Gini Koch's Zombie Apocalypse

A mutated attack virus meant to cure AIDS is transforming the people of the world into cannibalistic zombies. It is spreading fast and you have to run. You can only bring with you what you can carry. What do you take?

My fully charged and loaded iPod, Blackberry, and Acer Notebook, my flash drive with all my writing on it, my cat, my uncle’s old hunting knife, and my .357 Magnum. The ammo for the .357 will be carried by my dogs, because they’re well trained and hey, if I’m running, they’re running.

The hubs and the chicklet are both big enough to carry stuff and run, too, so I’ll have them handle the food and water. The hubs will also, of course, be carrying at least two of my uncle’s rifles. ‘Cause running isn’t enough when it comes to cannibalistic zombies -- sometimes, you have to lock and load.

Oh, and I’d also carry a copy of “Zombieland” loaded to my computer, because that would become less entertainment and more survival guide in about a New York Minute.

You take cover in an abandoned building on a hill with some other survivors. A herd of zombies are charging up the hill! Choose a weapon to fight them.

Flame thrower, for certain. This being MY zombie experience, the other survivors will, of course, have flame throwers with them, as well as more guns and ammo. When it comes to a zombie apocalypse, I want to hang with the die hard, hard core survivalists, with a more than fully loaded weapons cache, thankyouverymuch.

The zombies are unstoppable! As the only writer in your group, you are asked to record their last stand. Give your account for future generations.

Erm, I can run a lot faster than I can type. So…

Okay, okay, I’ll assume there appears to be no escape.

It was like the Alamo, only there were no horses. Wait, there are horses? They can run even FASTER than I can, and far faster than I can type. Mount up, people, and let’s get a move on. Last one here is zombie chow.

At the last possible moment you think of an outrageous way to escape. What is it?

I think of my novel and ask myself what my heroine would do. I pull out my iPod, turn the volume up to 11, and play random musical selections until I hit on a band whose frequency makes the zombies’ heads explode. (My bet would be for KMFDM to be the winners here, but Motorhead could also be a strong contender, and Screamin’ Steven Tyler and the rest of the bad boys from Aerosmith have saved the day before and certainly could do it again now.)

You reach a stronghold of humans in the mountains. A council of leaders has been elected. Oddly enough it is made up of your five favorite authors. Who’s on the council?

The council is made up of dead authors who have come back to help us fight the good fight. (They were zombies…but they got better.) Therefore, the five wise elders are: Robert Benchley, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, and O. Henry. (With apologies to Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and C.S. Lewis who have to be the backup council members and need to stop sulking about it.)

The other survivors are bored, and they ask about your book. Pitch it to them.

It’s the most awesome book, ever! (Okay, well, you can’t blame a girl for trying…)

Marketing manager Katherine "Kitty" Katt joins forces with gorgeous aliens from Alpha Centauri to protect the Earth, kick evil alien butt, and save the day with hairspray and rock and roll - not necessarily in that order.

In Touched by an Alien, Kitty discovers the rumors about Roswell and UFOs are true, but with a twist. The aliens are here to help protect Earth from a parasitic threat and, as an added bonus, they have enhanced abilities. As Kitty becomes involved with the Alpha Centaurions and their mission, she discovers Jeff Martini and Christopher White -- alien cousins who share danger, responsibility and authority. In fact, they’re willing to share anything…other than Kitty.

As Kitty gets deeper into Centaurion Division, she uncovers layers of subterfuge, secrets and lies that threaten all the residents of Earth, human and alien alike. She also realizes there’s more on the line than just saving the day -- in order to save the world, Kitty’s going to have to admit she’s fallen in love.

The council decides to give you the honor of writing the historical account of the zombie apocalypse. As survivors, we are anxious to see your work. Unfortunately it isn’t finished yet but you agree to read us the first sentence! What is it?

Shit went down, man, SHIT WENT DOWN.

Hmmm, that, perhaps, lacks a certain something. Let’s try again.

You know, the toughest thing about a zombie apocalypse isn’t the fact that you have to run for your life or that everyone you know is turning into living snackage; it’s that survivalist-wear is not all that flattering a look if you’re a short girl with curves.

Thanks Gini for playing along!

Gini Koch lives in the American Southwest, works her butt off (sadly, not literally) by day, and writes by night with the rest of the beautiful people, while she listens to a lot of rock 'n' roll, particularly Aerosmith, at all times.

Her interests include seeing how often she can ask, "So, have I told you about this plot twist yet?" of her husband before he goes insane, going to rock concerts with her daughter, and training her pets to 'bring it'. Gini started writing to have an excuse to stay up late playing on the computer while listening to music and mooning over pictures of Steven Tyler and Joe Perry.

Now she's expanded her thinking -- she moons over a wide variety of hunks in order to keep the visual creative juices flowing. So to speak. Find out more about Gini by visiting her website.

First Contact: An Interview with Christine Johnson

We have discovered life on a faraway planet! The government has decided to send representative emissaries from all walks of life on earth. You’ve been chosen represent authors! What is going through your mind?

Oh God what if there’s no chocolate and can I bring my own pillow and has John Green dropped dead he must have because that’s the only reason they’d be asking me. That’s what I’d be thinking, all in a rush with no punctuation.

Once I got over the initial freak-out, I’d be really excited and very nervous. For several reasons, on both counts. First and most practically, I’m not a very good traveler. I *adore* being in new places - I had a life-changing trip to Japan several years ago - but I’m horrible at the actual *travel* part of traveling. I don’t like the stress of catching flights and not knowing my way around and sleeping in a strange bed. But it’s always worth it in the end, for the amazing cool new things that happen in between that other stuff.

Beyond that, I’d be so excited to talk about authors and writing and what I think about all of that, but I’d certainly be feeling the pressure of speaking for all the other authors on earth. Not to mention that a misunderstanding could have serious intergalactic consequences, so I’d be weighing my every word!

Last minute Mick Jagger (chosen to represent rock stars) drops dead and they turn to you to find a replacement. You can pick anyone to go with you. Who do you pick and why?

Amanda Palmer. Hands down. And, quite frankly, I’d feel relieved that I was taking her and not Mick with me. Not only do I love her - and her first solo album, Who Killed Amanda Palmer, has been the soundtrack for my work in the last couple of months - but I really believe she’s at the forefront of the rock movement right now. I think she knows - and could explain to the alien race - everything that Mick knows about rock ‘n’ roll, but she sees what’s coming next.

Plus, I think we’d have a hell of a fun time.

Thanks to new technology meals can now be made to fit in a tube but still taste exactly as they would if they had been cooked from scratch. Unfortunately it is expensive to make different meals so everyone only gets to pick one for the group to eat. What do you pick?

That’s a really, really hard question as I adore food. Limiting it to one is so tough! I’d probably give you a different answer tomorrow, but today, I’d say a particular lentil curry (Dahl Makhni) from my favorite local Indian restaurant, with some lovely basmati rice, a good garlicky naan bread, and a mango lassi on the side. I could eat that every day of the week, and be perfectly content.

The day of meeting the aliens is approaching! It is time for you to prepare an example of five books (other than yours) for you to share with them. What books do you pick?

Again, tooooough question. And again, one for which the answer changes daily. Today, though, I’d say THE BOOK THEIF by Markus Zusak for the brilliant prose, PAPER TOWNS by John Green for the humor and the genuine characters, BEL CANTO by Ann Patchett for the brilliant relationships, CORALINE by Neil Gaiman because it’s scary as hell, and TITHE by Holly Black because it’s a great story.

It turns out that the aliens hold written communication as the highest art form and immediately move to translate your work into their language. For now though they will be satisfied with a quick pitch. What do you tell them?

My first novel, CLAIRE DE LUNE, is about a sixteen-year-old girl who discovers, on her birthday, that she is a werewolf and that, contrary to popular belief, all werewolves are female.

Killing humans is forbidden by the code of the pack, but a rogue werewolf has been breaking that law, threatening the existence of Claire’s new pack. As the pack struggles to find and fight the rogue werewolf and Claire struggles with her lupine identity, her heart and her loyalties are torn in two. Claire must keep her new life a secret from even her best friend–and especially from Matthew, whose father is leading the werewolf hunt…and with whom Claire is impossibly and undeniably falling in love.

On their home planet writers are treated like Kings. They ask what life is like for you being an author on earth. What do you say?

That writers mostly get treated like whatever *else* they are. So, a King who writes gets treated like a king, but a nanny who writes gets treated like a nanny, a scullery maid who writes gets treated like a scullery maid, and so on. Those who are lucky enough to make their living as writers are usually treated as though they live like Kings when in reality, most of them (that I know, anyway) live like regular people with regular jobs.

Which is better than it sounds, really. I feel like my job as a writer is to skulk around in the real world, digging up interested bits of humanity and washing them off and then putting them into a manuscript. It’s pretty hard to do that if you’re always being noticed and waited on. It seems like it would be almost impossible to skulk, as a King.

They offer you a place of honor on their faraway planet but you may never get to return home. How do you respond to the aliens? Careful, we wouldn’t want to upset our new friends!

Although I am honored by the offer, and appreciate the opportunity to visit with their most interesting race, I have two small children at home. And though I adore being a writer, being a mom is more important to me. So, with great regret, I would have to pass up the fabulous opportunity with which they presented me. Because I could never stand to leave my kids - not even for a place of honor among the aliens!

Thank you Christine for playing along! Make sure you check out Christine's book Claire de Lune out May 18th. Find out more about Christine at her website.

Fairy Tale Adventure Interview with Debut Author Shari Maurer

You are on a walk through a dark enchanted forest with one companion. Who do you take with you?

My brother, Scott. Somehow this suburban kid became an expert hiker and woods decipherer (is that a word?). I have the worst sense of direction so I'd probably wind up in the woods FOREVER. One of the greatest things I've learned in life is that you should surround yourself with people who have talents you lack.

In the forest you come to a large stone tower with no door and one window near the top. You hear beautiful singing coming from the window, and as you approach the singing stops and a long braid of hair is lowered to you. A little girl asks you to come up, but when you get there, you discover an old witch instead! Convince her to let you go.

I think I would talk with her and get to know her. My guess is she's lonely, as many older, more isolated people are and she just needs a little TLC and maybe someone to listen to her for a little while. Maybe I'd ask her about her childhood. I truly believe that inside every old witch is a little girl who wants to be loved.

Luckily for you, she is partial to authors and lets you go. Now, back in the forest a dwarf runs out from behind a tree and grabs the only copy of your WIP right out of your bag! Its impossible to catch him but he will let you go if you tell him something unusual about yourself. What do you tell him?

I can touch my nose with my tongue. It's not something I need to do often, but if it works here, then I'm glad it's finally useful.

After escaping the dwarf unscathed you come to a pond where you find a frog sitting on a rock. The frog tells you that if you kiss him he will turn into whatever famous author you want, who will then read your book! Which author do you choose?

Harper Lee, author of my favorite book of all time-To Kill a Mockingbird.

What does he/she say about your book?

I would hope that she would admire the strength of Emmi, my main character in Change of Heart, who is waiting for a heart transplant. And she'd enjoy the fact that Emmi's brother is named Jeremy and nicknamed Jem, just like Scout's brother in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Your author friend promptly turns back into a frog, and it is time for you to go. Next you come into a clearing where there are two geese. The goose on the left will give you one story idea every month that will be guaranteed to get published. The goose on the right will give you one story idea that is so amazing that you will go down in history as one of the greatest writers of all time, but its brilliance won’t be recognized until after you’ve died. Which goose do you pick?

It's an interesting question, given my admiration for Harper Lee, who might have selected the goose on the right. But I think I'd prefer the goose on the left. I love to write and would prefer to be more prolific and continue to have the privilege of being published. Though I have to say--one story idea a month might get overwhelming!

Your adventure in the forest is finally over and you arrive at home. Who is waiting for you?

My husband and my kids. And my guess is that they're hungry and ready for dinner, so adventure over and back to real life!

Shari Maurer 's debut novel Change of Heart comes out April 23rd. Find out more about Shari at her website and pre-order Change of Heart at Amazon.com.

Circus Interview with Debut Author Kiersten White

I had the chance to interview the awesome Kiersten White. She was kind enough to play along with my outrageous questions. Enjoy!

You wake up one morning and find yourself on a circus train. What animal is your bunk mate?

The monkeys. And they keep eyeing my hair like they'd like to go through it to check for bugs, which quite frankly I find insulting. Keep your fingers to yourselves, monkeys, my hair is perfectly clean.

It looks like you’re stuck on the train until they get to their next stop. Luckily, you still have your favorite book which you were reading when you fell asleep! What book is it?

A Circus Lover's Guide to Taming Elephants, Avoiding Monkeys, and Walking the Tightrope of the Human Heart

Or rather, it'd probably be Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. At least until someone writes the above book.

It is time for lunch and all of the circus performers sit according to their act. Who do you decide to sit with?

The clowns are all packed into the mini-car next door, so they're out. The tightrope walkers make me dizzy just looking at them. As a mom to two small children, I feel the tightest kinship with the lion tamers, and so we sit and trade horror stories and scars.

They are curious about your new book! Pitch it to them, but don’t forget to appeal to your audience!

Fangs, fur, and fey! Evie must tame the wild paranormals and avoid any number of grisly deaths to save the special things left in the world. A show--err--book unlike any other!

After a great meal with the lion tamers you stumble back toward your car (circus performers drink a little more than you are used to) to find the circus gypsy waiting for you. She tells you your fortune. What is your future?

"You will be mistaken for a child and passed over in grocery lines. I see very high heels in your future..."

Which of course is wrong, as I prefer flip flops and awkward encounters when people realize I'm not a pre-teen, lack of height notwithstanding. So I don't tip her, and she glares at me.

After you share some circus moonshine with her, she agrees to grant you one wish. What do you wish for?

That my kids to continue growing up happy and healthy, at which point she grumbles that this was the most boring wish ever, and realizes the moonshine was non-alcoholic, as I don't drink. I'm pretty sure she curses me, but I figure any gypsy who can't tell she isn't drunk isn't likely to be commanding powerful curses.

Although I do seem to be growing a beard, which is new.

You get into town and are getting ready to leave. Unfortunately, your flight is delayed. Your new friends convince you to showcase your special talent in tonight's show. What do you perform for the circus audience?

Dazzling feats of sarcasm. Really, it's stunning. And, to top it all off, a spelling bee!

You finally make it home. Who is waiting at the airport for you?

My husband, who is startled by my new facial hair, but happy to see me nonetheless, and my two monkey children, who never look for bugs in my hair.

Kiersten is the author of Paranormalcy which comes out this fall! Also, go follow her blog she is even more entertaining there!

Adventure Interview With Debut Author Heidi R. Kling

I had a chance to interview the awesome Heidi R. Kling, author of SEA, due out in June. I sent her on an imaginary, international adventure. Enjoy!

You can travel anywhere in the world for one month. Where do you go?

What an awesome question. I think I'd island hop in Greece.

You can bring one book (other than yours) to share with the people there (no language barrier) what do you bring?

The Forest of Hands and Teeth. They may want to prepare for a zombie apocalypse.

While on vacation you meet a medicine man who loves your writing so much that he wants to give you one super power.  What do you ask for?

The power of flight. Hands down!

While on vacation you run into your favorite author.  He/she asks to read your book.  Who is it and what do they say about it?

John Green. He says, "This should totally win the Printz. In fact, I just emailed the committee and told them so!"

You’ve now been away for a month, what do you miss most about home?

My husband, my son, my daughter and my dog.

On the way back your plane’s engines fail and begins to plummet into the ocean!  What are your last words?

I can't believe I'm dying before I win the Printz

Unfortunately you didn’t survive the crash, who do you come back to haunt?

YOU! For making me crash and die. :-)

Author Interview with Janice Hardy

I had the chance to interview the awesome Janice Hardy a few days ago. She is the author of The Shifter which is the first book I reviewed on this site and is one of the reasons this site exists in the first place. Do yourself a favor and go buy this book, you won't be sorry.

DAB: Hi Janice
JH: hello there
DAB: Thanks for agreeing to talk with me
JH: most welcome
DAB: What gave you the inspiration for the Shifter?
JH:I was playing with various common fantasy ideas, trying to see if I could turn any of them on their heads for a fresh take.
Then I started thinking about healing and how you rarely, if ever, see any downsides to healing. I wondered what would be the "bad side" of something that was always associated with good
And I came up with pain, and how you might be able to buy and sell it, and how a society that healed by removing pain might work
Once the world building started taking shape, the rest of the story developed pretty quickly
DAB: That's so cool. Was there a specific author who got you interested in the fantasy/dystopian genre or have you always been a fan?
JH: Always been a fan. My father was a science fiction and fantasy fan, so he got me into it when I was young
DAB: I saw on your website that you have a pet eel. How did that happen?
JH: I've always like eels, can't really say why. Maybe because they're a little dragon-like. My husband saw one in the pet store when he was buying so fish for our tank, and he brought him home to surprise me.
I really want one of those big green moray eels, but salt-water tanks are much harder to keep
DAB: Ah well I've heard they are a bit cranky anyways.
JH: This is true ;) I'll have to settle for seeing them underwater.
DAB: Fair enough.
DAB: So can you describe a little bit of your writing habits? Like a schedule or rituals or anything like that?
JH: I'm most creative in the mornings, so I usually start around 7-8am, then write until about noon. I've been writing almost every day lately (I'm on deadline for book three) but when I'm not on deadline, I like to write for a day or two then take a day off. I get burnt out if I write a lot every single day.
No real rituals, though I do usually read the last chapter I wrote to get back into the groove.
DAB: hmmm book three... can you tell us anything about what Nya will be up to in the next book?
JH: Well, she's going to take a bit of a trip, and have her world view turned upside down. I'm pushing her way out of her comfort zone this time.
DAB: When I was reading I really liked the names of your characters and places. Where did they come from?
JH: Many are just made up, but I based Geveg on the geographic area of Lake Victoria in Africa, so lots of names are based in Afrikaans.
Like Geveg means struggle, Baseer is hurt
pyn in the word for pain, which is where pynvium comes from
There's a lot more of that in books two and three
DAB: Neat. Sometimes when I need a name or place I just randomly zoom in on a place and find names that way. Was Lake Victoria a random choice?
JH: Not at all. I knew I wanted to do a lakeside Venice, with a canal city. I started researching the world's biggest lakes, and Victoria is big and shallow, which made sense to me since you couldn't build a city on something deep.
I liked the idea of using the climate and having a tropical locale, especially since I grew up in South Florida, so I know hot and humid.
DAB: I live in Tampa. I know all about the hot and humid
JH: Practically neighbors!
But yeah, I liked that idea. I was trying to avoid the whole "medieval England" feel
DAB: yeah that seems a bit tired
DAB: I bought your book after reading the first page on Kristin's blog. Was that something that was in the initial draft or did that come later?
JH: That was pretty much the first draft I ever wrote. I do spend a lot of time on my first line before I start a book though. I need to start off well or I just flounder
I think I revised it a teeny bit for clarity, but it's pretty much the same words I first wrote
DAB: I remember reading it and immediately forwarding it to my girlfriend with the message "I want to write like that!"
JH: LOL, thanks!
DAB: you're welcome
JH: Nya's been easy to write from day one. She just has a really strong voice for me
DAB: She is a lot of fun to read. So are you an outline person or do you let the story guide itself?
JH: I like a basic outline to provide framework for the story, but then I like to let the characters run and develop the story organically from there. I like to say I always know where I'm going, but rarely how I get there.
My outlines are usually the major act climaxes and set pieces of the story. So maybe six or seven key moments that create the overall story arc
Then I fill in as I write and get ideas. I'm always going back and fleshing out my outline. It's more of a paragraph summary per chapter abut what happens
DAB: Interesting, I always enjoy hearing about authors' different techniques
JH: Me too
DAB: Well that is all the questions I have, anything else you want to tell the readers about?
JH: Book two, Blue Fire, comes out Oct 10, 2010. That's probably good to know
DAB: Is it available for pre-ordering?
JH: I don't think so, but it probably will be soon. They (my publisher) just released the fall catalog, and the pre orders usually start after that *
DAB: okay well thank you so much for your time. I can't wait for the next book to come out
JH: you are most welcome :) Thanks for asking me

*Note from Jeff: Blue Fire is now available for pre-order on Amazon here