Blog Tour, Guest Post & Giveaway! The Untold Tales by Rhiannon Frater


Welcome to my stop on the Untold Tales Blog Tour. 
To follow along with the rest of the tour click the banner above.

THE FIRST DAYS: AS THE WORLD DIES introduced Jenni and Katie and their harrowing journey to the makeshift fort in the Texas Hill Country. But theirs is not the only tale to be told. In the first volume of the AS THE WORLD DIES UNTOLD TALES experience three terrifying tales of those who are forced to face the unrelenting and hungry walking dead.

Deep in the Texas Hill Country, a man and his little dog takes refuge in a bed and breakfast located in the hills above a doomed town where an infested rescue center might unleash the hungry undead…

On a deserted highway slicing through the desolation of West Texas, a woman struggles to survive as she faces the horrifying aftermath of the rise of the zombies…

And finally, discover what happens on the first day to Katie’s beloved wife, Lydia, as the world dies…





The Birth of the Untold Tales of the As The World Dies Universe
By Rhiannon Frater

The As The World Dies trilogy was born online in 2005. It started off with a short story called “Tiny Fingers” and quickly grew to epic proportions. I was completely surprised by the success of the online serial and its rabid fanbase. People loved the story of Jenni and Katie and warmed to the supporting cast of characters. In fact, a lot of the secondary characters stole the hearts of the readership.

Jenni and Katie were the heart of the story, but people were curious about the other inhabitants of the fort. Though I had not set out to write a long online serial that would eventually become a trilogy, I was very focused on the main storyline. I didn’t want to take a lot of unnecessary side trips that would slow down the major story arc. This meant that some of the supporting cast didn’t get to shine in the story like I would have liked.

Later, I decided to self-publish the story as a trilogy and began the long process of preparing the books for publication. There were inevitable delays and I knew my fans were antsy for their favorite zombie story. I wanted to do something special for those fans, so I wrote Eric’s Story. Eric was a character I always felt got left to the side of the main story, and I personally adored him. The fans loved it and asked for more. Lydia’s Story was the second one I wrote for the fans and posted to my forum. It was the gut-wrenching tale of how Katie’s wife died on the first day. Again, the fandom loved it and requests for other “untold tales” poured into my inbox.

I’m an organic writer, which means I don’t plot out my stories or sit around trying to think up ideas. My stories just pop into my mind’s eye (usually through dreams) and I write what I see on the movie screen in my head. As the fan suggestions dinged into my inbox, a few ignited that special spark inside my mind’s eye. Monica, Rune, Ken & Lenore, and Katarina of the As The World Dies universe still had more story to tell.

The Untold Tales gave me the opportunity to take excised portions of the Tor version of the As The World Dies trilogy and weave them into new short stories. Three deleted paragraphs gave birth to Katarina’s Story. A lot of Senator Brightman’s scenes were removed from the Tor version of Siege and these became the foundation for her untold tale. I had written an epilogue to the online serial that I later declared none cannon except for the character of Emma. I was thrilled to finally write a powerful short story about a character I considered vitally important to the As The World Dies universe and take the readers one step beyond the end of Siege.

Though the As The World Dies trilogy is complete and stands on its own, the Untold Tales provides an intriguing look into the lives of some of the more popular minor characters. People can read the As The World Dies trilogy and have a full experience. Happily, they can do the same with the Untold Tales.

In the end, the Untold Tales are love letters to my diehard fans who have supported As The World Dies since its original inception. It’s my way of saying thank you while giving the readers a little peek into the lives of their favorites.

Grand prize giveaway
Prizes: A bookmark, Untold Tales Volume 1-3 in paperback, and an audiobook of Volume 3 
Open to US/Can
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Bio & Follow Links
Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of over a dozen books, including the As the World Dies zombie trilogy (Tor) , as well as independent works such as The Last Bastion of the Living (declared the #1 Zombie Release of 2012 by Explorations Fantasy Blog and the #1 Zombie Novel of the Decade by B&N Book Blog),and other horror novels. Her next novel for Tor, Dead Spots, will be published in 2014. She was born and raised a Texan and presently lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and furry children (a.k.a pets).  She loves scary movies, sci-fi and horror shows, playing video games, cooking, dying her hair weird colors, and shopping for Betsey Johnson purses and shoes.


Follow Rhiannon: rhiannonfrater.com / astheworlddies.com /

Comments

  1. I think I still have The First Days on my shelf, but I do love zombie stories. Especially set in Texas. Might have to check out the audio for these tales. :)

    ReplyDelete

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