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interviews of the Dead - Tony Monchinski - Update

addition to the books by Max Brooks heard Tony Monchinskis Eden for me right now among the best books on the zombie genre. As the author has kindly reprinted in the book his email address, it was easy to make contact with Tony, who has been willing to my questions, and present herewith the same time my first "interview of the Dead".

To mitigate translation error is below the original text. Suggestions for improvement I am an open mind.

Tony surrounded by his family

Hi Tony, first of all would be interested to know why you used the fictional character in the book Tommy Arlin.

Eden I've written because I was able to successfully publish my books and articles for bodybuilding and powerlifting magazines have published. But I always wanted to be a writer. So I thought: "What kind of book will sell right now" Vampire were very successful (and still are), but the zombie genre, it was not so much, so thought I like to see the opportunities could be good for a book of zombie theme.

In the introduction, and in the preface, I then inserted another meta-narrative, which revolves around a guy named Tommy Arlin that does not exist in reality. Tommy is the character of another, non-horror story I wrote, but have not yet published. I think that the part reads differently than the actual Eden story, and I wanted to show other writers that I'm not just a "horror" writer. I did not want to be pinned down to one genre, so I also love the horror genre.

Why did you decide to tell the story in different time frames and at first glance incoherent?

It was the best way to tell the story, I wanted to tell. The story of Harris's last days on earth may be only ten pages long. I did not want a long flashback. Telling the story through each other, allowing me to put the characters in the scene so as I wanted it. I also wanted to convey a sense of confusion and chaos from which an apocalyptic event mit sich bringen würde.

Gibt es darin eine Logik, oder ist die Anordnung zufällig? Hast Du die Story erst im Nachhinein durcheinandergeworfen, oder hast Du sie so geschrieben, wie sie jetzt vorliegt?

Ich hab die Geschichte so geschrieben, wie sie abgedruckt ist. Ich habe aber im Laufe der Zeit immer wieder Sachen ergänzt. Zum Beispiel habe ich die Buddy-Hintergrundgeschichte (der Kindermörder im Gefängnis) noch eingebaut, weil ich eine Idee für das Sequel hatte, und ich den Grundstein dafür schon in Eden legen wollte.

As you write your stories? You build you a story from the start stand that you slowly fill with life and the content, or arises during the history of writing?

I try as much as possible prefabricate. I take notes, create detailed sketches, complete with characters and scenes of life before I start writing. That is, if I start writing, the story is already written and as if by themselves. Again, the buddy back story is another good example. I was not originally in mind, but es hat Sinn ergeben, als ich Eden geschrieben habe.

Im englischsprachigen Raum wurde bereits eine Fortsetzung, namens Crusade veröffentlicht. Kannst Du uns kurz was zur Story erzählen und wie können wir unterstützen, dass das Buch auch in deutscher Sprache erscheint?

Crusade erzähle ich auch in verschiedenen Zeitebenen, aber nicht annähernd so viel wie in Eden. Die Geschichte folgt Bear, Mickey, Gwen, Julie und Buddy direkt nachdem sie Eden verlassen haben und im Staat New York eine Gesellschaft namens Clavius City (benannt nach der Raumstation in Kubricks 2001 find). It also introduces new characters who fight through Pennsylvania and eventually meet with the five characters from Eden in Clavius City.

If you've liked Eden, would you do me a huge favor, if you know Heyne shall provide that, you wish the sequels in German.

Update 03/03/2011: From Heyne / Random House I received the following email address: kundenservice@randomhouse.de

Next they wanted to not comment on the situation at present.

Can you tell us what has to be a second sequel? Is there perhaps even a release date?

On 30 June 2011 appears Eden: Resurrection to tackling 20 years after the Crusade. The overarching question in Resurrection is: Who will survive? The zombies, or people? Who will gain control over the earth? In the story revolves around the search, in which a young man his friends are going on a journey to find answers to the questions of who he is and how he goes where he can find himself.

Es ist jetzt eher ungewöhnlich, dass ein Schriftsteller eine Email-Adresse in seinen Büchern hinterlegt. Welche Absicht hast Du damit verfolgt? Wie war das Feedback und glaubst du, dass es für einen Schriftsteller wichtig ist, mit seinen Lesern in Kontakt zu treten?

Ich mag es von meinen Lesern Feedback zu erhalten (Anm. von mir: Ich auch!). Was wären die Schreiber ohne die Leser? Ich habe in meinem Leben drei Autoren angeschrieben. Den MIT Sprachwissenschaftler und politischen Aktivisten Noam Chomsky, den Krimi-Autoren Andrew Vachss und den Tierschützer/Psychoanalytiker Jeffrey Masson – and each took time to answer me. I appreciate that, and I will never forget. Of course, I do not have time, I read entire books and write a review about it (I am not a full-time writer, I am a high school teacher), but it's great to get from my readers feedback and ideas of their own stories obtained.

The feedback was great. I was surprised by the large number of German readers, you have written to me. When readers write to me, I feel both humility and confirmation. (In the place has given Tony a contact from the publisher. I'm from the publisher asked whether I should publish the email address and the other to an official statement asking whether there are plans to publish Crusade in Germany. In the case of a reply I will furnish any information.)

What are your main influences as far as the letter itself and the zombie logic?

f Primarily George Romero , especially his first three zombie ilme ( Dawn - Night - Day). I'm also a big fan of Robert Kirkman's comic "The Walking Dead" (I have read all of his publications). Eden is in the heart actually an action-packed adventure story and I owe the authors with whom I grew up, gratitude, and people like Don Pendleton (Mack Bolan: The Executioner), Jerry Ahern (The Survivalist, track), Gar Wilson (Phoenix Force) Dick Stivers (Able Team) Gregory St. Germaine (Resistance) and a host of others who I forgot. In general I would say is that Kurt Vonnegut has the greatest influence on me as a writer, so I Eden his fictional character Kilgore Trout gewidmet habe.

Könntest Du dir vorstellen, Deine Geschichte in die Kinos zu bringen und würdest Du dabei Änderungen zustimmen, um die Story geradlinig zu erzählen, oder würdest Du Änderungen ablehnen, um Deine Vision, wie die Geschichte erzählt werden soll, beizubehalten?

Falls mir jemand eine große Menge Geld bieten würde, wäre das eine schwierige Entscheidung. Aber ich mache das nicht für Geld und erwarte auch nicht, mit dem Schreiben reich zu werden. Ich veröffentliche seit 20 Jahren und bin immer noch nicht reich. Nevertheless, I think if someone were filming Eden keeping to mostly at the end of story, would be a good movie out there. However, would not the minors.

Are there any future plans you can talk about you?

A company has approached me, who wants to publish an unabridged German-language audiobook version of Eden . I agreed and I am delighted about this, but I signed anything yet. In addition, there is still at an Eden-re-release in the U.S. einem großen Verlag geben, aber ich habe noch keinen Vertrag vorliegen und werde „believe it when I see it“ wie wir sagen.

Was sind denn Deine Lieblings-Zombie-Filme und Bücher – von Deinen natürlich abgesehen?

Ohne Rangordnung: Dawn of the Dead (Original und Remake), World War Z (das Buch; ich hoffe, dass der Film gut wird!), Shock Waves und Dead Snow (Nazi Zombies sind großartig!); das Castle Wolfenstein-Videospiel (und wieder: Nazi Zombies!); die Resident Evil Videospiele; die Zombiekomödie Fido, die early Stephen King stories ... there is a lot. As for mainstream, I read everything I get into the hands of Vonnegut, George Pelecanos, Andrew Vachss, Russell Banks, Sherman Alexie, Don Delilo, and Larry Brown. Tolkien and Terry Brooks I loved when I was younger. I would particularly recommend also the great written story "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson with vampires, not zombies.

Thank you for your insightful answers.

English version:

First of all, why did you use the fictional character Tommy Arlin?

I wrote Eden because I had had success getting my educational books published and publishing in the bodybuilding/powerlifting magazine industry. But I have always wanted to be a novelist. So I said “What kind of book might sell at this time”? Vampires were very popular (still are) but zombies were not as much, so I thought maybe a zombie themed book stood a chance of doing well. I wrote Eden, and I introduced a meta story in the introduction and preface about a guy named Tommy Arlin who does not exist. Tommy is a character from other non-horror fiction I have written that I have not published yet. I think the Arlin parts read different than the actual body of Eden, and I wanted to show writers that I am not just a “horror” author. I didn’t want to get typecast, as much as I love the horror genre.

Why did you set your story disarranged and in different timelines?

It was the best way to tell the story I wanted to tell. Harris’ last day on earth is probably only ten pages long. I didn’t want lengthy flashback sequences. Telling the story out of order allowed me to reveal what I wanted to about certain characters when I wanted to. I also wanted to convey some sense of the disarray and chaos that an apocalyptic event would bring with it.

Is there a logic, or did you just mix up the story after random reasons? Did you write the whole story and mixed it up afterwards, or did you write your story as it is printed?

I wrote it as it was printed. However, I obviously added things as I went along. For instance, the Buddy back-story (the child murderer in prison) I added because I had an idea in mind for the sequel and I wanted to plant that idea in Eden.

How do you create your stories? Is there an overall storyline, you fill with content, or do you create the story "on the fly"?

I try and plan as much ahead as possible. I take notes, create detailed outlines, flesh out characters and entire scenes before I write. That said, I find that once I start writing things present themselves and help write themselves. Again, the Buddy back story is an example. I hadn’t intended that from the beginning, but it made sense to me as I was writing Eden.

You already published a sequel to Eden, called Crusade. At the moment it's only available in English. Can you give us an idea, what the story is about and can we help you, to get the book published in German language?

Crusade is also disjointed in time, but not nearly as much as Eden was. It follows Bear-Mickey-Gwen-Julie-and Buddy immediately after they have left Eden and are heading into upstate New York, where they find a society called Clavius City (named after the space station in Kurbrick’s 2001). It also introduces a new cast of characters who are working their way through Pennsylvania and eventually meet up with the five from Eden in Clavius city. People who like Eden would be doing me a big favor by emailing Heyne and letting them know you want to see the sequels in German! I hope I am not committing a social mistake by putting this here, but the very nice lady I dealt with at Random House (which owns Heyne) is XXX  and her email is XXX.

Can you tell us about a second sequel? Do you have a release date for the English book?

June 30 ^th Eden: Resurrection comes out. It is set twenty years after Crusade. The overarching question in Resurrection is this: who will survive? The zombies or the humans? Who will return to control the earth? It is a “quest” novel where a young man and his friends embark on a journey to find answers to questions of who he is and how he got where he finds himself.

It's unusual, that a writer publishes a real email-adress in his books. What was your intention? How was the feedback and do you think it's important for a writer, to get in touch with his readers?

I like to hear from people who read my books. Without the readers, what are writers? I have written to three authors in my life—the MIT linguist and political activist Noam Chomsy, the crime fiction writer Andrew Vachss, and the animal rights activist/psychoanalyst Jeffrey Masson—and each took the time to respond to me. I appreciated that and never forgot it. Obviously I don’t have time to read people’s books and critique them (I am not a full time writer; I am a high school teacher), but I like to hear from readers and hear their own ideas for their own stories. The feedback has been great! I have been surprised by the number of readers in Germany that I have heard from. When readers email me it is humbling and validating at the same time!

What are your main influences in story writing and for zombie-logic?

George Romero first and foremost, especially his first three zombie films (Night-Dawn-Day). I am a big fan of Robert Kirkman’s comic The Walking Dead (I read all of his stuff). Eden is really an action-adventure story at heart, and I owe a debt of gratitude to the authors I grew up reading as a boy for that; people like Don Pendleton (Mack Bolan: The Executioner), Jerry Ahern (The Survivalist; Track), Gar Wilson (Phoenix Force), Dick Stivers (Able Team); Gregory St. Germaine (Resistance), and a bunch of others I forget. Overall, however, I would say Kurt Vonnegut is the biggest influence on me as a writer, and that is why Eden is dedicated to his character Kilgore Trout.

Could you imagine to bring your story to the movies and would you change the arrangement to get the story straight, or would you refuse changes and the movie, to keep your vision, your story should be told?

If someone was offering me a large sum of money it would be a very difficult decision. However, I am not in this for the money and I do not expect to “get rich” from writing. I have been getting published for 20 years and I have not gotten rich from it. That said, I think if someone directed Eden and pretty much stuck to the story the way it is they would have a good movie. It would need to be R-rated.

Are there any future plans, you can talk about?

I have been approached by a company that wants to release an unabridged, German-language audio book of Eden. I have agreed and am very excited about that but I have not signed anything yet. There is talk about an Eden reissue in the United States with a major publisher but I have not seen a contract yet and will “believe it when I see it” as we say.

What are your favourite zombie-movies and books, apart from yours, of course good movie on their hands.

In no particular order…Dawn of the Dead (the original and the remake); World War Z (the book; I hope the movie is good!); Shock Waves and Dead Snow (Nazi zombies are great!); the Castle Wolfenstein video-game remake (again, Nazi zombies!); the Resident Evil video games; the zombie comedy, Fido; early Stephen King novels; there is a lot! As far as mainstream fiction, I read everything I can by Vonnegut, George Pelecanos, Andrew Vachss, Russell Banks, Sherman Alexie, Don Delilo, and Larry Brown. I really enjoyed Tolkien and Terry Brooks when I was young. I’d also highly recommend the novella I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. Vampires, not zombies, and done so well!

Thank you very much for your answers.

Aus dem Interview darf unter Angabe der Quelle zitiert werden.

This interview may be quoted with reference to its source.

Update 03.03.2011: Tony hat mir ein Bild zur Verfügung gestellt, dass ihn in Gesellschaft seiner Familie zeigt. Ich veröffentliche das Bild mit freundlicher Genehmigung seitens Tony. Jede weitere Verwendung obliegt der Freigabe seitens Tony.

English version:

Update 03.03.2011 Tony sent me a picture , which shows him in company of his family . I publish this picture with the kind permission of Tony . Any other use must be approved by Tony .