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Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Review of Slimy Underbelly (Dan Shamble Zombie P. I.) by Kevin J. Anderson @THEKJA

Summary: There's something fishy going on in the Unnatural Quarter. Bodies are floating face-down, the plumbing is backing up, and something smells rotten—even to a zombie detective like Dan Shamble. Diving into the slimy underbelly of a diabolical plot, Dan comes face-to-tentacles with an amphibious villain named Ah'Chulhu (to which the usual response is "Gesundheit!"). With his snap-happy gang of gator-guys—former pets flushed down the toilet—Ah'Chulhu wreaks havoc beneath the streets. While feuding weather wizards kick up storms and a gang of thieving lawn gnomes continues their reign of terror, Dan Shamble is running out of time—before the whole stinking city goes down the drain.…

Review: I came across this little gem while I was perusing the audio book collection at my local library. The name caught my eye and so I had to turn it over and read the summary and I was hooked. It has everything I enjoy; zombies, humor, crime and detectives. I have a 40 minute commute to work and I need entertainment. Anderson's book was exactly what I needed. I was laughing through out the story. The depth of curious and odd characters was just awesome. I was swapping cds as fast I as I could, eager to hear what happened next. And a lot does happen, three major stories are juggled with ease and happily come together to tie the whole book with a big bright happy bow. I have not read/listened to a book as funny as Slimy Underbelly. 
I must add that Phil Gigante read this book beautifully. Many can read a book out loud but Gigante performs and tells a story. He gives every character their own voice and identity. It made this book ever more enjoyable.  
I highly recommend picking this book up. It is extremely entertaining and immensely fun.

Monday, February 16, 2015

Interview with Kate L. Mary @kmary0622

The Digital Ink Spot: Kate L. Mary please introduce yourself to the readers.
Kate L. Mary: I’m a stay-at-home mom of four and an Air Force wife. I grew up in a small town just north of Dayton, Ohio where I met my husband at the age of twelve. Ten years later, we got married, and since then we’ve lived in Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and California. We currently live in Oklahoma.
As a writer, I like to create new realities and worlds. I enjoy any post-apocalyptic story, especially if zombies are involved, but there needs to be a romantic twist to give the story hope. When I write I prefer nerdy or non-traditional heroes who can make you laugh to hunky pieces of man-meat. Characters with baggage are especially enjoyable, because there’s so much you can do with them.

The Digital Ink Spot: What are you trying to accomplish as a writer? What is your latest story about?
Kate L. Mary: Mainly, I want to get my stories out there to as many people as possible. I have two books out now, but they are both part of a series, and a have a couple more I’d like to get out soon.
My most recent release is Broken World, the first book in my post-apocalyptic zombie series. Think of it as, The Walking Dead meets The Stand.

The Digital Ink Spot: When is your newest book available?
Kate L. Mary: Broken World and the sequel, Shattered Worldis out now. I have the third book, Mad World, done as well and plan to release that in January 2015. I wanted to release them close together since they do end with cliffhangers.

The Digital Ink Spot: When did you start writing?
Kate L. Mary: I wrote on and off when I was younger, but college and marriage and kids made it tough. When we moved to California in 2011. I found myself with a lot of free time. My husband was gone a lot, we lived really far from our friends and family. Suddenly, all those stories I’d had tucked away came out. Since then, I haven’t stopped. I've written a lot, but most of the early stuff still needs a lot of work. It’s a skill that gets better with practice, and the most recent things I've written look nothing like the first couple books.  

The Digital Ink Spot: Where can readers find you on the Internet?





The Digital Ink Spot: Why should people read your stories? What sets them apart from the rest?
Kate L. Mary: My book, Collision, is a new adult romantic mystery. New adult is popular right now, but what sets my book apart from most of what’s out there is the fact that it has a plot other than just romance. There is romance, but it’s a sweet story, not sexy/steamy like the majority of the books available. My male character is also different than most of the men portrayed in these books. He’s a nice guy. I don’t know where this idea came from that in order to be desirable characters the men have to be jerks, but those are not the kind of characters I write.

Broken World is unique in the zombie world because it starts before the dead come back, giving you lots of time to get to know the characters. This book is about so much more than zombie. It’s about family and survival and love and learning to trust. I like to focus on the people in an apocalyptic situation. Also, I believe this is a book that would be enjoyable even for people who don’t necessarily love the genre. Check out the reviews on Goodreads and you’ll find a couple people who have read and loved it, but don’t like zombies. It’s because the focus on this book isn’t blood and gore (there is some of that though).