Days of the Dead blog tour 2014: Gail Z. Martin on Hiding Under the Covers

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Hiding Under the Covers

By Gail Z. Martin

I’ve always liked ghost stories. Well, let’s say that I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with ghost stories. I love them when it’s daylight and the lights are on. I’m not so keen on them in the dark.

As a kid, I remember being scared of some of the oddest stuff. There was a children’s encyclopedia that had an entry on “hallucinations” and the drawing accompanying the definition gave me nightmares for a week—no idea why.

Even so, I kept coming back to re-runs of shows like The Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Night Gallery, Tales from the Crypt, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and the monster movies that used to run on Saturday afternoon TV. And I loved any book I could get my hands on that included magic, witches, ghosts, and the supernatural. One of my favorite books in middle school was Jane-Emily about a girl being haunted by the ghost of her vindictive cousin.

I remember watching the old monster movie Them about giant radioactive ants destroying the world. I was eating popcorn and watching the movie on TV alone in the dark. All of a sudden, a huge beast with black shaggy fur and a hideous, green-eyed gorilla face jumped out at me from behind the couch. I think in that case, my dad got more than he bargained for because even after he took off the mask and the fur coat, I wouldn’t stop screaming until every light in the house was on. #ParentingFail

As a kid, cemeteries were favorite places. My mom was a teacher and had to stay late at school to grade papers. When I was 10 or 11, she would let me go up the block and wander around the old historic cemetery (times were different then). It’s a beautiful place with a lot of historic graves, and I used to pass the time by reading the epitaphs and making up stories about the people. In high school, I planned the family vacation to make sure we hit Salem, Massachusetts so we could go to all the witch trial museums, and some of the old cemeteries.

Nowadays, I absolutely love going on ghost tours when I visit a city. Rome, London, Dublin, New Orleans, Charleston, and more—it’s always on the itinerary. I’ve dragged my family through the Capuchin crypts in Rome where the monks used human bones for decorating, and on tours of cemeteries in several countries.

I’m more a fan of ghost/suspense types of scary movies. I don’t do slasher/gore flicks. But I do love something like The Woman in Black and Rose Red that have a good, creepy vibe. When it comes to books, quite a bit of what I read includes vampires, magic, ghosts and the supernatural, although it tends to skirt being outright horror. I enjoy Stephen King’s stuff, but I have to admit that after I read IT I kept the lights on!

My Days of the Dead blog tour runs through October 31 with never-before-seen cover art, brand new excerpts from upcoming books and recent short stories, interviews, guest blog posts, giveaways and more! Plus, I’ll be including extra excerpt links for stories and books by author friends of mine. And, a special 50% off discount from Double-Dragon ebooks! You’ve got to visit the participating sites to get the goodies, just like Trick or Treat! Details here: www. AscendantKingdoms.com

Trick or Treat: Enjoy an excerpt from Buttons, the short story that led to the Deadly Curiosities book series here.

And a bonus excerpt from Collector, one of my Deadly Curiosities Adventures short stories here.

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Deadly Curiosities by Gail Z. Martin is available now in the UK, US and as a DRM-free eBook from the Rebellion Store. 

Deadly Curiosities Review Round-Up

It's finally here! Deadly Curiosities is now available in all good book shops State-side, and of course on amazon in both print and for the kindle. 

Deadly Curiosities author Gail Z. Martin will be holding the launch party on Facebook today (June 25th) from 10:30 ET (that's 3:30pm for UK folks) - join her and host of fellow authors for some Q&A sessions, competitions and exclusive Deadly Curiosities downloadable freebies! Head over and say hi!

Want to know what all the hype is about? Check out just some of the lovely things people have been saying: 

Publishers Weekly: “Martin (the Ascendant Kingdoms saga) weaves together fact, fiction, and the supernatural to create a realistic underworld for modern Charleston, S.C”

Beauty in Ruins: “Familiar, accessible, and enjoyable, Deadly Curiosities is the kind of book to have serious crossover appeal for urban fantasy and horror readers alike.”

Red Star Reviews: “Let me start by saying this book was awesome! Very engrossing right from the start! I’ve enjoyed every Gail Z Martin book I’ve read and Deadly Curiosities is no exception to this!” 

Book review by Charlotte: “This story is full of action. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I can see this story as a major motion picture full of action and adventure.”

Books Boones & Buffy: “An atmospheric tale filled with fascinating historical details, a protagonist with a very cool ability, and lots of scary ghosts and shadowy corners."

Fiction Vortex: “Martin is clearly in her element when bringing the ghosts of Charleston to life. Cassidy’s investigation is peppered with the stories of pirates and smugglers whose deaths are tied to the evil threatening the city. I’ll admit, I’m a big fan of ghost stories and I loved the touch of character Martin gave to her haunts.”

She hearts books: “This is one of those books you just can't put down until you're finished reading.”

The Book Adventures: “The world-building, the setting, the characters, the relationships have depths to them that make this a complex and very interesting urban fantasy novel.”

Not yet read: “Gail Z. Martin does an excellent job painting vivid scenes, her suspense and fight scenes are amazing and her characters charming. I can’t wait for more!”

Sci-Fi Fan Letter: “a fun start to a new series”

Wicked Scribe: “The villains are delightfully evil, the crimes are horrific and you get pulled into the motivation to find and stop this paranormal killer before things get even worse.”

I smell sheep: “The characters are wonderful making me want to get to know them and kept me turning the pages to find out just what was happening and where it would all end up.”

Much loved books: “I found myself emotionally invested in the outcome of each one, even the dog, and when they were facing the badest, strongest, entity, I was so nervous, I had butterflies in my stomach worried over what would happen to them. Deadly Curiosities is a great combination of paranormal and mystery…”

Gizmo’s Reviews: “If you like kick ass action at every turn, and the unknown whether the characters will all survive or not, then please read Deadly Curiosities and give the finger to publishers who say that UF is dead and gone.”

A Bibliophile’s Reverie: “This novel felt like a shiny twist between Warehouse 13 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” 4/5 stars

Love Fantasy More: “If you’re looking for a nice summer ghost mystery, Deadly Curiosities is a great book for you. And if you like procedural type books, you may even love it more than I did!”

Elder Park BookReviews: “the characters were rich and fleshed out and [there was] plenty of new takes on supernatural powers to keep this novel innovative.”

Caffeinated BookReviewer: “An old school urban fantasy with a Warehouse 13 vibe, this tale was action packed. Filled with magic, supernatural creatures and possessed objects. I quickly consumed this and look forward to reading more.”

Bibliosanctum: “I do hope she has plans to continue expanding Cassidy’s story as well, because this was a lot of fun. I would return to Charleston and Trifles & Folly in a heartbeat.”

The Book Adventures: “A fast-paced, suspenseful and sometimes creepy story, this book brings paranormal closer to horror and further from fantasy, and was a welcome change from the tropes that pervade the sub-genre.”

Missing Volume: “Good world building and the huge plus for me is there is no romance building the background between the characters.  I'll be looking for more books in this series.”

Ponderings of Psyche: “Dark Curiosities brought up fresh ideas and mixed it with the old ones, making a perfect blend of read that will certainly not fail the expectations of the readers of urban fantasy.”

Dab of Darkness: “This was a fast-paced urban fantasy with a twist: antiques. So, lots of history was tossed into the mix, and I loved it.”

Mixed Book Bag: “Deadly Curiosities has just the right blend of paranormal and mystery and a great start to a new series.”

Doctor’s Notes: “The book was fast paced so I flew through it with ease and was fully invested in it.”

Tome Tender: “Deadly Curiosities is a fun, unique and interesting story with marvellous possibilities for what might come next.”

Are you a reviewer or blogger interested in Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror or Alternative YA & Children's Fiction? If you'd like to receive advance title information and review copies, as well as opportunities for guest blogs and interviews with our authors contact us at press@rebellion.co.uk. Please include information about the site or publication you review for, any genre preferences and your preferred contact name and email. 

You can also check out our current list of eARCs available via netgalley now. 

Bridging Old and New - guest post by Gail Z. Martin

Why write an urban fantasy series after three successful epic fantasy series? Because it’s fun.
(P.S. That’s the same reason I’ll be writing a steampunk series for 2015, too.)

Truth is, a lot of the same interests run between my epic and urban fantasy. Scratch the surface, and find a history major and museum geek.

Plunk me down in a major city with time to kill, and I’ll find the museums. (Heck, I’ll find them in a minor city if you give me time.) And yes, I read the plaques underneath the objects, even when I’ve got the audio tour. I love discovering cool old stuff, weird objects, creepy funeral customs, and pretty things from the past.

In Deadly Curiosities, my main character Cassidy can read the history and strong memories/magic imprinted on an object. I don’t claim that ability, but I do have a wild imagination, and more often than not, I can close my eyes and feel the past around me. (Note: I avoid doing that when touring places like the Tower of London.)

While Deadly Curiosities happens in modern-day Charleston, SC, it’s a storyline steeped in the past. “Buttons” was the short story I wrote for Solaris’s award-winning Magic: The Esoteric and Arcane anthology (and reprinted this year in the British Fantasy Society’s Unexpected Journeys anthology). It was a contemporary story with the characters you’ll meet in the novel. But before that, I had written short stories in the Deadly Curiosities world spanning the 1500’s and 1700’s for other anthologies.

Sorren, my nearly six hundred year-old vampire, is the thread of continuity through all the stories. In Vanities (originally published in the British Fantasy Society’s The Bitten Word), we see Sorren’s first job for the Alliance, battling a demon in Antwerp in 1565. I’ve written two other stand-alone short stories that follow up on Vanities: Wild Hunt and Dark Legacy, that show more of Sorren’s origins, tell the story of his maker, Alard, and hint at the creation of the Alliance.

The very first story about Trifles and Folly, the antique shop in Deadly Curiosities, appeared in the Rum and Runestones anthology and was set in the 1770’s, just before the American Revolution. The anthology prompt required pirates and magic, which is what Steer a Pale Course delivers. That story was popular enough to get me invited back to the Spells and Swashbucklers anthology, with The Low Road. Then Marie O’Regan tapped me for The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women, and Among the Shoals Forever was born.

Sorren’s past is Old World—Europe and old gods and ancient monsters. His maker battled Viking warriors and gained the help of a Norse Seior. A hundred years later, Sorren travels to Charleston to set up Trifles and Folly in 1663, forging a long-standing arrangement with one of Cassidy’s ancestors.

I know that Europe has phone booths older than anything we’ve got here in the States, but Charleston is one of our oldest cities. Unlike New Orleans, Charleston hasn’t been heavily used for urban fantasy, which made it a fresh location with much of the same charm and danger. Charleston, like New Orleans, has a very prominent European connection, and when you walk its cobblestone streets, you can feel in your bones the truth of Faulkner’s quote: “The past isn’t dead. It isn’t even past.”

As in New Orleans, the younger sons of European gentry came to Charleston to make their way. Men with service to the crown received land grants and set up sprawling plantations. Fortunes were won and lost. And while Charleston is known as the “Holy City” for its hundreds of churches, beneath that piety ran rivers of blood in brothels, duels and slavery.

Look beyond the beautiful mansions and gardens heavy with bougainvillea, Spanish moss and gardenia, and you’ll find the tragedy of the slave trade.  Charleston was part of the “Triangle Trade” with the Caribbean—molasses, rum and slaves. By some accounts, the majority of slaves in the U.S. came through Charleston Harbor. Those slaves brought their beliefs with them, religions that melded and changed to create the Voodoo of New Orleans and the Hoodoo of the Lowcountry.  Charleston’s past rests uneasily, not far below the surface.

While New Orleans has always embraced its wild side, Charleston opted for repressed propriety. But like a convention of accountants in Las Vegas, even the proper folks have to let loose sometime, and Charleston’s back alleys were the place for indulgence. Duels were fought. Pirates were by turn welcomed and shunned in Charleston depending on the benefit to the city’s fathers. Blackbeard himself blockaded the city in 1718. The city’s history is full bad boys and wild girls.

I’m very excited about Deadly Curiosities and the chance to spin tales about haunted objects, dark magical items and cursed heirlooms. And I’m thrilled to be working on the second book in the Deadly Curiosities series for 2015 with even more thrills and chills.

If you want more of Cassidy, Sorren and Teag right away, check out my free novella on Wattpad.com: The Final Death. Coffin Box and Wicked Dreams also continue the adventures of Cassidy and her team, and you can find them with my other ebook short stories on Kindle, Kobo and Nook.

Cassidy and crew will be turning up in a couple more anthologies this year. Retribution, an all-new Deadly Curiosities adventure, is featured in the Athena’s Daughters anthology by Silence in the Library Publishing. The Restless Dead will be in the Realms of Imagination anthology from Dark Oak Books.

So the next time you pick up that family heirloom, pay attention if your fingers tingle or you catch a glimpse of something that isn’t there. Cassidy can tell you, the past may be gone, but it doesn’t stay buried.

I’ll be celebrating the launch of Deadly Curiosities the whole week of June 22-29 with more than 30 different guest blog posts, a Facebook launch party featuring prizes, guest authors and surprises, podcasts, three different excerpts, a Reddit give-away/AskMeAnything and a Goodreads party/give-away. Get all the details at www.DeadlyCuriosities.com, follow me on Facebook.com/WinterKingdoms or on Twitter @GailZMartin!

I’ll be signing Deadly Curiosities in major cities across the U.S. and in England, Wales and Scotland this summer—the full book tour schedule is on my website, so please stop by and say hello!



About the Author
Gail Z. Martin writes epic and urban fantasy, steampunk and short stories. She is the author of the Chronicles of the Necromancer series, the Fallen Kings Cycle series and the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga series of epic fantasy books, as well as the Deadly Curiosities urban fantasy world and coming in 2015, Iron and Blood, a Steampunk novel, co-written with Larry N. Martin. Gail is a frequently contributor to US and UK anthologies. She also writes two series of ebook short stories: The Jonmarc Vahanian Adventures and the Deadly Curiosities Adventures.



Find her at
 www.ChroniclesOfTheNecromancer.com, on Twitter @GailZMartin, on Facebook.com/WinterKingdoms, at DisquietingVisions.com blog and GhostInTheMachinePodcast.com. She leads monthly conversations on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/GailZMartin and posts free excerpts of her work on Wattpad http://wattpad.com/GailZMartin.  An original novella set in the Deadly Curiosities universe, The Final Death, is available free on Wattpad here: http://www.wattpad.com/story/15334006-the-final-death