Interview with David Dunwoody

 

 Interview with David DunwoodyWhat genre(s) do you write?

Horror, horror, and horror. Though it has a tendency to branch out into other areas like dark fantasy and sci-fi.



What gives you your inspiration?

Lovecraft, Cronenberg, caffeine and nightmares.



At what age did you start writing?

It was about 10 or so. I was captivated by a colorized version of "Night of the Living Dead" with these green-and-orange-hued zombies beating on the house. That led to my first story, which I rewrote for THE UNDEAD: HEADSHOT QUARTET from Permuted Press.



When did you realize this is what you wanted to do with your life?

Probably about that same time. I'd been given a children's Bible storybook and was preoccupied with the End Times segments, bringing it back to zombies in my mind.



What was your biggest challenge in writing your book(s)?

Really the biggest challenge was formatting. I wrote my first novel in Final Draft and it didn't translate well to Word. My wonderful editor Ryan C. Thomas took care of that.



How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

EMPIRE's the first.



I'm very proud of it and looking forward to the sequel, but right now THE HARVEST CYCLE http://harvestcycle. blogspot. com/) is really taking off and I'm having a blast writing it. It's about Lovecraftian killers and robots and lots of out-of-this-world post-apocalyptic shit.



I read on you page you’ve written a feature that goes into production this year, would you like to tell us more about that?

I've collaborated with friend and director Joe Patnaud on a slasher script called LIVE BAIT that's due to start production in late summer, out in Cali. This one's about turning the tables on the killer, then having them turned back with bloody results.



What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I catch House, Law & Order SVU, spend time with the wife and cats, try not to go mad.



Do you tend to base your characters on real people or are they totally from your imagination?

More and more I find that I'm basing characters on real people, as well as parts of myself. I'm bringing a lot of friends into stories as well as satirizing characters like our President. A lot of them, though, do come from my mind are pieces of myself, representations of different perspectives on things.



What made you want to write about zombies?

Probably the glorious childhood trauma, and Romero's classic line: "They're us". Zombies are wonderful monsters to play with.



Do you agree with the Ideas of making zombies stronger and smarter?

I think that in some cases you really have to do something different, and it's okay to hold onto some of the classic conventions but if you want to keep it fresh then yes, let some of your zombies evolve.



Do you have any advice for the aspiring writers out there?

Put yourself out there. Don't be picky.



Sites like Ralan. com & Duotrope. com will guide you to paying markets, and places like Permuted Press' forums and Critters. org will give you constructive criticism. Don't be afraid, don't hesitate, do it!



How can a reader contact you or purchase your books?

DavidDunwoody. com is the hub for all of my horrible crap out there on the Internet.



What are you working on now we should know about?

Just The Harvest Cycle (http://harvestcycle. blogspot. com/). This one, I think, blows EMPIRE out of the water in terms of twists and villainous monsters. Still I can't wait to return to the EMPIRE universe later this year and unleash the Circus of the Dead.



Is there anything you would like to add?

Keep reading, keep writing, you can always get at me through one of those damned websites or my MySpace, they're all linked together like a spiderweb.



Thanks!

DaveThank you Dave for taking the time to talk to us!! And I would like to encourage everyone to take the time to check out Davids novel!Bob~

I have been following along and this is ome really great stuff