Today we have author Brandon Zenner visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?

* Brandon Zenner is an American fiction writer and an Amazon best selling author. His short fiction has been published in both print and online publications, the first being submitted when he was 19 years old. THE EXPERIMENT OF DREAMS, his debut eBook thriller, has reached Amazon’s best seller list many times. His second novel, WHISKEY DEVILS, was released in early 2016. THE AFTER WAR, a dystopian thriller, is available now as a pre-order, at 80% off the final sale price. You can follow the author on his Amazon page, or through his email list on his website. All email subscribers will receive his futuristic short story, HELIX ILLUMINATED, for free as a thank you. His genres of choice are thrillers, crime, dystopian, and science fiction.

Today Brandon Zenner will be talking about the first book that had a big impact on him.
* It’s funny to think about it now, but I have a distant memory from back when I was in grade school, lying down on my parent’s couch and struggling to read a book that I was issued from school. Whatever the title was, I have no recollection. But I have a vivid memory of thinking that at that time, books were never going to be my thing. My dad and sister were voracious readers, as was most everyone else in my family, but I was quite certain that I was never going to enjoy reading at all.
* Flash forward a year or two, not that much time, and I was again issued a book from my teacher called Hatchet. Although I won’t go as far as to say that it was the first book to have a big impact on me, it was the first book that I enjoyed from start to finish, and I even went so far as to read the sequel. I remember the thrilling feeling as the young character survived after being stranded on a beach alone, and even the feeling of hunger when the author described a quail being roasted, the skin browned and sizzling, and juices running from the meat.
* Again, flash forward a few years to when I’m about thirteen, and I have a slight appreciation for reading before I delve into the author who will occupy most of my teenage years: Kurt Vonnegut. It was a friend of mine who urged me to read his books, so I decided to give the author a shot, and borrowed one of his lesser-known novels, SLAPSTICK. It hit me then like a ton of bricks—books, writing, it could be whatever the author wanted it to be. Kurt Vonnegut’s words delved into imaginary and fantastical worlds vastly more complex than my previous school-issued books. I quickly devoured most all of his books. SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE, CAT’S CRADLE, MOTHER NIGHT, BLUEBEARD, and on and on. The immense world of fiction had been unlocked, and the seed of what would later go on to consume most of my teenage and adult life had been planted: writing fiction of my own.
* So, I can’t say that SLAPSTICK was the best, or even my favorite Kurt Vonnegut novel, but it was the first book that truly opened my eyes to the amazing world of fiction. I think back to both that novel and that period of my life with such fond reverie, and wish I could go back in time to read all of Kurt Vonnegut’s books again, for the very first time.

A look into…

~ Blurb ~

* Two years have passed since mankind faced extinction. Brain Rhodes and his cousin, Steven, are leaving the protection of their underground bunker for the first time, after a cataclysmic war and unrelenting disease ravaged the earth.
* On the other side of the North American continent, young Simon Kalispell is leaving the safety and seclusion of his cabin deep in the woods, traveling with his aging canine companion, Winston.
* For individual reasons, these men are traveling east, where the fragmented lives of a small number of survivors will soon be decided by the choices of a corrupt few.
* Simon Kalispell and Brian Rhodes are not yet aware, but the strength that resides inside them will soon be tested, and destiny will call for their fates to be forever intertwined.

~ Excerpt ~

* Brian lowered his gun. “It’s okay, Steve. He’s dead.” He looked around. “There’s no one here.”
* Steven lowered his rifle, wiping his palms on his thighs and brushing the sweat from his eyes.
* “I said he’s dead, Steve—”
* “I reckon he’s dead, Brian. I see he’s dead.”
* “Come on now. We’re right at town.”
* They sidestepped the corpse until it was well behind them. If the body was someone they had once known, it was now impossible to determine who that person might have been.
* “That won’t be the last of them,” Brian said. “You better get your head on straight.”
* Steven opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it again.
* They stepped onto the road as the first house emerged from the woods. They walked past it, taking careful notice of the blank windows—as black as the eye sockets of the corpse—and scanned for any sign of movement, like the fluttering of drapes, or the partially covered face of a person peering out from the darkness with a shotgun clenched tight in their hands. Anything.
* But there was no movement.
* “Think anyone’s left?” Steven said, with a crack in his voice.
* Brian shrugged. “I know as much as you do.”
* The yards around the homes, and Pearl Street itself, were spotted with litter and debris of every kind blowing in the gentle breeze. Overgrown tree roots buckled sections of the sidewalk and emerged from cracks in the pavement. They passed the police station bordering the center of town. The cruisers were vacant in the parking lot, and the building was cold and silent.

Buy The After War here…
Amazon The After War will be $0.99 during the tour.

Find Brandon Zenner here…
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Thank you for joining us here today, Brandon Zenner! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

ANNOUNCEMENT! Brandon Zenner will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour! So be sure to leave a comment AND use this RAFFLECOPTER LINK to enter the drawing. Also, visit the other tour stops for a greater chance of winning!