Writing Tip: Reach Out And Ask for Help!

By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues

A little help from my intergalactic friends

By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues

Being a novel/book writer can be a stressful process that can leave you feeling angry and frustrated. That’s what I have found and I can only speak for myself but maybe others feel it too.

In a zoom interview with scriptwriter Laurence Doherty, we were comparing the differences betweenw writing a film script and a novel. You can watch it here

What became abundantly clear was that writing a book is a much more solitary task than script writing which can be a more collaborative effort. It got me thinking and here’s something no one ever seems to discuss or bring up. Being a novel/book writer can be a stressful process that can leave you feeling angry and frustrated. You can feel isolated and alone not knowing where or who to turn to. That’s what I have found and I can only speak for myself but maybe others feel it too.

I know many of us do not have the luxury of following one of Stephen King’s tips; to do 6 clean pages a day. I work full time, go to the gym, have a family life and deal with whatever life throws at me so most of my writing has been done after the restt of the house has gone to bed. I have seen me write to 6 o’clock in the morning then have to go to work but that is the nature of our game. Only we can write the story because we are the only ones that know what it is and where it has to go. Yes, things change along the way, sometimes for the better but it is a world only we can imagine and create. We are literally the conduit to bring it to the page and hopefully to the world. It can leave us tired and exhausted but the one thing the story will not do is leave us alone until it is written. It is a weird combination of mental and physical fayigue yet when we see the final product it is worth it.

A prime example of this is my books Zombie Blues. The idea had been floating round my head for a while. One night it buzzed so loud, I had to get up at two in the morning and write the first zombie character. It was only about five pages long but the moment I put it on the page, I was able to sleep.

I know my wife would get frustarted by the amount of night owl time I was spending but it was hard to explain that this was something I had to do. But again when she saw the final result and realised I now had a routine having completed the first four books, it was slightly easier. It is mostly night time writing but bills need paid. One author I knew said he would write for two hours solid then take a two hour break then go back to it. He was minted so didn’t have to work so this method suited his life. It does not suit the rest of us working Joes by any means.

My method is easy. I write when it takes me like a wave. I cannot sit down and just force myself to write if I am not in the right headspace or my mind is clouded by other things. if you have writer’s block then it is worse but you’ll find my hopefully useful recommendations on this by clicking on the link below.

To Sit Down and Write, Get Off Your Arse!

But that’s all well and good but from here in you cannot do the rest alone unless you are multitalented or have learned what to do over the years of self publishing. We all need help, something I have been guilty of and shied away from for a long time. I must also point out that not everyone is willing to help and advise without payment or just out of sheer solitude. Some think that if they help you somehow it will slow or impede their writing career. They are afraid that you will get the champagne sipping on a yacht lifestyle surrounded by the profits from their JK Rowling like book sales.

So the first thing you have to learn is ask for help.

Seek out writing groups or similar interest groups and join them. If you can contribute to them all the better but networking will get your name out there. Another tip is to make your email your book title or series eg mine includes the Time Warriors. One recommendation is to search Facebook. I find great support in the British Irish Writing Community. There are several in northern Ireland which can be found via Facebook that hold regular online chats. But there is so much more to getting your book to the physical book form.

I can write but I cannot draw to save my life. With the manusript written, it is time to sort a cover. If you have friends or know someone who can do it then ask them. See if they want paid or is it gifted to you. If gifted keep a copy of the message or if paid, keep the receipt of payment. You can also use the website Fiverr. Don’t accept the first one out of politeness. If it doesn’t mirror your vision say so.

So when you have your interior and book cover sorted, where to publish? I use KDP on Amazon self publishing but there are pther options. Long gone are the days of big advances from publishing companies and be prepared for many rejections from agents. Have as many social media platforms as possible all utilising your book or series title. Follow as many authors, agents and publishing houses as possible so that when you send out tweets or posts you can tag them in it. Post at least weekly so your stuff is out there. I send out book excerpts from my stories and character bios. I post adverts, snapshot reviews and covers to get the internet buzzing with Time Warriors and Zombie Blues material. It will not be instantaneous but this is a marathon not a sprint.

But if you are like me how the hell do I mesh my interior to my cover using KDP? What size is your cover? What dimensions match that chosen size? What is bleed? How do I convert my book to Kindle form? What price should I make it? What is a cover creator? What is that bit at the start of books about it being a total coincidence to real life people? How do i ensure copyright of my work in a digital day and age? WHat are interior, headers and footers? I was totally lost in this so had to ask people and thankfully I was helped by people whom I had given stories or articles to for their anthologies or magazines. It is true what they say; you reap what you sow. A helping hand costs nothing and the rewards can be great. I learned so much about formatting but to this day have no clue about formatting to Kindle. That is a battle I have still to conquer but I will. There are several guide videoees on Amazon but I am the sort of person who really needs a double dummy’s guide to understand and earn how to do things. Swallow your pride and reach out to people; help them with your skills and before long you will unravel the mysteries of publishing.

Now there will be issues you come up against when trying to load to KDP so again this is where these contacts come in thankfully. When you’ve established a mutual friendship you have an open door for help as do they. Read everything you can about publishing and making it work. I recommend Mark Dawson for advice and you can sign up to his newsletter where you will receive regualr emails.

Now when you manage to get your book uploaded to Amazon and approve it for publishing, promotion is vital. Amazon ads are a useful tool to use to boost your book but equally your social media platforms can help here too. It will take time to build up an audience. For example, my website https://timewarriors.co.uk/the-time-warriors-and-beyond/ publishes articles on sci fi, convention visits and interviews to draw in traffic. if they stop to check out a Walking Dead article, they may stop to check out your books. Now be warned there are people out there promising to get your book out there via marketing juggernaughts but be careful. Similarly there are publshers out there who will ask for money from you to publish your book for very little return.

Remember this; never ever pay someone to publish your work; the money should flow to you, not away from you. Now there are some who use this method and are happy with it but several years down the line they are still not on that yacht beside JK sipping champagne. Your desire to get your book out there will cloud your judgement with visions of book signings all over the world. Just ebcause they claim to be a agent or publishing company does not mean you will be a surefire hit. A lot of self publsihed stuff on Amazon is shit to say the least making it harder for the rest of us who put effort into giving a quality product. There is a very useful website called Predators and Editors you can use to filter out vanity publishers.

There are reading groups that have zoom meetings or face to face get togethers to help you and critique your work to help you improve. Please do not take the criticism personally; they are there to help.

But you can easily get caught up and financially caught if you are alone. Networking and establishing connections with people will safeguard you against this. It also means that you can share what you learn as we all have similar jpurneys in this quest to get on to the yacht and sip that champagne.

Any questions or you want any more advice contact me via the website.

Forgotten Monsters: X Files Flukeman

By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues

IPhotos copyright Fox and IDW

I was recently made aware of just how many movies and television shows the younger generation have never heard of, never mind seen. So to that end, we look back at some characters you really need to see before you kick the bucket.

In the second season of the X Files, we were introduced to one of the show’s most disgusting and creepy monsters ever that only appeared once. However, many years later, the Flukeman returned in a two part comic story in the IDW season 10 run.

There is no one on the planet that isn’t revolted by the thought of something in their guts that shouldn’t be there like tapeworms or parasites. The thought of something coming up your throat after gestating inside you is horrific. We have all seen videos of medical procedures to remove tapeworms from the body. We’ve seen spiders hatch from someone’s arm and worms burrowed into the skin being extracted. It’s invasive and chills us to the very core. Your body is supposed to be your castle but when there’s something else using you as a host without your knowledge, it’s scary.

The Host plays on the old urban legend of alligators in the sewers. As one character says, you never know what has been breeding down there for the last one hundred years. Sewers are a bacterial playground where animals can thrive. With climate change and radiation levels rising due to nuclear accidents and detonations out at sea and in deserts, environments are mutating along with the creatures that inhabit them. What this episode does well is play on those to create a spooky story that revolts the viewer but keeps them hooked to the very last minute.

When a decomposed body is found in the sewers, a disgraced Mulder is assigned the case by Assitant Director Skinner. Disgruntled, Mulder sees this as another punishment to the point he confesses to Scully he is thinking of leaving the FBI. It is Scully who persuades him to let her look at the body first. In the meantime a sewer worker is attacked by what they believe is a python. Mulder visits him and sees the unusual bite mark on the man’s back. It is a curious four pronged bite the doctor has never seen before but thinks it may be a snake. As he says, people flush all sorts of unwanted pets down the sewers.

Horror levels jump as a flukeworm emerges from the body as Scully examines it. It is a moment that makes the audience recoil and works perfectly. The audience is privy to the knowledge that the episode opened with a Russian sailor being pulled into a tank by something which is then flushed out to sea. We know there’s a monster out there and so does someone else as Mulder is told that this case is vital to restoring the X Files to the FBI. This becomes apparent when Mulder travels to the main sewage treatment plant where he comes face to face with a humanoid flukeworm trapped in the mechanisms.

The design of the creature is freaky to evoke discomfort in the hapless viewer. It is humanoid with no genitalia at all. It has a human like face but its mouth is like a leech, its scolex, with four prongs that match the bite mark on the sewer worker’s back. That sewer worker is killed horribly when we see first hand what happens when something that shouldn’t be in your body wants out. He cannot get rid of a bad taste in his mouth, His mouth bleeds when he brushes his teeth, literally devouring toothpaste. While in the shower he gags. A flukeworm forces its way out of his mouth and goes down the shower drain back to the sewer leaving his lifeless body behind.

The Flukeman attacked him in order to reproduce so that means there is at least one other larvae in the sewers that will grow into its parent.

The FBI decides to try it as a murderer despite the fact they cannot label it as animal or man. While being transported in an ambulance, it escapes killing the marshall and returning to what it thinks is the nearest sewer. It is in fact a chemical toilet and it is sucked into a transport truck and ends up back at the treatment plant. It gets into the sewer where it is trying to get to the sea. Mulder manages to kill it by slicing it in half with a sluice gate. But as the upper part of the torso sinks beneath the water, we all know what happens when you cut a worm in half.

It is Daniel Sackheim’s brilliant direction that burns the Flukeman played by Darin Morgan into the audience’s minds. Close ups and muted lighting along with its raspy hiss make it a firm fan favourite. The initial shot of its face behind the sewage tank’s glass in the orange liquid is spooky and the shot of it slipping down a chemical toilet are left indelibly on the memory. In the overall arc of the show, the Host not only had to reinstate Mulder and Scully to continue thir work on the X files but keep the audience hooked with a memorable monster to maintain the success of the first season. This was achieved by the real world revelation that the Flukeman was somehow created by the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown. If the radiation created him, what else did it create out there? That question is still being asked and investigated to this very day.

It seems that we are the real monsters through our superior attitude when it comes to our ability to master forces bigger than us that are primal in nature.

Many fans wanted a rematch in the show but it was never to be. However when IDW decided to do a season 10 in comic form, the Flukeworm Man was back along with a few friends. Now their Chernobyl origins have been reworked and changed. Not the smartest move to be sure given how brilliant and impactful that revelation initially was.

Here a Russian named Grigori was trapped in a worm infested tank which filled with contaminated water, His friend saw it but fled to America where he became a sheriff in Martha’s Vineyard changing his name to Michael Simmons. The original Flukeman has been taking women from Martha’s Vineyard and using them to breed. This smacks of Roger Corman’s Humanoids from the Deep and dilutes the sheer originality of the Flukeman into a B movie monster. Very sorry IDW but this attempt to update the Flukeman fails miserably. Simmons saves Mulder from his old friend and it is too much coincidence that the man and monster converge in the same place Mulder grew up. Contrived storytelling smacks of laziness.

To this day the original episode stands as a perfect piece of horror that sticks in the memory forever securing the reputaion of the show as scary and unnerving.

Daryl Dixon Official trailer

By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues

Photo and video copyright AMC

AMC have released the first full trailer for the new Daryl Dixon mini series. A lot more is revealed here as we see Daryl floating in the sea. How did he end up ona ship? he finds himself alone and in France. paris is in ruin and as we know from th end credit sequence from World Beyond: the Walking Dead, this is where the zombie plague began and with new variants than we have seen before. Why is Daryl seen as a saviour by nuns? Why is he branded? What the hell is going on? On the 9th October we will find out.

TW visits Space For Everyone in Belfast

By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues

Photos copyright Owen Quinn

Maybe there were kids there today who will be the stars of tomorrow’s NASA.

Now as someone who wrotes sci fi books and has always been fascinated by space from he was knee high, it was no surprise that I would head down to the Space Fpr Everyone especially to see the 72 foot rocket replica that dominated Writer’s Square in Belfast. Located in St Anne’s Cathedral Quarter I visited today and was not surprised to see many people there. There is a virtual reality tent, various activities for children and demonstrations about all things galactic. The tour is here until the 24th of July before miving pn. But while here it wants to teach people espeially children about space. Did you know the insulin that helps me stay alive was refined in space? So much research happens in the heavens above us constantly helping us maintain a better quality of life. Without insulin I would die from uncontrollable blood sugars so I’m thankful for that. The hope is that it will show kids that you don’t have to be an astronaut to contribute to space research so who knows maybe there were kids there today who will be the stars of tomorrow’s NASA. I know this; seeing the rocket up close certainly inspired me to keep writing stories for the Time Warriors out now on Amazon.

The Time Warriors: The Gift Deleted Scene: spoilers

By and copyright of Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues

While I’ve cut whole paragraphs and rewritten story lies, the only time I ever actively cut a section of a story was, The Gift.

The Gift forms part of the story collection in The Moon Once More. No story is ever truly over and there are always aftermaths and trickle resolutios to be eplored. The Gift is one such time as it is a sequel of sorts to the Time Warriors: Tempest.

In that book, the Family launched their attack on Varran and the others and among their targets were family members. Robert, Tyran’s brother, thought Sharon his girlfriend was preganant with his child. In fact, she was an agent for the Family, whose child was really the leader of the Family’s right hand man, Mister Ling.

When the turhtu come out, Robert almsot dies along with his sister and the others in Area 52. But I never felt comfortble just leaving his story at that. How would that impact me as a person? To be blinded by deceit on such a scale. So the Gift was born.

Robert isn’t handling things well and his father asks Varran to take the young man under his wing. Working with his sister and seeing the bigger picture might help him focu and move on. While on a planet they come across a girl, Zara, being hunted by dog like creatures. They rescue her and take her back to the Juggernaught. There they discover she can speak to the dead with mixed reactions from the others. An argument ensues and Robert takes her away and goes into hiding. needless to say they get closer as Zara brings Robert back from the edge.

My intention was that Robert would for the first time in his playboy life see someone on an emotional level. Zara is so uncomplicated that they connect and the tension builds between them. Zara is the first girl he has been with that sees him for who he is. I wanted the sex scene not to be gratuitous but to convey this isn’t just another of Robert’s casual flings but that it is him at his most vulnerable and open in front of Zara. But then I decided to cut it as the target is young adult. It’s hard to know because Buffy quite happily showed sex scenes on a regular basis and she was only supposed to be sixteen in the show. But in the end I was just thinking about if kids read it it would be too explicit for them and they’re exposed to far too much of that these days in thee world.

So here it is for your enjoyment. A real portrayal of two people giving in to very real feelings for each other or too much? Let me know in the comments especially if you have read the full story available now on Amazon as part of the Moon Once More collection.

THE GIFT DELETED SCENE

He kissed her softly, letting his hands run along across her thigh. He pressed against her before moving to her breasts. He began gently sucking the left one, feeling the nipple harden before flicking his tongue rapidly over it, stopping every couple of seconds to let his lips pull all he way to the top of it before beginning again. She moaned in pleasure as her hands ran along the back of his head, fingers ruffling his hair. He repeated the technique on her right breast letting his fingers tease the left one as he gently squeezed it. Her legs lifted up as her breathing intensified. He dragged his tongue down the centre of her body kissing the heaving hollow of her stomach as her back arched. He continued to her inner thighs in a mixture of kissing and tongue tracing along the line of her public hair before his tongue flicked her clitoris teasingly a couple of times. He was sweating as he rolled her onto her front and began kissing her on the small of her back travelling up to the top of her spine, his tongue stopping to trace the lines of her spine against her flawless skin. He paused as her scars stared at him, stark reminders of the past but he ran the tips of his fingers along them, including them as part of his tongue’s journey across her skin, showing her she need not hide them from him. Bracing himself up on both arms he started at one shoulder to the other kissing every inch of skin slowly feeling her move and moan beneath him. She turned her head to kiss him and he pressed his body down on hers allowing her to feel his erection against her. All he could think about was making her happy and never letting this feeling go. Even three weeks can be an eternity.

He lifted himself up to let her turn over on her back. She allowed him to position himself between her legs as she ran her hands across his hairy chest. She was so lithe and supple Robert could no longer hold his excitement and slipped inside her. Zara gasped as she felt his shaft move back and forth. He ran his hand over her quivering breasts taking his time to help her reach orgasm. His breathing quickened as he gasped with pleasure. She cried out as she dug her fingers into his back pulling out hairs, making him cry out as she urged him to go harder. He sped up feeling her vaginal lips tighten around his penis as she grabbed his behind urging him deeper. She trembled with pleasure as his thrust went up a notch. He could feel her sweaty skin on his as their lips met again tongues slipping against each other as Zara matched his rhythm at every thrust. She cried out as if she was about to explode. Sweat on his face, Robert deftly drew her left leg back towards her as he penetrated further making her dig her nails right into his back making him grunt in a mix of pleasure and pain. She screamed out as he felt her come just before he did. They lay there panting and sweating as he moved inside her slower now savouring each sensation.

She gasped pulling him in for a kiss. “I don’t want this to end.”

Forgotten Villains: Mola Ram Temple of Doom

By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues

Photos copyright Lucasfilm

I was recently made aware of just how many movies and television shows the younger generation have never heard of, never mind seen. So to that end, we look back at some characters you really need to see before you kick the bucket.

While some might say that Mola Ram from Indiana Jones and the Temple of doom is hardly a forgotten villain, you have to remember that it’s easy to get swept over by the likes of the Nazi themed Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Last Crusade, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Dial of Destiny. Mola Ram is the scariest of all the Indiana Jones villains. Let’s look at why Mola Ram is so terrifying.

Played deliciously by Amrish Puri, Mola Ram is high priest of the Thuggee cult. Like some kind of poisonous spider, he has installed himself and his temple beneath Pankot Palace. He has stolen an entire village’s child population to slave in the mines where they are beaten by brutal guards. This act alone is enough to anger Indy and propel him into action. Such is his influence he controls the local politicians and royalty using the mind altering blood of Kali Ma, a drink that puts anyone that drinks under his influence. His God is Kali, the Goddess of Death and he intends to bring her back to rule the Earth by reuniting the three Sankara Stones. With them brought together he will unleash Kali upon the world. He was a survivor of the British colonial attempt to wipe the Thuggee out where his father was also a high priest. Now he has revived the cult, he intends the oppressors will be slaughtered and Kali reign over the planet.

Amrishs’ wide eyed manic look and almost musical voice adds a lot to Mola Ram’s success. It is easy to believe that he could bend anyone to his cause by being the embodiment of a feared ancient cult. It is devil worship but on a much grander scale. His buffalo horned head piece with the shrunken human head represents both sides of his nature; the animalistic side that is an apex predator and the human head reminds them that any one of them can be killed at a moment’s notice for desecration.

His temple is built around volcanic vents filled with lava into which he likes to plunge unwilling sacrifices. Mola Ram rules by fear and placing the temple amid lava fields conveys Satan himself and the flames of Hades. A huge demonic statue dominated the chamber its massive hands intertwined with chains attached to cages that drop into the lava below. It also harbours two of the sacred Sankara stones with slots ready for the others when they are found. It is harsh rock, sweat drenched bodies where the chambers echo with the whimpers of beaten children. That is all it takes to keep the locals under control. He rules with an iron fist and even Indy seems uncomfortable when he sees who his adversary is. Indy does not believe in magic but has seen things he cannot explain, and this is a prime example.

Now memory cheats because it wasn’t until recently that I realised the sacrifice scene is even more horrific than I remembered. In the scene, a man is brought forth as a sacrifice and he is secured into the cage. Watch Mola Ram’s eyes here; the shadowing is brilliant, and his voice is soft as if his chant to Kali Ma is hypnotic and reassuring. he reaches up to the statue of Kali Ma with outstretched hand as if drawing power from her. He then slowly moves his hand to the man’s chest, fingers spread like a talon before he turns to the crowd with the beating heart in his hand and the sacrifice still very much alive.

However, probably due to edits for television I recall only the hand on the chest ready to scoop out the heart. In the un-edited version, you see Mola Ram’s hand enter into the chest and pull out the heart. You also see the sacrifice look down and see the hole in his chest heal in seconds. Such a display is a sign of the power of Kali Ma which has the worshippers gripped in fearful devotion. Indy, Short Round and Willie especially are horrified. As the man with no heart prays, he is lifted in the cage and dropped into the lava. Drums with human heads on them beat, Mola Ram chants, the worshippers sing and swept up in their love of Kali, cheer as the man is consumed by the lava. His beating heart in Mola Ram’s hand bursts into flame. The priest cackles because with this act he has once again secured his hold over these people. When even the instruments reflect terror there is no one you can’t control.

Through his movies, Indy has never been influenced by the Nazis or their thinking. He is solidly on the side of good, devout in his mission to bring these artifacts to the world. He is a man of morals that cannot be corrupted no matter how hard others have tried; until now. Captured, the three heroes are pulled into Mola Ram’s web. Short Round will work in the mines, Willie will be sacrificed to the lava and Indy will become a loyal servant of Kali.

Helpless Indy is forced to drink the blood of Kali Ma and succumbs immediately to her power. He has no problem dropping Willie into the lava. Indy like all heroes is a symbol of hope, that the day will end well, and everything will be alright. He came here because the children of the village had to be saved and the Sankara stone returned to the village before it turns to starving ash. When the possessed Indy attacks Short Round, the young boy reflects all of our horror that Indy has gone to the dark side. It seems no one, not even the purest of heart can stand against Mola Ram. He is almost reptilian in his encouragement of Indy killing Willie. To him, nothing good will last before the might of Kali Ma.

However, this is Indiana Jones and when Short Round breaks the curse, he is battling the Thuggee guards and pulling Willie from the lava. For the first time Mola Ram’s plans are threatened as Indy steals the stones. The high priest does not see an American but another white face that like the British threaten the Thuggee religion. This fight with Indy is now on a global scale; whatever side wins will control the planet.

Such is Mola Ram’s ferocity and determination he will chase Indy to the ends of the Earth to get the Sankara stones back. He is a master manipulation and a superb strategist because he knows where Indy will go to escape, the great rope bridge.

Although I have to say when Short Round almost falls through the wooden slats, those crocodiles got very excited. Damn they have great eyesight to see him that far up. But despite his hubris, Mola Ram underestimates his enemy. He believes that when Indy threatens to cut the bridge, he will not do it especially with his friends also on the bridge plus the stones are too important for Indy to let them all fall into the infested crocodile waters to be lost forever. So confident is he that he has read his enemy’s intentions, Mola Ram also steps on to the bridge. The look on his face when Indy cuts the rope is priceless as they cling to the precarious bridge. Mola Ram does not care about his guards, shoving them off to try and smash Indy to the waters below. We also see the warrior side of him as he has the traditional punch up while hanging from the bridge. He almost rips Indy’s heart out before they struggle over the bag containing the stones. Mola too late realises this man is a man of learning and Indy spits that he has betrayed Shiva and begins an incantation. The stones burn through the bag. As Mola claims they are his, he grabs one as it falls burning his hand before Indy takes it from him. Losing his grip Mola Ram plunges to is death to be devoured by the hungry crocodiles below.

With his death and the arrival of the British forces, the Thuggee cult is destroyed one more and Indy returns the stone and its children to the village. For me this is the most uplifting ending for the Jones movies as it is the harrowing journey of them all.

We can all see and fight against Nazis and their slimeball agents, but Mola Ram is a totally different kettle of fish. He has access to a darkness that would suck the Nazis dry and is far more ancient and primeval that anything Indy has ever faced. If touched by this evil, it robs you of who you are and leaves you a helpless zombie. Only pain can bring you back from its grip leaving both physical and mental scars that will stay with you forever. Indeed, in the Dial of Destiny, Indy mentions what happened to him. It is obvious that Mola Ram still haunts the dreams of Indiana Jones.

Of all the evil that he has battled, Mola Ram is the closest thing to the Devil Indiana has ever faced.

Book Excerpt: The Zombie Who Left The Building

By and copyright of Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues

Concept art by Stephen Mooney

The zombie rollercoaster continues as the undead continue to give us their view of being a rotting corpse under the control of Mother Nature.
This time round we meet Comic Book zombie and the zombie who thinks the ending of Toy Story 3 is sacrilege. What happens when a zombie’s faith in God is rocked to its very foundation and why is the spirit of Elvis Presley still going strong in the vast
roaming herds?
A zombie tells why the covid pandemic was much preferable to being undead and why having a club foot makes you feel normal as a zombie. Plus more zombie characters than you can shake a stick at.

Available on Amazon now!

The Zombie Who Left the Building

For all the royalty on this planet there was really only ever one real king worth honouring.

No member of any majestic household has ever lit up the world like he did nor touched peoples’ lives long after his death. He was flawed like the rest of us but when you have that much indefinable raw power to reach into peoples’ souls from every level of society, there will always be a price that comes with it. Even kings bow before the will of gods.

As I said he touched millions across the globe of all colours and creeds. There are numerous movies and books about him and thousands of impersonators.

 I am one of those people. I am Elvis Tuhoe Presley to honour my heritage as a Maori from Brisbane Australia. It is a tribute to the impact the King had on me and celebration of my culture to the world. The legend that is Elvis Aaron Presley from Tupelo Mississippi lives on in me.

I am the zombie who left the building.

As a kid growing up I quickly became painfully aware of racism. Others saw us as different and had made no attempt to hide their dislike of us. It didn’t understand with me as a child why my friends at school had different skin colours. We had so much fun together learning and playing without a care in the world. Yet when the parents arrived at the end of the school day, everything changed. Something furtive cloaked in the adults’ customary smiles and small talk descended at the school gates in the afternoon. There was a shiver in the atmosphere. I could see something flicker behind my father’s eyes every time he came to pick me and my sister up. It was a shadow that was never there when we were at home.

Even in their weak attempts to maintain a pleasant façade towards my father or whichever member of my family picked me up from school, it danced like a smoky wraith around them. It wasn’t just Maori I noticed but Aboriginal too. My young brain simply failed to process it. It didn’t affect us kids the way it did the grown ups so maybe it was a grown up thing we would have when we were adults. I just knew the white folks seemed to look at us very differently. While I know it wasn’t every white person but that was the impression I got as a child. My friends were my friends full stop regardless of what colour they were.

We all played soldiers, football, swopped collector cards, rounders, cricket, super heroes and every other game anyone has ever played while at school. Our adventures in the woods and creeks behind the school were all of us together, all for one and one for all. We were the kids that fought the smugglers and stopped the alien invasions that came form the creepy woods.

Our lives were a fictional cross between Stranger Things and the Goonies as we set up our secret hides in the woods. It was our own clubhouse built from wood and scrap metal we found in the copses; our sanctuary that looking back was how the world should have been. We were just kids from different backgrounds seeing nothing but the friends before them and the imaginary world we created around us. We were the team that would stand against the monsters. As time passed what we didn’t understand was just how the world would creep in and send us all off in different directions. We were friends forever like those guys out of It but how little we knew.

I always thought racism was just aimed at black , Indian or Chinese people. It was something that dominated the news but little did I know that the foul bile of racism was a poison apple that spared no one.

As I got older and saw the divide through older and slightly wiser eyes, my obvious questions of why we were being treated differently brought me no concrete answers. After all, this country had always been our home long before the white men came.. Those that openly practiced racism were descended from those that had entered our land long ago brazenly and without permission. Prison ships had brought them from other countries to our shores centuries before. Mrs Trent told us so in our history classes. Others had emigrated here over time too seeking a better life but had arrived with this attitude of entitlement to another’s home. We had welcomed them yet they had spread like a virus. Now our communities were diluted from what we once had and looked down upon.

Doctor Who Tegan’s Surprise Reunion trailer

By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues

Copyright BBC release

To celebrate the upcoming release of Doctor Who season 20 Collection, the BBC have released a special trailer featuring Tegan. She receives a mysterious summons from someone from her past but it leads to a deadly foe she thought long gone.

Season 20 featured elements from the past in every story to celebrate the twentieth anniversary including Omega, The Mara, The Master, The Brigadier and culminating in the Five Doctors. Sadly the planned Dalek story fell through but would appear in season 21. I love these trailers as they add to the whole mythos and the stories of the companions after they leave the Tardis. It’s nice to see Tegan again so soon after her triumphant return in the Power of the Doctor. With Melanie Bush’s imminent return alongside the 15th Doctor, long may these returns continue.