Monday, June 2, 2014

Summer of Zombie Blog Tour 2014: Stevie Kopas

You're reading Books, Beer and BLOGshit! It's the only blog willing to host zombies a second time around! I am your blog host, Mr. Frank!

The Summer of Zombie Blog Tour returns to The BLOGshit this year with a bevy of writers. Armand Rosamilia has put together the largest tour to date with over thirty zombie authors. This is the third annual gathering of zombie writers and the second year the blog shit is a venue for this collection of writers.

We problably won't get the all, but we will get a sizeable chunk of them.

Over the past year, we've noticed a big uptick in female writers tackling the zombie genre. With that in mind, we'd like to kick off our leg of the Summer of Zombie Blog Tour with Stevie Kopas. Not only is she a zombie writer but also a hometown girl, born and raised in Books, Beer and BLOGshit's neck-of -the-woods, New Jersey!



Books, Beer and BLOGshit:  Are you a survivor or one of the undead?

Stevie Kopas:  I’m a hybrid carrier.

The Blogshit:  What is your latest piece of zombie fiction we should be concerning ourselves with?

Stevie Kopas:  The name of the book is “Haven” and it’s the follow up to “The Breadwinner.” It picks up right where the last book left us, brings new characters, new evil, new dangers, more death. It all takes place on the beautiful gulf coast of Florida.

The Blogshit:  Do you feel you are a classic or progressive type of zombie fiction writer?

Stevie Kopas:  I think it’s a mixture of both to be honest. You have your typical zombie apocalypse tropes, but I don’t believe in following guidelines so the books run out of chronological order, the good guys are sometimes the bad guys and the zombies are fast, slow, thin, fat, young, old…I don’t judge.



The Blogshit:  What makes your zombies different from all others?

Stevie Kopas:  They’re not called zombies…they’re called eaters.

The Blogshit:  What makes your living different from all the others?

Stevie Kopas:  They’re real people. Nobody is a hero, nobody knows what they’re doing and they all realize they’re all f**ked if they don’t figure out what to do quickly.

The Blogshit:  Do you think it's important, in this climate, to run with the pack or really try to reinvent the wheel in zombie fiction?

Stevie Kopas:  You want something fresh in your writing, but you also want to look at the fresh bits and see what’s already working well throughout your genre and keep it working well in your own way.

The Blogshit:  Zombie fiction seems heavily dependent upon working within the construct of a series. Do you feel that is the way that makes it work best for you or do you think there is still room for stand-alone stories?

Stevie Kopas:  Either way. If you’ve got a solid concept that you can run with and drag it out without making it boring or repetitive, then a series is born and people will want more of it. But there are really great ideas that are born and kept to one book and I agree with an author’s choice to keep it to a stand-alone work because some stuff gets drawn out and loses its creativity along the way. I’ve read many single stories that ended perfectly and the necessity for continuation was non-existent.

The Blogshit:  Are you ever afraid of being pigeon-holed in this zombie fiction genre?

Stevie Kopas:  No, not at all. I love the genre and once I’m done with The Breadwinner Trilogy, I do plan on writing another zombie novel, but my future works that I have in mind after that have nothing to do with zombies at all. I can see myself getting stuck in PA fiction or forever known as a PA Fiction author, but there are a whoooooole lotta different ways to end the world. I can’t wait to explore other aspects of the apocalypse.

The Blogshit:  For your next zombie story, stand alone or series, do you think you will need to go sicker or smarter to keep it going?

Stevie Kopas:  Sicker, smarter, and funnier. My next book is going to be a horror/comedy…but more on the comedy side, kind of like the lighter side of the zombie apocalypse, but it’s definitely going to have its gory and shocking moments, so I’ve gotta keep the horror label on it.


The Blogshit:  On last year's tour, we asked about what to put on your zombie sandwich. This year, we want to know: What special ingredients would you use to pickle the pickles on your zombie sandwich?

Stevie Kopas:  I wish you would have asked me about how I make my apocalypse tacos instead….I hate pickles almost more than anything on the planet. So if I had my own chance at “pickling” something, I suppose I would not use vinegar in any fashion, but instead I’d soak some pickles in grain alcohol and then…who am I kidding? I’d just drink the booze and eat the sandwich at midnight.



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Stevie Kopas:


Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/steviekopas


Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Stevie-Kopas/e/B00EX6VU3S/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1401662622&sr=8-2-ent

The Breadwinner Trilogy: http://someonereadthis.com/

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