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Armand’s 2014 Year In Review
2014 was another fine year for me and my writing, as well as other things in my life… as I’ve done for the last couple of years, I’ll spell it all out for ya… I also do this so I can go back and see what I’ve actually accomplished. I especially like to re-read these yearly posts when I’m struggling to write and feeling like I haven’t amounted to much so far. You know… typical manic writer stuff.
Here goes the Year In Review for 2014
January
The first day of the year saw the Kokomo’s Cafe Complete audiobook released. Narrated by the wonderful Jack De Golia (who will end up doing the entire Flagler Beach Fiction Series), it is still one of my favorite set of stories I’ve written. And Jack’s voice adds so much more to each character.
Also released on the first of the year was my movie adaptation of the zombies vs. Navy SEALs story Zulu Six: Origins in paperback, ahead of the movie (actual movie release sometime in early 2015 as far as I know). I’m looking forward to seeing how the film matches the book, as i wrote it while they were filming and got to see the dailies to see the actors and action.
January 2nd was the release of the beginning of the fifth book in the Flagler Beach Fiction Series with Nerdz Comics And More Part 1. It follows the rest of the series with the two opening shorts.
January 7th the Epic Apocalypse – Apocalyptic Horror Box Set was released. I’m proud to be a part of this massive collection, with fellow authors Mark Tufo, Heath Stallcup, John O’Brien, Joe McKinney, Shawn Chesser and James Cook.
January 9th I released Nerdz Comics And More Part 2, with 2 more short stories to add to the growing series.
A week later, on January 16th, Nerdz Comics And More Part 3 was released.
On January 20th the audiobook version of Darlene Bobich: Zombie Killer was released. Narrated by Carolyn Nicely, who did an excellent job.
January 24th saw another audiobook release, this time Golden Lion Cafe Complete, the second in the Flagler Beach Fiction Series and again narrated by Jack De Golia.
January 27th was the release date for Zombie Football, another book for the movie company. Surprisingly enough, it’s about zombies attacking during a football game. Hopefully at some point they’ll get around to making the movie version of this one.
The next day the movie company released Football Espionage, another book I wrote for the movie guys. This one has no zombies (wild!) and pits the Russians vs. Americans trying to manipulate the Big Game.
January was a busy month for releases for me, with 10. What a great start to the year, right?
February
On February 18th the third short story in my horror erotica series (released by Hazardous Press) came out: Holiday In The Sun. Lots of sex and horror once again.
February 20th the audiobook version of Keyport Cthulhu was released. Narrated by Mike Chadwick, who was able to capture the gloom that is an homage to Lovecraft.
Not a busy month as far as releases, but I got in some great writing in the small month. Stories that would see the light of day before the end of the year, too.
March
On March 2nd I released Dying Days: Siege 1 And 2 Box Set. Both novellas I’d written with author Tim Baker in one handy eBook, and all for the great price of 99 cents (as of this writing… get it before it goes back to $2.99, still a bargain)
Lets Scare Cancer To Death was released on March 8th, a charity anthology I had a Dying Days story in. Proceeds go to the V Foundation for Cancer Research.
March 10th I released another box set, this time Dying Days: Double Set 1, which combined Dying Days: Origins with Still Dying: Select Scenes From Dying Days. A bargain at $2.99 for both releases.
March 25th the third Flagler Beach Fiction Series audiobook was released, J And J Fitness Complete. Once again narrated by Jack De Golia with his unique voices.
Also in March: The Authors Supporting Our Troops event technically came to an end. We collected 2,500 author-signed books for the soldiers in remote areas of the world. Want to learn more about the even bigger 2015 event about to begin? https://www.facebook.com/groups/ASOT2014/
April
Not an April Fool’s joke, the Horror Within: 8 Book Boxed Set was released. Featuring my first Dying Days novella as well as books from Travis Tufo, Tony Baker, Eric A. Shelman, Ian Woodhead, Robert Chazz Chute, Mark Tufo, Scott Nicholson and JT Warren. And it is currently 99 cents so grab a copy!
April 2nd saw Nerdz Comcs And More Part 4 released.
The next day Flagler Fish Company Complete audiobook (the fourth in the Flagler Beach Fiction Series) was released with another excellent job from narrator Jack De Golia.
April 14th and Nerdz Comics And More Part 5, the final release for this book, was out.
On April 18th Nerdz Comics And More Complete was released with all ten stories in one print book.
The rest of the month was spent writing and playing too much on social media.
May
May 30th I released the Dying Days 2 audiobook, narrated by Amanda M. Lehman, who did a great job on this and the first audiobook in the series.
And that was it for May! Of course I was writing and doing fun stuff like going to the World Horror Convention with Special Gal the beginning of the month. Yeah, it’s a dirty job but somebody has to hang at the bar with Mark Tufo, Joe McKinney and Brian Keene and look interesting…
June
June 19th Dying Days 4 was released, right in the middle of my annual Summer of Zombie Blog Tour. I even planned it this way, if you can believe it. I’ll chat more about the blog tour on my Arm Cast: Dead Sexy Horror Podcast episode #28. I swear.
June 23rd the fourth Necromance horror erotica short from Hazardous Press was released, Downtown. More horror and more erotica and what more could you ask for?
Another slow month as far as actual releases were concerned.
July
On July 4th the Arm Cast: Dead Sexy Podcast made it’s debut, with interviews with Mark Tufo and John O’Brien. 2014 will end with episode #28 (the Year In Review episode) and 2015 should still see new episodes every Friday.
A month almost passed before A Quick Bite Of Flesh: An Anthology of Zombie Flash Fiction was released on eBook from Hazardous Press, giving me an actual release for the month. One of my flash fiction shorts kicks it off. The print book has been out for a long time, so I’m not sure if July 30th is the actual date this version was released but according to Amazon it was, so…
More writing in July without any real releases. I can distinctly remember wondering if all the work I was doing would ever see the light of day, as several short stories for invite-only anthologies were finished in these weeks without definite release dates. Some of them saw the light of day by the end of the year and a few are scheduled for 2015.
August
On the 3rd of August Change Jar Books Part 1, the beginning of the sixth book in the Flagler Beach Fiction Series.
August 6th the Fairly Wicked Tales anthology from Angelic Knight Press was released, featuring my short, “The Wolf Who Cried Boy.”
August 11th Change Jar Books Part 2 was released.
On August 19th the eBook version of the soon-to-be-released zombie vs. Navy SEALs movie, Zulu Six: Origins, went live.
August 23rd saw the State of Horror: Illinois anthology from Charon Coin Press get released, with a new Dying Days short story.
The following day (according to Amazon) State of Horror: New Jersey anthology from Charon Coin Press was put out. It featured another new Dying Days short story.
August 28th I had yet another new Dying Days zombie short story in a new anthology, namely Fading Hope. This story is really, really dark.
It looks like some of those stories I’d been writing finally got released…
September
On September 3rd an interview I did was added to the Interviewing Authors Anthology Volume 1 from Tim Knox, where I talk about writing zombie stories.
September 8th brought out the audibook version of Nerdz Comics And More Complete, once again ready by Jack De Golia.
Also on the 8th my debut full-length traditional horror novel, Chelsea Avenue, was released by Ragnarok Publications. After having written so many shorts and novellas, it was great to have a longer piece published after all this time. I’m damn proud of this story, too.
september 11th another short I’d been working on, a creepy horror tale, made it into Suspended In Dusk anthology, with an introduction by Jack Ketchum. How cool is that?
September 16th Change Jar Books Part 3 was released.
October
On October 6th Change Jar Books Part 4 was released.
October 17th the final part was put out: Change Jar Books Part 5. You can expect the audiobook version (once again narrated by Jack De Golia) in 2015.
Hallowed Horror was another box set I got to be in in 2014. On October 21st it was released and is currently only 99 cents so grab a copy asap! Featuring Mark Tufo, Christine Sutton, Scott Nicholson, Lisa Vasquez, Eric A Shelman, Chantal Noordeloos, Heath Stallcup, Jaime Johnesee, Eden Crowne, and featuring my “Tool Shed” horror novella you can’t find anywhere else!
November
November 11th saw Dying Days: Origins 2, featuring David Monsour (the character in the book and the real man on the cover), released right in the middle of the Winter of Zombie Blog Tour. More on the tour in the podcast.
Change Jar Books Complete came out November 16th, with all ten stories in it.
Most of November was spent writing several projects, including another movie adaptation that should be filmed in early 2015 and then the book will be released as well.
December
December 15th the audiobook version of Highway To Hell was released, and read by none other than Jack Wallen. Why did it take so long to get released? That’s a story for the podcast.
Even by my standards December was a slow month. I worked mostly on a movie adaptation novel as well as a few short stories for upcoming anthologies in 2015. I wrote a big chunk of the first draft of Dying Days 5 as well.
* * * * *
43 more releases in 2014!
What will 2015 bring? Hopefully many more releases and many more new readers
Here’s to another great year coming up!
Armand
To hear the podcast version of this Year In Review, visit
Arm Cast: Dead Sexy Horror Podcast Episode 28
Radio Gigs, Podcasts and Hot Dog Flavored Potato Chips
I’m once again moving on up, to a deluxe apartment in the sky… OK, maybe that’s the wrong opening line.
When I first started back in June on 1700 AM The Surf it was truly a dream come true. Not only did I get to talk writing and publishing with two co-hosts (which then became one co-host), but I got to broadcast a music show live with all the killer tunes I grew up on and love.
1700 AM in Flagler Beach is morphing into 97.3 FM very soon, and I’m excited to be a part of it. Station owner Vern Shank has some really great plans for the station and you’ll still be hearing me on the air on Friday nights. But in a slightly different format…
I had a sit-down with Vern yesterday about my role at 97.3 FM and how I could stay on while balancing my writing career/movie writing career/radio gigs/personal life without too much fuss. Vern also tricked me into eating a hot dog flavored potato chip, which tasted like mustard and ketchup. I hate condiments. I still have the horrible taste in my mouth.
Mando’s Manic Melodies will still air in the 10 pm til midnight EST slot, but most shows won’t be live anymore. I recently purchased a podcast kit, which will be perfect for recording hours of the show. I’ll also be tightening the format up a bit to include a block of cover songs, a theme block as well as a Mandatory Stryper or Mandatory Steel Panther song. Other than that it will be whatever I decide to play, as usual. Whenever I get the chance to drive down to Flagler Beach I will, and do a live show with any requests you might have.
You might now be asking yourself two questions… first, why did Vern force you to eat that disgusting potato chip? and second… what about Friday Night Writes?
I will be stepping down from FNW and handing everything over to Tim Baker. The last couple of weeks he’s filled it with temporary music and I’m sure he’ll have something fresh and new planned for the 8-10 pm EST Friday night time slot. With everything going on for me right now, there is no way to commit to driving down to the station (I now live almost 75 minutes away – one way) and not getting home until 1:30 in the morning and killing my Saturday writing time because I need to sleep. I didn’t want to string The Surf, Vern or Tim along anymore, but I will miss the show. I had a lot of fun doing it.
So much fun, in fact, that at some point in the near future, I will be returning to a show about authors and publishing, but on my own time. Because I bought all this fancy podcast equipment, I’ve also decided to do my own podcast from home. I don’t have a name for it (but will take suggestions!) and I can tell you it will be a one hour format dealing with the same basic issues FNW dealt with, but I’ll have a different guest host each week talking about writing and publishing. I’m excited to still be able to talk about writing, and the shows will be in as many places as I can get them and archived as well.
Is that it for me? Nope.
I’m also excited to announce I will also be doing another music show each and every week, this time on Monday nights from 6-8 pm EST on Metal Messiah Radio! The show, Mando’s Metal Covers, will play harder songs and nothing but covers… and it will be broadcast live each week, so I will be creating a FB group so people can chat with me in real time and request some brutal Metal covers. I’m excited to be getting yet another opportunity to play music live, and doing it from the comfort of my own office. More details will be coming, but my first show will be live on Monday, May 5th.
Anything else? Other than still being mad at Vern for trying to kill me?
Nah. But as always wish me luck!
Armand
Things To Do…
I pride myself (like an idiot?) on always keeping busy, between writing and publishing… but even I think I’ve stretched myself a bit thin these days…
I decided to set some deadlines for myself and get some things finished, especially with an actual Rymfire Books schedule starting next month… crossing the fingers and toes that I can finish a plethora of ideas by the end of January (or as many as is humanly possible!)…
Things that need to be finalized and finished include (but sure aren’t limited to):
Darlene Bobich: Zombie Killer novella (doing the final edits and waiting on the cover art)
Extreme Undead Collection Volume One (going to be putting four zombie novellas – Highway To Hell, Darlene Bobich: Zombie Killer, Dying Days and Zombie Tea Party) out in one omnibus edition)
A few short stories for anthologies: one about a teddy bear, one about a chapel and a horror western tale
A shared world Zombie novella (halfway done, due January 15th)
Releasing an awesome non-fiction book about Heavy Metal (more info once the contracts are officially back, looking at an early January release)
Releasing an awesome horror novella from an author (yeah, I know, but contracts need to be signed first, and a late January, early February release if possible)
Another five novellas currently on the table that I need to decide on for February-March-April release dates
Metal Queens Monthly #3 due January 13th (have enough, just need to format it)
Zombie Writing! non-fiction zombie book with so many killer authors involved your head will spin (lots to do, lots to still get in, but a January 20th release date is not that bad)
Organizing and formatting a handful of erotica short stories by K. Lee Thorne to publish (hopefully beginning in February)
Dying Days 2 zombie novella (currently getting donations for this one so it can be big, info at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1649501341/dying-days-2-zombie-novella)
Still Dying: Scenes From Dying Days novella (added stories from minor characters in the Dying Days world)
Blog tour eBook release (a FREE collection of my many blog posts and added bonus material)
Chelsea Avenue horror novel rewrite (first draft done, needs to be ripped apart and revamped in early 2012)
Tool Shed horror novel (finish first draft!)
Hammond Beach horror novel (finish first draft!)
There you have it… almost twenty things on my lap to finish, not to mention all the extra stuff that gets added like new anthologies, promoting everything out, anthologies/novellas currently making the rounds that are going to be accepted or rejected and re-sent… and I wouldn’t trade any of this chaos for nothing…
