Danica Winters: I have the distinguished honor of hosting Rusty Fischer on Paranormal Romance today. When we were discussing his guest post he asked what he should write about. I, like most people who track publishing, have seen a rise in the popularity of YA and Zombie fiction. I enjoy the new surge in popularity; and often when I talk to readers about this new genre, they seem to be enthralled with the dead coming to life.
So my question was simple...Why do you love to write about Zombies???
Why, Zombies, Why?
7 Reasons I Write About Zombies
A
Guest Post and Giveaway by Rusty Fischer, author of Detention
of the Living Dead
So…
I started this guest post by trying to list the one reason why I write about
zombies, and every time I did I found a new reason! I ended up with not four,
not five, not six but seven reasons why I write about zombies; here they are:
1.)
So
much to explore: The zombie mythology is not as
well-defined as, say, vampires or even werewolves, so there is a lot to explore
and, frankly, they make a great “blank slate” to write on.
2.)
Trying
something new: Since the zombie mythology is so thin,
it’s a great genre to try new things in. I get a lot of flack sometimes, but my
zombies talk, drive, have societies and laws, kind of like the vampires in YA
literature.
3.)
Guts
galore: I never thought of myself as a particularly gory
writer, but it’s kind of hard to avoid when writing about zombies and, truth be
told, kind of addictive!
4.)
I
love B-movies: Just as addictive is my love of all
things B-movies, particularly zombie B-movies, which is how a lot of reviewers
describe my writing so, for me, it’s kind of a win-win.
5.)
Zombies
can be fun: Part of the joy of writing about
zombies is bringing a little “fun” to the genre. So many zombie stories are
bleak and super serious, and in many cases, rightfully so, but in that same
B-movie spirit, I don’t see any reason why they can’t be fun as well.
6.)
Undead
underdogs: To be, one of the most compelling reasons to write
about the undead is that they’re perpetual underdogs; not as “pretty” as
vampires, not as “sexy” as werewolves and far less romantic than guests, they
make a great underdog story every time.
7.)
Come
on, they’re zombies: What’s not to like?
So,
if you’re not a zombie writer, why not? And if you’re not a zombie reader, why
not? I’d love to hear your zombie opinions, pro or con, in the comments boxes
below!
Yours
in YA,
Rusty~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book Description:
Maxine “Max”
Compton is in detention when the outbreak starts; so are several other students
when Max’s best friend Brie storms in – chomping on the thigh bone of their
favorite Home Ec teacher, Ms. Watkins!
Brie is a zombie, and quickly starts biting everyone in the room – even her best friend, Max!
When the
class realizes what happens, it’s too late; they are all zombies – and they’re
no longer alone.
Now a thin
gray man in a white lab coat is testing them; making them read, and once they
can no longer read, the zombies are led from the room, never to be seen again.
One by one
the zombies stop reading, all but a few of them, Max included. Oh, and that
cute thug she’s been crushing on for years, Cory Winthrop!
That’s when
Max learns that there are good zombies, and bad zombies. And if she’s to
survive, she has to pick a side.
Who knew
Detention could be this hard… or last forever?
Title: Detention of the Living Dead
Author: Rusty FischerGenre: Paranormal, Young-Adult,
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Ebook
Pages: 181
Purchase:
Amazon | B&N | BookStrand | Smashwords |
Excerpt:
“G-g-g,” the zombie sputters, black eyes focused intently on the
page in front of her, tongue tied in an endless loop, frustration oozing out of
every gray, decaying pore.
If she could still sweat, I know she would.
“G-g-g….”
Her cold white hands grip the pages of the comic book like the
edges of a life raft in a wild, raging sea.
If she could still cry, she’d already be bawling.
Instead she is locked in this endless loop, stammering, yammering,
trying to find the keys to her lost humanity.
“G-G-G….”
Her voice is raspy, like maybe her vocal chords have been sanded
down, blow dried for days, and now look like strips of beef jerky hanging in
the back of her throat, useless at his point except for her guttural
scratching.
“A-A-A….”
It’s been like this for five minutes; five endless, torturous,
agonizing minutes.
“M-M-M….”
Endless because, well, you’ve never realized how long a single
minute—sixty short seconds—can stretch out until every stinking bleeding one of those sixty seconds is filled with
a “G-G-G” or an “A-A-A or an “M-M-M.”
It’s like waiting for a stutterer to finish reading War & Peace, out loud, in
one sitting, while you kneel on a bed of nails, with water dripping on your
head, sitting next to your distant cousin from Alabama, with her whispering in
your ears about her favorite catfish casserole recipe.
Torturous because I can see the word right in front of me and just
want to finish it for her: “Gamma!” I want to scream. “Gamma! What you’ve been
yammering for the last five minutes is ‘G-G-G-G-GAMMA,’ you freakin’ moron!”
Agonizing because this is no typical zombie; this is my best
friend since third grade, Brie Cunningham.
About the Author:
Rusty Fischer
is the author of Zombies Don’t Cry, as well as several other popular zombie
books, including Panty Raid at Zombie High, Detention of the Living Dead and
the Reanimated Readz series of 99-cent living dead shorts.
Rusty runs the popular website Zombies
Don’t Blog @ www.zombiesdontblog.blogspot.com. At Zombies Don’t Blog you can
read more about Rusty’s work, view his upcoming book covers and read – or
download – completely FREE books & stories about… zombies!
Website/Blog | Twitter | Facebook
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