Mike and Jen live in a quiet Louisiana community. Quiet, that is, until the dead begin roaming the streets; devouring everything in sight. The couple is forced to barricade their home and await help. Soon the National Guard is sent in the restore order. SSgt Brown and his troopers are the sole survivors of the government’s first response to the Zombie Invasion. Join them as they struggle to survive in this new environment, an environment where Man has been replaced by a new APEX predator. This predator never sleeps, doesn’t feel pain, hunts in packs, and doesn’t ever quit.
Who will survive in this new world, and who will succumb to the ever-growing hoard of undead?
When you think of APEX, think of The Walking Dead meets Blackhawk Down.
Targeted Age Group:
16-45
Writing in the horror genre is about details. You have to paint a picture, so vivid that it scares the pants off of your reader. Some things you write about will be bloody and messy, and you want your readers to visualize just how much blood and gore are in the scene. Other times you want them to be scared. You can’t just say boo. You have to lead up to it. You have to spend time building the suspense.
You also have to keep the emotions and human interactions as real as possible Horror is about fear. Fear is primal. Fear is basic. Fear makes us do things we normally wouldn’t. Fear can pressure a character to greatness, or fear can crush them and turn them into jelly, waiting for the perverbial hammer to fall. You have to not only convey that fear, but you have to make your audiance know that that fear is warranted.
What Advice Would You Give Aspiring Writers?
I was taking a tour around New Orleans the other day, and the tour guide had gotten some advice from Stephan King. I liked it, and I’m going to share it:
If you’re a writer, you need to read a lot and write a lot.
If they they like it, they buy it. If they don’t F%@K ’em.
You be you. Write what you’re muses tell you to write. Someone out there will like it.
Author Bio:
I grew up in Grand Prairie Texas, a suburb of Dallas. I was a normal suburban kid; playing football in the front yards (and the occasional street game), basketball in the driveways, and all the other things young boys do. I grew up watching Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street, and The Shining. The movies that spoke loudest to me were the Apocalypse types. The Stand and Night of the Living Dead were my two favorites. I’d always been a fan of one other type of movies and books. Those were military in nature. I’d always been fascinated with the military, and guns, and things that went boom.
I graduated from South Grand Prairie High School in 1990. After high school, I took my first steps away from home and went to Southwest Texas State University. In 1994 I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice. Unfortunately, although I wanted to be a cop, I wasn’t able to get on with any law enforcement agency.
So, the next chapter in my life began with a trip to the Army recruiter’s office in San Marcos Texas. The army opened my eyes to so much of the world. I spent 7 years active as a Combat Medic in places like Germany, Kosovo, and Bosnia. It was here in the former Yugoslavia that I learned what real horror was. After seven years of struggling to run faster than my lungs and legs ever wanted to run, I met my soul mate and got out.
I spent the next 5 years following her around the world (she is an Airman in the Air Force). During this time I was able to earn a Bachelor’s in Nursing. As a former army medic, working as a nurse on the floor was never my goal. It always seemed too mundane, and routine. I knew from my first day of nursing school that I wanted to be an Emergency Room Nurse. In April of 2011 my dream came true. I haven’t looked back since
During my travels with my wife, we have had 2 wonderful boys. They are the greatest joy in my world. I realized as I wrote this book that the worst horror for a father isn’t the death of himself or his neighbors, but the safety of his children take priority. My oldest is almost 10, and is chomping at the bit for the day he gets to read his daddy’s book. He’s a bit of a mini-me. And soon, he will get the chance.
APEX was born over a year ago with just a kernel of an idea. I’ve always been a fan of Zombie and Apocalypse books and movies. It took me about 5,000 words to get my original idea on paper. I realized that the story was pretty good, and nowhere near finished. The characters literally had a story to finish, and I needed to let them finish.
One year later, I realized that the characters weren’t finished, but they had given me a place to stop. The second book is currently in the works. I have no idea how long it will be, or how long it will be before it’s released. The characters are still making up their minds.
I hope you enjoy APEX, the first of (hopefully) several more books.
Website(s)
Link To Buy Book On Amazon
Link to Book on Barnes and Noble
Social Media:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18146390-apex
https://www.facebook.com/ApexMikeandJen
