Wicked Dead: Snared, third in our terrifying, tantalizing teen horror series has clawed itself free from the graveyard dirt and is out to get you!

Anne and the other girls are reunited in a supremely awkward moment that leads the feisty Anne to threaten to destroy the bones…

As for the tale within, Lindsay’s family vacation isn’t exactly fun in the sun: the beach is littered, the locals are creepy, and the outlook is bleak. Then Lindsay meets Mark, the boy next door. He’s sweet, gorgeous, and an amazing musician. But his menacing guardians keep him locked away from the world. They perform sinister rites, and one day Lindsay glimpses terrible wounds on Mark’s back! Lindsay must save him—though it means facing pure evil.

To commemorate the event, Pop Syndicate has not only provided a great review of Snared (by Angela Wilson) but also a Q&A with your authors, a column on writing by Thomas P., and an extended excerpt from Snared. So, hurry on over!

At long last, TORN, the second Wicked Dead, has burst through its restraints and is now free to roam the world seeking its next victim.  Could it be you?

As the ghost girls match wits with the mysterious and sadistic headmistress, a new tale is conjured….Devin’s rock band Torn is about to hit the big time. The haunting song he’s just written is getting buzz. Between his gorgeous girlfriend, Cheryl, and all the perks of high-school stardom, Devin’s feeling pretty good.

Then his band mate is murdered. Viciously. Is it a gang slaying? Or has Devin’s lingering melody attracted a more bestial sort of groupie?

Buy the book!  Check out the videos!  Leave a comment! 

Later.

Another great review for LURKER has surfaced. This one comes from
The School Library Journal. Among other nice things, they say:

“Violence and psychological twists form the backdrop for this contemporary horror story… This cautionary ghost story is sure to grab readers’ attention… Fans of R. L. Stine’s “Fear Street” (S & S) and Neal Shusterman’s “Dark Fusion” series (Dutton) will enjoy this story and anxiously await its sequel.â€� - Angela M. Boccuzzi-Reichert, Merton Williams Middle School, Hilton, NY

Inspired by co-author Thomas Pendleton’s and HarperCollins video efforts, Stefan Petrucha has now added his own Wicked Dead video to the mix, complete with a montage of images conjuring each of the first six books. You can see it by either clicking on VIDEOS above or wandering over to YouTube. Let us know what you think!

HaperCollins, meanwhile, has made Wicked Dead part of its Pitch Black lineup. For a chance to win one of our first two books, Lurker or Torn, or one of HC’s other fright-fests, sign up at the sweepstakes page!

And Happy Halloween!

Not one, but TWO Wicked Dead videos are now available for your viewing pleasure — and we couldn’t be more tickled.

Not only is the HarperCollins trailer up and around, our own Thomas Pendleton decided to stretch his video skills and create an entry himself – both are heavy on atmosphere, and each has their unique chills.  So check out HarperCollins screamer at MySpace and YouTube and Thomas’ directorial debut at YouTube and let us know what you think!

Also, with Stefan (jealous of Thomas’ efforts) now gearing up to shoot a third video and HarperCollins planning a sequel, the future will likely see a few more wicked creep-fests.

 

We hope to have embedded links up for the videos here at the site shortly.

Spanking new horror site Fear Zone recently invited us to Lockwood Orphanage, the home of our ghost-girls, to interview each other. The entertaining results cover the origins of Wicked Dead as well as some of the inner workings of our fetid brains. Have a look and while you’re at it, check out the rest of the cool new site.

Meanwhile, as we eagerly await the release of the Wicked Dead video (a process complicated by the fact that apparently anyone who sees it runs away in terror and dies three days later), we were pleased to hear from our hard-working Assoc. Editor Laura Arnold at HaperCollins, that Lurker is proudly on display in the Lincoln Center Barnes & Noble window, and appears on end-caps in sundry Big Apple B&Ns.

That’s all for now – but remember, if you see Wicked Dead: Lurker on a bookstore shelf, aside from buying several yourself, turn them face out!

Today is the official release date for WICKED DEAD: LURKER. Needless to say, we’re thrilled about it. As the first book in the WICKED DEAD series, LURKER introduces readers to our four ghostly storytellers - Anne, Daphne, Mary and Shirley. Trapped in the filthy ruins of Lockwood Orphanage these mysterious young women play an otherworldly game and share horrific stories, but their world isn’t all fun and games. Far from it! With each book we reveal a little more about them and their dreadful plight But you’ll find out all about that as the series progresses. For now, let’s take a quick look at LURKER.

In LURKER, seventeen-year-old Mandy has everything: popular friends; a hot boyfriend; plans for college, travel, and the future. But after classmate Nicki is gruesomely murdered, Mandy is shaken to her core. Soon she’s jumping at shadows and having nightmares of Nicki’s killer-the Witchman. Mandy tells herself she’s just imagining things-but nothing in her imagination prepares her for the terror that’s lurking just around the corner.

Reviews are starting to come in, and they’re pretty cool. VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates), which is a bimonthly library journal, says, “Readers of Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine will flock to these books, but they will also attract more sophisticated horror readers because they have a high creep factor.â€�

We’re all about the “creep factor.â€� Hope you are too. Join us on what is sure to be an eerie and exciting ride. Get LURKER and get wicked!

With that quote from Dracula, we’d like to welcome you to the official Wicked Dead website, run by authors Stefan Petrucha & Thomas Pendleton, chronicling the behind the scenes excitement surrounding Wicked Dead, a series of terrifying horror novels. Wicked Dead features four ghost girls, Mary, Daphne, Shirley and Anne, as they try to escape the hulking ruins of Lockwood Orphanage through the telling of edgy, spine-chilling tales. We think designer Deena Warner has done a great job here.

Though the release of the first book is some weeks away (as you can see by the blood-red ticker) we’ve just received our advance copies, and they look terrific, in no small part due to the great covers with art by Chad Michael Ward, designed by Christopher Stengel and terrific interior photos by Shaun O’Boyle, one of which you can see in the upper right corner here.

Aside from now having the books themselves, we’ve also been lucky enough to have a lot of feedback directly from teen readers participating in HarperCollins First Look program – and their reviews, some fifty all told, have been excellent.

If that’s not enough to keep us fiendishly grinning, as we speak, our dear publishers are producing a Wicked Dead video. More on that as we hear it.

In the months to come, we will be adding to the site. We’ll have that amazing video, regular entries such as this one, and a flash game where you can roll the bones and unlock some Wicked mysteries before they hit the bookstores. So don’t be afraid to visit.

Drop us a note and let us know what you think of the site, the books, whatever.

Until then, keep it wicked!

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