This review of HAUNTED posted on the eve before my birthday was a lovely gift. You don’t have to write a review this thorough, but I’m sharing because I think it represents the book nicely.
Have you gotten HAUNTED yet? If so, reviews are most welcomed. If not…don’t wait until the afterlife!
Signed books for Christmas! Or any holiday. Or birthday. Or no special occasion; just because you want to buy something for that special someone (who could be you!).
It has now been over two years since my last in-person book signing, and I miss you guys. But — that means my garden shed is overfull with paperbacks ready to be signed and shipped directly to your doorstep! This is my first major signing event since releasing SPIED, and likely your first chance to pick it up with personalized graffiti on the inside cover. Want me to scribble an encrypted message for you?
Shipping rates have gone up in recent years, so here’s the new deal: $25 flat rate for a signed book anywhere in the US. Shipping can be combined on any order above four books. Once you go above four titles, it becomes $20 per book. That means if you get five books, one is essentially free. Plus, if you do happen to order the whole series, I’m going to throw in a little something extra…
Shipping rates are fairly obscene elsewhere in the world right now, but if you’re not put off by the thought that you might pay more for shipping than for the books themselves, feel free to contact me for an international quote.
What’s more, I still have some first editions of PATHOGENS, so if you act fast, you can choose your cover art. Or, if you’re a super collector like me, you can get both:
The only book I *can’t* offer to sign and ship to you is the new 10th Anniversary Deluxe Hardcover Edition of INFECTED. Unfortunately, hardback books are more expensive to produce, and I can’t get author copies the same way as paperbacks. But I do want to remind you that you can get it off Amazon, because (signed or not), this would make an amazing holiday gift.
That’s it for now. Want some signed books? Reach out to me on my contact page and we’ll make it happen.
Merry happy,
First, a quick point of order. It has come to my attention that in the new 10th Anniversary illustrated hardcover edition of INFECTED, the first choice on page 2 should go to 176. The paperback and Kindle edition are unaffected. This was an error in the code from formatting the manuscript to the new hardcover page count, but I’m told by my formatting team that this was the only error. Here is the replacement page:
With that out of the way, it’s time to talk briefly about author intent. I’m not normally someone who responds to reviews of my work. I generally assume that everyone is entitled to their opinion, and not all readers will synch up with an author’s point of view. However, I recently heard some comments that implied I had an issue with different body types based on depictions in the zombie path, and I wanted to address that.
INFECTED has been criticized for being too macho/militaristic by some readers, but also for not rewarding hardened lone wolf survivalists enough by others. I believe readers often bring their own perspective into a book; which is especially true in collaborative fiction like a branching path book. If you want a calloused, uncaring character, you’ll find a path for that. If you want to work as a team and see the best in others, you’ll find something for that as well.
Reader critiques are valid, however I want to emphasize that I did intend some of these elements as satire. After looking deeply into the genre with my research, I played off a lot of tropes that zombie stories are known for. One thing I found consistently across zombie fiction was that the apocalypse can bring out the worst in us. Summed up as: “terrible people making terrible choices.” We are the true monsters in some of these stories. Yet it’s not all bad. We can also find unlikely heroes in our midst.
On the large, societal scale, zombie stories started as a metaphor for rampant consumerism, and I took that one step further by adding a critique of unregulated capitalism. The concept in INFECTED is that a beauty product starts the apocalypse (after corporate greed speaks louder than a scientist who wants to do more research). When “you” become a zombie in the story, you start to embody these societal woes, to include some of our hang-ups on beauty. But I don’t want to paint these sections as something they’re not. The gross-out factor was intentional. It’s not pretty to become a zombie.
I don’t think that needs to carry over into real life. I have no problem with “different” people. I’m different. You’re different. Our differences make the world worth surviving. Of course, authorial intent does not always carry over into reader interpretation and a lot has changed in the ten years since I’ve written this book, to include me growing as a person and improving as a writer.
Part of this came to the forefront when the book was featured as a playthrough on the Instadeath Survivor Support Group podcast. You can listen to that episode now (and I recommend checking out all of this excellent podcast).
After I listened to his playthrough, I asked if I could record an introduction. Here’s what I added for the podcast:
Hi, Survivors. Author James Schannep here. Brian let me listen to an early version of this episode, and we thought it might be best to record a disclaimer up front. What you’re about to listen to contains gore, violence, body horror and gross-out humor, sometimes at the expense of living people. The zombie genre has a long history as satire, and in INFECTED a beauty product starts the apocalypse. The hungering zombies are a dark reflection of our society, to include some of our hang-ups on body image. I don’t want to spoil the episode for you, so I’ve written a blog post with my full thoughts which you can find at jamesschannep.com/blog or take a look into the show notes where Brian has included a direct link to the post. My books don’t have a “one true path” and part of the fun in collaborative storytelling is that your character can be as noble or ignoble as you choose to make them. I hope you have as much fun listening to Andrew’s choices as he did making them. Enjoy the show.
What do YOU think? Have you read INFECTED? Did you listen to the episode? What did it mean to you?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Authorial update!
I’ve officially spilled ink on the opening to HAUNTED, the next Click Your Poison book. That means I’ve organized notes, themes, and the major paths, or at least to the point where I can’t hold the words inside any longer.
This was later than I intended to start, but I’ve been distracted by a few things. A toddler and an infant, for starters, but also by a screenwriting project that will (hopefully!) lead to an interactive film written by you (the audience) and me (the me). I can’t say more on this now, but I’ve done all I can to help the producers sell the project to a studio, upon which I would be paid to write one of the more ambitious interactive fiction projects I’ve had the pleasure of dreaming up.
SPIED has been available for two weeks.
Have YOU started your new career as a secret agent?
As part of the fun, I have two contests running right now. In case you missed the original announcements — here is your reminder!
Passphase: “Sharing is Caring.”
This contest is running over on social media and is all about spreading the word. Want to see your name in print in a future book? Well, if you’re someone who resides in the book of faces or chirps like a bird, head over to Facebook or Twitter and join in the fun!
Code word: “Deep-cover”
I had these beautiful lapel pins made (or backpack pins or cushion pins or…) and I want to give them to you! This month is also my birthday, and I’m giving a gift to my loyal fans. The video below illustrates how you get one of your own (while also showing off Click Your Poison book covers throughout the years), but here’s the short version:
There are secret references to each Click Your Poison book lurking within the pages of SPIED. Your mission is to discover this intel: characters, places, events referenced. If you can find any of the references (to INFECTED, MURDERED, SUPERPOWERED, PATHOGENS, or MAROONED) during the month of February — I will send you a pin as your reward.
Well? What are you waiting for?
If you haven’t gotten SPIED yet, now’s the time!
You have two weeks to complete your mission.
Wow, I haven’t blogged since November. That makes this my first blog post of 2018! Yikes! It’s almost like I’ve been stranded on a deserted island, only to finally be rescued….
I’m sorry I’ve been silent these last months, but the silver lining is that I’ve been toiling away during this period of obscurity. For those of you who’ve been eagerly awaiting my next book, the wait is nearly finished!
That’s right, the first draft of MAROONED is complete and I’ve moved onto editing. This means I’m going to need Beta Readers! (see below).
First edit: it’s no longer going to be called “Classically MAROONED.” Why? As previously mentioned, when I originally came upon the age of sail/pirate adventure idea, I had envisioned a retelling of classics like Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island, or Moby Dick. But as I started researching, I kept coming up with ideas on how I would have done those stories myself.
So, nothing classic here. Just my own original ideas. It’s still set in that classic age of seafaring where you can dash into the role of dashing naval officer, cut to the quick as a cutthroat pirate, or cast your lot as a castaway. No need for a modifier, just an opportunity to get MAROONED!
I’ve had a blast writing and researching this book, and the result is a (mostly) historically accurate look into this seafaring world of adventure and a realistic test of survival skills needed on a deserted isle. Interested in an early read?
I need your feedback to really make this book shine. Like someone beta-testing a game, you’ll playtest this gamebook, giving it a few read-throughs and let me know your thoughts. This isn’t to make sure my grammar and spelling are publication ready (that comes later), but rather to ensure the story is as compelling as can be.
The call for Beta Readers will come exclusively through my mailing list (which I’ve also neglected of late). So…if you want in, or at least want to hear the latest, sign up now.
From here, progress should move very quickly. Once I receive notes, make another round of edits, and send the book off to be proofread and formatted, MAROONED should come to you sometime this summer! I’m hoping for July/August.
Thanks for reading! What do YOU think?
Leave me a comment below, and don’t forget to share and subscribe!
Today I “started” the next title in the Click Your Poison series, a High Seas adventure called Classically MAROONED. I say “started” because I’ve been researching and plotting this book for some time now, but only now has ink been virtually spilled on a word processor.
I know I said this book would be released in 2017, yet sadly, I must finally admit that it won’t. But, please bear with me, this is a good news post. My goal is 1000 words per day, which would put me at 100 days of writing. If you’d be so kind, let’s round that up to four months. Two more months of notes, rewrites, and editing; we could possibly have this book published in six months. That means we’re looking at Spring 2018 as a possible release.
Unfortunately, that makes this the first year since I started CYP that I won’t release a new title. Sure, I have excuses (moving halfway across the world, plenty of travel, working on a zombie screenplay with another screenwriter, as well as Rebooting the Star Wars prequels), but truth be told, I’m still very disappointed by this fact, as I imagine many of you are.
Yet the point of this post is to share excitement! Excitement that the writing (my favorite part!) has begun. I can already tell this will be a wonderful Click Your Poison volume. Classically MAROONED will share the research & realism of MURDERED, the humor & wit of INFECTED, the character development of PATHOGENS, the action & adventure of SUPERPOWERED, and of course, a special quality all its own.
To help you share in my excitement, let’s do the cover reveal first. Right now, in fact. Here it is!
Living in England provides a fantastic opportunity to set a book during the Golden Age of Sail within the British Empire, but why pirates?
I’d originally thought to do an adaptation of several literary classics (hence the “Classic” in Classically MAROONED), to re-tell Moby Dick and Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe in CYP form. But as I went through these stories, my usual idea fountain kicked off and I thought, “Why are you doing this? Because you want to tell someone else’s stories? For publicity? For ease of marketing? Write your own damn story, that’s why you do this. That’s why people read your work, because it’s told in your voice! Make your own world, do what you love because you love it, and the rest will come.”
So, I’m being true to myself, and loving the process. Day one: complete. 1223 words.
Thanks for reading! What do YOU think?
Leave me a comment below, and don’t forget to share and subscribe!
Hastings, the book, movie, music, and kitsch store is no longer accepting books from local authors. Nor will they support local author signings.
This news hits me especially hard.
Hastings in Killeen, TX (my high school hometown) was very good to me as an author; not only stocking my Click Your Poison e-aversion versions (paperbacks), but often giving me prime shelf real-estate and hosting me for an annual signing event.
Alas, due to corporate restructuring and chapter 11 bankruptcy, this is to be no more.
I’ll look back fondly at the memories. Like after my first book signing when INFECTED was the #1 bestseller in the store that week (“Bigger than Twilight!” as the book manager put it). Not to mention the repeat fans who would bring a dog-eared copy of my newest release each year for an autograph.
I’m sure we’ll find a new spot, but the irony isn’t lost on me that as an author who primarily sells ebooks is now lamenting the death of the brick-and-mortar venue.
So I suppose we’ll just have to move on. Find somewhere new. Or, with a bit of wishful thinking, perhaps I’ll be stocked on the “general” shelves if Hastings survives into the future.
I know I’ll be there. Creating more books.
Thanks for the memories.
Thanks for reading! What do YOU think? Did we ever meet in person?
Leave me a comment below, and don’t forget to share and subscribe!
PATHOGENS is currently in editing and once I’m done I’ll need your help.
This is by far my most ambitious book, featuring six playable characters each with their own point of view and unique storyline. Which is why, for the first time ever, I’m opening a work-in-progress for early reads and feedback.
I’ve hinted at “something big” in my monthly newsletters for a while now, and this is it. The official request will come in a newsletter later this week, so if you haven’t signed up for the mailer yet, make sure you do.
Interested? Sign up for that mailing list! Not the feedback type but still want to follow along? Sign-the-eff-up already!
No, I’m not going to give you the whole book. Frankly, that would leave me constantly sending “Are you done yet? Did you hate it? Is that why it’s taking so long?” follow-up emails and nobody wants that.
Instead, I’m going to ask for your top-three characters, so that way I can spread the feedback love around. Here’s a sneak-peek of the book’s first choice. Who would you choose?
PATHOGENS
Unlike other Click Your Poison™ books, this is the first one where you don’t “play” as yourself. Instead, you can choose a character and see how that person survived the initial outbreak from their own perspective. Think of this page as your “character-select screen” in this gamebook.
Each of these characters first appeared in INFECTED, but you don’t need to have that book memorized (or even have read it, truth be told), to enjoy PATHOGENS. Instead, pick a persona and learn their story as only one who experienced it truly can.
But beware—since these characters appear in another book, if you take the wrong path and end up bitten, mangled, or dead, you’ll rip the very fabric of the space/time continuum and your adventure will be over. Good luck!
Sims
Technical Sergeant Robert Sims, National Guardsman and electrician in the greatest Air Force in the goddamned world. Divorced, no kids, fourteen years of service given to your nation thus far. You’re a “Prepper” (a dedicated survivalist), and you’ve been looking forward to the zombie apocalypse for as long as you can remember. Your unit was mobilized and now you find yourself at the tip of the spear. When it comes to idioms you’re not the smartest crayon in the box, but you’re an electrical genius.
Select SimsCooper
Kaeden Cooper, known as “Kay” to your friends. Daughter of a NASCAR driver who turned to the bottle and lost his shot at stardom. You’ve since done your fair share of racing on the motorbike circuit, but it’s still very much a man’s world, and no one wanted to give you sponsorship unless you posed by the bike in a bikini. Instead, you turn wrenches for a living, working for the weekend until you can ride again. Little do you know that this shift under the hood will be your last. Soon the world will learn it’s those who know how to change their own oil that will survive.
Select CooperTyberius
Work nights at the call center, work days at the bank. Sleep? Seems like a distant memory. All this in an effort to provide for you and Mama, who lost her own job in the recession. She still hopes you’ll find a nice girl and settle down, but you’d settle for an apartment in the better part of town. So you use any spare moment; while eating, even while shitting, to take online courses on a smartphone, angling for a promotion at the bank. But the worst part? All that effort is about to be in vain because the global economy is about to tank in 3, 2, 1…
Select TyberiusRosie
Smart, cute, spunky redhead. 17-year-old high school student. Your father is a combat-veteran Marine and you work weekends at the family-owned shooting range. Sarah is your real name and truth be told, you’re more interested in boys and music than you are bug-out-bags and MREs, but you play along for dad’s sake. Ever since mom died he’s had a hard time and he’s not the type to get a pedicure so for quality time you learn about pyrotechnics. Unfortunately, Sarah’s world is about to end and you’ll have to fully embrace his training to become the “Rosie the Riveter” of the apocalyptic wasteland.
Select RosieLucas
Lucas Tesshu, middle aged man known for being as serene as a stone in the stream. As a child of Japanese immigrants, you’ve lived much of your life as an outsider, making solitude a revered mentor and friend. As a Kendo instructor and master of swordplay, you’re more than capable of defending yourself, but as a disciple of Bushido, you are committed to helping those in need. So the question becomes: Can a man unable to leave someone for dead still survive the Zombie Apocalypse?
Select LucasHefty
Poor as dirt, good ole southern boy. Thin as a rail, and yeah, the nickname is ironic. Known to the State as inmate #: 080620-06. They say money doesn’t grow on trees, but you can cook some up in your kitchen using a few household ingredients as fertilizer. Like literal fertilizer, for one. But you’re over that now, clean, back on the straight and narrow, and ready to be a productive member of society once you get released from the Big House. Which is about to come early, courtesy of the Apocalypse.
Select Hefty
Thanks for reading! Excited? Apathetic? Fun summer plans?
Leave me a comment below, and don’t forget to share and subscribe!
* metallic shing! *
Master swordsman Lucas Tesshu’s path is complete!
51 sections, 22k words, 5/6 characters done for PATHOGENS!#amwriting— CYP Gamebooks (@ClickYourPoison) March 25, 2016
Lucas Tesshu, the sword-toting modern day samurai whose greatest weakness was a compulsion to help everyone he met is now fully visualized with an origin story in the upcoming PATHOGENS. To all the teachers out there, I ask: What would you do if the zombie apocalypse hit while class was in session? Stay put with your students? Try to get them to their parents? Just leave the snotty brats and make a run for it?
Your answer might change if you were a master swordsman teaching a kendo class. Or not. Either way, get ready to live his journey for yourself!
Up next? Our final character: The cold, hard, badass leader: Cooper!
Thanks for reading! Excited? Confused? Bemused?
Leave me a comment below, and don’t forget to share and subscribe!
Author James Schannep 