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Loretta Kendall Answers 3 Irrelevant Questions

Ghouls and Gals by Loretta Kendall

Loretta Kendall is talent manager and beauty guru of 20+ years in the entertainment industry. She retired a few years ago and is now living her best life as a full-time romance author. She writes paranormal, contemporary, rom-com, and sports wrestling romance.

Yup, you read that right. Wrestling romance.

She’s currently working on a modern monster retelling series featuring vintage horror monsters living in the human realm. The series follows several monster gal pals after an explosion joined the movie monster world with Earth, caused by Victor Frankenstein VI, the heir to the Frankenstein fortune. She loves vintage horror, pin-up style, vintage cars, and rockabilly culture, and has integrated all that into this new series. “It’s Halloween year-round and I’m loving it,” she tells me. “Who says monsters can only come out to play once a year?”

But that’s not important right now.

Loretta Kendall

Loretta Kendall is my guest this week, and it’s her turn on the hot seat answering the 3 irrelevant questions.

What is one of your favorite guilty pleasure movies, and for goodness sake why?

Other than the typical girly rom-com, I love cheesy monster films. I hate scary movies if there’s any major gore, but I love throwback horror, especially ones from the 80’s and old black-and-white films. Shows like Elvira and Sammy Terry who hosted those old shows used to terrify me as a kid, but now I always find myself watching Svengoolie and the awesomely awful horror movies he features. I just watched Killer Klowns from Outer Space a few days ago, and wonder why I watched it. It’s about as corny as it comes. I’m also a big fan of Maximum Overdrive and Trick or Treat. What’s not to love? Killer cars and a psychopathic rock star. It’s horror perfection with an extra slice of cheese.

A zoo gives you the opportunity to have all access with your favorite animal. What animal are you going to spend the day with, and why?

No doubt, sloths. It’s on my bucket list to hold a baby sloth. I know they are riddled with a literal ecosystem of fungus growing on their backs, but they are adorable. Also, a sloth isn’t going to want to have me on their menu like a lion who didn’t get his lunch on time. Always choose the wild animal that’s too slow to catch you.

You’re hungry, and you have access to both a fast car and a private jet. Where are you going for your ultimate snack, and what makes that food/place/experience the best?

I’m hopping in the car for a trip across the river to Sake Blue Japanese Bistro on the southeast side of Louisville. The ambiance is nice and modern and the perfect date night spot. They have the best sushi, and my favorite is the Sake Blue roll. Not only is it delicious but it’s presented on a flaming plate. Everything is better with fire, right?

Click here to find Loretta’s stuff on her website.

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Thanks, Pam: Beach Games and Picking Yourself

Beach Games

I don’t talk much about my “day job” life on the Internet. Yeah, I’ve got a job that pays the bills and provides insurance like most authors, and frankly, I love it. I enjoy the work. I get to be creative with writing and with video promoting an amazing product. More than that, I work with amazing people with incredible values. They believe in work-life balance. They believe in family first. Most of all, they believe in me but want me to become the best version of me I can be.

It wasn’t always this way.

I’m not going to go into the past. That doesn’t do good for anyone. But I do have a story to share that I hope inspires someone.

Seven months ago, on the last flight I took with my previous employer, I watched what’s become one of my favorite episodes of The Office: Beach Games. It’s my favorite Pam episode of the series for sure. You know, the one where she’s asked to sit on the sidelines and take notes while everyone else competes for an opportunity to better themselves.

When Michael Scott challenges his staff to walk across hot coals and everyone else balks, Pam asks for an opportunity. Michael says no. Pam ignores him. She goes back. In the words of Seth Godin, she picks herself. It’s incredibly empowering and very inspiring.

Something happened on that business trip. That incident led me to send the email that led me to my current job. I didn’t make the correlation then, but Sunday night, the night before my first flight for my new job, I turned on Beach Games again. That’s when it hit me.

I did it!!

I chose myself. I picked me. I believed I could have a better opportunity – one that moved me forward and not back.

I’ve picked myself for years in other areas of my life: as a writer, a wrestling storyteller, a filmmaker. This was the first time I did it in my day job. It’s working out better than I ever imagined.

Sorry to be vague and not share gory or gossipy details. That’s not the point. The point is if you’re in a place where you feel like you’re going nowhere, maybe you should run across the hot coals. Ignore the naysayers. Pick yourself. Raise your hand. Why not you? Why not now?

Put on a smile. And run for it.

 

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Tony Acree Answers 3 Irrelevant Questions

Hand of God by Tony Acree.

Tony Acree is a novelist, screenwriter, and publisher. He created the Victor McCain Thrillers and co-wrote of the Samantha Tyler Thrillers with Rachael Rawlings and Mary Ellen Quire. Both series were optioned by Dark Harbor Pictures to become streaming shows.

Tony also wrote a humor book titled Tell Me More: My Conversations with Scammers, My Twins and Storeclerks. His screenplay, Songs of Bloody Harlan, was optioned by Jamezz Hampton and 1209 Productions for the silver screen, and he is currently working on the next Victor McCain novel, The Unit. 

Oh yeah, and at comic cons and author fairs, he is frequently mistaken fro George Lucas. No, really!

Not George Lucas.
This is Tony Acree, not George Lucas.

But that’s not important right now.

Tony Acree is today’s featured artist answering the 3 irrelevant questions.

What is one of your favorite guilty pleasure movies, and for heaven’s sake… why?

No doubt for me it is the Lake House, starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. I love Sandra Bullock and have since she first smiled in Demolition Man. The movie has a goofy romantic plot, with Sandra and Keanu talking via letter across time. Anytime I see it playing, I stop and watch it. I am a hopeless romantic at heart. I’d wait for Sandra Bullock. 

If you could have all access to any animal for a day, what animal would it be and why?

For me it would be the snow leopard at the Louisville Zoo. The dude oozes cool, and any time I’m there, he looks at me like he wants to get to know me, too. Like, really close. I need to put a snow leopard into a book. 

You’re hungry, and you have access to both a fast car and a private jet. Where are you going for your ultimate snack, and what makes that food/place/experience the best? 

I’m hopping on a private jet to eat some lamb shank and shepherd’s pie in Dublin, ireland. I am Scotch/Irish by heritage and love the food. And what better place to eat Irish food than Ireland? When I’m done eating, then I’ll have several glasses of Redbreast 22 year Irish Whiskey. With a designated driver. 

Click here to visit Tony’s website and check out his books.

Hand of God by Tony Acree.

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Kayla Perkins Answers 3 Irrelevant Questions

Kayla Perkins

I’ve known Kayla Perkins since my earliest days as a filmmaker. The actress and model started her career at the age of twelve when she appeared on The Simple Life with Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie on the E channel. Kayla, who would be crowned Junior Miss Kentucky in 2003, fell in love with TV and film thanks to her experience on The Simple Life, and she’s become a fan favorite on the independent film circuit. Her credits include The Dark Room, A Promise To Alexis, The Killbillies, The Girl, the TV show Nashville, and many more, including a short I produced, The Last Temptation of Fluffy. She is busier than ever today working on projects like The Art Of Killing; Monster On: The Art Of The Craft; The Baton Rouge Serial Killer: Derrick Todd Lee; 12 Till Dawn; Midas Cove; Murder, Murder, Kill, Kill; and The Anniversary.

Kayla dabbles in books as well. We collaborated on a novel, Kayla Perkins is Dead, and she’s writing a wonderful children’s book with her son Kayden. The book is called I’m Kayden and I Have JIA, and it was written by mother and son to help children like Kayden who are dealing with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

Whew, that’s a mouthful.

But, that’s not important right now.

This week, I asked Kayla to answer the 3 Irrelevant Questions. So here we go!

What is your favorite guilty pleasure movie? 

I love all kinds of movies. But one movie that I love and have watched literally over 32 times is called My Fault with Nicole Wallace and Gabriel Guevara. It is based on the book by Mercedes Ron. My Fault is such a great story, and the chemistry that these two actors have is amazing! They did an amazing job. I love romance movies.

If you could spend a day with full access to any animal, what animal would it be? 

There are so many animals that I would love to spend the day with, but if I had to choose, I would pick a tiger. Tigers are the largest cat species. I love cats. I have two named Cinammon and Tabby. They are just like kids. They are super fast. I love that they go after what they want. I think everyone of us should go after what we want in life.

If you could hop in a fast car or private jet and go anywhere in the world for a favorite food, where would you go, and what would you eat? 

This is such a hard question. I love all kinds of food and snacks, but I’m not a big sweets person. If I had to pick one item, though it would be Superman ice cream. Growing up, going on vacation and doing photoshoots for pageants, I would eat Superman ice cream. Everytime I see it on vacation, it brings back memories.

You can learn more about Kayla Perkins and find her social media links at www.kaylaperkins.com

Movies and books featuring Kayla Perkins

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How to Get Your Signed Copy of The Haunting of a Bourbon Town

John Cosper and Jeff Waldridge at the Anderson Hotel in Lawrenceburg

I paid a quick visit to Lawrenceburg, Kentucky this weekend. In addition to paying my respects to the architect of the 46 Defense, who is buried right off Main Street, I met with Jeff Waldridge. The first copies of our book The Haunting of a Bourbon Town arrived Saturday, and we signed a bunch just for you.

You can order your signed copy here at Dead Park Books. Read all about the bourbon kings, the hobos, the voodoo woman, Ol’ Albert, the Burning Man, the Grunge Boy, and the other oddballs who made history in central Kentucky. You’ll also learn about how Prohibition impacted the community, the strange architecture of the haunted Anderson Hotel, the filming of The Flim-Flam Man, and the two dogs who were sentenced to die in a trial by jury.

Click here to buy now!

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And Now There Are Four!

Great news for Dead Park fans: Dead Park Estates is now in print!

Greater news for Kindle fans: Amazon lets you buy all four books on Kindle for just under twelve bucks.

The link below will take you to a page where you can buy the bundle. For those who prefer paperback, there are links for those editions as well – and a few are even on sale!

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For My Dad

 

Several summers ago, I attended Fright Night Film Festival in Louisville. The inside of the hotel was almost as sweltering hot as the exterior, but that didn’t stop a few hundred of us from jamming into a ballroom to listen to horror master John Carpenter answer questions about his career.

One exchange really stuck with me. A very goth-looking young woman asked Mr. Carpenter what advice he would give to someone who wanted to follow in his footsteps and become a horror director in Hollywood.

“Well, I went to Hollywood to make Westerns,” said Carpenter. “So I wouldn’t know what to tell you.”

I can relate to that statement more today than ever. I never set out to write books about pro wrestling, but I’ve written more than twenty. And if you told 8 year old me I would one day write HORROR? I never would have believed you. I loved science fiction. Specifically, I loved STAR WARS. So how did I, an aspiring screenwriter and author of science fiction flights of fancy, turn to horror?

It’s my Dad’s fault.

Dead Park Plaza and its growing list of sequels would not have happened without my dad. My dad loved horror. Not all horror, mind you, but a good chunk. He liked a good scare, but he also liked horror-comedy. He’s the one who introduced me to William Castle, Ed Wood, Army of Darkness, and many of my favorites.

My dad had a direct influence on one of the stories in Dead Park Plaza. One morning in mid-February of 2021, I heard my phone buzz. I was still in bed, but my Dad was already up and texting me. He had dreamed something he thought would make a great horror story, a story that took place in an office setting, and he wanted to share it with me. It was a clever idea, and I think (I hope) I replied back and said so. I wasn’t working on any fiction at that time, so I kind of put it out of my mind.

It was one of the last texts my Dad ever sent me. It might have been the very last. A few days later my mother rushed him to the hospital. Nine days later, after transferring to rehab and then back to the hospital, he was diagnosed with cancer on his birthday February 28.

A week after that diagnosis, he was gone.

Four months later, Dad’s story idea drifted back into my mind. I didn’t see potential for a full novel, but it felt like a great short story. That’s when I started connecting the dots, from Dad’s story to a few others I’d been mulling over – stories that took place in an office.

Today, I have a job for a virtual company that allows me to work from home, the coffee shop, the library, or wherever I feel like. I work with incredible people and two amazing bosses who actually believe in me. For the first time in my life, I look forward to starting work each day.

But in 2021?

In 2021 I was still getting up every morning and driving to an office that, at the time, was refusing to acknowledge that I’d been given a promotion, dragging their feet backfilling my old role.

I spent most of my adult life, more than 20 years, driving to an office, working in cubicle,  being forced to make new “friends” on a recurring basis as people left or were let go (including me, a few times), working with good and not-so-good people, working for great and TERRIBLE bosses left a mark.

All that “work experience” fostered story ideas. Little fragments taking up real estate in my imagination, just waiting for their moment. “What if,” I thought, “These stories all took place in the same office building? You know, like Sideways Stories from Wayside School?”

One story became a group of three, then five, then seven.

The first book literally came together in a month. A scattered group of half-cooked stories all came together in the most remarkable way. I recently published book four in the series, and books five, six, and seven are in the works.

And all because my my Dad’s crazy idea about a man starting a new job and discovering a message warning him he’s in grave danger.

Without that text, there would be no Dead Park Plaza and no Dead Park Books. The whole identity of my fiction publishing would not exist without that germ of an idea he sent me.

I was still in denial about my Dad’s passing when the first book was published, and as I write this (revised) blog post, I’m still pretty much in the denial stage about my Dad’s passing, by the way. Wondering if I’ll ever move on from that, but grateful that he gave me the gift of a story, a book, and much more.

Click here to order your signed copy of Dead Park Plaza.

Kindle Reader? Click here to get the full Dead Park series at a special price!

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Visit the Shops (or is it Shoppes??) at Dead Park

If you think it’s bad to work here, wait til you go shopping. The first video trailer for the book The Shops at Dead Park is now online. Read the sequel to Dead Park Plaza in all its cryptid, vampire, talking mannequin, killer clown, killer prom queen, killer video game, killer puppet, and killer Amish (yes, I said killer Amish!) glory.

Buy your signed copy now!

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Dead Park Records: Emily’s Bad Day

Many years ago, a friend of mine told me about a friend of hers. His job was to fulfill rider contracts for major recording artists when they came to town to do a concert. Most of the items in the rider had to do with creature comforts, like the meals backstage and the accommodations in the dressing room. You can Google some of these and read what your favorite artist used to demand. Some of them are pretty outrageous.

My friend went on to tell me that her friend often had to fulfill some off-the-book requirements. You know, picking up things you couldn’t ask for in a legal document. That led to a short story that I called The Rider. That in turn led to a screenplay, also called The Rider.

And then, Dead Park Plaza happened.

A year an a half ago, I realized I’d written a Dead Park Plaza story long before I dreamed of the place. That story is now in print as Dead Park Records, the third book in the Dead Park trilogy.

What’s more, a character I introduced in the teaser for the first book, has become one of the focal points of this story. Remember Emily?

This sweet little thing wasn’t even in Dead Park Plaza. But thanks to her involvement with Cale, someone now wants her dead.

I had a ton of fun putting together a series of teasers for Dead Park Records with actress Christina Cannon and Lisa McConnell, who both appeared in the Dead Park Plaza trailer. Watch the short films below, then click here to get your signed copy. 

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Coming in 2023

Three new fiction books are in the works for 2023, with one ready to launch.

Dead Park Records will be book three in the Dead Park series. Unlike the first two volumes, this is not a short story collection but a full novella about one of the many businesses located in Dead Park Plaza. An aspiring musician receives the offer of a lifetime when an artist repped by Dead Park Records comes to town for a concert. He will get the recording contract of his dreams, no questions asked, no audition required. There’s just one catch: he must murder a woman he’s never met in cold blood.

Not far behind will be Dead Park Estates, the inevitable third story collection in the series that dives into evil residing in the premiere subdivision built in Dead Park. Murder, mayhem, monsters, cryptids, new mysteries, and a surprising crossover with another Dead Park novel (anyone read Die Alan Die?) reside within the pages of Dead Park, book four.

There’s also a sequel to my romantic thriller Girl Most Likely to Kill You on the way. Currently titled Girl Most Likely to Get You Killed, the new story begins with a woman named Andrea looking for a new life having the wrong person’s belongings delivered to her new home. It turns out the ugly clothes and furniture belong to an international assassin, and as soon as they get delivered, a host of rivals seeking revenge show up, thinking Andrea is their long-sought target.

Finally, I have a new short film project that will be released in January. Back in 2020 my son and I collaborated on The World’s Shortest Horror Films, a series that depicted people in horror movie situations acting with… extreme self-control and common sense and thus avoiding terror. The new series, The World’s Shortest Noir Films, takes the same approach with the world of gumshoes, thugs, nogoodnicks, secret Nazis, and femme fatales. It stars some of my favorite past collaborators including Sonny Burnette, George Robert Bailey, Cory Burdette, the lovely Christina Cannon, and the always delightful Roni Jonah.

Thanks to everyone who has made this first official year of Dead Park Books a hit. Happy New Year, and Happy Reading in 2023!