Forward aka Forewarning
The forward to my new book was probably the second best review of my work ever. I am truly honored to have Michael of Carpe actually offer to do the foreward!
Who was the BEST review? She knows who she is.
I have never visited New Orleans, but through the pages of this book, I feel like I have spent time meandering the dimly lit streets of the French Quarter, taking in delights of flesh and spirit, and groggily stumbling towards the bayou with the taste of cloves and rotten flesh heavy on my lips.
I first met Zombieboy while working for Carpe Nocturne Magazine. His name was legendary. Zombie was the guy who the Editor position within the magazine was created for. He set the standard for everyone who followed, which included myself. Zombie was a published author, and seemed to embody everything that made the publication I loved great. When I became Managing Editor, I was immediately impressed with Zombieboy's diversity more than anything. I thought, "This guy can write about a bucket of dirt and make it interesting." Zombie's exceptional talent has never been so apparent as it is within the pages of this book.
Roadkill takes you to the streets of New York, soars you into the heavens of distant planets, sucks you into the deep abyss of the Earth, and returns you again to his beloved city of New Orleans. You will find origin stories, like the “truth” behind the "Little Red Riding Hood" story. There are tales of extreme isolation, tales of bravery, and tales of what happens when you make the wrong choices. Zombieboy tells them all in a style that is one part humor and two parts horror. There are also zombies...
When you look at the world of zombie literature, many of the stories become repetitive. A hero (or heroes) must survive the undead apocalypse. Zombieboy tells his tales in a much different light. He digs into the psyche, and tells his stories from a personal point of view...many different points of view. You will get inside of a female fire fighter's mind as the apocalypse unfolds. She must fight a burning building while coming to grips with the chaos around her. Her only thought is to get home safe to her partner. You will experience the uncertainty of a group of friends as they lock themselves into a store to escape the hungry hordes. You will encounter a young Asian woman as she rolls through a graveyard delighting herself with thoughts of the dead. Yes, there is plenty of erotica within the stories.
Zombieboy's many stories tells tales of eternal love, sexual taboos, vices of all kinds, and never ending hope. These are all wrapped around very dark themes, many which include the end of the world. For me, Roadkill is about survival and coming to grips with a suddenly changed world. People react differently, and so do the characters within these stories. By the end of the book, you feel like you have just experienced Armageddon, and have connected with the despair and persistence of the characters within. You will fight to survive, laugh at times, and question your very idea of what true love is.
Michael Jack Bernardo
Managing Editor of Carpe Nocturne Magazine