One of the cool things about this Summer of Zombie Blog Tour is meeting new people that I might have missed out on otherwise. James Cook has been off my radar, but, in a show of support and solidarity for the tour, you can bet he just landed on my TBR list. It helps that he is former Navy...and as a former sonarman, I got a lot of love for a fire controlman.
Describe your first zombie “experience”?
Back in 1999,
while I was going through school to be a fire controlman for the Navy, my
roommate fired up an old VCR (yeah, we still had those back then) and popped in
the original George Romero Dawn of the
Dead.
From that moment
on, I was hooked.
In the years
that followed, I always thought it would be fun to write a novel about a zombie
apocalypse. There weren’t many out there back then, and I thought that zombie
fans were an underserved audience. In March of 2011, I finally got off my ass
and started writing. No Easy Hope, my first novel, was the result. People liked
it, asked for more, and I’ve been at it ever since.
Favorite Dawn of the Dead (original) moment? Remake?
For the
original, my favorite part was near the beginning. The newsroom is going
ape-shit. There’s yelling, confusion, the two pundits on the broadcast are
arguing vehemently. The people in the newsroom are trying to get an accurate
listing of rescue stations, but they keep going dark. The mood grows
increasingly desperate until the newsroom employees begin to leave. Their boss
gets flustered and tries to order them all back into their desks. From the cops
stationed in the corners of the set, you get the idea that the cops are keeping
them there against their will to maintain the emergency broadcasts. Finally, as
the newsroom is being abandoned, the boss cries out to a cop stationed in a
hallway to stop his people from leaving. The cop gives him a desultory glance,
grabs his jacket, and leaves. That moment, that crescendo of SHTF fear that
culminates in that little snippet of film, encompasses what has always
fascinated me about post-apocalyptic storytelling. I think the cop abandoning
his post was symbolic. In times of crisis, we look to the authorities to tell
us what to do. To lead us, to protect us, to get the situation under control
and restore order. But in that scene, when that cop gave the news director a
look that said fuck you, buddy, then
grabbed his shit and bolted, that was when you knew things were really bad.
I’ve always wondered if something like that happened in real life, when I
reached that moment where all hope was gone, what would I do? I think that is,
in essence, what people love the most about zombie stories.
As for the
remake, my favourite part was the end. When they reach the island and get
bum-rushed by about a million zombies. It’s the director’s way of throwing a
sword into the audience, a la Russell Crowe in Gladiator, and saying, I know
you care about these people after all this. But you know what? Fuck you. Fuck
every last one of you. This is a horror film bitches, and in horror, the good
guys die screaming. Did you get what you came for? Are you not entertained?
What is the last zombie book you read?
I was lucky
enough to get a beta copy of Victim Zero
by Joshua Guess. It’s not available yet, but it will be soon. I thoroughly
enjoyed it, and I think it is one of the best zombie novels I have ever read. I
think it’s going to do big things. Lots of action, believable characters, a
fast-paced plot that keeps you turning pages. What more could you ask for?
Victim Zero. Josh Guess.
Put it on your to-read list. It’s fantastic.
What makes your story stand out from the
masses?
The characters.
Surviving the Dead is not your typical zombie series. Rather than just being
endless pages of zombie smashing, the story focuses on the two main characters
as they struggle to maintain their humanity in an inhumane world, and to find a
place where they can carve out peaceful lives for themselves. Along the way
they make friends, and enemies, they laugh, they love, they fight, they kill,
and they take damage. Mental, physical, and emotional. They watch people they
care about get hurt and killed. They do things that give them nightmares and
make them doubt the justice of their actions. They are not perfect, and they
make mistakes. I think that’s what has driven the popularity of the series, and
what keeps people interested in the story.
What will you tackle next? (If you are writing
a series, what will you write after the series is over?)
My immediate plans are for an urban fantasy series titled, Jeremiah Cain: Vampire Hunter, and a
traditional fantasy series titled, Gladiator
of Corsryn.
Jeremiah Cain is, in large part, a
response to my general dissatisfaction with the urban fantasy genre. I’m tired
of reading about people falling in love with vampires, and snuggling with
werewolves. Since when are these monsters sympathetic characters? Screw that.
You’re not going to see Cain getting mixed up in that nonsense. As far as he is
concerned, the only good vampire is a dead one. And that same philosophy
applies to anything else that goes bump in the night.
Gladiator of Corsryn is, as stated
above, a more traditional fantasy series. However, don’t expect elves, and
dwarves, and fairies and whatnot. The series was inspired by my love of the old
Robert E. Howard Conan novels. Expect
lots of fighting, killing, crushing of enemies, seeing them driven before you,
and hearing the lamentations of their women.
After that, I may dip my toes into the military or paranormal thriller
waters. Time will tell.
Worst reaction you have received about
your writing?
Oh God, just go
on Amazon and read any one of my bad reviews. According to some people, my work
is complete shit and I have zero talent as an author. I think there are about
sixty thousand or so people out there who would disagree with them, but it’s
not my place to argue. I will say this, however: Just because someone doesn’t
like my work, it doesn’t mean I’m going to stop writing. People can leave all
the bad reviews they want. I’m going to keep doing what I do. There will always
be haters, but for every one of them, there are literally a thousand people who
read my work and liked it. Those are the people I focus on.
And on the flip side, what is the
best…the one that almost embarrassed you it was so effusive?
My best review
was when I gave an advance copy of No Easy Hope, my first novel, to my father
to beta read. Now, what you need to understand about my old man is that he
doesn’t mince words, or spare feelings. If you ask for his honest, unbiased
opinion, even if you are his offspring, this is exactly what you are going to
get. If he thinks something is complete shit, he will tell you that it is
complete shit. In those words.
Thankfully, he
didn’t think it was complete shit. He thought it was pretty good, and told me
that I’m a damn good writer. He sounded surprised. I wasn’t sure how to feel
about that.
Nevertheless, it
was that praise, more than any other, that has spurred me to continue writing.
And I’m glad that I did.
As for
embarrassingly effusive? No such thing, friend. Doesn’t exist. I’m a Libra.
Heap me with praise, I need it.
If
any of your work was to be made into a film, which piece, and who is THE big
star you would love to see in the leading role?
I would love to
see the whole Surviving the Dead series adapted into an HBO series, and I would
cast Chris Hemsworth in the role of Eric Riordan, and Joe Manganiello as
Gabriel Garrett.
What
is the scariest movie you have ever seen?
Event Horizon.
It’s a 1997 sci-fi/horror film written by Philip Eisner. It’s about a spaceship
that enters a black hole (or something), goes to hell (like, actual hell), and
comes back. A team of scientists is sent to retrieve it, but when they get
there, they find that the ship has brought a piece of hell back with it. What
ensues is a ridiculously terrifying psychological gore-fest that fucked me up
for months. I still have nightmares about that shit. Highly recommended, but
not for the faint of heart.
What
is something about you that would surprise your fans?
I don’t read a
lot of zombie fiction. When you write the stuff for a living, you get kind of
burned out on it after a while.
What
is in your “to be read” pile right now?
The Heroes, by Joe Abercrombie; A Serpent’s Tooth, by Craig Johnson; and Abandon, by Blake Crouch.
Links:
I would love for Cook to write more zombie books. He really does a good job!
ReplyDeleteI read the first 2 books in the Surviving the Dead series and thoroughly enjoyed them. I just saw that book 3 is out and it is now on my 'to read' list.
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