Diary of a Gay Teenage Zombie by Justin MacCormack

4 out of 5 stars

I was given this book to review by the author.

Personally, I love novellas, short stories and novels. Each one has its benefit and this was the perfect novella. It took me about a weekend to read, while still doing other things, and that was just what I was hoping for from this book.

Diary of a Gay Teenage Zombie tells the story of, well, a gay zombie who is a teenager and his life. In all honesty it was quite close to a mundane life- but I liked that about the diary. It was nice to read a day to day diary of a zombie. I've always loved zombies and the history behind them so I thought the idea of this story was great! I also thought it was very well executed and a fun read. It was a light read, so some of you may not like that! Personally, I love a night light read about day to day life.

As far as the characters went, they were likeable for the most part. I would have liked to get to know them a little better but with diary format sometimes that is hard.

In all honesty, I was disappointed with some of Jay's choices. Though on some level I could understand them I just couldn't back them.

This story had an element that really drew me in. To me, this story had so much to do with accepting who you are. Maybe that wasn't what the author intended but it was what I took from it. Finding a way to make the bad good and finding a way to accept yourself and let people in.

Jay did some annoying things, I'm not going to lie about that, but I also think he did some teenage things. He acted like a teenager and that lead to some dumb choices- so you have to keep in mind that the character is a teenager, or at least I had to.

When it comes down to it this story was more than worth it.

On a final note, I would have liked to see more about the zombie virus- but that's okay because I fully expect to see more in this series! 

Excerpt: Test Your Metal

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Once the shaggy looking roadies had finished setting up, the lights went down and the entire place took a deep breath. The drummer came out first and sat behind his kit in silence. Then the bassist and two guitarists did the same. All the while, we looked on in awe. Three crashes of the cymbal smashed the silence and the horde of bodies surged forwards. Dry ice ebbed from the stage that was not even a metre from us. The other members of the band joined in forming the backing to “In my Veins.” That’s when he walked out, blue beams highlighted his perfect body as he began to belt out the lyrics. I couldn’t believe how many people in the room loved these men as much as we did. Every word he sang was accompanied by a thousand or so other voices. I thought I was going to melt.

The sweat that dripped from his perfectly smooth brow and plastered his glossy black locks to his face only enhanced the visual sexuality of the man who was screaming into the microphone. He was even more beautiful in real life. His hazel eyes glittered like nuggets of gold in the beams of the LED lasers. The girls and I screamed when partway through the show Brad peeled his soaking wet T-shirt from his muscled torso and flung it carelessly into the mob. Within minutes, the garment had been shredded to bits by a million grabbing hands (unfortunately, I wasn’t near enough to swipe a piece) and the American just laughed at the sight, flashing his pearly teeth.

“Oh you like that, do you?” He taunted us. “What, you want a piece of this?” He slid a long slender hand over one of his distended powder pink nipples and down the glistening valley in the middle of his rock hard abdomen stopping with a black-nailed thumb hooked into his buckle.

Having come onto the stage bare footed, he now stood in just his patent leather trousers which left little to the imagination. Slug low, they revealed a tattoo of purple and black flames licking up towards his naval from beneath the impossibly tight waistband. The gyrating of his hips sent shivers down my spine and straight to my groin area. An ear splitting guitar solo filled the room from Nicole’s preferred guy and Brad used that time to vault down of the stage and over to us, the public. He high fived some fans jovially on his journey along the front row.

My heart beat wildly when he came towards me. Random hands, like claws, brushed past every part of me trying to grab at him. Those soulful brass eyes were looking directly at me. Suddenly, he hopped up onto the silvery railing so his body was now in line with mine; the cold hard steel was the only thing hiding my straining cock from the pretty boy I was now chest to chest with. It was quite possibly one of the most surreal moments of my life. It was like a dream only the elbows that were now jabbing furiously in my back were really quite painful.

He smelt of fresh perspiration and whisky. I watched astonished as he didn’t even flinch as fingers from all directions dug into his tight shoulders and bulging biceps, leaving scratches and bruises almost immediately. Without warning, his arm that wasn’t grasping the gate snaked around the back of my neck and he took a handful of my hair.

He pulled my face towards his and pressed his burning forehead against mine. The microphone was between our mouths and he was singing again, singing to me, the intensity of his stare nearly enough to cause me faint. The throng of mainly females around me became even more frenzied, shrieks piercing my ear drums. I almost whimpered when the front man let me loose with a light shove against my chest and hurdled back to join his band.

Diary of a Gay Teenage Zombie by Justin MacCormack

4 out of 5 stars

I was given this book to review by the author.

Personally, I love novellas, short stories and novels. Each one has its benefit and this was the perfect novella. It took me about a weekend to read, while still doing other things, and that was just what I was hoping for from this book.

Diary of a Gay Teenage Zombie tells the story of, well, a gay zombie who is a teenager and his life. In all honesty it was quite close to a mundane life- but I liked that about the diary. It was nice to read a day to day diary of a zombie. I've always loved zombies and the history behind them so I thought the idea of this story was great! I also thought it was very well executed and a fun read. It was a light read, so some of you may not like that! Personally, I love a night light read about day to day life.

As far as the characters went, they were likeable for the most part. I would have liked to get to know them a little better but with diary format sometimes that is hard.

In all honesty, I was disappointed with some of Jay's choices. Though on some level I could understand them I just couldn't back them.

This story had an element that really drew me in. To me, this story had so much to do with accepting who you are. Maybe that wasn't what the author intended but it was what I took from it. Finding a way to make the bad good and finding a way to accept yourself and let people in.

Jay did some annoying things, I'm not going to lie about that, but I also think he did some teenage things. He acted like a teenager and that lead to some dumb choices- so you have to keep in mind that the character is a teenager, or at least I had to.

When it comes down to it this story was more than worth it.

On a final note, I would have liked to see more about the zombie virus- but that's okay because I fully expect to see more in this series! 

Narcissist by Suzi Slade

4.5 out of 5 Stars

This book was all about two young men trying to make it in the world of music. So yes. Sex, drugs & rock and roll.

This was a good book, it was a pretty fast read for me and over all I really liked it. I wasn't drawn to the main character, he kind of seemed like an asshole to me, but I did like the love interest a lot. Their relationship really confused me though. It was like the were best friend and then then a second later they wanted to kill each other, then they were fucking. Although it was confusing I know people whose relationships are kind of like that!

When it came to side characters I didn't see much of them really. Although there were a good amount of them and what I saw I liked, I just wish I'd seen more from them and really gotten to know them.

This probably would have been a five star review if it was written from Floyd's point of view honestly. He just seemed so much more likeable to me.

So pretty much there were 2-3 things I didn't like about this book.

1. Was the way it was told. It just wasn't the story telling I like and felt a little bit too tell-y then show-y.

2. Was the ending. It just felt like there was no lead up to it and it felt a little rushed, and finally:
3. This kinda falls into 2 because it has to do with the ending. I just couldn't get past the fact that one of the main characters sleeps with a guy, falls in love with him and ends out dating his mum? It just didn't wok for me.

That being said, if you're looking for a gay-rockstar-badboy romance things might be right up your alley.

Also, for anyone who is into older music and gay romance, you might enjoy it too! 

Interview with Suzi Slade

Why don't you tell us about your latest work? 

Narcissist is the epitome of sex, drugs and rock and roll.  It takes you head first, kicking and screaming, into the seedy underbelly of the British music industry in the nineties.  As a reader, you are treated to a first-hand view of inside the very twisted and controlling mind of a self-professed egotist and obsession with control that such a person exhibits.  The story itself is not for the feint hearted. 

What inspired it? 

I have always been an avid music fan and I particularly enjoy music by musicians who have something dark or sordid about them.  In my books, the more tumultuous the relationship between the band members, the better the tunes they produce.  I wanted, well needed to write something that would capture that, something that would draw the reader in and tear them to shreds as such bands are apt at doing to themselves.  

Is there something you are currently working on? 

I am working on something a bit different now.  I have set myself the challenge of writing a horror piece featuring zombies, no mean feat for me as I have an acute fear of the undead. 

Is there a topic you would like to write about but haven't gotten around to yet? 

I would love to write a really grizzly steam punk piece but I just haven’t got around to it yet. 

When did you finally feel like you could call yourself an author? 

That is a hard one; I still don’t feel like the term author suits me.  I prefer to call myself a writer. 

Other than writing, what are your favorite things to do? 

Obviously, I enjoy reading about as a writer; the two go hand in hand.  I love gritty dark novels personally.  When I am not doing one of the two, I enjoy listening to music and singing or drawing and painting.  I like anything creative really. 

Are there any websites where readers can connect with you? 

Twitter, Facebook