VBT: Pavlov's Dogs by D.L. Snell and Thom Brannan, Guest Blog

Things are a little different around here today. I do not have any Diva's here to introduce you to. Some Dude's have cruised by and taken over today to talk about werewolves, zombies, Armageddon and their new book Pavlov's Dogs. Let's give them a big Diva-Dudeish welcome!

SYNOPSIS:

WEREWOLVES

Dr. Crispin has engineered the saviors of mankind: Pavlov’s Dogs, a team of soldiers capable of transforming into fearsome beasts. But when Crispin and his team welcome a new talented neurotechnician to the island, Dr. Crispin quickly realizes his masterwork has fallen into the hands of a man he does not trust.

ZOMBIES

Back on the mainland, Ken Bishop and his best friend Jorge get caught in a traffic jam on their way home from work. There’s a wreck up ahead. And something worse. The first sign of a major outbreak—and Ken and Jorge are stuck in the gridlock. They quickly realize they not only need to escape, but they also need to save as many people as possible on the way.

ARMAGEDDON

Now Dr. Crispin and his team must make a terrible decision. Should they send the Dogs out into the zombie apocalypse to rescue survivors? Or should they listen to the new neurotechnician, who would have them hoard their resources and post the Dogs as island guards?

PRAISE:

“PAVLOV’S DOGS has it all. Genetically-engineered werewolves, hordes of flesh-eating zombies, and enough action to give you a heart attack. Grab this with both hands!”

–Jonathan Maberry

“With PAVLOV’S DOGS, Brannan and Snell have staked their claim to survival horror’s top spot. Relentless in its pacing and violence, crazed in its inventiveness, spontaneous in its humor, PAVLOV’S DOGS is a horror adventure of the highest order... a masterwork. Prepare yourself, because Brannan and Snell are about to get your heart racing!”

—Joe McKinney, author of FLESH EATERS

BEHIND THE SCENES: PAVLOV’S DOGS 

This is Steve Garbner, the semi-famous extra who depicted Tentacle Zombie #2 in D.L. Snell’s seminal (and urinal) ROSES OF BLOOD ON BARBWIRE VINES—an ambitious vampire-versus-zombie tour de force (according to the author’s Wikipedia page).

STEVE GARBNER: You know, when I was portraying Tentacle Zombie #2 in ROSES OF BLOOD, I used real depth of emotion. I mean, I was onscreen for a total of at least three seconds. Do you know how long three seconds is… onscreen? They say the silver adds ten pounds; well, it adds ten seconds as well. Hah!

Steve drives a convertible, and has a douchey haircut.

STEVE GARBNER (laughing again at his own joke): Hah!

Steve is a gigantic critic of the performances in Brannan and Snell's first novel-made-movie, PAVLOV'S DOGS. He believes that the actors who portrayed best friends Ken and Jorge are, to quote, “a bunch of ass bags.”

STEVE GARBNER: I think Bo and Jorge are a bunch of BLEEP!-ags. Neither of them could act their way off Broadway. Or even off-off, hah!

But when I was portraying Tentacle Zombie #2 in ROSES OF BLOOD, I used real depth of emotion. I mean, I portrayed ANGER! FEAR! FROWNY FACE.

And my one little tentacle had a lot of character. It didn’t win best special effects or supporting actor or anything, but… I was proud of it. And proud of myself as well.

Steve attends three conventions each year, and sometimes his table is comped. He sells his signature for ten dollars, fifteen if it’s on one of his posters.

STEVE GARBNER (caught weeping in the studio restroom on tape): What?!

We go now to Bo and Jorge, the actors who play Ken and Jorge in PAVLOV’S DOGS.

BO HARDLEY: Yeah, Steve Garbner’s great. Got his signature once when I was screening on the west coast. Real nice guy, real genuine.

JORGE ROMERO (no relation): Yeah, I remember that. It was at the Hilton.

Off-camera, Jorge Romero has been compared to comic Michael Richards. He’s serious, reserved, and well spoken, if at times a little racially insensitive.

JORGE ROMERO (nodding): Yes, that’s right, no relation.

Jorge may not have descended from the same great lineage as zombie godfather George A. Romero, but fans and critics alike praise his portrayal of the lovable alcoholic smart ass, Jorge “Ramirez Romero.”

ROMERO: I just remember me and Bo, rehearsing lines one night in his trailer, and, heh, we were both pretty drunk and—

BO HARDLEY: YOU were pretty drunk.

JORGE ROMERO: … and we came to my character’s line in the script, “¡Frijoles, frijoles!”

One thing that is the same off-camera for these two award-winning actors: they are the best of friends, just like in the movie. Even with the dark tint of alcoholism looming over their heads, and the ghosts of many problems still reflected in the way they burst out laughing with each over some inside joke about beans, they are tightly knit.

JORGE ROMERO (waving his hand and lightly chuckling): You’ll have to see the movie. You wouldn’t understand, heh.

Critics have lauded Bo and Jorge’s ability to play up a buddy-flick scenario in a horror action film without losing the gritty edge. Jorge is Ken’s employee, which critics have said adds an uncomfortable but endearing dynamic between the two amigos as they grapple with the conflicting roles of their friendship and as leaders.

STEVE GARBNER (looking pissed at his haircut’s lack of screen time): Again, Bo and Jorge are a bunch of ass--BL!--ags.”

Joining us in the studio is Wayne Wainwright, who has the part of IO in Thom Brannan’s off-Broadway musical production of SPIRIT IN BLACK, an adaptation of the titular short story.

WAYNE WAINWRIGHT:  Hey-oh! I’m just really happy to be here. Are there any more of those finger sandwiches? Thanks, I’m starvin’ like Marvin over here. What are we talking about?  Oh, those guys. Good stuff. Modern day Abbot and Costello, except in a werewolf movie. Do I get my check today? I’m just about out of mac and cheese.

Wayne has been following the careers of both Bo and Jorge, praising their merits loudly and often as their stars have risen. He says the restraining orders don’t bother him much.

WAYNE WAINWRIGHT: They’re just really great guys that don’t check their email, I guess. Hey, are they here? Guys? Bo! Jorge! (wanders off-set)

And that’s all the time we have today. Tune in next episode for the zombie decathlon...

 AUTHOR BIOS:

THOM BRANNAN (est. 1976) has been a submariner, a nuclear operator, an electrician and now works on an offshore drilling platform. He lives in or around Austin, Texas, with his lovely wife, Kitty, a boy, a girl, a cat and a dog. 

D.L. SNELL is an acclaimed novelist from the Pacific Northwest. Anthologies include Pocket Books’ Blood Lite series, edited by best-selling author Kevin J. Anderson. Snell’s first novel, Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines, also attained critical acclaim from popular novelists such as New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry. Visit his website at dlsnell.com. 

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/author.dl.snell

Twitter  @dlsnell

Good reads  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1241378.D_L_Snell

Be sure to check out the other blogs participating in this tour!

5/20 Bibliophilia, Please /Guest Blog

5/21 Journey With Words /Bio/Synopsis/Excerpt

5/22 Ramblings of an Amateur Writer /Guest Blog, Giveaway

5/23 Wonderland Reviews /Review, Giveaway

5/24 The Jeep Diva /Guest Blog

5/25 Wickedly Bookish /Bio/Synopsis/Excerpt

5/26 My Cozie Corner /Review / Giveaway

5/29 Rea's Reading and Reviews /Review

Zombies Versus Werewolves: Who Will Win?

Permuted Press - April, 2012 – A new action sci-fi horror novel answers the burning question all fans want to know.

With the rise in popularity of zombie fiction, readers have been dying to know which monster can beat the walking dead. Novelists Thom Brannan and D.L. Snell answer one of those questions in their newest book, PAVLOV’S DOGS (Permuted Press).

PAVLOV’S features genetically enhanced werewolves designed to operate as spec ops soldiers. They can transform at will and are fearsome killing machines. When the dead rise, the mastermind behind the Dogs wishes to unleash his creations against the undead hordes and send them on rescue missions to bring survivors back to his island. But many members of the doctor’s team raise critical questions: The Dogs are still prototypes, untested. What happens if they’re not ready for battle and their systems fail? More importantly, what happens when a Dog gets bitten by an infected human? Can the werewolves win out against the hordes?

“As a kid I remember catching black widows and scorpions together in a coffee can,” says co-author D.L. Snell. “We wanted to see which bug would win. It was a fascination of ours. So that’s kind of what Thom and I have done with PAVLOV’S DOGS. We just threw a werewolf and a zombie into a coffee can and placed our bets.”

While tackling two well-established monsters, Brannan and Snell have observed some traditions while subverting others. The zombies are standard shamblers at the start, with power in sheer numbers, but the werewolves are unique to the genre from the beginning: they can transform at will; they are genetically engineered; most of them are human friendly; and they are equipped with an advanced Brain-Computer Interface that allows for not only a pack mind, but also for conditioning and a fine degree of control—thus creating worthy opponents of the walking dead.

“I’m excited for it,” co-author Thom Brannan says, “because while there are some traditions we stuck close to, there are others we blew away, and when the two collide, it’s a load of fun. And gore. And fire.”

But who will win? Zombies, or werewolves? PAVLOV’S DOGS will be available to answer that question April 2012 in every popular format, including Kindle, Nook, Audible.com audio, and trade paperback. Details at werewolfnovel.com.

Contact:

David Snell

hugohorror@hotmail.com