The Next Big Thing.

For those who don't yet, The Next Big Thing is a chain-promotion that gives a little info on your favorite authors and up-and-coming writers like myself. I'd like to give C. Dulaney, author of The Roads Less Traveled Trilogy (Permuted Press) for including me in this. Don't forget to give her site a visit (http://www.cdulaney.com/index.html), and then grab her books. They're most excellent!

What is your working title of your book?

The working title for my book is Downfall.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I originally came up with the idea for Downfall a few years back when talking with a friend about how and why we would survive a zombie apocalypse if one were ever to occur. Then it was just a matter of fleshing out a world where the dead don't stay dead and create characters similar to my friend and I. (And it was a LOT of fun!)

What genre does your book fall under?

Horror

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Matt: Joseph Gordon-Levitt Mary: Mila Kunis (NO exceptions. At all.) Cole: Chris Pine Jeff: Eric Bana Kristin: Kate Hudson Anna: Sarah Wayne Callies Doctor Timothy Grant: Nathan Fillion

(Holy SHIT! Where's Norman, right?)

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

In a world where the dead rise and mutate, two friends risk life and limb for themselves, for others, for the future.

(I hate the one-sentence synopsis, ftr.)

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Currently, Downfall has been sent to HARPER Voyager. Should it not end up represented by them, then it will be self-published and out by February 2013

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? Six months.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

If I were to compare my book to anything it would be Left 4 Dead. (Rules ARE meant to be broken every so often.)

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Z.A. Recht and his Morningstar Saga actually inspired me to start writing. If it weren't for him, I'd be strictly a musician. R.I.P., Z.A.!

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Downfall is the first in a series of several novels that will encompass much more than Whiskey Deltas and their feasting on countless unfortunates. Though it's only in the backdrop, the novel begins a journey of finding out just how far someone will go to take control. Of everything. Zombies, in this case, are the catalyst in which a certain person - or a body of like-minded persons (we'll see) - brings forth their... plan. As well, this novel, as with its sequels, is more character driven than anything else. Not to mention - and I hate using this play on words - "action packed."

Now I'll be passing the torch off to S.P. Durnin, who will have his questions answered seven days from today. http://survivingthehorde.wordpress.com/

Enjoy!