Posts Tagged ‘K.S. Merbeth’

Cover Launch: THE WASTELANDERS by K. S. Merbeth

The post-apocalypse may be dangerous, filled with bloodthirsty bounty hunters, and generally a lawless mess, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. THE WASTELANDERS combines K. S. Merbeth’s wildly over-the-top novels Bite and Raid into one big badass omnibus edition.

This grab-you-by-the-throat cover was designed by Lisa Marie Pompilio and will be on shelves October 16, 2018.

 

Welcome to the Wasteland, a post-apocalyptic world where lawlessness reigns, and around every bend is another pack of bloodthirsty raiders.

This omnibus edition contains K. S. Merbeth’s two novels Bite and Raid.

Bite

Hungry, thirsty, alone, and out of options, a young girl joins up with outlaws who have big reputations and bigger guns. But as they set out on their journey, she discovers that her new gang may not be the heroes she was hoping for.

Raid

A bounty hunter wakes up bound and gagged in the passenger seat of her own car, and sitting next to her is the most revered and reviled raider king in the eastern wastes. Unable to let him out of her sight, they cross the wasteworld, but a tyrant worse than they could imagine is vying to claim the land as his own.

 How do you survive in a world gone mad?

Cover Launch: BITE by K. S. Merbeth

Hungry for a great new read? Check out BITE, the stark and darkly comedic story of a young girl who joins a crew of bandits in a lawless, post-nuclear world. Bite is out internationally in July 2016 from Orbit and we’ve got an early look at the brilliant cover below, designed by Lauren Panepinto.

  Merbeth_Bite-PMM.jpg

“Need a ride?”

Kid has no name, no family and no survival skills whatsoever. But that hasn’t stopped her from striking out on her own in the wasteland that the world has become.

When Kid accepts a ride from two strangers, she suddenly becomes the newest member of a bloodthirsty raider crew. Propelled on a messy chase, through shootouts and severed limbs, the group must outrun everyone they’ve wronged. In a world that’s lost its humanity, not everything is as it seems and this time it isn’t the monsters that crave flesh…

Welcome K.S. Merbeth, author of BITE

Merbeth author photo 1Giving a whole new meaning to the phrase “laugh in the face of danger,” K.S. Merbeth’s upcoming debut, BITE, will make you chuckle, it will make you cry — but most importantly, it is going to make you fear our very possible and not so distant future.

To find out a little bit more about the brains behind this epic debut, we’ve asked Merbeth to stop by and answer a few of our burning questions:

Where did the idea for BITE come from?

In post-apocalyptic stories, there are always groups of gun-toting psychos looting and killing their way through life. They’re usually presented as mindless villains, by-products of the craziness of the world, without backstories or motivations or anything that makes them seem human. And yet, they are human. So I started to wonder – who are these people? How’d they end up this way? What are their lives like behind the scenes? And those questions spawned the idea of a story with typical “bad guys,” a crew of raiders, as the protagonists.

How did you create such an unusual cast of characters?

Well, to be honest, I’ve never really been a fan of “normal” characters and standard heroes. Instead, I tend to fall in love with fascinating villains and weird side-characters – so those are the types of characters I end up creating, but in my case they’re the main cast. I started with some basic concepts and traits, but discovered a lot about the characters through writing the first draft. Many of them – especially Kid, my main character – really seemed to develop on their own.

Which character was your favorite to write?

That’s a tough one! Kid, of course, was super fun because of her tendency to magnificently screw things up, and the crew’s leader, Wolf, is full of one-liners that I thoroughly enjoyed writing. However, I think my favorite overall was Dolly. She’s a blue-haired markswoman who kicks some serious ass, and her odd personality creates a lot of awkward, interesting interactions with the other characters.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

Margaret Atwood, Philip K. Dick, Kurt Vonnegut, Haruki Murakami, Neil Gaiman, Brandon Sanderson… there are plenty more, but those are some of my favorites!

What do you like to do in your free time?

Aside from reading, my main hobby is playing video games, which I probably spend way too much time doing. I also enjoy board games, binge-watching a variety of TV shows, cooking (badly), and laughing at horror movies. As for things that actually force me to get out of my pajamas and leave the house, I love to travel! I really like experiencing new places, new food, and new beer.

What are some of your favorite dystopian films or video games?

First of all, the latest Mad Max may be new, but it’s already secured a special place in my heart. Some of my other favorites are The Road, Zombieland, and The Matrix. Games-wise, I’m a big fan of the Left 4 Dead and Fallout series!

BITE will hitting bookshelves next summer. To find out more about the novel, check out the acquisition announcement.

Acquired: Madness, Mayhem, and K.S. Merbeth

Merbeth author photo 1Even after Mad Max: Fury Road has been in theaters for months, people still cannot stop talking about it — the amazing world, the non-stop action and best of all, the strong female main character. So what better than to acquire a book perfect for fans of that kind of post-apocalyptic madness and mayhem?

BITE by K.S. Merbeth is a dark debut with an edge of black humor that will sweep you off your feet:

“Need a ride?”

Kid has no name, no family and no survival skills whatsoever. But that hasn’t stopped her from striking out on her own in the wasteland that the world has become.

But when Kid accepts a ride from two strangers, she suddenly becomes the newest member of a bloodthirsty raider crew. Dragged on a messy chase, through shoot-outs and severed limbs, the group must outrun everyone they’ve wronged. But in a world that’s lost its humanity, not everything is as it seems and this time it isn’t monsters that crave flesh….

Debut author K.S. Merbeth paints a world that is both fascinating and unnervingly possible. Acquired by Orbit in a two-book deal from Emmanuelle Morgan at Stonesong, this blockbuster will hit shelves summer 2016!