Everybody's Learnin' How...

See, what did I tell you? It only took a month for another post to appear. Amazing. Must be divine inspiration. Or guilt. Massive, unrelenting, writer's guilt brought on by my lack of a personal connection with my legion of fans. Yes, all of you. All three of you. Bob, deedee, and Sue. Can't get much more personal than that!

(If I failed to mention you by name, Welcome #4! Your Team Rob Fan Club Starter Kit is in the mail.*)

But enough about you. This is my blog and you wouldn't be here if you weren't interested in me. Unless you were looking for undead Frankie and Annette, but what are the chances, really? Does sound like a winner, though, right? Seriously, why has no one done Malibu Surf Zombies? Think SoCal Shaun of the Dead. Oh, man, that's a winner. I know I said no more dead, but that's too good. Hang on...

Okay, there's a straight up surf rock band called Surf Zombies, so I guess we'll have to go with Zombie Clambake for the name. I can dig it. Of course, I do see the inevitable bikini-clad zombie coming into play. Can't say I ever really understood the sexy undead thing. Sexy ghost maybe, but rotting corpses and flesh wounds? No thanks.

Have I mentioned I'm not really a fan of hardcore horror? I know, I know. Born on Halloween, writes about dead things, worships Stephen King, doesn't like horror. Makes no sense. I guess I dig the scary and spooky stuff, just not the really violent, gory stuff. Unless there are zombies involved, which makes it all a bit silly.

Heh. Where was I? Talking about myself. Right. Progress report: Wyldes 2, writing; TV things (detective series, sitcom), waiting for a meeting and DOA, respectively; other written works, many, in progress. I did finally learn how to design and build websites. Seemed like a good skill to have. Expect a redesign any day now.

More interesting: I think I'm going to put up a few short stories in the near future. I've got a bunch, some even finished. Not enough for a collection, so I might as well share, right? Right.

Stay tuned.

*You realize it's not, but how cool would that be?

Forever and a Day

Yes, it has been a long time since my last communication. I didn't want to overload you with my ramblings. Quite generous of me, don't you think? Oh, yes, I'm always thinking of you.

Well, that's over. Like the zombies I've so often write about, it's time for me to rise from the grave, shamble on down the street, and bite into some tasty brainstuffs. Or perhaps a jelly donut. Truth be told, I'd prefer the later. A nice Blue Star dulce de leche, to be precise. Mmmm...fancy junk food.

Actually, it's probably time to move on from mostly deceased characters. The next Wyldes book (yes, there is one and it will be published...eventually) scales back on the garden variety zombies. The Hanged Man is still around, natch, but his partners in undead crime this time around are...different. Bigger. Stronger. Faster. Six million dollar zombies? Not exactly, although I may have to write that book. (Zombie Steve Austin? More like Zombie Steve Awesome!) Let's just say there's more of a Jekyll and Hyde thing going on in the sequel.

But Wyldes 2 may not be the next long-winded thing that bears my name. I've actually being playing in the TV sandbox, once again throwing my precious words at the all mighty glowing rectangle that dominates the family room. Inspired? Sure. Desperate? Maybe. I did rather enjoy True Detective, so it's certainly possible for a novelist to find a place on TV. One of the pilots I wrote was even a detective series set in New Orleans. Fewer reference to the Yellow King, although I may have to change that if it gets picked up. Hey, it's not like TD actually went anywhere with that.

So, more writing, more blogging, more donuts. Yep, that about sums it up. See you soon.

Planning Ahead, AKA This will Never Happen

It's going to be an interesting year. I say this knowing full well that interesting does not mean set in stone nor vaguely predictable. That's probably a good thing. If I make a serious plan and stick to it I'm taking the easy way, which is no good for anyone. It might be more stable and possibly more lucrative, but gosh that sounds boring. (Please don't mention this to my wife; she likes boring...and lucrative.)

What I do know is that Book 2 of the Wyldes series will be written, but probably not published this year. I'd love for it to hit stores in October, but unless the publisher suddenly wants to rush things, it won't appear until 2014. If you really must have it ASAP, I have two suggestions: 1) buy 20,000 copies of Portlandtown in the next month or two, thereby goosing sales and lighting a fire under the bean counters, or 2) move to Portland, hang out at various brewpubs until you stumble across me, but me a beer, and then subtly ask me what I do for a living. Three beers later you'll be on the Early Bird Reading Team. Go team!

Anyway, Wyldes Book 2, Hollow Mountain (yes, I changed it), is getting clearer in my head every day. Oddly enough the ending is already written. I'll explain that one later. Hopefully the rest of the book will be on paper by the summer.

As to other projects, Other Novel, AKA Pumpkin Eater, is on hold while I focus on Hollow Mountain. I came very close to diving into that one, but story issues kept me from committing. If the Wyldes get on my nerves I may find my way back to it sooner rather than later. If the Wyldes play nice I'll starting writing about ghosts and pumpkins and assorted Halloween silliness this fall. And then there's the play, Zombie Clambake (yes, I'm stealing from myself), which is probably going to be finished in a burst of manic writing sometime in the next couple months, hopefully before I dig into the Wyldes again. If the Hanged Man gets me going before I start scripting I may never get to it. We'll see.

So, there you go; my creative goals, such as they are. Will I stick to them? Eh...maybe. Will they change? Most definitely. Such is the nature of the creative life. Never boring, always hungry.

HomeWord Bound Benefit

Mark your calendars! Friday April 5 I'll be appearing at the 15th Annual HomeWord Bound fundraiser in Tualatin, OR. There's going to be book talking, silent auctioning, author mingling -- all to benefit the Community Partners for Affordable Housing. A bunch of authors are attending including Daniel H. Wilson (Roboapocalypse), Whitney Otto (Eight Girls Taking Pictures), and Rob DeBorde (hey, that's me!). Apparently, my primary duty will be to mingle with the masses, talk zombies, and generally act special. I can do that. Want to come? It ain't cheap ($75), but includes dinner and my lovely company -- a steal at any price!

For more info, you can check out all the details here.

More with the Talking

Tonight I'll be at the Lake Oswego Library starting at 7pm, talkin' zombies, food television, and animated octopi. Yes, my writing skills include not only the undead, but also seafood and cartoons! Should be fun. I'll also doing a little reading, book signing, and answering of any and all questions that come my way. If you're in the neighborhood stop on by. Free bookmarks!

Lake Oswego Library, 706 4th Street, Lake Oswego, OR

13 Hours of Zombies in the Rain

Now available for download, the Portlandtown audio-book! That's right, now you don't even need to work your eyes to enjoy 13 hours of old west adventure and zombie killin'. Hooray! 
If you're curious, you can find a sample here, read by the talented Mr. Scott Sowers. Very nicely done. He has just the right mix of creepy and old western grit in the reading. Heck, I might have to get myself a copy.

Presently, the download is available at Audible and Amazon, starting at $25. You can get it cheaper if you sign up for a membership. CDs and cassettes should be available soon.

The Sleepover



Here's a little something fun from director Chris Cullari called The Sleepover. It's a proof of concept short for a feature about a town the has one of them nasty supernatural serial killer types hanging around, always causing trouble. It's a little bit bloody, but otherwise wholesome family fun!

What's Next?

For my next trick, I've begun work on a novel set in the present day called Pumpkin Eater. Think Halloween spooks, pumpkin-carving, and messy family trees. It's currently in the development stage, but writing will commence soon, and (with a little luck) I'll have a first draft in short order (unlike the Wyldes, this one should come a little easier).

I'm also working on the follow up to Portlandtown, which currently is claiming the title, Ghost Town. Pretty simple, but it fits (and will probably change anyway). I guess ghosts are the new zombies (at least in my world).


So, that trailer for World War Z came out the other day and we all went...huh? And then there's this: Warm Bodies, based one the book by Isaac Marion. Tell me this doesn't look like a ton of fun. Can't do it, can you? See you in line.