What's a zombie fan to do in the down time between Walking Dead seasons? Summer of Zombies tour! It's that time of year again when the zombies come out to play. I mean zombie authors, of course. I've got a guest blog today from zombie author, Kirk Allmond. So sit back, relax, and get your zombie (author) on.
The Trouble With Writing Yourself.
Kirk Allmond
When I first started writing, someone said “Write what you
know.” So when I started What Zombies Fear, I took that
advice very literally. I wrote
myself. I maintain the world’s largest
zombie preparedness website (ZombiePreparedness.org). I’m a prepper. I have a bug out bag, and a zombie apocalypse
plan. I drive a 4wd truck even though I
live in the city, the whole nine yards.
My first name starts with V (Kirk is my middle name). So I chose the name Victor for my main
character. My plan is to leave my
home-town of York, PA and head to my family home in Virginia. So when my fictional zombie apocalypse hit,
Victor loaded his son Max (My son’s name is Jack) and his wife Candi (Jack’s
mother’s name is Sandi) into his silver Toyota 4Runner, just like mine. They headed south down a road I know like the
back of my hand, because I drive that road at least every six weeks to go visit
my mother.
Along the way, Victor’s wife Candi dies. (And I got a
divorce). He meets two Australian
friends John and Leo (My two friends John and Leo help me out at The Zombie
Preparedness Initiative, and were my beta-readers.)
At some point, Victor gets to his mother’s house. If you’ve read the book, you’ll recognize the
house immediately if you go to my mother’s Bed and Breakfast website, www.meander.net.
I finished the first book, and looking back through it, I
realized the problem with writing one’s self as a hero, especially when one is
as egotistical as I am. (Okay, fine. I
didn’t realize it, my lovely co-author Laura Bretz pointed it out.)
I never added any foibles to Victor. He was perfect. He always made the right decisions,
everything always worked out for him. He
didn’t have to grow, change, or become “better.” He was (Just like me) the perfect hero. I literally had to go back through it while
editing and add in some bad decisions.
Luckily for all of us, Laura is happy to point out my own foibles, and
then transfer them to Victor.
That was also about the time that we started writing the
second book in the series, and that’s when things started to go wrong for
Victor. Through books 2, 3, and 4,
things gradually get worse, and although there are some successes, Victor
continues to come apart under the stress.
He makes mistakes. He drops the
ball. He mistreats his friends, all in
the name of making the world safe for his son.
It wasn’t until the middle of the 5th book that I realized
that Victor was no longer anything like me.
Or the man I hope I would be if I was in his situation. I knew I was going to wrap the series after
the 6th book, and so began Victor’s journey towards salvation.
The entire series of books is about a man who loses himself
in a quest, loses sight of the things that are really important, because he
loves his son so much he’s willing to do whatever it takes to keep him
safe. I’m not sure if I would follow the
same path as Victor, but I can tell you one thing. Everything Victor has done and will do, I
would do to keep my own son happy.
I hope that you’ll give it a read. What Zombies Fear isn’t your typical zombie
story; it’s much more about the man and his son than the zombies. And the zombies aren’t your typical
zombies. Sure, there are the rotting
shamblers we all know and love. But some
of them are clever. And some of them are
fast. And they all want to eat you.
About Kirk
Allmond:Kirk Allmond's first book, "What Zombies Fear: A Father's Quest" won no awards, but his mother thinks it’s pretty awesome and he's very confident you will too.
The
6th and final book in the bestselling What Zombies Fear series "The
Incarnation" will be published late summer 2013.
Books in the What Zombies Fear Series:
1. A Father's Quest
2. The Maxists
3. The Gathering
4. Fracture
5. Declaration of War
6. The Incarnation
Books in the What Zombies Fear Series:
1. A Father's Quest
2. The Maxists
3. The Gathering
4. Fracture
5. Declaration of War
6. The Incarnation
The
Farmer's Daughter is a short story set during the time period
"skipped" over in book 5. These will eventually be an entire series
of short stories called "Victor Tookes Adventures."
In
addition, Kirk Allmond and Laura Bretz also write a monthly serial called Will
of the Dead.
Kirk
enjoys writing zombie novels and also administers a zombie preparedness website,
www.zombiepreparedness.org. The sites goal is to teach any who'll listen how to
survive the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can find him on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/whatzombiesfear.
Kirk has been featured on major market radio programs as an expert in zombie survival. He has spoken at numerous conventions and consulted on two zombie themed motion pictures.
Kirk has been featured on major market radio programs as an expert in zombie survival. He has spoken at numerous conventions and consulted on two zombie themed motion pictures.
The
in Michigan born writer holds firmly to the southern roots of his family. He
grew up in Chicago IL Roswell , GA.
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Join Kirk Allmond and Eight other Zombie authors during the
Summer of Zombie Blog Tour 2013, going on all of June. Visit the Facebook event
page for more information, too! 