Cover Reveal for Dead Over Heels by Alison Kemper

So I've been sad for a few months that neither of our schedules allowed for me to beta read Alison Kemper's next book, Dead Over Heels. But I won't be sad for long, because this book will hit the e-shelves soon! In the meantime, Alison and Entangled revealed the cover:

Ava Pegg isn’t sure exactly what her parents were thinking when they bought a vacation home in dull-as-dirt Glenview.

Then the cute-but-really-annoying boy next door shows up at her place in a panic…hollering something about flesh-eating zombies attacking the town. Now the undead are walking in Glenview, and they are hungry.

Panicked, Ava and Cole flee into the forest. No supplies, no weapons. But that’s the funny thing about the Zombpocalypse. You never know when you’ll fall dead over heels for a boy… 

Add Dead Over Heels on Goodreads here!
(And this is another cover design by X-Potions Design, who also did my cover and Alison's first book, Donna of the Dead)

Happy Book Birthday to Alison Kemper!

My crit partner, Alison Kemper, has her debut today with Donna of the Dead, a teen romance in the thick of the zombie apocalypse! As part of Entangled Teen's March release promo, Donna is only .99 for a limited time! Click on the cover (designed by another friend, Kelley York, btw) and get your copy!

And while you're waiting for it to download, here's a catchy zombie song to entertain you

Connections

This might read like Six Degrees of the Writer World, but some years ago I approached Brigid Kemmerer about beta reading one of my manuscripts. We'd commented on a lot of the same threads on Absolute Write's Water Cooler forum and seemed like a good writerly match.

Alas, Brigid was just starting the sweet insanity of deadlines for multiple books under contract and wasn't able to read for me then. But, she did have another writer-friend, Alison Kemper who was willing to give my pages a look. Brigid thought we'd be a good team, and she was right! Alison and I share a quirky sense of humor and a mutual love of each other's sarcastic main characters.

Then, last year, Alison sent another writer my way who was looking for some query help. Karen McCoy and I ended up trading manuscripts and cheering each other along on our writing journeys. So when Karen said she'd be passing through Sacramento, I jumped at the chance to meet up with her in person.

We chose the Crocker Art Museum because it's right off I-5--and because I love their exhibits and cafe. We didn't have too much time to see the exhibits (there were Important Writing Conversations to be had!) but we each got fantastic salads and had a great visit. And because Alison was in our thoughts and conversation, I added her to the souvenir photo of the day.

That's Karen on the left (who looks so young that the guy at the desk gave her a "Youth" sticker when I checked us in on my membership), me in the middle, and Alison on the right, all the way from North Carolina. Yay for writer friends, and their support in this crazy undertaking called writing!

P.S. I'd be remiss not to mention another writer connection--I met Laurie Dennison at LA SCBWI last year, and I sent her Karen's way when they were looking for an additional beta. They each thanked me for that, so it must have been another successful connection!

Maybe I should add Laurie next to Karen in the photo?

Congrats to Alison Kemper and Donna (of the Dead)!

The details of writer-friend Alison Kemper's book deal were announced today:

Debut YA author Alison Kemper's DONNA OF THE DEAD, about a teen girl who has to face the obliteration of the human race to a virus that makes people act zombie-like with only the help of a rag-tag group of high school classmates, including her long-time crush, in the campy humor-meets-action vein of the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Entangled Publishing in a three-book deal with the first book releasing in 2014.

I've read the first book as a beta, and I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy! Go congratulate Alison on Twitter