Review and Author Interview - The Undead Road by David Powers King

Nothing brings the family together like a zombie apocalypse …

Fifteen-year-old Jeremy Barnes would rather watch a zombie movie than shoot a real one, but he has no choice if his family wants to survive the end of the world. Their plan? Drive across the infected United States to a cabin in the Colorado Rockies without a scratch, but their trip takes a complicated detour in the middle of Nebraska when they find Kaylynn, a girl who can handle a baseball bat better than Jeremy can hold a .45 Berretta. And when they stumble into a sanctuary, Jeremy soon learns that Kaylynn is stronger than she looks—a deadly secret lies inside her.

After the radio picks up a distress call from Kansas City about a possible cure, Jeremy’s parents go with a team to investigate. They never return. The only way to find their parents is for Jeremy and his sister Jewel to rely on a dangerous girl who might just turn on them at any moment.

Today's the last day you can get it on sale for $.99!

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MY REVIEW

King has done it again. This was the first book I read for 2016, and it was a good choice. While The Undead Road is a very different story from Woven which he coauthored with Michael Jensen (and I loved), it's still an engaging tale nonetheless. While it's a tad bit graphic (it IS a Zombie Apocalypse story after all), it's full of dark humor.

I found the characters engaging and fun. There's some tough stuff that happens--again, no surprise--and some wins and losses for the characters. This is the first in a series, but the story arc for this book is complete. I'm really looking forward to reading the next one.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1.  How old were you when you realized Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny probably never actually knew one another in real life?

Wait, they've never met each other? I thought there was some kind of holiday character convention, in July in Florida. You just turned my world upside down, Donna. 

*Hangs head in shame*

 2. Who was your favorite character to write in The Undead Road, My Zombie Summer? Why?

That would be Jewel, the main character's little sister. I was the youngest in my family and often entertained the idea of having a little sister, so I wrote Jewel in as an alternate universe version of myself. Jewel is the glue and is well worth her weight in, well ... jewels. 

Jewel was a treat of a character. She was tough and an awesome shot, but she was also a little girl and fragile in other ways.

3. What is the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you?

That time as an early teen when I got busted by mall security for switching sale signs in the lingerie section of a department store. My mom never took me clothes shopping after that. 

Ha! I burst out laughing when I read that. I can so see you doing something like this. Just wait for your own kids' antics ...

4. What was your inspiration for The Undead Road, My Zombie Summer and what comes next in the series?

When I was about 15, my family went on a huge road trip to the Midwest and I visited many of the locations found inside The Undead Road. I also had zombies on the brain and would imagine entering each town being filled with zombies and pretending that my family was trying to escape them. After watching the first episode of The Walking Dead, my memory of that trip and the presentation of that show created a perfect brainstorm and off to work I went.

In Part Two of My Zombie Summer, the story picks up where it left off. Jeremy's family will undergo a new set of challenges and make new alliances while Jeremy deals with an unexpected change. Imagine Children of the Corn with zombies.

I can't wait!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Powers King was born in beautiful downtown Burbank, California where his love for film inspired him to be a writer. He is the co-author of the YA fantasy novel WOVEN, published by Scholastic. An avid fan of science fiction and fantasy, David also has a soft spot for zombies and the paranormal. He currently lives deep in the mountain West with his wife and three children.

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Woven Blog Tour

Published by Scholastic  

To spice things up, there's a Giveaway.

Check out the Rafflcopter signup at the bottom of the post.

IndieBound | Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Books A Million! | Rakuten | iTunes              

Two unlikely allies must journey across a kingdom in the hopes of thwarting death itself.

All his life, Nels has wanted to be a knight of the kingdom of Avërand. Tall and strong, and with a knack for helping those in need, the people of his sleepy little village have even taken to calling him the Knight of Cobblestown.

But that was before Nels died, murdered outside his home by a mysterious figure.

Now the young hero has awoken as a ghost, invisible to all around him save one person—his only hope for understanding what happened to him—the kingdom’s heir, Princess Tyra. At first the spoiled royal wants nothing to do with Nels, but as the mystery of his death unravels, the two find themselves linked by a secret, and an enemy who could be hiding behind any face.

Nels and Tyra have no choice but to abscond from the castle, charting a hidden world of tangled magic and forlorn phantoms. They must seek out an ancient needle with the power to mend what has been torn, and they have to move fast. Because soon Nels will disappear forever.

My Review

I got a chance to read the traveling ARC to my hubby, and we both immensely enjoyed this book. In fact, hubby kept asking, "Can we read some more now?" The writing is beautiful. My husband is very much an audio listener, and he visualizes so much more than I do--which is why he usually enjoys having books read to him. The words brought this world alive.

The characters were engaging, and I love the gradual way Nels and Tyra came to be more than reluctant partners on the quest. Each had a fun character arc and grew a lot. And I loved how they grew together.

The whole "woven" premise was interesting and unique. There were plenty of twists and turns to keep us on the edge of our seats. If you enjoy YA fantasy, you'll want to consider this one!

About the Authors

Michael Jensen is a graduate of Brigham Young University’s prestigious music, dance, and theater program. Michael taught voice at BYU before establishing his own vocal instruction studio. In addition to being an imaginative storyteller, Michael is an accomplished composer and vocalist. He lives in Salt Lake City with his husband and their four dogs.

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David Powers King was born in beautiful downtown Burbank, California where his love for film inspired him to become a writer. An avid fan of science fiction and fantasy, David also has a soft spot for zombies and the paranormal. He now lives in the mountain West with his wife and three children.

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Monday Meanderings - February 9th

First Meandering ...

I'm working on a ghost story, believe it or not. I don't do horror, so it's not going to be too scary. It involves a castle. Now I really a want to go back to Ireland. That place gives Yanks a whole new feel for what's "old".

For example. This is a picture I took during my Ireland trip a few years ago. This is the outside of Ross Errilly Friary. It was abandoned only a few years after Columbus "discovered" America.

Abandoned.

Yeah, those Irish built things to last.








Here's a shot from the inside.












Second Meandering ...

Got to attend a book signing by Michael Jensen and David Powers King for Woven (I'll be reviewing it on Friday).

It was a hard week last week. I look really tired. lol

I'm standing next to the awesome Michelle Argyle who is not only a wonderful author but designs my book covers (as Melissa Williams) as well.

Third Meandering ...

We've been doing some house hunting again. My brother-in-law is visiting for a genealogy conference he and hubby are attending this week (while I'm at LTUE). Later this summer BIL and SIL will be moving here, and we're looking at possible retirement houses. A nice duplex would be lovely, but so often they're just rentals. 

It's frustrating. Everything is so dang expensive. I love this place, but that is one drawback.

Fourth Meandering ...

Out of curiosity, how's your weather been? Ours has been breaking records for warmth. I complained not long ago about wishing it was April. Um, that's just about what we've been getting here.

What's Your NaNo Wish?

Jennie's giving away a 50 page critique + an ecopy of The Spirit of Christmas

Jessica's also giving a 50 page critique + an ecopy of The Spirit of Christmas

Kelley's giving a $25 Amazon Giftcard + an ecopy of The Spirit of Christmas

David's also giving a $25 Amazon Giftcard + an ecopy of The Spirit of Christmas

Cassie's giving a choice of any of her ebooks + an ecopy of The Spirit of Christmas

So what do I want for NaNo?
Creative I'm not. My NaNo wish is simple: A finished Second Chances 101.

Even if you're not doing NaNo, you can participate in the bloghop.

What is (or would be) your NaNo wish?

Day 6 - A Change of Plans Audiobook Giveaway Blog Tour

It's time for a random picture. I had a Harry Potter party a few years ago and went all out. I replaced all my family photos with pictures of the characters. Yeah. Totally embraced my inner geek. We even had a cauldron of Polyjuice Potion brewing in the bathtub and Moaning Myrtle peeking from the mirror.

And now for Day 6!

The blog tour continues for my A Change of Plans audiobook. 

Don't forget there are TWO opportunities to win.

 

Date        Blogger    

23-Aug    David Powers King    
23-Aug    Maria Hoagland . . . . . . . . Interview
23-Aug    Merita King    
23-Aug    Robin Ambrose     
23-Aug    Taryn A. Taylor

24-Aug    Amber Argyle     
24-Aug    Shantal Session    

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Here's a short sample of the book:

 

Writerly Get Togethers

Saturday, hubby and I had an opportunity to attend a potluck with a bunch of other writers. Can I just tell you how fun it is to live in a place so rich in the publishing industry?

L.T. Elliot (aka Laura) and Carolyn Vawdrey

Chad Morris, Tiana Smith, and Mary Campbell

David Powers King (and wife), Morgan Shamy, Julia King, and Shelly Brown (married to Chad)

Me, Laura, and Julia

Do you ever have a chance to meet up for social events with other writers?

UVU Book Academy Report ... And Queries

My very first writing conference was the UVU Book Academy in 2010. It's a one-day conference held at the local university. I thought it was an amazing event then because I had nothing to compare it to. I was also extremely new and raw to this writing thing. I'd completed one book (and was editing it) and had written 50,000 words of a new project (something I'm dying to get back to).

It was a very different experience this year because I knew people, and I actually understood some of what they were talking about. I even knew more about some stuff than other people there.

Scary. I mean, really. Me? Knowing more than someone else? But it showed me how much I've learned in the last last year. Sometimes those little advancements we make are slow enough we don't notice them.

I got some pictures with people whose blogs I follow.

David Powers King (click here for his blog)

Brenda Sills (click here for her blog)

Michelle Teacress (click here for her blog)

I got to touch base with a wonderful lady I met last year, who's toying with the idea of writing a nonfiction book but hasn't taken the plunge yet. And I connected with two awesome ladies who are members of my League of Utah Writers chapter and my ANWA group--Canda Mortensen and Deanna Henderson. They are a mother/daughter writing team (how fun is that?), and with another author, Cindy Hogan, they've started a writing network called iWriteNetwork. You can check it out here.

Dan Wells, one of my favorite authors, was the Keynote Speaker. You might recognize him from his I Am Not a Serial Killer series (which I reviewed here). Dan also cohosts Writing Excuses (with Brandon Sanderson, Howard Tayler, and Mary Robinette Kowal). Dan's funny and addressed a question he gets a lot from people. "Where do you get your ideas from?"

Quote of the day: 

"It is not about ideas; it's about turning ideas into stories.

~Dan Wells

 Dan then went on to demonstrate how ideas are all around us, from news stories to politics to science to casual observation of the people around us. He had people suggest a simple statement and then go on to see how that could be developed by asking questions. Some of the suggestions were funny, but Dan made them hilarious. There were some with real story potential.

Queries

I'm in the process of writing (and rewriting, and rewriting, and rewriting) my very first query. I've done a ton of query writing research and have had several people look at it and will take it to my live critique group on Saturday. It's been quite the experience. It still needs work, but I've made progress, which I find encouraging. Because of this I was particularly interested the the following class today.

Kirk Shaw, a senior editor at Covenant Communications, and Lisa Mangum, author and editor for Deseret Book, presented a class on "Writing Killer Query Letters", which they renamed "Writing Nondreary Query Letters."

Prequery Research

• Read your genre
• Try and find a publisher or agent who already represents books you like to read
• Find out what the publisher's or agent's expections are
• Follow agents blogs who review queries
• Pay attention online to input on how agents/publishers treat their writers. No relationship is perfect, but be cautious about jumping in where the fit doesn't work
• Check page length / word count requirements

Placing Your Story

• Set the genre
• Compare to similar books either in style, voice, or theme where it applies. Don't make it up if there isn't a similarity.

Tone

• Be professional. You can decide to treat it as a business contract proposal (which it really is) or you can try and capture the tone from your book. 
• Get into a simple review of the story

Hook (Lisa took this from a class author Scott Savage taught)

• Who it is about
• What the goal is
• What the obstacle is
• What are the consequences / cost of failure

A great place to see how well hooks can be done is to read the dust jacket of books.

Summary

This should lead them to want to keep reading.

References / Credentials

• Why should they invest in you as a brand?
• Are you a serious writer? What have you done to prove that? Are you already published? Do you attend writers conferences or belong to writers groups to further your knowledge of the craft?
• Can they trust you to be a partner in the publishing process?
• You may share other projects you're working on, even if they aren't finished.
• If it's a series or has series potential, this is where you'd mention that.

They suggested writing your back copy and then writing the book. You can then go back and see if you met your goals and rewrite the back copy.

From the rest of the conference, I came away with lots to think about, especially as I begin the plotting process for my NaNo project.

Have you written a query letter yet?

If not, do you have any plans for when you do?

If you have, do you have any suggestions for us noobs?