Today the incredible Lyra McKen (aka, Emily Walker) has taken over the Blog!
HOW “ZOMBIFIED” WAS BORN!
BY LYRA MCKEN
When asked to discuss how I came up with the concept and story line for my novel Zombified, I had to think back. I had to think of where I was mentally when the idea formed. I had been annoying my family and boyfriend for weeks talking about the Zombie Apocalypse. My Dad would say something about, "If the economy doesn't do something then we are in for it." That isn't exactly what he said, my father doesn't speak like that, but for the sake of this article that is what he said. I would respond with, "The Zombies will take over!"
As annoyed as my family was, I was fascinated with Zombies and why they enthralled our culture so. I begin to think how would you feel if you knew you were going to start eating people and rotting away? Cassie started to form in my mind. She was a young girl with a bright future, derailed by a disease and the end of life as she knew it. I then started thinking, what if Zombies actually could communicate and had a purpose with their constant wondering around. Slopar was born, my idea of the Zombie language. I pictured Cassie talking to someone about her life as she snacked on him and wrote the beginning.
After this I started thinking, what if you bit your crush? I had to give Cassie a gorgeous guy, figure out how to get them alone, and let her ruin it with her soon-to-be-dead tendencies. I really enjoyed writing the novel. I wanted to explore the thoughts of the partially infected, and what would happen when they met up and tried to fight the desire to feed as the infection spread. I hope people enjoy reading Zombified as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for taking a trip into my mind.
xx Lyra Mcken
Cassie is a typical teenager. She’s crushing on a boy and trying to make it through high school. It’s a typical day of classes when all hell breaks loose. Forced to run and hide the situation just keeps getting worse. She makes a mistake and soon becomes infected. She meets others like her and together they sent out to find a cure. Is their fate already sealed? Can they find a cure before it’s too late? See what happens through the eyes of the infected when Cassie tells you how Zombies are people too. Amazon But Link: http://www.amazon.com/Zombified-ebook/dp/B0091375BY/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1347108874&sr=1-3&keywords=lyra+mcken
Lyra McKen (aka, Emily Walker) resides in the mountains of North Carolina. She lives on top of a mountain quite literally with her other half of nine years and her fur baby, Rebel. After a couple of jobs ghost writing for other successful authors she embarked on her own journey to write a novel.
Wickedly Astonishing! Nathan keeps it coming in just giving enough to make me crave more. I love the World that Nathan Squiers has created! It is brilliantly portrayed with his unique and descriptive writing style. As soon as a Crimson Shadow new release comes out I buy them and read them as soon a I can.
In Christian's a FREAK, we find a horrific scene of a young man in a situation he can not remember happening to him. As the story evolves the twists and turns left me wanting more..... more of the dark world that I have to enjoy. That of The Crimson Shadow...
This series is not meant for the faint of heart! If you like horror, vampires, and psychological thrilling reads then this is one I Highly Recommend!
I am so thrilled to have one of my Beloved Authors here today for an Interview. The Amazingly Multi-tasking, Multi-talented, never sleeps RUE VOLLEY!!! Welcome to I LOVE My Authors Rue, it is super sweet to have on the blog today. Just Released Yesterday!
Follow Maddie as book two opens the gate up wide to a magical world not seen by humans, but home to many new creatures. Maddie wakes to a new realization, just scratching the surface to who she is and where she came from. Will she find herself settling in? or will she once again feel out of step even in a world built to please her? Find out as this fun and fast paced YA continues to weave a tale of new worlds and incredible creatures. Appropriate for readers 12+ with aspects of magic, fantasy and light romantic overtones.
Before we get to the Interview, I have a treat for Rue, as she is a huge Johnny Depp Fan!
OK, on with this beautiful soul's interview! I Love Rue Volley
1.When did you start writing?
I started writing on February 18th 2010 after being out with friends and doing an early celebration for my 40th birthday. The first three chapters of my first book “Blood & Light” started that night and then I wrote 6 full novels over the next 2 years completing it. I also took “breaks” from the Blood & Light series and wrote the first novel in “a witches tale” and a few of my erotic’s during that time too.
2.What inspired you to do it?
I can tell you it was irritation that got me started and then personal loss that kept me going. I was irritated to turn 40, most women will tell you it is a very strange experience. The moment you realize that you may be at the half way mark in your life. Then shortly after my birthday my Dad passed away and I had a lot of emotional baggage with that loss. I had not seen him since I was teenager and the loss of having him in my life as I grew up was something I was able to explore in the Blood & Light series. His death made me think about a lot of things. About regret, love, family, being loyal to those you care for and I mixed every emotion and trial I felt growing up and had to work through as I let the fact settle in that he was gone and the opportunity to have him in my life was gone. Then my Mother was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and the fear of losing her overshadowed my ability to enjoy the last 2 years I had her here with me. I tried my best to write it out and I feel that I did between the final books in the Blood & Light series and especially in “Stuff & Things and what boredom brings” a withes tale series book #1. That book is 100% dedicated to how I felt and what it was like to lose your Mom, although I packed it with humor to honor her, she was cracking jokes up until the last week of her life and I will never forget that. We lost her in March but that series will carry on and I have mapped it out for 4 books.
3.What projects have you done?
Books… I guess it would be easier to list them. These are the ones out and published and available now on amazon.
A witches tale series (YA) Vamptasy Publishing
Stuff & Things and what boredom brings (book #1)
Maddie Maze series (YA) Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing
Menagerie of Mystery and Mayhem (book #1)
Maddie Maze: Whimsical Whatnots and Whodidits (book #2)
Red Wine (anthology adult fiction) Vamptasy Publishing
I have one short story in this one
“Birth of a vampire”
*it is a backstory on one of the rogue vampires in the Blood & Light series and also has Jonah and Lily, who first appear in book two “Smoke & Mirrors” in it too.*
Bella Morte (anthology erotica) Hot Ink Press
I have one short in this one
“Double Gun Dealer”
*Books I have coming out.*
Hunters Blood Series (erotica) Hot Ink Press
Darkness to Light (book #5) release date TBA
Blood & Light Vampire Series (adult fiction) Vamptasy Publishing
Grace & Beauty (book #5) Oct 31st
Hope & Faith (book #6) release date TBA
A witches tale series (YA) Vamptasy Publishing
This & That and what killed the cat (book #2) Oct 30th
Hoblin Goblin (adult fiction) Halloween anthology, Vamptasy Publishing
I will have one short story in this one
Oct 31st
4.Any new projects coming up?
Newest one would be an anthology I came up with for Vamptasy Publishing called “Hoblin Goblin”. I absolutely LOVE Halloween and to put out a fun and creepy book on Halloween will rock. I designed the cover and came up with the name and Vamptasy is taking submissions now. Here are the details.
1.10,000 words and under.
2.Adult Fiction, language okay, no snuff or heavy erotic material.
3.Poets welcome too, poems need to be creepy and no more than a page long.
4.Edits will be provide for grammar, tense and comma placement, do your heavy edits before submission, we do not have time to do those.
5.Submission deadline is Oct 1st, no later. Release date is Oct 31st.
6.You will have your name listed on the front of the book and you will have credit in the back along with your most recent book listed for promotion.
7.All proceeds from this book will go to a hospice in the UK for cancer patients.
8.ALL submissions are to be sent to Nicola@vamptasypublishing.co.uk
9.This book will be sold on amazon in ebook, if it goes to print that will be solely up to Vamptasy Publishing. It will also be listed on the Vamptasy Publishing website, any other websites they decide to list it on is up to them.
5.Are you an independent artist or are you represented by an agency?
I am signed to Vamptasy Publishing and represented by LoveBite Productions which is my production company that has the copyright on my name, my photography and my short films. I also have two entertainment lawyers who represent me when I have to look over contracts and if I come across copyright infringement. They also handle shopping my books to larger film companies and traditional publishers. I also work with Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing and Hot Ink Press.
6.Any favorite bands? Do you use music to inspire you as you write?
Music is a huge part of my life. I have played violin and guitar as well as piano for over 20 years. I played in a signed band for 12 years and toured. I stopped that in 2002 and settled in retail and a new life with my now husband, Von. I have not written one single book without music playing in the background and just to name a few… Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Quicksand, Grade, Elbow, Peter Gabrielle, 30 seconds to Mars, Rival Schools, Placebo, Silversun Pickups, Tricky, Mumford and sons, Deftones, Tom Waits. Just to name a few.
7.What advice would you give to someone just starting out in your field?
Oh my, well. This is a loaded question. First of all, know now that writing the book is the easiest thing you will do on this journey. You have to set up a fanpage on facebook BEFORE you release your book. You should get a website up and running and/or blog and get people involved by sharing snippets before the book even goes to the editor. You need Beta readers to READ AS YOU WRITE. This will help you so much in grammar glitches, possible holes in your plot and to gauge the reaction to the story itself. You need that and pick people who are not overly critical. Overly critical people can hold you up for years and that is such a pain and completely unnecessary. The people who beta for you should be objective and have the ability to handle themselves without beating people down, in other words, do not pick assholes. Hahahaha. Sorry but it is true. Some people should never beta as they tend to make you feel as if you have no talent at all and cannot properly express to you any help at all. Anyway, you should also join as many groups as you can handle and drop those that do nothing for you. Meaning…if you join a group and they do nothing but fight and then post rude comments about you posting links to your work then leave it. You don’t have time to waste in crap places like that. You are looking for groups that link and share, trade likes and ACTUALLY support each other. You are not looking for anything else at all. So read the description on those groups, they may be very clear about “rules” or whatever (I don’t have them in mine except don’t be a troll/rude or start crap and you can stay) and then make your decision based on that. Time…you now have none. Accept it. If you honestly want to get anything out of your book, as in sales and what not know now that all “extra” time you have belongs to it. Think of your book as a child, you cannot neglect it and you have to constantly help it grow. Before I was able to do this full time I got up 2 hours earlier to write and promote, took my laptop to work and did it on my breaks and spent my evenings doing the same. Now if you want to designate days and times to do this then do, but just realize, you get out what you put in. IMPORTANT…get admins for your fanpage and people to help you spread the word. They are so important I would say they rank right up there with getting signed. You have to have help, HAVE TOO. These people should be fans of your work already and have the extra time to post. This will allow you to write and do what you need to do. You still have to post but not all of the time as business, you can now share your personality which is a must do also. I mean, you do know you are selling your book and you right? Who the hell wants to read a book by an author who bitches all of the time or has no personality? I don’t. Anyway, these are SOME of the things you have to do, not all…if you want to see things I post about it go to “Volley View” on facebook, or my fanpage “Rue Volley Blood & Light series”. I share things as often as I can.
8.Anything you would like to share with readers on a personal note that would allow them to get to know you better?
I am a lot of things I guess. I am a lover of the arts in all mediums. I host a magazine and radio station dedicated to artists and helping them get more exposure. I am a workaholic, I do this full time with no time to spare. I have written 23 books and 18 are published. I love anything paranormal in nature and I have seen spirits since I was five. I am Blackfoot Indian and Irish, loyal to my friends and family and I fiercely defend them to the death. I am also bi-sexual and believe in gay rights. I think rapists and murderers should be killed, as in dead, not this wishy washy “they can change” crap…or “what happened to them as a child”, we all have choices in life, take the right road and be smart.
I am also wiccan and a medium and I do not discuss that often as I see no need too. I love anime and I am a huge movie junkie. I write about the paranormal world because being a fiction writer is the best job I have ever had. It allows me to take my imagination and let it run free and there is nothing more fun than that.
9.Do you find it hard to share your work with others?
Not at all. I mean this is me. I am imperfect as everything is in life and you either love me or hate me. I write in simple terms for everyone, I write how I think and the grammar is not always perfect or the comma in the right place but I promise you I can spin a tale and many will tell you the same. I don’t worry about judgment. I know some people do it for a living, but not me. I just like to write and have others experience the crazy that lives in my head. I think once you shed the fear and realize that you cannot please the world everything becomes much easier and the light at the end of the tunnel pops up and waves at you. So do not let it stop you in anyway, that is the true tragedy and the definition of regret.
10.Did your writing come from just a need to express yourself or a particular experience that you had?
My writing came from a death in my family and the realization that we do not live forever. I have no children, my immortality lies in my books. They are the true vampire, not me. So if you want to live forever, write it down.
