.Release Day: #GuestPost Plague Nation by @zhadi1 -Dana Fredsti #Zombies

Hey guys, today I'm sharing the release day of  Plague Nation with you and a guest post by the author. 
I will be reading and reviewing this series very soon, and will be hosting a giveaway with my reviews, so check back in May.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, Dana!

Plague Nation (Ashley Parker #2)

by Dana Fredsti

Paperback, 336 pages

Published April 9th 2013 by Titan Books

Goodreads 

Sequel to the thrilling zombie novel PLAGUE TOWN

The undead have been defeated in Redwood Grove, CA, but reports of similar outbreaks are coming in. What seemed to be an isolated event is turning into a pandemic.  The last thing Ashley Parker wanted when she went to college was to join the military, but she is one of a select few who are immune to the virus. Gifted with enhanced speed, strength, and senses, she’s recruited by a shadowy international organization that’s existed for centuries, its sole purpose to combat the zombie threat.
Dark secrets begin to emerge, and when an unknown enemy strikes, Ashley and the other zombie hunters—known as “wild cards”—embark on a desperate mission to reach San Francisco. If they fail, the plague will sweep the nation unchecked. And the person she cares for most may die. Or worse.

Plague Town (Ashley Parker #1)

I still remember the day my sister Lisa gave me a copy of The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis.  I was about seven years old, sitting in the rocking chair in our living room, when she walked up to me, plopped the book in my lap and said “Read this” in that "I'm your older sister and you will not argue" tone that she had down pat.   Not that I'd argue anyway.  I was convinced she knew the answers to everything (even if she did tell my mom to put me back where she got me when I was born).  

I read The Silver Chair in record time and it, in turn, led to the rest of the Chronicle of Narnia.  Trips to the library resulted in Lisa and I bringing home piles of books, as many as the limit at the time would allow. I quickly found the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander, another great fantasy series.  My favorite parts involved the Cauldron Born, deathless warriors created by tossing corpses into the Black Cauldron. Deathless, tireless, pitiless, the Cauldron Born stalked the heroes relentlessly throughout their adventures.  Remind you of any modern monsters?   

I moved onto vampires and werewolves. My copy of Bram Stoker’s Dracula was well-worn within no time. Grimm’s Fairy Tales were also a favorite (my parents had one of those complete sets of the classics bound in green leather with gold lettering), especially whenever there was a bad guy or critter that ate human flesh.  The Cyclops in The Odyssey, the Morlocks in The Time Machine (I can’t hear a siren without thinking of the Morlock’s dinner bell), ghouls, just to name a few, all creeped me out in a fun way.  

  

  

I enjoyed other books too.  For instance, another childhood favorite was The Red Room Riddle, by Scott Corbett, about two boys who accept the offer of a strange kid to meet the ghosts in his house. The entire book was spooky, but the bit where a mural depicting the infamous Slaughter of the Innocents comes to life, with Roman soldiers slaughtering infants.  We’re talking gruesome to the max, the stuff of nightmares, even though the soldiers didn’t actually eat the babies.  Er … and I did read books that weren’t morbid: E.S. Nesbitt’s fantasy novels: Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books; Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series, plus many more. 

I moved onto Charles de Lint and Barbara Hambly (still two of my favorite authors ever) in the '80s and was totally thrilled when Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, started the influx of paranormal romance and urban fantasy series still going strong today.  With authors like Kat Richardson, Seanan McGuire, Kelley Armstrong, Tanya Huff, Charlene Harris, Patricia Briggs, and so many more, my love of fantasy has plenty to feed it.   

  

But back to The Silver Chair.  I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say it changed my life.  It inspired a lifelong love of reading that has never dimmed. The Silver Chair also opened up the possibility of other worlds.  I mean, it had magic, different worlds, shape-shifters, a heroine (Jill) close enough to my age that I could imagine myself adventuring in her place, and … it had giants who ate people.  I'm not sure what it is says about me that the flesh-eating giants of Harfang were what stood out to me more than any of the other very cool elements of the book, but there you have it.  And even though I never actually found my way through a wardrobe or picture into fantasy world, it is the first book that inspired me to try and create my own worlds by writing.   

About The Author

Dana Fredsti is ex B-movie actress with a background in theatrical sword-fighting. Through seven plus years of volunteering at EFBC/FCC (Exotic Feline Breeding Facility/Feline Conservation Center), Dana's had a full-grown leopard sit on her feet, kissed by tigers, held baby jaguars and had her thumb sucked by an ocelot with nursing issues. She's addicted to bad movies and any book or film, good or bad, which include zombies. Her other hobbies include surfing (badly), collecting beach glass (obsessively), and wine tasting (happily).

Along with her best friend Maureen, Dana was co-producer/writer/director for a mystery-oriented theatrical troupe based in San Diego. While no actual murders occurred during their performances, there were times when the actors and clients made the idea very tempting. Somewhere in the mists of time she lost a grip on what happened in real life and what she made up for her book.

She's written numerous published articles, essays and shorts, including stories in Cat Fantastic IV, an anthology series edited by Andre Norton (Daw, 1997), Danger City (Contemporary Press, 2005), and Mondo Zombie (Cemetery Dance, 2006). Her essays can be seen in Morbid Curiosity, Issues 2-7. Additionally she's written several produced low-budget screenplays and currently has another script under option. Dana was also co-writer/associate producer on Urban Rescuers, a documentary on feral cats and TNR (Trap/Neuter/Return), which won Best Documentary at the 2003 Valley Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Dana is currently working on the second book in the Murder for Hire series, The Big Snooze and writing erotic romance under the pen name Inara LaVey for Ravenous Romance.