The idea for GD came from when I was in a hotel channel surfing, and I stopped to watch a newsmagazine program about violence in schools. basically, kids were having fights or engaging in random acts of violence just so they could film it and put the clips on YouTube. The show ran a few of those clips and I was horrified. I started thinking about all the reasons why a kid would and could hurt another kid, and for some reason as I was thinking this the thought that if zombies existed, they would be the most persecuted kids in the school. I started to wonder what they would do if a zombie tried to take a living girl to the prom!
How has writing Generation Dead and Kiss of Life and learning more about the lives of your "differently biotic" characters shaped your thoughts about death and life in general?
Writing about the characters and what they are trying to do, as well as what they've gone through, constantly forces me to examine life as a transient state of existence. Our time here on this planet is temporary and life--everyone's life--is precious. It makes me constantly aware of what kind of life I want to lead and what I want to leave behind when I'm gone.
So far this is the second Generation Dead novel, but the story seems far from being over. How many more books do you think you'll write in the series?
The story is far from over. I'm anticipating at least five books plus a book of short stories. We'll see.
What about future projects? What evil plans have you been making?
Evil plans? I'm one of the good guys. I've got a few other projects I'd like to unleash on the world when the time is right.
Along with your personal blog you run mysocalleddeath based off of the site that your character Tommy runs, what kind of things do you post there?
Tommy posts news items of interest to the zombie community, updates on his friends, and pieces of his general philosophy. Every so often Karen or Phoebe will post as well. The "zombie meme" they created is pretty popular.
Have you ever thought of making a play list of music that Phoebe and Tommy would listen too?
Well, Tommy isn't quite the music nut that Phoebe is. She has a playlist but it is about a hundred songs long and counting.
(Actually, Dan posted a link on his log a while after doing the interview about this question, and gives us a link to an interview he did at Largehearted Boy giving us some songs from his writing playlists!
Also he just recently did a blog about some groups Phoebe would <3 here!
What's you're writing process like? Is there sweets involved?
Haphazard and ever evolving. I drink a lot of (very sweet) coffee and diet cola.
What were some of the books you were required to read in school? Did you enjoy any of them? If so, which ones?
Hm. High school, you mean? I seem to remember reading The Scarlet Letter, Hard Times, Frankenstein, various Greek myths, Persuasion, Wuthering Heights, Of Mice and Men, The Sun Also Rises, The House of the Seven Gables, Dubliners, Walden, lots of Shakespeare. Maybe I dreamt it all. I enjoyed them all but some more than others.
What's the most recent book you've read and LOVED?
The Gum Thief by Douglas Coupland, and Palomar by Gilbert Hernandez, which is a huge graphic novel that collects all the Palomar stories he did in Love and Rockets.
Finish this sentence.... "I am the biggest fan of....?"
The cosmic all.
Thanks Daniel for the week, and can't wait for the next book!
2 comments:
Great interview! It's great to read more about authors and your questions were fun and original! :)
Thanks so much Em! I'm glad you liked it! :)
Post a Comment