Book Lovers Life: Zombie-saurus Rex by Mark Souza Blog Tour and Giveaway!

Hi guys, welcome to my stop on the Zombie-saurus Rex blog tour. You can find the full schedule HERE.

About Zombie-saurus Rex:

Rex Morton, a seventeen year-old zombie, has arrived in the small farming town of Plain View, Nebraska; just another stop in a long string of small towns left behind in their rear view mirror. Unlike the zombie stereotype, Rex is bright and friendly - as long as he doesn't get hungry. He hopes this time he can manage to stick around long enough to get his diploma.Rex’s fiercely protective mother has strong armed yet another school district into accepting her son by threatening a discrimination lawsuit. At Plain View High, a dismal pattern of fear, prejudice, and bullying steers Rex down a familiar path toward expulsion. The difference this time is that Rex has fallen for fiery Goth girl, Ariella Klopenstein, the daughter of the Police Chief, and decided he will make his stand in Plain View.As the Z-virus spreads west and the country panics, Rex and Ariella must find a way to overcome Rex’s mother who wants to break them apart and flee town, a school principal who wants Rex expelled, Ariella’s father, the Police Chief, who thinks Rex is dangerous, and a government zombie round-up aimed at solving the zombie problem once and for all.Zombie-saurus Rex is a story about perseverance, overcoming prejudice, stereotypes and adversity. What it isn’t is a story about dinosaurs. The title is inspired by a nickname a school bully hangs on Rex due to his size, posture, and slow plodding gate.

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Excerpt :

Principal Williams tilted back in his chair and steepled his fingers together under his chin as if deep in thought. He flashed a smile at Rex’s mother that seemed to say, I sympathize with your plight. “I think Mrs. Peabody makes a perfectly valid point,” he said. “I don’t think we’re equipped to handle your son. His needs are...,” he tapped his fingertips together as he struggled for the right word, “...unique. Unfortunately, his presence presents too large a risk to our student population. I’m afraid you’ll have to make other arrangements.”

Williams pulled a ball back on a Newton’s cradle perched on his desk and let it go. The ball, suspended on a pair of strings, clacked into a row of similar balls, shooting the ball at the opposite end arcing away. A rhythmic “clack,” “clack,” “clack,” filled the room.

Rex’s mother leaned forward, snatched the flying ball mid-flight, and eased it back into place. She fixed Williams in a withering glare. Rex watched Williams’ Adam’s apple bounce again and grinned in anticipation of what was coming. When angered, the pitch of his mother’s voice rose and she tended to stretch her words out for effect and clarity, and she was angry now.

“Under the Civil Rights Act, and the No Child Left Behind Initiative, my son has as much right to be here as any other student. If you try to deny him an education, I’ll sue you and this two-bit school district back to the stone-age. Do we understand each other?” The veins in his mother’s neck bulged and her face flushed pink, something Rex envied. It wasn’t as easy to detect when he was angry just by looking.

“There is no need for such an extreme position,” Williams said. “Surely some sort of compromise can be reached. Have you considered home schooling?”

“I work and am the sole source of income for our family.” Williams’ eyebrows arched, “Then perhaps Mr. Morton could take on that responsibility?” “There is no Mr. Morton,” she said. “Not anymore. My shift at the hospital starts in thirty minutes, so let’s cut right to the chase. Why don’t you call your Superintendent? My lawyers and I have already had this discussion with him.”

Rex always liked the sound of that word – lawyers. Not one, but many; a passel, a herd. No, a pride – a pride of ravenous lawyers ready to strip the money right out of Williams’ pockets, ready to gnaw the last copper coins from his penny loafers.

An image popped into Rex’s head of a hapless Principal Williams traipsing through the tall grass of the African veldt, past a group of lounging, navy-suited lawyers. The lawyers, noses raised, catch a scent on the wind - fear, detect the presence of the clumsy Williams and quickly give chase. Williams screams and runs. The lawyers close in and overtake him, dropping William’s onto the grass. They pull his pockets inside out, empty his wallet, and take his shoes, coins and all, leaving him in the middle of nowhere in his underwear. Rex knew what his mother said wasn’t true. They had no lawyers. She only claimed they did to make stubborn schools back down. It seemed to instill fear and suck the starch right out of school administrators. In reality, all they had was Uncle Ronny, a paralegal in Philadelphia. Uncle Ronny would call ahead claiming to be from the law firm of Anderson, Richard, and Dean, a jumble of Richard Dean Anderson, the actor who played MacGyver. The name was Rex’s idea. He loved MacGyver. Uncle Ronny would spout obscure statutes, threats, and intimidation until the school district finally backed down.

About the Author:

Author Mark Souza has always been a storyteller, whether explaining who filched the ice cream, or what happened to the cat’s tail. He learned most of life’s lessons from the business end of a wooden spoon, and the rest from public schools spanning the breadth of North America, all of which were overjoyed to be rid of him. He became an author of short stories and novels in the horror, mystery, thriller, and young adult genres later in life, after time and a desk job had softened his edges, transforming him into the round, doughy shape Big-&-Not-So-Tall shops crave.Mark was the proud recipient of the 2013 Indie Reader Award for Best Science Fiction for his debut novel Robyn’s Egg.He now resides in Western Washington with his wife (also an author), two daughters, and their dog of questionable heritage, Tater. Visit his website; http://www.marksouza,com. There you’ll find a multitude of ways to make contact. Mark enjoys cordial correspondence and will write back. He’s always on the lookout for that next victim reader.