Cocaine Zombies by Scott Lerner - Guest Post & Giveaway

Welcome to Author Scott A. Lerner

Author and attorney Scott A. Lerner resides in Champaign, Illinois. He obtained his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and went on to obtain his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign. He is currently a sole practitioner in Champaign, Illinois. The majority of his law practice focuses on the fields of Criminal law and Family Law. Mr. Lerner lives with his wife, their two children, and their cat Fern. Lerner collects unusual antiques and enjoys gardening, traveling, reading fiction and going to the movies. Cocaine Zombies is his first published novel. Coming soon, the sequel: Ruler of Demons.



You can find Scott online at scottlerner.camelpress.com.

GUEST POST:
Zombies - Not Just For Brain Snacking Anymore

Don’t get me wrong. I love George Romero and a good zombie flick as the season turns from summer to fall. I believe it was from the movie Dawn of the Dead where we get the quote, “When Hell is full the dead shall walk the earth.” George Romero gave us the concept of the slow-moving brain-eating zombie often referenced in popular culture. Later, the movie 28 Days Later presented a new type of zombie—a fast-moving type created in a laboratory rather than by mystical forces. Another movie I very much enjoyed.

I have been asked is Cocaine Zombies is about the slow or fast-moving zombies. The answer is neither. Cocaine Zombies is about a whole different type. In my book, the idea is that a person can be changed into a soulless slave through voodoo concoctions combined with drugs. Although I can’t think of a book or movie that is similar to Cocaine Zombies, quite a few movies I’ve seen have featured this type of zombie on a smaller scale. The Serpent and the Rainbow, an 80’s flick by Wes Craven, and White Zombie, a film from 1932, may be the best examples. White Zombie the band got its name from the movie. The movie (not the band) is available on Netflix in case anyone cares.

I have tried to make my book as realistic as possible. That does not mean it is not funny. After all, life is funny, provided you give yourself a chance to look at it that way. It also does not mean it is depressing. In many ways it is uplifting. The main character is (he admits) a flawed individual who is not extraordinary. Yet, he does extraordinary things. He is willing to put his life on the line for others.

Parts of this novel are quite dark. As a defense attorney (I share this trait with Samuel the main character) I have seen good people give up their families, money and freedom for cocaine. Cocaine was bad in powdered form but crack is far worse. Imagine a new form of crack—a type so potent and addictive that a person would do anything to get it. A person would give up their soul. That is a part of the premise of Cocaine Zombies.

One of the temptations Samuel encounters is Chloe—a beautiful woman who does not believe that mankind is worthy of free will. Putting magic and evil aside, she makes a compelling argument.

I don’t want to give away too much else because I want you to read it. 

Cocaine Zombies

Samuel Roberts, a small-town lawyer in Urbana, Illinois, is contacted by a prospective client accused of selling cocaine. Nothing Sam hasn’t handled before. Or is it? Thomas is accompanied by a mysterious and exotic beauty named Chloe. Who is she, why is she paying for Thomas’s defense, and why is the accused so antsy around her?
Soon after Sam takes on the case he is plagued by terrible nightmares. Only, in these nightmares, when he dreams of death, people die. Realizing that he is out of his depth, Sam enlists the help of his friend, Bob Sizemore. Bob is oddly insightful about the supernatural and deeply suspicious of big business and the government. Sam and Bob soon discover that a major German pharmaceutical company has been using human guinea pigs to test a highly addictive and dangerous derivative of cocaine first developed in Nazi Germany. Combined with ancient herbs provided by a Voodoo priest, the substance has become increasingly addictive and dangerous.
After Thomas’s head shows up in Sam’s refrigerator, suspicion naturally falls on him. Now he has no choice but to face the forces of evil head on. But how do a small-town lawyer and a computer geek defeat an enemy with the power to enslave mankind?

Giveaway Details
1 copy of Cocaine Zombies
Open to US only
Ends 11/25/12


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