Today I welcome Sharon Stevenson, author of the newly released Raised: Part One. Let’s take a moment to introduce Sharon to the gang here at Days with the Undead…
Sharon Stevenson is the twisted mind behind The Gallows Novels and the brand new After Death Series. If you want to know a bit about her, here it is: Sharon spends too much time indoors and probably watches too many horror films. Some of her favourite things are; Alone time, people who know when to shut up, having a drink, eating pizza (usually after having too much drink the night before), reading books, adult swim cartoons, bad horror and sci-fi movies, proper good TV shows like Dexter & The Walking Dead, and last but not least having a laugh with her hilarious other half – which would usually include some of the above
Welcome Sharon. So tell us: why Zombies? Is there anything specific that draws you to the genre?
I’ve always loved horror movies and some of my favourites include zombies but more recently I’ve been very impressed with the quality of zombie offerings in film and TV; The Walking Dead and Zombieland are particularly good examples and I believe they have contributed massively to the rise in popularity of these undead beings. The influx of zombies into popular culture has been much more noticeable in recent years. It started me thinking what kind of zombie book I would want to write. As it turns out, I developed two ideas; one for a classic zombie horror mashed up with a serial killer story which I’m still working on right now, the other an urban fantasy series with a dark comedy element for which the first part is out now.
‘Raised: Part One’ is the first in an Urban Fantasy series about a magically animated dead guy and his efforts to escape his inevitable enslavement.
What makes your Zombies different, if anything?
Hmm, let me see: they are magically reanimated, and don’t decompose or eat brains!
What are your 5 favourite Zombie books that you didn’t write?
- Zombie Attack! Rise of the Horde by Devan Sagliani
- The Rising Dead by Devan Sagliani (Yes, he’s that good and he’s got a third zombie book coming out next month I cannot wait to get my hands on)
- Pet Cemetery by Stephen King
- I, Zombie by Hugh Howey
- Dead Bastards by Jenny Thomson
What are your top 3 favourite Zombie films?
1. Planet Terror
2. Dead Heat
3. Zombieland
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?
There has always been a fan base but I believe it has expanded massively thanks to quality offerings like The Walking Dead being widely available for public consumption. Zombies were very much B-movie monsters in the past and those movies only appealed to certain people, who are horror fans like me. The Walking Dead has definitely helped increase the popularity of the zombie genre. There are people I know who watch it religiously and these are the same people who would never sit through a B-movie.
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?
- Blow torch! It’s just lucky the husband was on weed-killing duty earlier.
- Empty cider bottle. Good for one smash!
- Heavy lamp. Might be heavy enough to bash some zombie brains in.
- High heels. Time to ruin a perfectly good pair of heels getting stabby!
- The TV? I think I’d rather give up my brains…
You kill weeds with a blow torch?? That’s bad-ass and I now want you on my survival team!
Now let’s take a look at Raised: Part One…
In a world where magic crashed to earth in a rusty spaceship full of starving blood suckers, it’s not easy being a reanimated dead guy. Take Pete’s undead word for it…
Pete has been murdered by a mentally unhinged and suicidal one night stand. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he’s been reanimated for reasons unknown by… persons unknown. This makes him an Animate without an owner, the human equivalent of a stray dog.
Afraid of who his owner may be and what they have planned for his undead ass, Pete does the only thing he can; he goes on the run. The King’s Guard are Scotland’s primary recruiters for Animates so Pete knows he has to leave Edinburgh to escape a fate that terrifies him.
The portal to Las Vegas could be his only hope or his biggest mistake…
Can Pete escape enslavement when it’s what he’s been raised for?
Warning: This book contains strong and frequent adult language and sexual references.
Clicking on the cover will take you to Amazon!
Thank you Sharon for taking the time to answer my questions. If you would like to connect with Sharon, you can find her on her website or Twitter.
Days with the Undead 