Today we are going to begin an in-depth look at the adventures of two of my favorite characters, “Bruce Vincent and Roxanne Rogers, a restauranteur and his waitress who save the world from supernatural creatures every other week.”
That’s been my elevator pitch for these stories right from the start. Bruce and Roxanne were a warm-up for Jo and Alistair, I think.
Originally, the first story “Zombies from Mars…or Someplace Like That” was written for the Scavenger’s Newsletter Killer Frog Contest, an annual event that unfortunately has ceased to be. The premise was to write an outrageously over-the-top horror story, and this story was the result. It didn’t win, but it did get an Honorable Mention.
Later, when Echelon Press was looking for Dollar Downloads, they were the first to publish this story, along with two more from the set.
When they phased out the line, I talked to Selina Rosen at Yard Dog Press, and we put out a chapbook called Tales from the Home for Wayward Spirits and Bar-B-Que Grill.
This contained the original three stories published by Echelon, and a brand-new story written for the chapbook.
It proved popular enough that the second chapbook of three longer stories called Bruce and Roxanne Save the World…Again!
Selina decided to take a chance and combine both of the chapbooks into a perfect-bound paperback with two stories originally published online-only, and one original story written for the collection. So, all told, there are ten stories in the book, as well as some bonus material. The covers were done by the amazingly talented Sherri Dean.
A little bit more about “Zombie Invaders From Mars…or Someplace Like That.” This story was a lot of fun to write. I got Bruce Vincent’s name from two of my favorite horror actors and asked my friend Roxanne if I could use her name for my super-practical waitress. There’s only one blindspot in Roxanne’s competency…Bruce Vincent. She is head-over-heels in love from him almost from the day they meet, and Bruce is clueless…or is he? Although it is no longer the first story in the book, I consider it first, so I am going to talk about it today, and go back to “Love at First Site” tomorrow.
Bruce and Roxanne are working a typical night shift at the Beat ‘Em and Eat ‘Em self-serve omelet shop when an accident leads to…unforeseen consequences.
It takes Roxanne’s brains and Bruce’s supernatural luck to come up with a solution to their problem with the zombies from down the hill.
If you would like to know more about Bruce and Roxanne, watch this place for insights about each of the stories. Or, you can get the paperback here from Yard Dog or the Kindle version on Amazon.
Rie Sheridan Rose 