Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter Tour Guest Post & Giveaway

 

This is the last but not least stop on the release blog tour for Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter.  Don’t forget to order your copy. Also, comment (with email) for a chance to win a Kindle ebook.

 

 

 

Lizzie Borden as a Zombie Hunter By Christine Verstraete

The nursery rhyme from her time is what most people think of when you say the name Lizzie Borden:

Lizzie Borden took an axe,
And gave her mother forty whacks,
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.

While the numbers are off (it’s actually 18 and 10 hits), the question remains—did Lizzie do it?

While no solid evidence was ever revealed proving her to be the killer, one big clue was overlooked: the autopsy photos. Why else would someone commit such a gruesome crime, in such a way—except that the victims had turned into zombies?

But how does one go from an innocent Sunday School teacher to a zombie hunter and slayer?

Reluctantly.

As I show in Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter by C.A. Verstraete (just released in print and Kindle!), Lizzie is naturally skeptical, fearful and questioning when first confronted with such an unreal and shocking event.

 

“No!” Lizzie cried out at the strange feeling of her stepmother’s clammy, cold hand around her wrist. “Abby, what happened? What’s wrong with you?”

Mrs. Borden said nothing and moved in closer. Her mouth opened and closed, revealing bloodstained teeth.

“No! Stay away!” Lizzie yelled. “Stop!” – From Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter

 

Unfortunately, she has no choice but to become involved with a secret society trying to stem the wave of attacks by these ghouls. Just as her sister stood by her throughout the murder trial, so Lizzie naturally vows to protect Emma, who though older, I portray as more timid. She also needs to get to the bottom of this awful scourge. And as she learns more, Lizzie has one recurring question: “Oh Father, what did you do?”

In real life, the Borden family did seem to have some kind of secrets, enough, at least, to possibly push the daughter to kill? Or maybe they were enough to push someone else to put Mr. Borden and his wife in their graves in such a ghastly manner. No one really knows, but it makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

My goal was to follow the real events in Lizzie’s life, adding in zombies as a twist to the murders. There are also some other different elements I added. Lizzie, in real life, never portrayed her true emotions. So, in my thinking, you could expect her to be horrified, regretful, even depressed to find herself in such a position.

 

   Why? she cried. Why? Dear God, what have I done? What have I done? — Lizzie from Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter.

 

But could she—and would she—do it again if she had to?

Yes. Why? Family bonds, love, a sense of duty. Victorians were big on propriety and no matter the reason, when it came to keeping such horrors off her doorstep Lizzie would feel a moral obligation to protect her sister—no matter what. Who better to fight zombies than someone who’s already experienced the horrors up close?

And once she meets a couple of men from the secret zombie-fighting society, Lizzie not only gets better at fighting—with a sword, a bat, and even a gun—she even has a bit of romance in her life. Scandalous? Well, look at it this way: when you’ve already crossed the line into impropriety as an accused murderess and could possibly be hung if convicted, do such things as societal rules really much matter anymore?

My fictional Lizzie doesn’t think so, as most people probably wouldn’t. But let’s be honest. The Victorian and Edwardian age had its share of scandals and double standards. Women were considered the “fairer sex” and also as possessions who could be locked away in the asylum by their husbands, or fathers, for almost any reason. It was also a society full of secrets, sexual and otherwise.

Lizzie becoming a zombie hunter seems a natural step in a world turned upside down. It’s the perfect choice for a woman whose life is already tainted by scandal, and who is forever shunned by society yet stubbornly refuses to move elsewhere. Lizzie finally had the money to live anywhere she wanted, but oddly, chose not to.

Lizzie, like other young women of her time, had supposedly gone to Europe. Did it make her frustrated once she came back to her old-fashioned and unfashionable home?

Maybe.

Maybe she killed because she wanted more, as some theories go. She wanted freedom and a life outside the lines. So for the fictional Lizzie, fighting zombies would be the ultimate liberation in a time women were only starting to break free of some boundaries and began riding bicycles and wearing bloomers.

Her neighbors could ignore her and pretend not to see her as she went out into the street to face the monsters. Inwardly, Lizzie smiled, knowing her every move was noticed. In those moments she was no longer locked in a prison of public opinion and disdain. She was strong, free, and living on her own terms. She was a zombie hunter.

 

 

About Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter:

Every family has its secrets…
One hot August morning in 1892, Lizzie Borden picked up an axe and murdered her father and stepmother. Newspapers claim she did it for the oldest of reasons: family conflicts, jealousy, and greed. But what if her parents were already dead? What if Lizzie slaughtered them because they’d become zombies?
Thrust into a horrific world where the walking dead are part of a shocking conspiracy to infect not only Fall River, Massachusetts, but also the world beyond, Lizzie battles to protect her sister, Emma, and her hometown from nightmarish ghouls and the evil forces controlling them.

BUY: http://getbook.at/LizzieBordenZombieHunter

 

Author Bio

Christine (C.A.) Verstraete is a collector and writer who loves to create with words and in miniature.

She’s author of the just released Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter, a YA book, GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie and books on dollhouse miniatures.

She also has a number of short stories published in magazines and anthologies. The latest is “Jars” in the September issue of Siren’s Call e-magazine. See some of her collection and learn more at her website.

Website: http://cverstraete.com – Blog: http://girlzombieauthors.blogspot.com

 

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