Monday, June 3, 2013

Summer of Zombie Blog Tour - TW Brown

You're reading Books, Beer and Blogshit! It's the only blog that keeps Todd Brown and Armand Rosamilia battling over most appearances on a single internet venue. We are your bloggers Mr. Frank and Mr. Jeff.

Welcome back to the Summer of Zombie Blog Tour 2013. This time around we are playing by the rules and with good reason. We are taking author TW Brown to task and being a two time veteran of the Books, Beer and Bullshit Podcast, we know that Todd holds back no punches. TW Brown is nothing if not brutally honest and it shows in his answers to our nine questions.

TW Brown has appeared twice on the Books, Beer and Bullshit Podcast (much to Armand Rosamilia's chagrin.) He is featured in both Episode 7 and Episode 16 of the podcast. Have a listen after you read his interview here.

So we present to you, TW Brown taking on the Books, Beer and Blogshit Summer of Zombie Interview. It's in your face!


The Blogshit: Which of your books do we need to be talking about now and what is inside the pages to get excited about it?



TW Brown: My newest release, May 30th, is Dead: Confrontation, the sixth book in the DEAD series (however, the fifth Zomblog, Zomblog: Snoe’s War is out late June so…). I think it is the best one yet and it really does finally give the reader a chance to catch their breath. This was the longest entry of the series and is almost big enough in paperback format to be used as a weapon if the zombie apocalypse does kick off…so it has multiple uses.

As for what is inside, Steve’s continuing story, the Geeks, and all the Vignettes. A few of the story lines come to their end for better or worse…and I have a character named George Rosamilia…so that’s fun.



The Blogshit: What is it about zombies that keep you writing in this genre?



TW Brown: I think you can write a good zombie story that goes beyond a bunch of people being torn apart. I think it gives you the opportunity to delve into the human psyche and peel some layers like a big onion.



The Blogshit:  With the saturation of zombie fiction in the current market, what do you do to keep your writing fresh and relevant?



TW Brown: Quality. It sounds brash, but the reality is that there is a lot of stuff out there…I like to give the zombie fan a bit more credit than so many people seem to think they deserve. I think lovers of the genre are ready for some meaty stuff with intricate storylines and a cast of characters that rival some of the classics in horror like The Stand. They want character growth and development…and fallibility.



The Blogshit: What makes your zombies stand apart from all the others?



TW Brown: Well, there are the “cry-baby” zombies…I think that I was one of the earlier people who toyed with the idea of immunity. The bite is not a death sentence and that allows for me to play with some of the emotional aspects.



The Blogshit:  Do you write (or plan to write) outside the zombie genre?


TW Brown: I do. I actually started outside the genre with my time travel-ish story, Dakota. In addition, I just released my first full-length story in the horror/comedy series That Ghoul Ava and The Queen of the Zombies.



The Blogshit:  Do you think the mega hype around the movie adaptation of World War Z will have a positive or negative effect on the zombie fiction scene?


TW Brown: That will depend on if the movie turns out to be another Ishtar. If it is done well, whether it sticks to the actual book or not is irrelevant, then t will be a nice little bump.



The Blogshit:  Is there a need for attrition in the zombie fiction market?


TW Brown: I think there already is. I've seen a few names drop by the wayside. Too many thought that this was a quick ticket to fame and fortune. Like so many other people who think lottery tickets are a sound retirement savings strategy, they just did not get the big picture. Contrary to what many people believe, this is actually work. In fact, I spend more hours at work now than I ever did when I was an office jock. The get-rich-quick folks are scurrying back to the safety of their “real” jobs now that they understand this is kinda hard.



The Blogshit: What do you see in the future of zombies, both on the page and off?


TW Brown: I think it has gone past the “fad” stage and is fully entrenched in mainstream like never before. This has the added benefit of bringing more people in to take a look. Also, with graphic novels and the cable channels all coming on line, I think a few guys will hit that “winning lottery ticket”. And if I had to name names, I would say John O’Brien and Mark Tufo are leading candidates. Tufo has Spike TV written all over his Talbot story



The Blogshit:  We are building a menu for a fictional sandwich shop. Typically we ask what to put on the namesake of your sandwich. For the Summer of Zombie Blog Tour we are going to set aside a special menu sub-section so: What do we put on your zombiefied sandwich?



TW Brown: Bacon, salami, pepperoni, ham, swiss cheese, wasabi mustard, red onions, tomato, and avocado.






There it is folks, TW Brown sugar coats nothing and we love that about him. Check out TW Brown's Zomblog and DEAD series. Both are solid franchises in the realm of zombies. Before we go we would like to give you a bit more info on TW Brown and all the places you can find him. Once again, like most if not all of the authors on the tour, Todd is very approachable in social media so don't hesitate to follow, like and comment with him on Facebook, Twitter and his blog.




Todd (TW) Brown is the author of the DEAD series and the Zomblog series. He is also the editor for May December Publications with numerous anthologies to his credit as well as the full length works of authors such as Mark Tufo, John O' Brien, Chantal Boudreau, Robert Dean, and Bennie Newsome.

You can begin your search of his available titles here:
http://www.amazon.com/TW-Brown/e/B00363NQI6 or get even more in tune by visiting his blog: http://twbrown.blogspot.com/

5 comments:

  1. It would be tough to sugar coat anything with blogshit. Thus, Todd is doing a great job. Great post!

    Also, what a great name for a blog!

    Blaze

    ReplyDelete
  2. These guys are a blast. I always dig when I get to hang with them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's always a pleasure to have Todd on our podcast and an honor to spotlight him on our new blog.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great blog. Getting behind on books of these authors I want to read but means I have lots to look forward to. Found TW Brown first and his books led me to others in this genre. Keep up the good work Todd. I really enjoyed reading this blog.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow, great blog. I shouldn't be surprised though, I found the link on Mark Tufo's fb page and a friend of Tufo's has to be quite a character himself. I liked your answers and am so happy you talked about stereotype attached to the zombie fiction scene. I will definitely check out your work.

    ReplyDelete