I Want You Back!

My big announcement at Saturday's Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Fest was about my newest work. It's a funny, thrilling paranormal YA novella called I Want You Back!

I Want You Back! is a free e- chapter book (with illustrations) available to my fans. The illustrations are being done by my good friend, artist, Tatiana. That's her in the photo with me. Cute, huh?... I'm talking about her, not me. I know I'm cute :)

If you'd like to get in on this FREE e-book all you have to do is subscribe to my website. Just go to http://www.evanlowe.com/ click the subscribe button and follow the instructions. I promise your info will not wind up on somebodies mailing list. I'm keeping your info safe. Once you subscribe, each new chapter (10 or more, I'm still writing) will be sent to you via email every time a new chapter is available. One to two chapters per week. This is my way of paying back my friends and fans for your support, and hopefully getting those of you who haven't read me yet to read me. Tatiana and I are very excited about this new project.

Here's the opening from the book:

To begin with, I’m not a nice girl. Don’t get me wrong, I used to be a nice girl. I used to be kind, and helpful, considerate and thoughtful. The kind of girl who went to all of her boyfriend’s games, even though she hates basketball; the kind of girl who helped her boyfriend study for his English final while she should have been studying for her own calculus final—and maybe she would have done better than that C; the kind of girl the boys at school lovingly call, oh, what’s that cute little name they have for us again? Oh, yes—Doormat.

Doesn't that sound like a fun opening? I Want You Back! is the story of 16 year-old Emy Grant, who uses magic to ensnare the boy of her dreams. We're trying to have it ready in late December so you'll have it to read during the holidays. More announcements will be coming in the next few weeks. If you liked Never Slow Dance With A Zombie now's a good time to go over to my website and subscribe. Okay?

BRAINS!

Yesterday I mentioned that Cousin Pam's watermelon brain was on my website, but I realized I hadn't posted it yet. So for those of you who went to my site and didn't see it, here's zombie Dirk (DJ) about to feast on braiiins!

Great job, Pam!

Zombie Fest Recap

The Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Fest started off with a bang. The front of the room was decorated like the Winter Dance from my novel. Very low tech, high school cool. After a brief introduction by my friend, G, the zombies come out to Michael Jackson's Thriller, and proceeded to do the zombie dance to a packed house. After about a minute I came out and joined in, although I didn't really know the dance.

Ingrid, a terrific fan, and one of my Zombiettes from Comic-Con, tried to teach it to me a few hours before the fest. But sometimes I'm a slow learner. This was one of those times.

After the dance I thanked Cat Elrod for doing the awesome makeup job. As you can see from the photos she's really good. Then I did a very brief reading from Never Slow Dance With A Zombie, and a brief Q&A.

I mentioned in this blog last week that I had a few big surprises. My first big announcement was that Never Slow Dance With A Zombie has gone into a 2nd printing. A 2nd printing! Wow! The book just came out in September, and I know the order was fairly large. I am flattered and grateful. Thank you, guys, for buying the book.

My second big announcement was about my next project. It's a YA paranormal novella called, I Want You Back... and it's FREE. No purchase necessary. It's an e-book that includes illustrations by my friend, artist, Tatiana (http://www.theartoftatiana.com/). All you have to do to get it is subscribe to my website (http://www.evanlowe.com/) and chapters will be delivered to you free, weekly via email. I Want You Back is about Emy, a 16 year-old high school student who has been dumped by her boyfriend and uses magic to try and get him back. I will tell you more about it in the coming days.

After the announcements I signed a lot of books. I'm happy to sign books for fans, but while I was signing, fans and friends were enjoying the party. *sigh* After the signing I did get a chance to spend some time partying. All-in-all it was a zombi-riffic night. It was so successful there's talk about doing it again somewhere else. I'd like for that to happen so more of you can join in the fun.

I'd like to thank the bookseller, Kamaryn Mai, acting manager at Borders Express in the Fox Hills Mall, for coming out and bringing the books. I'd also like to thank her helper, Jim. They were super.

I'd like to thank Rosie Nieto and her staff at the Los Angeles Meeting & Event Center for giving us so much support for the event. They really made us feel at home. The facility is in Culver City, LA, right across the street from Sony Studios. It's great place to hold a party or event. And Rosie is special.

I'd like to thank Cousin Pam for doing an amazingly creative job with the food. I didn't get many pictures of her culinary creations, but you have got to see the watermelon she cut into a brain. Yes, you heard me, "BRAINS!" You can see this along with more fest photos at http://www.evanlowe.com/. At the Home Page press the button that says Fan Exclusives. And while you're there, why not sign up for the free e-book.

I'd like to thank everyone who came out, especially those who came 3 hours early for special makeup. And finally I'd like to thank my pal, Tatiana, who staged the event for me. She spent two weeks pulling it all together. She did an awesome job, but then she's an awesome person. Thanks, Ta.

Phew! Enough babbling about the Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Fest. Hope we get to do it again... like on the East coast. Tor, are you listening? If you'd like to see photos, remember, they're on my website.

Sleep tight...

Zombie Fest #4

I signed a few books for new fans--with my LEFT HAND. Oh, yeah! I'm talented.

Zombie Fest # 3

Fans of all ages got into the spirit!

Zombie Fest #2

My friend Robin's 9 year-old son, Neo, wanted to come as a cub scout zombie. Yup, he's named after the Matrix character. Neo put on his entire cub scout uniform, and had his mom bring him early so our makeup artist could put some blood on his face. He was sooo happy. Here he is trying to look scary while smiling... CUUUUUUUTE!

"Wait Til They Get A Load of Me"

The Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Fest was last night. We had an awesome time. Friends and fans came from as far as San Diego to hear me read, and participate in the event.

The Fest was a HUGE success. This is me with the fans (and a fan's boyfriend who she MADE come) who came 3 hours early to be professionally made up as zombies. The fan next to me put on a prom dress and came as Margot. There were 3 Margots in the crowd. This was taken just before we went out and did the Zombie Dance to a packed house. Yes, I Zombie Danced... Okay, I faked it... poorly.

I will post more about the Fest later. The photos are still coming in. Right now, I need to rest. I am EXHAUSTED!

Hungry For Some Fun?

Every year...

Seven days before Halloween...

On the 24th day of October...

The zombies rise...

But on this day, they not only walk... they DANCE!

Dancing zombies get out your toe shoes. The Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Fest is tonight. Hope to see you there.

Scary, huh?

THAT is a photo of a makeup job done by Hollywood makeup artist, Cat Elrod, who happens to be doing the zombie makeup for Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Fest. The subject is a fashion model turned... scary as hell!

I met Cat on a shoot I did in the spring. She was just doing regular makeup for the principal cast. She showed me her book with examples of her work. I noticed there were lots of zombies and wounded people. When I asked what was up with the special makeup she said she LOVES doing zombies. I kept that in mind.

When I called Cat the other day she had just finished another zombie flick. At first she thought she couldn't do it. She's really busy making living people look dead. But then she realized she had Saturday off, and when I told her what I wanted she got excited. We met today and finalized the deal. I have so many friends and fans who want to be zombies for the fest, and now they are going to get done up by a Hollywood pro. Jealous? I promise I will take pictures.

Oh yeah, a friend's 9 year-old daughter is coming as a witch. She's not into zombies yet. Maybe we can persuade her to be a zombie-witch ;)

For those of you who have not yet responded for the fest--don't bother. I had an overwhelming number of responses today. We are overbooked. Sorry. Maybe next time.

Also, I was at the venue today looking at the decorations, and making final arrangements. This is going to be sooo fun. I had dinner with a friend who asked if I'd been practicing the Zombie Dance. No, I haven't. But, trust me, I am going to Zombie Dance.

I have some great surprises and announcements to make at the fest, like my next exciting project. I seriously can't wait. Seriously! I'm like a kid at Christmas.

Okay, okay, I'll stop talking about the Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Fest.

*silence*

Sorry. I don't have anything else to talk about...

Sleep tight, don't let the zombies bite.

Literary Zombies Invade NPR’S Weekend Edition!!

This was the title of a post that my editor sent me this morning. The post was done by my publicist Amber Hopkins. David Lubar's My Rotten Life (Click here: Amazon.com: My Rotten Life (Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie) (9780765316349): David Lubar: Books) and Never Slow Dance With A Zombie (both published by Tor) were both featured on NPRs Weekend Edition yesterday, along with an interview with moi. If you missed it do not despair. Go here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113862140

Are you coming to Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Fest? We just got a big time movie makeup person to do zombie makeup. I'm meeting with her tomorrow. Our zombies are going to be awesome, scary. If you'd like to be a zombie at the fest, just let me know at: info@evanlowe.com. Zombie makeup and the fest are all FREE. That's right--FREE! But you must RSVP. We are close to being overbooked, but I want to keep it open for fans. There are still 15 more spots, but I seriously doubt if they are going to last. This is going to be as big as Halloween. You don't want to miss it.

Zombie Fest!

I'm on the radio!

A few weeks ago I did an interview for Rick Kleffel of NPR's The Agony Column that showed up on the radio this morning. My friend Harold sent me an email telling me he heard me on the local NPR station this morning. While he heard me locally I think the interview went national. For those of you who'd like to listen, or read the transcript Click here: Rule Of The Undead: Zombies Invade Bookstores : NPR

Invitations for the Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Fest have been snapped up pretty quickly. There are only 15 left. Just 15 more of you, plus one guest can experience the pre-Halloween event of the year... Okay, of MY year. I hope more of my West Coast fans RSVP. I promise this star-studded event will be a smash. You don't want to miss it.

More Zombie Fest News

Every year...

Seven days before Halloween...

On the 24th day of October...

The zombies rise...

But on this day, they not only walk... they DANCE!

To celebrate the day the zombies dance, the Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Fest is coming to LA. This event is FREE. All you need to do to participate is request an invitation at info@evanlowe.com. But the invites are starting to go. We only have 50 to give away, and lucky 13 have been snapped up already.

This is a star-studded event with music, zombie dancing, food and drink. Check yesterday's post for the awesome menu. I will be reading from Never Slow Dance With A Zombie. AND there's a big surprise coming. We will be unveiling my newest work there. More on that in the coming days.

If you can't make it, tell a friend. If you can't tell a friend, tell an enemy. Heck, even villains need to check this one out. We are going to have a ball. I'm even thinking of getting zombified. Now, you know you don't want to miss that!

Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Fest

Every year...

Seven days before Halloween...

On the 24th day of October...

The zombies rise...

But on this day, they not only walk... they DANCE!

So this year to celebrate the occasion, I will be hosting the Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Fest. Where all my friends, followers and fellow zombie lovers can join in the festivities. This year's Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Fest will be a star-studded occasion. Who are the stars? I don't know yet. I've got to scrounge some up. But trust me, they will be there.

The Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Fest takes place:

Date: Saturday October 24th
Time: 7PM
Location: The Los Angeles Meeting & Event Center
Address: 10601 W. Washington Blvd. LA, CA 90032

The fest will feature a short reading by me of my novel by the same name, music, costumes, a signing, food, dancing, and a few surprises.

And it's Free. You heard me--FREE for all my friends and fans. All you need to do is request an invitation.

Cousin Pam (www.cerenitycatering.com,) who catered the Book Soup event has gone all out with this one. The menu includes such living dead delicacies as: Assorted zombie sandwiches; Teriyaki Flesh Skewers, Polenta Crostini w/caramelized Brains. And my favorite: soylent green patties. Soylent Green! I LOVE that old movie. You go, Pam! By the way, they're just green crabcakes. Not the real Soylent Green. Ha, ha. Check out the photos of her last spread on my Ning Page: Click here: e. van lowe - Where friends of E. Van Lowe can come and chat. That girl lays out a mean spread, huh?

The Zombiettes from Comicon will also be there, along with Zombie Dirk. And I hear Margot Jean Johnson may be making a special appearance. All are encouraged to come in costume. And the theme is the Winter Dance from the book. But you don't need a costume to join in the fun. All you need to do is show up. And to top this all off, I plan to do the Zombie Dance. You definitely do not want to miss that. I just may break my sacroiliac... I heard that in a song.

And remember this event is FREE. All you have to do is request an invitation from me at info@evanlowe.com. Even though it's free I am only giving out 50 invites. Did you hear me???--JUST FIFTY INVITES! This is going to be a hot ticket. The first fifty to respond will get in free. The rest of you are out of luck.

So if you're planning on being in Los Angeles the end of October, or have friends out here, please take the time to respond: info@evanlowe.com. I will be posting more surprises throughout the week.

On Saturday October 24th, the zombies will rise, and on that day they will DANCE!

I'm Baaack!

I'm back from the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association Trade Show. I had a blast. I met a bunch of new friends, including Tor's super hot director of publicity, Patty Garcia. This was my first trade show, but Patty made sure I didn't miss a step. She is on it! I signed lots of books, and met some very cool fans and booksellers. Because of this show I now plan to do an event in Northern Cal in the very near future. So Stay tuned. And thanks so much, Patty, for making things go so smoothly.

The highlight of my weekend in Northern Cal, however, was my Friday night dinner with blogger Velvet of VVB Reads. Velvet is the brains behind September Zombies. If you don't know about September Zombies, it's an awesome blog with lots of fun things for zombie book and movie fans. The blog helped spread the word about Never Slow Dance With A Zombie, and we were celebrating its success. Click here: September Zombies. I had a wonderful dinner with Velvet and Her husband, where I spilled some details about what's coming up in the world of E. Van Lowe. For more on the dinner, and a photo of me and Velvet, check out Velvet's blog Click here: vvb32 reads: Dinner with E at B in O.

BTW: is my nose really that big?

Twitter Contest

The Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Twitter Contest ended with a bang, with nearly 300 tweets for the Grand Prize. The prize went to Truebookaddict. One of my favorite of her tweets was: To NEVER SLOW DANCE WITH A ZOMBIE could be considered discrimination!
How true! Congratulations, Truebookaddict! And I'd like to send out a final thank you to The Park Avenue Princess for hosting the contest. The tremendous success of the contest is due to her and her followers. Thank you, Princess!

To stay abreast of what I'm up to next please subscribe to my website http://www.evanlowe.com/. There is a really neat freebie coming very soon, and it's for subscribers only. So subscribe. And if you love contests and books (and who doesn't) you MUST follow The Park Avenue Princess Click here: Park-Avenue Princess . She does a great job with both contests and books.

That's it for now, but please check back tomorrow when I will be officially announcing the Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Fest and telling you how you can get on the star studded guest list.

Until then, sleep tight, don't let the zombies bite.

Over!

The Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Twitter Contest is over. Day 6 winner is Gofita who tweeted: @Evanlowe has the awesomest 80s music references in his book Never Slow Dance With a Zombie! I agree. The selection of 80s songs playing during the finale are awesome. Thanks for the plug, Gofita.

The Park Avenue Princess and I would like to thank everyone who played. But there's still one more prize to give away. The Grand Prize winner will be chosen from the over 3600 tweets we received over the last 6 days. That announcement will be made tomorrow.

If you had fun and really like contests, please follow The Park Avenue Princess (Click here: Park-Avenue Princess. She has contests galore going on all the time.

There's also a lot going on at http://www.evanlowe.com/. Check it out, and please subscribe, this way you'll automatically be updated on my contests and events. And I have an awesome new illustrated novella coming out soon that will only be available there. More on the novella at a later date.

And finally, I will be in Northern California this weekend at the NCIBA trade show this Saturday at 11:00AM. For more details Click here: NCIBA: Home.

The Final Day

That's right! Today is the final day of tweeting for the Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Twitter Contest. Yesterday the title Never Slow Dance With A Zombie was tweeted 253 times, pushing our 5 day tweet total to just over 3500 tweets.

I want to thank everyone who has tweeted the title over the past 5 days. The contest has been a huge success. The Park Avenue Princess and I are overwhelmed with gratitude. But it's not over yet. You still have til midnight Eastern time to get your tweets in. Just one tweet not only qualifies you to win you a free book, but also qualifies you for the grand prize of an Amazon gift card for $54.90, which happens to be the cover price of all 6 books added together.

Today's winner is Fayeflame. Faye tweeted sage advice, such as: NEVER SLOW DANCE WITH A ZOMBIE unless u meet his parents 1st. And: NEVER SLOW DANCE WITH A ZOMBIE unless he has an AWESOME car. Great advice, Faye, and congratulations.

The rest of you slackers, if you haven't tweeted at least once, today is the final day to get in on the fun. What are you waiting for?

Dancing Zombies

This is quite interesting. It's a world record attempt for the most people performing the dance to Michael Jackson's Thriller. The attempt which took place in Nottingham, England was successful with 1,227 dancing zombies breaking the previous record by 199. So why is this on my blog today?

Because it's almost time for the Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Fest. What is the blah, blah, blah, blah Zombie Fest, you ask? In lieu of having a launch party, and to celebrate Halloween. I will be hosting the Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Fest, featuring a reading, signing, and party where we will Zombie Dance the night away. The room will be decorated as the Winter Dance from my novel. This amazing event will take place on October 24th (exactly one week before Halloween) at a secret location (for now). All guests are encouraged to come in costume. And it's FREE! How do you get on the guest list? I'm saving that, along with several other surprises for later. Stay tuned.

Twitter Contest Day 4

Day 4 was another amazing day of tweeting. My book title was tweeted 944 times yesterday. Day 4 winner is Nfmgirl who tweeted fun statements such as: Father, I cannot tell a lie. It was I who cut down your cherry tree. But on the bright side, I'll NEVER SLOW DANCE WITH A ZOMBIE! and
I kissed a zombie and I liked it, but I'll NEVER SLOW DANCE WITH A ZOMBIE! Don't you just love the way she worked in the title to Adam Selzer's new book. Two book titles in one tweet. You go girl!

There are two more days of tweeting (including today) to go. A Park Avenue Princess is still giving away your choice of the six books. And just one tweet qualifies you for the October 8th grand prize. More information is on A Park Avenue Princess' website-- click here:
http://tinyurl.com/yc57dm4


Today has been an incredibly slow day of tweeting. Only 22 tweets since 12:01 AM. The heavy tweeters seem to be all tweeted out, so it's the perfect opportunity to sneak in and steal yourself a prize. What are you waiting for?

Twitter Contest & More

I want to thank everyone who came out to the Zombies & Other Creatures of the Night panel yesterday at the West Hollywood Book Fair. For those of you who didn't come, it was standing room only, and we had a blast.

This coming Saturday, October 11th, at 11:00AM, I will be signing at the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association trade show, at the Oakland Convention Center. For more details Click here: NCIBA: Home


Twitter Contest

The Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Twitter contest hosted by A Park Avenue Princess has been a huge hit. We are overwhelmed by the response. Over 2600 tweets the first three days of the contest. Today is day 4. We're still giving away a book a day just for tweeting. Details are on A Park Avenue Princess' site here: http://tinyurl.com/yc57dm4.

Day 2 Winner was Seth Marsden who did over 160 tweets. Seth must really love to read. One of my favorite Seth tweets was: Always listen to your father. Unless he tells you to slowdance with a zombie. Never Slow Dance With A Zombie. Very cool, Seth. Seth chose You Are So Undead To Me, by Stacey Jay as his prize.

Day 3 Winner, who also tweeted up a storm over the weekend, was Nikkayme. She had some of my favorite tweets so far. Never Slow Dance With A Zombie... FLASHDANCE, had me laughing out loud. I love the retro. She also tweeted: I'd mosh with them, do the electric slide with them, and even the macarena, but I'd Never Slow Dance With A Zombie. Bravo, Nikkayme! I love that one, too.

Today is day 4. So far today we've had over 700 tweets. But you only need one tweet to win. One tweet and one tweet only, gives you a chance at a prize. So come on and join in the fun. You know you love tweeting. It's time you made it pay!

Day One Winner

The Day one Winner of the Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Twitter Contest is Mellerita. Congratulations, Mellerita.

She did a number of tweets. My favorite of hers was: Never Slow Dance With A Zombie unless you have a Haz-Mat suit! Really cute, huh? Mellerita is getting an autographed copy of my book... you know the title by now ;)

There have been a lot of great, funny tweets. The turn-out for the contest has been overwhelming. Nearly 1000 tweets on day one. Wow! But today is day two, and since midnight there have only been 73 tweets. Now's your chance to sneak in and win a prize. All you have to do is tweet a sentence with Never Slow Dance With A Zombie in it. It's that easy. What are you waiting for? You can still win your choice of 6 YA zombie books. Contest ends on October 8th, so hop to it!

I want to send a special thank you the Park Avenue Princess (Click here: Park-Avenue Princess ) for doing such an awesome hosting job. Thank you, Princess!

NSDWAZ Twitter Contest Starts Tomorrow

Are you ready to win some free books--mine included? The Never Slow Dance With A Zombie Twitter Contest starts tomorrow @ 12:01 AM. Each daily winner gets their choice of one of six YA zombie books. These are the books to choose from:

Never Slow Dance With A Zombie (autographed) -- E. Van Lowe

I Kissed A Zombie and I Liked It -- Adam Selzer

Zombie Queen of Newbury High -- Amanda Ashby

The Forest of Hands and Teeth -- Carrie Ryan

Generation Dead -- Daniel Waters

You Are So Undead to Me -- Stacey Jay

There will be a new winner chosen every day from the 2nd to the 7th. Entries are good for one day, and one day only. The key to winning is to enter often.

Grand Prize

On October 8th we will award one grand prize chosen from all the tweets sent over the six days. The grand prize will be an Amazon gift card for $54.90, which just happens to be the cover price of the six books added together. Yeah, that was my idea. Clever, huh? All prizes will be mailed within two weeks of the contest.

The Contest is being graciously hosted by The Park Avenue Princess. Click here: Park-Avenue Princess. Thank you, Princess! For more contest details check Tuesday's post.

Okay you Twitterers. Now's your chance to make tweeting pay! The fun begins just after midnight!