Just in time for the Halloween season, a new horror book written by Granite Staters is hitting bookstores across the state.

"Live Free or Undead: Dark Tales from the Granite State" has been released by Plaidswede Publishing of Concord and is the first book in Plaidswede's series, "New Hampshire Pulp Fiction."

The book presents 20 spine-tingling tales, some by first-time writers and some by such well-known New Hampshire authors as Rebecca Rule, Brendan Dubois, David Elliott and Hugo Award-winner James Patrick Kelly.

The book cover is illustrated by Dover artist Marc Sutherland and the project was edited by New Hampshire Magazine Editor Rick Broussard.

Last fall, word about the project was spread via the NH Writers' Project and various online sites for authors of fiction. Broussard says he expected a good response, but he was surprised by the quantity - nearly 170 submissions came in from eager authors - and the quality. "I could easily have filled three or four books with great stories," he says.

"New Hampshire has always been home to some amazing writers," says Broussard, "but there are fewer places for them to get started or to see their work in print." To turn that trend around, Broussard came up with a concept that would connect local writers with local fans of genre fiction.

"Live Free or Undead" is the first volume in the "New Hampshire Pulp Fiction Series" of books that will use the state as a backdrop for action-packed storytelling and as an inspiration for new writing talent. The next volume, tentatively titled "Live Free or DIE, DIE, DIE," will feature stories in the genre of murder and mystery, also set in New Hampshire.

In spite of the trend towards electronic media, "the book is still has great power and elegance," says Broussard. "It's the place where and writer can connect with a reader personally and tangibly." He says he wanted to work with Plaidswede because of its ability to produce books that "really look great."

"The writers who have been picked, both newbies and seasoned pros, are incredibly excited to have a story of their appear in a book. I wanted to be sure that the book they were in was a thing of beauty," says Broussard.

Even if the cover is a picture of brain-eating zombies.

Authors in the horror collection and brief descriptions of their stories:

Rebecca Rule, Northwood, "The Haze," a hunter's deathbed encounter with personal demons

Seth Blake, Peterborough, "The Exchange," a multi-media, socially networked saga of a zombie invasion

Gregory Norris, Allenstown, "Road Rage," marital strife amidst a zombie apocalypse

Kristopher Seavey, Northwood, "Little Ones," demon fairies vs. drunken redneck hunters

Jason Allard, Somersworth, "Love in the Time of Zombies," a boy and his girl face a menace greater than the undead - jealousy

Catie Jarvis, Nashua, "Deer Island," Indian curses, cultish deer, wild unwashed women

Lorrie Lee O'Neill, Manchester, "Mairzy Doats," animal husbandry takes on new meaning

Trevor Bartlett, Portsmouth, "A Lot Like Life," first-person perspective on life (unlife?) as a zombie

Michael Alan, Greenville, "Old Ruby Lane," in real estate and maple sugaring, location really matters

Jeffrey DeRego, Derry, "Lillies for Donald," a 71-year-old woman keeps her zombie husband locked away for sentimental reasons

Brendan DuBois, Exeter, "Uneasy Lies the Head," bloodlines run deep in the New Hampshire North Country

David O'Keefe, Fitchburg, Mass., "Wonders in the Woods," sometimes it's safer to stick with the tourist traps, than to venture off the beaten trail

David Elliott, Warner, "Couple Voted Most Likely to Stay Together," a ghostly love story, or a lovely ghost story -- you decide

Andy Richmond, Portsmouth, "Epitaph," two women share in the nesting urges of motherhood - and one of them is alive

Ernesto Burden, Manchester, "Live Free or Undead," a State House reporter trades his notebook for a fire ax when his sources start hungering for brains

Joyce Wagner, Orange, "Acalia," two jaded vampires look for love on the Internet and get more than they bargained for

Michael DeLuca, Jamaica Plain, Mass., "Misty Rain," through deep wet forest, a brother and sister flee a monster that is closer than they think

Elaine Isaak, Bedford, "Memento Mori,"love is stronger than undeath

J. Zachary Pike, Dover, "The Spiral," classic Lovecraftian horror in a hidden New Hampshire village

James Patrick Kelly, Nottingham, "The Waiting Room," no one likes to be kept waiting, until they learn what they are waiting for

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