Spotlight On interview with Jay Wilburn
author of The Dead Song Legend, The Enemy Held Near, and Time Eaters
Summer of Zombie 2016
Q: Tell me your name again?
ugh … Jay Wilburn
Q: You’re here for the fluffer job, yes?
Um, I was interested in … acting.
Q: Really?! You’re not exactly the traditional body type we normally look for. There are a few specialty sites I might be able to refer you to.
I was really hoping this might be my big break.
Q: Hmmm … Well, we’re already here for the interview, I guess. I’ll need to see your body, of course.
Like this …
Q: Take off everything, please.
Okay, hold on.
Q: Socks too, please.
Oh, right. Just a moment.
Q: Have you ever considered working out?
It’s not really my thing. I’m a horror writer.
Q: Oh, really, what sort of stuff do you write?
Zombies, horror, sci fi, even a little steampunk.
Q: Interesting. You can sit down. Put a towel down on that chair before you sit down, please.
Oh, right. Sorry.
Q: No problem. What is your latest book?
The Dead Song Legend Dodecology Book III: March from Myrtle Beach to San Antonio
Q: Dodecology? Twelve books, huh?
Yes.
Q: That’s ballsy. Kind of ironic, don’t you think?
What do you mean by that?
Q: Nothing. Nothing. What’s it about?
It is the legend of Tiny Jones who becomes a near mythical figure after the zombie apocalypse. This series looks at his real story collecting music recordings across apocalyptic America with his friends and enemies. It shows the movements he sparked and the magic he may have unleashed in the world of the undead.
Q: What are the main characters like?
Tiny Jones is a short, gay man and both an unlikely and unwilling hero. He has survived in the past as a part time thief and a drag performer in the seedy clubs that have sprung up in the clusters of survivors. Satchelmouth Murderman is a black former baseball player that decides to take a chance on befriending Tiny despite a rough start to their friendship. Kidd Banjo is a fellow music collector and loyal friend. The trio find themselves on the run from a growing wave of violence they unleashed among the communities of survivors during a bloody rescue of Satchelmouth.
Q: Are you willing to do experimental scenes then? That would open you up to more markets as an actor.
I have dealt with a number a publishers over the years. What you’re talking about can’t be much worse than what some of them did to me.
Q: Good. Good. I’ll make a note of that … What makes this book different from others?
The story follows gay characters and explores an underlying magic that may be behind the world that explains the actions of people and the movements of the undead.
There’s also a soundtrack that comes with it of songs from the book performed as if recorded by the characters in the story. It’s called The Sound May Suffer.
Q: Really? Is it any good.
Next question …
Q: What are your inspirations for writing this series?
I’m a big fan of many authors in and out of horror including zombie authors and others. I take inspiration from many of them and seek to create something different and even literary in its scope.
Q: How does this book fit into the rest of the series?
The three main characters are together after having to fight against forces set against them. They find that they have created something that is out of their control now. They are on the move and are having to rely on each other against the rest of the world.
Q: How does it advance the series?
Tiny Jones’ influence is going to move farther through the country even as he tries to escape what he started. New villains are going to be discovered and will be set against each other in a growing war where it becomes more and more difficult to figure out which side is the greatest evil.
Q: If you put a warning label on it, what would it be?
Warning: This book is reaching far beyond its grasp and the author shows no signs of realizing that he should stop.
Q: What do you want readers to take away from it?
I want readers to see a story that takes zombies and the characters that battle with them further than they thought was possible with the genre. I want to create a story that sticks with them after they’re done reading. I think zombies can do that.
Q: I know this is probably a bad idea, but I’m going to give you a chance.
Really?!
Q: How’s your stamina?
Um, well, I can probably go once for sure.
Q: Hmmm … Well, that’s a good start. Drink plenty of water. We have some pills that might help with that. Plan to be here on set tomorrow with a bunny suit. Do you have a leather bunny suit by chance?
Um, no, who does?!
Q: What about chaps?
Oh, of course.
Q: Good. Come to set dressed and we’ll handle make-up. If we shoot at raised angles, it should make everything look bigger. Get plenty of sleep.
Thank you for this opportunity, sir.
Q: Ugh, can you get dressed before we shake hands?
Oh, yes, sure. No problem.
Jay Wilburn:
The newest actor with Spankasaurous Rex Films
Star of Yabba Dabba Spew, the Rock Hard Files,
and Guess Who’s Cumming for Dinner VII: Revenge of the Bear
Check out Book 2 of the Dead Song Legend by Jay Wilburn.
Jay Wilburn lives with his wife and two sons in Conway, South Carolina near the Atlantic coast of the southern United States. He has a Masters Degree in education and he taught public school for sixteen years before becoming a full time writer. He is the author of many short stories including work in Best Horror of the Year volume 5, Zombies More Recent Dead, Shadows Over Mainstreet, and Truth or Dare. He is the author of the Dead Song Legend Dodecology and the music of the five song soundtrack recorded as if by the characters within the world of the novel The Sound May Suffer. He also wrote the novels Loose Ends and Time Eaters. He is one of the four authors behind the Hellmouth trilogy. He cowrote The Enemy Held Near with Armand Rosamilia. Jay Wilburn is a regular columnist with Dark Moon Digest. Follow his many dark thoughts on Twitter, Instagram, and Periscope as @AmongTheZombies, his Facebook author page, and at JayWilburn.com
Or begin the series with Book 1.
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