by Jack Wallen
Six years ago today, I published I Zombie I. That was my first horror-centric novel (after having written mostly thrillers and the Shero series). I’d held off for years, writing within the horror genre, simply because I wanted to ensure I had chops enough to serve the genre I’d loved for so long. After publishing that book, I wove my craft in and out of the apocalyptic genre, through steampunk, horror, urban fantasy, cyberpunk, YA, paranormal romance, and more—all in the name of improving my skills, expanding my universes, and telling the stories I longed to tell. As I wrote those books, every word, sentence, and paragraph was focused on improving my craft on every conceivable level.
Along the way, I learned a lot of things—some good, some not so good. In the end, however, my process evolved and I have refocused my efforts in ways that better suit my voice, my style, and my needs.
What does that mean for me and the zombie genre? To explain that, you have to understand a particular ebb and flow that undercuts the genre. Let me attempt to explain.
The wayback machine
Before I began to write within the zombie genre, I read every piece of zombie fiction I could get my hands on. During this, I noticed that (like all genres), there were fads that came and went. At one point, what was popular was a literary take. These books offered a glimpse into the undead with a certain flare to the poetic prose. Literary zombie fiction was what I call the “thinking reader’s fiction”. As you might expect, that very quickly gave way to the more traditional horror-centric style of zombie fiction. These books were thick with gore and all the nasty goodies that come along with standard horror fare. When that fad fell to the wayside, the military-esque zombie fiction took center stage. When people grew tired of that, human survival grabbed the attention of the genre’s authors. This flavor of zombie fiction focused on an aspect of the genre readers could immediately relate to. That immediacy gave it serious staying power.
Each of these “flavors” of zombie fiction ebbed and flowed in and out of popularity and, at times, shared the spotlight with one another. The one flavor that seemed to be more regularly relegated to the shadows was the thinking reader’s take on the genre. No matter how hard it tried, Literary zombie fiction had the toughest time remaining relevant.
At this point you can probably see where I’m heading with this subtle bit of confession.
The big confession
I make no bones in hiding the fact that I write in a literary style. It makes sense, as I was weaned on the work of Shakespeare and Clive Barker. It’s what I like to read, it’s what I like to write. It’s my voice, it’s my filter … my take on the world.
Because that style for which I adhere tends to not garner much attention within the zombie realm, I’ve pulled back on writing in the genre. At one point I was writing two to three tales of zombie fiction a year. Once I started realizing literary zombie fiction simply wasn’t popular, I pulled back. I considered shifting my style to meet the other flavors, but quickly realized, no matter how hard I tried, my voice crept in and I couldn’t pull off another style without compromising my craft.
Even coming out of my fingers, that sounds elitist. Trust me, it’s not. It’s the realization … a sort of “come to Muse” conversation all artists have at some point in their career.
Still so much love
Don’t get me wrong, I still love the zombie genre. Not only is it the genre that put me on the map, it’s also the genre that proved to me I finally had the chops to write horror. To that end, I will not give up on the genre. But I do have questions to answer. First and foremost, do I continue the I Zombie series? The next question that comes to mind is a bit more complicated. If I do end the I Zombie series, what next? Do I focus on either the Zombie Radio or Last Casket series? Or do I start something new?
Or is there something completely different and fresh?
That’s the real gold to be mined. It’s also why I’ve been working toward something epic for a very long time. The idea came into being back when I was writing Cry Zombie Cry and was given life while writing “Suicide Machine” (the sequel to “Suicide Station”. The idea is to create a metaverse, where every universe I’ve written collides. That is happening. Because I’ve managed to slowly weave them all together, I will be able to approach the zombie genre in as literary a fashion as I see fit, with the added bonus of viewing it from the perspective of different lenses.
For me, the ebb and flow of writing never fails to do just that. When it ebbs out to sea, I know it’s only a matter of time before it flows back, to give itself a new lease on the undead life.
Finding “fresh” in the rising tide of “same” has become a very daunting task these days. That’s one of the reasons why, more often than not, I tend to lean heavily on my muse … an entity of inspiration that rarely fails the artist. With my muse intact, the ebb and flow of zombie literary fashion isn’t something to fear, but something to embrace.
Find out more about Jack Wallen and his work at www.jackwallen.com.
And check out Middletown 3: Metal Apocalypse along with the other volumes in that anthology series.
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