Of Blood and Water
In 1974, a crime wave shakes a small town as children are murdered while camping with their scout troops or parents; a few were kidnapped. A young deputy, Virgil McLendon, is forced to lead an investigation into the brutal murders while a nation watches, wondering at his new techniques. 
No one has heard of profiling and few know how to read a crime scene. Eventually, these methods will shape the new Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI, 
but in 1974, they are thought to be strange. 
Virgil McLendon feels he is chasing ghosts as the killers kidnap young people, torture victims, leave a trail of dead campers, and seek to shock an entire town with the bloodshed and cruelty. As the body count rises, he feels the answers are close. Maybe far too close. 
Each act is more violent the last, and the serial killers decide to go after the local law enforcement department as well. It's a battle of brains, and nothing is as it seems. 
Of Blood and Water explores "nature vs. nature", family traditions, the beginnings of a new way to track criminals that will be called behavioral analysis, and the last of the innocence, as a nation changes. The face of justice will be turned aside, and vengeance may rule the case. 
The Oklahoma campground murders, a true crime case, adds reality as McLendon pushes self-doubt away, and chases the killers. 
The first in the Virgil McLendon series, Of Blood and Water, is where the deputy begins learning how to hunt criminals...and where he gains a taste for the chase. 
*Extreme Violence and gore 
*Murder scene details

The biggest news is I am am to release Alice in 9 Circles of Wonderhell which is a story of a normal girl named Alice who descends into hell with her friends to complete a mission that will save the world. She and her group must travel through 9 circles of hell where they meet familiar characters and fight evil as they go. It is a terrifying visage of hell, some cheeky humor, a coming of age tale, and an adventure like none other.
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Also, be prepared for some bayou fun with Louisiana Saturday Night. When a hurricane devastates New Orleans, rouge sharks under a voodoo spell are not the only predators hungry for human flesh! The Audettes from the swamp and the Theriots from the ritzy part of town are about to have to work together. As the battle to survive the threats ramps up, know that the only sure thing is that the gumbo will be hot enough to strip paint off a barn and the good time will roll...or maybe that is heads will roll.
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Next? Oh it's time to bring the dinosaurs in . Forget Area 51; the government had a bigger  secret and it has giant teeth, a long tail, and its in a bad mood. Also in the works are books about werewolves, blood thirsty vampires, and another edition of X is for Xombie. The summer of 2013 is going to be brutal!
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All that Remains, a collection of all catt's shortstories peppered with tales from Mark Woods, Tl Decay and Nick Hatfield is also on the way.
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I also appear in this anthology: Here and proceeds go to teh Wounded Warriors Project.

Here is what is about to be released in the next two months.  Z is for Zombie series is now under contract with Severed Press and they are designing some excellent book covers for all of them! Stay tuned for the Severed Press release of those books as well.

http://www.cattd.com  now contains hints about upcoming horror novels. catt dahman continues to make the ordinary quite horrifying as she takes on time travel, Spartan history, the countryside, and family secrets in the next few months. Long awaited novel Smooth is in final editing steps and will be released soon and will chill readers as it pokes at so many phobias we all share: fear of drowning, fear of the dark, and much more. About choices, the novel strips them away and leaves the reader with a frightening emptiness that will thrill S. King fans.

I was sent an e-mail today with pictures of Wal-Mart shoppers that are funny. I know some people will say it is bad to make fun of them. These people also say it is terrible to belittle and make fun of other people in varied situations. I think this...if people didn't put themselves out there in such silly situations (or outfits or looks) then we would not laugh. I don't laugh at fat people for being fat. I laugh if one wears short shorts and has on a halter because that is such a silly display. It's the display that is so funny!

I am a horror writer. So...let's say I drive by a car wreck and see a person decapitated and the head lands atop a post. If some one yells "Heads up", yes, I would laugh. If I knew the person who was killed and saw it happen, I would not laugh and be horrified. It is when the situation is personal that it is no longer humourous and does that not depend on individuals? That's my point.Also, some in some jobs (morticians, cops, doctors, etc.) we have to laugh and find the humour or it drives us crazy to see the horror that man enacts. As a horror writer, death and weirdness is very real to me and yes, I have to find humour or have a pretty strong gut for it. But it is my choice to write what I write as it is a cop's choice to do what he does...so why do it? Demand. There is a demand for what we deliver.

I am to the point in my life that there are many things I have to laugh at. 

I find it funny how people use religion or politics or anything to further their cause. When students wrote papers for the college class in Literature I taught, I warned them to not use the Bible as a reference to "prove" anything as it is interpretation and not scientifically based. The Bible does have some good life lessons and helpful advice and it it aligns with some scientific history, but to say it says "XYZ" is interpretation. Also, as written, each word may have a deeper meaning. In other words, people use it to further their own ideals but it doesn't make them FACT.

There is a part that is about loving thy neighbor. Well, I can be nice to my neighbor, but if they are a child molester, you can bet I don't love them, will laugh if they do funny things, and if they come near my child, I will let them meet Mr. .38 Special!  See how I can take this and make it my own personal take? I say I can do that BUT _____________. Isn't that how we all are? We try to be one way but when things are about us, they change. No matter what the event or situation, we personalize it OR we remove ourselves.

I am beginning to theorize that people who are so about themselves and being such "great people who do no wrong or are forgiven" are really psychologically inept. It just isn't healthy at all and leads to unconscious or conscious acts of very evil deeds. If we think we are "saved" after certain requirements then are we free to act poorly? Some think so and I feel these are the ones behaving the worst. On the other hand, when we act badly based on our own personal evaluations, at least we are honest and acting in a psychologically beneficially manner.

I might giggle at the Wal-Mart people and laugh at people who show themselves as victims (etc) and  I do it aside, not where they could see it and be hurt, but I don't hurt children. I don't destroy marriages, covet, steal, lie, cheat or murder. I am sarcastic, a horror writer, profane in speech, selfish, and vindictive at times. Judge me. I would rather be how I am than be the former, and when anyone says the Bible doesn't distinguish, I say..."use a reference that is accepted and not interpreted" and base your judgement on MY personal mind set.

Until then, I will find the humour in a car wreck or a tree falling on a house or a cannibal. It's how I survive the world....finding the funny parts in horrific tales.

* Z is for Zombie: What Lies Beneath, The Time of Grace, and Wild Boys will be offered this weekend for free. Enjoy!   HERE  @ Amazon.com