First off, let’s talk
about that wild zombie/cannibal situation in Florida a few days back. Naturally, as I imagine most of ya’ll did, I
reserved judgement until all the facts were in. But did you have a moment where you thought, “Holy crap. It’s going down,” when you heard about it?
Mark Tufo: I'll probably end up being like most people and
think, 'Naw that shit isn't happening!' For maybe the briefest of seconds I
thought possibly, yet no matter how unrealistic I think a zombie apocalypse is
going to happen, I'm still preparing. As long as I'm not the first zombie or
victim I'll be happy!
Ian Woodhead: I saw all the posts
on Facebook just hours after it had happened. Strange to think that of all the
atrocities that our species do to each other on a daily basis, that was the one
that went viral.
Did I think it was going down? To be honest? It didn’t cross
my mind, I just felt for the poor bastard and his family who had to undergo
such a traumatic experience. Yes, I did do an image search, looking for the
guy’s mutilated face. For research purposes only, you understand. (Honest)
ZBF.com - Everybody’s got their
favorite weapon for the zpoc. Everybody’s
going to have water and other supplies.
But let's talk about what many (including myself) would also like to
include in their supplies: BEER. What would be your beer of choice for the
zombie apocalypse?
MT: True beer aficionados would look at my list and turn
their noses up at me. Right now my first choice would be Molson Canadian
followed closely by Rolling Rock. Want to know what my REAL favorite is though?
It's free beer followed even closer by cold.
IW: Beer? Oh yeah, I’d have beer.
I’m currently enjoying a brands. McEwen’s Champion, a dark ale of 7.3% and a
double strength IPA of 9.6%
ZBF.com - Let’s jump to the big
six questions:
In your opinion, what
are some key elements that make up a good zombie horror story?
MT: Suspense, I love that good hanging on the edge of your
seat, have no idea what is going to happen next feeling, whether from a book or
a movie. Also I know you have to suspend some believability when dealing with
this subject but I don't like stories where out of the blue the fantastical
happens. 'Tom and his gang were surrounded by zombies, the end was in sight,
but oh no what is that in the sky? It is a meteor that has wiped out all of our
enemies! How fortuitous! That kind of things shows laziness on the part of the
storyteller.
IW: So the dead have risen and are
eating the survivors. Yeah, we get that. The survivors won’t stand for this,
they all tool up and get ready to kick some serious zombie arse!
Bollocks.
I focus on how the normal bloke in
the street would react if the zpoc ever happened. Granted, writing about video
game characters have an endless supply of shotgun shells who are also kung fu
experts who ALSO save the day AND get the girl are a lot of fun but not very
realistic.
So, a good supply of ordinary
characters, throw in an exciting plot with plenty of twists, create plenty of
tension between the characters and kill a few of them off. Add some gory deaths
and there you go. Probably.
ZBF.com - What and/or who were
some of your artistic influences?
MT: I've got to bow to the great one, Stephen King. I have
been consistently reading his books since I was probably ten years old. There
are dozens of others, but he would stand above them all.
IW: You can’t beat a constant
supply of metal blaring through those speakers when writing. Be it Power,
death, doom and black. Spliced with Beethoven, Mozart and Strauss, you have a
winning formula.
ZBF.com - If you could add
elements to a zombie movie that you feel could have been better, which movie
would it be and what would you add (or delete)?
MT: I've mostly enjoyed every zombie film I've watched,
obviously some more than others. There have been some with an operating budget
of maybe 24 dollars that maybe shouldn't have been made but that's not my call.
The only thing that is kind of getting my goat at the moment is in The Walking
Dead, I wish Rick would tell his wife and his bratty kid to take a hike. But
that's just me!
IW: I think it would be
interesting to see the original Dawn of the Dead remade, keeping the essential
plot and characters but placed in a modern setting. Keeping our dead
antagonists SLOW!
ZBF.com - What’s your
pick? Zombies, Fights, or Blood?
MT: I like bloody fights with zombies!
IW: Fighting zombies and plenty of
blood!
ZBF.com - Where can readers
find out more about you and your works?
Mark Tufo
Ian Woodhead
* * *
* *
All six of us -
Todd Brown, Mark Tufo, Ian Woodhead, Armand Rosamilia, John O'Brien and Dave
Jeffery - hope you'll keep following us on the Summer of Zombie blog tour, and
comment as we go along.
And… one lucky
commenter for each blog will receive a Free eBook or Print book from one of the
authors! Simply leave a comment with your e-mail address and we'll pick a
random winner each day! Simple as that!
===========
Bowie Ibarra is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuster. His latest zombie book, "The Fall of Austin", was said to "...kick undead ass" by Johnathan Mayberry, New York Times bestselling author. It is available in paperback, Kindle, and other e-reader versions.
Enjoy the blog? Use the 'Facebook', 'Blog', or 'Twitter' button below to share with your friends.
Please leave comments below with your thoughts. I like hearing what others think.
You can network with Bowie and learn about all of his Tex-Mexploitation books at his personal website, ZombieBloodFights.com.
