The Dishonored Dead

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Interview And Review At We Zombie!

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Bill Nelson reviews The Dishonored Dead and interviews me at his website We Zombie! Here's the first paragraph of the review:

What happens when you reverse the roles of humans and zombies, add an upside down government along with mother earth’s hidden energy? You get a remarkably inventive, fresh story line with a plot that keeps on surprising you at every turn. Robert Swartwood’s eBook, The Dishonored Dead, kept me on edge and turning pages the entire way through – just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, Swartwood introduces a new twist that blows your mind. I spend a lot of time reading books in the zombie genre, and I’m always amazed when I run across a totally new idea that extends the realm of the genre.

In the interview, I talk pretty in-depth about the novel, like how it came about and how it almost never was and the challenges of keeping the dialogue consistent throughout the book (i.e. replacing "living" with "existing").

Also, over the weekend I spent about an hour coming up with this website where you can now read "In the Land of the Blind" -- the story which was the inspiration for The Dishonored Dead -- free.

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The Last Four Days

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In the last four days, just over 200 stories have been submitted to the Hint Fiction contest, the majority of those done via the alternative submission form. I haven't really sat down and read the stories closely yet, but I've been glancing at them as they come in, and it's interesting to note that a good portion don't include titles. Granted, in the guidelines I say that titles are encouraged but not required, but still, this is Hint Fiction, right? But honestly, it doesn't matter much to me. I've learned my lesson over the course of two years. I could talk about how titles are important in Hint Fiction, or that writers would be best to stay away from focusing their stories on murder, but what's the point? The only people reading this post are regular readers of this blog, and I suspect most of you skim through it on your Google Reader anyway (yes, I'm talking about you). If any writer wants a serious shot of winning this contest, he or she will do their research. Or they'll get lucky. Either way, I think I've gotten to the point where I've said all there is to say regarding Hint Fiction. Except that the University of North Texas has released a few more mock covers. Here's one of them:

Speaking of covers, I forgot to mention that the cover for The Dishonored Dead was illustrated and designed by Jeroen ten Berge. Jeroen's clients include Blake Crouch, Brett Battles, Marcus Sakey, and Lee Goldberg. He does excellent, excellent work, and I'm thrilled with what he came up with for my zombie book.

Speaking of which, have you bought a copy yet? If not, why? Make sure your answer is 25 words or less.

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The Zombies Have Arrived

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I figured this being Good Friday and all, an announcement of a zombie novel would be more than appropriate, right? Anyway, The Dishonored Dead is now available. Here are the details.

Description:

In a not-so-distant future, the world has devolved and most of the population has become the animated dead. Those few that are living are called zombies. They are feared and must be hunted down and destroyed.

Conrad is one of the animated dead. A devoted husband, a loving father, he is the best zombie Hunter in the world. But when he hesitates one night in killing a living adult, his job is put in jeopardy. Instead of being outright dismissed, he is transferred to a program so secretive even the Government would deny its existence — and where Conrad soon learns a startling truth about how his own son might be in danger of becoming a zombie.

As living extremists become more emboldened and blow up a Hunter Headquarters, as a power-hungry Hunter becomes more enraged and will stop at nothing to gain absolute power, Conrad begins to question not just his profession, but his own existence. And before he knows it he is on a journey of self-discovery, remembering a past he was forced to forget, and soon finding himself not only a hunted man, but a man who must now save both his son and the entire world.

The Dishonored Dead is a 100,000-word zombie thriller that includes the 3,000-word short story “In the Land of the Blind,” which won 10th Annual Chiaroscuro Short Story Contest and was the inspiration for the novel.

Advance Praise for The Dishonored Dead:

“The Dishonored Dead is one of the most original and gripping zombie novels I have ever read, offering a glimpse into the life of a zombie in a world turned backwards, where zombies live and humans are feared. Highly recommended!”

— Jeremy Robinson, author of Instinct and Threshold

Purchase the e-book at:

Linkage:

More e-book formats coming soon. For now, enjoy.