Zombies! discussion
Self-Promotion
>
That's an awful lot of zombie.
date
newest »
newest »
Is this REALLY your book, sir?The Power to Speak: Feminism, Language, God
by Rebecca S. Chopp
As that was where I was sent after I clicked the above link.
By the way, thank you for pointing out and fixing my blunder.
I'm sure that it is a good book, but can I be honest for a moment. The title would not have drawn me and, in fact, probably would have put me off that it was a Christian Fiction novel about the coming 'End Times'. No offense.
I have considered that fact that my zombie series would appear like the Left Behind books given the titles. This has occurred to me several times in the last three or four years actually. And though it is not a Christian, or religiously skewed book - I do like what I perceive as the parallel between the excitement for the Rapture for Christian Fundamentalist and the zombie apocalypse for my own people(geeks, nerds, dorks).
Hadn't meant to give offense and glad to see even the author wondered a bit. To be honest, while I hadn't thought of it before you may be right about some of us awaiting the Undead with almost religious zeal. :-)
I take no offense. It's a valid question/concern. The word Rapture is loaded with associations. I feel that i play off of that a bit. As religious fanatics do have their part in an apocalypse. Especially when they're disappointed not to have been right. The sudden upheaval will drive people insane. Some of those people will become new fanatics or change their beliefs to suit their condition.I chose the name in the end because when all things were considered, I liked it. I thought it would stick out from the 'of the dead' and other naming traps that authors in the genre get stuck in.
As for the zeal. I started writing the series after, while watching 28 days later, a friend of mine invited me to join her at the local Walmart(our town lacked a decent mall) when the zombie apocalypse hit. She and her friends had already made plans. This is a theme in my story.
Oh, I also accepted her invite. Pretty girl.
Mike, it had not dawned on me (no pun) about how similar the names of so many zombie novels seem to be. Seems that 'dead', 'undead' or 'zombie' have to appear. I wonder if some of that is the editor or publisher pushing that title on the writer, or the author just slapping something easy on his work. Any ideas?
Well I'm an independent as of yet, so I've not gone through the act of being published. I think many of the zombie novels out there are in the same boat - people like me who want to make a career at writing and are doing it themselves. Or they've just spent so much time on this project that they need to share. I personally suffer from delusions of grandeur.Most first novels are around 80,000 words(i've done research) Rapture clocks in just short of 150,000(one agent suggested I cut the story by a third). It's the first of 4, each of which is 125,000 - 140,000. and to top it off, I don't know how long the series will be. Most publishers won't touch something like this, not in this climate. I don't know what a publisher/lit agent would do about the name. I do expect that they know more about the psychology of selling.
I assume that the similarities come from the fact that we're all using the same collection of source material as inspiration. And the title, as discussed, carries certain expectations. If elf is in the title you think fantasy. Lust, comes with bodice rippers. As you pointed out, Rapture makes you think Christian Fundamentalists. Titles are hard for me. How do you incorporate 100,000+ words of story in less than a sentence and make it catchy and interesting. You use those pre-cast symbols like 'of the dead' and what-not.
Grabbing people's attention is difficult with all of the competition out there. I guess being concise and accurate and using those symbols might help cut through the noise. Of the Dead means zombie book! If you want a zombie book, pick it up!
My own story is driven by the fact that I've seen the Romero zombie films(as well as many others). It goes back to my friend inviting me to Walmart. This is a 'what would I do if the Zombie apocalypse happened?' sort of scenario. Lots of fun to write.
So there's another parallel with the Christian Rapture as well. They believe that it's coming and have made plans. I wove that concept into my story.
Now all I need to do is sell a million copies of each book, so that i can make my reality resemble my art.
I gave up decades ago on the idea of being a writer, so I'm probably the last one to give advice. For titles, it seems that some writers will take a line from a poem or quotation, which may have meaning to them or pertain to the story. Robert Parker did it, for instance, on some of his Spenser books.We saw how well being in a place like Walmart or a mall would do in Dawn of the Dead. LOL!
Well, Walmart has food, clothing and everything else one needs to survive. Plus stone walls and a steel roof. If there are zombies in the store, at least some of them will have come with cars, which means transportation.The Mall made a nice fortress in Dawn up until the raiders showed up.
The problem with such places is electricity. The US power grid will only last about a week after such a huge event. Without electricity the coolers/freezers won't work. And in the winter there won't be heat (I live in a northern climate). A smaller space would be preferred, but Walmart would be a good first stop.
Book 2 is named Ploughshares into Swords, I got that from the movie Aliens. I took the title for volume 4 from a U2 Song.
Right now I'm working on my seventh novel. I should try getting representation for 5 and 6. The work is good, but so far it doesn't pay near well enough.
Rapture is the first of a post-apocalyptic adventure series. All set to the back-drop of the zombie apocalypse. As we explore how those (un)fortunate enough to survive the collapse manage to adapt to the constant tides of the cannibalistic undead. And more importantly the anarchy and conflicts between fellow survivors.
Honestly, zombies don't make good villains. They make for an interesting setting. But they're too predictable. Humans, they make terrifying villains.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/85... ... Sorry for those who like a physical book, but she's electronic only. Available for the Nook and Kindle.
149,000 words.
Enjoy