*Jay checked his watch again as he waited under the bridge for Daniel’s arrival. He could hear the dead wandering over the lanes above his head. Occasionally, one would topple over a railing or through a split in the untended bridge. Usually, the fall took care of its brains. Sometimes he had to sit still and quiet as the creature dragged itself away through the trash and undergrowth.*
Daniel Humphreys: Are you my two o’clock?
*Jay startled and let out a high squeak. He tried to recover, but his voice stayed squeaky.*
Jay Wilburn: I’m, ugh, yeah, I’m fine. I mean, yes, I’m here to talk with you.
Humphreys: Okay, ready when you are.
Wilburn: What’s your latest book?
Humphreys: A Place Called Hope: Book 2 of the Z-Day series.
Wilburn: Tell me about the series.
Humphreys: The zombie apocalypse nears its end, but humanity’s problems haven’t changed. Violence, addiction, and psychological issues were both exacerbated and made more difficult by the ordeal of the last eight years. The choices made now will determine the future of the next generation of humanity—but the next generation of zombie will have something to say about it, as well.
Wilburn: Sounds like a great story, but not exactly the place I’d want to live. Tell me more about this change in your zombies.
Humphreys: My zombies start out as the stereotypical stumbling, shambling corpse, albeit with a few cosmetic differences that tease their eventual evolution. Over time, they become more cunning, harder to kill, and much more dangerous.
Wilburn: What led you to go a different direction with this series?
Humphreys: Many of the books out that I’ve read are primarily set around the outbreak itself. Nothing wrong with that, and I love reading stories about things falling apart like any other fan. But I kept wondering, what comes next? The movies, in particular, always seemed to end just when things were getting interesting. And even the ones that were focused on communities of survivors just weren’t giving me what I was looking for. To put this into context, it’s not really a genre, but there’s something I like to call “stories about people building stuff and fixing things.” The Martian is an example. The books Dies The Fire, Hatchet, and Farnham’s Freehold are also favorites of mine. At the same time, I wondered how our culture would shift and change in a world that’s basically Little House on the Prairie with cannibal monsters. What would the kids be like? I wrote Wild to answer that question for myself, and in a way, to get the earworm out of my mind so I could work on my urban fantasy series. I fully intended it to be a stand-alone work, but I ended up writing the sequel and releasing it late last year, and I’m working on the last book in the (first) trilogy right now. So, a book I fully intended to be one-and-done looks like it will have spawned six by the time I’m done.
Wilburn: Now, it sounds like things are about to go bad for the survivors in the series, but having read and enjoyed the books, there is a lot of positive too. Was that a conscious choice in your writing?
Humphreys: As a horror fan, the genre seems to bend to negative traits, more often than not. Endings where the good guys lose, that sort of thing. And that can be great in moderation—The Thing is one of my all-time favorite movies in spite of its cliffhanger—but I like stories about perseverance and overcoming the odds rather than nihilism for the sake of shock value.
Wilburn: As a fan and a creator, where do you see the zombie genre or sub-genre going in the future?
Humphreys: I think the genre is here to stay. The fanbase has become large enough that it’s going to persist. There’s plenty of competition in terms of film, television, books, and comics. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the stalwarts like The Walking Dead is canceled at some point, but I think that’s a sign more of expanded options than a failure of the market.
Wilburn: Sounds great. Check out Daniel Humphreys links below. Begin the series now with A Place Outside the Wild and continue with A Place Called Hope.
https://www.facebook.com/DanielHumphreysAuthor/
https://twitter.com/NerdKing52
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076H7NRMT/ref=series_rw_dp_sw
Humphreys: Who are you talking to?
Wilburn: Hmm. I should come up with an answer for that, shouldn’t I?
*Daniel stood and walked away. Jay waited for the last few zombies to drag themselves away from the bridge.*
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