James Cook Interview
First let’s get to know you. James Cook is an author,
veteran of the United States Navy, and avid world traveller who has wrote a
Zombie apocalypse series called Surviving the Dead. There is at current two
books in this series called No Easy Hope and This Shattered Land, following the
premise of raw, gritty survival of one man reaching a goal in a land where the
dead hold control.
I have here a few questions James has graciously agreed
to answer for my blog.
Q. Hi James, first off how long have you been writing
for?
A. I’ve only been writing since March of 2011, so not for
very long. I’m actually very surprised at how far things have come along for me
in so short a span of time, considering my relative inexperience.
Here I have a few questions from my co-writer on this
blog Mark:
Q. when did you realise you wanted to write horror?
A. When I was twelve, right after I read ‘It’ by Stephen King. Horror has always been
my favourite genre because of its endless possibilities. The only boundaries in
a horror novel are the limits of the author’s imagination. Anything can happen.
Q. And one more, in an overcrowded sub-genre how do you
keep things fresh?
A. It’s a confluence of two things: luck, and focusing on
the characters.
I think a lot of the success I’ve had in writing in the
zombie apocalypse sub-genre comes down to simple timing. When I published No
Easy Hope back in November of 2011, there were not very many ZA titles
available. The genre was dominated by only a few readable novels, and the rest
was, with only a few exceptions, simply awful. Bad writing, bad mechanics, bad
spelling and grammar, it was just terrible.
But they sold!
They sold by the proverbial truckload. I remember
thinking to myself, I can do better than
this. I can write better than this. That
was what motivated me to try my hand at zombie fiction.
When I first sat down to do it, I knew that my story had
to answer a question, and it had to be about
something, or it was simply going to fall flat. The question became, “Will the
character(s) survive and find a place where they can start a new life?”
As for what the series is about: It’s about human nature.
The power of friendship, the importance of relationships, the forces that knit
societies together, and how in bad situations, good leadership can make all the
difference in the world. That last point was something that I learned
first-hand during my time in the Navy; it has stuck with me ever since, and
found resonance in my writing.
Back to me now:
Q. What influences if any have had an impact on your
work?
A. The biggest influence would have to be Jim Butcher’s
‘Dresden Files’ series. I really like those novels, and I think the writing,
while simple and straightforward, is nonetheless brilliant. I have to be careful
when I read those books because Jim’s voice is powerful, and I sometimes catch
myself letting that bleed over into how I write. While I certainly want to
write with my own voice, I will admit that, to an extent, I seek to emulate
Butcher in pacing, plot structure, and execution. He excels at these things,
and that is what makes his work so enjoyable. Much like him, I’m not trying to
win any literary awards, I’m just trying to entertain people. That’s it, and
that’s all.
Q. What information can you give anyone who hasn’t read
or is undecided on reading your series?
A. If you like action adventure with well-developed
characters, fast-paced plot, and lots of zombie killing, then you will very
likely enjoy my books. They are nothing fancy—the story is deliberately easy to
follow—but I think you will grow to like the characters and genuinely care for
what happens to them.
Q. How popular do you think literature is in the world at
moment, as in popular, less popular or on the come back? In my views thanks to kindle/E-readers
it’s making a come back
A. I would have to agree. I think literature has always
been popular, but the traditional publishing establishment has had such a
stranglehold on it that they stifled a whole universe of creativity.
Think about it for a moment: prior to the advent of
ereaders, the Big Six dominated publishing (in the U.S. at least, although I’m
sure the situation was similar in the U.K.), and if you wanted to sell enough
books to have a shot at doing it for a living, you had to cater to their whims.
This resulted in an unending march of bland, formulaic, predictable literature
that followed the same tired old patterns of decades of bestsellers that had
come before. To put it simply, the literature world was stagnating. There were
literally millions of people out there who wanted something more, something
that the traditional publishing world just wasn’t offering.
That’s where guys like me come in: Specialists. Niche
market authors. We’re the literary equivalent of plus-sized lingerie boutiques
and gluten-free beer. We don’t appeal to everyone, but we appeal to enough
people to sell a sufficient number of books to write for a living. We probably
won’t ever get rich doing it, but we’re okay with that.
Add in the simplicity and low cost of ebooks, and you
have a formula that is likely to change the face of literature forever.
(Barring a zombie apocalypse, of course.)
Q. Do you have a favourite book or series of books if so
what is it?
A. That depends on what time of the day you ask me, but
right now, I’ve been very impressed with two authors in particular: Brian
Easton, and Anthony Ryan.
Easton is the author of a series of books that starts
with his first novel, “Autobiography of a Werewolf Hunter’, and the sequel,
‘Heart of Scars’. The story focuses around a deeply troubled character who is,
as the title implies, a werewolf hunter. He learns his trade from an old Dog
Soldier while growing up in the Canadian Rockies, and sets out to begin his war
against the shapeshifters against the backdrop of the Vietnam War. It is a
long, dark, epic story and it is the single best werewolf hunter book I have
ever read. Beyond that, it’s just a damned good read.
Anthony Ryan is the author of the Raven’s Shadow series.
‘Blood Song’ is the first novel, and it is, in a word, outstanding. I rank it
right up there with Patrick Rothfuss and George R.R. Martin in the fantasy
genre. It is deep, dramatic, mysterious, and loaded with plenty of action. I
don’t often call books a ‘must-read’, but in this case, I’ll make an exception.
Q. I am currently trying my hand at writing I find it
hard to concentrate on it for any long amount of time though, so I write it bit
by bit on a blog, how do you stay focused or what are your tricks for sustained
and successful writing?
A. I have the exact same problem.
There is no trick to solving it.
Self-discipline is the only solution.
Put your ass in the chair, your hands on the keyboard,
and get the hell to work. When that shrill, nagging little voice tells you to
screw around on the internet, or play video games, or watch porn, or whatever
your vice happens to be, you tell it to shut its useless fucking mouth and get
back in its cage. Then shut that cage door, lock it, zap that motherfucker with
a cattle prod, tell it there’s plenty more where that came from if it opens its
bitch-ass mouth again. Then get back to writing. Either that, or get used to
the idea of only writing one book every couple of years.
Some fun questions now James if you would
Q. Do you have a Zombie Apocalypse plan?
A. Cry and cry and cry.
I actually do own a few firearms (most notably a Sig
Sauer 556 assault rifle), so if it came down to it, I could bust some zombie
heads. But honestly, I’d probably be just as screwed as everyone else.
Q. What are your favourite zombie films/or series?
A. My favourite zombie films are the old-school George
Romero flicks, and my favourite series is White Flag of the Dead by Joseph
Talluto. It’s pure action with not a whole lot of plot to speak of, but it’s
damned entertaining.
Q. I believe out of the major horror icons or even
apocalypse settings that the zombie isn’t too far off in reality with all the
chemicals and other types of ways zombies can be created isn’t it just an
accident waiting to happen, what’s your views?
A. If we’re talking about real life, I think that it’s
much more likely that we’ll face a 28 Days Later type of scenario. Bringing
dead people back to life is—let’s face it people—simply impossible. But
diseases that affect the brain and the nervous system, or even powerful
narcotics and other chemicals, can make people do insane things. It’s not that
far of a stretch to imagine someone engineering a strain of rabies or anthrax
that attacks the cerebral cortex and causes animalistic aggression in humans.
Scary stuff when you think about it.
P.S.- If you like those kinds of stories, read ‘The
Remaining’ by DJ Molles. Excellent stuff.
Q. On that note what is that your favourite reanimation
way or do you like/prefer any of the following and what are your views,
God/Supernatural, Chemical, Radiation, Voodoo or Extra-Terrestrial?
A. I like the idea of the human-engineered infectious
disease. Having studied biology and genetics (briefly) in college, I think that
this is the most plausible possibility and the one most likely to convince
people to suspend their disbelief.
Finally James
Q. Where do see your series and writing going in the
future
A. Surviving the Dead has a lot of life left in it (pun
intended), and I anticipate at least a few more novels in that series. I also
have plans for fantasy, science fiction, and vampire novels in the
not-too-distant future, so we’ll have to wait and see.
And is there anything else you would like to say to your
readers and viewers of this blog?
What are you doing still reading this? GO BUY MY BOOKS!!
Just kidding. But seriously. They’re good entertainment.
You know, if you’re bored.
Thank you so much James these have been some brilliant answers here made me laugh and smile i hope readers enjoy it as much as i have, and i agree go buy his books, these niche market authors need more recognition they enjoy writing and getting their books and views read.
They do it for the shear fun and excitement they impart to each word they write in the hopes they make some reader feel just a modicum of the thrill they have writing it.
MY 2 cents!
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