by Ailes, Derek
Elvis Has Left the Dead: Mark Cusco Ailes and I were interviewed for the Times newspaper recently. A photographer was sent to our book signing three days later to take a photograph of us for the article. Sandra had her Elvis cutout promoting her Elvis book standing up by the entrance to the book signing. The photographer was feeling creative and took a picture of it. That was the photo they used for our article. Nothing says the Ailes Brothers of Terror better than Elvis Presley. What possessed the editor of the paper to choose a picture unrelated to the article as that photo? At least, the reporter from the Post Tribune, who stopped by to do an article about the book fair, used a picture of us for the article in their newspaper.
I wrote this totally sarcastic story out of anger over the incident. I’m a big Elvis fan. I love his music. I love books about him. I own his movies on DVD. There are a lot of tidbits throughout the story that diehard Elvis fans will pick up on that non diehard fans won’t realize it’s a reference to him. People wish he was still alive. Hell, imagine how many more songs he would have recorded if he had lived longer.
This story is as it was truly meant to be; me making fun of myself. The people described outside my front door are my actual neighbors.
Twisted Twins: I wrote this story for Jen and Sylvia Soska, The Twisted Twins, the horror masterminds behind the movies “Dead Hooker In A Trunk”, “American Mary” and “See No Evil 2”. I wrote this story in the same style similar to all of their movies. I had the pleasure of meeting them a year ago at a horror convention. I’ve been a fan of theirs ever since. There are many references to “American Mary” and it is as twisted as they are. They believe in having strong female characters and I didn’t disappoint them. This is the most demented story I have ever written.
Marriage Zquality: After the backlash from the Republicans and the Christian Right after the Supreme Court ruling in favor of gay marriage, I wrote a zombie story based on it. People will have different opinions on what the meaning behind the story is truly about. What happens in the story parallels aspects of the holocaust and what happened to Anne Frank and her family. It’s my “never forget, it can happen again” story.
Russo Jones is named after John Russo, the father of zombie movies and fiction. Thanks for making the genre popular.
In the Hollies Style: This story was written on no sleep after 2:00 am. On very little sleep, my stories become too bizarre.
I’ve been a huge fan of the Hollies since I heard “The Air That I Breathe” for the first time in 1994, twenty years after it had been released as a single. Over the next twenty years, I searched far and wide for every B-side and non-album track I could get my hands on. I have every song that has been released now on MP3 format. My love for the Hollies outweighs my love for every other band. The story about the Hollies is totally made up obviously; it is based on the history of the band up to when Allan Clarke first left the band right after the album “Distant Light” was released. Yes, I’ve made some changes to the time line since Bernie Calvert didn’t officially join the band until 1966.
Elton John also makes an appearance in the story since he did the piano work for two of their songs: “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” and “I Can’t Tell A Bottom From the Top”.
This story is complete fiction and there is no evidence that they were ever vampire slayers.
Claws Vs Mecha Cat: This is a sequel to “Claws” from “Catfurnado, Zombies and One Killer Doll”. This is another story written for fans of all the offbeat horror films from the SyFy Channel and the original “Godzilla” franchise. Will there be another story? Is there a “Claws 3: Oh Hell No!” in the future? Only time will tell.
Every year my friend and I go to the Chicago Auto Show. I figured it was time to use that in one of my stories.
The shark they spotted in Lake Michigan that vanished is the shark from my story “Shark Transporter” from “Zombie Command: A Horror Anthology”.
I hope that nobody saw the surprised warped ending coming. I just couldn’t end the story with a happy ending.
Rastus, A Warrior’s Quest & Shelana’s Quest: Both of these stories are teaser stories for my upcoming fantasy novel “Beast Within”. I’m pushing for a March 2016 release date. Keep checking http://www.derekailes.com for further updates. I post to my blog almost every Sunday.
I hope this journey has been thrilling and entertaining and everybody enjoyed all the stories from both mine and James Coon’s minds.
I want to thank all of those who have helped or inspired me with this project:
Linda Byers & Amber Harmon for finding all of JC’s stories and saving them for me.
Jeff Elkins, Bob Moulesong and everybody else at Short Fiction Break for supporting my writing career this past year.
Indiana Writers’ Consortium and all of its members who have supported Mark and my writing career.
Carolyn Ailes, my mother, who has been editing these stories and helping me improve them.
Mark Cusco Ailes for being my beta reader.
John Russo for creating the first zombie masterpiece and starting the zombie revolution.
Jen & Sylvia Soska for proving to the world that women can dominate the horror industry, and we shouldn’t view women as the victims in the horror genre.
James Coon: for sharing these stories and adventures with me. I will always cherish our fifteen years of friendship.
Thank you for reading Musings From A Demented Mind. Whether you liked it or not, I hope you’ll take a moment to leave a review on Amazon. Reviews are vitally important to me as an author both to help me market my book and to improve my writing in the future. Thank you!
Derek Ailes
Leave the review here: http://authl.it/B013Q1BH8I?d
Also Available:
Zombie Command: A Horror Anthology
Beast Within: Coming in 2016
With Author Mark Cusco Ailes:
Journey Into the Unknown: Deluxe Horror Edition
Catfurnado, Zombies and One Killer Doll
This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.
Musings From A Demented Mind
All Rights Reserved
Copyright 2015 Derek Ailes
This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Weekland Press
Printed in the United States of America
For information and permission request contact: [email protected]
Published in the United States by Weekland Press.
Website: http://www.derekailes.com