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Today at Winter of Zombie camp, is the very suspicious camp counselor, one Nerys Wheatley. She keeps telling the kids all these graphic, creepy stories that are far too detailed to be something she made up off the top of her head. What I think is that she is the maniac murderer of Winter of Zombie camp.
Of course, being the first one to suspect that means my time in this movie is coming to an end soon. I only hope I can provide the first key clue as to Ms. Wheatley's true nature to the protagonist before my ultimate demise. So read the interview and get clued in so you can be the hero at the end of the day!
The
Blogshit: Let’s cut to the chase, what are
you promoting for the Winter of Zombie?
Nerys Wheatley: I’m
promoting “Mutation“, book 1 in my “Twenty-Five Percent” series, a
zombie/action/thriller with scares, tension, and a few laughs.
After
thirteen years, the world has learned to deal with the virus that turns people
into mindless flesh-eaters. There’s even a cure, although those who come through the disease
are physically changed and Survivors, like police detective Alex MacCallum, are
often feared and hated. When a new, much worse strain of the virus causes a
sudden, massive outbreak, Alex is forced to join with Micah, an anti-Survivor
activist who hates him. Surrounded by hordes of eaters, the two enemies
struggle to stay alive and find the cause of this new, and possibly not
entirely natural, strain of the deadliest virus on earth.
The Blogshit: It’s rarely ever talked about, but how do you envision the
outcome of the zombie world you have created? Is there hope? Will humanity
succumb to the new world order? What is the outcome of all this horrible zombie
business?
Nerys Wheatley: There’s always
hope! My scenario is a little different
in that the outbreak is localised and contained to one city. The virus has
already been around for thirteen years so they know what it does. What they don’t know
is that this is a new strain and not so easy to deal with and the authorities
seriously underestimate the danger. As things stand now, the situation is grim,
but my heroes will fight to stop the outbreak somehow. Whether or not they
succeed has yet to be revealed (and I haven’t written it yet!).
The Blogshit: As a writer of zombie fiction, do you feel you can sustain your
career writing about zombies only or do you feel you will need to write outside
the sub-genre to continue? What avenues will you branch out to if you do feel a
need to expand?
Nerys Wheatley: I’m
currently writing book three in the series and there will most probably be more
in the future, but I won’t write another, separate, zombie series. It’s not a
case of sustaining my career, it’s more that I enjoy all different genres and I want to write
them too! I can’t
stay in one place. Too many ideas! I have plans for future science fiction
novels and I can see myself going into other genres too. I hope those that
enjoy my zombie books will also enjoy them.
Being an author is kind of like being the Doctor, being able to travel
anywhere, anytime, and into any story. It’s exciting!
The Blogshit: What is more important to the story: A sympathetic human survivor or
a zombie with an interesting storyline?
Nerys Wheatley: Well,
in the best books you would get both! But if I have to chose, it would be the
human survivor. An interesting, likeable lead character for the reader to root
for is always what I want in the books I read.
Without that I tend to lose interest. I want someone I can take the
journey with, experience things through their eyes and want them to succeed.
Those are the kind of characters I try to write. Although in Mutation I kind of
have both in that my ’zombies’ (called eaters) are not your typical walking dead (they’re not
dead, for a start!) and my lead character was formally infected and cured. So I
have a sympathetic human survivor AND zombie with an interesting storyline all
in one person!
The Blogshit: For you, who are the most important writers in zombie fiction at this
moment?
Nerys Wheatley: This
is difficult for me to answer as, to be honest, I don’t read that much zombie
fiction! Should I admit that? I read more when I wasn’t writing it, but there’s
something about writing the genre that makes me move away from it a little.
Kind of like taking your work home with you! So as far as important goes, there
are other people who can and I’m sure will answer that better than I can.
However,
ask me what I think is important to zombie fiction as a whole and I would say
more originality. I’ve
had several reviews for Mutation that comment on how different it is from the
other zombie stories out there and how refreshing it is to have something new.
I’ve
also heard many people say they are over the whole zombie genre because it
seems to them like it is becoming all the same. It doesn’t have
to be that way. There are always new stories to be told, and I know there are
new zombies to create! Undead innovation, we can do it!
The Blogshit: Is there room for sex in the zombie apocalypse?
Nerys Wheatley: Unless
the human race is going to die out, there had better be! Are we talking
human/human? Human/zombie? Zombie/zombie? Or, in a twist, zombie/werewolf? I’m not
here to judge. Whatever floats your boat!
The Blogshit: How
much consideration do you give to the seasons in your zombie stories?
Nerys Wheatley: My
series so far only takes place over less than a (very action-packed) early
autumn month so so far I haven’t had to!
The Blogshit: Our final question always revolves around zombie themed food. This
Winter of Zombie, Books, Beer and BLOGshit wants you to consider setting up a
food truck to cater to a zombie clientele. What would you name your Zombie Food
Truck?
Nerys Wheatley: My
very upmarket zombie food truck would
be:
THE
GOURMET STIFF
Tired
of eating raw brains day in day out? Want something tasty and new to munch on,
but can‘t
quite shake a penchant for the grey matter? Try our new menu, for discerning
zombies who like something a little bit different. From marinated medulla
oblongata with a spinal fluid and parsley sauce, to fricasseed frontal lobe
topped with spiced kidney wedges, we cater for all your undead culinary
desires.
With
covered seating area and full dessert menu.
Nerys Wheatley on the Web: http://neryswheatley.com/
Nerys Wheatley on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Nerys-Wheatley/e/B00X6FP2KO/
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