Author Genre: Horror, Nonfiction
Website: Armand Rosamilia
Twitter: @ArmandAuthor
E-Mail: armandrosamilia (at) gmail (dot) com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Armand Rosamilia is a New Jersey boy currently living in sunny Florida, where he writes when he's not sleeping. He's happily married to a woman who helps his career and is supportive, which is all he ever wanted in life...
He's written over 150 stories that are currently available, including horror, zombies, contemporary fiction, thrillers and more. His goal is to write a good story and not worry about genre labels.
He runs two very successful podcasts on Project iRadio, too...
Arm Cast: Dead Sexy Horror Podcast - interviewing fellow authors as well as filmmakers, musicians, etc.
Arm N Toof's Dead Time Podcast - with co-host Mark Tufo, the duo interview authors and filmmakers and anyone else they feel like talking to
He also loves to talk in third person... because he's really that cool. He's a proud Active member of HWA as well.
SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author
Congratulations on the release of your new book: United States Of Apocalypse. Rumor has it that you have another book being released soon called Dying Days 6. Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease? (See book blurbs below.)
US of Apoc was co-written with author Mark Tufo. It stars his main character from his Zombie Fallout series, Mike Talbot, and my main character from the Dying Days series, Darlene Bobich. It's an alternate reality where the world is still a messed up place but at least there aren't any zombies this time. It's being released on May 3rd.
Dying Days 6 is the latest installment of my zombie series and follows the adventures of Darlene Bobich and the last survivors. It debuts May 31st.
You have a good following on twitter. Since you started before the social media buzz, what impact has social media relationships had on your current success? How did you build your following in your niche? How much has it changed your book launch process?
I built the Twitter following one real person at a time. I saw the writing on the wall with Facebook and all the changes so I invested my time heavily into Twitter, and it has helped. Getting over 100k followers lets me ease up and just let people add me each day on autopilot. I have a Buffer which allows me to set up a new tweet each hour to spread them out, especially overnight. It has definitely helped with book sales and getting the word out about my podcasts and sharing fellow author’s works. I don't know where I'd be without Twitter at this point.
You have great covers. They carry a theme and your brand with them. How does your book cover creation process work? Do you hand over the basic theme or do you have more of a hands-on approach? Do you get your readers involved in its development?
I'm currently updating all of the Dying Days covers. I wanted something a little darker and uniform, so Jack Wallen created them for me. It's based on my concept but he really brings them to life. I've been lucky working with so many small presses over the years and getting some really solid covers for my work. Devil Dog Press does an amazing job pairing the right covers with my books, too. I get ideas from readers all the time. They can be brutally honest, which I like. I want to know when a cover falls flat.
Many of your novels have been converted into audio books. What has been the impact on your regular sales? Has the audio books gained a new audience for you?
At first audiobooks were nothing for me. Just another way to get my stories out but I didn't think too much about them. Now I'm glad I did. Certain books sell quite well and are definitely worth the time and expense. It is a growing channel and the sales creep up every month. I'm quite happy with my audiobooks.
You have written several short stories. Can you tell us if they had an impact on the sales of your novels? Are shorty’s one of your styles of writing or are they created to give readers a sample of your work?
When I started writing full-time (about 6 years ago) I had many trunked shorts. I polished a few of them up and released them. I wanted to get as many releases out as possible to give potential readers many options. Last year I had 29 releases. The two years before I had 45 per year. Lots of choices. Now that I've built up the audience with shorts and novella-length work I can push the novels and not have to do so many releases each year. The shorts help sell the longer books and keep readers interested between novels now.
I like the idea of Author bundles. You are a part of a several novel and short story collections. What was the impact on your other sales? What was the main objective of bundling your works with other Horror authors? How did you put something like that together?
The box set idea was big a couple of years ago and I decided to jump in. I am in 3 or 4 of them and would love to keep doing them because they get new readers interested in one of my books. It definitely helps with the marketing of my work. Having 8-10 authors per box set and making it 99 cents doesn't get you a ton of money directly but indirectly it has led to many sales and new readers, which is the goal.
Between your book writing, blogging, marketing, family and all the other things that can get in your way, how do you manage your time? Do you have a set schedule or do you sort of play it by ear?
I play it by ear. I'm creative to a fault. I sometimes forget to eat when I'm on a role. I have lists and Post-It's all over my office so I can keep track of the many things I need to do in any given day. I start working about 9 am and don't stop until midnight some days. But this all beats going back into retail management, right?
Do you maintain a reader list? What are the methods you use to find your readers and create the list and the relationship? Do you use social media, forums, newsletters and/or support groups to build your list?
Again, the creative in me gets in the way sometimes. I don't have any set list. I can't maintain a mailing list even if my life depended on it. I keep track of a lot of my biggest supporters and someone created a fan club for me on Facebook I am active in. I think it is about building those individual relationships with readers that really helps me long-term.
Congratulations on your successful podcasts on Project iRadio. Can you give a brief description about the podcasts and how we can tune in to hear your presentations?
I host Arm Cast Podcast interviewing fellow authors. I just celebrated my 100th episode. There's a new one every Friday morning. The other is Arm N Toof's Dead Time Podcast I co-host with author Mark Tufo. Every Wednesday a new episode has us interviewing authors, filmmakers, artists, actors, etc. You can find both at www.projectiradio.com.
Author's Book List
Dying Days 6
Continuing the Dying Days zombie series!
Darlene Bobich, the Zombie Killer, is on a mission to save her family. Can she succeed, even as more obstacles are thrown in her way: survivors bent on their own selfish needs, evolving zombies and the rotting world around her?
Dying Days are truly upon us…
Order the Book From:
Amazon
United States Of Apocalypse
When World War 3 erupts on American soil it is up to some less than likely heroes to band together and stand tall against any and all comers as a once proud nation is brought to her knees.
Cowardly terrorist attacks and indifferent Global communities have isolated America as she spirals into a desperate bid for survival.
Follow Darlene Bobich, and her group on the west coast along with Michael Talbot on the east coast as they do everything in their power to thwart those that would take everything that they and all of us are, away.
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
iTunes
Audible
Belford Stories
October 1987...
A small fishing village on the New Jersey coast is ready for the high school football game and an oncoming snowstorm
Willie Davidson... his mother left town when her husband died, leaving her son to fend for himself with winter approaching...
Frankie and Gary Paul... two cousins sharing a public works truck and looking for trouble...
April Schwartz... a lost teenage girl trying to prove how adult she is...
Billy Hunter... the police officer with a chip on his shoulder...
George Smith... an aspiring musician who just wants to play music and hang with his friends...
Jimmy Petrucci... a family man with a wandering eye that could get him in hot water...
Garrett Simms... the star quarterback for the North team, trying to keep his focus on the game...
These and more Belford residents are waiting for you!
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Amazon
Barnes and Noble
The Enemy Held Near
Foster and Ruthie Turner tried to save each other, their marriage, and their family. Every house is haunted with the past of the people who live there. When one tries to stay and the other tries to leave, everyone will face the dire consequences of both those choices.
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Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Shocker
- Shocker Trilogy Book 1SHOCKER is the horror humor story of a prisoner, a religious idol, monsters and mayhem.
Vito “The Shocker” Shocketti has been locked away in Rahway State Penitentiary for twenty years of his life sentence. In that time not one cellmate has endured being quartered with him for very long. That all changes when a young kid, Manny “Dirty” Sanchez, gets put with The Shocker.
A star struck Manny begs “The Shocker” to tell him his legendary story of crime and murder. Vito decides to unload on the kid, who becomes more and more engrossed in The Shocker’s tales of living life on the edge in the seedy heavy metal club scene in 1980’s New Jersey.
The Shocker, impressed that Dirty has not begged the guards to move him from the cell, drops a bombshell. All the murders The Shocker committed were directed at the behest of Baby Jesus. The Shockers tales devolve into the weird and insane.
Could The Shocker be making it all up to make Manny think he is criminally insane or is the Baby Jesus real and has a higher plan for the both of them?
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Amazon
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Dirty Deeds
I get paid to erase problems.
Did your extramarital affair produce an unwanted complication? Family problems? Just want to enjoy your midlife crisis by yourself?
That's where I come in. For a fee I'll take care of it. A big fee.
Only, I'm not going to do what you think. I'm not going to save you from them, I’m going to save them from you.
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Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Green River Blend
- A Supernatural ThrillerNothing exciting ever happens in a small town…
Especially in the sleepy Florida beachside stretch known as Hammond Beach, nestled between Daytona Beach and St. Augustine. Free from corporate businesses and a slew of tourists descending upon the quaint former fishing village, Hammond Beach is like a painting.
Locals run the businesses on Main Street. Even when a new coffee shop opens, the owner hires only Hammond Beach locals, including manager Betty. She’s born and raised in Hammond Beach and knows everyone.
But when the latest and greatest coffee is put out, Green River Blend, strange things begin to happen to the residents of Hammond Beach…
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Amazon
Barnes and Noble
KOBO
iTunes
Chelsea Avenue
- A Supernatural ThrillerOn July 8th 1987, in Long Branch, New Jersey, The Haunted House Pier and Murphy's Law club fires destroyed not only local landmarks, but everything Manny Santiago found dear.
And it isn't over.
The entity responsible for killing Manny's family and wreaking devastation in the small seaside community has reappeared. Again. As it has every year since. And is growing in power.
Every July 8th it returns, as survivors of the fires, including Manny, are mysteriously led back to the now-vacant seaside lot on Chelsea Avenue, where the entity intends to finish what it started in 1987 once and for all.
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Amazon
Barnes and Noble
KOBO
iTunes
Dying Days 5
Darlene and John have been scattered... can they fight through miles of undead to find one another? Will The Lich Lord destroy what is left of this post apocalyptic world? Will the Main Street compound survive another day?
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Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Dying Days 4
"Level up with Rosamilia's take on smarter, scarier zombies! They don't sleep and neither will you. Read this now!" ~ Robert Chazz Chute, author of This Plague of Days
"Armand Rosamilia has masterly crafted a unique zombie book with many moving parts. Dying Days 4 should be on every zombie fanatics TBR list" ~ Mark Tufo, author of the Zombie Fallout series
"With Dying Days 4, Armand Rosamilia continues to carve his own glorious path through the zombie apocalypse. His unique blend of sex and violence, well-rendered melancholy and tough as nails, pedal to the metal can do attitude makes for a story that gets it all just right. Rosamilia is a bright light for a dark country, and one of a handful of writers I know I can turn to when I want to have the crap scared out of me. He's that good" ~ Joe McKinney, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Dead City and Plague of the Undead
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Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Audible
Dying Days 3
Flagler Beach Florida is a wasteland of ruin and gore, looted and picked clean of supplies… and now, Darlene Bobich and the other survivors have an even bigger problem…
What could be worse than a mindless zombie horde? They are about to find out.
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Amazon
Audible
Dying Days 2
St. Augustine, the oldest city in what used to be America… now an apocalyptic wasteland, where undead fight over the scraps…
For Darlene Bobich and the remaining survivors it will be the ultimate test… zombies surrounding them, zombies coming from the ocean, across the Bridge of Lions… undead searching in eternal hunger…
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Amazon
Audible
Dying Days
Sunny Florida, beautiful beaches, no traffic on A1A... Zombies roaming the dunes in search of the living... Darlene Bobich in a fight to survive, find food, safety and ammo for her Desert Eagle before its too late... the undead are coming to exterminate the human race...
Dying Days are upon us... The Undead Roam the Earth... Searching for the living in an apocalyptic wasteland
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Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Audible
Highway To Hell 2
Randy Jackson's car has been stolen by a hot redhead, more guns pointed at his face than he can count, and zombies around every corner. Just when he's about to toss in the towel, a mysterious blonde saves him... but why?
The long-awaited sequel to "Highway To Hell" (which began the "Dying Days" zombie series) and sequel to "Dying Days: Origins" is upon us...
The zombie apocalypse is in full swing but sometimes your fellow survivors are more deadly than the undead
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Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Highway To Hell
- Dying Days Book 1The end of the world is upon us... the zombie plague has taken over... and your former friends and loved ones don't want to just kill and eat you... they want to violate you...
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Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Audible
Darlene Bobich
- Zombie Killer - Dying DaysThirteen tales of Darlene Bobich in one book!
The prequel to the successful "Dying Days" zombie novella series
Find out how Darlene Bobich got her start in this post apocalyptic world overrun with zombies... her fights and her fleeing from the devastation of her home in Maine down to Florida, and the adventures that follow even as the world around her devolves into extinction…
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Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Audible
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Nice interview.
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