Thursday, September 27, 2012

Interview with Adam Sifre



Can you tell readers a little bit about yourself and what inspired to write in this particular genre?

I have three great kids, one ex, and enjoy playing on the internet.  I’m a guy who likes to write.  Well, that’s not entirely true.  I like to hear people tell me how much they enjoy my writing.  If I could get that without actually writing anything, I’d be happy.  My current novel started off as a piece of flash fiction, a thousand word story about a zombie who’s just trying to get through a day.   It was well received and I got the idea to expand it into a novel, but I didn’t want to spend pages and pages and pages setting up a traditional story arc.  

Instead, I wrote a series of chapters designed to read like individual pieces of flash fiction.  Each chapter tells it’s own story while at the same time contributing to the overall plot of the novel.  You can pick any chapter at random (almost any chapter) and get a complete story that stands alone.   It’s a relatively unique structure designed to appeal to readers on the run who want their entertainment quick.   “I’ve Been Deader” is designed to appeal to the person who’s been raised on the internet and wants what they want when they want it.

Please tell us about your latest release.

“I’ve Been Deader” is a novel told from several points of view, There’s Fred, a zombie trying to find love, his son, and a small meteorite that is residing in the crushed head of an undead mailman.   There’s Jon, a likeable serial killer who feels like a kid in a candy store when the zombie apocalypse hits.  Finally there’s Timmy, Fred’s still-living son who is desperate to find a way to save his dad.  The story blends horror and comedy and neither gets in the way of the other.   It ain’t bad.

Was one of your characters more challenging to write than another?

Aleta, Fred’s love interest, was difficult for me.  For reasons that I won’t go into here, I didn’t want to give her an internal or external voice.  This meant I had to show her to the world by her actions and how others saw her.  That was a bit of a challenge.

Is there a character that you enjoyed writing more than any of the others?

I loved writing the scenes with Fred in them.  He’s the main focal point where I found it easiest to blend comedy and horror, depending on what the story needed.   Besides, to create a zombie that stays true to his undead, ravenous nature and still elicit sympathy from the reader is quite a feat, and I’m proud of it.

What is your favorite scene from the book? Could you share a little bit of it, without spoilers of course?

There’s a chapter called “Dead Divas” that I love.  A character named “Sunshine” is forced to search a building for painkillers and other drugs, and finds himself  in a bar with transvestite entertainers.  That chapter’s a corker.

What is the most interesting thing you have physically done for book related research purposes?

I learned that in order to write, you have to wake up in the morning and write.  That continues to be a challenge for me.

Can you tell readers a little bit about the world building in the book/series? How does this world differ from our normal world?

“I’ve Been Deader” takes place in this world after a zombie apocalypse.  I tried to keep the world as real and common as possible for juxtaposition purposes.  For example, the story opens up with Fred taking stock of himself in a bathroom on the Vince Lombardi rest area, off the New Jersey Turnpike.  I mean, you can’t get more depressingly real than that.   There’s key scenes at Newark Airport, the Camden, NJ Aquarium, the Eisenhower Tunnels in Colorado, IKEA, Chinese restaurants – all the hot travel spots.

With the book being part of a series, are there any character or story arcs, that readers jumping in somewhere other than the first book, need to be aware of? Can these books be read as stand alones?

All  my books, and most of my chapters, can be read as stand alone.

Do any of your characters have similar characteristics of yourself in them and what are they?

Yes.  Fred and I both have fond memories of being younger, slimmer and alive.

Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? How do you deal with it?

I go get something to eat, maybe cause a bit of trouble on the internet and then just write.

Do you find it difficult to write in multiple genres?

Not really.  The key for me is reading several books in a genre I want to write in.  Once I get a feel for what readers expect, I can usually write to meet their expectations and at the same time give them something they didn’t expect.

When did you consider yourself a writer?

I wrote a few poems for a beautiful woman and they worked.   That was all the incentive I needed.

What are your guilty pleasures in life?

I watch the Bachelorette and Project Runway.  But you can’t tell ANYONE.  Also, I enjoyed the movie “The Joy Luck Club.”  

Other than writing, what are some of your interests, hobbies or passions in life?

I love playing tennis and reading about the American Civil War.  



September 20 Guest blog
Captivated Reading

September 20 Promo
Freda's Voice 

September 21 Interview
Sultry Storyteller/

September 23 Interview
Laurie's Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews 

September 25 Interview
Roxanne’s Realm

September 26 Guest blog
Zombie Survival Crew 

September 27 Interview 
Fang-tastic Books

September 28 Promo
Mama Knows Books 

September 30 Promo
The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom

October 1 Interview 

October 2 Guest blog

October 5 Review
Snowdrop Dreams of Books

October 6 Guest blog
Snowdrop Dreams of Books

October 7 Review
The Avid Reader


I’ve Been Deader
Book One
By Adam Sifre  

Genre: Horror/romance

Publisher: Taylor Street Publishing
Date of Publication: July 2, 2012

ISBN: 13: 978-1478180784
ASIN: B008H04Z0G

Number of pages:306
Word Count: 90,000

Cover Artist:Tim Hewtson

Book Trailer 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x8wE0cgTWA

Book Description: 

Being a zombie is no picnic and it's one hell of a handicap in the romance department when you fall in love with a 'breather':

Aleta is a breather with short blonde hair and brown eyes - two of them! - and the whitest smile Fred has ever seen. Every day at a certain time she sits at her window, and every day he stands in the rubble across the street among a crowd of zombies waiting to break through the fence and eat her.

'You are beautiful, like an angel', he thinks, but all he can moan is, “Braaaiiinss."

Still, as zombies go, Fred's quite a catch. Underneath all the gangrene and rot, Fred is different. This girl will probably turn out to be yet another dead end, an infatuation, someone whose image he cannot get out of his mind and whose taste he cannot get out of his mouth, but the heart wants what the heart wants.

For breathers, it is always only a matter of time, however beautiful they are and whatever the government is assuring people.

Which makes Fred sad because he has a beautiful 11 year old son called Timmy, and Timmy may still be alive.

About the Author:



Lawyer, Writer, Zombie Man



I have no real interest in anything and therefore write about everything. Think of the funniest person you know. I'm just a little bit funnier. Same goes for humble and good looking. Stick around. We'll have some fun.



1 comment:

Splinker said...

Thank you for hosting and the interview. Have a great Haloween!

 
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