A hilariously wicked read, from beginning to end.

I was expecting a typical Southern Gothic storyline in which three siblings—Aimee Trapnell and her two brothers, Trainor and Marsh—vie for the billions their cantankerous ninety-year-old father, Blanton, would be leaving them in the near future. Perhaps first vying to win his favor over the others, then, I imagined, bumping each other off. While one such murder does occur (to a much older half-sister and a very minor character), the plot takes a sudden unexpected left and leads the three surviving siblings (and us) on a quest halfway around the world and back in search of a stolen artifact which is said to possess the power to end the world.

Although this is Ms. Hand’s debut novel, she delivers this highly original and unlikely tale with straight-faced irony and the skill and confidence of a seasoned author. Many of the passages had me actually laughing out loud—and that’s really saying something. Here’s an example:

“Hillman was nearly as old as his employer. He resembled a Galápagos tortoise, with his heavy-lidded eyes and shriveled little head atop a long, wrinkled neck the color and texture of a walnut. He regarded the three Trapnell siblings with puzzlement, as if unsure of who they were. Then something seemed to click inside his ancient brain

‘Mr. Blanton wants y’all in his study,’ he said, slowly nodding his head in confirmation. ‘Right now,’ he added, more forcefully. ‘He says he wants to see y’all right now, so I come to get y’all and tell y’all he wants to see y’all right now!’ The last two words were barked out in an eerily accurate imitation of Blanton’s voice. Then he launched into a fit of deep, bronchial coughing.”

I highly recommend White Oaks to lovers of morbid mysteries, unpredictable plot twists, and dark humor. [Five Stars]

Find out More About the World of Lizzie Borden, Zombie HunterBlog hopand Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter 2: The Axe Will Fall by Science Fiction/Dark Fantasy Writer C.A. Verstraete During OWS CyCon 2019

Welcome to another fantastic stop in our World-building Showcase blog hop! On this stop, we’re highlighting a story where the world changes or ends as we know it, but you can find a full list of authors and topics on the OWS Cycon website. Let’s dive in!

Welcome C.A. (Christine) Verstraete!

1. Before we dive into the nitty-gritty, what is Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter about?

Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter gives an entirely different reason for the horrific axe murders committed by Sunday School teacher Lizzie Borden on August 4, 1892.

What if Lizzie killed her parents not because of family conflicts, jealousy or greed, but because they’d become… zombies?

The book follows the trial and aftermath of real life events, along with fictionalized story line events as Lizzie tries to uncover deadly secrets and protect her hometown, and her sister, Emma, from these nightmarish ghouls.

2. Does language play any role in your world? Does everyone speak the same language, or is there variety? Did you invent any new slang or terminology during your world-building process?

If you can call grunts and moans a “new” language. Ha! Zombies don’t say much otherwise. But I did use some language and got inspiration from real-life news coverage of the day.

3. Is there any kind of faith system in your world? Did you draw inspiration from any real cultures, living or dead?

In real life, Lizzie Borden was a Sunday School teacher and attended her congregational church. While she was acquitted of the murders and perhaps thought she could resume some of her life again, I included some events in the story like how she was shunned at church. I decided to include her need for meditation by having her drop in the local Catholic church near her home, just to sit and reflect unnoticed as she felt unwelcome elsewhere.

4. What do people in your world do for fun? Are there sports, games, music, or other activities they do in their free time?

I hate to say there’s no fun when you’ve been acquitted of murder and still condemned by society, and when killer zombies are roaming the streets. But inside her home, as in real life, Lizzie had to enjoy quiet moments with her sister and a few friends, read, play piano and listen to music. Then there was that huge party she had in real life, which may have been part of the cause for the rift between her and her sister.

5. What kinds of transportation and other interesting technology do your characters have access to? Are they ahead, behind, or a mix of different kinds of tech compared to where we are now?

As the book is set in 1892 and 1893, there are horses and horse-drawn carriages.

6. Without giving away too much, what can you tell us about your world-ending event and how it led to the world of your story? Was it a distant event or does it happen as part of your tale?

In Lizzie’s case, her personal world nearly ends as she, her sister, and her self-defense instructor close in on the madmen behind this evil scourge. Then she finds out other details. But there is also huge devastation in Fall River with fires and the chaos of invading zombies destroying much of the downtown. That also is loosely based on the devastation caused by real fires in the city’s past.

Your Process

7. When you build a world, what is your process like? Do you do a lot of research upfront, wing it completely, or something in between?

In this case, my story is based on real-life events so I researched the trial, used newspaper accounts of the time, actual autopsy reports and crime scene photos, which all are available online.

8. How central is the setting of your story to the story itself? Is it more of an interesting backdrop, or is it integral to the events of the story?

The location and setting are integral to the story as Lizzie Borden’s life is centered in her hometown and in neighboring cities where the legal proceedings are held. Oddly enough, even after the trial, while she traveled some, she continued to live in the same city, only moving to the “better” side of town where she and her sister bought a huge home.

9. How much of a role does realism and hard scientific fact play in your world-building? Do you strive for 100% accuracy, or do you leave room for the fantastical and unexplainable in your world?

I based the book on real events, but it definitely enter the “fantastical” realm with the addition of zombies. But if you look at the crime scene photos and autopsy reports, the theory of the father and stepmother becoming zombies is a pretty plausible explanation for the murders.

Where can people find you on the web?

Thanks for hosting me! You can stop by my website, https://www.cverstraete.com or my blog, http://girlzombieauthors.blogspot.com for more details.

For more stops on our End of the World World-building Showcase, visit the tour page on the OWS CyCon website. You can also find more great Sci Fi authors and books on our main Sci Fi event page.

Keywords: OWS CyCon, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, world-building, zombies, apocalypse, Lizzie Borden, alternate history, axe murders

I’m hosting another fantastic stop in our Greatest Gadgets blog hop! On this stop, we’re highlighting awesome Sci-Fi tech, and you can find a full list of participating authors and topics for this hop on the OWS Cycon website. Let’s dive in!

Welcome Phoebe Darqueling!

Before we dive in to the nitty gritty, what is Riftmaker about?

Save his boy, uncover a conspiracy, and master opposable thumbs—a dog’s work is never done.

Buddy’s favorite thing is curling up for a nap at the foot of Ethan’s bed. Then he stumbles through a portal to a clockwork city plagued by chimeras, and everything changes… Well, not everything. Sure, his new human body comes with magic powers, but he’d still rather nap than face the people of Excelsior, who harbor both desire and fear when it comes to “the other side.”

He discovers Ethan followed him through the portal and underwent his own transformation, and it becomes Buddy’s doggone duty to save him. Buddy finds unlikely allies in an aristocrat with everything on the line, a mechanic with something to hide, and a musician willing to do anything to protect her. Using a ramshackle flying machine, the group follows the chimeras deep into the forest and uncovers a plot that could reshape the worlds on both sides of the rift.

What can you tell us about the piece of Sci Fi tech you’re featuring today?

My gadget is same as the title of the book: the riftmaker.

As Lucy explains it, “Everything in the universe has a melody, something that transcends the barriers between worlds and is unique to them. But each world is like a different instrument, and the melody sounds different depending on whether you are using a flute or piano to play it. In other words, our ‘melodies’ resonate differently depending on the parameters of the worlds they inhabit, and that resonance is reflected in one’s physical body.”

By finding the right resonance coefficient and tuning the riftmaker machine to the same frequency, rifts open and provide a passageway to “the other side.” But because of the difference in resonance, the matter of a person is rearranged into a corresponding animal and vice versa. The main character of Riftmaker is Buddy, a dog in search of his boy in a strange clockwork city plagued by monsters that feed on fear. There are traces of our world called Artefacts, which are more technologically advanced than what is native to Excelsior because movement between worlds became restricted around 1860 in our world. It’s a delicate piece of machinery, and only one man knows how to build one.

“The riftmaker was a complicated aggregate of Artefacts, brass, wires, and glass vials of chemicals. The professor had explained to Ethan that the Artefacts were actually just for show, “modifications” he had insisted the machine required to make passage in human form possible. In the Commander’s pursuit of his goal, he had his army collect everything the professor had asked for from the other side, and Fenwick had attached them all over the machine with colored wires to make them appear integral. The real work focused on the various canisters of liquid, and the wire pulled taut between them. He sat back, satisfied that he accomplished his goal. The vials were all just loose enough that the vibrations would cause the desired effect, and hopefully, their escape.”

Find out more

Where can people find you on the web?

During OWS CyCon, you can connect with me and ask questions in my author booths on the CyCon website (my books are separated into Sci Fi and Fantasy). I’m also a participant in the “Sci Fi Goes Punk” World-building Showcase.

Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook, and if are a fan of FREE BOOKS (and who isn’t?), sign up for my email list and get your copy of The Steampunk Handbook sent right to your inbox.

For more stops on our blog hops, visit the tour page on the OWS CyCon website. You can also find more great Sci Fi authors and books on our main Sci Fi event page.