Why, Zombies, Why?

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
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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 Fischer
Genre: Paranormal, Young-Adult,
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Ebook
Pages: 181

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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!

 

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