I got the chance to interview Rhiannon, but WHAT am I going to ask her? I hate repeating the same questions that you’ve seen on 99% of interviews. I TRIED to be somewhat creative and Hubbs (a fellow Rhiannon fan) even helped me out with one of the questions! So, here we go!
Soleful Reader (Heather): I know the idea for “The First Days” pretty much just popped into your {very awesome} mind. Where did the idea for “The Last Bastion of the Living” come from? Zombies in a post apocalyptic setting. It is such a unique idea!
Rhiannon Frater (Rhiannon): It was a very vivid dream. I have no idea where my subconscious got the idea or why it churned it out in a very intense, intriguing dream, but it did. I was instantly sold on the idea. It would take a few years before I could actually write the book due to other publishing obligations, but I never fell out of love with the idea. I knew it was a unique concept that would be very challenging to write. I had to do a lot of research and consulted with a Colonel in the Air Force. He helped me shape the futuristic military. I also loved writing about a new kind of zombie, the Inferi Scourge. They were terrifying! And, of course, the love story woven into the plot just yanked at my heart strings.
(Heather): I know TLBofL is a stand alone novel…..any remote chance that will change in the future, that we’ll see how Maria and Dwayne end up, or do you want that to be in the readers imagination?
(Rhiannon): I loved the way the book ended. I think it was perfection. I have no desire to go beyond that point. There are so many things that could happen at the end of the book (both good and bad), and I’d like to leave it up to the imaginations of the readers. Also, I have no idea of what happens next. There is no spark there telling me there is more to tell. So I’d rather leave it where it ended than force something into existence that wouldn’t have the power or intensity of the first book. I have to be inspired to write a story and the inspiration isn’t there.
(Heather): Zombies AND vampires. I know I’m new to the horror genre, but Hubby reads TONS of horror. I’ve never heard of an author writing about both, usually just vampires OR zombies. Which do you like writing about better?
(Rhiannon): I’m a horror writer, not exclusively a zombie genre or vampire genre writer. So I am open to write about all sorts of monsters. I have quite a few books on my back burner that have nothing to do with traditional monsters. I love writing scary stories, so don’t have a particular favorite creature to write about. I have written about several different types of zombies now: the ones in the AS THE WORLD DIES series, the Inferi Scourge, and the zombies in service to the necromancers in PRETTY WHEN SHE DIES and its sequels. I love zombie stories, but I don’t want to rehash the same scenario over and over again. The same with vampires. I like writing a modern day series and a gothic horror series. It keeps things fresh. But I am looking forward to writing something that is completely different from my past works.
(Heather): Ever consider a book with zombies and vampires in it? Or would that be overkill? Personally, I think if anyone could pull it off, it’d be you.
(Rhiannon): In the PRETTY WHEN SHE DIES trilogy I have necromancers who control the dead. So there are zombies in the book, but they’re not flesh eaters. They can do some serious damage though when instructed by the necromancers. So in a way I have already done the zombies and vampires mashup to some degree.
(Heather…question from Hubby): What is your IDEAL setting for sitting down to start a new novel? Any “quirks that you have, like “Oh, I can’t write unless it is a perfectly clean, quiet room with lots of coffee”, or can you pretty much write wherever/whenever the mood strikes?
(Rhiannon): I write in my office late at night with my headset on blasting music that fits the book I’m writing. My desk is always a wreck, sadly, so my only needs are a diet coke and my computer.
One last question……
(Heather): As I’ve talked to you about on Twitter, my son LOVED “The Living Dead Boy And The Zombie Hunters”. Do you think you’ll do anymore books for the mid-grade age group? (Hey, I had to ask….he asks me every week or so if there’ll be another book or a tv show!)
(Rhiannon): I don’t have an idea for another one at this time. I wouldn’t be against it. I just have to have that spark of inspiration. As of right now, I have nothing in mid-grade. I really loved writing THE LIVING DEAD BOY AND THE ZOMBIE HUNTERS. It is one of my favorite stories. I wish more people knew about it.
Thank you soooo much to Rhiannon for doing the interview!!! Pop over and enter the giveaway to win an ecopy of The Last Bastion of the Living!!!!!
Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of the As the World Dies trilogy (The First Days, Fighting to Survive, Siege) and the author of three other books: the vampire novels Pretty When She Dies and The Tale of the Vampire Bride and the young-adult zombie novel The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters. Inspired to independently produce her work from the urging of her fans, she publishedThe First Days in late 2008 and quickly gathered a cult following. She won the Dead Letter Award back-to-back for both The First Days and Fighting to Survive, the former of which the Harrisburg Book Examiner called ‘one of the best zombie books of the decade.’ Rhiannon is currently represented by Hannah Gordon of the Foundry + Literary Media agency. You may contact her by sending an email to rhiannonfrater@gmail.com. *Blurb via Rhiannon’s website!*
I love this author’s style. She’s awesome! Her books have a priority on my to-read list!