Countdown to My Zombie Wedding Release - Day One!

Any city is bound to collect restless dead. Armed with the notebook of Icelandic magic his ex boyfriend, Bone, gave him, Edward Grey has been tasked with removing troubled spirits or finding ways for the living and the dead to coexist in harmony. Between planning his wedding with his undead Canadian fiancé, Kit Ward, and his continued studies as a medical student, Edward didn’t need another commitment, but he can’t turn away people who are frightened or in danger.

A particularly vicious ghost gives Edward an ominous warning—they’re coming—and a few days later Edward’s notebook is stolen from him. While he’s attempting to find it, he and his mentor, Mariel, are confronted by a very powerful necromancer and barely escape with their lives.

On the run, Edward is pursued everywhere he goes, until the necromancers following him manage to capture Kit.

Edward’s hunt for his kidnapped fiancé will take him to the underworld and beyond.

Learn more about the Undead Canadian Series here.

The piece of music Edward can't remember the name of is Chopin's Nocturne No. 2 in E flat Major. I struggled a bit to come up with Edward's wedding music - I considered Victor's Piano Solo from The Corpse Bride (one of my favourite pieces of music) but my wife and I decided it was too sombre for a wedding - even Edward's wedding. We decided Chopin was the way to go, and Edward having a nocturne seemed perfect. I wanted Kit's wedding song to be modern, but still harmonious with Edward's music. My wife is a cellist and told me about several cello groups that play modern music. As soon as I saw "We Found Love" and looked at the lyrics, I knew that was the one! As for the other two pieces on this playlist - the Can-Can and In the Hall of the Mountain King...remember the last line of the blurb, about the underworld? I can't give away too much, but let's just say...they're related.

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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

My Zombie Boyfriend One Week Countdown - Day Five: Edward

Day five, and here's the last character to introduce: Edward. 

Model: Aidan Turner

My Zombie Boyfriend is told from Edward's point of view. At age four (and a half), his cat, Boo, died. He brought Boo back from the dead (not very well...he was only four and it was his first zombie!) and has had him ever since.

Edward grew up to become a medical student. His life is simple, and he likes it that way: school, weekly dinners with his parents, and training his necromancy with his mentor, Mariel. He definitely wasn't looking for the added complication of Kit.

Edward's life has been a fairly sheltered one, both socially and sexually. The only people he's slept with (to my knowledge...he's shy about these things!) are Mariel and Bone.

Kit is exactly what's needed to draw Edward out into the world--whether he wants to or not!



Here's Edward's board on Pinterest.





I feel as though Edward's playlist might require a little explanation, especially to non-Canadians. When I was growing up, you could hardly turn on a TV without seeing the National Film Board's animations of the Black Fly Song or the Log Driver's Waltz, and as Edward is only a few years younger than me, it seemed like an experience he would have had too. Edward's musical experience is limited, so the majority of his music comes from other people, like his father. His playlist is very nostalgic for the most part, with the exception of The Ballad of Serenity. Firefly is one of the few shows Kit and Edward can enjoy together. I drew most heavily on my own experience for this playlist: my mom didn't listen to a wide variety of music, so I basically grew up on Jesus Christ Superstar, Les Miserables, and Mozart.

My Zombie Boyfriend One Week Countdown - Day Four: Kit

Wow, here we are on day four of the countdown already! Please join me in welcoming Kit!

Model: Taylor Hanson.

Kit, for those of you who aren't yet aware, is not a typical zombie. Oh, Edward intended for him to be (at least he likes to tell himself that), but Kit has a mind and will of his own. And personality. Hooooo boy does he have personality! He's smart, sarcastic, and sassy. He prefers to be called an Undead Canadian.

Understandably, after waking up in a strange man's basement and being told he's a zombie, Kit is wary of Edward at first, and isn't convinced that Edward didn't kill him. It takes Kit a long time to warm up to Edward as he adjusts to his new afterlife...unlife?

Kit has quite a crush on Mariel, at least at the beginning of the book. (For her part, Mariel likes Kit, but she likes her zombies as, well, zombies. Kit is far too independent for her liking.)

My Zombie Boyfriend trivia: The Official Preppy Handbook, which I mention in the book, is a real thing. I read it while I was researching MZB and it is hilarious.

Not only does Kit have a Pinterest board, he also has a Tumblr. While I was creating both of those, I realized that Kit has many more hobbies and interests than I do...

This is a little embarrassing to admit, but Kit's playlist was the most difficult of all to create, for the simple reason that my wife and I aren't as cool as him. We don't follow popular music, and Kit definitely does. I only hope I've done him justice! (I've also included a song from My Little Pony because, not only is it a very Kit song, Kit watches MLP and is basically Rarity in zombie form).

My Zombie Boyfriend One Week Countdown - Day Three: Mariel

Here we are on day three of the countdown, and I can't wait to formally introduce you to Mariel!

Model: Aïssa Maïga 

Mariel is a practicing Vodou Priestess, or Mambo, and Edward's mentor for necromancy. She's older than Edward and has been honing her abilities for longer (though exactly how much longer remains a mystery...) so her necromancy is more powerful, and she often saves Edward's butt.

She has a Haitian accent and speaks Creole with her zombie servant, Pierre, but has never disclosed much to Edward about her past.

In the book, I chose to go with 'Vodou' rather than the more commonly seen 'Voodoo', because my research led me to believe it's a more accurate spelling.

My Zombie Boyfriend trivia: In her early design, before I started writing the book, Mariel had a daughter named Kamaria. For all I know, she's out there somewhere...

Here's Mariel's Pinterest board:





Enjoy a Mariel-inspired playlist! Creating this playlist had its own set of problems. A lot of the songs I wanted to add made me think of her, but weren't necessarily what she would listen to, which is what I was going for. A few of the songs, like Toccata and Fugue and The Witch Queen of New Orleans, I couldn't resist including...but I can also see her enjoying the music and laughing about it.

My Zombie Boyfriend One Week Countdown - Day Two: Bone

Welcome to day two of the My Zombie Boyfriend countdown week! Today I'm introducing Bone.

Model: Andrej Pejic

As some of you may know, My Zombie Boyfriend was originally conceived as a webcomic. Early on, we decided that we wanted Edward to have a contact at the morgue, because that seemed like a useful thing for a necromancer to have. In the book, Bone is Edward's ex-boyfriend, and they still consider each other friends.

Of all the characters in My Zombie Boyfriend, Bone has undergone the most changes. His original design was much less human and much more demonic-looking, but I pictured him differently when I started writing the book. He's now very small and pale, with very light hair that is, according to Edward's inside information, natural. There's speculation in the book that Bone isn't human, but Bone doesn't say anything to the contrary and Edward's never asked him. Speculation about what, exactly, he might be is open!

One thing hasn't changed for all the incarnations of Bone: he's creepy. Even though he plays a relatively small part in a book about a necromancer literally dating a zombie, and a zombie cat who occasionally loses bits of himself, I can say with certainty that Bone is the creepiest character. He doesn't just work in a morgue--he's really into death (which, let's be honest, is at least 90% of the reason he dated Edward in the first place). He also enjoys flirting with Kit, who is so not into him.

While Edward is decidedly vanilla, I apparently couldn't entirely keep BDSM out of my writing. Bone is definitely kinky, though his exact preferences aren't disclosed.

Another little bit of MZB trivia: originally, all of the characters had cats, not just Kit and Edward. If Bone were to have a cat, it would be a Ukranian Levkoy named Rasputin.




Here's Bone's Pinterest board (warning: some of these images could be disturbing to some viewers):

Follow T. Strange's board Bone on Pinterest.





Enjoy a Bone-inspired playlist! The challenge with this one was cutting it down to fewer than fifteen songs. I've been planning these playlists for a while, adding songs as I thought of them, and getting my wife to do the same (while our taste in music mostly overlaps, hers is a little Bonier than mine). When we went to narrow it down, he had over a hundred songs!