A.M. Geever's Blog

I’m super excited to share that Love in an Undead Age won a Bronze Medal in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards for 2019 in the Adult Fiction category! Wishing Shelf Awards are for indie authors, judged by indie authors, and it’s a HUGE honor to have been chosen.

Love in an Undead Age is having a much better debut year than I ever dreamed possible, what with this and being named The Written Undead’s Best New Author of a Zombie Novel in 2019. I’m still amazed and excited whenever someone reads my book or writes a nice review, never mind stuff like this. I mean, how did this happen?

So I guess that’s my version of “I’d like to thank the Academy…” ;-)

An audiobook is in the works for The Undead Age Series. Audiobooks for both Love in an Undead Age and Damage in an Undead Age will be released along with the print/e-books of Damage later this year… we’re shooting for June!

Listen to this exclusive audio clip. If you want to know the latest news and haven’t yet, subscribe to the newsletter, and join our band of plucky survivors in A.M. Geever’s Zombie Apocalypse Bunker on Facebook.

Excited to share that I am a contributing author to 100 Word BIGGER Zombie Bites: An Undead Drabbles Anthology by Reanimated Writers Press.

Every story is 100 words exactly, making for lovely bite-sized tales. My story is Little Fuzz. This is the only place you can read Little Fuzz, btw. It's free in Kindle Unlimited, and 99¢ to buy!

Read it today!

#reanimatedwriters #drabbles #anthology #zombies #KU #kindleunlimited

...and yet, it's still pretty cool to be in the running for one. I've been nominated for Best New Author in The Written Undead. On the one hand, it's just a Facebook group. On the other, someone nominated me, which is pretty amazing. Who knows, the Nobel Prize may be in my future... or not, since I write about zombies. ;-)

If you want to vote for me or any of the other nominees in a bunch of different categories, you can do so by clicking on The Written Undead's Announcements, which you can find in the left-hand column of their group page. I believe the one I'm nominated for is the second one down.

You may have to join the group if you haven't already in order to vote. And if you like zombie books, you should check out the many zombie book groups on Facebook. I've found some really good books that way myself.

I finally found THE WORD and have a title for book #2: Damage in an Undead Age.

When there's only one word that is different in the title of the book, it has to be the right word. Finding that word was so difficult, but funnily enough, I got the title for book #3, Reckoning in and Undead Age, with ease. Go figure.

Damage is off with my developmental editor, the one-of-a-kind Tex Thompson, author of One Night in Sixes. In ten minutes, with only an outline of Damage, and not having read Love, Tex solved a really big problem I was having with the plot of Damage. Not only did she solve the problem, but her solution improved the story in ways I had not anticipated, and opened up so many new possibilities. She improved the story in ten minutes so that the book wrote itself. I can't wait to get Damage into your hands, dear readers. I really think you are going to love it.

Anyway, I will talk to Tex this weekend. The new first draft came in at 137K words. I was aiming for 125K and almost fell out of my chair when I did the final word count. Tex was not expecting a manuscript that long, so if she needs a little more time to get through it, it is totally understandable.

Until next time...

CAUTION: This post contains spoilers – big ones. Big as in a-plot-twist-so-crazy-it-hits-you-upside-the-head big. If you haven’t read the book but plan to, when it says spoilers below, skip ahead to the next song. Better yet, read the book and then come back to this.

I included all the links because when I synch this with my Goodreads blog, not all the thumbnails for the videos are coming through. If you’re reading this on Goodreads, you might want to pop over to Miranda’s Journal here on amgeever.com

That said, no one has ever asked me if music influences my writing and I’ve always wished they would. I decided not to wait like I did when I was a teenager who wanted to go to the Homecoming dance. The short answer is… sometimes.

Here’s some of what I listened to when I was writing Love in an Undead Age. Some of it even changed the story.

Anti-Flag:

If you’re unfamiliar with Anti-Flag, then you are missing out on the best political punk rock going. Seriously. Anti-Flag’s songs are full of catchy hooks, sing along choruses, ripping guitar, the most unique bass riffs ever (ever!), and incredible musicianship, all wrapped up in a simple idea: that people of the world have more in common than not, and can change the world for the better if they work together and resist attempts to divide them. If you have not seen their live show, you are missing out. To quote an early reviewer, “Live, they bleeping explode.” 

The band was nice enough to let me use a lyric from Good & Ready as the epigraph for the book. Here’s some of what I was listening to at the time, or is referenced in the book.

Good and Ready

The Old Guard

Broken Bones

 

The handsome singer in the black, long-sleeved shirt is my brother, Justin Sane.

 

The Buzzcocks

I was lucky enough to see The Buzzcocks live when I studied abroad at The University of Wales, Aberystwyth. A seminal British punk rock band, they have influenced countless bands since. When I first started LIUA, I was going to have a punk rock lyric at the start of every chapter. This quickly went by the wayside as it was #1 – way too much work, and #2 – would have involved securing and paying for the rights to use the lyrics (see #1, plus more dinero than this struggling writer had to spend). For the Miranda chapter after dinner at the Santorello’s, this was going to be it.

Ever Fallen In Love

!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!

Matisyahu

Sometimes I get stuck on a song, and when I say stuck, I mean STUCK. Like listen to it on repeat for hours on end over the week, for months on end. When I started writing LIUA, the love story was NOT Miranda and Mario. Surprise! Mario was barely a character, more like a background bogeyman. But Miranda’s anger toward him just felt so personal, much more than an evil yet removed character should incite. My husband suggested that perhaps I could make them ex-lovers, which would explain it. So then I wrote a sex scene with them, to get a handle on the intensity that Miranda later channeled into hating him. Several re-writes later it became that sex scene. As I kept listening to this song, an idea started to take hold. What if there was more to their story? What if Miranda ran away with him at the end, even though he was a bad guy? But Miranda would never run away with the bad guy–ever. I couldn’t figure out how to reconcile this, so I talked to my husband. He liked the new love story idea but thought that if Miranda ran away with Mario at the end, then he had to be a good guy. He had to be on the same side, even if she didn’t know it. And that changed everything about where the story would go. 

We Will Walk

The Killers

My favorite song from the Hot Fuss record, one I listened to as much as Anti-Flag and Matisyahu while writing LIUA. I always thought of this song as being about Miranda, who had lost so much and faked it just to get through another day. Who smiled like she meant it when she didn’t. 

Smile Like You Mean It

The Adverts

Gary Gilmore’s Eyes is one of the songs from Punk Rock Name That Tune. PRNTT was much longer scene in the first draft of LIUA, more about that below.

The Adverts are a really amazing band. Gary Gilmore was convicted of a double murder and executed in Utah. I think he was the last person in America to be killed by firing squad. He was also an organ donor, and you guessed it! One of the organs he donated were his eyes. I was singing this song by fourth or fifth grade, which probably explains a lot about me. More Punk Rock Name That Tune songs are below.

Gary Gilmore’s Eyes

Black Randy and the Metrosquad

Early punk rock doesn’t play nice. The intro of Marlon Brando is so over-the-top culturally insensitive to Native Americans that it just might make your head explode. The actor Marlon Brando was an activist for the American Indian Movement (AIM) in the 1970s - this song makes fun of him because he took himself very seriously. And… it’s really culturally insensitive, especially by today’s standards. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Black Randy and the Metrosquad are one of the seminal Los Angeles punk rock bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s. My brother, Patrick, lived in L.A. then (and later went to school at UC Santa Cruz) and that’s where he discovered punk rock. He brought it back to Pittsburgh when I was in second grade. My little brother, Justin, and I were in a hard-core early Beatles phase at the time and thought punk rock was the worst! Which is ironic, since Justin went on to make Anti-Flag his career. Anyway, Patrick introduced me to Black Randy when I lived in San Francisco in the 1990s. Tragically, Black Randy died of a drug overdose, cutting the band’s career short. Their music is amazing. In the years since, punk rock has become so rigidly genre-ized that Black Randy probably wouldn’t be considered punk by the kids today… they use a synthizer and organ – heresy! That’s why history is so important, even (or especially) for music. 

Marlon Brando

I Slept in an Arcade

Loner with a Boner

Janis Joplin:

I read a book on the craft of writing that suggested having a motto for every character. This motto should reflect a fundamental truth about them. Every decision that character makes should, ultimately, reflect that truth, even if it doesn’t seem to on its face. I immediately thought of two songs for Miranda – this is one of them (the other was Broken Bones by Anti-Flag). Plus, it’s Janis Joplin… and she was AMAZING. Had she not died of a drug overdose, she would definitely have survived the Zombie Apocalypse. And wtf is it with rockers and drug overdoses?

Get It While You Can

Punk Rock Name That Tune

Punk Rock Name That Tune was a much longer scene in the first draft of LIUA. But my writing group told me that they got bored with it because they didn’t know the songs, which meant it was not going to be fun for my readers (just for me and fans of early punk rock). So I shortened the scene, then cut it down to a passing reference. Here are some of the songs that were in it. A lyric from Drink Drank Punk is still in the book. Let me know if you find it.

The Weirdos – We Got the Neutron Bomb

Penetration – Don’t Dictate

Xray Spex – Oh Bondage, Up Yours!

Drink, Drank, Punk

We Got the Neutron Bomb

  

That’s it for now. I’m keeping a list of what I’m listening to now, so expect a similar post after the second book is released!

CAUTION: This post contains spoilers – big ones. Big as in a-plot-twist-so-crazy-it-hits-you-upside-the-head big. If you haven’t read the book but plan to, when it says spoilers below, skip ahead to the next song. Better yet, read the book and then come back to this.

That said, no one has ever asked me if music influences my writing and I’ve always wished they would. I decided not to wait like I did when I was a teenager who wanted to go to the Homecoming dance. The short answer is… sometimes.

Here’s some of what I listened to when I was writing Love in an Undead Age. Some of it even changed the story.

Anti-Flag:

If you’re unfamiliar with Anti-Flag, then you are missing out on the best political punk rock going. Seriously. Anti-Flag’s songs are full of catchy hooks, sing along choruses, ripping guitar, the most unique bass riffs ever (ever!), and incredible musicianship, all wrapped up in a simple idea: that people of the world have more in common than not, and can change the world for the better if they work together and resist attempts to divide them. If you have not seen their live show, you are missing out. To quote an early reviewer, “Live, they bleeping explode.” 

The band was nice enough to let me use a lyric from Good & Ready as the epigraph for the book. Here’s some of what I was listening to at the time, or is referenced in the book.

 

The handsome singer in the black, long-sleeved shirt is my brother, Justin Sane.

 

The Buzzcocks

I was lucky enough to see The Buzzcocks live when I studied abroad at The University of Wales, Aberystwyth. A seminal British punk rock band, they have influenced countless bands since. When I first started LIUA, I was going to have a punk rock lyric at the start of every chapter. This quickly went by the wayside as it was #1 – way too much work, and #2 – would have involved securing and paying for the rights to use the lyrics (see #1, plus more dinero than this struggling writer had to spend). For the Miranda chapter after dinner at the Santorello’s, this was going to be it.

!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!

Matisyahu

Sometimes I get stuck on a song, and when I say stuck, I mean STUCK. Like listen to it on repeat for hours on end over the week, for months on end. When I started writing LIUA, the love story was NOT Miranda and Mario. Surprise! Mario was barely a character, more like a background bogeyman. But Miranda’s anger toward him just felt so personal, much more than an evil yet removed character should incite. My husband suggested that perhaps I could make them ex-lovers, which would explain it. So then I wrote a sex scene with them, to get a handle on the intensity that Miranda later channeled into hating him. Several re-writes later it became that sex scene. As I kept listening to this song, an idea started to take hold. What if there was more to their story? What if Miranda ran away with him at the end, even though he was a bad guy? But Miranda would never run away with the bad guy–ever. I couldn’t figure out how to reconcile this, so I talked to my husband. He liked the new love story idea but thought that if Miranda ran away with Mario at the end, then he had to be a good guy. He had to be on the same side, even if she didn’t know it. And that changed everything about where the story would go. 

The Killers

My favorite song from the Hot Fuss record, one I listened to as much as Anti-Flag and Matisyahu while writing LIUA. I always thought of this song as being about Miranda, who had lost so much and faked it just to get through another day. Who smiled like she meant it when she didn’t. 

The Adverts

Gary Gilmore’s Eyes is one of the songs from Punk Rock Name That Tune. PRNTT was much longer scene in the first draft of LIUA, more about that below.

The Adverts are a really amazing band. Gary Gilmore was convicted of a double murder and executed in Utah. I think he was the last person in America to be killed by firing squad. He was also an organ donor, and you guessed it! One of the organs he donated were his eyes. I was singing this song by fourth or fifth grade, which probably explains a lot about me. More Punk Rock Name That Tune songs are below.

Black Randy and the Metrosquad

Early punk rock doesn’t play nice. The intro of Marlon Brando is so over-the-top culturally insensitive to Native Americans that it just might make your head explode. The actor Marlon Brando was an activist for the American Indian Movement (AIM) in the 1970s - this song makes fun of him because he took himself very seriously. And… it’s really culturally insensitive, especially by today’s standards. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Black Randy and the Metrosquad are one of the seminal Los Angeles punk rock bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s. My brother, Patrick, lived in L.A. then (and later went to school at UC Santa Cruz) and that’s where he discovered punk rock. He brought it back to Pittsburgh when I was in second grade. My little brother, Justin, and I were in a hard-core early Beatles phase at the time and thought punk rock was the worst! Which is ironic, since Justin went on to make Anti-Flag his career. Anyway, Patrick introduced me to Black Randy when I lived in San Francisco in the 1990s. Tragically, Black Randy died of a drug overdose, cutting the band’s career short. Their music is amazing. In the years since, punk rock has become so rigidly genre-ized that Black Randy probably wouldn’t be considered punk by the kids today… they use a synthizer and organ – heresy! That’s why history is so important, even (or especially) for music. 

Janis Joplin:

I read a book on the craft of writing that suggested having a motto for every character. This motto should reflect a fundamental truth about them. Every decision that character makes should, ultimately, reflect that truth, even if it doesn’t seem to on its face. I immediately thought of two songs for Miranda – this is one of them (the other was Broken Bones by Anti-Flag). Plus, it’s Janis Joplin… and she was AMAZING. Had she not died of a drug overdose, she would definitely have survived the Zombie Apocalypse. And wtf is it with rockers and drug overdoses?

Punk Rock Name That Tune

Punk Rock Name That Tune was a much longer scene in the first draft of LIUA. But my writing group told me that they got bored with it because they didn’t know the songs, which meant it was not going to be fun for my readers (just for me and fans of early punk rock). So I shortened the scene, then cut it down to a passing reference. Here are some of the songs that were in it. A lyric from Drink Drank Punk is still in the book. Let me know if you find it.

We Got the Neutron Bomb

  

That’s it for now. I’m keeping a list of what I’m listening to now, so expect a similar post after the second book is released!

I'm excited to share that Love in an Undead Age has been chosen as the August Book Club selection at LoveRomanceReads. If you've read LIUA or need a nudge to start, this is the perfect opportunity to discuss it with others! The discussion comments are open August 15th-31st.

Conversation starter questions at LRR coming soon. Come join in the fun!

I've been told that Love in an Undead Age is up for the LoveRomanceReads sci-fi book club selection. Since they send the winner out to their mailing list as a recommended read this is a really big deal for a new author like me.

Voting ends August 14th - THIS WEDNESDAY - SO PLEASE GO VOTE NOW!!! I don't know when voting started, so time is of the essence.

Please feel free to pass the word along and thanks a bazillion.

https://www.loveromancereads.com/book...

Congratulations to the winners of my very first Goodreads Giveaway. Each of them has won an autographed, paperback copy of my debut novel, Love in an Undead Age. The lucky winners are:

Abbie Joiner

Edward Richmond

Andrea

Kalieigh Russell

Faith 09