ETCHING QUARANTINE

I've always wanted to try etching. I'd done a little woodblock printing in college, but that was the extent of my printmaking experience. I love the look of etchings, and the act of drawing on a metal plate with a needle always sounded bad ass to me, and a bit intimidating. Plus it sounded fun to work with acid.

So, I've been learning how to etch, and for my second attempt at an etching I decided to draw a scene from Quarantine, book one, chapter nine. It's full of mistakes, but I'm having fun trying to figure out how etching works. More to come.

-Thomas

AUTHOR APPEARANCES

Come and get your books signed, and while you're out, buy a signed copy for that YA fan on your holiday list. Yes, it's that time of the year again. So, why not scare the hell out of the ones you love with a QUARANTINE book?

If you're in the Bay Area, come see Thomas at Kepler's Books in Menlo Park, CA on Friday, Nov. 22 at 7:00PM. Click here for more information.

If you're in the Central Virginia area, come see Lex at Barnes & Noble in Charlottesville on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 12:30. Proceeds benefit Green County Schools. Click here for more information.

More appearances soon!

31 HORROR FILMS IN 31 DAYS

Once again, we accepted Daniel Kraus' unholy 31 day horror movie challenge, where he asks- can you binge-watch 31 horror movies across the month of October?

A horror movie a day can be a lot, and to make it worse, somehow we always have a book due when #31HorrorFilms31Days comes around. Last year we were trying to finish Book 2 when we took on the 31 days challenge, and I bet the sheer volume of horror we were consuming ended up having an effect on how brutal The Saints got in the end. This time it was Book 3 we had to finish, so if the conclusion to our trilogy ends up being too scary, please blame Daniel Kraus.

But, you'll never have to do that because Book 3 is going to KICK ASS, and #31HorrorFilms31Days gave us an excuse to watch some killer horror movies while we made sure of that. I personally saw a few that I'd been meaning to see for a while, like Society, Possession, and Pin. 

We both improved our numbers this year. Lex got to 19 and I cracked the elusive 31. Here's some pictures of the scenes that are now seared into our brains, and our movie lists.

I'm gonna watch The Promise (1979), and Somewhere in Time now to cleanse my palate.

-Thomas

THOMAS' LIST:

1) POSSESSION (1981) Sam Neil and his hysterical wife get a divorce and lose their minds. Some tentacle sex.

2) RAZORBACK - A New Yorker searches for his wife in the Outback and encounters greasy local sadists and a huge boar.

3) THE NEW KIDS - The only horrors  here are James Spader's hair and eyebrows. #hesthebest

4) V/H/S/2 - Found footage horror is both awesome and annoying. Fav- the POV zombie transformation. #daylighthorror

5) AB-NORMAL BEAUTY- Photographing death inspires a sad artist then a secret admirer starts sending her snuff films.

6) LIPS OF BLOOD- A wistful man recovers a childhood memory and it leads him to a castle of alluring lady vampires.

7) A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE - Her serial killer ex is looking for her. Well made, but draining.

8) RAAZ 3 - An aging actress resorts to black magic to destroy her younger rival. My first Bollywood Horror.

9) JUG FACE- These backwoods country folk have their own ways. Like worshiping the pit, praying to the pit, etc.

10) NUDE FOR SATAN - A man and woman take refuge in a castle and reality warps into a sexy nightmare.

11) PRIMAL - Leeches, monster teeth, campers getting slaughtered, and an evil cave. Fun.

12) THE WOMAN - A feral female Rambo vs a psychopathic misogynist family man. Had me rooting against my gender.

13) BRAINSCAN - Eddie Furlong plays an extreme video game and then gets blackmailed by an evil Drop Dead Fred.

14) MY BOYFRIEND'S BACK - Johnny won't let death and decay keep him from taking the hot girl to prom.

15) TRAPPED ASHES - A not that great horror anthology, but one segment does contain blood sucking vampire boobs.

16) HEAD OF THE FAMILY - The Burbs meets Nothing But Trouble with a guy who's just a head.

17) UNINHABITED - Aussie lovers vacation on a remote island and find something evil there and blah blah blah.

18) THE IRON ROSE - A French couple make love in a cemetery only to discover they can't find a way out. Very French.

19) VIY - A Russian monk must pray over a dead girl's body for 3 nights and withstand a witch, ghouls, and a demon.

20) HELL BABY- Horror comedy from the Reno 911 guys. Horny undead granny, gore, gags, and Rob Corddry. I liked it.

21) HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON - The bad guy: "A woman should live only until her wedding night, love once, then die."

22) PIN - A brother and sister have a complicated relationship involving incestuous urges and a skinless medical dummy.

23) PSYCHOMANIA - A hell-raising biker gang dies and comes back invincible and immortal to raise more hell.

24) CASTLE FREAK - Sometimes when you inherit a castle it comes with a horny, murderous freak. #beentoolong

25) SOCIETY - Everybody is out to get Billy, and it all ends in a sexual body horror mess. Mind blown.

26) THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM - Nope, still not into torture horror. The grandma from Happy Gilmore was a witch though.

27) TORMENTED - A dying rabbit. Men in giant rabbit suits. A floating rabbit backpack. This director loves rabbits.

28) THE EYE - Blind girl gets cornea transplants and then can see ghosts. I'd sue.

29) FORGETTING THE GIRL - A headshot photographer finds ways to forget his romantic failures. Horrifyingly indie.

30) DOG SOLDIERS - Yes! All werewolves should be big monster ones. It's the worst when they turn into normal wolves.

31) CRONOS - Heartwarming horror involving an immortality scarab and the need to Iick blood off the floor. Kick ass.


LEX'S LIST:

1) 30 DAYS OF NIGHT - aka my life this month. Hartnet finds emotion more scary than vampires. Lesson: avoid Alaska.

2) FRIGHT NIGHT (2011) Better left in the crypt. McLovin as Evil Ed was first sign of things gone wrong. Oh well.

Took a break from #31HorrorFilms31Days to watch a movie with my wife. Jennifer Lawrence still ended up chainsawing her fathers hands off.

3) GOD TOLD ME TO - Watched this Larry Cohen gem for one reason. Please refer to title.

4) SLEEPWALKERS - Incest. Morphing Trans Ams. Cat attacks. Death by corn cob. Cameos galore. This one's got it all.

5) BODY MELT - A bad batch of vitamin supplement makes everything gross. No help from the 90s.

6) DOMINION: PRQUL TO THE EXRCST - Remember the parts of Exorcist you didn't care about? This is 2.5 hrs of that.

7) THE WICKER TREE - Plays like ABC Family did the Wicker Man. I'd take more bees and Nic Cage ladypunchin over this.

8) CHRISTINE- Balki lookalike gets turned into an asshole by the Jennifer Jason Leigh of cars. You know how it goes.

9) MAGIC- Anthony Hopkins and a puppet go nuts in a cabin. Ann Margaret is somehow seduced. Hard to tell whos crazier.

10) NES4: DREAM MASTER - Standard Freddie Fare. He laughs alot. Wears Ray Bans. Eats pizza made of "soul" meatballs.

11) SILENT HILL: REVELATIONS - In spite of its title, nothing in that goddamn town has gotten any clearer.

12) TAKE SHELTER - Technically, an "indie drama" but it's the scariest movie I've seen all month.

13) EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING - aka Indiana Merrin & The Temple of Satan. Actually fun. Goes full Renny in the end.

14) VAMP - Albino, floppyhat Billy Drago. Rabid street urchins. Grace Jones as a stripper. Are you grossed out yet?

15) EDEN LAKE - Brutal and bosomy. I liked half of it.

16) GREMLINS 2- MetaGremlins! @joe_dante goes no holds barred with the premise. Result is a fun farewell to the 80s.

17) RESOLUTION - True West meets Blair Witch. Loved it.

18) 1408 - Cusack checks into the most annoying hotel room on earth. Overacting ensues.

19) ALIEN - Space truckers pick up a slimy hitchhiker. Still rad.

MONSTERS & MAYHEM TOUR

Want to know more about Lex Thomas and QUARANTINE? Check out the Monsters and Mayhem Tour. We'll be visiting some of your favorite YA blogs through September, along with Ilsa J. Bick, who'll be talking ASHES, of course! Here's where to find the stops:

September 9th: Lex Thomas at I Am A Reader, Not A Writer

September 10th: Ilsa J. Bick at Mundie Moms

September 11th: Lex Thomas at All Things Urban Fantasy

September 12th: Ilsa J. Bick at Cari's Book Blog

September 13th: Lex Thomas at Colorimetry

September 16th: Ilsa J. Bick at House of a la Mode

September 17th: Lex Thomas at Read For Your Future

September 18th: Ilsa J. Bick at Katie's Book Blog

September 19th: Lex Thomas at My Shelf Confessions

September 20th: Ilsa J. Bick at Reading Teen

READ, LISTEN, TWEET

QUARANTINE: THE SAINTS is finally available for purchase everywhere today!

We know some of you out there have been anxiously waiting for a whole year to find out what happens next (we've seen your tweets, we've read your reviews, and... you rule). You might even be so excited that you're going to sit down as soon as you get the book and read it cover to cover.

If you've got the time, if you think you can handle it.... then, DO IT! We highly recommend the single sesh. This book is a chainsaw. And to make the experience that much more intense, we've put together a reading soundtrack to accompany your re-entry into McKinley High.

So, get your mitts on THE SAINTS now, open to chapter one, press play, and send us updates to @LexThomasAuthor.

PLAY

If you can't get enough, check out the playlist we made for THE LONERS here!

THE SAINTS BOOK LAUNCH

Come celebrate the launch of QUARANTINE: THE SAINTS on July 9th in Los Angeles. We'll be signing books and answering all your Quarantine questions! Here's where you'll find us:

BARNES AND NOBLE

The Grove in West Hollywood

189 The Grove Dr.

LA, CA 90039

TUESDAY, JULY 9th

7:00PM

See you there!

BOOKLIST STARRED REVIEW

After months of waiting, the first review of QUARANTINE: THE SAINTS is in! And it's a good one. Scratch that -- a great one. Booklist gave us a starred review! Reading it the first time was absolutely surreal, the second time was a joy, and the third through fiftieth... well, let's just say, it's become a reliable way to get pumped as we continue writing Book 3. Here's the Booklist link for the full review with plot details, but here are some spoiler-free highlights:

QUARANTINE: THE SAINTS

The craziest thing about 2012’s rash of teens-in-quarantine books was that all of them were good. But as enjoyable as were Emmy Laybourne’s Monument 14 and Dayna Lorentz’s No Safety in Numbers, it was Thomas’ Quarantine: The Loners that blew the doors off the joint with a dirty bomb of sex and violence. . . . With its morally dubious characters, charged sexual content, and double-take violence, this might be the darkest series going. . . . Here’s our demand: deliver the conclusion yesterday. 

-- Daniel Kraus