Giving The Word "Zombie" A New Meaning

Today is the first post from Swedish Zombie where they review The Dishonored Dead, saying it "gives the word 'zombie' a new meaning." In the next several days there will be more reviews of my work, plus an interview, plus an original zombie short story translated into Swedish (as a sneak peek, this story delves back into Philip's backstory and makes a startling revelation in regards to his hatred toward Conrad; seriously, even I didn't see it coming). You know you're excited.

The Dishonored Dead Is Zombie Friendly

The Zombie Rights Campaign has given The Dishonored Dead a very lengthy and in-depth review. I'm happy to say they "heartily recommend it and award it a Zombie Friendly rating." But first, you're probably wondering what exactly the Zombie Rights Campaign is. Well, it's just like it sounds:

Since our founding, the ZRC has been a tireless advocate for the equal rights of the undead. Our organization is composed of individuals from every walk of life and every state of animation, from zombies struggling to gain recognition as persons, to the living who strive daily to help achieve that goal. You do not have to be a zombie to join the ZRC; you do not have to be undead to support its goals. You need only share our vision of a world where the violence and prejudices of today have given way to true equality for all people -- whether or not they still possess working circulatory systems or need oxygen.

My thanks to John J. Sears, the president of the organization, for not only reading The Dishonored Dead, but for giving it such a thoughtful notice. You can read the entire review here.

Getting Dirty With Dirty Noir

I have a short humorous piece called "Hobo With a Slingshot" up this week at Dirty Noir, a new crime website that is both dirty and noir. And I know how rumors start, so in regards to that naked ass on their masthead, I cannot say with certitude that it is me. That is all.

Joe McKinney On The Dishonored Dead

The talented and generous Joe McKinney had these very kind words to say about The Dishonored Dead:

"The Dishonored Dead is simply brilliant, and its telling a superb achievement. Robert Swartwood has given us a wonderful twist, not only on the zombie novel, but on the dystopian tale as well. It's like Brave New World meets Logan's Run, but with a bite all its own. Strongly recommended!"

Have you read The Dishonored Dead yet? If not, it's still just 99 cents at Amazon and Barnes & Noble for a limited time. While you're there, check out some of Joe's books too.

In other news, remember yesterday I mentioned how Amazon had once again made The Silver Ring free in the US Kindle Store? Well, apparently it's now back to 99 cents ... that is until Amazon decides to make it free again.

Finally, there's this essay about self-publishing that came to my attention today. Here's some of what it says:

So to start with, let’s see why you’re thinking of self-publishing. I’m not going to lie to you, friends, going it alone is an uphill battle. Although issues of distribution and printing are no longer a concern, you still have the marketability angle to deal with. The big boys have the money to shell out for advertising (such as they do), and big names will always dominate the searches on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and the other online stores. You may well have written the finest horror novel of the 21 st century (so far), but on the day you upload your novel to the eBook store, the bestseller list is still going to be dominated by Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Charlaine Harris.

Here’s the good news. Also on that list are guys like Scott Sigler, Paul Eldard Cooley, and Robert Swartwood -- names you may not be familiar with, but who started pretty much where you are now and have used the social media and new media techniques that are just as available to you as anybody else to earn a spot on those Amazon lists.

Um, what??? Don't get me wrong, I'm flattered to be mentioned, but right there next to Scott Sigler? The man is a New York Times best-selling author, for pete's sake! Still, my thanks to Blake Petit for including me in his essay. You can check out the first installment here.

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

So yeah, I got out of my car yesterday and my cell phone slipped and landed flat on the ground. It's not that big of a deal. I had enough foresight to get insurance on it, so all I need to do is take it in and get a replacement. But I'll tell you, being without Twitter and Facebook and email for several hours ... imagine my shock when I finally got online and saw that the Internet was still here!

Thanks once again for everyone who entered the "Multiplicity" contest. You all came up with some really great equations. But there must be one winner, and, after writing each name down on slips of paper and picking one randomly, the winner is Jay Brown! Jay, email me at robert (at) robertswartwood (dot) com with your address when you get a chance, thanks.

At some point this past Friday Amazon ended their free promotion on The Silver Ring. I figured sales would pretty much stop completely, but surprisingly they haven't. In fact, they continue to be very strong. I'll talk more about this in-depth once the month is over and I get my full sales report from Amazon, so I can calculate how many copies were downloaded free vs paid, but currently in the UK? The Silver Ring is number one in horror and beating out Justin Cronin.

That works for me!