Q & A With Joanna Prototype

Joanna Prototype is a kick ass zombie writer who has written the amazing ‘A Bloody Road to Nowhere and Tales from the Apocalypse’.

“Well, I am really just a simple writer. I have been writing since I was a kid and started writing about zombies when I was a teenager. I still have some of my stories from back then I have been planning to rewrite and possibly publish. I like writing about the undead for pretty much every reason. I like the blood, I like the questions, I like the possibilities.

A Bloody Road to Nowhere is basically about surviving in the face of unimaginable monsters, both human and zombie. It’s a story about doing what you have to do to survive and the consequences that would come with that lifestyle. More specifically, the story is about Ury dealing with a truly insane life, making friends, and fighting monsters. Tales from the Apocalypse are short stories from different, random points in the zombie apocalypse. Just brief glimpses of the horrors happening in the rest of the world.

I am currently working on the next book in this series, A Bloody Road to Nowhere: Finding Home.”

1. What was the inspiration for your book?

The real inspiration for my book started with wanting to create a character that was believable to survive in a zombie apocalypse, but not because they were prepared for it. I wanted to create someone who just happened to have a life and skills that would give them a likely advantage. Once I had Ury, the story just unfolded around her.

2. Were any of the characters based on you?

I suppose Ury was based off myself. We definitely share a personality, but her life is nothing like mine. I made Ury much more interesting than myself!

3. Who would play Ury in the film?

Not just because I would love to see her do a Midwestern accent and curse that much, but because she would be good, Emma Watson.

4. What is your favourite zombie book and film?

My favorite zombie book will always have to be World War Z just because of the scale that Max Brooks managed to portray the ZA on. He made it so real.

My favorite movie is the Tom Savini remake of Night of the Living Dead. It is by far the most satisfying remake I have ever seen.

5. What is your zombie apocalypse plan?

My plan is just to get out of the city. Probably head toward Amish country. I feel like, if anyone is prepared for the zombie apocalypse, it’s the Amish. Let’s just hope they are welcoming!

Don’t forget to ‘Like’ Joanna on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/PrototypeJoanna

A Moment with LD Ricard

“I live in Florida with my other half. Kids grown and finally found the time to write and love it! My web site ishttp://queloquepasa.com/LDRicard. I am also on Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/397778

I have 4 short stories in the 4 Dark Light anthos with Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly publishing. My new novel Rowans End has been published by Barpublishing and has just been made available to buy!”

Rowans End: Laine and her daughter Lexy were used to constantly moving from place to place, but after eighteen years of a transient existence, the death of their husband and father sends them on path towards a dark destiny they could have never anticipated. With no other option except to move to his family farm in Vermont, both mother and daughter soon discover that the lies they were told for nearly two decades are quickly unraveling.
For not only were they misled about why they kept on the move, they were also not told who and what they really were and, even worse, the in-laws who should be providing them comfort seem intent upon controlling or destroying them.

Jordans Brains

“I’m a self-proclaimed zombie addict, and I’ll read or watch anything that has to do with the undead. Most people wonder why I’m obsessed with zombies; I just think it’s the most fascinating genre. Stories about how survivors would react in a post-apocalyptic world are intriguing to me. I’d like to think that I would do everything in my power to help others during the zombie apocalypse. I guess I’ll never know until a real zombie invasion occurs (hopefully soon).

I wrote my first book, Jordan’s Brains, exactly one month before my thirtieth birthday. Unlike many authors, being a writer wasn’t a childhood dream of mine. It wasn’t even on my radar until recently. I’ve always been a daydreamer though, and my mind tends to drift off quite often, and I end up weaving these elaborate and strange stories. I’ve always enjoyed conjuring up these bizarre tales in my mind, but one day I just decided to start writing down my ideas. I began taking notes about a psychotic zombie fanatic who yearned for the zombie apocalypse. That’s how the idea for my first novel was conceived, and I had such a blast writing Jordan’s Brains.

I recently finished writing my second zombie novel, and I’m working on my third round of editing. Publishing always takes longer than I think, but hopefully it’ll be released in a few months. It’s quite different than my first book. It takes place in the 1950s, and only women can get infected by the zombie virus. Because all men are immune and most of the women are infected, the men are left to fend for themselves. It’s more of a comedy than a horror novel. I have a few ideas for my third book, which I hope to start working on soon. I’m having so much fun creating my own little stories about the zombie apocalypse!”

Q & A

1. Obvious question – what is your zombie apocalypse plan?

My plan is to stockpile food and water, so I’ll be able to stay inside and ride out the first wave of the zombie apocalypse. Then I plan on venturing out to help other survivors. I’m sure I’ll get killed or turned in the process, but I have to at least try to save a few people.

2. What is your zombie killing weapon of choice?

Excellent question! A machete would be the perfect weapon for the zombie apocalypse. Unlike a gun, you never have to reload it, and it’s nice and quiet.

3. Did you base any of the characters in Jordans Brains on yourself, or anyone you know?

I think Jordan was based on me a little bit. Jordan is a little crazy, but in an endearing way. While I’m not a psychopath, I definitely fall into the “eccentric” category. I’d also like to think that, like Jordan, I would do everything in my power to help strangers during the zombie apocalypse.

4. Did you have a strict plot line for your book, or did you just allow it to develop as you wrote?

I had the first third outlined before I started writing Jordan’s Brains, and then I just let the story unfold naturally from there. It’s fun to let the characters develop themselves. I was even surprised by some of the twists in Jordan’s Brains because I didn’t plan them ahead of time.

5. What is your favourite book (horror or otherwise) and why?

Oh, that is another excellent question. I read so many books, and it’s hard to pick just one. Can I give you a top five? Here are my five favorite zombie novels:

1. Zombie/Apocalypse 2012: A Political Horror Story by Ian McClellan

2. The Road to Hell is Paved with Zombies by Cedric Nye

3. A Bloody Road to Nowhere by Joanna Prototype

4. The Longest Road by A.S. Thompson

5. The Hand That Feeds by Michael Garza.

I know that was cheating, but I couldn’t pick just one! I love all of those books because each story has its own unique twist on the zombie apocalypse.

Check out http://thelockdown.co.uk for more

Something a Little Different...

Here I want to introduce you to photographer Jake Riding. He has been a wonderful help tohttp://thelockdown.co.uk and his work is absolutely worth a view!

“I’m 17 years old, I live in Helston, Cornwall and I’m a very passionate photographer. I started photography in 2010 not long after winning a photographic competition in my secondary school (Helston Community College). I like to do event, news, food and creative photography. I also sometimes try and do macro nature photography and aviation photography.

I have a weekly market stall in Helston, that’s every Friday (weather permitting). I started market stall trading on the 7th September 2013 after getting help from Jonathon Radford-Gaby (Helston Town Mayor), and Emma Wooderson (Helston Markets Chair). I sell a selection of photographs from myself, Bob Sharples and John Richards (all local photographers). All photographs are mounted and packaged. I also have my photography for sale in Loravon, Helston too – what’s downstairs of ‘Fruit & Veg 4 U’ shop that’s located near the top half of Meneage Street.

I have previously produced photo-shoots for Sounds Eclectic, The Old Cattle Market (Helston), Cunda Kitchen, Porthleven Primary School, Porthleven Community Group, MyCornwall Magazine and Kingsgate Church (Helston).

My website is http://jakeriding.co.uk and you can ‘Like’ me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/jakeridingcouk to keep up to date with my work.

I use a Canon EOS Digital SLR 1100D with lenses: 37-76mm zoom, 75-300mm zoom, 50mm prime. I use a YONGNUO speedlite (external flash gun). I edit my photographs in Digital Photo Professional and Adobe Photoshop CS2 using Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate.”

More available at http://thelockdown.co.uk/blog

Who is Kevin S Hall?

“I am Kevin Hall, an upcoming author who has recently had two short stories published in Holiday Horror 2014.

I’ve been writing stories since I was ten but only recently decided to pursue a career in writing full time. I have a long way to go yet but I hope to make it big with my upcoming Raven’s Edge novel, a ghost story said in a forgotten Scottish ghost town.

I have done Nightmares Before Christmas which you can find on my Black Hole page on Facebook – short horror stories and poems for the festive period which I hope you will all enjoy.

I am currently working on finishing Thirteen, which is a collection of 13 short horror stories and is over 100,000 words so far! I hope to finish it soon but it’s sometimes hard finding the time.

I am still 33 and will be 34 this year so I hope it’s not too late to become a successful author – I hope to get out of my rubbish job one day but take each day at a time and try to write lots.

I have to say my influences are Stephen King (Pet Sematary being my all time favourite book and movie), James Herbert, Dean Koontz, Tolkien and Terry Pratchett to name but a few!

I am a sci-fi, fantasy and horror fan and love comics and Doctor Who. I am not afraid to be a geek – in fact I love it and wouldn’t change it for the world. I may be mocked at work and made to look stupid but I am not and hope to rise up and show them all one day that I can and will be better than they are!

Hope you all like my work and feel free to leave comments and let me know how I can improve on my writing. We are all in this together and even if you only write a little a day it’s better than none at all. I look forward to getting to know you all a lot better and making new friends like I have with Samie and so many others.

Here’s to many wonderful years of writing together!”

For more, check out http://thelockdown.co.uk/blog

Get to know Kat Yares

Kat Yares has been writing fiction her entire adult life. She is an author, screenwriter, indie movie maker and amateur photographer. Her short fiction has appeared in numerous print publications and online. She was first accepted into the Horror Writers Association in 2001 and remains a member today.

Her fiction is primarily in the horror/thriller genres. Unlike many, she writes horror not to gross out or startle her readers, but to make them think. Most of her stories are mind games and deal with mans (or woman’s) inhumanity to man (or woman).

Her novella, Vengeance Is Mine, while horror, still strikes a cord for many readers as they can see correlations between the story and what is happening in today’s political climate.

Her two novels, Beneath the Tor and The XIII, are both fantasy and thriller and as several readers have written to her, are bound to send her to Hades after she passes.
Visit her blog (www.katyares.com) to find out more about her and the various Internet retail outlets where her books can be found.

For more #sci fi fun check out http://thelockdown.co.uk

Interview with Nicholas Scott Lilly

“I have been writing horror stories for as long as I have been able to string words together. My lifelong love of Jason Voorhees the Crystal Lake slasher horror fiend from the Friday the 13th movies has kept me interested in blood, gore, and dead camp counselors ever since I was a young child.

Growing up I never cared much for sports, cars, or the traditional cartoons for a child, the first movie I ever saw in theaters was Childs play and I was hooked from then on. Non stop reading and story telling my parents had to take a different approach to punish me. I could without a TV or video games and I sat quietly and smugly as they took them away but eventually they caught on and when my books started being confiscated I started straightening up….or at least being more sneaky about things.

Writing is all I could ever do with my life anything else would just be a fall back, something to pay the bills until writing paid off and even if I never made a cent doing so I will never stop.

Thirteen horrific tales that will not only keep you up at night but make you second guess everything you thought you knew. Inside these pages is a world of the unknown a fear that you never knew existed. You will think twice about every day encounters after reading Mirror mirror, the phones that you revolve your life around might not be your obsession after you experience Technical difficulties, Taking a family trip to the carnival may seem harmless, carefree, family fun but you’ll think again once The dark man cometh. These and many more are what you have waiting for you in between the pages of Where we come to die.”

Get to know Nicholas better at http://www.facebook.com/WhereWeGoToDie

For more #horror fun check out http://thelockdown.co.uk