Bonnie Dee is the chilling chick behind the Zombie Apocalypse series. Her first zombie ode After the End was followed by Dead Country. Let's chew on her 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?
Bonnie: See answer to question nine. My first zombie movie
was the original Night of the Living Dead but prior to seeing it, I remember
looking at movie stills from the (already vintage) movie in a magazine at a
friend’s house. There was something so awful yet almost artistic in those
horrible black and white images of flesh-eating dead people. I was repelled and
fascinated and couldn’t wait to see the movie. This was before even VHS so I
had to wait for it to be on TV and then just hope that I could catch it.
Ang: If you had to dumb down the plot of your book so a zombie could understand,
how would you explain it?
Bonnie: Undead eat. People run.
To flesh that out a little (irony intended) for the more
cerebral, After the End is set in NYC where a small group of survivors, first
thrown together on the subway, try to escape the island of Manhattan.
Ang: Describe the lucky survivors who engage with the festering horde of the
dead.
Bonnie: The cast of After the End includes Ari, a guy in his
early twenties, fresh out of boot camp, combat trained yet totally unprepared
to face an army of the undead; Lila, a college student majoring in philosophy,
who finds her anti-violence beliefs crumble fast when fighting for her life;
Derrick & Ronnie, a brother and sister duo; cool and crisp old Mrs.
Scheider; Dr. Joe, a dermatologist (super useful kind of doctor to have during
a zombie apocalypse), high strung Ann, hard-ass Deb and her girlfriend Sondra,
and several others.
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)?
Bonnie: I’m far more interested in how the average Joe and
Jill fare when thrown into a life or death situation. I’m not interested in
watching super strong, perfect fighting machines, but in people who make do
with whatever weapons are at hand and use their smarts to outwit, outplay,
outlast.
Ang: Does your book begin just as the zombies start building their paradise or
have zombies already gotten things rocking and rotting?
Bonnie: My first book, After the End, is set just as the undead
hordes swell and take over. That’s usually the most exciting setting, I think,
because the protagonists not only have to survive but must wrap their heads
around the impossible fact of the dead returning to life to cannibalize their
own kind.
For my second book, Dead Country, I chose to set it in the
same apocalypse but farther along the timeline and with a completely different
cast of characters. Order is slowly being restored in major urban areas but in
an isolated Midwestern town, help is not going to be on its way in time to save
anyone.
Ang: Zombies are people too. They come in all shapes, sizes, speeds, and
smarts. What types of the walking dead inhabit your novel?
Bonnie: I went with the slow, shambling type, meat
marionettes that move awkwardly but relentlessly. Why do zombies seem to have
super strength and are able to bite through just about anything? I’ve never
been able to figure that out, but I went with the classic type anyway.
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?
Bonnie: I’ve been asked numerous times for a sequel to After the End as people wanted to know what the survivors did after escaping Manhattan, but when I
finish a story, I’m pretty much over it. That’s why my sequel was set elsewhere
and with all new characters. I have a half finished, unrelated zombie story
called The Cure, which has been stalled for many months. I’ve never been so
blocked but I hope to finish it some day. Maybe this summer.
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.
Bonnie: In my zombie world the spinal cord must be severed
to stop the creature so a beheading is best. But a unique method of dispatching
was my main reason for setting Dead Country in farmlands. I grew up around corn
and combines so I could envision a scene in which a corn harvester plowed
through a zombie horde. Tres cool.
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.
Bonnie: Well, first times are always most memorable, so I’d
have to say the undead man who attacks the girl in the cemetery in the original
Night of the Living Dead. There’s something about black & white horror
films that’s starker and scarier—especially when you’re a well protected Catholic
girl seeing her first gory horror movie. I was babysitting and saw this on late
night TV and was nearly traumatized.
Ang: Who is your favorite character from The Walking Dead (comics or TV show)?
Bonnie: Have to admit to still not having read the comics,
just the show. In general I’ve liked Glenn all along, because he’s an all
around nice guy who’s quite clever (not that the writers continue to play that
cleverness up like they did in the first season).
A lot of my interest has shifted to Darryl, who is awesome
with that crossbow and is just so emotionally damaged under his contained
exterior—and that’s pre-zombie apocalypse.
Ang: Finally, how prepared are you for the zombie apocalypse that we all know
is just around the corner?
Bonnie: Luckily our house has a circa 60s fallout shelter,
well stocked by previous owners with delicious circa 60s canned goods.
No, I actually have a cyanide tablet I wear in a locket at
all times so if the going gets tough, I can check out.
Seriously, I would definitely not be the sort to boldly,
bravely lead the way in a zombie apocalypse. I’m more of a runner and hider and
a “let someone else get et while I run away” type. Hey, at least I recognize my
limitations as a human being.
Devour After the End and Dead Country today.
