On this day I am celebrating skelly-style, which I am so happy to see so well-executed (yes, EXECUTED) all over the web, especially in places like The Revival Outpost where they claim they can transform you into a “circa 90’s Gwen Stefani, Drew Barrymore, or Selena.” It looks like they can help you channel a long ago celeb as well, a star from a bygone era, perhaps someone’s much beloved mummy.

Maybe it’s the season … fashion week for the corpse and cadaver crowd … but I’m just drooling over all the graveyard glamour.

Oh, the symmetry of skeletons, the beauty of bones, the dash and panache of the dead and undead!

Check out more here.

—Erin Orison, DEAD LOVE/the Daily Slice

BUY THE BOOK!

Based on Isaac Marion’s  novel of the same name, the film stars Nicholas Hoult as zombie R, Teresa Palmer as Julie, and John Malkovich as her dad, zombie-killing General Grigio.

Zombie R eats Julie’s ex-boyfriend’s brain (thanks for the memories, fella) and falls in love with Julie. Julie, who obviously likes to stagger around on the dead side, then trips, totters, falls … for the zombie hero. Hurrah!

There’s a great zombie balcony scene. Julie … R … balcony … ? Now, am I the ONLY one who noticed this is a whole heck of a lot like Romeo and Juliette?

Oh, yes! It’s a slobberingly super celebration of dead love. It might not be die-hard zombie fan fodder, but it’s a welcome twist to the usual regurgitated fare, and it does feature an excellent fight with the bonies.

—Erin Orison, DEAD LOVE/the Daily Slice

BUY THE BOOK!

BUY THE BOOK IN SPANISH!

Where? Why, to the movies, my favorite dark and gloomy place.

I’m going to see another zombie flick:  World War Z. Hmmmm, let’s see what to do about all the crazy zombies. Who will be the hero? Why Brad Pitt, of course. He is such a cool celeb, so un-zombie.  But I have to admit, I liked The Zombie Survival Guide, and I like what Max Brooks has done to revive the undead.

Loved or hated, at least they’re ALLLLLIIIIIVVVVE!

—Erin Orison, DEAD LOVE/the Daily Slice

BUY THE BOOK!

BUY THE BOOK IN SPANISH!

Clément shook his head, gazed up at the blinking fireflies and down at the stiff and claw-like fingers of the dead Malaysian’s hands. “If I had it, I would treasure it and worship it. I would never let it go.”

—From “Glow, Little Glow Worm,” between the DEAD LOVE covers. (more from this selection at a later date in “Chapters”)

As some of you know and others will discover, parts of Dead Love take place in Malaysia and Indonesia, land of the Indochinese, Malayan and Sumatran tigers. There are only around 3200 tigers left in the wild. The Bali, Caspian and Javan tiger subspecies have all become extinct. If you think that zombies and ghouls are evil, think on this: Man could trump all as the Prince of Darkness.

—Erin Orison, DEAD LOVE/The Daily Slice

The Tiger
William Blake

Tiger Tiger. burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye.
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies.
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat.
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp.
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears
And watered heaven with their tears:
Did he smile His work to see?
Did he who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger Tiger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,

Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

—William Blake

Ask the 5th graders attending classes at Horace Mann and they can tell you; they’ll even explain the sociological significance of these iconic creatures.

Dead Love spent the day at Buena Visa Horace Mann K-8 Spanish Immersion Public School in San Francisco on Friday, January 27th, 2012, sharing zombie stories with a room full of 5th graders. Many thanks for new ZIA (Zombie Intelligence Agency) member, Nancy A. for setting that up!

There were zombie questions, zombie prizes, zombie jokes, and a super scary taste of the book! The amazing Jack, who blogs for Left Coast Writers, came along and taped some of Linda Watanabe McFerrin‘s talk. Zombie finger puppets, Dead Love buttons and other wacky zombie paraphernalia were flying into clever kids’ hands. Pablo was clearly the most informed kid in the room, though he had lots of competition from the others who were also very well-versed in zombie and other supernatural lore.

No brainless zombies in that bunch!

—Erin Orison, DEAD LOVE/the Daily Slice

BUY THE BOOK!

BUY THE BOOK IN SPANISH!

Art courtesy of Bart Frescura, copyright Bart Frescura

British British anthropologist Roland Littlewood and Haitian doctor Chavannes Douyon have done case studies on three people who have returned from the dead.

All three individuals had the following zombie identifiers:

• inability to lift the head
• nasal intonation (imagine: BRAAAAINZZZ)
• fixed staring expression
• tendency to carry on a series of meaningless, repetitive actions

Well, that sounds like a lot of my friends.

You can read about the study here.

—Erin Orison, DEAD LOVE/the Daily Slice

BUY THE BOOK!

BUY THE BOOK IN SPANISH!

Art courtesy of Bart Frescura, copyright Bart Frescura

Wow! Oh, yeah, I am definitly one of the Walken Dead.

—Erin Orison, DEAD LOVE/the Daily Slice

BUY THE BOOK!

BUY THE BOOK IN SPANISH!

I don’t care who tells you it isn’t political; it is hijo. So no surprise that the undead turn up in Cuba in Juan de los Muertos (Juan of the Dead) or that the living swarm the cinemas for a look at ’em. Who in Havana wouldn’t identify with the flick’s hero, Juan, and his sidekick, Lazaro, a Quixotic duo who are swatting zombies as the world falls to pieces around them?

Hmmmm,  this reminds me of the classic closing scene in George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead when the hero, a black man, having survived the zombie onslaught, is killed by the police. If you haven’t seen this you are missing one of the great political comments of the 20th Century. If you have, watch it again.

And … if and when Juan of the Dead, writer-director Alejandro Brugues smashing new addition to the genre, makes it out of Cuba, be sure to check it out.

—Erin Orison, DEAD LOVE/the Daily Slice

BUY THE BOOK!

BUY THE BOOK IN SPANISH!

Zombie image ©Bart Frescura, courtesy of Bart Frescura

Just need to find the right guy … er … I mean, ghoul to ask me to go. He’ll have to be able to get me there, though, and that will involve some serious travel as I’m here on the left coast and this prom is way the heck in Pennsylvania which is kind of the American Zombie Transylvania—think: famous zombie malls—or maybe that’s somewhere in Michigan.

This one is going to take place on February 18th, a little after Valentine’s Day, so all the dearly disappointed should be celebrating Dead Love in various ways. I’m determined to go and get bloody glamourous. Fashionistas, I’m thinking a bruise-green gown with a great gored skirt. Killer, right?

So here are the details: Zombie Prom!

If I don’t make it, my proxy will be a limited edition hard cover copy of Dead Love, given away to some delightfully dastardly deadling.

Stagger on PA!

—Erin Orison, DEAD LOVE/the Daily Slice

So if you aren’t a zombie yet, you might want some advice on how to withstand the almost inevitable zombie attack. Fortunately, there’s a great deal of direction out there. For example, here’s a video from Common Craft in their signature style with easy-to-follow instruction on exactly what you need to do. Pay special attention to the advice about high altitudes and water!

Now just make sure that the zombies you’re zapping are the real ones. Happy Halloween!

—Erin Orison, DEAD LOVE/the Daily Slice