Interview with Zombie Zone News

http://www.zombiezonenews.com/archives/picking-brains-with-wednesday-lee-friday-john-mccuaig/

The wonderful Wednesday Lee Friday gave up some of her valuable time to interview me over at Zombie Zone News. I talk zombies of course, my present and future projects and the pros and cons of wearing a kilt! It was such fun and a huge thanks must go to Wednesday. Please pop over to their site and have a wee look.

Another nice review for the Church

Steve at Zombie Zone News has posted a nice review up on his site. He liked the story but also raised a few areas for improvement, hopefully I will learn from these mistakes! Please pop over to his site and have a look.

http://www.zombiezonenews.com/archives/the-church-offers-no-sanctuary-in-this-review/

Another great review for The Church

Sonar4 Landing Dock Reviews just posted a wonderful review for The Church.

Please pop over to their site to have a look.

I'm really pleased with what they had to say.

http://sonar4landingdockreviews.blogspot.com/2011/03/church-by-john-mccuaig-review.html?zx=ff8a4775a4dd3ece

Here is a part of what they said-
McCuaig adds a special way of dealing with survival at the end of the world. He shows people in the most human condition ever told in a story. Faith, hope and what people long for in a crisis is shown here with eloquence.

The Church is an eye opener for people to look at certain others in a position of authority where faith takes priority, where fear of dying will make you do almost anything, listen to anyone, follow anyone.

The Church is a page-turner. It is not only entertaining, but mind-blowing. It is one that I know I will read over and over again.

The Church- Chapter One

As a little taster I've now added Chapter One of my debut novel to my blog and website- please have a look.


1- How it Started


I slowly awake to the sounds of the birds singing in the apple garden. My eyes open to the view of a cloudless sky with its sun shining down upon me. I feel so content until my mind forces me back to reality.

During these warm summer months I, Sam Miller, always sleep up on the roof of my new home, Saint Luke’s Church. The cool nights under the stars are my only escape from my memories. For the plague has ascended from Hell to wipe out everything I ever cared for.

It started about six months ago. Time, days, calendars don’t mean much any more, so I may be a little out. The dawn, the dusk, and the changing seasons- that’s all that matters now.

Standing up I walk stiffly over to the edge of the roof. In the distance I can see my house. Where we used to live, when it all started.
***

“Come on everyone. Let’s get moving!” Standing at the front door of my house all I see is chaos. Our kids Jack and Katie are immigrating to Australia today and with my wife Pamela in tow they’re racing around getting their last minute bits and pieces together. “Okay, ready” they shout as they bundle past me and head down the drive to the car. As I leave I gently pat my two Dalmatians- Molly and Tyler- who are standing faithfully by the door. “I know you’ll miss them. We all will.”

Laughter fills the car on the trip to the airport but I also see the sadness in my wife’s eyes. Our children are all grown up now and flying the nest.

“Bye Mum. Bye Dad. We’ll ring when we arrive.” They run away down the security lines and are off on a new adventure.

A couple of days later the warnings start on the television and radio. A severe strain of the flu is what they’re saying. At first we aren’t that bothered. There is always something they put on to scare you. Our attitudes change when the newscasts from around the world show hospitals overflowing, filled with masses of sick people. I will always remember the words of that broadcast.

"This virus is highly contagious. If you develop any symptoms, please stay at home. Don’t risk the chance of infecting others. Don’t go to the doctors or to the hospital. Call the emergency number below. They’ll come to you.”

There is lots of conjecture about what this virus actually is. News channels, chat shows, even documentaries come up with their own ideas and conspiracy theories: secret military experiments gone horribly wrong, the ultimate act of global terrorism, perhaps an act of vengeance from God for all we’d done. Seems to me that we’ll never get the answer.

Pam and I start to worry. Sure we are both pretty healthy but still it’s only natural. We’ll be okay, so will the kids, or so we thought.

After calling Jack and Katie in Australia we hear the terrible news.

“It’s getting real bad here, Dad” Jack’s voice shakes with fear. “We’re helping out in the hospital but there are just not enough beds.”

That is our last contact with them. The phone lines go down. Pam and I just hold each other and cry. We worry far more about them than we do for ourselves.

I keep telling my Pamela that everything will be alright. They’ll sort out a cure soon enough. It’s only a matter of time. She smiles back at me, but I can tell she is no where near as confident as I am.

Things deteriorate quickly. By the end of the first week, all streets are full of army patrols. Walking down the road we can see them decked out in anti-viral white suits that I’d only seen before in movies. Their faces are masked, served oxygen from tanks strapped to their backs. For the first time in my life, we have armed soldiers in our city. Driving around in armoured vehicles, they blast out a chilling message from loudspeakers:

"The city is now in full lockdown. Martial Law has been declared. Under no circumstances is anyone allowed out in the streets. If you disobey this order you will be shot on sight. You have been warned.”

***

Within a month, I estimate, about eighty percent of the world’s population die. Going by the reports from the last ham radio broadcasts, and from the accounts of passing travellers who manage to dodge the patrols, it seems accurate. Horrific as those numbers are, it gets a hell of a lot worse.

Once the Berlin Virus runs out of viable hosts it viciously mutates. It starts to search out and infect recently dead human flesh. It raises them up and turns them into mad raging beasts with an unstoppable urge to kill. Packs of monsters attack immune people so the new virus will have more hosts. Its way of killing is to eat its victims.

The virus turns itself into near perfection. No matter how much it has destroyed the host’s body it keeps on going, relentlessly searching out fresh victims to kill and then infect.
***

My beloved Pamela falls victim to both strains of the virus. Crying out in agony as pounding headaches run through her head, her temperature soars higher and higher by the hour. I feel so helpless. My fingers go numb from dialling the emergency number they gave us. All I get is a fucking recording. I leave my name and address just in case someone is checking, but they never come.

Three days after the first symptoms, my dear love breathes her last sweet breath and dies as I hold her in my arms. With tears rolling down my face I carefully wrap her lifeless body in a crisp white bed sheet. Before covering her beautiful face, I give her one last kiss.

Night comes but I am unable to get any sleep. Sitting in my kitchen, with only a flickering candle light for company, I wish the damn virus would come and take me to join her.

The dogs start to growl and run about daft. Barking like mad they look up the staircase.

“Shut up!” I scream. “Sit yourselves down!” Their barking only gets worse. I know they want to go up but something stops them. Tyler, the older one, finds bravery from somewhere deep inside. He runs full speed up the long staircase.

It goes quiet.

“Tyler,” I call out. “Come on boy. Get down here now.” But he doesn’t return. I grudgingly grab the candle and start to go up. With each step I take the boards creak. My shaking hand causes the candlelight to bounce off the walls, changing the shapes of the shadows.

Reaching the top of landing, I make out a vague outline at the far end of the hallway. The candle light is so damn poor I can barely see a couple of feet ahead of me. I walk slowly onwards to investigate.

As I edge myself closer to the shadowy figure I hold the candle way out in front of me. Its light catches the face of the silhouette. My darling Pamela stares at me.

"You're alive!"

I start moving towards her. I stop. What I can see is no longer my love. This thing standing in front of me is an abomination. While it looks like her, its sunken grey eyes just stare back at me lifelessly.

Her skin is a horrible shade of grey, yet her teeth and lips are a bright red. When I look down I see the reason why. Grasped in her hand is the head of our dog. His blood drips down her nightdress.

She drops the chewed meat to the floor, groans deeply and moves towards me. My muscles refuse to move. The shock has paralyzed me.

As she reaches for my neck I instinctively move, twisting away from her deadly grasp. Stiffly she shambles forwards. On missing me, she loses her footing and stumbles down the stairs.

During the fall she smashes her head repeatedly on the bare wooden steps. Thick, black blood oozes from both her ears.

Sitting beside her, I shudder to think what would’ve happened if she survived the fall. Deep down I know that I could never have delivered the fatal blow. There is no way I could have ended her undead life. It doesn’t matter to me what she had become. She is my wife, and my love for her is undying. I couldn’t have killed my Pam.
***

For another two weeks I stay in the house with Molly, my last dog, as my only company. She is definitely this man’s best friend. By now all the food has run out, along with the supplies I have took from my neighbours’ house.

Ron and Mary Gavin were away in Spain on holiday when the outbreak started. Soon after, they were stranded when the authorities banned all non military air travel out of the country. It was a futile attempt to contain the threat.

I know I have no choice but to go outside. I can’t just starve to death. Danger from the army patrols no longer existed, but the numbers of the undead roaming have grown rapidly. They are passing by my house every hour.

I’m not sure anywhere would be safe. Even so I decide to head for the local police station at South Norwood. After all, they are supposed to protect us- not that they have been doing a good job of it recently. My reasoning for heading there is faulty, I know that, but logic has long since disappeared from my life.

One morning I decide it is time. Molly and I have to set out while we still have some energy left. We wait until the road outside the house looks clear. Not a mile away, things start to go terribly wrong.

We are attacked by three of the undead. The bastards stumble out of a hidden doorway, just as we are passing a small row of shops.

I drop the leash in shock. Molly runs straight for them. She doesn’t stand a chance. She attacks but the zombie doesn’t even flinch as she bites deep into its rotted leg. Within seconds all three descend on my dog. At least her howls don’t last long.

In a state of despair I run. As I pass houses and gardens several more zombies spot me. They are soon in pursuit. About twenty of them are now right behind me.

Around the next corner I find my salvation. The church stands before me in all its glory, and there are people- real live people- standing on top of the walls.

“Help!” I scream. “Please let me in!”

Thankfully the doors open just enough to let me inside. I arrive at my new home.

Great review for The Church

Horrornews.net have posted a great review for The Church, the guy seamed to really enjoy it!

When I first got The Church (written by the very talented John McCuaig) I honestly wasn’t expecting much. I thought that is was just going to be another unoriginal zombie novel that wasn’t going to be anything I hadn’t already encountered countless times before. I am happy to admit that I was wrong and it is actually a pretty damn good book. It is well-written, has an interesting plot, great characters, and a ton of action. I really dug The Church and had a great time reading it.

One of the things that I liked most about the novel is the fact that the zombies take a back seat to other issues for most of the book. Yes, there are zombies running around eating everyone in sight, but they really aren’t the main antagonists here. They show up every once in a while and kill some of the characters, but overall they are pretty much just one of the many obstacles that our heroes must contend with in order to survive.

The real evil in the book isn’t the zombies, but Reverend McKay and his cult-like followers. McKay is an insane, power-hungry, manipulative guy who will stop at nothing to be in charge of others. Anyone who opposes (or even disagrees with him) is swiftly thrown out of the church where they are usually devoured by the hungry sea of zombies waiting outside the church’s gates. He is one of those scary religious nutcases who does whatever he wants and claims to do it in the name of God. People like him give me the creeps as they are usually able to manipulate others into doing their bidding. The reverend is a scary dude and I think I would personally have to deal with a handful of zombies than cross paths with him.

The other characters are also very well done as well. Sam is just your basic everyday guy mourning the death of his wife (and wondering about the fate of his adult children) who is forced into the role of the reluctant hero. He is just an average guy and is by no means an action hero, so it is interesting watching him do whatever it takes to save lives and stay alive himself. Matt is a good character as well, and after the death of his father he goes from an easy-going guy to a hardcore badass who the other survivors are more than eager to follow since he is such a natural leader. I liked Dawn as well (even though she starts out as an unlikable bitch before she falls for Matt and comes to her senses about McKay), and her brother Wayne is pretty intimidating as the Reverend’s main enforcer and bodyguard (though I think he is killed off way too soon and there could have been a lot more that could have been done with him). Overall, I think that the characters from this book are realistic and fleshed-out, and if most readers are like me they will find themselves really caring about what happens to all of them.

I also appreciated the fact that there is almost a nonstop flow of action going on as well. There is very little lag time as there is usually something going on at all times so it helped hold my interest. We have zombie attacks, brutal murders (the fate of Matt’s father is pretty cruel), gun battles, and a ton of other stuff going on though out the book that kept me highly entertained. I can’t think of a single time that I was reading it where I felt bored or tempted to skip ahead a few paragraphs or pages.

Other than a few grammar and spelling issues (sorry, I’m an English teacher and I notice these things) there is nothing negative that I can say about this book. It reminded me a little of Simon Clark’s novel Blood Crazy as well as “28 Days Later.” I thought that it was an excellent read and McCuaig is no doubt a great writer. I look forward to checking out his future writings and think that he will have a fan base fairly soon (I know I am a fan of his work so far). Check out this book if you get a chance, I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.

I've got some reviews lined up.

Now that my novel is out I've been looking for some sites to do some reviews and I have to say the response has been fantastic! All the sites replied quickly and all have been so nice and helpful. It shows just how great the zombie/horror community are.

In no particular order the sites are-

Pissedoffgeek
Bitten by books
Horrornews.net
Buy Zombie
Undeadinthehead
ZombieZoneNews (a maybe)

As they come out I'll let you know.

The Church is available on Amazon!

Wow! My debut novel is now up on both the the US and Uk Amazon sites, the pages are not quite ready- they still need the descriptions etc added but at least they're there :-)It's been a long road but I'm so happy that we are finally here.

http://www.amazon.com/Church-John-McCuaig/dp/1453808213/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1289082940&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Church-John-Mccuaig/dp/1453808213/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289082876&sr=1-3

So if your looking for a cool Christmas present then look no further.

I must take the time to thank the publisher- the one and only Doctor Pus, the cover artist Deedee Davies and the formatter Scott A Johnston.

I just need to get this silly grin off my face.

First look at the cover for The Church

Here is the first peek at the cover for my debut novel- The Church. I may be a bit biased here but I think it looks fantastic! It still needs the blurbs ect putting on but I'm really happy with how its turned out. Almost there now!

The Church- some blurbs for the cover

"The Church is a dark and chilling take on the zombie apocalypse that will surely leave you both disturbed and deeply moved!" - Eric S Brown, author of How the West Went to Hell and Bigfoot War.

John McCuaig's 'The Church' is more than just another zombie novel. It's tells us in lurid detail that come the apocalypse there's no such thing as sanctuary - that come the apocalypse the power-crazed go crazy. Paul A. Freeman - author of 'Rumours of Ophir' and 'Robin Hood and Friar Tuck - Zombie Killers'

The Church- cover synopsis

Just a little update- here's the synopsis for The Church that'll be on the cover-

They thought it was a sanctuary, a safe haven free from the clutches of the walking dead. Little did they know it was ruled with an iron fist by a crazed reverend and his disciples. Disobedience to his word meant banishment from its walls. And only death waited outside.

Sam Miller finds himself in the middle of its troubles. But he’s no hero, he’s just an ordinary man struggling to stay alive. As events both inside and outside the Church spiral out of control he fights to keep his promises, not only to himself but also to his friend.

The Church is a story of the undead, faith and mans need for power and control.

The Church is finished

Phew! Just finished the last of the edits for my debut novel and its winging its way over to Doctor Pus at Library of the Living Dead Press.

I need to offer my huge thanks to Louise for all the hard work she has done with the edits- she deserves a bloody medal!

Really looking forward now to seeing what the cover will look like and to eventually hold the finished product in my hands. It's been really hard work but I believe it's been worth it and hopefully I'll even sell a copy or two. I still can't take the silly grin of my face :-)

I'll give some more updates as things move along.

The Church- an update

Just got to the halfway point with the edits for The Church. Louise is doing a great job with it but I must admit it's also been a little embarrassing seeing all the mistakes I've made! I knew that I probably put in too many extra words but I didn't realize how many! I'd guess I'll lose about 3-4,000 words off the final count. Ouch!

The story is now a lot tighter, sharper and moves at a far quicker pace.

This also shows me how much I need an independent editor. And more practice!!

I'll update again when the edits are done and Louise gives me her opinions on the story as a whole.

The Church- an update

My first novel, a zombie tale called The Church, is being edited by the wonderful Louise Bohmer for The Library of the Living Dead Press.

It's the tale of a man stuck inside a fortified church after the zombie uprising. The church is controlled with an iron fist by a mad reverend and his "disciples". Are the real monsters inside or outside The Church?

I'll use the blog to give some updates of how we are getting on.

Louise has just sent back the edits for chapter 7. I cant begin to explain how good these edits are, taking my story to a much higher level. I was silly enough to think it was fairly well edited before but its more than a little embarrassing now seeing how many mistakes there are!