*blows the dust off of Ye Olde Blog* Somebody needs to take some Pledge to that junk (and by somebody, I mean somebody else).

Hello again! I do believe the last time we spoke I was heading straight for my busy season. Fall always brings a multitude of great events and I make sure to squish as many of them as I can into October and November (along with my birthday and all of my unbirthdays, which I do believe some of you missed). You can scroll down in the blog to see the debacle of Halloween crack I rolled in, so I won’t venture yet again into my love of the holiday.

Other than Halloween, I had the absolute privilege of being a guest author for Spooky Empire’s Ultimate Horror Weekend. It was my first convention as a guest and I had a complete blast. Not only did I actually talk in front of a room full of people (go ahead and gasp, because I sure as hell was hyperventilating on the inside), but I met some of the coolest people you’ll ever meet. From Stephen Biro from Unearthed Films (he’s also a fantastic author and I highly recommend his book Hellucination) to Indy McDaniel to the dynamite in a small package…not that his package is small…never mind…Jeffrey Stundel of WTF Books. OOH! AND I got to meet one of my absolute favorite new authors, Hugh Howey, author of Wool. If you haven’t read it, I can’t stomp my feet hard enough to make you do it. Wool is my favorite read from 2012, which landed it on my Top 10 Favorite Books list.  Yes, I attempted to keep my inner fangirl at bay. I only forced him into one picture (or two…shut it) with me on the last day.

I finally got to see a screening of Rob Fox‘s movie Ace the Zombie (loved it!!). I got my picture taken with the zombie 4th Doctor and with the lady from The Birds AND I got my picture drawn. Oh, and I received a plethora of hugs from IronE Singleton. If you ever need a hug in your life, you bettah hope T-Dog is around because that’s a man that knows how to give a hug. I’m not swooning. Stop looking at me like that.

Most of my favorite moments actually came from the panels. Not only did I get to talk about on of my favorite B-flicks, Blood Feast, but I got to order an alcoholic beverage from the audience and one was actually brought to me…not that I needed it at that point. Moving on….

THENNNN…..

November rolled around and my very first book was released by Fey Publishing. Bayou L’Abeille represents a large part of my creative life at its high point. I never thought it would happen, but it totally did and I’m overwhelmed by it. For a long time, I never had the courage to even show my writing to a friend. I stepped out of my comfort zone one day and look where it led me – book published, red hair, and too much sassy-pants for one girl. Just kidding. Today I’m wearing my smart pants. Tomorrow, it’s the fat pants. Don’t ask.

Anyway, you can find my book on Amazon and Barnes and Noble and it is now available for Kindle.

At this point, I’m a rambly thing. I realize this, so I’ll make the follow-up brief from here and promise a more entertaining post next time. Around and after the time of Book was pretty much a blur: Birthday, Work, School, Ink, Work, Sick, School, Work, Work, ChristmasWorkSick, Fussiness, Life, New Years, Work. I’m currently working on two short story collections. One is a follow up to Bayou L’Abeille of weird, unusual, and down-right horrific tales from the bayou. The other is a collaborative collection of horror stories about beasts and things that lurk in the shadows.

That about sums it up.

Oh, and it wouldn’t be a post from me without some sort of picture pages….

Hug Howey and one very excited A.D. Sams at Spooky Empire Ultimate Horror Weekend 2012

The Zombie 4th Doctor and a Zombie Prom A.D. Sams at Spooky Empire Ultimate Horror Weekend 2012

The Birds…oh, and me.

A.D. Sams by Michael Duron of Orlando, FL at Spooky Empire Ultimate Horror Weekend 2012