Spradlin, Michael P
Entry updated 2 June 2026. Tagged: Author.
(1960-2026) US bookseller, sales executive and author who began to publish work of genre interest with the Young Adult Spy Goddess diptych comprising Live and Let Shop (2005) and To Hawaii, with Love (2006), combining spy-thriller and supernatural elements; the titles echo those of James Bond novels by Ian Fleming. Of direct sf interest is the energetic Killer Species sequence opening with Menace from the Deep (2013), whose young protagonist Emmet has recently moved with his father to a Florida whose swamps now harbour Monsters: "pterogators" Genetically Engineered from alligators in deliberate emulation of Cretaceous archosaurs. (There are echoes here of Michael Crichton.) In addition to normal alligator rapacity and abnormal size these predatory reptiles possess gliding membranes, allowing them to hide in trees and make controlled dives on their prey. The Mad Scientist responsible lurks in a secret base in the Everglades (which he wishes to preserve from human eco-destruction; the end is laudable, the means dubious) and before long sets his creations on Emmet and friends. Much violence ensues. The standalone Vampire tale The Raven's Shadow (2025) brings Count Dracula to the USA at the time of the 1824 presidential election; his plans to destroy America are opposed by the Iconic figures of Charles Darwin, Edgar Allan Poe and Abraham Lincoln, aided by Bram Stoker's fictional vampire-hunter Van Helsing.
In the field of genre Humour, Spradlin also published three volumes of Zombie-themed songs beginning with It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Zombies!: A Book of Zombie Christmas Carols (2009 chap). [DRL]
Michael P Spradlin
born Homer, Michigan: 3 September 1960
died Lapeer, Michigan: 12 April 2026
works (selected)
series
Spy Goddess
- Live and Let Shop (New York: HarperCollins, 2005) [Spy Goddess: hb/]
- To Hawaii, with Love (New York: HarperTeen, 2005) [Spy Goddess: hb/]
Killer Species
- Menace from the Deep (New York: Turtleback Books, 2013) [Killer Species: hb/]
- Feeding Frenzy (New York: Turtleback Books, 2013) [Killer Species: hb/]
- Out for Blood (New York: Turtleback Books, 2014) [Killer Species: hb/]
- Ultimate Attack (New York: Turtleback Books, 2014) [Killer Species: hb/]
individual titles
- Blood Riders (New York: Harper Voyager, 2012) [pb/Don Sipley]
- The Monster Alphabet (New York: Price Stern Sloan, 2012) [chap: illus/hb/Jeff Weigel]
- The Raven's Shadow (Hertford, North Carolina: Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink, 2025) [pb/]
collections
- It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Zombies!: A Book of Zombie Christmas Carols (New York: Harper, 2009) [poetry: coll: chap: illus/pb/Jeff Weigel]
- Every Zombie Eats Somebody Sometime: A Book of Zombie Love Songs (New York: Harper, 2010) [poetry: coll: chap: illus/pb/Jeff Weigel]
- Jack and Jill Went Up to Kill: A Book of Zombie Nursery Rhymes) (New York: Harper, 2011 [poetry: coll: chap: illus/pb/Jeff Weigel]
links
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