Gates Holt

Horror and erotica. Zombies and romance...

Maybe a tender love story is your thing, a husband doting on his wife’s rotting corpse. Or perhaps a forbidden encounter in a secret café, serving up the latest in delectable zombie cuisine, or some dirty, dirty dancing in the old-time honky-tonk. Voodoo sex-slaves and vending machine body-parts? You’ll find those here, too.

Whatever your flavor, these short tales of undead Romance, Revenge, Risk, and Raunch will leave you shambling, moaning, and clawing for more.

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About the Editors:

Jaym Gates started out a writer, added reporting, administrating and promotional work, and then made a joke on twitter and became an editor. Now she edits Little Death of Crossed Genres and is the Publicity Manager for Raw Dog Screaming Press, among other things. Unable to choose a genre, she labels her writing New Weird, throws it in the spec-lit bowl, and tosses it with dusty butcher knives.

Erika Holt had the good sense to abandon her lucrative career as a civil litigation lawyer to become an under (or un-) paid editor and writer of speculative fiction. She spends most of her time living in strange lands, accompanied by witches, monsters, heroes, and other creatures, but maintains a few earthly obsessions, including NHL hockey, music, reality television talent competitions, and painting her toenails strange colors.

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The Authors:

Pete "Patch" Alberti, Damon B, Renée Bennett, Xander Briggs, Jennifer Brozek, J. R. Campbell, Johann Carlisle, Nathan Crowder, Carrie Cuinn, R. Schuyler Devin, Annette Dupree, Michael Ellsworth, Jay Faulkner, Kaolin Imago Fire, M. G. Gillett, Sarah Goslee, Kay T. Holt, Calvin D. Jim, Alex Masterson, Edward Morris, Don Pizarro, Michael Phillips, John Nakamura Remy, V. R. Roadifer, Andrew Penn Romine, Armand Rosamilia, Jacob Ruby, Steven James Scearce, Lance Schonberg, Lucia Starkey, R. E. VanNewkirk, Wendy N. Wagner.

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Praise:

"Graverobbers Gates and Holt have unearthed a set of tales that arouse and revolt, with more than a shovelful of humor. If you let these stories gnaw on your brain, you’ll come away not only entertained, but with meaningful reflections on the most challenging aspects of human experience—love and death. I prescribe Rigor Amortis to you, STAT." — John Cmar, MD, podcast voice actor for ESCAPE POD, 2007-1010 Parsec Awards Judge.

"This new anthology gives fresh meaning to the term ‘a nice romantic dinner.’ Whether you’re a connoisseur of the erotic or the grotesque—or enjoy a hearty helping of both—Rigor Amortis delivers a full menu of startling, horrifying, and even heartbreaking stories to whet your appetite." — T. M. Camp, author of Assam and Darjeeling, and Matters of Mortology.

"Normally I read an anthology one, or two, stories at a time. As I flipped through Rigor Amortis, I was overtaken with the macabre inability to put the book down. I finished it in one sitting. You will too." — Richard B. Wood

"Rigor Amortis promises to be 148 pages of transgressive fiction for those who like their zombies hot." — Zed Word Blog

So, in the mood for dark, sensual poetry? Check out Lance Schonberg’s And Yet In Death. Longing for a touch of romance and the depth of a wife’s love? Take a turn with Jay Faulkner’s Always and Forever. Or perhaps the sticky, sweaty freedom of Damon B.’s Liberation Den is more to your taste. And remember, Rigor Amortis will love you until your dying day. And beyond." — Off The Written Path

"The parts I loved the most were the thoughtful pieces that explored the human condition through the lens of undeath, but there are also fine pieces that are just about zombies and sex. If you enjoy zombie horror, this could be a fine piece to include in your collection." — Angela Spencer

"Our capacity to love is great, but our capacity to take advantage of even the most deleterious of situations can occlude it easily when we are put into a situation where the old rules no longer apply and the new rules barely exist if at all. Sometimes love is beautiful and sometimes it is rancid and festering and full of pain, but we hold onto it anyway. If these are the sort of stories that interest you, you could do far, far worse than this little anthology." — Don Campbell

"And remember, Rigor Amortis will love you until your dying day. And beyond." — Sandra Odell

"Rigor Amortis is an excellent collection. This is one of those rare books in which every story is tight and stays true to the purpose of the work." — Brit

"Rigor Amortis features very talented and freaky authors who have given us fresh, innovative and deliciously disgusting tales of the undead." — Anon