See the AFTER Life for free

Today is the last day of the free promotion of AFTER Life, INFERNO. This trilogy doesn’t get enough love, but the story of how Artificial Intelligence takes over the world via brain parasites was a lot of fun to write.


mybook.to/AFTERLifeINFERNO

Where it Came From

A local photographer was a fan of This Plague of Days. The parent of two kids on the spectrum, he really dug Jaimie Spencer’s role in the zombie/vampire apocalypse. His hobby was to take pics of local artists of all stripes, so he reached out to ask to take photos of me. I still use one of his pics for my author photo.

When he walked into my chaotic office, he paused, maybe in shock. Surveying my many crammed bookshelves, he said, “This is an interesting creative space. Your mess says a lot about you.”

Me: “Uh…thanks?”

The Seed of the Idea

We started talking about end-of-the-world potentialities, and he told me an interesting story. He had a friend who worked on Toronto’s police force. The photographer said there is a viral research lab in downtown Toronto. The cop swore his priority in the worst-case scenario was “containment.” That meant that if a virus in the vault started infecting the research staff, he’d be tasked with keeping the infected in the lab. If any medical personnel tried to escape the vault, they would be shot in hopes of protecting the city.

AFTER LIFE INFERNO, PURGATORY, & PARADISE is Born

I attended the University of King’s College Foundation Year Program. It’s basically the history of philosophy and the survey course included everything from the Bible to classical literature and modern jazz. We’d sit around entertaining questions like, “What is the definition of the soul?” (My favorite answer: The essence of the whatness of the being.) That’s where I got introduced to Dante. Inferno is great. I didn’t enjoy Purgatorio and Paradisio as much, but Dante’s vision of Hell was fascinating. So, with that loose structure in mind, I sallied forth with my take on weaponized brain parasites escaping a military lab.

Setting it in Toronto, I brought Artificial Intelligence and the future of humanity into the mix. The trilogy puts an infected police officer and a brilliant research scientist on the same side, but maybe not for long. (Wink!)

I love how this story evolves as the AI goes from attacking and taking over humans to learning more about us. When you get to Paradise, the AI is out to invade America and improve us against our will. Humans are a problem to be solved, and the story winds up going to very compelling places.

Get your copy of AFTER Life, INFERNO today and it’s free. Get it tomorrow and it’s still ridiculously cheap!

Or get the whole series as a huge paperback (600+ pages!) or the e-box set here.

AFTER Life OMNIBUS
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Hours and Hours of Cheap Entertainment

I know! I know! I should say “inexpensive” entertainment, but 99 cents is really cheap for great novels that can take years to create. For the next couple of days, I’ve got This Plague of Days in a Black Friday promotion along with a bunch of other horror books.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/black_horrorfriday/u3fmi96fzsOne of many to check out!

If you haven’t taken a chance on an author who is unfamiliar to you, this is your opportunity to jump in and find something to love.

Here’s the landing page for the Black Friday sale:

https://books.bookfunnel.com/black_horrorfriday/u3fmi96fzs

Click a cover, get a book, enjoy!

Hollywood Book Festival Winners!

Four new book awards in one day!
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Happy News!

I was pleased to be informed today that the Hollywood Book Festival chose four of my books for awards and recognition! Endemic took first place in the science fiction category (just as it had at the New York Book Festival) while the This Plague of Days Omnibus won runner-up. The Night Man placed first in the genre category and Amid Mortal Words received honorable mention in sci-fi.

Writers work long hours in solitude and obscurity. Novelists toil away at keyboards making shit up, often not knowing where we’re going and doubting what we’re doing. Reviews and fan letters fuel our fervor. Recognition of our work by book contests gives a rare and wonderful boost.

We celebrated the wins with a feast of Chinese food. The shrimp har gow and sweet butter coconut buns were delicious.

The Readers’ Favorite Review of Endemic

Endemic has been entered into the Readers’ Favorite Awards. In addition to the entry, they review. This review bodes well for Endemic’s chances in the contest.

Robert Chazz Chute’s Endemic is a great piece of work. Robert had me hooked on his book, flipping through page after page to the end. This is a must-read for lovers of action-packed dystopian novels. The narration hinges on an unraveling tale of childhood trauma, family feuds, power, and ultimate survival. There is espionage, looting, hiding, running, fighting, guns, and so much more.

This intriguing plot unfolds through short, twisted, and succinct sentences. The choice of words gives the book a professional touch. The storyline has ingenious and mind-blowing plot twists. The depictions of the scenes were tremendously vivid and dramatic. The author shows the character traits and emotions of wonderfully developed characters impressively, forging a great sentimental depth through his words. This created a deep connection between me and Ovid the protagonist, feeling how wronged and left out she had been by the people around her just because she was different.

Book Reviewer Keith Mbuya

Endemic is live on Amazon!

Endemic Wins the Literary Titan Book Award

Literary Titan reviewed Endemic very favorably recently. Now it’s won their Silver Award.

From their website:: The Literary Titan Silver Award is bestowed on books that expertly deliver complex and thought-provoking concepts. The ease with which ideas are conveyed is a reflection of the author’s talent in exercising fluent, powerful, and appropriate language.

After just winning its category (Science Fiction) at the New York Book Festival, this is a nice boost for Endemic. If you haven’t read it yet, it’s the story of a bookish and withdrawn woman finding her way through New York’s viral apocalypse. Haunted by her past and guided by her dead therapist, Ovid Fairweather must rise against her enemies. She was a nail. She will be a hammer.

Find it on your Amazon store here. Enjoy!

Endemic is live on Amazon!

Why Endemic Went Viral

First off, many thanks for all the congratulations that flooded in for Endemic winning its category at the New York Book Festival. I treasured every note and email. I also discovered how often my posts and tweets are utterly ignored. Folks I hadn’t heard from in years popped up to say hi! That was nice. This is also your friendly reminder that I’m a scintillating delight all the time, not just when I win a literary award. (wink!)

Second, I have a fresh interview about Endemic over at Literary Titan. It’s about the demands of writing relatable apocalyptic fiction in the middle of a pandemic. There I was in my blanket fort, masked up and hypervigilant, washing groceries, and as paranoid as a squirrel on cocaine. What to do? What to do? Write the drama and trauma, of course!

An actual viral apocalypse was on like Donkey Kong. Bodies were filling freezer trucks outside my local hospital. In hindsight, it might have been cheerier to try a different genre. Sweet romance might have been easier to sell when readers were looking for a cheerier escape. However, the themes of Endemic run deep. Although I wrote a fictionalized bio of my criminal exploits in New York (Brooklyn in the Mean Time), it is Endemic that claims the prize of being my most personal book.

I wrote Endemic because I had to.

Read the full interview here: https://literarytitan.com/2022/07/31/the-real-demands-of-the-end-of-the-world/

Endemic wins at the New York Book Festival!

Endemic is live on Amazon!

Thank you New York Book Festival Judges!


Thanks goes out to Gari Strawn of strawnediting.com. She is my Editrix Supreme, and she always makes me better. Thanks to Pete, my friend who got me book doctoring work that financed the budget for applying for awards. Thanks also to 100covers for their work in putting together the graphics package for this novel.

For anyone who doubted, I have to say I feel exonerated and wonderful. Coming first in Science Fiction/Horror is a big deal to me. This is my ninth writing award, but since Endemic is an apocalyptic tale set in NYC, it feels extra special. I guess I got it right!

Frankly, I’ve felt that Endemic has been underrated, so maybe this award will help the book find more readers. That’s what happened with my bestseller, when This Plague of Days, so I’m hopeful. There’s a lot of hoping in this business, so this is a nice lift!

Endemic is available as an ebook, hardcover, and paperback.