Mares in the Night Now in Print

            It took a little longer than expected, but my short story collection Mares in the Night is now available in print. As wonderful as it is to be able to carry around an entire library tucked underneath your arm wherever you go, I will always prefer to read an actual book whenever I can, so having the option of an actual printed book of my first collection is a special treat.

            And while we're talking of special treats, I'll take the moment to announce that for the next thirteen days, I'll be releasing little "Author's Notes" for each of the stories contained within Mares of the Night. I love it when authors do that in their collections, getting to read what their influences were and what was going through their heads at the time, and I even toyed with putting them into my own, but ultimately decided against it. But I'm proud to present them here for your enjoyment, and to hopefully pique your curiosity as to what exactly you'll find within. Look below for my notes on the first story in the collection, and check back here all week to find more!

Zombie: A Love Story

            The original draft of this story featured a husband frantically trying to get back to his wife during a zombie apocalypse, only to realize at the very end that he himself had become one of the walking dead. Coming back to it a few years later and completely and utterly sick of everything "zombie" at that point, I found it thoroughly unremarkable, and proceeded to scrap everything save the title.

            The chief inspiration for the new draft came whilst watching the latest, colorless zombie film (and yes, I know I already said I was sick of them--what do you want from me? I’m a masochist). While the hapless hero ran away from the undead horde, it occurred to me how hilarious it would be if all the zombies suddenly got together in a chorus line and broke out in a little song-and-dance routine. The rest of the story formed itself rather easily around that simple idea, not the least because the act of falling in love seems to go rather well with flesh-ripping.

            Or maybe that’s just me.

            Order your copy of Mares in the Night today!