Invasion of the Undead Death Stalker Chronicles Book One by Samurai Dan Coglan Genre: Horror
Invasion of the Undead
Death Stalker Chronicles
Book One
by Samurai Dan Coglan
Genre: Horror
Publisher: L’Oste Vineyard Press
Date of Publication: 5-28-2021
ISBN: 978-1-7353896-7-7
ASIN: B08XNS92W5
Number of pages: 242
Word Count: 60500
Book Description:
Former Marine Lance Corporal Chase Brooks fought the enemy in Afghanistan and lost his unit.
Now back in America, he fights to keep from losing his mind, as he is repeatedly attacked by the undead that he believes wiped out his men overseas.
Convinced that what he saw over there was real, he goes to war to wipe out the undead on American soil.
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An Interview with Samurai Dan Coglan
Thank you, Brandy, it’s a genuine pleasure to be here (so to speak).
Tell us about your newest book.
I have the first of an ongoing series coming out on May 28th, Invasion of the Undead, Book One of the Deathstalker Chronicles. The book revolves around a Marine Corporal named Chase Brooks, who loses his entire unit during an operation in Afghanistan. He is shipped stateside while comatose, and awakens in a VA hospital in Chesapeake, VA. Struggling to come to terms with the deaths, recuperates and is released from the hospital, but not before being attacked by what he believes are two zombies.
He then investigates and goes after the ancient necromancer and his minions, which have traveled to the USA for revenge on Brooks’ former commander.
The book is a first person shooter story, sort of a Punisher-meets-Supernatural, if you will.
That sounds exciting.
Writing isn’t easy. What was the most difficult thing you dealt with when writing Invasion of the Undead?
Writing is indeed difficult, but by far the most difficult part for me isn’t writing, it’s the editing process. While it’s vitally important, and the collaboration between the author (me) and the editor results in a much stronger story, having my story examined and critiqued is SOOOO very hard, and I still have a lot of work to do regarding receiving the edits and comments in the right spirit!
Tell us a little bit about your writing career.
My writing career started in the third grade, when I first watched the old Creature Feature movies on TV on Friday nights. There weren’t enough of the stories that I wanted to see, so I started writing the stories myself. At school one day, my teacher looked over my shoulder to see what I was working on, and liked the story enough to read it to the class. After that, I had teachers and students alike buying monster stories from me for the lofty sum of ten cents a story! Sometimes I feel as though nothing has changed.
They say Hind-sight is 20/20. If you could give advice to the writer you were the first time you sat down to write, what would it be?
My advice to third grade me would have been simple: don’t stop! I wrote all through elementary and then into high school; I loved it. My creative writing teacher was convinced that I was going to be the next Stephen King. When I got to college, I got hugely distracted…there were GIRLS! I let life sidetrack me, and I stopped writing for years. Bad, bad move. I do believe that third grade me was smarter than 21 year old me.
What was your most difficult scene to write?
My first full length novel was about an outlaw motorcycle gang that were werewolves. I portrayed them as earthy, feral, hormone driven animal-men, combining the worst features of humans with the most violent aspects of the wolves. In order to make the story feel “authentic”, I thought there should be a sex scene. I had never even thought about writing one of those before. When it came time to write it, I was so nervous and guilt-ridden, I sent my wife out of the house, and called her when it was done. When she got home and went to read the scene, I left and went for an hour-long ride. I was so embarrassed.
Are themes a big part of your stories, or not so much?
Themes are a big part of the stories that I tell. I almost believe that it has to do with growing up hearing Aesop’s Fables, told by my dad, and then listening to them on old records of the Smothers Brothers. For all that I write fiction, I have a very strong practical side to me, and giving the stories themes makes me feel like they are more than just a pleasant distraction or diversion, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on the fourth Deathstalker novel, Hexed, where Brooks and his friends are pitted against a coven of evil witches practicing blood magic. I have a number of friends involved with the more positive side of witchcraft, and they are helping me with research and general information.
Is there a release date planned?
As of right now, there is no release date, but my publisher(s)—an awesome husband/wife team and I have a tentative schedule for the Deathstalker Chronicles release schedule.
Who is your favorite character from your own stories, and why?
My favorite character ever is from the second Deathstalker book, which isn’t due out until late fall, and it’s the kid sister of one of the Marines in Brooks’ unit. She’s tiny, feisty, brave, sarcastic, and way tougher emotionally than Brooks (Force Recon Marine) or I, by far.
In the first Deathstalker novel, due out in May, Chase Brooks’ mentor is a crotchety old guy that runs a gun shop, and I had a blast writing him. He’ll be a recurring character in the series.
Most writers were readers as children. What was your favorite book in grade school?
I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy in fourth grade, and loved it, even though it was tough going for a ten year-old. My favorite school library book was Yellow Eyes, about a mountain lion. When I was young, in addition to writing, I wanted to be a zoologist, and cougars were my favorite animals.
What are your plans for future projects?
I have the Deathstalker Chronicles, which Is set up in 4 6-book “seasons” and the plan is to also re-work my werewolf stories into a better, more professional trilogy, and release them as part of the Lunar Cycle—bad play on full moon and motorcycles, I know, but that’s my level of clever.
Is there anything you would like to add before we finish?
Can I put in a shameless plug to everyone to have them go buy the book? Seriously, though, I would like to give a shout out to the people that believed in this project enough to bear with me and put it all together. I had given up on writing because of a bad experience, and the people at L’Oste Vineyard Press pulled me out of the literary abyss! I can’t thank them or credit them enough.
That's awesome. Good luck with Invasion of the Undead, and thank you for being with us today.
Thank you very much for having me; it’s been a privilege and an honor.
Writing is indeed difficult, but by far the most difficult part for me isn’t writing, it’s the editing process. While it’s vitally important, and the collaboration between the author (me) and the editor results in a much stronger story, having my story examined and critiqued is SOOOO very hard, and I still have a lot of work to do regarding receiving the edits and comments in the right spirit!
Tell us a little bit about your writing career.
My writing career started in the third grade, when I first watched the old Creature Feature movies on TV on Friday nights. There weren’t enough of the stories that I wanted to see, so I started writing the stories myself. At school one day, my teacher looked over my shoulder to see what I was working on, and liked the story enough to read it to the class. After that, I had teachers and students alike buying monster stories from me for the lofty sum of ten cents a story! Sometimes I feel as though nothing has changed.
They say Hind-sight is 20/20. If you could give advice to the writer you were the first time you sat down to write, what would it be?
My advice to third grade me would have been simple: don’t stop! I wrote all through elementary and then into high school; I loved it. My creative writing teacher was convinced that I was going to be the next Stephen King. When I got to college, I got hugely distracted…there were GIRLS! I let life sidetrack me, and I stopped writing for years. Bad, bad move. I do believe that third grade me was smarter than 21 year old me.
What was your most difficult scene to write?
My first full length novel was about an outlaw motorcycle gang that were werewolves. I portrayed them as earthy, feral, hormone driven animal-men, combining the worst features of humans with the most violent aspects of the wolves. In order to make the story feel “authentic”, I thought there should be a sex scene. I had never even thought about writing one of those before. When it came time to write it, I was so nervous and guilt-ridden, I sent my wife out of the house, and called her when it was done. When she got home and went to read the scene, I left and went for an hour-long ride. I was so embarrassed.
Are themes a big part of your stories, or not so much?
Themes are a big part of the stories that I tell. I almost believe that it has to do with growing up hearing Aesop’s Fables, told by my dad, and then listening to them on old records of the Smothers Brothers. For all that I write fiction, I have a very strong practical side to me, and giving the stories themes makes me feel like they are more than just a pleasant distraction or diversion, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on the fourth Deathstalker novel, Hexed, where Brooks and his friends are pitted against a coven of evil witches practicing blood magic. I have a number of friends involved with the more positive side of witchcraft, and they are helping me with research and general information.
Is there a release date planned?
As of right now, there is no release date, but my publisher(s)—an awesome husband/wife team and I have a tentative schedule for the Deathstalker Chronicles release schedule.
Who is your favorite character from your own stories, and why?
My favorite character ever is from the second Deathstalker book, which isn’t due out until late fall, and it’s the kid sister of one of the Marines in Brooks’ unit. She’s tiny, feisty, brave, sarcastic, and way tougher emotionally than Brooks (Force Recon Marine) or I, by far.
In the first Deathstalker novel, due out in May, Chase Brooks’ mentor is a crotchety old guy that runs a gun shop, and I had a blast writing him. He’ll be a recurring character in the series.
Most writers were readers as children. What was your favorite book in grade school?
I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy in fourth grade, and loved it, even though it was tough going for a ten year-old. My favorite school library book was Yellow Eyes, about a mountain lion. When I was young, in addition to writing, I wanted to be a zoologist, and cougars were my favorite animals.
What are your plans for future projects?
I have the Deathstalker Chronicles, which Is set up in 4 6-book “seasons” and the plan is to also re-work my werewolf stories into a better, more professional trilogy, and release them as part of the Lunar Cycle—bad play on full moon and motorcycles, I know, but that’s my level of clever.
Is there anything you would like to add before we finish?
Can I put in a shameless plug to everyone to have them go buy the book? Seriously, though, I would like to give a shout out to the people that believed in this project enough to bear with me and put it all together. I had given up on writing because of a bad experience, and the people at L’Oste Vineyard Press pulled me out of the literary abyss! I can’t thank them or credit them enough.
That's awesome. Good luck with Invasion of the Undead, and thank you for being with us today.
Thank you very much for having me; it’s been a privilege and an honor.
Excerpt
“Get those damn charges set, and let’s get out of here,” I growled into my mic. Shadows moved around me, and a turbaned face appeared out of the murky darkness. I shot the onrushing insurgent twice and looked around for more.“Come on, come on, come on,” I muttered. “We’re past time for evac. Move your slow asses!” Lt. Rodriquez was suddenly at my side, scowling. “We’re doing the best we can, Corporal. Hold on to your hat.”
“Charges set, Lieutenant,” Stevens called out. “That makes all four; we can blow this popsicle stand!”
“About damn time,” I snapped. “There are hostiles everywhere. What the hell is this place, anyway?”
McGavin scoffed. “It’s a temple, Brooks. Remember? We had a briefing and everything.”
“Screw you,” I told him. “This ain’t like no temple that I’ve ever seen. And it smells like a fucking crypt.”
“No lie,” my buddy, Lance Corporal Jeremy Stevens, chimed in.
“Marines,” Rodriquez barked. “Let’s go.”
I led us back out, the six of us in tight formation. Stevens was on my left flank; Sgt. Bates was on my right, and the Lieutenant was in the middle with the beady-eyed “guide” that the Colonel had stuck us with. McGavin brought up the rear.
Dead bodies were everywhere; our ingress had come with a high body count. I ignored them.
Two tours had made me immune to corpses. I had bigger priorities.
There was a commotion in front of us; heard but not seen. Voices cried out in excitement. We froze.
Our position was suddenly hit with massive spotlights. “We’ve been cut off! Break left!” Rodriquez yelled as gunfire erupted all around us. We returned fire, hot and heavy.
Being in front has its disadvantages. I got hit three times, twice in the chest and once in the leg.
My vest took the brunt of the two to the chest, but the leg shot really sucked. I went down but staggered back to my feet and kept fighting.
Stevens took over point; Lt. Rodriquez slid over to his spot and put me in the middle with the guide, who looked scared out of his mind. I didn’t blame him.
We raced through the gloom, moving downhill but not having a choice in the matter. McGavin took a round to the lower back and went down. I shouted, and the unit took up positions around our fallen comrade.
We created a semi-circle facing back the way we’d come, weapons up and ready. There wasn’t long to wait. The horde was on us quickly, the heavy sound of their AK-47s threatening to overwhelm the sharper cracks of our M-4s.
It was over in less than sixty seconds, and to my amazement, we were still standing. There were bodies all around us, and the air was thick with the smell of cordite. Clouds of smoke from the gunfire obscured our lights even further.
It was like being in hell, I thought, sweeping the area with my carbine. Something flashed in my light, and I swung back.
There was a figure standing at the edge of the light. It couldn’t be a friendly, so I shot at it. I missed, and it ducked behind a pile of bodies. The Lieutenant motioned, and Stevens and I went out to get whoever it was.
I’d taken maybe three steps when the figure reappeared, much closer. I could tell it was a man, head and neck wrapped in a shemagh. One arm was holding a bundle, and the other was outstretched toward the ceiling.
His eyes were glowing red. I blinked. His eyes really were glowing; it wasn’t goggles or an optical illusion. Glowing or not, I knew what my job was. I put that head with glowing eyes in my sights and prepared to pull the trigger.
Our guide, who’d been useless and paranoid the entire mission, started screaming and babbling in complete gibberish. The only part that I could make out was something about Manziel or manzazu or some such nonsense, but his outburst caught me off guard, and I missed my shot.
Suddenly there was movement all around us. The bodies of the enemy combatants were stirring. Impossibly, they were staggering to their feet. All around us, corpses were rising from the floor, their eyes shining a baleful crimson.
“What the fuck?” Stevens shouted. “This ain’t happening, man.”
I put a three-round burst into the chest of the corpse nearest me and blew out his heart. It didn’t seem to affect him at all; he just kept shuffling toward me, his arms reaching out. I shot him again, this time doing the Mozambique technique that had been drilled into all Marines. The two shots to the body didn’t do anything, but the follow-up round to the head dropped it.
I could hear my unit screaming, cursing, and shooting the reanimated dead bodies all around me.
They were coming at us from every direction.
We tightened our circle, trying to cover each other as we changed mags and shifted targets. It didn’t matter; they overwhelmed us. There were just too many of them, and we couldn’t put them down fast enough.
I watched in horror as my best friend, Jeremy Stevens, was pulled down by a mob of freaking zombies and torn apart. Behind me, Lt. Rodriquez screamed, and then his voice trailed off into a muffled gurgle, and I knew he was gone, too.
My mag ran dry, and I reached for another, determined to keep fighting. My fingers closed on air. I was out. The undead pressed in, their hands clawing for me. I swung the empty rifle like a club, trying to clear a space.
The undead mob pulled the rifle from my hands, so I drew my Colt 1911 handgun. It was a fine weapon, and I was good with it, but it only held eight rounds. Those eight rounds went quickly.
When the pistol was empty, all sounds of gunfire ceased.
I was the last of the unit standing. The zombies surrounded me. To my right, two of the obscene things were eating my Sergeant. Behind them, more were tearing our guide to pieces.
I spun to my left and saw what was left of Stevens. Hands fastened onto my vest, and I twisted away. More grabbed hold of my legs, and I went down.
The zombies crowded around me. Behind them, looking on, was the man with the glowing eyes, triumph on his face. He cackled with glee.
In desperation, I felt around for anything to use as a weapon. My hands reached above my head and found the remains of the Lieutenant. His head had been ripped off. My hands shifted lower and found the detonator on his belt for the explosive packages that we’d set.
I yanked it free and held it up. The zombies were all over me, and their leader was looking down at me, sneering. “Fuck you,” I screamed and pushed the button. There was a distant rumble, a pressure wave, and then the world collapsed on me.
About the Author:
Dan Coglan, A.K.A. “Samurai Dan” is the acknowledged masters of marital… er, martial mayhem. Dan travels the civilized portions of the U.S., bringing his unique show to curious and horrified audiences alike.
In addition to their high-energy, mostly safe stage shows (where razor-sharp blades and barbs fly), Dan teaches historical and hysterical panels on the way of the warrior. Offering a wide range of lectures and interactive workshops, Dan provides joy and laughs wherever he goes.
Due to a supreme lack of filter, Dan also performs standup comedy in censored and uncensored settings. A storyteller at heart, Dan is releasing his first book in his Deathstalker Chronicle Series: Invasion of the Undead.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CoglanDan
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