-14: The Zombie Acopalypse

Add an old man, a grandson and a river together and it’s inevitable that things will come out smelling fishy. The Red River is famous for it’s catfish (bass too, but the catfish are uglier and thus more interesting). Ictalurus punctuates, or Channel Catfish, is North America’s largest family of catfish and the official fish of five states. Go figure. Anglers love them, because they can grow quite large and put up a good fight when hooked.

Right from the start I knew I wanted to include channel cats in the story. It’s the story of a river, after all, so there should be fish in it. One can fish for channel cats in summer from the river’s edge, and in winter through holes in the ice. Some anglers name the big ones, and give them personalities, all story-worthy concepts.

I’ve been musing about the role of the channel cats in this story – should they be used as local colour, an intergenerational connection, or something more? I’m leaning towards something more. Maybe they can be part of Peter’s secret, although I’m not sure how.

My family is helping with ideas, having more fishing experience than I. My son would like me to add a zombie catfish apocalypse, and suggests I watch the movie Sharknado for some really good ideas. Hmmm. And I thought he had good taste. Nevertheless, never say never.

My publisher and I are emailing each other pictures of channel cats, trying to find the ugliest catfish in the universe. There are an awful lot of contestants. He has also taken to eating catfish, in solidarity with this whole idea. My publisher is truly a man who goes the distance.