Evening there folks!  Tonight is the night I dazzle you with answers to questions I know have been burning in your skulls.  I too, have now been tagged in “The Next Big Thing” bit of author pimping and I am here to show you around the dark recesses of my filthy and blood soaked mind.    So without further delay, I give you…my answers!

What is the working title of your book?

I have a couple of projects going on right now, so I am going to go with “Southern Devils”

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I have a degree in history and I really wanted to make myself feel better about it and put it to good use.  What good use?  Well, I decided to write about how a voodoo resurrected Stonewall Jackson was sent to fight General Sherman in the South during the Civil War.  I wanted zombies that were a little different and these are purely revenge driven and either once they are killed by a head injury or once the mission they were brought back for is completed, they return to the dust where they came from.  Once I got into it, the problem gets out of hand.  The story arc did the same thing and went from the plots for a single novella to a novella trilogy and then a full novel to deal with the trilogy’s aftermath.

What genre does your book fall under?

Historical fiction that leans heavy on the horror side of things.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

The main cast would be:

General Sherman- Brian Cranston

General Jackson- Sam Worthington

Lt. Mark Duvall- Matt Damon

Dunn- Jason Statham

Hettie- Naomi Harris

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Seeking the ultimate revenge, the resurrected General Stonewall Jackson is sent by Robert E. Lee to hunt down General William Tecumseh Sherman as he embarks on a mission to bring the rebellion in the south to its knees.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I want it to be released from a press and not self-published.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

It has taken quite some time.  Between the research involved and the constant shifting of the tale’s scope, its been hard to finish.  I would say it has taken a year to get to the end of the first book.  The short story “Stonewall”, where the whole saga kicks off, should be out before too much longer from KnightWatch Press in their The Blue, the Grey, and the Scarlet anthology of Civil War horror stories.  The rest of the trilogy should go quickly, but then I’m finishing my first White Creek novel before beginning the ending novel Reconstruction of the Dead.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

As far as something that is a history/zombie mash-up I would say Stant Litore’s The Zombie Biblebooks.  They are a great mash-up of the bible and the zombies we all know and love.  For a look at his work I direct you to go to this little linky here.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

I was inspired by the muse that has taken over my life the last two years, Wesley Southard who pulled me back in, and for the words from Brian Keene when I needed them the most at my first public reading (having him pull a lighter out and wave it back and forth during the end is still one of the best feelings I’ve had since I began writing seriously).

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Funny you should ask that!  Why if you turn to the sidebar and find the Biblio page link, it will take you the complete list of all my work out there.  I’ve been in or have stuff coming out in over 15 books (some are unannounced and not on the list yet) as well as my first novella In Memoriam.

Well, that does it for me! 

There have been some issues with rounding up the next victims.  I’ll get some links up in the next few days so you can go learn about some more great authors.

Goodnight…