Killing Them Softly by Guest Shawn Chesser
With summer a distant memory another tour of the undead has reared its head our way. By this I mean Winter of Zombie Tour, of course, Darkness Dwells is proud to be one of the bloggers to share a guest spot or two as we did last summer. Today, I’m excited to present to you our guest for the Winter of Zombie Tour, Shawn Chesser, author of the Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse series.
So, without further adieu, I present to you Shawn Chesser:
Killing Them Softly
By Shawn Chesser
I have been asked more times than I care to count: “When will I end it?” The truth is, although I keep saying the story will write its own ending, I don’t want my ‘Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse’ series of books to end. And whenever the prospect is raised I wonder what I’m going to miss if I do pull the plug. Have I thrown enough obstacles in Raven’s path so that she will be able to survive on her own in the cruel world I’ve conceived? Will Cade and Brook grow old together or will the Zs eventually get one, or, heaven forbid, both of them? Wow! I can’t believe I imagined those scenarios let alone put them down in writing. Raven an orphan? Uh-oh … it looks like I just cracked that door open. During my STZA series’ soon to be eight title run I’ve grown to love these characters like family and with each new chapter in the story it’s become exponentially harder to off them. So if I ever do squeeze through the door and cross the threshold, I’ve got to admit, it’s going to be kicking and screaming.
Hell, I’m second guessing myself right now after having recently killed off another character in my new novel ‘Ghosts: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse. And just the act of writing this is unnerving knowing how many more of them are going to meet their maker before all is said and done. Believe it or not this much handwringing didn’t used to precede me deciding who lived and died. In my first book, Trudge, I started off with a bang—literally—leaving leaking bodies littering the western United Stares from Portland to Boise. I’m not bragging, though. I’m nowhere near the reaper that Mr. George R.R. Martin is, but it is safe to say that the slow shambling Romero-esque zombies that populate my universe do not go long between meals. In fact a reader recently noted that I cultivate my secondary and ancillary characters to a degree that sniffing out my version of Star Trek’s ‘Red Shirts‘ has proven difficult. I thought about that and came to the conclusion that I bring them to life on the page with every intention of letting them, as my series title suggests, survive the zombie apocalypse. But sadly they cannot and I’ve found that introducing new and likable characters and then not letting them draw another breath after chapter’s end has its own set of problems. Because, like me, readers become attached and when one of their favorites goes to the big dirt sleep I get an ear full.
Another reason I loathe the idea of this wild ride ending is that I’ve grown to like living vicariously through these figments of my overactive imagination. After all, where else can I fly a secret stealth helicopter, or lead a team of Delta operators through a building full of zombies, but in my head?
Overall I think the one perk of being master over my own universe that I’m going to miss the most when it’s finally over is being able to slip into Charles Bronson mode at will and devise devilish new ways to give the bad guys what they deserve.
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The stench of frozen rotted meat is in the air! Welcome to the Winter of Zombie Blog Tour 2014, with 10 of the best zombie authors spreading the disease in the month of November.
Stop by the event page on Facebook so you don’t miss an interview, guest post or teaser… and pick up some great swag as well! Giveaways galore from most of the authors as well as interaction with them! #WinterZombie2014
https://www.facebook.com/events/1524813084430035/?ref_notif_type=plan_user_joined&source=1
AND so you don’t miss any of the posts in November, here’s the complete list, updated daily:
Darkness Dwells 