Summer of Zombie Blog Tour Post # 5 - Interview with Mark Tufo

MARK TUFO SUMMER OF ZOMBIE

Hi Emily first off I wanted to say thank you for having me on your blog, it is much appreciated. For those of you that don’t know me I’m going to paste my bio and then do a quick shameless self-promotion before answering Emily’s questions!

Hi my name is Mark Tufo and this is my small bio slash zombie homage. First off trying to boil your life down to a few paragraphs is like trying to get out of the house with a newborn in under 5 minutes. Those of you with kids will understand the reference. Speaking of which I have three, thankfully they are mostly grown at this point which has allowed me to pursue a writing career. I grew up a blue collar man in a blue collar family, after a stint in the Marines and then the more dangerous Post Office, I decided to educate myself and get one of those cushy white collar jobs. Well I got a few, damned thing was though I couldn’t hold on to them. Kept getting laid off. It was during these down times that I began to write, it was a way to cope with the stress of having a family that was becoming more and more difficult to support.

My wife and I put out the first Zombie Fallout book in February of 09, there was huge fan-fare, ticker tape parades and maybe even some hyperventilating from the one fan that bought the book that month. Didn’t matter much that wasn’t why I had written it in the first place. I wrote a zombie book because I’ve always been fascinated with the genre. Ever since I was 7 years old and my cousin who was babysitting thought watching Night of the Living Dead would be a good way to while away the time. I’d never been so scared and enthralled at the same time in my entire life. I devoured all things zombies, movies, books, comics. Didn’t matter much. And then during one of my lay-off periods, my wife dared me to write one. (Mostly so I’d leave her alone) And I haven’t looked back.

The Zombie Fallout series is 6 novels and 1 novella long, with Zombie Fallout 7 due in October. I have the Timothy series which is written through the eyes of a zombie (not for the faint of heart - and don’t eat and read it - you’ve been warned). And there is also the continuing saga of The Book of Riley, a zombie tale told through the eyes of Riley an American Bulldog. I don’t always write about the quasi-dead, but they’re never far from my brain! (Horrible pun but fitting - Thank you for taking a few moments to learn a little about me)

Please check me out here. http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Tufo/e/B002I7PJ68/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1 Thank you.

What inspired your new release?

Tim 2 is my latest release and it is a much darker zombie novel from my other two series (Zombie Fallout and The Book of Riley). I had never intended to write a sequel to Timothy, a novella which Severed Press published in early 2012. I don’t know what it was, I did thoroughly enjoy going deeper into my psyche and coming up with some of Tim’s darker turns and when I was done I felt a catharsis. Maybe even a purging, apparently I left a little left over in my mind where it began to fester, hence Tim making a return journey.

Tell us about any WIPs you have

At this very moment I’ve got about 8 WIP’s going on. Lycan Fallout is in beta read now and I hope to release it in June. The 3rd installment of the Book of Riley is at the editor which I hope to have out in July. Then in no particular order are what follows in various states of doneness: Zombie Fallout 7, The Hanging Tree, Indian Hill 4, A Shrouded World (with John O’Brien), St. Dread and finally Detective Tynes (working title). Aren’t you glad you asked?

How many people ask you to read their books?

So many that I had to stop taking them in. I have a healthy dose of OCD and every time someone sent me a book I felt like I had to read it yesterday. Well I now have over 100 books in my To Be Read pile and I’m fairly confident I won’t get to any of them unless there’s an apocalypse and I can hole up somewhere and read them undisturbed.

In a word sum up your writing style

Eclectic

Do you have a character you enjoyed writing the most?

Drababan - he is an alien Progerian from my Indian Hill series.

Is there a genre you would like to try?

Romance (wait if that dings my man-card I’ll go with Mystery)

Could you live without coffee?

Why would you even ask such a question?

Tell us one of your favorite jokes

Umm this might not be the best forum for that. I’ll go with a less offensive blonde joke (please tell me you’re not blonde Emily. How did the blonde break her arm raking leaves? (She fell out of the tree)

Here are some questions you can choose to answer!

What's your favorite thing about the writing process?

Actually writing! The rereads, rewrites, editing, beta’s, re-rewriting, re-rereading, and promoting are all the parts that are for the birds!

Three facts about you

Marine Corps vet, Absolutely hate ham, Love Widespread Panic

Do you believe in UFOs?

Yes

What was your favorite snack growing up?

Black and white cookies

Would you rather have fame or fortune?

Fortune, I’m somewhat of an introvert.

Pick one book that is your all-time favorite?

John Christopher - The White Mountains

Embarrassing guilty pleasure -

I loved the Harry Potter books

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

introvert

Favorites:

Muppet - Hate muppets, puppets, mannequins anything falsely animated scares the hell out of me.

Cartoon growing up- Scooby Doo

Color- Red no no BLUE!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Monty Python fans will get that)

Type of Monster- Godzilla, or Bigfoot

Do you speed when you drive? Are you a cop?

Spaghetti or Lasagna and why? Lasagna it’s really fat spaghetti with a lot of different cheeses.

Your thoughts on Self Publishing - Brutally difficult, endlessly rewarding.

Your thoughts on Zombies - Once upon a time I quietly hoped they’d come, then I realized I’d never get a hot shower and I changed my mind.

Do you believe in the Loch Ness Monster? Who doesn’t?

Are you a tweeter, a re-tweeter, or you couldn't care less about Twitter?

Ugh Twitter

Would you rather sit on a porch with sweet tea {insert other beverage if tea isn't your thing} or go hiking with a bottle of water and a smile?

The hike sounds good, if I get tired can someone carry me?

Your favorite type of music

Everything except jazz, with a heavy slant towards Rock

Your favorite color of Skittle - I hate tasting rainbows, leaves a residue on your tongue

Your favorite memory

I honestly don’t know where I’d go with this one. I hate to sound cliché but the birth of my kids was a profoundly life altering event for me.

Your favorite quote - Of all the things I’ve lost, I miss my mind the most - Mark Twain

Your favorite way to spend an evening

Is my wife going to read this? (Reading a book, with the Red Sox on the tv)

Tell us what you are working on now! - I am working on A Shrouded World, it’s a collaboration with fellow author John O’Brien.

Anything you would like to say to the aspiring authors reading this blog?

Hire an editor! Never think you’re good enough to pick up all your mistakes.