Today as a part of the Summer of Zombie Blog Tour, I’m featuring an interview with TW Brown, author of the Zomblog and DEAD series. For those of you who need a refresher on Todd, let’s take a moment and tell you about him…

TW Brown is the author of the Zomblog series and the Dead series.   He is deeply immersed in pursuing his dream of being a “full-time” writer while trying to balance the duties of husband, father, friend, and Border Collie owner. He keeps busy reading and editing the numerous submissions for a variety of upcoming anthologies and full-length titles for May December Publications.  He has had short stories published by Pill Hill Press, Living Dead Press, and others.

Welcome Todd, so tell us: why Zombies? Is there anything specific that draws you to the genre?

I saw the original Dawn of the Dead during its theatrical release in the 70s. I was fourteen and a girl two rows ahead of me puked into her popcorn during the opening scene in the low-rent apartments. How cool is that when you are fourteen. I was hooked.

Tell us about your latest project.

Well, I just released my first horror/comedy, That Ghoul Ava and The Queen of the Zombies. This is a spinoff from a short story that began as something fun for one of my first fans and supporters. Writing comedy is a challenge, but it is also where I got one of my first gigs – writing comedy material for a morning radio show.

On May 30^th, I released the 6^th book in my DEAD series, Dead: Confrontation. It is told in three rotating chapters; you get Steve’s Story – a first person account of one group’s struggle to survive; Vignettes – sort of like global snapshots of the zombie apocalypse. Some of them have been going since book one and are just a lot of fun to write; and The Geeks – which initially started as four zombie fans who thought that the apocalypse would be cool…and found out otherwise.

Then, in June I have the 5^th Zomblog book, Zomblog: Snoe’s War. The story is set almost twenty years after the initial trilogy. This is a challenge in that I am writing from the perspective of an eighteen-year-old girl.

What makes your Zombies different, if anything?

I think I was one of the first to have the bite not be a guaranteed death sentence. Some people show immunity to the bite, but later realize that they are now carriers of the virus. Also, some of my zombies emit a noise that is like a baby cry.

Is there a Zombie novel that has influenced you more than any other? If so, what is it and why?

I would not say that it influenced me, but David Wellington’s trilogy (Monster Island, Monster Nation, Monster Planet) showed me that there were still stories out there that could be fresh and enjoyable.

David Wellington’s Monster series is one of my favourites! What are your top 3 favourite Zombie films?

The Original Dawn of the Dead. Hands down that is the movie that hooked e when I was young and never let go. Shaun of the Dead. Seriously, that movie is fantastic. Last, I have to go with Dead Set. I know it is a mini-series, but if you watch it all together, it is longer than your standard movie and so well done. I think it is very underappreciated.

Dead Set was fantastic! Gotta love how the Brits really get it done. Do you think the popularity of The Walking Dead and its appearance in mainstream media has helped to increase the popularity of the genre, or has there always been such an interest?

I think it took something that has always been on the fringe and, for better or worse, made it mainstream. The key is that it is being done exceptionally well and treated seriously and allows for some fantastic character depth often lacking in the genre.

As we all know, music and slaying the Undead go hand in hand. Given these headings, what would be your Soundtrack to the Zombie Apocalypse?

1. Overall theme for the Apocalypse: Dead Cities by Future Sound of London

2. What plays when I kill my first zombie: Teenage Wasteland by The Who

3. What plays when you’re chased by the horde: Mob Rules by Black Sabbath

4. When you have to kill a loved one: Exit to Heaven by Tangerine Dream

5. When you find a group of survivors: Look Who Walked in the Door by James Dean Kindle & the Eastern Oregon Playboys

6. Meeting a new love interest: I Melt With You by Modern English

7. Making a Final Stand: For Whom the Bell Tolls by Metallica

8. You’ve survived it all: Never Gonna Stop by Rob Zombie

9. Then you discover a bite mark: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door by Guns & Roses

10. End Credits: Man in the Wilderness by Styx

Pop Quiz: If the Zombie Apocalypse were to occur right now, 5 things found in the room you are currently sitting will be your weapons – what are they? 

Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar pole from the floor lamp, a trowel (signed by Kyra Schon from Night of the Living Dead), shelf divider posts from my book shelf.

You may well survive Todd… Now let’s take a look at Dead: Confrontation:

Several months have passed since the dead began to walk. The first winter has taken its toll in more ways than one as humanity continues to struggle to survive. Not every threat to humanity comes from the undead as so many have discovered man’s ability to sink into depravity with the absence of law and order. Time and again survivors have fought, run. and regrouped. Yet, there seems to be no respite, and as winter draws on…things become more and more difficult to endure. A new threat seems to materialize even before the last can be dealt with. And if the physical toll was not enough, the hours of isolation and the time left with one’s thoughts can become just as destructive. How much more can you take?

Don’t forget that clicking on the cover will take you straight to Amazon!

Thank you Todd for taking the time to answer my questions. If you’d like to connect with Todd you can find him on his blog or his Amazon Author Page.