Writer Wednesday: Interview with Jack Wallen
Today I would like to welcome Jack Wallen, the Zombie King, to my website. This interview is the first in a series I will be hosting with writers who delve into realms of the dark, the horrific and the paranormal.
1. Jack, Before you started writing, your primary creative outlet was acting – I'm interested to know what made you decide to exchange one for the other and also what skills you feel have crossed over and been a benefit to you as a writer?
I was a stage actor for twenty years. Near the end of that career I started seeing the writing on the wall – that the economy was about to bring the arts down around the country. So I decided to retire while I felt I was still on top. When I made this decision I knew I was going to have to have an artistic outlet – else I wind up in straitjacket fashion. I had already written a few stage plays and realized I had a knack for dialogue and character. So the transition was pretty natural.
What really has helped me the most, from my acting career was all the improvisation studies I had. Improv really has helped me take control of dialogue in my books. That and the character study classes helped me to really be able to get to the core of character emotion, motivation, and need.
2. What writers do you feel were particular inspirations and helped to shape your individual voice?
Clive Barker is my idol. Without a doubt there has not been a writer to influence me more. His grace and elegance with horror really shaped my voice early on. I can only hope to one day be compared to the man who was called "The Future of Horror" by Stephen King.
3. Zombies are one of the big trends in horror at the moment – what was it that drew you to this sub-genre and made you decide to do your own take on the deadheads?
I've been a fan of horror since I was a child. My original goal was to write gothic horror and vampiric horror. But Twilight kind of ruined that for me for the moment. One day I was trying to figure out where I wanted to go in my writing career and a question popped into my head. That question was "What would it be like to become a zombie?" I wanted to answer that question – what it would feel, sound, smell, and taste like to become one of the undead. That is where I Zombie I came from. In the middle of writing that book I realized it had to be a trilogy. Upon completing the trilogy I realized I had a lot of story left to tell and made the official announcement that I Zombie was now a series. I am currently working on the four installment, Lie Zombie Lie.
4. I noticed in your I Zombie trilogy that you have different types of zombie as a result of the initial disaster – what was the thinking behind having these different 'breeds'? For example, the moaners seemed to me to embody the mindless 'mob' or 'herd' mentality whilst you have the screamers representing full-blown id-like rage.
I love the original imagining of the zombie. But I needed something to instill more terror as well as show an evolution of the original beast. I wound up with three different iterations of the zombie: The Moaner, the Screamer, and the Berzerker. I'm not finished with that evolution either.
One of my goals is to always keep the readers quessing – what has happened and what is going to happen next. For me, allowing a reader of horror to get comfortable is askin to literary suicide. Having more than one type of zombie helped me keep the reader from getting too comfortable. Besides, who says zombies wouldn't have a food chain within their own ranks?
5. What is it you think so appeals to readers about the zombie out of all the classic monsters in recent years? It's almost ten years since Brian Keene's The Rising came out and the 'appetite' for them seems yet to be satiated.
Here's the thing – no one has yet to "Twilight" the zombie. They are not sexy, they are not something we crave and want to ravish us. Zombies are a part of the horror genre that allows entropy to take hold and really drag us under. It allows us to live out many a perversion – while still staying sane. We don't WANT to be zombies, but we want to know what it's like to eat someone alive. There's a catharsis there that few other beasts give us. Besides – the zombie also represents the thing we hate about our own lives – the day in and day out grind of life.
6. Following on from the previous question, are there other monsters in the bestiary that you would like to put your own mark on such as the vampire, werewolves, the mummy or even Frankenstein's Monster?
I have a vampire in the works. He's a total bad ass and will bring a bit of pride back to vampire kind. His name is Vlad Kurvail and he will rip you to shreds and not sparkle in the slightest.
I also have in the works a horror novel that deals with Heaven and Hell. My plan for that is to twist those myths up on their heads and make everyone wonder what the truth is. There will be plenty of monsters there.
I do try to leave a bit of a dark mark on everything I write. Even the next Shero contains zombies. Go figure.
7. Leaving horror behind for now, in your Fringe Killer and Shero books you address the prejudices that the LGBT community have to deal with by using what could be called the conventional genres of the thriller and the superhero tale. Do you think this is a strength of genre fiction – that it has these enduring narrative structures that we can then adapt for voicing our own interests and concerns?
I think this is a strength of the indie author. Without traditional publishers tying us down we are free to mix up our genres and add layers upon stories we wouldn't be able to add otherwise. Both my Fringe Killer series and the Shero series would never have been bought by traditional publishers based on the strange mixing of genres. Traditionally LGBT fiction tended to lean toward the erotica – so putting that round hole into that square peg was something I felt needed to be done. Besides, the LGBT community needs as many heroes as they can get. Why not a transgender superhero? And why not an hero detective who happens to be gay.
8. I'm also interested as to whether the Fringe Killer and Shero books were conceived to be so contrasting in that whilst they deal with related areas such as the politics of perception, taboo and social mores, one series is like the dark twin to the other's light? Or did they just come out like that?
My intention was to show both sides of the coin. I knew the Fringe Killer series was going to always have to deal with homophobia and gender-specific hatred with a dark edge. But that series also had other fish to fry along with homophobia.
Shero was envisioned to handle some of the same issues, but do so with humor. Although the Fringe Killer series uses humor (thanks to Skip Abrahms), it's nothing near the level of tongue in cheek we get with Shero. And with Shero, the majority of the humor comes from the saucy nature of the narrator. That was a technique that evolved on its own and I finally gave in, knowing I would never win that battle.
9. So, what has Jack Wallen got on the cards for the future? Any zombie-pocalyptic plans for 2012?
My plans are simple: Take over the world as the Zombie King. I will do this even if I have bite every single reader myself. Plus I have the following books planned for release:
Endgame: The next book in the Fringe Killer series – should be out near the end of February.
Shero II: Zombie A GoGo: The second book in the Shero series – should be out near the end of March.)
Lie Zombie Lie: The fourth book in the I Zombie series. Should be out late summer or early fall.
The Nails of Calvary: The first in a yet-to-be named trilogy — Should be out by the end of the year.
10. Any last words before the zombies eat your brains?
Horror is one of the most amazing genres with the best fanbase. I can't thank my readers and fans enough for giving my worlds a go. You're comments, love, respect, and appreciation mean more to me than you know. And I hope my words have helped to prepare you for the apocalypse we all know is imminent. If the zombies do wind up making a brain smoothie of me before I complete the I Zombie series, know this – If you ever meet Bethany Nitshimi, make damn sure you befriend her as she may be your only chance for survival!
Thank you, Jack. It's been a pleasure, zombie slurpies and all!
Jack Wallen has a goal — to become the Zombie King. He won't do that by dining on the brains of helpless victims. Instead he will write and write until his fingers and mind are nothing but meat for the beasts. During that time Jack will produce works of zombie fiction that are both enjoyable and cringe-worthy.
Of course, being of the insane writer clan, Jack isn't just happy with the penning of zombie fiction. Oh no, the nightmare does not end there. Like the late, great Freddy Mercury, Jack wants it all — so, he will continue writing his Fringe Killer series as well as his joyous celebration of all things diverse — Shero.
For his inspiration to begin reading and writing, Jack thanks the ever-incredible Clive Barker for penning in a genre with words of grace and horror.
Want to know more about Jack? Then go to the following links:
Blog: http://www.monkeypantz.net
Zombie Radio: http://www.zombieradio.org
Adorkable Designs: http://www.adorakabledesigns.net
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jlwallen
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/jlwallen
Titles currently available:
I Zombie I
My Zombie My
A Blade Away
Gothica
Shero
Tweet
