Horror’s Exploration: A gentle invitation to my Plague of Days

Dark halfI  think a lot about you and I

taking up residence in Nowhere’s Middle.

I think how comfortable you are.

I want to make you uncomfortable but 

you’ll forgive me. Probably.

Discomfort is the trip explorers pay for.

I want to drag you into the darkness

and shine a light

on the secrets you keep from yourself.

My stories are about your secrets.

I probe your doubts with my tongue.

I prick your fears with a million little needles 

disguised as words.

My mission is to crawl inside your mind

to rearrange the furniture

to peer in cupboards

to reach into the rear of the junk drawer.

I dig behind bedroom walls.

I pry out dirty little truths

with sweet lies.

I write on your nerves. 

You read on the edge of your seat.

Not everyone who deserves to die

will be killed.

Photo1 Few among those you love will survive.

We’ll explore the cobwebbed basement together.

Brace yourself. There’s no armour over your heart where we’re going.

Once you think you’re ready,

see the world as I spin it.

Let’s take a trip into the Deceptive Familiar

at the sharp Edge of Nowhere

where heroes and villains 

trade black and white hats

for fun and profit and meaning.

We’ll find dreams and treasures

amid the foundation’s ruins

and Ruin’s foundation.

Take my hand at the top of the stairs.

Let’s descend together.

It’s the only way to see everything

and escape the tangled net of secrets

you keep in a three-pound box of bone. 

A couple of Vines for you

 

Don’t know anything about Vine? Find out more here.

WOW! I love the company I’m in on Amazon’s free list!

Screen Shot 2013-07-31 at 3.38.02 PMI interviewed Hugh Howey for the Cool People Podcast. Solid author! Wonderful guy! Funny guy! Fun interview! If you haven’t read Wool, Part One yet, of course you must! I love it!

Don’t worry about Hugh. He’s #1 in paid as well and he’ll retake #1 in free any moment.  He’ll take up residence on both lists so long, he’ll have to wait for the cable guy to show up to install a huge plasma TV and sectional couch to get comfortable.

I’m just whizzing through with a backpack full of MREs, running for the hills from the zombie apocalypse. Anyway, if you enjoy dystopian and apocalyptic horror with weird twists, Latin phrases and dictionary obsessions (and who doesn’t?) please download This Plague Of Days, Episode One. It’s getting five-star reviews and I’m so happy right now, it’s obnoxious.

Of course, please do pimp, pump up, tweet, Facebook and share the bump of love for my autistic boy facing the end of the world in Episode One of This Plague of Days. It’s free until tomorrow at midnight!

I draw the line at mime and interpretive dance, but do tell friends, fans and fiends that Episode One is free. Thanks!

Still not sure? Check out these links at ThisPlagueOfDays.com and ChazzWrites.com. Cheers!

~ Chazz

Podcast: Get Shorty

Jesus is trapped in the back of the God Eats Diner. He’s just killed two people and feels kind of bad  about it. Worse, he just realized he’s been working for a really bad guy. Oh, and did I mention the back door is guarded by the guy he almost beat to death and there’s no way out because the diner is on fire? Facing a fiery death, my funny, loveable and luckless hit man has a few last thoughts to share. He also has some tough choices about how to die. Coming to Chicago was a mistake.

About the title: I love Elmore Leonard, but today’s author reading is from Higher Than Jesus. The chapter is called “Get Shorty”. Except for the last two chapters, all the chapter titles in Higher Than Jesus are from old movies. I’m a big noir and neo-noir film buff, so that’s why.

Our sponsor is the incredible graphic designer: Kit Foster of KitFosterDesign.com. Check out his site, his awesome professional portfolio and his very reasonable prices.

Check out my interviews with cool people on the Cool People Podcast at CoolPeoplePodcast.com. (Next guest, Hugh Howey!)

Buy, read, love, and review This Plague of Days and learn more about the horror serial at www.ThisPlagueOfDays.com.

To support the podcasts, buy the books or hit the handy donate buttons at AllThatChazz.com or CoolPeoplePodcast.com. If that doesn’t work with your budget, please leave a happy review on iTunes to spread the word. Thank you!

~ Chazz

This Plague of Days: A Secret Revealed


What I’m about to tell you is not a spoiler to the story of This Plague of Days.

What I’m about to tell you is a little extra that no traditional publisher would have allowed me to do. First off, let me say this is an odd book about the coming world flu pandemic. Then a variant on the Sutr-X virus transforms the infected into rabid cannibals.

An autistic boy + The Ungrateful Living versus The Running Dead. Get all of Season One for jut $3.99.
An autistic boy + The Ungrateful Living versus The Running Dead.
Get all of Season One for jut $3.99.

It’s two books that come together as one. 

It’s an international thriller in the style of World War Z. There’s a villain, a conspiracy and an intrepid group of underdogs trying to foil the evil plot.

There’s also a midwestern family caught in the first wave of the plague who have no idea the cannibals are coming. They are forced to deal with ordinary humans who have become looters, murderers and fools amid the chaos and fall of civilization.

Then there’s Jaimie Spencer. He is on the autism spectrum and a selective mute who rarely gives anyone a clue to what he sees. He is obsessed with words and their meanings. His constant companion is a book of Latin phrases. Yes, he’s the most unlikely hero you’ll ever meet. And you’ll love him.

So, aside from giving zombies an A-level literary treatment, what else did I do that a traditional publisher would hate (especially for this genre)?

The Table of Contents

Episode by episode, you get the story a bit at a time. Buy all of Season One and you discover…wait for it…the Table of Contents is one long poem. It’s a dark and fun poem. It says something about all of us. It speaks to grim forces, plot points, fun with language. It’s about mortality.

When I told author Jessica McHugh my plan, she made a surprised (WTF?!) face. Then she said it was a cool idea. Maybe she was just being polite, but I do think it’s cool. Why be an independent author unless you can play, defy convention and do something different that some readers will appreciate? Not all. I get that. However, when you tell me I can’t do something, I’m the sort of raging child that has to do the opposite. That attitude doesn’t usually serve me well, but this might be one of those times where people will think contrariness will help. It’s the only way I know to create something unique and interesting.

Whether you’re curious about the story or the poem, I encourage you to please buy, read, love and review Season One of This Plague of Days now. Thank you.

Get This Plague of Days, Season One here.

Get This Plague of Days, Episode One here.

Episode Two and Episode Three

Just released: Episode Four of This Plague of Days

One week to the stunning conclusion in Episode Five!