AN AWESOME AUTHOR: Daniel Waters (Day 1)

So you may have heard that this week the author that is stopping by for an interview will be here for not just one day but TWO. The interview is split in to 2 parts (Day 1 and Day 2). So as you know that today is part 1!

The author that is stopping by is none other than the brilliant Daniel Waters. Daniel Water's book Generation Dead was released this past spring. I read the book and absolutely loved it(click here to read my review). Generation Dead deals with teens in America dying, but they come back. They are called many names like 'dead kids', 'zombies', and 'living impaired'. As you can imagine they have trouble fitting into society. If you haven't read the book I suggest you buy it right now.

Purchase the book at:
Barnes and Noble $12.23
Amazon $11.55

Visit Daniel Waters Blog
Visit Tommy Williams' (character in Generation Dead) Blog
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Dealing With the Book

1. How is it to be a published author?
It is great. A lifelong goal achieved.

2. Generation Dead is a very unique story, I haven’t heard of any other book like it, how did you come up with the wonderful story?
Thank you. The initial idea for Generation Dead came from some news magazine show I’d seen on violence in schools. According to the program, it was becoming all the rage in schools across America to video tape planned fights or random acts of violence and put them up on YouTube for the entire world to enjoy. The show ran a number of the actual clips of young people hurting other young people. One of the clips featured a little boy in a coat that was too big for him waiting for the bus to arrive. A much larger boy ran into the frame and punched the smaller boy in the face, dropping him to the pavement. The little boy sat, alone and crying, bleeding from his nose and mouth. I think the zombies were my brains’ (my braaaaaiiiiiins’!) way of coping with what, to me, was a truly horrific subject.

3. In Generation Dead Phoebe is a goth, have you ever gone goth and worn all black like her?
Not goth exactly. I went to a Catholic high school with a dress code so it was hard to “go” anything, although I did wear a lot of black.
After I graduated, though, I grew my hair long. I guess I looked pretty scary and metal, but I really wanted to look like Robin Zander from Cheap Trick.

4. Are you more of a Tommy or Adam? Why?
Hmmm. I don’t think I’m polarized either way although I share personality traits with each. With Phoebe, too.

5. Did you ever play football in High School? Why did you make football be the sport that Tommy and Adam play?
I didn’t. I wrestled one season but was awful—no drive, I just wanted to get in shape. The book is set during the fall, so I needed a fall sport and of course having Homecoming, both the dance and the game, loom so large in the book (as it seemed to when I was still in school) made football the obvious choice. My personal sport of choice is basketball—although, like Adam and Phoebe, I love Frisbee.

6. I have heard rumors that you are writing a sequel to Generation Dead. What is the title? And when will we be able to buy it on Amazon or Barnes and Noble?
Kiss of Life. I don’t know when it will be released, probably next spring or summer.

7. How many books are you going to write about Phoebe and the rest of the Generation Dead characters?
I’m not sure, but there are definitely more stories I want to tell in the “world” of Generation Dead.

8. What is Phoebe up to in Kiss of Life?
She’s trying to make good on the promise she made to herself at the end of Generation Dead.

9. Are you planning on writing another book that doesn’t deal with Generation Dead?
Yes. I typically work on two or three projects at once, switching when I start to feel stale on whatever I’m working on. I find this tends to feed me creatively in the process.

Click here to go to Day 2.