A friend of mine has agreed to edit I LOVE ZOMBIES for me. I have since removed it from the site. This friend is blackmailing me to give her 3 pages a week and so far, I have not failed to do so. We’ve broken down the whole structure and I think that overall this will be very good for the final work. I regret that I can no longer post it here as part of our deal, but I assure you that due to the commitment we’ve both made to the project I expect you’ll be buying this for your teenage daughters soon enough. Thanks for the support and I hope you’re there when I return from Zombieland, weighed down by treasures grand.

If I learned one thing from writing Chapter 3 (and writing it again, and again) it’s to never be surprised when your characters take you somewhere you might not have intended storywise. Isabel Gallows started as one kind of character and then before I knew it she was completely different. I liked the way she comes into the story in this chapter so much that I couldn’t bear to jump ahead in the timeline the way I had originally wanted to. Read for yourself. The I ♥ ZOMBIES saga continues with Chapter 3: WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPIN’.

 In this chapter Nessa awakens in the hospital to the somewhat kind attentions of her smartypants best friend Izzie and a missing father.

A lot of seeds have been planted in these early chapters that will pay off much later. Oh what a delicate web I weave. Or fertile ground I sow?

NEXT: This time I mean it.  HIGH SCHOOL HELL. GOOEY. Bet on it.

Chapter 3 of ILZ, which I considered done several weeks ago, has gone back under the knife to better fit my evolved story concept of Book I. I hope you’ll be patient with me as I put the finishing touches on the very much connected Chapters 3 & 4 which should be available within days of each other to make up for the long wait. The weird thing is I’m also writing Chapter 7, GUTS, congruently because they are so firmly entwined, but I have yet to start 5 or 6 . Man oh man though, Chapter 8 is a funny/exciting one. I can’t wait to show it to you.

I got sick over the weekend and lost some precious Zombie writing time but I’m on the mend and the rewrites are going well. In the meantime head on over to ILZ’s FACEBOOK PAGE to become a fan and spread the word about my feldgling serial. Seriously wondering if it was wise to make the heart symbol part of the title… pretty tough to search for.

I’m more than a week late but here it is, 3:45AM on a Thursday morning and I deliver unto you I ♥ ZOMBIES Chapter 2: BREAKFAST OF CHUMPIONS.

 In this chapter, Vanessa’s plan to make breakfast for her father, to apologize for the early morning shenanigans, is hindered by her lazy little brother and sneaky family dog as well as her inability to make anything that tastes good. Later, tempers flare between father and daughter when Aaron inadvertently picks at some old wounds.

Also: A Short Bonus INTERMISSION which is a bit of writing that didn’t fit into the chapter, but which I liked a lot. It was originally supposed to set up the misadventures in the kitchen before I changed to a first person narrative for these chapters.

NEXT: The fall out of Chapter 2 and A Guide to High School Hell! by Isabel Gallows. Thing are about to get real up in this bitch. See ya in two weeks.

The I ♥ ZOMBIES saga kicks off with BOOK I, Chapter 1: RUDE AWAKENING.

In this chapter, Vanessa Botte, 15, introduces you to her angry dad, her dead mother, her bullied brother, and Betty, the monster mask of her dreams.

Say, if anyone wants to volunteer proofreading duties, lemme know. I’m no grammar warrior. I’m hardly even a grammar trooper.I could really use the help. As always I’m here to feed on your comments, feedback and suggestions and if you see anything out of place lemme know.

Chapter 2 in 2 Weeks. A family breakfast. Henry Kissinger’s Secret Cadre. Blood. Hallucinations. Uninvited Guests. Now we’re talking, right?

Since I’m writing about a teen girl for ILZ, I thought I’d do a little study up but instead I found this and did a little throwing up.

I know I trust BUZZ Marketing.

At last, we’ve come to the promised land.

The puzzling PROLOGUE to I ♥ Zombies entitled LOST IN TRANSLATION is now available for your viewing pleasure and/or displeasure. Links to subsequent chapters will go live on the Table of Contents-like hub page as they become available. Artwork is an original design by me –an intentional mix of scrapbooking paper cutouts and digital photoshopping. Hey, I’m no artist!

Anyway,

Lemme know what you think. I’m hoping to really take advantage of the net serial format and your ideas, thoughts and questions could really help shape the story to come. I am not ashamed to say, this is my first full length story. Not ashamed, just really nervous.

After you read go watch the Showtime Original Series The United States of Tara. It’s written by Diablo Cody (JUNO) and stars Toni Colette as a multiple personality sufferer. Good stuff, not nearly as silly as the premise would have you believe.

 Hiya there my lovely Inu-tachi, why the long faces?

I have now officially passed  the cutoff date for “The New Year,” having just waved goodbye to the Chinese iteration this past weekend. Are there any other New Years I could use to stretch the release date on I LOVE ZOMBIES a little further?

My apologies to the threes of you waiting on my long delayed never-rumoured serial novel.  A lot of behind the scenes issues on the technical side have stopped the forward momentuming.

I considered posting something here to whet your appetite but I kind of want it consumed in its own environment like how an astronaut eats freeze dried ice cream in space and thinks it’s the bee’s knees but here on earth it’s just foul.

Thanks to everyone and anyone who watched F is for Film Episode 1 on YouTube (you know who you are,  hero) . Tell all your friends about us! Episode 2 F_THEDARKKNIGHT drops next weekend with the rest to follow every two weeks there after.  It was actually supposed to be the first episode chronologically but Speed Racer, which was filmed fourth, was so much tighter and more visually arresting. TDK is still pretty badass tho’ and features the first appearance of several running gags.

I just pitched the next episode from the new production batch, and I’m hoping we can go into production in the first week of Feb and have a faster turn around -now that we know what we’re doing.

On the Yochien Ronin front, Ying and I have written an odd new song. It’s probably going to be our next release if we ever get around to recording it. At gunpoint I would describe it as “a rocking sea shanty” or perhaps, “a spiritual drinking song”. I’m especially proud of the harmonies we came up with, something we didn’t attempt with any of our previous works. The lyrics are probably my most effecting yet. I just hope when translated they still retain their power.

Aside from the holy trinity, there are a few new things brewing here but it’s far too early to discuss them. Hopefully, I’ll have news on that front in the coming months.

Wishing y’all the best, Happy New New (possibly New) Year.

-b

 Here we are. December 1st. Where does the time go?

My serialized story I LOVE ZOMBIES is delayed. Still haven’t set up the page and art for it, and the first few chapters are bogged down in rewrite hell.

I’ve never written anything long form before. Which is why I’m serializing this story/novel on the Inu so I can share the experience, learn from it, and grow as a writer. It’s exciting but it’s also terrifying because I have to fight my urge to rush to the good stuff and let the story build. Otherwise the narrative Lincoln log cabin ends up looking like a beaver dam.  A poorly constructed beaver dam that only the homeliest of beavers want to inhabit.

If I had to guess, I’d say the New Year would be a good guesstimate for a release date.