Here ghostie, ghostie, ghostie. Join me on an investigation on the spookiest night of the summer.

Join me at Paxton Manor in Leesburg, Virginia on Friday, July 13th for a paranormal investigation and a sneak peek at Paxton's famous Shocktober haunted house event.

Paxton Manor's underground lake and foreboding house was the inspiration for one of my earliest novellas, Blackbird. I can't wait to work with new and experienced ghost hunters to explore the twists and turns of this magnificent 19th century mansion. I hope you can join us!

Cost: $35 per person. Cost includes investigation and a crash course in ghost hunting, snacks and a place to hide until morning. All proceeds will be going to the ARC of Loudoun, a fantastic organization with a strong commitment to the community.

For more information and reservations, please contact Matt Smith at 703.344.4695 or msmith[at]paxtoncampus.org.

Now *this* is a book signing

I may be getting a little spoiled here. My first book signing in 2010 for Hungry For Your Love was at zomBcon and I had Breathers author, S.G. Browne,and Married with Zombies author Jesse Petersen there to show me how to Get It Done. Then tonight for the Girls' Ghost Hunting Guide, I had a wine bar and jazz trio at the Fire House Gallery and a packed house full of lovely people with fascinating stories. Most of them didn't come to see me but of those that stopped by to chat or see me specifically, THANK YOU! I had a wonderful time and that's not just the red wine talkin'.

For those who couldn't make it or wish to buy a copy via a fine online retailer, just drop me a note if you'd like a signed book plate or handy Phantom or Fake postcard to tuck into your ghost hunting kit.

A big thank you to the Fire House Gallery in Berryville, Virginia. It was a fabulous evening!

Everyday I'm Shufflin': The Zombie Tarot Staggers Your Way Today!

After sitting on the idea for a couple of years then putting my big pants on and pitching the idea to Quirk Books (who snatched it up in a matter of minutes), the Zombie Tarot finally managed to stop licking the windows and turn the doorknob to get into bookstores today.

It's been a whirlwind of interviews, readings and podcasts as I got ready to shove the zombies into the daylight but we handled it with only a few missing body parts. Thank you to all involved in its creation and promotion, especially my editor Jason Rekulak at Quirk Books and Paul Kepple and Ralph Geroni from Headcase Design, I appreciate your support very much! I'll trip y'all last when the zombie apocalypse comes.

Find your copy of the Zombie Tarot at your local Barnes & Noble or online at Amazon!

PS: Stay off the Bath Salts. Yeesh.

Update: Holy bananas! Zombie Tarot is a pick for the L.A. Times Summer Reading Guide!

This publisher's not called Quirk for nothing. It has given us the ghoul-meets-Jane-Austen novel "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" by Seth Grahame Smith (screenwriter for Tim Burton's "Dark Shadows" among other things), Ransom Rigg's "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" ... and now a deck of Tarot cards riffing on the popularity of zombies. The accompanying booklet gives a quick, breezy guide to the Major and Minor Arcana, as well as a how-to for conducting a successful reading. Just the sort of thing you'd expect to find on Ozzy Osbourne's nightstand. (June)