GUEST BLOG: Armand Rosamilia Talks Miami Spy Games

 

Who is this goateed badass that makes Kerry King look like the bassist in a Nickelback cover band? He is Armand Rosamilia and he is responsible for some of the best zombie fiction in the genre over the last few years. His extreme zombie novella, Highway to Hell, was reviewed on this very blog a while ago and now, he is promoting his latest endeavor, Miami Spy Games. As a fan of both the artist and his work, I'm gladly giving up some blog real estate to talk about his new offering.

Miami Spy Games

Questions About The Serial with Armand Rosamilia

I love getting questions from readers, whether they are good or bad. I've compiled a few of them here and decided to answer them for everyone. Just because I wanted to. I kept the names off of them but privately answered these already. The Miami Spy Games: Russian Zombie Gun twelve-part serialization has just been put together in one massive release, and I am quite proud of it.

Where did the idea for Miami Spy Games come from?

It was technically a gift. AK Waters came up with the concept and got in touch with Hobbes End Publishing to find the perfect writer to put his idea into words. That's where I came in. I'm sure they tried 147 other authors before they chose me, lol…

Who are the main characters based on?

From what I understand, the three main characters (Jennifer Sanchez, Mike Martin and Mark Kostas) are named after real people, but I've never met them or been given any real information about them. Which is probably good, because it allowed me to write them the way I wanted to and not based on real people in my mind. Conversely, Dale Comstock is based on a real American Bad Ass, so I had to tread carefully with his character. Plus, he could crush me like a grape.

Are there plans for another season?

I sure hope so. Right now it is in the hands of The Powers That Be, but it looks pretty good. Sales are steady and the buzz is growing. Besides that, I love writing these characters and this story was so much fun. We already have a tentative idea for the next one, and I even foreshadow it in this book if you are paying attention. And I hope you are paying attention!

Did you write this with a television series in mind?

I wrote it with the thought it would make a good one, and I would hope the publisher also had the idea, but we never sat down and wanted to do it this way. It just organically happened. Would it make a great TV series? Of course! And not just saying it because I wrote every brilliant sentence of it, either. Well, maybe that had something to do with it. We'll see what happens.

If Miami Spy Games was made into a movie, who would play the main parts?

I pictured Michelle Rodriguez (Resident Evil, Girlfight) as Jennifer Sanchez, Mark Wahlberg (Three Kings, Shooter) as Mike Martin and a young Steve Buscemi (anything he's in is great) as Kostas. And Dale Comstock will play himself.Since I won't ever tell him no for anything.

I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek into the Miami Spy Games world, enough to go out and grab a copy… and make me super rich so I can finance this bad boy myself, and have a huge Hollywood blockbuster movie and merchandise like action figures and McDonalds Happy Meal toys… and anything Dale Comstock wants, of course.

If you have any questions about the Miami Spy Games series, I'd love to hear them: armandrosamilia@gmail.com

Miami Spy Games on Amazon Kindle only $3.99!

BOOK REVIEW: Highway to Hell by Armand Rosamilia

 

You know those stories about the zombie apocalypse where there's some humor and features a couple of zombies you almost feel sorry for or think are cute?

Yeah. This ain't that. 

Highway to Hell is a 74-page novella written by extreme horror writer Armand Rosamilia. Yes, I know it was published nearly two years ago, but I'm just now getting around to writing about it, so it's new to me.

Rosamilia has done an interesting thing with this little piece of disturbing genre literature: He's redefined one of the most popular storylines in horror today. It's like completely changing the vampire myth to make it possible for said bloodsucker to be out during the day. And sparkle. But not suck. Figuratively. Or literally? Fuck, I don't know. I haven't worked this out completely and I've been drinking.

Anyway.

With the popularity of The Walking Dead and movies like Zombieland and 28 Days/Weeks/Months etc., the dystopian nightmare that is the dead rising from their graves and taking over the world has become a little played out. But in the first couple pages of Highway, Rosamilia changes the game. How?

Zombie rapists.

He's not called an "extreme horror" writer for nothing. In the very first pages of the story, when zombies are fisting their victim and violating them in the most brutal, sexually-depraved manner possible, it's safe to say this isn't your father's zombie story. Some authors, especially horror authors, will attempt to go for the shock value and ride the story on that and that only. Rosamilia is different, however.

His characters are relateable. You feel empathy for them. You understand them. You get them. As a reader, you can understand their bravado and at the same time, their insecurities. These are real people. Zombie apocalypse stories are nothing new at all.  While, in my opinion, Max Brooks did it best with World War Z, what Rosamilia has done in a very short span has made the reader not only feel a kinship with the protagonists, his style of writing truly makes you want to know what's going to happen next.

And then there's the zombie rape. The cannibalism portrayed in the vast majority of zombie movies focuses on a longstanding worldwide taboo. What Highway to Hell has done has made a zombie attack feel even more personal. It's safe to say, most people don't feel they will ever be a victim of a cannibal, especially one who intends to dine upon you whilst you still live. Rape and sexual assault, however, is a different animal. The idea of being violated in that manner is something real, something tangible. While it's a base fear many women have, it's something men are terrified of in a very dark place they rarely, if ever, speak of. The rape of a woman is horrible. The rape of a man is, in that man's mind, horrible, unnatural, and nearly impossible to ever recover from. That is what makes Rosamilia's story all the more terrifying. The idea of being eaten alive is gruesome; the idea of having your genitalia and various orifices violated in as graphic, gruesome manner as possible is truly disquieting.

Rosamilia isn't for everyone. I equate what he does to music, specifically metal. If someone tells you they're a metal fan, more often than not, they're talking about Metallica, Slipknot, Godsmack, and maybe, maybe, Slayer. When you bring up bands like Cannibal Corpse, Goatwhore, Cattle Decapitation, et. al., that "metal" fan is looking at you like you just ate the head off a kitten. Rosamilia's writings are like those latter bands. He's not for everyone, but if you can get past the squeamishness of the subject matter, you will be entertained.

For more on Armand Rosamilia, check him out at his Web site, his official page on Facebook, and on Twitter.