Farewell is such sweet sorrow...

January 2009 marked the beginning of Penumbra Publishing as a royalty-paying independent small publisher offering genre fiction to readers in ebook and print format. Our services to authors included editing, cover art, ISBNs, and online distribution at major retailers in exchange for 50% net royalties.

Over the next seven years, Penumbra Publishing produced over 75 titles and served over 30 authors. It was a roller-coaster learning curve for us and our authors to meet the demands of independent publishing. (And by 'independent' we mean 'not the big-six' or 'big-five' top NYC publishers - the list keeps changing depending on mergers and buyouts.) Sometimes our results were mixed - good and not-so-good - but we persevered in our efforts and remain proud to this day of our joint accomplishments. Many readers are still able to enjoy the work of authors that might never have been published otherwise.

In January 2016 we as a company made the difficult decision to cease active publishing due to staffing, revenue, and personal issues that made ceasing operations the most prudent choice.

For some time, our Twitter account has been virtually inactive, and our Facebook account remains somewhat static. This blog will remain active for legacy purposes, and new posts will be few and far between. Our website, http//:www.penumbrapublishing.com, still being modified, will remain live for the purpose of showcasing affiliate/former authors' work free of charge.

Today, self-publishing has become a mainstream online service that nearly anyone can enjoy with varying levels of success - 'success' meaning many things to many different people. Selling millions of units of a title or merely getting the darn book published - and all levels in between - may be counted as 'success' for an author. We applaud all independent authors struggling to succeed in telling their stories and urge anyone with a story worthy of telling to do their very best to share it with others. After all, isn't that what storytelling is all about?

And so it is with a heart both heavy and glad that we bid good-bye to all our authors and readers and followers. We'll miss the excitement of new work and personal interaction and finished results that made our publishing experience a blast. We wish all of you the very best.

-PENUMBRA PUBLISHING

X-tra, X-tra, X-Files is baaaaaack...

So, have you seen the first two episodes of the rebooted six-episode special X-Files on Fox, Mondays? (Yeah, the poster says eight episodes, but in reality we are only being given six.)

The eerie music is back. Dana Scully, Fox Mulder, and Director Skinner are back. A bit older, a bit grizzlier, and perhaps a bit wiser, but still respectively doubting, wanting to believe, and trying to keep investigative shenanigans quiet from the big guys 'upstairs'...

The opening two episodes "The Truth" parts 1 and 2, have aired already. The third episode is set to air next Monday, February 1, 2016. Werewolves. Yeah.

The tone, look, and story line seems true to the original series that began airing in 1993. Conspiracy theories still abound. Guest monsters are making appearances to lighten up the pedal-to-the-metal conspiracy battle. The conspiracy holding this six-episode special together is a big'un with a twist on the alien cover-up story line, promising a sci-fi/political/fantasy-fest for all those fans out there who were left hanging, wanting to know the TRUTH. According to the promo poster, the truth is still out there. Hopefully it won't be a kitchen-sink free-for-all like LOST's wrap-up.

Whatever is in store, enjoy the reunion while it lasts...

Note: Image borrowed from a previously posted article at TorontoSun for visual identification purposes only.

Keep Writing

A note from our most prolific writer, Walter Knight...

Keep Writing

I am well into writing "America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 23 - Bandits."  Why write such a long series?  Why not write another series?  I did write a vampire book and a zombie book, but they didn't sell. My science fiction sells. I can't put ideas to paper and computer fast enough.


The invention of Kindle E-books changed writing and publishing forever. Before Kindle, the Big Six New York publishers controlled what we were allowed to read and publish, rejecting 99 percent of all manuscripts submitted. Now, there are many small online publishers. If an author cannot find a publisher, he or she can self-publish. It's a great time to write. No author can be shut out.


Sort of. An author still needs to be noticed to make money. Online publishers and self-published authors have flooded the market with millions of books. Established publishers have converted their out-of-print backlists to E-books. How can an author with no New York connections ever hope to break through and be noticed in such an ocean of E-books? It's next to impossible.


An agent told me to not write just one book, that one-hit wonders cannot be easily marketed, especially in the science fiction genre. He said write a sequel, then another, and another. You'll gain credibility as you write. Hone your skills.


I cannot control whether a big publisher will publish my books. I cannot control whether readers will buy my books, or even like them. What can I control? I can keep writing no matter what. If I cannot write a million book best seller, I will at least write a science fiction series so long in cannot be ignored. 


I am not getting rich. No one owes me a living. But, sales happen every day. That's good for a new author with no advertising budget. Will I stop at #23 in the series? Oh, hell no. Write long and prosper.


Walter Knight
www.waltknight.yolasite.com

New Release - FEMININE PRODUCTS, women's fiction

From the celebrated author of LILY STEPS OUT and ALTERATIONS - Rita Plush - comes a standalone sequel to LILY featuring the character Rusty Scanlon, owner of a trendy New York boutique. What she goes through to find love and acceptance will astound and uplift your spirits!

FEMININE PRODUCTS
by Rita Plush
Fiction: Women's Fiction
 

Everyone’s got personal baggage, but Rusty Scanlon thinks she’s carrying more than her fair share. Owner of a trendy boutique in the outskirts of New York City, Rusty has an eye for fashion and a gift for messing up her love life. She doesn’t trust men. They’ve all abandoned her – the first being her carpenter father, who ran out on her and her mother when she was only six years old.

When she meets Walter Margolis, a guy who adores her, she thinks she has it all. Not so, she discovers when she tells him she’s pregnant and he suggests a paternity test. Rusty doesn’t know what to make of Walter’s reaction until he reveals the details of the accident he thinks he caused as a teenager, and the guilt that has tormented him all his adult life.

When a smooth-talking con man puts two and two together, ‘by the way’ mentioning that he once knew Rusty’s father, and also her mother – they apparently had a ‘thing’ some years back – she realizes he’s after something. She decides it’s time to find out the truth, and find her father. Until she does, she can’t fully commit to the life she hopes to share with Walter.

Rusty’s emotional roller-coaster ride is full of twists and turns that teach her and those around her about losing love and finding it, and what it means to be a family.

Available now in ebook and print at popular online retailers - Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes&Noble!

New Release - America's Galactic Foreign Legion Book 22

From his humble beginning as a published author in 2009, Walter Knight has managed to build a huge following for his long-running military/humorous science fiction series, AMERICA'S GALACTIC FOREIGN LEGION. We're pleased to announce the release of BOOK 22, BLUE POWDER WAR...

AMERICA'S GALACTIC FOREIGN LEGION
BOOK 22: BLUE POWDER WAR
by Walter Knight
Fiction: Science Fition, Military, Humor

In the twenty-second installment of this preposterous science fiction series, Colonel Joey R. Czerinski still has his hands full, trying to keep the drug trade and the Arthropodan spider commander under control on planet New Colorado. After Major Manny Lopez used the time machine to bring two grade-A cookers from the past to concoct a special recipe of blue powder to be distributed on New Colorado, the drug trade has really exploded.

With Legion enlistments down, the draft is reinstituted, and Czerinski plucks likely victims from every quarter as his Polish ancestry rears its ugly head in the form of a Polish drug cartel. Struggling to get the drug lords on New Colorado under control, Czerinski lands in more trouble with more bad press. The Butcher of New Colorado is as unaware and ineffectual as ever in handling the situation. Can he keep it together long enough to make another successful wager on football, this time a game between guards and prisoners at the local jail?

Familiar faces make appearances along with new ones – including a talking groundhog. Has Czerinski’s insanity rendered him the only one who can understand what Mr. Groundhog has to say? Even as the war on drugs draws to a close and Czerinski contemplates retirement from the glorious life of a legionnaire, the laughs continue! He’s in for the duration.

Available now in ebook exclusively at Amazon Kindle, and print!

Good or Bad? We Choose Good!

An author's nightmare - a bad book review. But praise in between the lines? That's icing on the Devil's-food cake. All in all, not bad!

See Bookstooge's backhanded review that praises AMERICA'S GALACTIC FOREIGN LEGION...

http://bookstooge.booklikes.com/post/1219617/feeling-lucky-america-s-galactic-foreign-legion-1

New Book Release - Torreón's Fire by Robert L. Tecklenburg

TORREÓN'S FIRE
by Robert L. Tecklenburg
Fiction - Spy Terrorist Espionage Thriller

America's security is in jeopardy, and Gina Lopez goes to her homeland Nicaragua on assignment to provide intel for the US embassy, working under former CIA Agent Roberto Morales. She's really on a secret undercover assignment but can't tell anyone, especially not Morales. When the embassy is bombed by militant group Heroes Brigade, Gina discovers Morales has brought in an old Army buddy, Jake Turner, to help out. Morales sends Gina and Jake to the jungle for intel while escorting an American reporter investigating the possible link between Heroes Brigade and the separatist group God's Children led by fiery former priest Joaquín Torreón, brother to infamous international arms dealer Jesús Torreón. With bullets flying and everyone seemingly out to get her, Gina's on a race to find out the truth before a bullet with her name on it finds her.

Buy now online at our web site or popular online retailers like Amazon - available in ebook and print!

Book Tour Schedule

Here's the schedule for Barry Nelson's OBLITERATION virtual book tour http://www.enchantedbookpromotions.com/th_gallery/book-tour-for-obliteration/

April 15^th: Starter Day Party @ I Heart Reading

April 15^th: Promo Post @ Nat’s Book Nook

April 17^th: Book Excerpt @ I’m an Eclectic Reader

April 19^th: Book Review @ The Single Librarian

April 20^th: Book Excerpt @ Indy Book Fairy

April 22^nd: Author Interview @ Literary Musing

Virtual book tour promo for OBLITERATION by Barry K. Nelson

Don't miss Barry K. Nelson's virtual book tour for OBLITERATION, third in his McKenzie Files science fiction series...

from April 15 to April 22

Find out more at...

http://www.enchantedbookpromotions.com/th_gallery/book-tour-for-obliteration/

 

New Release - America's Galactic Foreign Legion Book 21

Walter Knight's latest in the ongoing sci-fi military humor series is a spoof/homage to the recently departed TV series, BREAKING BAD. A huge fan of AMC's popular series, Walt has decided to give new life to two of the main characters in a future on planet New Colorado. Available in ebook and print at Amazon. Read it now and laugh out loud!

AMERICA'S GALACTIC FOREIGN LEGION
BOOK 21: BREAKING VERY BAD
by Walter Knight
Fiction: Science Fiction Military Humor

In the twenty-first installment of this preposterous science fiction series, Colonel Joey R. Czerinski has his hands full trying to keep the drug trade and the Arthropodan spider commander under control on planet New Colorado. Stationed at the New Gobi Desert, the Legion battalion suffers hot conditions, but things heat up even more when Major Manny Lopez uses the time machine to bring two grade-A cookers from the past to concoct a special recipe of blue powder to be distributed on New Colorado.

Privates Whyte and Pink, with new identities and a new lease on life, are now working for Lopez and his CIA buddies – and another silent partner who will remain unnamed. As usual, Czerinski is unaware and ineffectual in handling the situation, even when God gets involved!

With one crisis averted, another always takes its place, and thermonuclear war looms on the horizon, but Czerinski’s attention is focused elsewhere. Can he keep it together long enough to make another successful wager on football? His motto has always been, ‘If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen.’ And get out he does when things get really hot in New Gobi City. Time for a little R&R far, far away, in the past. Patton for President, anyone? The laughs continue to the bitter end of defeat.

Book Reader Magazine interview with author Barry K. Nelson

Barry K. Nelson, author of the science fiction series, THE MCKENZIE FILES, was recently interviewed by Book Reader Magazine, an online book-lovers' site. See the full interview here to learn more about Barry...

http://bookreadermagazine.com/?s=obliteration

And be sure to check out Barry's books in the series, available online in ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Apple, Sony, and more. Also available in paperback at Amazon...

THE MCKENZIE FILES (book 1)
ASSASSINATION ANXIETY (book 2)
OBLITERATION (book 3)

The McKenzie Files, Book 3: Obliteration

Barry K. Nelson's third book in the series THE MCKENZIE FILES is now available!

OBLITERATION
THE MCKENZIE FILES, BOOK 3
Barry K. Nelson
Fiction: Science Fiction, Military/War, Adventure 

The three reprogrammed Brelac Reploids forming the special team Silencers still faithfully serve the United Protectorate under the watchful monitoring of the Central Intelligence Division. Stationed on Maseklos Prime, Colin McKenzie, Diane Christy, and Kelly Lytton are called to a hostage scene and end up with clues that lead to the elusive Dr. Arthur Trevors. Although initially a traitor who worked undercover with the Brelac, Trevors was in large part responsible for the capture and reprogramming of Colin, Diane, and Kelly so they could serve their current function as weapons for the Protectorate.

The war with the Brelac is not going well, and the Silencers are given an advanced warp-drive ship and sent beyond their home quadrant, Poseidon, to the last known coordinates of a missing ship. Their mission is to locate the missing ship, part of an original task force of five ships sent out to find other human colonies and enlist their help with the war against the Brelac.

As soon as Colin and his team leave the quadrant, they run into trouble, and things go downhill from there. They find themselves in the midst of a war between local factions on a planet far from home and feel obliged to aid the human faction against a clearly superior force that seems to have help from a monster who leaves a wake of death and destruction wherever it goes. The more they find out, the weirder things get, and they end up stranded with no way home, much less any hope of completing their original mission to find the lost task force ship.

This new enemy they face seems invincible, and they wonder if they’ll survive as everything and everyone around them is destroyed. Maybe this time not even their Reploid powers will save them. But what other hope does humanity have?

Available now in ebook at Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and Amazon. Also available in print at Amazon.

Breaking Bad Spin-Off "Better Call Saul"

Guest blog by SciFi/Humor author Walter Knight...

I dearly miss the TV series "Breaking Bad."  Its main Character Walter White (another world famous Walter) died horribly way too early.  I'm hoping Walter can be saved via soap opera surgery. 

I became on a first-name basis with much of the cast characters.  Grizzled ex-police officer Mike and DEA Agent Hank were interesting enough to carry their own shows.  R.I.P.  Marie, Walter Jr., and Skyler were annoying, but good support for the others.  Villain Gustovo deserved to die, but why Tuco?  Tuco was cool, wearing his temper on his sleeve.  The sidekick Badger was too loveable to kill off, but I feared for Skinny Pete.

But now "Breaking Bad" will live on in a spin-off, "Better Call Saul," featuring shady attorney Saul Goodman.  Junkie Jessie Pinkman may even make a cameo appearance.  I hope success for "Better Call Saul" so I can get my "Breaking Bad" fix.  It's been too long.  I'm still a bit twitchy from withdrawals. 

"Better Call Saul" premieres Feb 8, 2015 (AMC)

And don't miss Walter Knight's BREAKING VERY BAD - the next volume in the wildly popular AMERICA'S GALACTIC FOREIGN LEGION series, coming soon to Amazon!

New Book Release: The Valkyries Book 1

Penumbra Publishing is pleased to welcome veteran historical author Ann Chamberlin and present the first book in her latest series, THE VALKYRIES.

THE VALKYRIES BOOK 1
CHOOSERS OF THE SLAIN
by Ann Chamberlin
Fiction: Historical Fantasy Mythology

Throughout the recited and recorded history of mankind in all cultures, a few women have gone to great lengths to rise above their inherent positions of obscurity. Often they have reached a position of recognition only through great sacrifice. Common history chooses to discount the efforts and contributions of these amazing women, but this more thorough telling strives to give due credit, even in the fantasy realm of fiction. This series, The Valkyries, is dedicated to the goal of telling the woman’s side of history and life, predicated on the determination that not all myth and lore is reserved to celebrate men alone.

The Valkyries tells the story of one such woman. As a young girl, Brynhild of the Peoples of the North, the tribe of the Angles, is doomed to die in the Spring Thaw ritual. However, she manages to skirt death, only to be marked as warriormaiden destined to ride with Odin. How she comes into her own as she suffers the trials and tribulations of the life thrust upon her is only part of the story. Throughout her life, she wrestles with questions that plague her. As a female, is it possible to claim glory and freedom only at the expense of denying one’s womanhood? And the freedom from womanhood – is it truly freedom or some sham construct, a cruel trick played by the gods?

Perhaps there are no answers, only the life she chooses to live, despite the glower of the god who chose her, One-Eye, Aesir of the Sky. Perhaps her destiny truly is what she has always tried to avoid – embracing the Vanir of the Earth and her role in the Wheel of Life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 

Ann Chamberlin believes that the purpose of storytelling – as of all true art as well as all true religion – is to support positions in exact opposition to the views prevailing in a culture’s powerhouses, whatever those views happen to be. Nowhere is this more crucial than in the retelling of history. As Milan Kundera tells us, people in the powerhouses are not so interested in who will control the future as in who controls the airbrushes in the labs where the past’s photos are retouched.

Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Ann Chamberlin also spent big blocks of time as a child in Europe where her father was visiting professor of mathematics. After flitting from school to school and major to major including theater, history, and English, she finally majored in Archaeology of the Middle East at the University of Utah. She spent a summer in Israel excavating the biblical city of Be’er Sheva, traveling throughout the Holy Land and living in the old city of Jerusalem for a month. She reads Hebrew, Arabic, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and ancient Akkadian, as well as French and German. She has traveled across all of North Africa, Turkey, Syria, and Jordan. She has two sons and twelve chickens, and lives in an old farm house on nearly two acres near Salt Lake City.

Ann is the author of fourteen historical novels, several of them named best foreign historical of the year by Romantic Times. Ann is pleased to announce a nonfiction history of women in the Middle East, through Haworth Press. She is the author of many plays which have been produced across the country from Seattle to New York. To find out more about Ann and her books, please visit her web site at

http://www.annchamberlin.com

Look for THE VALKYRIES BOOK 1: CHOOSERS OF THE SLAIN at popular online retailers like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords, in both ebook and print!

Sci Fi author interview - Barry K. Nelson

Barry K. Nelson, author of THE MCKENZIE FILES science fiction series, has completed three books in the series, THE MCKENZIE FILES, and ASSASSINATION ANXIETY, BOOK 2 OF THE MCKENZIE FILES. The third book, OBLITERATION, is in publishing production right now.

Barry was recently interviewed by THE INKWELL. Check out the interview and stay tuned for OBLITERATION, BOOK 3 OF THE MCKENZIE FILES!

http://attheinkwell.com/how-a-comic-book-junkie-turned-serial-sci-fi-author/

New Book Release: America's Galactic Foreign Legion Book 20

AMERICA’S GALACTIC FOREIGN LEGION
Book 20: Time Machine
Walter Knight
Fiction: Military/Futuristic/Humor/Time Travel
 
In the twentieth installment of this preposterous science fiction series, Colonel Joey R. Czerinski and Major (or is it General?) Manny Lopez guard the time machine recovered from an earlier altercation with a now-defunct alien species. Perhaps ‘guard’ is a loose interpretation of what is done with the time machine. The CIA, intent on changing the future by visiting the past, launches a mission to remold history. Meanwhile, Czerinski is tasked with overseeing the ratings-rich use of the time machine to observe historical events via drones sent back in time for ‘live’ broadcasts.

Of course, anything that can go wrong does, and Czerinski finds himself battling time paradoxes, Lopez’s evil time-twin from the future, and his own greed in an attempt to keep the time-space continuum in balance. The Arthropodan spider commander is pulled into the fray when Czerinski, while remotely observing Jesus’ crucifixion in the past, accidently transports the revered prophet to the future – and all Hell breaks loose. It will take nothing short of a miracle to fix this mess, but with Jesus now inducted into the Legion, courtesy of a sneaky ATM, maybe God will have to step in and take charge.

Whatever happens, the laughs are sure to keep coming.

Buy in ebook or print at popular online retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords!

New Book Release: THE HARD WAY

THE HARD WAY
James Boedeker
FICTION: Military/Action-Adventure

Growing up dirt-poor in the Wyoming wilderness as part of the white-trash Childress clan, Jonah learned life’s lessons fast, the hard way. At six years of age, Jonah learned to hunt to help feed his family. He also learned to fight to protect his sister.

With a drunken abusive father and a hapless lazy mother, Jonah had no hope, but vowed somehow to save his little sister Gail from their hell on earth. Then along came Kevin O’Malley, a soldier awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, in Wyoming with his wife for a vacation hunting trip.

Kevin took notice of the remarkable Jonah Childress. He couldn’t allow this boy’s life to be wasted. When Kevin’s wife Stacey agreed to take on the care of the two children, Kevin was all-in to save Jonah and Gail. His first order of business was to get the boy and his sister away from their abusive situation. That turned out to be no easy task, especially when Jonah had learned to trust no one, and the Childress clan wasn’t about to let go of one of their own without a fight.

Kevin was the type of man who’d never give up. He had long-range plans for Jonah. But, in the end, what would it really cost him – all of them?

Find this title in ebook or print at popular online retailers like Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble!

Will You Wear Technology?

Science fiction has always been at the forefront of predicting future technology and related issues. Although not exactly science fiction, Dick Tracy comics by Chester Gould sported the wristwatch communicator, and over 80 years later, we're still waiting for it to become a commercial reality. (Although tantalizing TV advertisements have recently suggested it is a reality...)

Walter Knight, author of the popular AMERICA'S GALACTIC FOREIGN LEGION scifi series, has this to say about wearable technology...



I see wearable technology as the next big thing. What used to be science fiction is becoming reality.

The most obvious wearable technology I've explored in my "America's Galactic Foreign Legion" science fiction series is the helmet camera, a reality now. Soldiers, police officers, security guards, etc., wear cameras at work. Soon, everyone will be wearing these cameras on errands and vacations. We've already seen many news reports showing biker helmet cameras and dash camera images.



Privacy concerns are now focused on those cameras' encounters, and on government intrusion. I'm more concerned with the privacy of the wearer of the camera. What if an employer insists all employees wear the cameras? Will your union go along with that? What about bathroom breaks? Cheating at work? Picking your nose and flatulence? Political correctness? It all gets recorded and archived. Then there are hackers stealing images and posting them on the internet.

Fortunately, there is a low-tech solution if this scenario becomes reality. Duct tape over the camera lens. Ha! Another use for duct tape!

What wearable technology do you think will be the next big thing?

Let me know - visit my web page at waltknight@yolasite.com

See Walt's books at Amazon.com and other popular book retailers online!

Review for ... ZOMBIE MISSOURI by Walter Knight

www.zombiebookblog.com was kind enough to post a review for Walter Knight's ZOMBIE MISSOURI...

Here's a short summary of the book followed by the review:

ZOMBIE MISSOURI
Walter Knight
SciFi Humor

Teenage loser Lenny Dreckle of Johnson City, Missouri, is finally a winner – in the zombie lotto. About to be shot by robbers at the Taco Bell after hours, Lenny’s saved by a bright light that scares the robbers away. Unfortunately, the world as Lenny knows it is fast coming to an end. An unknown disaster kills ninety percent of the human population, turning them into flesh-eating zombies.

Teaming up with other survivors and armed with cans of cat food to distract the zombies, Lenny embarks on a bizarre odyssey to find the cause of the zombie apocalypse and to take back the world one town at a time, starting with Johnson City. The question is, can Lenny keep his hands off the lovely zombie Andrea and avoid being devoured or infected by her? Loser that Lenny is, his fate hangs in the balance.

=================================

I’m not quite sure where to start with Zombie, Missouri. To be honest, I read the first few chapters of this book and put it down, relatively sure I wasn’t going to finish it. I’d make my apologies to the author who requested the review and be done with it. However, the guy spent his time asking for the review and, as your ever faithful Head Zombie, I always strive to do what I say I’m going to do… so I soldiered on.

I love hilarious zombie tales. Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland are in my top five favorite ZA movies of all time. I also love books that go against the grain and blow up zombie lore as we know it – writers get points from me for not following the rules which is exactly why I’m not going to trash Zombie, Missouri. It takes balls to pull off something like this. Make no mistake, however – those of you who are zombie purists will not enjoy this book AT ALL.

The main character is a stoner teenager named Lenny Dreckle whose primary objective, even in the ZA, is to lose his virginity. He teams up with a woman named Kansas (who has no intention of giving him any play at all) and together they must somehow fend off the zombies (and the aliens and maybe even the Chinese – those bastards) with or without the help of a weird, pill popping mad scientist sort named Oz. Dreckle may have a chance of getting some from his girlfriend Andrea, if he can keep the zombie hoochie from eating his brains.

The problem, in my opinion, with Zombie, Missouri is that it’s like getting on the tilt-a-whirl at the carnival right after you’ve finished with your cherry milkshake, your cherry corndog and your chicken cherry-yaki but before you’ve taken a good, stiff swig of your cherry Pepto Bismol. It’s everywhere at once and you just don’t know where to look as you’re getting tossed around and praying you don’t have to revisit your carnie cherry goodness.

Not to completely mislead you – this book is totally, freaking gut-bustingly funny in parts. At times I think I may have laughed so hard I peed a little. The characters do make you want to care for them and you do hope they make it so at least you’ll get to see what wacky and unpredictable thing they’ll do next. This book is like the ZA hopped up on meth or at least five or six shots of Five Hour Energy.
Walter Knight gets an A for originality and cojones, but Zombie, Missouri gets THREE out of FIVE ZOMBIE HEADS.

Break Time's Over, Back to WORK!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, so maybe some of you out there have noticed a sort of ... lull ... in the posting schedule for Penumbra Publishing's blog. (Or maybe you didn't notice.) There's a plethora of excuses...

1. Computer broke
2. Took some sick days
3. Took some snow days
4. Dog ate homework

But who cares anyway, now that

WE'RE BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

Hang in there while we get our mojo going full-swing.