By Michelle DePaepe: This is
THE NEXT BIG THING, an interview meme that's being passed around the world
among authors. The deal is, each author who participates answers the questions
below, then spurs five of his or her fellow authors to do the same on the following
Wednesday. (At this busy time of year, I did not come up with five more
authors, but I've tagged two.)
1.
What is the working title of your next book?
Eaters: The Resistance
(sequel to Eaters)
2. Where did the idea come from for the
book?
The original Eaters story
came from a nightmare that I had. In the frightening dream, I was holed up in a
building with some other people because there were infected people with bizarre
and violent behavior roaming around outside and digging through garbage cans.
At that point, they hadn't started attacking anyone, so we were staying indoors
just as a precaution. My companion told me, "Don't worry. Get some sleep.
We’ll be safe in here." I thought, no…no…we're
not safe at all. This is just the beginning…
Because there is still an
incredible amount to tell about this story, including explaining the origins of
the virus and revealing the perpetrators of the apocalypse, it continues in
Eaters: The Resistance.
3. What genre does your book fall under?
Horror/Action/Suspense
4. What actors would you choose to play
the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
For the first book, I didn't
have actors in mind, but for this one, I found it necessary to put an actual
face to the number of characters in it. I've got a notebook of little cutouts
of people that I've randomly cherry picked from the Internet. Most of them
aren't famous, but George Clooney fits the image of the Black Hawk helicopter
pilot, Jake Murtz. I would have a lot of fun casting some of the others,
including a macho camacho and a prim philosopher with a fake British accent.
Who could be the perfect Cheryl, beautiful but tough? In her younger days,
Ellen Barkin would have fit the bill. (She is one kickass chick!) Cherlize
Theron is definitely in the running now.
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of
your book?
When Cheryl Malone discovers
that the epidemic that turns people into flesh-eating EATERS was caused by an
organized group bent on world domination, she teams up with a group to
infiltrate them.
6. Will your book be self-published or
represented by an agency?
TBD. Permuted Press has the
first right of refusal, but it's not under contract yet.
7. How long did it take you to write the
first draft of the manuscript?
Still in the works. ETA for
final draft is March 31st.
8. What other books would you compare
this story to within your genre?
If you're a fan of The
Walking Dead or action stories with a strong female protagonist, and aren't
squeamish about blood and violence, you will like Eaters.
9. Who or what inspired you to write
this book?
I've always been a horror fan with a leaning towards the supernatural. I've
done ghosts. I've done vampires…but my zombie nightmare steered me down a
different undead road. I was encouraged to continue the story and turn it into
a series of novels after the success of its initial release as a self-published
novella.
10.
What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?
I try to make the characters in my story as real as possible. In a
post-apocalyptic situation, you're going to have some people freaking out and
others who can remain calm and in control. The emotions and personalities run
the gamut, and it's important to distinguish between them to give each one a
voice. When I hear from readers that they felt so sad about so-and-so dying or
disappearing, I know that I've made the characters real for them, and got them
emotionally involved in the story. If you read Eaters, I hope that the
characters will stick with you long after you've put it down.
