Simone, as well as contemporary Haitian music and a little Rihanna and Beyoncé.

Mariel's playlist on Spotify


Edward and I share a trait when it comes to selecting music: we only like music we've already heard. It sounds strange, but it's true. It's very rare for me to be able to sit down and listen to new music for the express purpose of listening to new music. I have to either hear it while I'm doing something else, like working or out and about. I'll hear a song and think, hey, I like that, and I'll add it to my playlist. But if someone sits me down to play a song they think I'll like...nope. Chances are I won't like it—until I hear it by accident.

Edward's musical taste is similar. You'll notice that most of the songs on his playlist are, uh, a few years out of date. That's because (like Dean from Supernatural) the vast majority of Edward's music is actually his dad's. This was an intentional choice by me, because it suits Edward, and it was inspired by something in my life.

I have a stepsister who's a month and six days little older than me. When we were teenagers, her dad sent her a box of CDs, music from when he was a teenager. We both really ended up liking a lot of the music.

I haven't added much to Edward's playlist, because his musical tastes change glacially slow, but I added a few more of his dad's Edward's favourite songs.

Edward's playlist on Spotify


Ah, Bone. I never would have predicted what a fan favourite he'd become! 

My musical tastes overlap a great deal with my wife's, but her music is definitely...Bonier. Closer to Bone's? Anyway. I let her take over this playlist, and she added so many songs I really had to pick and choose which to include in the official, final playlist. 

I think my favourite new addition to Bone's playlist is "Freak of the Week" by Freak Kitchen. 

Bone's playlist on Spotify


Thanks for joining me for Day 6 of the countdown, and stop by tomorrow for more from My Zombie Fiancé!

Make sure to enter the preorder giveaway—if you preorder My Zombie Fiancé from Torquere Press you get: 

- 15% off
- free short story
- enter to win prize pack








Also, I'd love to see you at the Facebook release party on July 13th!









Day 7 ~~~ Day 5