Readers of Kevin J. Anderson were thrilled to spend part of their morning with this fun and prolific author. With more than 125 books, 51 of which have appeared on national or international bestseller lists, Anderson has over 23 million copies in print in thirty languages. He has won or been nominated for the Nebula Award, Bram Stoker Award, the SFX Reader’s Choice Award, and New York Times Notable Book (https://www.wordfire.com/?page_id=7).
Anderson writes a fun and witty series called Dan Shamble, Zombie PI. Four of the books are out in hardcover and seven as eBooks. Anderson had the last print book, Slimy Underbelly, pushed up so it would be ready for Dragon Con. This was a fantastic treat for the fans.
The Dan Shamble (pronounced Chambeaux) series is a hoot. Shamble’s first real case is detailed in his 2012 debut, Death Warmed Over, where he sets out to discover who killed him (“although paying clients have to take priority,” he assures us).
He’s the detective half of Chambeaux and Deyer Investigation, and he works the Unnatural Quarter, a neighborhood where, ever since the cataclysmic events known as the Big Uneasy, the streets are filled with therapy-bound vampires, sweatshop golems, werewolf hit men, souvenir-hawking necromancers, and ghost girlfriends.
Dan’s partner, attorney Robin Deyer, presents a human face to the world, but it’s Dan who does the real legwork, retrieving stolen paintings on behalf of dead painters, investigating a werewolf divorcee’s ex, looking into a case of discrimination against a mixed race (werewolf/vampire) couple, and the like.
It was a fantastic surprise when Anderson wrote a special short story for his reading, “Dan Shambles, Zombie PI, at a Con.” Although Dragon Con was not specifically stated, Anderson did say that most of the setting was geared around Dragon Con. The audience laughed at the many familiar incidents that happened in the story (Red Shirts, Star Wars, and Klingons…oh, my).
This reporter is sworn to secrecy. The story was an exclusive for attendees of this panel, and Anderson read it from beginning to end. I hope it will be available to readers soon. It really was something to die for.
