Newsletter

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Contamination 6: Sanctuary is live!

I'm excited to announce that Contamination 6: Sanctuary is out today! You can grab it at the links below. The book will appear on iTunes soon.



Thursday, November 20, 2014

Contamination 6: Sanctuary preview and Cover Reveal!

COMING LATE NOV/EARLY DEC!


Chapter One

Meredith awoke with a scream lodged in her throat.

She stifled the sound and bolted upright, her eyes rolling around the dark room. Although she was vaguely aware she’d been dreaming, the memory still lingered, and she was stuck between the realm of nightmares and reality.

She could only remember bits and pieces of what she’d seen—infected bodies tumbling over one another like a tidal wave, her companions torn apart in the aftermath. She held her hand over her heart, hoping to quell its ferocious beating, but it pounded like a jackhammer.

Where was everybody?

Although some part of her knew she’d had a nightmare, another part of her was still scared—terrified—that she’d discover her companions missing. Her eyes flitted around the room, taking in the dark outlines of two bureaus, a mirror, and a painting on the wall. She swiveled to her left. John was breathing deeply in the bed next to her, undisturbed. Ernie, her black poodle, was sleeping between his legs.

She strained her ears, thinking she’d hear something amiss, but the house was quiet. She could hear the faint din of crickets outside, but that was it.

See, Meredith? Just a dream.

She did her best to convince herself but couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. She had a choice to make. She could either lie back down and do her best to sleep, or she could make a quick pass of the house.

She swung her legs off the bed and reached for the gun on the bedside table. The piece was where she’d left it, ready to provide comfort. She retrieved it and stood upright, trying to dampen the creak of the floorboards. The last thing she wanted was to wake Quinn in the next room.

A cool breeze filtered in through the cracks of the boarded window next to her. The power had gone out several days ago. Even before that, they hadn’t been using air conditioners or fans.

These days, noise was best kept to a minimum.

She peered out the window. The backyard was open and empty. The pale light of the moon shone off the grass; the wind rustled the blades. A few bats fluttered overhead, searching for mice in the cover of night.

She proceeded through the bedroom, keeping her eye on the closed door. In her former life, she’d slept with it open, but she’d resorted to shutting it.

It was one more layer of protection against the infected, should they get inside.

When she reached the door, she put her hand on the knob and paused. Her heart collided with her ribcage. In this new world, she was wary of entrances and exits. Once a door was closed, there was no telling what was on the other side.

She froze, listening. More crickets. The hoot of an owl.

Then footsteps.

Meredith’s blood raced. She clutched the gun and glanced over her shoulder. She contemplated waking John, but thought better of it. It was probably just Dan, keeping watch. It’d been his turn to keep guard.

Calm down, Meredith. It’s just your brother-in-law.

She swallowed and twisted the doorknob.

Despite the warm temperature of the house, the knob was cold in her hand, and it deepened her fear. She turned the knob all the way to the left, then stopped and waited.

The footsteps ceased. Someone was listening. Listening for her.

She strained her ears, trying to decipher who—or what—was in the house. Was she imagining things? Was she still in the throes of a nightmare?

She squeezed tighter on the gun, flexing her fingers to verify she was awake. If this was a nightmare, it was the most vivid one she’d ever had.

She sucked in a breath and opened the door.

The hinges creaked quietly. The hallway was dark, but she could detect the faint glow of a flashlight from the kitchen. Dan? She crept into the hall, inching forward on shaky legs. She glanced to her right, but there were no other shapes in the hall around her. The door to Quinn’s bedroom was closed. If there was an intruder in the house, she couldn’t see them.

She aimed the pistol at chest level. To her right was an open door leading to a bathroom. She peered inside, but saw nothing unusual. They’d been staying at the Sanders’ house for a few days, and she was already accustomed to the layout. The objects in the bathroom were all familiar. The shower curtain hung open; no shadows lurked in the tub.

She kept going. At the end of the hall, she stopped. The kitchen was on her right; the living room was on the left. In neither did she see anyone—or anything. But a flashlight—Dan’s—was on the floor in the kitchen, rolling softly back and forth on the linoleum.

She knew she’d heard something.

Groggy or not, she hadn’t been dreaming.

She took two more steps, her anxiety mounting, and peered into the kitchen. Through the pale glow of the flashlight, she saw an empty chair by the back window.

Dan was gone.

Her eyes darted to the door. It was still barricaded. The windows were still boarded, untouched. Had Dan gone outside? If so, how? They’d been using the back door to enter and exit. The front door was also blocked off. She couldn’t imagine him leaving—at least not without telling anyone.

She swiveled in all directions, suddenly afraid that the house was unguarded, that she was the only thing standing between something and the rest of her companions. All the shadows seemed unfamiliar and menacing, and she pointed the gun at each of them in turn.

She’d just taken another step when someone called her name.

“Meredith!” a voice hissed from the living room.

She turned to face the noise. To her left, next to a sofa, a dark shadow crouched down, hiding. It was Dan. She hadn’t spotted him before. She blew a nervous breath and walked over to join him.

“My God, Dan! I thought someone was in the house!” she scolded. She hunkered down beside him, her hands still shaking. “You scared the hell out of me!”

“I’m sorry.”

“Is everything all right?” she asked.

“We have company.”

Dan gestured through a crack in the boarded living room window, then scrambled back so she could take a look. Meredith took his place and squinted across the front yard. Deep on the horizon, a group of creatures was creeping toward the house.

“We need to wake the others!” Meredith said.

“Let’s wait. I’ve been watching them for about ten minutes. They’re going pretty slow—I think they’re almost dead. I can take care of them without disturbing everyone.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Not in the dark.”

Dan was already upright, walking across the room. She followed him into the kitchen. On the way, she listened for signs of John, Quinn, or Ernie, but it sounded like they were still asleep.

Dan leaned over and whispered in her ear.  

“There’s no reason to alarm everyone,” he said.

Meredith sucked in a bated breath. For the past few days, they’d seen only a few of the creatures, and the ones they’d seen had been easy enough to take care of in the daytime. At the same time, the prospect of Dan going outside alone—and at night—made her uncomfortable.

She watched nervously as Dan headed for the back door.

“Are you sure you don’t need help?” she asked.

“I’m sure. Stay here and keep watch.” Dan patted his gun holster. On his hip were several knives. “I’ll be fine.”

He moved toward the barricade, grabbed the edge of a table, and began moving it. Meredith assisted him. Once the path was clear, Dan unlocked the back door.

“Be back in a few,” he said.

Before she could respond, he swung open the door and stepped out into the night.

Meredith watched him creep along the side of the house. She kept one hand on the door, the other on her pistol, straining to keep him in view. Within seconds, he’d rounded the corner and was out of sight, headed for the front yard.

She exhaled and closed the door, locking it. As she did, she tried to dispel the thought that her brother-in-law would never return.

He’s a police officer, Meredith. He survived an eight-hundred-mile journey to get here. We’ve survived several days in this house. He’ll be fine.

In spite of her attempts to reassure herself, she was still uneasy. After securing the back door, she padded across the house to the front window and bent down to keep watch. She stared out into the front yard.

The moon had emerged from behind a set of clouds, and it hung like a pendant in the sky, casting a pale glow over the landscape. She scoured the property, locating the shadowed form of Dan as he traveled across the grass. His movements were graceful and soundless, as if he were nothing more than a projection superimposed on a backdrop.

Three shadows clambered toward him.

She covered her mouth with her palm, hoping to calm her breathing. She’d coexisted with danger since the contamination began, but it was difficult to contain her panic. What if Dan never came back? What if something happened to him, and Quinn lost her only remaining parent?

She watched as Dan skirted closer to the shadows. She could see the glint of a knife in his hand, and he raised it into the air as he approached the creatures. The things were moving erratically, wobbling as they walked. It shouldn’t be difficult for him to dispose of them—not in the weakened condition they were in. He was probably using the knife to avoid the sound of gunfire.

He swung the blade, felling the one closest to him.

One down, she thought.

She heard a faint groan in the distance—the death cry of an infected—and felt a glimmer of sorrow. No matter how many creatures they killed, it never felt any better. She felt awful about what the people had become. It wasn’t their fault; they hadn’t asked for this.

Her only hope was that they were beyond pain.

Dan approached another of the shadows, and he jabbed at it, sending it to its knees. Then he rammed the blade into its shadowed head.

Two down, she thought.

She watched him circle the remaining creature. The thing was stumbling forward, hands outstretched, making a half-hearted attempt to get to him. In the moonlight, it resembled a broken puppet, a figurine dangling on half of its strings. Dan lashed out at it.

He missed. The thing lunged.

Meredith watched as Dan lost his balance and pitched sideways onto the grass. The creature, which had looked weak just moments before, seemed to regain its strength. It leapt for Dan and toppled him over. The two combatants slipped out of sight. Meredith shot to her feet, adrenaline coursing through her body.

Dammit. What have I done? Why did I let him go out there alone?

Oh God.

She darted for the door, unlocked it, and threw it open. The night air rushed in to greet her. She charged into the yard and to the front of the house, gun drawn. When she cleared the building, she scoured the landscape for her brother-in-law, but there was no sign of him. The moon had skirted behind the clouds, pitching the yard into near darkness.

Where the hell was he?

She ran in the direction she remembered him being, her feet pounding the grass. Gone were the moving shadows she’d seen before. All she could see were the tips of the grass. In her panic, she hadn’t grabbed a flashlight.

A string of scenarios tumbled through her mind as she ran—each worse than the last. Was Dan injured? Dead?

She was halfway across the front lawn when she heard ragged breathing from the ground. She slowed her gait and advanced, pointing her gun.

“Dan?” she whispered, her voice trembling.

A figure sat upright on the lawn. Meredith scrambled to make sense of the scene. She could see the outline of several bodies. But who was who? Her hands shook.

“Is that you?” she asked again.

Silence prevailed. Then a voice surprised her.

“That one gave me a run for my money,” Dan whispered, out of breath.

She exhaled loudly. “You had me worried, Dan.”

“I’m fine.”

Meredith shook her head. Her fear had abated, and in its place was a wave of anger. “You should’ve let me come with you.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She offered her arm, and Dan took it and got to his feet. When he’d regained his breath, they started back toward the house.

Meredith and Dan trekked across the lawn. Meredith’s heart rate, formerly a gallop, had decreased to something near normal. She stared at the dark shape of the house. In spite of their situation, the Sanders’ house had become a safe haven, and she’d started to think of it as home.

A few days prior, she’d reunited with John, and they’d grown closer than ever. In addition, Dan and Quinn had survived a journey from St. Matthews, Arizona, reaching her alive and well.

Given the circumstances, what more could Meredith ask for?

They walked past the side of the house and headed around back. In her haste, Meredith had left the back door open. A faint glow was coming from the kitchen.

A shadow stood at the threshold. John. They must’ve woken him. She smiled. She could see the backlight of her boyfriend’s face in the glow. He cast the flashlight in their direction, his face creased with worry. Ernie stood by his feet.

“It’s okay!” Meredith called out. “There were a few infected in the yard, but Dan took care of them!”

John’s face didn’t relax.

“I need you both inside!” he said. “Something’s wrong with Quinn!”
Saturday, November 8, 2014

New short story ALIVE AGAIN in ATZ Zombie Anthology!

The All Things Zombie Facebook group and ATZ Publications have just released their first ever zombie anthology! Congrats to Jeff Clare At AtzDanielle At Atz, and Anna D At Atz on the release! I'm honored to be a part of it alongside authors such as Eric A ShelmanChris PhilbrookGlynn James and a ton of others, some of whom are featured for the first time! Thanks to the ATZ guys for including my short story ALIVE AGAIN. You can grab a copy now on Amazon!

At some point soon, I plan on turning the story into a full novel. I have already begun work on it, and I'll keep you posted!




Wednesday, October 1, 2014

The Last Survivors (Book One in a series w/Bobby Adair) out now!

THE LAST SURVIVORS (Book One of my series with Bobby Adair) is now live on Amazon!

Survival in Man’s Second Dark Age 

Three hundred years after the fall of society, the last fragments of civilization are clinging to life, living in the ruins of the ancient cities in nearly-medieval conditions. Technology has been reduced to legend, monsters roam the forests, and fear reigns supreme. But that is just the beginning... 

The wind-borne spores are spreading, disfiguring men and twisting their minds, turning them into creatures that threaten to destroy the townships. Among the townsfolk, political and the religious, dissension is spreading. 

Through it all, a mother must protect her son...



We had a great time writing the book, and we hope you enjoy it! We plan on releasing Book 2 in Winter 2014. Now, back to writing Contamination 6: Sanctuary and Outage 2! :)

-Tyler
Sunday, August 31, 2014

Contamination: Dead Instinct out now on Amazon!

Contamination: Dead Instinct is now live on Amazon! You can either purchase or get it through the Kindle Unlimited program.

CDI is a brand new, stand-alone novel set in the Contamination universe. The story follows Ken & Roberta Smith from Contamination 4: Escape after their brief encounter with Dan Lowery. I had a great time writing it, and I hope you enjoy it!
Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Contamination: Dead Instinct cover reveal!

Contamination: Dead Instinct should be live in about a week or so! Below is the cover, as well as the blurb for the story. CDI follows the story of Ken and Roberta Smith shortly after their encounter with Dan Lowery in Contamination 4: Escape. Thanks to Keri Knutson for another outstanding cover design!

CONTAMINATION: DEAD INSTINCT

Don’t trust what you eat. Don’t trust what you drink. The infection is spreading…

In a world plagued with violence and infection, Ken and Roberta Smith want nothing more than to find their son. Having been on the road for four days, they must now cross the remaining three hundred miles of desert wasteland to get to him.   

Isaac Smith has been trapped in Phoenix since the infection began. The city is virtually impassable, and the infected are everywhere. Will he escape the carnage around him? Or will he die in the city he once called home?

150 pages/36,000 words.


Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Upcoming Projects

Hello everyone!
I hope you've been enjoying your summer! It's been a while since I've posted an update, so I wanted to take a few minutes to share what I have coming up.

I've had some inquiries about the CONTAMINATION series (such as: is Contamination 5: Survival the last book?) Although many of the characters' stories have reached their conclusion, I've decided to write one last book. CONTAMINATION 6 will finalize the story of Dan, Quinn, Meredith, & John and should wrap up the series. I plan to have it out this fall. The writing has been going great, and it's been refreshing to get back to Dan & crew!

Though I'm wrapping up the main series, I won't be abandoning the world—I'll also be releasing a few parallel books, the first of which is CONTAMINATION: DEAD INSTINCT. CONTAMINATION: DEAD INSTINCT will follow the story of Ken & Roberta from Book 4, shortly after their meeting with Dan & Quinn Lowery. The book is already in the finishing stages of editing and should be out in a few weeks! (Late Aug/Early Sep) I'll provide an update and a cover reveal soon!

In other news, I'm very excited to announce I'll be doing a collaboration with BOBBY ADAIR (author of the SLOW BURN series)! The project is called THE LAST SURVIVORS, and we plan on doing a series of books set in a future post-apocalyptic world. I won't say much else now, except that the writing has been going very well, and we're hoping to get the first book out Early Fall!

I've also been part of another very special "super secret" collaborative release scheduled to come out September 1st! The story was written with 9 other amazing horror authors. Each of us was given a prompt to write a cohesive story, but none of us were able to see what the others wrote. The project is very cool and I should have more specifics to share soon.

In between these projects, I'm working on OUTAGE 2, which I hope to get out sometime this Fall/Winter, as well as a few brand new zombie novels. I'll have further updates on those as things progress.

In the audio realm, Troy Duran is currently recording Contamination 5: Survival on Audiobook, so look for that soon! If you missed the announcement on Contamination 4: Escape, it just came out a few weeks ago, and is now available on Audible, Amazon, & iTunes.

That's all for now.  Have a great day!

-Tyler



Sunday, July 6, 2014

OUTAGE now available on all platforms!

OUTAGE is now available on all platforms.  If you haven't checked it out yet, pick up a copy!

AMAZON US
AMAZON UK
BARNES & NOBLE
iTUNES
KOBO
SMASHWORDS
PAPERBACK

The paperbacks came out great.  Below are a few pics of the front and back cover!





Sunday, June 22, 2014

The Hunt For Tomorrow Stop 15

THE HUNT FOR TOMORROW - STOP #15!


The infection starts with Frank, one of the locals at the town bar. In just a few hours, it has consumed the entire town.

Dan Lowery, one of only four police officers in St. Matthews, soon realizes he is no match for the impending destruction. Violence and bloodshed litter the streets, and the infected roam freely. No one is safe here--not even his family.

Somewhere, someone knows what is happening, and about the horrors to come...but is it too late?

QUESTIONWho is one of only four police officers in St. Matthews?


BONUS: Until the end of The Hunt, you can get a FREE copy of Contamination 1: The Onset by signing up to my mailing list (top right corner of the webpage) and then emailing me at twpiperbrook@gmail.com with heading "NEWSLETTER BONUS"!  Specify whether you need a MOBI, EPUB, or Word doc.


ZOE CANNON - The Torturer's Daughter!




Work in Progress

ALIVE AGAIN BOOK 2 (JUST RELEASED NOV 2022!)

82643 / 82643 words. 100% done!

ALIVE AGAIN BOOK 3

50688 / 80000 words. 63% done!

POST APOC PROJECT (FIRST DRAFT)

46314 / 46314 words. 100% done!

The Ruins Box Set w/ Bonus Novella!

About Me

T.W. Piperbrook lives in Connecticut with his wife and son. He is the author of the CONTAMINATION series, the OUTAGE series, and co-author of THE LAST SURVIVORS. In his former lives, he has worked as as a claims adjuster, a touring musician, and a business analyst for a Fortune 500 company. Now he spends his days fighting zombies, battling werewolves, and roaming the cities of the Ancients.

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