Reading Events to Keep You Busy through October

Halloween is creeping around the bend, which means authors, publishers, and book bloggers are already in the midst of offering dark and eerie entertainment.

Here are a few activities already underway or coming soon:

The Sixth Annual R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril Challenge

Hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings, the annual event invites readers to "confront gothic, creepy, horror stories in all their chilling delight."

To participate in the challenge, which runs through Halloween, head to www.stainlesssteeldroppings.com/r-eaders-i-mbibing-p-eril-vi.

Murder, Monsters, Mayhem

A month-long celebration of horror and thriller books, hosted by JennsBookshelves.com, home of Frightful Fridays. During the entire month of October, Jenn will host guest posts and giveaways for fans of the dark side of fiction.

Check out details at www.jennsbookshelves.com/2011/08/05/frightful-friday-murders-monsters-mayhem.

Stefan Petrucha's Dead Mann Walking Tweets

From now through November 4, novelist Stefan Petrucha will be tweeting a quote a day via @SPetrucha for his upcoming zombie noir from Roc Books, Dead Mann Walking.

The synopsis:

JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE DEAD
DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T HAVE A LIFE...

After Hessius Mann was convicted of his wife's murder, suppressed evidence came to light and the verdict was overturned — too bad he was already executed.

Thanks to the miracles of modern science, Hessius was brought back to life. Sort of. Now that he's joined the ranks of Fort Hammer's pulse-challenged population, Hessius attempts to make a “living” as a private investigator.

But when a missing persons case leads to a few zombies cut to pieces, Hessius starts thinking that someone's giving him the run-around — and it's not like he's in any condition to make a quick getaway...

Sample Tweet: "Eventually the damage gets too severe to patch with Krazy Glue. But so what if pieces dangle?"

twitter.com/SPetrucha

Guests & Giveaways Right Here at Suburban Vampire

Make sure you pay me a visit every Tuesday from now through Halloween.  I'll be hosting new and established authors in the vampire genre and offering heaping helpings of Halloween treats.

Next Tuesday's guest: K.A. Corlett, author of Ever Your Servant or How Retail Really Sucks.

Happy reading.