Guest Post - Duncan P. Bradshaw #WinterofZombie 2015

Guest Post: Duncan P. Bradshaw #WinterofZombie

 NOVEMBER 12, 2015 BY ARMAND ROSAMILIA

Top Five Zombie Films

As of now at least anyway.

Duncan P. Bradshaw

My current, ‘to watch’ zombie film pile is in danger of collapsing and taking out a decent portion of the street I live in. Both Dead Snow’s are in there, the Living Dead At Manchester Morgue and Dead Rising: Watchtower are also part of the fabric of the tower. But they, and their patiently waiting brethren would have to go some ways to beat my current top five. Without further ado, and in reverse order, to maintain an air of suspense, they are:

5 – Zombie Diaries

This is in the found footage and anthology camps, and one of two UK films in the list. I loved the way it was shot, and how some of the stories grew and morphed into something sinister. The low budget, for once, actually makes this a better film than it has any right to be. Yes, the dialogue is a bit crappy, but the performances are believable, and it ticks all the right boxes. Shambling zombies – yes, messed up psycho’s – hell yes! The sequel is utterly forgettable, but this is a must see.

4 – Wyrmwood

The cover boldly proclaims that it’s ‘Mad Max meets Dawn of the Dead.’ Pffft, yeah right I thought. Around two minutes in, I was hooked. The camera shots and humour reminded me of Bad Taste, the gore is fantastic, and you have a batshit paramilitary angle going on with a bonafide crazy scientist. Throw in body armour, shotguns, zombies which are used as petrol, and you have a genuinely interesting and unique zombie film. The end tails off a bit, but everything that comes before makes up for it.

3 – Shaun of the Dead

There is an episode in the TV series, Spaced, where Tim is on the come down after a hectic night, and events merge with his playthrough of Resident Evil 2. Simon Pegg obviously wanted to expand on this and helped create this legendary film. Wonderfully referred to as a rom-zom-com, it is as gory as it is funny. The dawning realisation on the two hapless heroes that the world has gone to pot is brilliant. Snappy dialogue and a very British apocalypse. Anyone curious as to how the zombie uprising would go down in the UK, need only watch the film. Tea, biscuits and the pub. In that order.

2 – The Battery

Where a lot of zombie films rely on gun-toting square jawed good guys, or busty maidens, The Battery strips it all back to what it actually comes down to. Survival. It’s a film of two halves, the first builds up the story, with the two main leads and their uneasy relationship. You can tell that of all the people they wished to be spending the end days with, neither of them are it. Just when you wonder what is going to happen, they get trapped. The next part is truly harrowing. It epitomises exactly what zombies are about. They will not stop. Ever. Until you have somehow legged it, or they are chewing on your entrails. Forget the guns and explosions, youhave to see this film.

1 – Dawn of the Dead

I’ll relay a typical conversation I have with people, when they find out I write zombie books.

THEM: Wow, that’s pretty cool. Hey, I watched Dawn of the Dead the other day, that was sweet, what did you think of it?

ME: Really? That’s so cool! It’s like my favourite zombie film EVER, what’s your favouri….wait a moment. Which one?

THEM: Huh? What do you mean which one? The one with the zombies in it, duuuhhh, thought you liked zombie films?

ME: *vein bulging in forehead, fists clenching*

THEM: They’re in a shopping mall, I really thought you would know it, it’s a pretty famous one apparently.

ME: Simple question, did they walk or run?

THEM: Well run, why would they walk? It reminds me of my other favourite zombie film.

ME: Which is? *picks up shovel and bag of lime*

THEM: 28 Days Later, those zombies were excellent!

ME: 28 Days Later is NOT A FUCKING ZOMBIE FILM. Though it is mighty fine, now if you’ll excuse me.

I am of course talking about the 1978 original. This is what got me hooked on the undead. I was eight years old, and the attack on the tenement building has taken a turn for the worse, when one of them starts EATING his missus. Wow. I didn’t know what they were, but I knew that I loved them. Sure, it looks dated now, but I don’t care. It’s got gore, it’s got survivors, morals, crazy raiders and one stupid idiot who wants to get his blood pressure tested in the midst of a horde.

If I could only show one film to someone to demonstrate why I love zombies, and why I write books on the undead, it is Dawn of the Dead. It’s claustrophobic, heartbreaking, but most of all, it was the bedrock for an entire genre. Yes, Night of the Living Dead started it, but Dawn picked up the flag from its dead hands and waved it proudly.

A few other films which are just outside the top five, but still highly recommended: Colin, Zombieland (believe me, I wanted to put this in the top five, but just couldn’t), Zombie Flesh Eaters, Juan of the Dead and Return of the Living Dead.

Duncan, his wife Debbie and their two cats, Rafa and Pepe, live in the county of Wiltshire in the south-west of England. They idle away the long winter evenings by making miniature wicker men, in which they incarcerate voodoo dolls of their relatives and burn them on the hearth. When not engaged in scaled down pagan rituals, Duncan also writes about the undead and other strange, fantastical tales that are beamed into his head from the mothership.

 

Hit him up on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/duncanpbradshaw

Or his website right here http://duncanpbradshaw.co.uk/

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The stench of frozen flesh is in the air! Welcome to the Winter of Zombie Blog Tour 2015, with 40+ of the best zombie authors spreading the disease in the month of November.

Stop by the event page on Facebook so you don’t miss an interview, guest post or teaser…and pick up some great swag as well!

Giveaways galore from most of the authors as well as interaction with them!

#WinterofZombie is the hashtag for Twitter, too!

Guest Post - Courtney Rene #WinterofZombie 2015

Guest Post: Courtney Rene #WinterofZombie

 NOVEMBER 12, 2015 BY ARMAND ROSAMILIA

Zombies Everywhere

By Courtney Rene

Growing up in the 80’s the only good zombie flicks where the Night of the Living Dead movies.  Then, trying to find a good book with zombies at that time was almost impossible.  You had some good horror stories, but nothing really that stood out as zombie.  Now, thirty some odd years later, you look around and it’s a sea of books and television shows and movies.  I absolutely love it!

Yes, part of it is the gross gore, but actually for me the main draw is the survival issue.  Take the Walking Dead series.  There are always parts within each episode that is zombie lead.  The killing and biting and dying keeps the show exciting.  However, the actual story is about how the people are surviving within all the chaos.  How they continue on and lead as normal a life as they possible can manage. They are surviving for themselves and for their children and their family and friends. Some do it better alone, while others need and crave the family environment.  Some become the leaders and others the followers, but again, they are alive. Maybe not so much thriving, but they are getting there.

I am a character person.  I want to know who each character is.  Why they are the way they are.  What caused them to be the way they appear and do what they do?  I want to fall in love with them or hate them with a real and tangible passion.  I believe that is what makes the current zombie shows so wonderfully good.  We get to know the people, the good, the bad, and the unbelievable about them.  We ache when they ache and we get mad when they get mad.  The writing of the shows I have to say is fantastic.  Without the character involvement, it would just be about zombie munching, blood dripping chaos.  That type of production wouldn’t last.  A show or two and we would all lose interest.

That is how I came to write my short story:  A Day in the New World.  I wondered how one woman, without family or friends would survive out in the wild of what was left of civilization.  Would she cower before the dead?  Would she fight back to survive?

I grew up camping, and canoeing, and learning to shoot firearms and bows.  I learned how to fish and trap.  I like to think that I would survive and be just fine on my own.  I know I can take care of myself without any real problems.  I would know how to keep myself safe.  I would rely on no one.  I would keep alone and probably not join in with any other groups.  Trust would be very hard in that world.  I know I could make it though.  I’m not sure that type of life would be worth it though.  Surviving, but alone.  Humans after all are pack animals.  We don’t do well mentally by ourselves.  We thrive in family groups.

However…if you add in my family and my children, it would be very hard, if not impossible to keep us all alive.  I would be afraid all the time.  Every waking moment and most likely even in my sleep I would be afraid of what could or would or may happen.  I would work to keep them safe most likely to my own peril.  I would be forced to have to rely more on others to hold up their end of things or simply keep up.  There would be more food to find and more shelter to create to house and feed the bigger numbers.  Noise would be an issue, wherein as a single person on my own, it wouldn’t.  The group aspect would be comforting as we would be together, but in the end I believe it would be a detriment as well.  Worrying about others while trying to stay alive causes mistakes to be made and emotions to get in the way.

Then you come to the boy girl issue.  If the world falls, how many people become animalist and base with it?  How many people that were good and honest and safe would become mean, abusive, and controlling if the world fell apart?  How many teen girls and women would be abused and raped and made slaves?  People don’t like to think about that, and yet it plays out even in this day in other countries.  So it’s not that it isn’t possible.  Add in fear and you have a very dangerous concoction for some people.

I’m not saying it is only men.  No.  I know for a fact that if the zombie apocalypse happened right this moment, the life my children were leading would be over.  You would see jailer and control freak mom take over.  They would have no freedom in my bid to keep them safe.  They would be virtually Velcroed to my side. What kind of life is that?  I don’t know.  Is it even a real life?  No freedom to learn and grow and be a kid?  Not really, but they would be alive and safe.  Are the consequences too much though?  I don’t know, maybe.  Would it change my mind?  Nope.

There is a lot to think about, but that’s part of the fun of being a writer.  I can sit and think about all this crap and know it doesn’t matter right this second.  It’s all fiction and ideas and most likely wont happen.  Never say never, after all, right? I do like seeing all the new ideas out today.  There are books galore to enjoy now, where there never was in the past.  It seems to have sparked its own genre, which I find absolutely fantastic.  New authors are popping up like daisies to write their own stories.  You can now find zombie love stories, zombie space sagas, time travel, and yes, the time true horror.  Anything you want, I’m sure you can find it today in the zombie world.

Enjoy it while it lasts.  I know that I will.

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The stench of frozen flesh is in the air! Welcome to the Winter of Zombie Blog Tour 2015, with 40+ of the best zombie authors spreading the disease in the month of November.

Stop by the event page on Facebook so you don’t miss an interview, guest post or teaser…and pick up some great swag as well!

Giveaways galore from most of the authors as well as interaction with them!

#WinterofZombie is the hashtag for Twitter, too!

Guest Post - Rebecca Besser #WinterofZombie 2015

Guest Post: Rebecca Besser #WinterofZombie

 NOVEMBER 12, 2015 BY ARMAND ROSAMILIA

2

Shut the Damn Door

By Rebecca Besser

Recently, while watching Fear the Walking Dead, I found myself completely annoyed with the stupidity of humanity. In situations where people don’t know what’s going on or what to do, they tend to make the stupidest of decisions. Like leaving the damn doors open behind themselves when they leave the house and, by doing so, allow a zombie to get into their house.

I was literally screaming at the TV, calling the people idiots for not shutting the door to their house when they left.

My husband said, “You would do the same thing.”

I responded with, “No, I wouldn’t.”

Why wouldn’t I? Because I’m not stupid enough to leave everything open to someone or something that might harm me or my family. Hell, I’m allergic to cats so I shut the door every time I step outside so that one doesn’t sneak in while I’m not looking. I even shut the door so as not to allow bugs in because mosquitoes love me! I sure as hell wouldn’t leave the door to my house open if I thought anything even remotely close to zombies were running around outside. In that case, I wouldn’t leave the house unarmed. And I’d damn well shut the damn door.

Smart people don’t leave their secure, safe place open to just anyone or anything. That’s how people get hurt and die.

Yes, I’m aware people would be in denial, just like the characters of the show I just mentioned. But, they stared the dangers in the face (at least a couple of them did) prior to the incident. They made the mistake of not telling the third person in their party (who hadn’t witnessed what was going on) blind to the entire situation, hence the door being left open by that person. Hence the risk to all their lives.

Luckily they all managed to survive, even though that third person I mentioned finally came face to face with the danger no one would tell her about at the risk of her life. She managed to escape…barely.

You’re probably wondering why the writers would make their characters so naïve. Frankly, it’s because writers want a reaction from you. Example: Me screaming at the TV. They want you to feel something for the characters or about the characters. That’s how they get readership/watchers. Writers want the characters to be relatable in some way.

Even if you’re not stupid enough to leave the door to your house open during the Z-poc, I’m sure you know someone who is dumb enough to do so. Human beings will always be in denial of the biggest threats that face them. Those that survive in the hard times will be the people who are strong, decisive, and cautious (or the people who are protected by such a person). All the others will find their demise one way or another.

So, shut the damn door and survive. Protect yourself and your own. Be a strong survivor whatever the danger that’s staring you in the face.

*   *   *   *   *

The stench of frozen flesh is in the air! Welcome to the Winter of Zombie Blog Tour 2015, with 40+ of the best zombie authors spreading the disease in the month of November.

Stop by the event page on Facebook so you don’t miss an interview, guest post or teaser…and pick up some great swag as well!

Giveaways galore from most of the authors as well as interaction with them!

#WinterofZombie is the hashtag for Twitter, too!

Guest Post - Mikhail Lerma #WinterofZombie 2015

Guest Post: Mikhail Lerma #WinterofZombie

 NOVEMBER 12, 2015 BY ARMAND ROSAMILIA

Comparing Zombies to Other Monsters

A man hurriedly exits a door and slams it behind him. He then throws his body against it to hold it closed. Breathing heavily he surveyed the moonlit rooftop for an escape. His search, however, was interrupted by the sudden assault on the metal door behind him. Hungry growls called to him from the other side. What was he going to do?  The key to surviving the undead is knowing what kind of undead is being dealt with. There are two major types of undead and knowing the difference could mean life or death. The two types are vampires and zombies. While both prey on the living for food and lack a pulse their differences are very real!

Zombies are typically slow shambling creatures often times in various stages of decomposition. With yellowing skin and blackened teeth gnashing at their victims. While vampires could be considered attractive, charming even. Their pale complexions match the full moon’s glow. Vampires are primarily creatures of the night. That’s when they leave their lairs, a crypt or graveyard to feed. Zombies, however, are active at all hours, making them a constant threat.

Now that feeding times have been established lets discuss the menu. For vampires it’s blood. They are often portrayed as using their fangs to bite humans on the neck. From there they drain their meal dry, whereas zombies aren’t picky about what they eat just as long as it’s flesh. They grab their victims with rotted hands and sink their teeth into any exposed meat.

Defense is the next step. Zombies can be slow, making evasion seem easy, but their relentless nature makes them dangerous. In a one on one encounter defeating these creatures can be easy. Destroy the brain and the ghoul dies. By severing the brain’s connection it renders the body inert. Vampires have a laundry list of weaknesses. First and foremost is sunlight. The rays the sun emits are the bane of their existence. Other weaknesses include allergies to garlic and holy water. It was also said that they couldn’t cross running water. An important thing to know is that a stake to the heart can make short work of these beings.

Armed with this knowledge if one were presented with an undead threat, they could both distinguish which kind and successfully defend themselves. Whether it’s holding up until dawn or going on the offensive with a crowbar, one could easily survive. This being said, only two potential threats are mentioned. What other creatures of the night could be lurking about? Werewolves? Banshees? Succubae? Dealing with them is an entirely different fight.

Mikhail Lerma was raised in the rural town of Holdrege Nebraska. His strong interest in horror and science fiction began at a young age, starting with late night zombie movies and Star Trek. He finished his high school years by joining the army when he was only 17. He is a 10 year U.S. Army veteran. While deployed to Iraq in 2007 he spent missions in a turret as gunner, and began writing in his free time. Storytelling has become a passion of his, and he looks forward to writing more science fiction in the future. He currently lives in Iowa with his wife and three daughters. Balancing his roles between husband, father, writer, and full time steel mill worker.

Website: http://www.mikhaillerma.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MikhailLermaAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZPlanBook

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00919M4MI

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The stench of frozen flesh is in the air! Welcome to the Winter of Zombie Blog Tour 2015, with 40+ of the best zombie authors spreading the disease in the month of November.

Stop by the event page on Facebook so you don’t miss an interview, guest post or teaser…and pick up some great swag as well!

Giveaways galore from most of the authors as well as interaction with them!

#WinterofZombie is the hashtag for Twitter, too!

Guest Post - Samie Sands #WinterofZombie 2015

Guest Post: Samie Sands #WinterofZombie

 NOVEMBER 11, 2015

The AM13 Series

By Samie Sands

The idea for the AM13 series came out of one of those typical ‘how long do you think you’d last in a zombie apocalypse?’ conversations.

The answer for me, I’m ashamed to say, isn’t very long!

I just don’t think that I have the knowledge and skills needed to get by in such a harsh climate. I’m not the sort of person who knows how to start a fire with sticks and I don’t know if I’m strong enough to bash in a zombie’s head – especially when they’re newly infected and not very weak!

That’s where the idea for Lockdown was born. Most of the zombie novels I have read centre around someone with a military background or nursing knowledge. Or if not that, they find some kick ass inner strength and the apocalypse is actually the making of them. When I created Leah (the main character), I was thinking along the lines of ‘what about everyone else?’ I wanted the plot to focus on someone who isn’t the typical protagonist, someone who isn’t strong, smart and a survivalist.

That isn’t to say she’s based on me – just that the idea came from that conversation J

In fact, this is how I’ve described Leah in her character bio:

“Leah isn’t the typical heroine that you find in zombie apocalyptic novels. She’s not got any of the survivalist skills needed in this horror-filled situation; she isn’t strong, level-headed or able…she certainly isn’t someone you’d want on your team!

In fact, Leah is flawed, frustrating, she’s actually a bit of an airhead. She’s 23-years-old but is very young in her mind – indecisive, desperately insecure and afraid of real life (and that’s before the arrival of any zombies). She’s always been a ‘follower’ in her life, and continues to be so throughout the plot. Leah stays true to her – albeit imperfect – self.

She is what makes Lockdown a unique read. Following her journey into the unknown isn’t full of action and smart decisions. Is Leah a protagonist that you’ll route for? There is only one way to find out!”

So that should give you a little idea of what sort of person Lockdown is dealing with!

After I completed writing Lockdown, I went on to write the sequel Forgotten. This book introduces 3 new characters and the style of the writing is different from the first book. The plot flicks between the main characters points-of-view (a feature that some readers have loved, and others haven’t been so keen on). Again, I wanted to try something a bit different with this book. I wanted to experiment a little with my writing style.

Just to give you an idea of the varying personalities included in Forgotten, here are the character bios:

“Ethan (Leah’s cousin) is an obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) sufferer whose condition has affected his life dramatically. His fear or germs, disease and illness have caused him to become isolated, afraid, ‘different’. There is no chance someone this frightened can survive the zombies…is there?

Alyssa is an overly confident teenage girl who has spent her life daydreaming about the zombie apocalypse finally arriving – and now that it has, she knows with an absolute certainty that she will survive. She’s read all the books, watched all the films, done all the research. She’s strong, tough…a badass! Any group would be lucky to fight alongside her.

And finally, there is Dr. Jones, the scientist who can’t understand why he alone seems to have been selected to attempt to cure the virus…surely there are survivors that are much more experienced than him in virology? And what will happen to him if he fails? Is the fate of the human race really resting on his shoulders alone?”

Readers have described these characters as ‘frustratingly real’ too, which is a part of what I wanted to go for in my books. No one is perfect, and I wanted to reflect that. Now I’m in the process of finishing up the third and final book in the series, and this one will end the series in an explosive manner!

Author Bio: Samie Sands is a 29 year old freelance graphic designer who has recently decided to follow her lifelong dream and use her creativity in a new way by writing. Lockdown is her debut novel, published by Triplicity Publishing, with Forgotten following soon after. She has also had a number of short stories included in successful anthologies.

She has a degree in Media Studies and PR and has already had articles published in a number of e-zines, including one of the most popular pieces at Zombie Guide Magazine. She lives in a small seaside town in the UK, but loves to travel to gain inspiration from new places and different cultures. To follow Samie’s work, please check out her websitehttp://samiesands.com.

Other Links: http://thelockdown.co.uk

http://www.facebook.com/SamieSandsLockdown

http://www.twitter.com/SamieSands

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The stench of frozen flesh is in the air! Welcome to the Winter of Zombie Blog Tour 2015, with 40+ of the best zombie authors spreading the disease in the month of November.

Stop by the event page on Facebook so you don’t miss an interview, guest post or teaser…and pick up some great swag as well!

Giveaways galore from most of the authors as well as interaction with them!

#WinterofZombie is the hashtag for Twitter, too!

Refuge From The Dead - Lockdown ON SALE NOW!

REFUGE FROM THE DEAD - LOCKDOWN ON SALE NOW! CLICK HERE!

Michael Caine is a loving husband, proud father, and former combat medic. He is also trying to restart his life. While the beginning of the end may have started six weeks ago, he wouldn't have noticed. Busy chasing the American dream, he was bettering himself at the Department of Corrections academy in Richmond, Virginia. Stuck in southwest Virginia, an area that thrives on the dying coal industry, he took the next most stable job - working in a prison. Among the killers, rapists, and gangbangers he earned his pay. It wasn't the best job in the world, but it paid the bills. Michael 

Until the dead began to rise and the world went to hell almost overnight. 

As the undead hasten the end of the world, he must decide whether to bring his family to the safety of maximum-security Black Mountain State Prison, among those same murderers and rapists, or help remove the inmates from the prison and risk them running amok in a lawless world. In their final transmission from Richmond, an order is handed down from the Governor of Virginia, a decision that - if carried out - makes them no better than the men they guard. While the undead begin to take over his corner of Virginia, he must help bring his family together, whatever the cost. He must keep them alive and safe - or die trying.

Guest Post - JL Koszarek #WinterofZombie 2015

Guest Post: JL Koszarek #WinterofZombie

 NOVEMBER 11, 2015 BY ARMAND ROSAMILIA

Literary Zombies

By J.L. Koszarek

Not having a Bram Stoker or Mary Shelley, or even an Anne Rice for leverage, writing about zombies is a unique and liberating challenge. While there are many films about zombies beginning nearly 100 years ago with The White Zombie starring Bela Lugosi, there is no literary genesis for zombies, no poems, no short stories, no tragic love stories or sonnets. Zombies have been left for literary dead.

Dracula and Frankenstein, and even Vampire Lestat were not soulless. They felt emotion, pined for those in the living world, even Dr. Frankenstein’s monster was painfully self-aware if not through the doctor’s suffering. They knew they were monsters undeserving of love. Each of them terrible victims of the tragedy of self-loathing, a rich inner conflict deserving of dramatic literary and metaphoric fame. Tragic. Romantic. Memorable.

While resurrection stories appear throughout history from the epic tale of Gilgamesh and others in Greek mythology to even Biblical mythology with the story of Lazarus, zombies don’t appear in classic western literature. Writing about them within the constructs of the 18th and 19th centuries was probably nearly impossible. The literary challenges were insurmountable because to write about the zombie, given the times, would be a fruitless attempt to tell a story about the resurrection of the truly soulless. Our soul, or as I prefer, consciousness is the center of everything dramatic, everything within us that drives our emotions, decisions, behaviors, all elements required for an interesting literary plot. The 19th century author was not aware of the concept of a zombie and even if she were, she would lack consideration for something the world assumed had no soul. Even the story of Lazarus is sketchy regarding his soul. Once Jesus calls him forth from the tomb, he remains nameless and eventually fades from recognition.

Zombies were not conceptualized as “walking dead” by the Haitians because the people who became zombies never died. They were wretched victims of a vengeful diabolist who rendered them powerless through his knowledge of chemistry. Even in death, the poor victim was unable to find freedom from the slavery of the day. In the 1930’s Zora Neale Hurst wrote about the Haitian zombie rituals, which exemplified the human struggle for liberation (Haitians viewed death as the ultimate liberation from the harsh realities of life) versus dark magic centering on power over others. Herein we see for the first time that zombies never died, but rather they were living, breathing human beings captured by voodoo priests and enslaved as an act of revenge.

The voodoo priest made a powerful poison powder from a litany of burned and dried organic ingredients including but not limited to human remains, lizards, spiders, worms, and frogs, but every variation of the powder included puffer fish, a known neurotoxin. The clever priest, knowing his chemistry would dispense just the right amount of his coup padre to render the victim comatose, a state in which the victim’s heart beat and respiration would be undetectable given the technology of the day. In truth, he would be very much alive, and sometimes even conscious, but unable to physically or verbally protest his funeral rites and burial after which the priest would exhume him from the grave, give him more hallucinogenic chemicals, beat him, enslave him, and declare that he has risen from the dead as a soulless creature. The Zombification Ritual, such an agonizing plot for revenge not only on the victim, but his entire family.

Herein, I believe the challenges for today’s zombie literati aren’t so overwhelming. Writing about a nonconscious being is akin to writing about a rock, except a rock isn’t animated like a zombie! Zombies open the door for hundreds of questions. How can this be? Why is it here? Where did it come from? What is it doing and why? Is it aware? Does it remember? Is it cognizant of its surroundings? Now, we’re getting somewhere.

The leverage today’s writer of the zombie genre has is unprecedented. There is no historical standard to which authors must aspire, zombie varietals are ripe for their own imagination. This is liberating, but with serious caveats. Popular culture is much more demanding than history. Much in the way of anxiety creeps into my heart when I imagine my readers disliking my zombies. With Thad David’s valuable input, he and I have embraced the neozombie virulent variety. It metamorphoses in seconds, it’s fast, violent, and seemingly lacking consciousness. It does not so much consume its victim, but rather spreads its virus. For this writer, this type of behavior indicates some kind of consciousness or collective awareness, a not so far cry from the original zombies of Haitian lore, except for the catatonic slave scenario.

Instead of metaphysical black magic and voodoo, today’s zombies have fallen victim to a mysterious virus with as yet unknown origins that deems them mindless, driven only by the primal nature that a virus has to replicate itself. So, even the zombie has a will to survive. It evolves in a dynamic world filled with adversity and yet, as in Haitian lore, the zombie is the still the loser in the ever ending struggle for power, the ultimate victim of a hostile natural world, which brings us to what zombies have come to symbolize. Do they remain the ultimate symbol of revenge, the powerlessness of the human condition? I think so, but this begs the question, then within whom or what does the vengeful heart reside? There are no voodoo priests, no more colonial planter class slavers or European colonists from which the poor person of color struggles to be freed.

What do we wish to be freed from? What condition renders us powerless? Who are the powerful and why? What about our conscious lives? What does freedom mean? Is there even such a thing? If so, how do we achieve it? Can it be experienced in the framework of our minds? What does it mean to die? What does it mean to love? These are the fertile challenges for today’s zombie literati.

The world is our oyster.

*   *   *   *   *

The stench of frozen flesh is in the air! Welcome to the Winter of Zombie Blog Tour 2015, with 40+ of the best zombie authors spreading the disease in the month of November.

Stop by the event page on Facebook so you don’t miss an interview, guest post or teaser…and pick up some great swag as well!

Giveaways galore from most of the authors as well as interaction with them!

#WinterofZombie is the hashtag for Twitter, too!