Cedric Nye is the bloody badass behind the Jango series. With two gruesome offerings already haunting nightmares, he's taken time out of training for the battle against the dead to let us dig around in his brain...
Ang: When were you first bitten by the zombie affliction?
Can you take us back to how the infection began? What’s the most difficult part
about sharing this ghoulish love as an indie?
Cedric: When I was a four years old, my parents got a
divorce. My father beat me like a drum, and my mother spent some time as a sort
of prostitute. I found Zombies when I was stuck watching television at her
“friend’s” house one time. I was four, and the movie was “Night of the Living
Dead.”
I kind of realized then that Zombies were all around me. Not
the brain-munching groaners from beyond the grave, but the human Zombies. They
take and take, and they can never fill that emptiness inside. Their hunger can
never be satiated. They feed on their fellow humans by stealing, abusing, and
worse.
Zombies became a symbol of man’s darkness, man’s evil, and the Abyss that all
humanity constantly walks beside.
What is difficult about sharing Zombies? Ha! People don’t
want to see the darkness as it truly is. We want our fear to live far away, and
only visit when we are ready for it. People fear the truth because it shows us
the dark possibilities that reside in us all. It is all connected, abuse, the
evil humans perpetrate, the mindless consumption…
Ang: If you had to dumb down the plot of your series so a
zombie could understand, how would you explain it?
Cedric: If I had to explain my series to a Zombie, I would
simply kill the Zombie, and then leave a hand written note on its chest that
would explain everything. My books are about darkness, and TRUTH. The kind of
truth that makes hard men cry. Death, violence, sex, fire, these things are
coincidental in my books, they are not the whole story. I shed light on all
different kinds of abuse because people need to know that the Zombies have
always been here. I also want people to know that they deserve better. Jango
shows people that they do not have to eat shit, because other things are on the
menu!
Ang: Describe the lucky survivors who engage with the festering horde of the
dead.
Cedric: The lucky survivors end up having to fight against
the predations of their still-human neighbors. Shit gets ugly because as long
as one human wants power over another, the crap-hammer will always be waiting
to drop. The Zombies are also on the move, and things just keep getting uglier.
Ang: What was the most important aspect when writing your non-zombie
characters? Realism (losers, assholes, and cowards) or fantasy (Rambo or the
guy/gal who has a Rambo hiding inside them)?
Cedric: TRUTH! I try to bring a hard realism to the books
that I write. I imagine myself in the story, and I try to get out of the bad
situations. I have always done that. I practice combat scenarios so that when I
have to fight, I have a little preparation already. That helps me to build a
better story for my fellow Zombie Enthusiasts.
Ang: Does your series begin just as the zombies start building their paradise
or have zombies already gotten things rocking and rotting?
Cedric: Things had just gone wonky when Jango pokes his crazy
head out of his hotel room and realizes that things have gone sideways, and
Zombies are looking to get a Jango treat.
Ang: Zombies are people too. They come in all shapes, sizes, speeds, and
smarts. What type of the walking dead inhabit your series?
Cedric: Fast Zombies who hunt in packs. They have
rudimentary communication via horrible and soul-searing howls.
Ang: Will your infection spread to more books and series? How many blood and
guts offerings do you predict in your future? How soon can our zombie and human
readers expect to see your next festering contribution?
Cedric: Book 3 is in the works. Jango will die when he dies.
His religion is revenge, and he worships at the altar of violence. The Apocalypse Road
Ang: What is your favorite way to kill a zombie? Shoot ‘em,
hack ‘em, poke ‘em, burn ‘em, or something even more fiendish? ***Zombie
readers please turn away to avoid having your putrefied feelings eviscerated.
Cedric: Jango isn’t a violence-snob. He uses whatever is
handy to dispatch humans and Zombies alike. That being said; for small gaggles
of goobers, Jango pops skulls with his Ironwood stick. He uses his own version
of Bataireacht (Irish Stick Fighting). When there are large numbers of the
wailing undead, Jango loves to use accelerants and fire!
Ang: Do you have a favorite cinematic zombie? Example: My co-blogger Zombie
Earl is quite fond of Zombie Roger from the original Dawn of the Dead.
Cedric: I love all Zombies. They keep me honest with myself.
I am partial to the faster Zombies because they pose more of a threat, which
makes it more…..INTERESTING!
Ang: Who is your favorite character from The Walking Dead (comics or TV show)?
Cedric: Daryl Dixon because he is truth. No belly-aching, no
extra lip-service. He is a do or die bad-ass.
Ang: Finally, how prepared are you for the zombie apocalypse that we all know
is just around the corner?
Cedric: Hell, I developed a workout just to stay fighting
fit and Apocalypse –hard! Post-Apocalyptic fitness BEFORE the Apocalypse gets
here! I train hard. I burn the softness from my body and mind in the crucible
of vicious exercise. Ready? I have been ready since I was four!
Chow down on Cedric's books at Amazon.
Awesome! Thank you, Angela.
ReplyDelete