Dollar Bin Horror Spotlight - Het Madden, A Zombie Perspective (Book Review and Interview)

Het Madden, A Zombie Perspective is the story of a man's transformation from human to zombie, through his eyes, and the story of his first hand accounts of the struggles faced by the zombie nation. Inhuman testing, being locked together like animals, even being used as sex slaves, a zombie's life is hard! Het, along with a few other well functioning zombies, decide it's time to take the power back from the "healthies" and show the word that just because where technically "dead", we still have rights and won't let you use ad kill us!
I really really LOVED this book! It was very well written, the pace of the story was spot on, and this is one book that really makes you feel empathy and sorrow for the down and out zombies of the world, even though they wanna eat you! This book is definitely different than any other zombie novel I've read and is a must read! It's published by the new independent company ZilyonPublishing, so check them out. Plus, EXCLUSIVELY for Dollar Bin Horror readers, If you use the code YRKXRY9B you get 20% off the $9.95 paperback price at https://www.createspace.com/3408910! How cool is that my little reapers!!!!

Also, the author, Cal Miller, was kind enough to sit down for a one on one interview, so enjoy!

Q: How did you come up with the idea of a Zombie book from the Zombie's point of view?

A: I have been watching zombie movies and reading zombie books for years and I always thought that something had to be going on in their heads. Don't get me wrong, I love the classics. I have to watch anything by George Romero at least 10 times! But I always thought that in order to successfully bring on a near complete downfall of society, it just didn't make sense to me that at least some of the undead wouldn't have some degree of cunning. All predators need to be somewhat intelligent to succeed. And there are smart and dumb people, so it follows that there would be smart and dumb zombies.

Q: How long did it take you to write this book?

A: About a year at night after work and on the weekends. But I loved every minute of it!

Q: What Inspired you to write about zombies in such a way that the reader really feels empathy for them?

A: I think that to truly enjoy a story and the characters in it you need to be able to truly relate to the MAIN character. You know, I have felt alot like Het Madden on many occasions in my life. An outsider, picked last for a team, not accepted by the mainstream (think high school :)). I guess I got tired of the prettiest woman and the handsomest man always being the hero. Why not the underdog? Why not the "Every Person"? Why not the ZOMBIE? From something, to nothing, to more than he ever was. I like that.

Q: What new projects are you working on? Where can we learn more?

A: I have a web comic at www.TedDead.com I do with my buddy that I have alot of fun with. Ted Dead is just your everyday zombie. He has a job at some sort of retail establishment or office of some kind. He has a habit of trying, and succeeding, in eating customers but Monkey Meat and other distractions remedy this. I am also working on a new horror book that takes a different look at zombies/undead called "Cold Blood" that I want to get out in June. And the second Het Madden book, "Het Madden: Lord of this World" this fall. I will be getting out more info on "Cold Blood" soon and will get it to you Rhonny.

Jackpot in my Basement!

I have hit the motherload of awesome while digging through some of my dad's thousands of records stored away in our basement from various yardsale digs...16 Horror Vinyls!!!! I thought I'd share a few of my kick ass finds with all of you little reapers out there! P.S. my dad ain't gettin ANY of these back, so lets keep this little post between us shall we...


HOW FUCKING COOL IS THIS SHIT!

I got a double wammy of that gal on th couch who ain't no slouch, Elvria!

I also got a double dose of Monster Mash awesomeness (the original one lost it's case, but I have it on cassette too)

Also, a kick ass assortment of horror and Halloween sound & story albums, including this beauty.

And probably the coolest find EVA, a story album from the original Universal Monsters era!!!!

I also got the Beetlejuice Soundtrack on vinyl, and I must say, this find has turned my kinda shitty day into a GREAT day :)

Cyber Scream Queen of the Day: Nicki Nix

It's time for our special Women In Horror Month posts, The Cyber Scream Queen of the Day! The Woman you see highlighted this day and every day this month deserves the recognition for their outstanding achievements in online horror writing.

Name: Nicki Nix
Blog: Hey! Look Out Behind You!
Bio: I'm a regular with a fiery passionate love for horror movies. I grew up watching every horror movie I could get my hands on or catch on television. I started my blog because I wanted to express my love horror and show that girls can get hard-up about horror movies just like guys do. There are the chicks who cover their eyes, scream or turn off the movie before it's even over and there are chicks like us (Viral Scream Queens) that cheer for more blood, scream "that's awesome" and sometimes side with the villain. I love being apart of that and connecting with readers that get that.

Cyber Scream Queen of the Day: Maryanne Schultz

It's time for our special Women In Horror Month posts, The Cyber Scream Queen of the Day! The Woman you see highlighted this day and every day this month deserves the recognition for their outstanding achievements in online horror writing.

Name: Maryanne Schultz
Blog: Spooky Brew
Bio: My name is Maryanne. I'm originally from Milford, CT. I went to Full Sail University for Film in Florida where I fell in love with filmmaking and really got into loving the horror genre. While I was going to school, I worked at Halloween Horror Nights doing costuming for the Friday the 13th, The Thing, and Jack's Funhouse houses. While in Florida I met the always fun to be around, Lloyd Kaufman. Since meeting him I have helped work at a few conventions for Troma. I worked on my first full length film, "For Christ's Sake" when I was 20 while balancing school and having a part time job and having to drive two hours to set almost every other day. It was worth every second though. After graduating I moved to California where I met a ton of amazing people who worked in horror films. Two of them being my room mates, Tom Devlin and Lola Wallace.

I started my blog, Spooky Brew while I wasn't working anywhere and all I would do all day was watch horror movies. I felt like I should do something with all of that and maybe put my opinion out there and that's how Spooky Brew was born. The best way to describe Spooky Brew is it's a blog with reviews, random information, and top lists.

Cyber Scream Queen of the Day: Emily Intravia

It's time for our special Women In Horror Month posts, The Cyber Scream Queen of the Day! The Woman you see highlighted this day and every day this month deserves the recognition for their outstanding achievements in online horror writing.

Name: Emily Intravia
Blog: The Deadly Doll's House of Horror Nonsense
Bio: The Deadly Doll's House is a place for horror reviews, theorizing, discussion, and when in doubt, all sorts of genre related nonsense (such as notes of my convention trips where I observe Malcom McDowell’s ascot or attempt to pitch medical profession slasher spinoffs to Corbin Bernson). Each week, I review between two and four films, trying my best to focus on those I’ve never seen and more often than not, will never watch again. Unless I end up in hell, at which point I’m fairly certain eternal torment will involve repeat viewings of 2009’s It’s Alive and the penny budget alien invasion flick Feeders, a film that proves once and for all that paper mache monsters are not fit for the big screen. Purgatory will feature a rotation of Death Bed: The Bed That Eats and anything involving werewolves, and heaven will be a bottomless bucket of popcorn accompanying constant showings of The Wicker Man, Dawn of the Dead, Who Can Kill a Child, Kairo, Rosemary’s Baby, and anything with the words doll, Muppet, Verhoeven, or killer snowman in its keywords.
Every Friday I contribute a genre-related column over at Pop Syndicate (popsyndicate.com) discussing anything from what horror movies have taught me about house hunting to proposing plot synopses for sequels I would sell my original Whatever Happened to Baby Jane poster to see (just imagine what life would look like on the Killer Klowns’ home planet!). You can read my more monocle worthy writing in Issue #8 of Paracinema where I delve full force into Battle Royale II: Requiem to find a few worthwhile themes buried under chunks of teenagers’ heads.
Basically, I’ve been a horror fan ever since my 6 year old eyes squeezed shut in fear at the sight of a Good Guy doll carving his way through downtown Chicago to menace a nice little boy with family problems. Add a family practicing zombie escape plans a decade before World War Z, a well-used Netflix membership never in danger of being cancelled, and a lifelong love for writing divided by shoddy computer skills and you’ve got a good idea of what my scream queenery might be about.

Nominations for the Bloody Bloggers Awards are now open!!!!

Hey everyone, Rhonny Reaper here with some news for all horror bloggers out there! The fine folks of the League of Tana Tea Drinkers will be holding the 2010 Bloody Bloggers Awards and nominating your blog is easy peasy pie (and open to ALL horror blogs)! Just shoot an email to John (email and info in the link below) with your Blog's URL and what of the 13 categories you fit into (you can be nominated for more than one my loves)! Voting will take place in march Via email (so you know its fair) so head HERE for more info!!! (P.S. How fucking cool is the graphic!?!)

Cyber Scream Queen of the Day: The Divemistress

It's time for our special Women In Horror Month posts, The Cyber Scream Queen of the Day! The Woman you see highlighted this day and every day this month deserves the recognition for their outstanding achievements in online horror writing.

Name: The Divemistress
Blogs: Zombots!
The Avod
Bio: I can't say when, exactly, I fell in love with horror movies but I've been over-feeding my passion for the genre for some time now, indulging in all kinds of excess--from J-horror to remakes to DTV. Schooled briefly in film, I take a quasi-academic approach to genre criticism and appreciation, and I can be, at times, an insufferable snob. Zombots! is my outlet for sharing my thoughts and opinions on my beloved genre (some of which are better articulated than others). In addition to writing film reviews, I take an interest in pop-culture horror, and horror in the media. I also co-host a podcast called TheAvod, in which I and my friend Count Vardulon argue about horror movies and TV.

Cyber Scream Queen of the Day: Christine Hadden

It's time for our special Women In Horror Month posts, The Cyber Scream Queen of the Day! The Woman you see highlighted this day and every day this month deserves the recognition for their outstanding achievements in online horror writing.

Name: Christine Hadden
Blog: Fascination With Fear
Bio: Fascination With Fear was created in March of 2008 to bring together my passion for horror and writing. I'd been blogging awhile before that, but my family probably wasn't too excited reading about all my horror proclivities, so I figured a separate blog with nothing but observations on horror would be right up my alley. It was apparently up a lot of other people's alleys, as I couldn't believe the amount of people out there in the horror blogosphere who shared my frenzied affection for horror! I've met so many great people in the last year or so. Sometimes it feels like a real family - a cyber-family, but nontheless.
My blog is a mixed bag of movie reviews, rants on the state of horror today, and features such as Sunday Bloody Sunday and Mindless Movie Monday. I don't have a specific clear cut format or scheme to my madness, I just write whatever comes to mind. It seems to work, so I've kept it that way. I don't so much report horror news, because there are already lots of sites out there for that. But I certainly will tell you what I think about that news. And I plan on adding a few more regular features as well, including book reviews. I read voraciously and haven't blogged enough about it.
As far as me outside of horror, I work on the administrative side of medicine, will be married for 20 years on Valentine's Day (yeah, I know...) to my honest-to-goodness best friend, and have two cats, Oliver and Biscuit, who drive me insane on a daily basis.
I love Pittsburgh Steelers football and am lucky enough to attend several games a year. Thoroughbred Horse Racing is my other full-blown passion, and I also am infatuated with long rides on the back of my husband's Harley.
We also have a cabin in the woods about an hour north of our home, and it looks just like the cabin from The Evil Dead. No cellar though, so we lucked out there. And we took the swing off the front porch, cause it kept bumping against the side of the cabin in a most annoying fashion;)

Buy a HorrorMovieEmpire.com Grab Bag, win HUGE prizes!!!

Hey everyone, Rhonny Reaper here. The awesome horror shop HorrorMovieEmpire.com is selling 500 $10 horror grab bags starting TODAY the 15th until the NEXT MONDAY the 22nd. Each grab bag comes with a new horror DVD or Blue Ray and other cool horror stuff. When you buy one of these awesome bags, you will be entered to win some AMAZING pries! They include:
1 PSP3000
1 XBOX360
1 PS3
1 Wii
1 Blu-Ray Player with 3 Blu-Rays
10 $10 gift certificates for the store
2 $50 amazon.com gift cards
2 $50 best buy gift cards
4 $25 best buy gift cards
4 $25 amazon gift cards
1 $100 shopping spree at the store.
and a lot more!!!

All items will be issued a number before hand and whenever that numbered bag is sold someone gets the prize!!! They will e-mail the winners either when all bags are sold or on Monday the 22nd/Tuesday the 23rd. So head on over to HorrorMovieEmpire.com and buy a grab bag before your chance is gone!!!

Rhonny Reaper's Top 10 Horror Movie Valentines Wishlist

Today is the day to cozy up with your significant other, watch really bad romance movies, buy dollar store chocolates for your girl, and to show how much you really love each other. Well I'm alone once again, so today is my day to watch some bad ass horror flicks and drool at the site of the men listed below. Welcome to my Top Ten List of Horror Hunks I'd let be my Valentine any day! (Inspired by posts made on Billy Loves Stu)

#10. Bruce Campbell - This one is dedicated to all the horror femmes who've been drooling over this bad ass mofo since they first got a peek at his boomstick!

#9. Christian Bale - Patrick Bateman was all over GTL before the Jersey Shore losers even stepped foot in the state, biotch!

#8. Jay Hernandez - This sexy latin lover can tie me up any time ;)

#7. Jeff Goldblum - I've had a thing for Jeff since Jurassic Park...say anything and I'll kill you all.

#6. Eli Roth - Sure he can be a bit douchey at times, but come on! He oozes Bear Jew Sex!

#5. Justin Long - A geek with abs...yup I'm good :)

#4. John Cusack - I fucking LOVE John Cusack, thats all the explanation you need.

#3. Naveed Andrews - This man is probably the only reason I ever watched LOST...omg he is so cute :P

#2. Johnny Depp - Johnny in Secret Window just proves that he can lay around, hair all fucked up and eating Doritos, and STILL look better that any of your ex's...damn you and your sexiness!


#1. Skeet Ulrich - If you've ever seen my twitter background, you knew this was coming. Ever since I saw Scream, Billy has become my ultimate dream boy and probably will always be that dream...Only God knows what I would do just for ten minutes alone with him....