BrainDead

Photo courtesy of NPR

Today NPR previews some of the new summer TV series, including BrainDead, developed by the creators of The Good Wife.

The series parodies the US political system with the premise that alien bugs have infiltrated the brains of politicians and taken control of them. (What could be more timely with Donald Trump running as the Republican presidential candidate?)

As the NPR article notes, the show has to walk a tightrope between "savvy political drama and wryly funny sci-fi horror thriller" and doesn't always succeed in doing so. But if you'd like to check out this new series, it starts tonight on CBS.

.To view the NPR article, please click here.

A Review of The Thing Is by Kathleen Gerard

Once again we are pleased to host a stop in the Tribute Books Blog Tour to review Katherine Gerard's The Thing Is.

Book Summary and Buy Links

Can a woman mired deep in the throes of grief have her heart and soul rallied by a therapy dog

named Prozac who possesses supernatural wisdom and a canine Mensa IQ?

Meredith Mancuso is depressed. Ever since the death of her fiancé, she has shrunk from the world. Even with her successful writing career, she's not motivated to work. When her sister, Monica, begs for a favor, Meredith wants nothing more than to say no. But she’s ultimately roped into pet-sitting an orphaned Yorkshire terrier named Prozac.

Blessed with spiritual wisdom and a high IQ, Prozac is an active pet therapy dog. To heal broken-hearted Meredith, he rallies his fan club at Evergreen Gardens, an independent living facility, where he visits each week.

Prozac and the community of resilient older folks challenged by losses of their own propel Meredith, often against her will, back into the land of the living. Meredith learns that most people carry some sort of burden, but it's still possible to find meaning, purpose, and joy—and even love—along the way.

THE THING IS—a perfect read for fans of General Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Romantic Comedy, and Dog and Pet Lovers!

Prices/Formats: $5.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Pages: 299
Release: February 9, 2016
Publisher: Red Adept
ISBN: 9781940215587

Amazon buy link
http://www.amazon.com/Thing-Kathleen-Gerard-ebook/dp/B01B55MZY2?tag=tributebooks-20

Barnes and Noble buy link
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-thing-is-kathleen-gerard/1123327681?ean=2940152772616

iTunes buy link
https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-thing-is/id1079207409?mt=11


Author Bio

Kathleen Gerard writes across genres. Her work has been awarded many literary prizes and has been

published in magazines, journals, widely anthologized and broadcast on National Public Radio (NPR). Kathleen writes and reviews books for Shelf Awareness. Kathleen's woman-in-jeopardy novel, IN TRANSIT, won "Best Romantic Fiction" at the New York Book Festival.


Our Review of The Thing Is

This is a charming and innovative novel that alternates between the points of view of Meredith, a reluctant dog-sitter who is struggling with grief and loss, and Prozac, a little dog that in his present incarnation serves as a spirit guide to humans trying to cope with the personal tragedies in their lives. There is also a supporting cast of well-developed characters.

Prozac (the dog rather than the chemical) is a natural remedy to the unexpected turns that life throws each of us. He's not only instinctively wise, but also very funny.

The Thing Is will appeal to a wide audience: not only animal lovers, but also readers of supernatural fiction, romantic comedy, and inspirational works.


 Related Sites

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 
Kathleen Gerard's Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/kathleengerard.writer

Kathleen Gerard's Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/kathleengerard

Kathleen Gerard's Blog:
http://www.kathleengerard.blogspot.com/

Kathleen Gerard's Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2865523.Kathleen_Gerard

The Thing Is Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26014424-the-thing-is

The Thing Is Website:
http://www.thethingis-thenovel.blogspot.com/

Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tribute-Books-Blog-Tours/242431245775186

The Thing Is blog tour site:
http://thethingisblogtour.blogspot.com

The Last Ship

I'm currently watching Season 2 of The Last Ship and was pleased to see that it was renewed for another season scheduled to start on June 12, 2016.

The premise of the series, which is based on a novel of the same name by William Brinkley, is that after a global viral pandemic wipes out over eighty percent of the world's population, the crew (consisting of 218 men and women) of a lone, unaffected US Navy guided-missile destroyer, the fictional USS Nathan James, must try to find a cure, stop the virus, and save humanity.

As post-apocalyptic adventures go, the series focuses less on the horrors of the disease and more on finding and disseminating the cure. There are no zombies as in The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, but there is a great deal of suspense based on the constant thwarting of enemy vessels and colonies trying to get the cure for their own political ends. The acting is also top notch.

If you haven't seen this series, you might like to check it out.

(Source: Wikipedia)

An Interview with Joe Hill

There's an interesting interview with Joe Hill on NPR in which he talks about his latest book, The Fireman, a plague novel that he says was influenced by The Stand. Hill also talks about his happy childhood and his constant exposure to story-telling that inspired his choice of careers.

We previewed The Fireman in a previous post.

To listen to the interview, please click here.

For an early post on Hill and his father's influence on him, please click here.

Bram Stoker Award® Winners

The Bram Stoker Award® winners were announced yesterday. In case you missed the announcement, here's the list:

Superior Achievement in a NOVEL   
Paul Tremblay - A Head Full of Ghosts (William Morrow)

Superior Achievement in a FIRST NOVEL  
Nicole Cushing - Mr. Suicide (Word Horde)

Superior Achievement in a YOUNG ADULT NOVEL   
John Dixon – Devil's Pocket (Simon & Schuster)

Superior Achievement in a GRAPHIC NOVELS  
Sam Weller, Mort Castle, Chris Ryall, & Carlos Guzman (editors) Shadow Show: Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury (IDW Publishing)

Superior Achievement in LONG FICTION  
Mercedes M. Yardley - Little Dead Red (Grimm Mistresses) (Ragnarok Publications)

Superior Achievement in SHORT FICTION   
John Palisano - "Happy Joe's Rest Stop" (18 Wheels of Horror) (Big Time Books)

Superior Achievement in a SCREENPLAY   
David Robert Mitchell - It Follows (Northern Lights Films)

Superior Achievement in an ANTHOLOGY  
Michael Bailey - The Library of the Dead (Written Backwards)

Superior Achievement in a FICTION COLLECTION 
 Lucy A. Snyder - While the Black Stars Burn (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

Superior Achievement in NON-FICTION 
 Stephen Jones - The Art of Horror (Applause Theatre & Cinema Books)

Superior Achievement in a POETRY COLLECTION  
Alessandro Manzetti - Eden Underground (Crystal Lake Publishing)

Congratulations to all of the award winners.

The Witch

Our fascination with witchcraft continues unabated. Is it the special ability of persons to control their environment and events that intrigues us? Or maybe there's a much simpler explanation: witches are downright scary, and who doesn't like the catharsis of a good scare from time to time?

The Witch has an 83% rating on Metacritics and will be available in DVD and Blu-ray format on May 16.

Here's a synopsis:

In this exquisitely-made and terrifying new horror film, the age-old concepts of witchcraft, black magic and possession are innovatively brought together to tell the intimate and riveting story of one family's frightful unraveling.

Set in New England circa 1630, The Witch follows a farmer who get cast out of his colonial plantation and is forced to move his family to a remote plot of land on the edge of an ominous forest rumored to be controlled by witches. Almost immediately, strange and unsettling things begin to happen-the animals turn violent, the crops fail, and one of the children disappears, only to return seemingly possessed by an evil spirit.  As suspicion and paranoia mount, everyone begins to point the finger at teenage daughter Thomasin. They accuse her of witchcraft, which she adamantly denies...but as circumstances become more and more treacherous, each family member's faith, loyalty, and love will be tested in shocking and unforgettable ways.


To watch a trailer, please click here.

Upcoming StokerCon™ 2016

Just a reminder that StokerCon™ 2016 will soon be upon us. It takes place at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas from May 12-15, 2016.

Guests of honor include Jack Ketchum, R.L. Stine, and many other distinguished horror writers.

The winners of the Bram Stoker Awards® will be announced at a special banquet during the convention.

A feature of the convention is Horror University, a series of presentations and workshops "run by some of the best and brightest in the horror field".

For more information, please click here.

And stay tuned for a subsequent blog post on the Bram Stoker Award® winners.