Zombified Interview with Kate L. Mary

Kate L. Mary is the ghoulish gal behind the hot new zombie release. Broken World is her first stab at horror, but hopefully not her last. Let's dig around in her pretty head and find out what makes her tick...

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?

Kate: I’ve always loved zombies, I think. Any time I’d see a B zombie movie on TV, I’d want to watch it. But it wasn’t until The Walking Dead became popular that I really figured out the why of it all. The zombie part is cool, but I love how a post-apocalyptic situation can bring people together. People who never would have met or gotten along in different times have to band together to survive. It really helps you see what a person is made of.

I have one other Indie book out right now. A new adult romantic mystery. To be honest, I’m getting a lot more positive attention from the zombie book. People kind of nod and their eyes glaze over when you say the word romance in your book description. But they get excited about zombies! I anticipate this being a much easier book to promote, simply because the genre is so popular right now.

Ang: If you had to dumb down the plot of your book so a zombie could understand, how would you explain it?

Kate: My book is a journey. My characters are trying to survive and figure out who they are, and it just happens to take place during a zombie apocalypse. Basically, all they’re looking for is safety and security. Of course, that isn’t an easy thing to come by, so they run into quite a few road-blocks along the way.

Ang: Describe the lucky survivors who engage with the festering horde of the dead.

Kate: Vivian, my main character, is a stripper who is traveling across the country to see the daughter she gave up for adoption before a virus wipes out the population. She’s had a hard life. Her mom abandoned her and her dad beat her, and she doesn’t really trust people. When she has car trouble, a pair of redneck brothers offers to give her a lift. Axl and Angus are traveling basically just as something to do. They don’t really have a whole lot going on or the motivation to make something of themselves. All three characters have a lot of baggage. I really love characters who are damaged, because it gives the reader a chance to see what they’re really made of. They’re already down, so they can’t go anywhere but up. In a post-apocalyptic world, it’s nice to have characters who manage to find where they belong while everything around them falls apart.

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)?

Kate: Realism, although I like to think there is a bit of Rambo hiding in them too. These are the kind of people who rise to the challenge and refuse to give up. I love the characters who surprise even themselves when it comes to being able to survive, but I had to make it feel real. I have a hard time swallowing those books where one character knows everything and somehow manages to single-handedly bring everyone else in the group through the apocalypse. They work as a whole, each one using their own set of skills and knowledge to get through it.

Ang: Does your book begin just as the zombies start building their paradise or have zombies already gotten things rocking and rotting?

Kate: My book is unique in the fact that it starts before the zombies come. I like to compare the beginning to The Stand (without the religious themes). When I read zombie books that start right as the outbreak happens, I feel like we’re missing a big chunk of the character’s stories. I wanted to explore that a little more and be there with the characters as the world changes, so we could see how they adjusted.

Ang: Zombies are people too. They come in all shapes, sizes, speeds, and smarts. What types of the walking dead inhabit your novel?

Kate: Mine start off slower, but they evolve with the story. I’m a traditional zombie person. I didn’t love the speed demons in World War Z so much. The rotting, mindless, blood-thirsty zombies are the ones I love.

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?

Kate: Yes! I have three books written already, actually. The second book, Shattered World, will be released on October 4, 2014, and Mad World will be available on January 3, 2015. I started the fourth book as well, and it will definitely not be the last. The thing I love about zombie or post-apocalyptic stories is that it doesn’t have to end after two or three books. The zombies aren’t going to die off, so as long as you have at least one character alive, you can keep writing. I have no idea when I’ll stop.

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. 

Kate: There’s a lot of stabbing in my books, mainly because my characters are trying to conserve bullets. I think a blade right in the eye socket is pretty prevalent.

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.

Kate: Well…I’m probably going to have go with Zombie Sophia from The Walking Dead. I’m not sure there was a zombie who made me cry quite like she did. Plus, she’s my four-year-old’s favorite as well.

Ang: Who is your favorite character from The Walking Dead (comics or TV show)?

Kate: I’m going to have to go with the show because I haven’t gotten far into the comics. I’m afraid it’s going to ruin something for me if I read too much!

Daryl is awesome, there’s no way around it. But I do love Glen too. I like how much they both have evolved. Daryl has really learned how to love and value himself over the last few seasons, and Glen has learned how to be a badass. They are both so very different from who they were during the first season, and that’s what makes this genre so great.

Ang: Finally, how prepared are you for the zombie apocalypse that we all know is just around the corner?

Kate: My husband and I joke about it all the time! Not very, I’m afraid. We’d be okay on food for a while because I have four kids and go to Sam’s Club a lot. But, let’s face it, America in general will fare better just because we are so addicted to processed foods. We also have a basement and a pump in our backyard for well water, so that’s a plus. However, we are short on weapons. We have a couple bows, but I’m horrible at archery, and we don’t own any guns. Luckily, we live in Oklahoma, so there are a few gun stores close to us. I’d like to think that I would end up being like Glen and adapt quickly. I would try, that’s for sure.

Tear into Broken World at Amazon.

Hunt down Kate at her blog, FB, Twitter, and the Broken World webpage.

Zombified Interview with author Robert Kent

Robert Kent is the fiendish fella behind the zombie novel All Together Now. Taking a break from gnawing away at his writing, he let us dig around his cranium...

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?

 

Robert: I love the wording of this question:) I've been a zombie fan as far back as I can remember, but the first time I remember taking zombies seriously was when I read Stephen King's short story "Home Delivery" at age 13. That story blew my mind then and it still does. It has all the markings of literature and all the fun of zombies. That story taught me that zombies could not only be serious, but a writer could work within that genre to tell a compelling tale revealing a universal truth as surely as if he were writing any other genre.

 

Honestly, I don't think being an indie today is that different than being an author with a mainstream publisher. An acquaintance of mine is promoting his book published by one of the big five publishers (only a matter of time before it’s the big four and so on) and his marketing budget is essentially the same as mine: whatever money and time we can throw at it while working our day jobs. Except he doesn't control the price or availability of his book and I do. I think readers are less likely to take a chance on a new author at $9.95 than at $2.99 (both Kindle prices).

 

Ang: If you had to dumb down the plot of your book so a zombie could understand, how would you explain it?

 

Robert: It's the zombie apocalypse set in a small Indiana town. My protagonist, 15-year-old Ricky Genero, has reason to believe there's a cure for the zombie virus being manufactured at the local soda plant. When his 6-year-old brother Chuck is bitten, Ricky risks everything to get him to the cure. Along the way there's some romance, plenty of zombie attacks, and crazy religious folks more terrifying than the shambling corpses.

 

All Together Now is grim, extremely violent, and offensive. I like that in a zombie story.

 

Ang: Describe the lucky survivors who engage with the festering horde of the dead.

 

Robert: Ricky Genero is an everyman. He's an average teenager who's dealing with his parent's messy divorce and the difficulty of high school life when the zombies attack. He's also good with a baseball bat, which comes in handy.

 

His stepsister, Michelle Kirkman, is a spoiled rich girl whose mother has recently died from cancer, giving her an inner strength Ricky lacks. She's also 15 and a bit of a badass. She doesn't believe a cure exists, but she wants to get back to her father, who owns the soda plant.

 

Levi Davis is 17 and I can never decide whether he or Michelle is my favorite character. Levi's parents are extremely religious and restrictive and Levi's got a big chip on his shoulder.

 

Chuck Genero is 6 and a real sweetheart. Unfortunately, he spends most of the novel as a snarling zombie being lead around at the end of a catchpole.

 

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)?

 

Robert: It was most important to me that my characters be realistic and relatable. Michelle's got a bit of Rambo in her, but I wanted to take zombies seriously and that starts with character.

 

If the zombie apocalypse breaks out tomorrow, most of us aren't suddenly going to become crack shots or fearless warriors. That's all good and well for video games, but in books I think you can have extraordinary characters in ordinary situations, or ordinary characters in extraordinary situations, but it's difficult to pull off extraordinary characters in extraordinary situations in a way that's consistently interesting and suspenseful. The zombie apocalypse is an extraordinary situation, so I did my best to create characters I feel could be living next door when it hits the fan.

 

Ang: Does your book begin just as the zombies start building their paradise or have zombies already gotten things rocking and rotting?

 

Robert: Both:) All Together Now is told as a series of journal entries written by Ricky, allowing me to play with time and structure. When the story begins, the zombie outbreak has already occurred and Chuck has already been zombified. I hate stories that make me wait for the zombies, which is what I paid to see, so All Together Now opens with some intense zombie action. But because Ricky is telling the story in his present reality of running for his life, he can flashback and fill in the essential details of the start of the outbreak.

 

Ang: Zombies are people too. They come in all shapes, sizes, speeds, and smarts. What types of the walking dead inhabit your novel (or series)?

 

Robert: All Together Now is at its heart a tale of a fear of conformity, so it was very important to me that my zombies all be the same. In Ricky's universe, there is only one zombie with many faces, though Ricky encounters adult zombies, child zombies, and my personal favorite, baby zombies. As I write this, I'm within two weeks of becoming a first time father, and nothing is more terrifying to me than an infant corpse crawling up my leg (writing a book is cheaper than hiring a psychologist).

 

I love fast zombies, but the zombies in All Together Now are slow, rotting, and stupid. Their only thought is killing the living. Otherwise, they're completely vacant--though I love Hugh Howey's take on the internal struggle of walking corpses in I, Zombie.

 

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?

 

Robert: All Together Now is planned as a standalone tale, though all my stories have sequels I just never get around to writing. I didn't hold anything back. I put everything I have to say about zombies in this book and for now, the well is dry. 

 

My next book will actually be a children's tale coming out sometime next year--more on that one soon. I run the blog Middle Grade Ninja and most of my writing is targeted at a younger audience.

 

But underneath my nice guy routine, something dark and antisocial festers until I can't suppress it any longer. When it grabs hold and overtakes me, I have to write something as bleak and nasty as All Together Now, which features a slaughter at a daycare center. I have no doubt my dark side will surface again after enough time has passed, and when that happens, all bets are off.

 

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.

 

Robert: Definitely hacking. I can think of nothing more satisfying than the thwack of a machete in a walking corpse.

 

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.

 

Robert: Not to tread on the next question, but at the moment, my favorite zombie is Sophia from season two of The Walking Dead. I don't think I've ever been more moved or devastated than when she came shuffling out of Hershel's barn.

 

A close runner-up is the underwater zombie in the 1979 classic Zombi. He fought a freaking shark! You gotta love a zombie with heart. I rooted for him to eat the human because he just wanted it more:)

 

Ang: Who is your favorite character from The Walking Dead (comics or TV show)?

 

Robert: It's no secret that I'm a mega fan of The Walking Dead. My main character's name is Ricky and he's traveling with a girl whose last name is Kirkman:) I love the comics slightly more than the TV show, but they're both the best there is (so is the video game).

 

It's hard to pick a favorite character among so many greats, but Michonne is the best. Mrs. Kent and I allow for fantasy loves. She lusts for the president in Scandal and I'd brave the zombie apocalypse for a date with Michonne:)

 

Ang: Finally, how prepared are you for the zombie apocalypse that we all know is just around the corner?

 

Robert: Not at all. In the event of a zombie apocalypse, I think the folks who die first are the lucky ones. If I see zombies breaking out, I'll be happy with the life I've lived and accept its end. I'd hole up in a library to reread my favorite books until someone chomps my brain.

 

Chow down on your copy of All Together Now at Amazon.

 

Chase down Robert at his blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

 

 

Author Bio

Robert Kent is the author of the young adult novel All Together Now: A Zombie Story. He runs the popular blog for writers, MIDDLE GRADE NINJA, and lives with his family in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he's hard at work on his next book.

Zombified Interview with author Devan Sagliani

Devan Sagliani is the agonizingly awesome author behind three zombilicious series. His newest book, Undead L.A. 1, is terrifying the living and undead alike. Devon took time away from spreading the zombie virus to let us tear into 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?

 

Devan: I've always been into horror and zombies but what sent me over the edge was zombie ants. I saw a clip of ants infected with a fungus that turns them into unwilling zombies online and it struck a nerve in me. The next thing I knew I had the beginnings of the storyline to the movie Humans Versus Zombies in my head. It was over a year later that I finished the first draft. It came out last year on Chiller TV and is available on DVD and Netflix now.

 

After the movie I switched gears and began working on Zombie Attack, a young adult novel set in Southern California after the zombie apocalypse. Then I added in my next book The Rising Dead, an adult horror novel set in Las Vegas. I published them myself on Amazon, got a lot of attention, and picked up a publishing deal from Permuted Press. Zombie Attack is out now in paperback, audiobook, and all digital formats. The Rising Dead will be available in paperback in November. I also just put out my own new series called Undead L.A. 1. The first book has been up over a month and doing well. Fans seem to be enjoying it, which is what it's all about.

 

Ang: If you had to dumb down the plot of your series so a zombie could understand, how would you explain it?

Devan: Zombie Attack = Humans fighting humans for survival while we close in for the tasty kill! We would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for those meddling kids!

 

The Rising Dead = What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, unless it's the zombie apocalypse. Gives a whole new meaning to the term All You Can Eat Buffet on the Las Vegas Strip.

 

Undead L.A. 1 = Eat the rich! And the celebrities! And the surfers! And the cops! In fact, eat anything that moves! The streets will stay blood red because it never rains in Southern California.

 

Ang: Describe the lucky survivors who engage with the festering horde of the dead.

 

Devan: In Zombie Attack it's a band of teenagers we're following around so it's through perspective that we experience the end of the world. Adults cause all sorts of trouble, fighting over resources and power. The world is an outlaw paradise in a constant struggle with the remaining institutional forces, law and order in the form of the remnants of the United States military.

 

In The Rising Dead it's an unlikely band of survivors who take us on a ride through the end of days. A web celebrity, a paranoid veteran who has been tortured by Special Forces and turned into an agent, a jock who finds religion via oxycotin, his pal a former baseball pitching star whose lost his edge and become a reluctant hero, a comic book loving zombie obsessed computer geek, and a spoiled princess used to shopping and getting her nails done. With so many different personalities at work, there is a lot of beautiful tension and just enough internal tension to keep things interesting.

 

In Undead L.A. 1 there are six stories being told. The book blurb explains them best.

When it comes to safely navigating 747's Edgar Reynolds is a consummate professional. It's his personal life that's in shambles after a string of affairs he couldn't be bothered to hide. None of that matters to him the morning he wakes up to discover he's smack dead in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Now what's important is that he survives long enough to hijack a plane from LAX and flee the end of the world.

Detective Gary Wendell isn't having the best day. A murder case in West Hollywood takes him from the Hollywood Hills to the Twin Towers in downtown L.A. The hunt for his killer stirs fresh life into Gary's secret obsession. If it's the end of the world, Gary’s going to exact his own justice on the monster who got away, the one who told him that murder isn't art if NO ONE IS WATCHING.

When Donny's dad took off he left him and his mom in a run down apartment in Hollywood scrambling to make ends meet. Still he managed to form a begrudging bond with his mom's new boyfriend, who took him under his wing. Just when things were starting to look up for them as a family, a virus hit L.A. taking away any last shred of hope or safety they had. Soon it's up to Donny, and his pack of teenage friends, to defend their gated apartment complex. Working together, they do their part to protect and provide for the remaining survivors at CAMP ZOMBIE.

Being invited to the Emmys as the date of her favorite television actor is a dream Kathleen could never imagine. She also never expected to return to the city of her college years one last time before dying of terminal cancer. When the doors burst open in the middle of the ceremony and infected homeless people begin eating her favorite celebrities, everything changes. Now she's caught between spending her final moments in mind-numbing terror fleeing for her life, or letting the filthy undead strip the last good memories away in TO LIVE & DIE IN L.A.

Pilar Garcia grew up working in her father's fish taco truck in Boyle Heights, but dreamed of becoming a world-class chef one day. After overcoming the cultural stereotypes and working her way through Culinary Arts school she created a food truck empire so successful that 3 of her best trucks snatch a spot at the coveted Los Angeles City Fall Street Food Fair in downtown. Unfortunately, that's the same day the virus is released into Skid Row, mere blocks away in LA CUCARACHA.

Guillermo and his half brother Caesar have always been survivors. Growing up in the gang neighborhoods of Venice Beach they've learned to take care of each other first and ask questions later. Yermo is starting to get a reputation as a serious surfer by the local guys he reveres, including the new legend of Dogtown and former professional surfer, Brody. He's not about to let like the end of the world keep him out of the water or off his streets. Together they form a group capable of not only dealing with the zombie menace but also fighting off the new arrivals intent on taking over Venice Beach – a vicious new supergang: One Blood. They're not heroes though, they're just the DOGTOWN LOCALS UNION

 

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)?

 

Devan: I like to use a colorful mix of characters with fully fleshed out back stories and unique quirks, but I also like to make sure they possess qualities and habits that allow the reader to identify with them. There are no Rambo characters in my stories, just survivors, warriors, dreamers, cult leaders, bikers, gang members, outlaws, celebrities, school teachers, detectives, surfers, and everyday heroes doing their best to live another day.

 

Ang: Does your series begin just as the zombies start building their paradise or have zombies already gotten things rocking and rotting?

 

Devan: Zombie Attack begins by explaining that Z Day happened a few months back. The humans are still reeling from the blow, trying to regain some form of control and survive.

 

In The Rising Dead the virus hits while we watch. We get to see the man who created it and how it got out. We get to see it spread. We even get hint of why it might have happened. We are living the nightmare right along with the main characters.

 

My new novel Undead L.A. 1 explores the prelude to the virus in a major city, shows us the release of the first wave, and explores the final days in the sprawling metropolis for six full weeks afterward. It's told through the eyes of six different Angelinos, each bringing a unique perspective to the event, each adding new details that explain why it might have happened or what is coming next.

 

Zombie Attack is a young adult novel geared towards teens and up. It deals with young adult themes like coming of age, learning to cope with loss and death, and interdependence. The Rising Dead has a much more cinematic quality to it, like we're watching a movie but able to hear what each character is thinking. With my new book, Undead L.A 1, I wanted to break away from the idea of a linear narrative and explore the roots of each character. In this way I would be able to give my readers a more satisfying experience, allowing them the chance to really get to know the characters and invest in them. So far I've been getting very positive responses.

 

Ang: Zombies are people too. They come in all shapes, sizes, speeds, and smarts. What types of the walking dead inhabit your series?

 

Devan: Okay so the zombies in Zombie Attack come medium speed. They work together with a hive mind like an insect intelligence and use their sheer numbers to knock over buildings. Once they get the scent of their kill they don't stop. Infection takes a while after being bitten but is certain.

 

In The Rising Dead the zombies are fairly fast but unable to work together. Infection comes on in a few minutes to a few hours after being bitten, depending on the immune system of the infected individual and the degree of the exposure. Bites victims generally turn in under an hour but being directly exposed to the engineered virus will cause near instantaneous transformation. Once infected the individual can feel the virus taking over but is unable to do anything about it. They watch horrified as their hunger drives them to attack others. Eventually the infection kills the part of them that we would call their ego or consciousness and they are effectively walking corpses capable of sustaining themselves only by consuming people.

 

In Undead L.A. 1 the virus is believed to be spread by a two stage system. First the general population is infected with a base virus that is benign and then a catalyst is introduced that kills and transforms them instantly into the killing machines. Once a zombie bites a healthy adult the virus is spread. There is no delay. Zombies do not work together in this nightmarish version of Los Angeles. They are all simply drawn to eat living things. When they are deprived they go into a sort of slow down mode but are capable of springing back to life to feed and moving with shocking speed. They can also be kept in a semi pacified state by controlling their feeding cycle, but only a handful of people have figured this out  and it doesn't always work. Those that try to keep zombies as pets in this world end up being infected and dying eventually when they let their guard down and get too familiar.

 

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?

 

Devan: I'm happy to say that all my books are part of series. I am working on the sequel to Zombie Attack right now for Permuted Press, then I will be going back to Undead L.A. 1 and when I finish with that I will tear into the sequel to The Rising Dead. So it's full speed ahead zombie! Wish me luck.

 

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.

 

Devan: Decapitation is definitely my preferred method of dispatching zombie. It's sustainable, quiet, and effective. I'm also a big fan of driving jagged metal pipes directly into their faces and detaching the brain stem. If I was at the prison on the last season of The Walking Dead I would have spent all day at the fence luring zoms to me then turning out the lights. I'd be happier a kid with a fresh roll of bubble wrap.

 

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.

 

Devan: Absolutely. My favorite is zombie Jenna Jameson from Zombie Stripper! She reads Nietzsche in between dance sets then becomes the hottest zombie of all time. I even played with the idea of adding a character like hers in The Rising Dead, a stripper named Honey, but in the end it just felt too forced so I let it go.

 

Ang: Who is your favorite character from The Walking Dead (comics or TV show)?

 

Devan: My favorite character hands down is Daryl Dixon. Who doesn't want to be Daryl with the crossbow out there just kicking ass? He is awesome. I think I'm more like Glen though, who is also a great character. I relate to their sacrifice and loyalty. Glen is my day to day and Daryl is my dark side I am always trying to keep in check who just wants to go vigilante and get shit done.

 

Ang: Finally, how prepared are you for the zombie apocalypse that we all know is just around the corner?

 

Devan: I am prepared to stand and fight. You won't find me running or cowering when the dead rise up. I am a fighter, a survivor. Just like my characters say in Dogtown Locals Union in Undead L.A. 1. I've been fighting my whole life, surviving my whole life.

 

Actually I think the biggest challenges will be the aftermath of our technology to deal with. What if the people who knew how to shut down a nuclear power plant are all dead? What do we do then? If you think about all the dangerous things in the world that are man made or the secrets we're not supposed to know about you start to realize how a catastrophic event could be just the start of something much worse, with survivors unwittingly opening a Pandora's box with every new discovery. Now that sounds like the synopsis to a new book!

 

Chew into Devan’s books at Amazon.

 

Chase down Devan at Facebook and Twitter.

 

AUTHOR BIO

Devan Sagliani was born and raised in Southern California and graduated from UCLA. He is the author of the Zombie Attack! series, The Rising Dead, A Thirst For Fire, and the UNDEAD L.A. series. Devan also wrote the original screenplay for the movie HVZ: Humans VersusZombies.

Devan's fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and the Million Writers Award. In 2012 his debut novel Zombie Attack! Rise of the Horde won Best Zombie/Horror E-book on Goodreads. He is also an active member of the Horror Writer's Association. He currently lives in Venice Beach, California with his wife.

Zombified Interview with author GB Banks

GB Banks is the deadly dude behind many zombific stories. Now, he and Blaine Hislop have unleashed Zombie George Washington: The Zombie President and His Zombie Army March to Retake DC. GB took time from horrifying grateful readers to allow us to 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?

GB: Honestly, I’m not sure when I first got bitten. I have loved dark fantasy and horror most of my adult life. I mean between vampires, werewolves, and the ever-present, loveably undead zombies, how could you not love any of them?

The most difficult thing as an Indie is to come up with something fresh and original. Seems like everyone and their mama is writing zombie stories now, and getting one’s head above the writer-filled waters to be noticed is extremely hard.

 

Ang: If you had to dumb down the plot of your series so a zombie could understand, how would you explain it?

 

GB: I’d probably just say: “President. Washington. Resurrection. Army. Corruption. Murder. Pissed. Justice. War.”

 

Ang: Describe the lucky survivors who engage with the festering horde of the dead.

 

GB: This book is actually written from the zombie’s, in this case the clone-resurrected President Washington’s, perspective. As he begins to realize the true reasons he was brought back from the grave, he initiates a plan to take back the government and return it to the people. And without giving too much away, the people respond en masse.

 

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)?

 

GB: While the story is primarily an epic action adventure told from the zombie perspective, realism was the biggest concern because in many ways the story is an allegory for so much of what’s actually going on in Washington, DC today. When President Washington learns that the government is no longer “by the people, for the people”, all hell breaks loose.

 

Ang: Does your series begin just as the zombies start building their paradise or have zombies already gotten things rocking and rotting?

 

GB: It begins with the zombies as obedient soldiers working for the humans. It’s only later on that they start rocking and rolling (or I guess in this case, shooting and eating!).

 

Ang: Zombies are people too. They come in all shapes, sizes, speeds, and smarts. What types of the walking dead inhabit your series?

GB: These zombies are resurrected clones, the dead brought back to serve as mindless ultimate warriors for nefarious purposes. So technically, “these ain’t your father’s zombies”. But they may be a whole lot deadlier!

 

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?

 

GB: I see at least two more books, but I think it could go on farther than that if the fans really support the story. I also don’t like it when an author takes years between sequels, so I expect that we’ll see ole Zombie George shuffling off in Book II in the first half of 2014.

 

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.

 

GB: Better question: Is there a bad way to kill a zombie? Okay, so maybe death by tickling would be a bit silly, but anyway that involves much violence and copious amounts of blood is fine with me.

 

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.

 

GB: You know, I was just watching the cult classic film Lifeforce last night, and I realized that although the main characters were space vampires, the infection that they spread throughout the human population actually created zombies. And for a film made in 1985, these zombies were really cool! And who doesn’t love Zombie Ed from the end of Shaun of the Dead? And having just recently seen the film Warm Bodies, R has got to be one of my new all-time favorites.

 

Ang: Who is your favorite character from The Walking Dead (comics or TV show)?

 

GB: Rick’s son, Carl, because he’s just totally badass. He’s going to be crazy as hell when he grows up after everything he’s been through, but he’s also going to be the kind of leader it’s going to take to survive in this new undead-infested world.

 

Ang: Finally, how prepared are you for the zombie apocalypse that we all know is just around the corner?

 

GB: If curling up under my bed in the fetal position and whimpering until it all goes away is considered preparedness, then bring on the “Zompocalypse” right now.

 

*****

 

Claw into Zombie George Washington at Amazon.

Zombified Interview with Jonathon Kane

Jonathon Kane is the rotting rocker behind the terrorific novels The Calm Before (Corpse Days) and Corpse Days. The books are his first undead undertaking, but more horror hopefully awaits readers. Let's crack open up his cranium and dig around inside...

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?

 

Jonathon: I was bitten a number of years ago when I first saw the original Night of the Living Dead. Dawn of the Dead 2004 and Resident Evil insured the infection would take.

 

It’s difficult to convince people my zombie story is different from the rest. Maybe it isn’t. But it’s got the living dead. What more do you need?

 

Ang: If you had to dumb down the plot of your series so a zombie could understand, how would you explain it?

 

Jonathon: A cure exists, but zombies persist.  A certain group of people want to return the living dead to their former glory; however, the government is onto them. In particular, an Agent named Heather Storm seeks to foil their sinister plan.

 

Ang: Describe the lucky survivors who engage with the festering horde of the dead.

 

Jonathon: The main character is Heather Storm. She’s smart, attractive and knows how to handle herself in all things zombie. Another character central to the story is Stan Norton.  He’s a middle-aged man who does not prefer the company of others. That’s of little concern to Heather, though, who’s decided she needs him for help with her mission.

 

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)?

 

Jonathon: Realism was definitely important to me. Yes, Heather’s pretty much just a badass, but Stan’s a troubled soul. He has issues, a haunting past and is forced to make difficult, painful decisions throughout the story.

 

Ang: Does your series begin just as the zombies start building their paradise or have zombies already gotten things rocking and rotting?

 

Jonathon: The story takes place in a time period where the zombies have already had their day, but like the mustache, they’re trying really hard to make a comeback.

 

Ang: Zombies are people too. They come in all shapes, sizes, speeds, and smarts. What types of the walking dead inhabit your series?

 

Jonathon: Speed-wise, they’re a hybrid. When they’re new, they can move. Over time, though, they deteriorate a bit and slow down.  Intelligence is non-existent. They rely on senses alone to track down and capture food.

 

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?

 

Jonathon: It may spread. I left it at Corpse Days and The Calm Before (CD Part II), but I’m tossing around the idea of off-shooting an area of the plot into a different story. In the meantime, I’m wrapping up a new paranormal novel… sorry, no zombies in that one.

 

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.

 

Jonathon: I like to cut through their throats  interesting sharp objects.

 

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.

 

Jonathon: Actually right now, it’s the zombie from the Sprint commercial. The one who objects to putting labels on people and finally admits he’s a zombie after his ear falls off.

 

Ang: Who is your favorite character from The Walking Dead (comics or TV show)?

 

Jonathon: I have to go with Michonne… mostly because of the sword. Gotta love a tough chick who knows how to use a katana. Quentin Tarantino knows what I’m talkin’ about.

 

Ang: Finally, how prepared are you for the zombie apocalypse that we all know is just around the corner?

 

Jonathon: I’m not, but my in-laws are. Guns, hunting gear, property. At the first sign of the dead returning from their graves, I’m heading for the hills.

Gnaw into The Calm Before (Corpse Days) and Corpse Days at Amazon.

 

Chase down Jonathon at his website.