Author Interview – Jack Wallen

I’d like to take a minute to introduce everyone to Jack Wallen. We met through one of those random instances on facebook and he has become one of my favorite people to see post since. I guarantee it will either be thought provoking or completely out there.

Jack is referred to as the Zombie King. He’s an actor, author, radio host, dad, husband.. this man does it all. I hope you run to amazon as quickly as possible to purchase some of his work after reading this interview.

First off, tell us a little about yourself. When you’re not penning something awesome, what else do you like to do in your normal every day life?

The one thing I like to do more than anything is hang out with my wife. She’s awesome and we have a great time together. I’m also a mountain biker, so you’ll often see me thrashing around on the local Kentucky trails (we have a lot here). My other passions are music and movies. During the day I always have music playing while I write and at night, the wife and I sit down and shut our brains off with some TV or film. Right now we’re watching the French series The Returned. French cinema is so great – they know how to really set a mood and draw out life’s colors and moments.

You started out as an actor. How hard was it to transition to writing?

 It was actually quite easy. To be honest, I started writing while I was an actor because I knew there was no such thing as a reliable retirement as an actor. To that end, I wanted to build something that could serve as a retirement. The first book I wrote, A Blade Away, was done between seasons as a resident actor with Stage One. I found the process to be nearly as satisfying as acting. I also find a lot of my actor training comes in handy. Improvisation helps tremendously with dialog and the ability to really get connected to the internal workings of characters makes the job of crafting believable worlds and people so much easier.

Where do you find influence for your writing?

Anywhere. Everywhere. The shape of a tree, the sound of nature…the moments between life. The inspiration for one of my upcoming pieces came from the song “Blood” by In This Moment. If you listen to the song at 0:39-0:41 you hear this remarkably raw passion pouring out of Maria Banks. Those two seconds of power caused me to wonder what would bring someone to need to unleash such anger onto another human. That lead me to develop the story for an upcoming Fringe Killer novel, ‘Control’.

The book I am just now finishing, Among You, was a dream I had in high school. I carried that dream with me through life and eventually turned it into a stage play. Not satisfied with putting that piece of my life away, I realized it had to be book. A very crucial moment in that story was inspired by the Broods song ‘Never Gonna Change’.

You have several novels under your belt. Of all of them, which one is your personal favorite?

That is so hard to answer. I get asked it a lot and the answer changes, moment to moment. I’m very proud of A Blade Away because it was my first. I Zombie I proved I had it in me to write in my favorite genre. Shero is just too important to ignore (even though it can be silly, it holds the single most important message I offer – accepting yourself and your truth. Hell’s Muse is probably the most complex novel I’ve ever written. It came out of a very dark place within me. I love it because I finally got to write a piece about hell and the trappings of fame. Endgame nearly did me in as a writer. It was a tough piece – on a number of levels. Getting that book complete and out into the public was a testament to my strength and tolerance to others in the industry.

 But maybe, just maybe, they all take a back seat to Klockwerk Kabaret. I always wanted to write steampunk and that book was such a joy.

 Honestly, they are all my favorite – on some level.

 I know, not the answer you wanted. But each book has a part of me bled into the warp and weft of the story and words.

Shero has gained a bit of a cult following. How does it feel to accomplish something like that?

 I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of Shero. I wrote that piece at a time in my life when I really needed joy. I found it between words and pages of that story. Shero is probably one of my most important series – if for any other reason than the message it contains is crucial for the human race. It’s very GLBT-centric (as is the Fringe Killer series) and serves as a celebration of equality and acceptance.

 That people have grown to love Shero means, at least to me, that there is hope for the human race.

You have a few books releasing soon. Please tell us a little about them.

 I have two books from the I Zombie series that will be released soon. The first is Cry Zombie Cry. This is the seventh in the series and is a special piece because it expands on something I stared with Lie Zombie Lie by bringing real-world people into the story. Lie Zombie Lie saw the introduction of Morgan Garcia (formerly Barnhart) and Joshua Garcia of the Zombie Response Team. The serve as major characters in the story now (along with their organization). In Cry Zombie Cry I introduce the Polish metal band Unsun into the mix. I have worked with Aya (the singer) to craft lyrics for their up-coming release – one song is titled Cry Zombie Cry (lyrics by me) and serves as a soundtrack to the novel. The band is still writing and recording. My plan is to do a simultaneous release of the book and the album.

 Before that book is released, a new novella spin off series will be available. The Last Casket series stars the real-life psychobilly band Kitty in a Casket. I’ve worked with Kitty Casket (the singer) to bring the band to life in the I Zombie series. This spin off will be a bit lighter than my usual fare. The undead will be rocked!

 I mentioned Among You earlier. This is my first YA title. I’m calling it a YA Parahorror Romance because it’s darker than the standard fare and although romance does have a place at the table, it is not the centerpiece.

Tell us about Zombie Radio.

 Zombie Radio was originally written in the book My Zombie My. One of my beta readers suggested I bring that broadcast to life to help market the book. That was three years ago. I’ve recorded a Zombie Radio podcast every saturday since. It’s really a pleasure for me to do. The character of the DJ has evolved a great deal since the first broadcast and has become some strange take on William Shatner. The DJ plays music, comments on the apocalypse, and has guests and other fun schtick. You can find Zombie Radio on iTunes or just go to http:///www.zombieradio.org to have a listen.

It seems like you have a full work load on your hands. How to you find time to manage it all and spend time with your family?

Writing is my job…and my life. My wife understands that, but she knows that when it’s time to pull my fingers from the keys…I’m all hers. Of course, she also knows that my mind is always wrapped around a work in progress or developing something new. It does help to be able to write throughout the day. But the majority of my writing comes at night, when everyone else is asleep and the lights are out. Since I write horror, the darkness has always been my comfort space.

If you were to share one piece of advice with new authors, what would it be?

 Never give up, never give in. Find your voice and make it unique. There is only one you. Make the most out of what you have to offer and hold it close to your heart. Once you’ve made that level of connection with your voice, the writing will come easy. When you attempt to be something or someone else…the writing becomes a chore.

 You have enough chores already.

Where can we expect to see Jack Wallen a year from now?

Waiting for the opening of the film adaptation for Among You. Until then, you can find me here:

http://www.monkeypantz.net

Twitter: @jlwallen

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.jackwallen

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+jackwallen/posts

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jack-Wallen/e/B004MZWR3W/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

I’d like to thank Jack for taking time out of his schedule to answer a few questions for me. Buy his books, follow him in any way you can, and listen to Zombie Radio. I promise you won’t be disappointed! I see Jack doing some really awesome things in the future, and it’s always cool to say you heard about it first!

To thank you all for stopping by to meet Jack and give my blog a little traffic, I’d like to offer up a giveaway. I am currently using the free version of wordpress, so you’ll have to click the link below to be taken to the entry form. 

$5 in amazon money to purchase one of Jacks books! Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Please see my giveaway policy page for all other rules and regulations.

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