Artwork for "Slaughter of the Exterminators” comes from Rafael Kayanan, a veteran film designer, also known for his comic book work and movie fight choreography (including the intense edge-weapon battles in William Friedkin's "The Hunted"). “Rafael is a truly singular talent,” said writer Weisfeld. “He made these incredible ‘Slaughter’ images using a digital process, but the finished pictures recall master
painting technique, rather than anything ‘computer’. His impeccable sense of design and knowledge of real world weaponry and combat was also essential for the job. The guy loves the fighting stuff, but he renders landscapes, costumes, and futuristic machinery with the same thoughtful sensibility. All this made him terrific for the challenges of ‘Slaughter.’”

The “Slaughter of the Exterminators’” storyline is a distinctive amalgamation of action and horror staples, including a menacing inner-city locale and some visceral David Cronenberg-ish body transformations. “I really wanted to bring a sense of primeval combat to this story”, said Weisfeld. “I’m a big fan of (Conan creator) Robert E. Howard and the crime writer, Donald Goines. Those guys knew how to split a skull to the teeth - or shoot somebody in the face, and make the reader feel it. ‘Slaughter’ was my wily effort to put them through the ‘fly transporter.’”

Future segments in the Heavy Metal illustrated stories will include a new installment of the long running “Joe In The Future” series. "I’m really happy that the Heavy Metal people were interested in this format,” said Weisfeld, “and I think readers will appreciate that we’ve added a different ingredient into the Heavy Metal mix."

Rafael Kayanan's Fight Choreography: SayocCombatChoreography.com.

Visit the writer at MySpace.com/Horatio Weisfeld.

In this George Romero-directed installment, zombies have taken over the country, except for a small group of scientists and military personnel who reside in an underground bunker/ government lab. As they race to find a “cure,” disturbing facts are revealed, pitting soldiers against scientists and, of course, zombies. Preceded by Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, and succeeded by Land of the Dead, Romero cites this film as his personal favorite –even making a cameo as one of zombies. Day of the Dead garnered a 1986 Saturn Award for Tom Savini for best make-up from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.

Robert Kurtzman, behind one of the top make-up and effects shops in the business and such films as FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, CABIN FEVER, HOSTEL, and THE DEVIL'S REJECTS, deftly utilizes his genre skills in The Rage, which he co-wrote and directed. In this gory take on the zombie genre, a mad scientist (Andrew Divoff: THE RAGE WITHIN, DR. RAGE) experiments with a rage-inducing virus on innocent victims. When these victims escape, they have a new found appetite for human flesh - as do the mutant vultures that feed on the rage-infected humans. Reggie Bannister (PHANTASM sequels), the “hardest working man in the horror genre”, co-stars.

Story collections include, SHADOWS AT MIDNIGHT (1979 and revised & enlarged in 1999), ECHOES OF DARKNESS (2000), INCANTATIONS (2002), two retrospective collections of our stories, essays and interviews, THE SECRET GEOGRAPHY OF NIGHTMARE and SELLING DARK MIRACLES - both 2002, and FALLING INTO HEAVEN in 2004.

And novellas, MOTHS, THE HIDDEN LANGUAGE OF DEMONS, THE SEMINAR, and DOUBLE ACT, were published in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2007 respectively.

Fancy a sample? Follow the link to Beware The Beckoning Stranger at FeoAmante.

Our first supernatural novel, SHELTER, was published July 2006 and our second, DEMON EYES, was a December 2007 publication, both by Leisure.

Our latest novel from Leisure, BLACK CATHEDRAL, is an attempt at a faster paced novel. We’ve written lots of atmosphere into the story but kept the plot twisting and turning towards a climax that we’ve tried to make surprising as well as exciting.

BLACK CATHEDRAL introduces Department 18, a unit within the British secret service that investigates paranormal events. This is the first in a planned series. The second novel, a loose sequel to DEMON EYES, is underway. The sequel to BLACK CATHEDRAL, also featuring the Department is drafted out.

‘At an old manor house on a remote Scottish island, six managers of a large corporation arrive for a week-long stay. Within days they will all suffer horrifying deaths and their bodies will never be found. The government assigns the case to Department 18, the special unit created to investigate the supernatural and the paranormal. However, this is no mere haunted house. The evil on this island goes back centuries, but its unholy plots and schemes are hardly things of the past. In fact, while the members of Department 18 race to unravel the island’s secrets, the forces of darkness are gathering... and preparing to attack.’

Department 18 has its own history and back story that can all be accessed on its website.

For more about us, go to Maynard-Sims.com, where you can find some free stuff and downloads.

We are always happy to chat. Leave a message at HorrorWorld. We are quite house trained and friendly. And we can also be found at MySpace.com/MaynardSims and on Facebook, separately under Len Maynard & Michael Sims.

The Monroeville walk, coordinated by The It’s Alive Show, a locally produced weekly television program, was the hub of the first World Zombie Day, in which 48 cities worldwide held zombie walks and food drives to fight global hunger. At press time with 32 cities reporting, the cumulative zombie total is up to 7,500 and more than two tons of food (4,153 pounds) for various local charity organizations.

“We consider World Zombie Day to be an enormous success based on the attendance so far. But the big story is that the zombies, largely a young crowd, generated more than two tons of food to help people in need. Some of our cities also raised cash in excess of $2,500 in addition to the food donations,” says Mark Menold, creator and executive producer of WZD. “This was a fun way to get people involved in a charity event. Our organizers around the world should be very proud of their work.”

For more information about World Zombie Day please visit TheItsAliveShow.com.

First and foremost, for now I will not be moving forward with my publisher Leisure Books. I've published five novels with them:
ATMOSPHERE, DEEP IN THE DARKNESS, THE DEMONOLOGIST, DEAD SOULS, and FIRES RISING. I've written a sequel to my best selling DEEP IN THE DARKNESS, entitled RETURN TO DARKNESS, or ISOLATION. Not certain which title to use yet. That all depends on the publisher that picks it up. So, I've made the very difficult decision to not publish with Leisure. Of course I'd like to see my books in the stores, and really want to get RTD/ISOLATION into your hands. But… I also need to make some money for all my hard work. I've been doing this for 15 years now, and it's no longer simply `fun'. It's a second job, career, and it needs to put food on the table. I'm hoping that soon I'll have news about a beautiful small press release for RTD/ISOLATION.

In other writing news, I'm currently writing an urban dark-fantasy novel with a Bram Stoker Award winning author, who for now shall remain nameless. It's a fantastic novel, full of suspense, horror, and a bit of humor. We're pitching this as a series of novels, and if it gets picked up, it should keep me busy for a few years. This is a project I have a lot of faith in, and look forward to updating you all to its progress.

As well, I've begun work on my first non-horror novel. Entitled MISSED CONNECTION, the novel is a thriller with elements of humor. Think Harlan Coben meets James Patterson meets Chuck Palahniuk, and you'll have MISSED CONNECTION. I am really exciting about this book, and am going to start pitching it to the major publishers soon. Wish me luck.

Want a free magazine mailed to your home? My story SNAKES, which appeared in my collection DARK RIDE, has been published in the November issue of LONG ISLAND PULSE magazine. Go to LIPulse.com, and click on the FREE ISSUE tab. Make sure you request November, 2008.

FeoNote: This announcement is no small potatoes. Michael Laimo's DEEP IN THE DARKNESS has been the No. 1 Return for Horror at amazon.com for over two years! While my reviewer didn't think the world of it, apparently a lot of other people did.