Dead or Alive? Five men wake up in a strange basement laboratory. Naked. Scarred. Their memories erased. They don’t know who they are or how they got there. All they know is they’re in danger. The surviving members of Hogan’s Zeroes, an elite military unit, barely escape the clutches of an armed security force and find themselves hunted in an unfamiliar city. With no supplies, no answers, and no one to trust, they realize their only hope lies inside Lazarus Corporation itself—the secretive biotechnology firm famous for resurrecting the dead. But their search for the truth leads to darker secrets. When new employee Brynn Garland is tasked with salvaging the company’s tarnished reputation, she discovers evidence of grotesque experiments using the controversial Serum Vitae to manipulate life itself. Lazarus isn’t just raising the dead—they’re experimenting on the living with catastrophic consequences. Forced into an uneasy alliance, Brynn and the Zeroes fight to expose the corporation’s twisted plans and uncover a government conspiracy. But the serum is mutating, and none of them are prepared for the disturbing truth: the dead at Lazarus don’t stay dead . . . and the living may not stay human for long. Lazarus Corporation Give Your Loved Ones a Peaceful Forever "Writing Is Like Alchemy": Inside the Creative Mind of an Incarcerated Novelist Q: When did you know you wanted to be a writer? And did it start with fiction or poetry or a different genre? I've wanted to be a writer ever since I could read. The act of putting a bunch of symbols together, pulling something from your head, and putting it down so other people could experience it—wow. Thinking about it today still  blooows  my mind. It's like alchemy. For me, it was always fiction.  Fiction was an escape from a life I didn't particularly like. With fiction, I could be anybody, do anything. Q: Were there any authors who influenced or inspired your writing? Stephen King. I absolutely adore him! And it's not just because he's so successful, but because he's real. He's never pretended to be somebody he's not just for a public image. Q: You have a very disciplined writing schedule. I know you're often writing before the sun is up! What advice do you have for writers who struggle with discipline and time management? The best advice I can give is to get to know yourself. Write down your daily schedule and evaluate each activity. Writing takes up not only time, but a lot of brain power. If you really want to take your writing seriously, you might have to eliminate a few things from your schedule. What time of the day do you always seem to get sleepy? When are you the most playful or creative? When is your writing space quiet so you can focus? I found that the best time for me to write is at 4:00 a.m., before everybody gets up. In the beginning, I had to make myself write, but after a month or so, it became a habit. Now it's a compulsion, and I find that my output has gone up tremendously. Q: How long did it take you to write Ground Zero, your upcoming novel? It took me about a year to write  Ground Zero , but that was because I got stuck and had to put it aside for a while. I find it's best to do that when I can't figure out what the next move is for the story, or how one character gets from beat A to beat C that I need them to be at before the end of the novel. I'll usually start to work on another project and just let the problem simmer in the back of my mind. Sometimes the solution will come to me in the middle of the night, or when I'm at work. Q: Is there anything you do to practice self-care and self-love as a writer? Especially when dealing with self-doubt or imposter's syndrome? I'm actually pretty hard on myself as a writer. I don't give myself any slack, because I know the opportunities I have now won't necessarily last forever and I want to take advantage of them while I can. I'm always going full speed ahead. It's strange when someone comes up to me to tell me they enjoyed something I've written. I always find myself deflecting praise, or thinking they're only saying nice things because they know me. I am working hard at trying to get over that. I'm a good writer. I feel like the more success I have, the more I'll learn to accept it. Q: What are the top 3 novels you'd read over and over again? Oh, gosh. I don't know. There are three that have always stuck out to me.  Intensity  by Dean Koontz,  The Long Walk  by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman, and  The   Stand  by Stephen King.   Q: What are some of the fears you've had to overcome with this novel, or writing in general? I've definitely had to get over fear of judgment. Allowing somebody to read your novel for the first time—your baby—is terrifying. I'm always scared they're going to hand it back and tell me it was a steaming pile of you-know-what. So far they haven't, but you never know . . .   Q: Your novel characters are brave and resilient, and they never give up.