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Wicked Awake author Merrill David talks about putting together a zombie epic

Posted On : April 15, 2020 Published By : Daniel Dunkle

 

Merrill David’s novel “Wicked Awake,” features a military veteran turned police officer facing the beginning of a zombie outbreak, one that forces him to take lives and sees him wrongly convicted of murder. As he fights to prove his innocence, the world outside the prison descends into the chaos of a zombie plague, and he ends up on a journey both exciting and horrific.

 

We got a chance to ask a few questions of the “Wicked Awake” author, Merrill David.

 

1. What makes this different from other horror novels hitting the streets right now?

Not that mine is the only Post Apocalyptic novel with some humor interwoven, but I believe I injected an extra-generous amount of levity into my story. So much so, that one person who read my book so far commented that “while this novel is extremely clever and brisk-paced, the narrative is witty. Even when horrifying!” I like that he chose those two words WITTY and HORRIFYING to describe my work, as this is exactly what I was aiming for.

If I was a rock group instead of an author, I might be compared to the band Tragedy, a metal band that put their own spin on Bee Gees songs. Or better yet, I might be more like that Death Metal Band that plays Weird Al Yankovic tunes. Is there such a band? There should be!

But I also attempted to make WICKED AWAKE smarter than the average zombie book by applying a great level of detail, science, and research into it. Hopefully I have succeeded!

 

2. Some argue certain topics are overdone like zombies or vampires. What do you say about that?

No topic is overdone if it is different and better than the other genre works out there. Besides, I bet there are tons of readers like me who can’t get enough of this stuff; tales of creatures and the paranormal that are weird and scary but could very well exist in one form another. Heck, I see a zombie just about every day. And who doesn’t like being creeped out a bit every now and then?

 

3. I understand you were a police officer. How has that influenced your work?

It definitely affected my writing style, because, just as any author, I think we write about what we know about.

I think anyone who has been or is still currently in Law Enforcement would be able to read my work and know that I actually lived it and didn’t just research it up. As a result, my protagonist, Jake Hathaway, was a Marine and then goes on to become a Dallas Police Officer.

Another of the featured characters is a rookie officer, Kelvin “Mack” McElroy, who was trained by Jake. I include several scenes in the novel based upon things I or my co-workers actually experienced. I also touch a little bit upon how being a police officer has changed over the years. Right after the 9/11 tragedy, cops and firemen were considered to be heroes. Parents encouraged their kids to wave at us and be friendly with us.

Nowadays cops are hated and targeted. Firemen are still loved (apparently I chose the wrong career), but not the police. Kids are told to question all authority, especially Law Enforcement. And I get it, I think politics and some of our past leaders are partly to blame, although I’m not going to act like I don’t realize there are some very bad officers out there who have done some really bad things. In my book I mention one seasoned training officer in particular who acts as if he is untouchable, above the law. But for every bad cop like that exists, I would say there’s another ninety-nine who are honest and professional. That being said, I don’t want readers to think that my whole book is all just zombies and cop talk. I think they will be very entertained as well!

 

4. What are the horror stories that inspire you? Who do you read? What do you watch?

Growing up, I loved watching horror and Sci-Fi type programs on TV and going to the theater or renting movies (again aging myself! For those who remember Blockbuster).

I was also very into Marvel Comics (never got into DC for some reason) and horror novels.

Some of my favorite television programs were the Incredible Hulk (with Bill Bixby and, of course, Ferrigno) and the Twilight Zone, as well as reruns of the original Planet of the Apes movies (not really feeling the re-makes).

Some of my favorite movies were the Friday the 13th series (until Jason went into outer space, then they lost me), Halloween, Freddy vs. Jason was greatness! I also loved Nightmare on Elm Street, The Fly with Jeff Goldblum, Fire in the Sky (an alien abduction film that was supposedly based on true events), those bizarre Faces of Death films.

I also dug the People Under the Stairs, the Ring, the Strangers, the Saw movies, Hellraisers, The Exorcist, Jeepers Creepers, Joyride, and of course everything zombie; Evil Dead, World War Z, Zombie Land, Shaun of the Dead, I Am Legend, Army of Darkness.

Some of the novels I have enjoyed the most are The Stand, Andromeda Strain, Max Brooks’ World War Z and Zombie Survival Guide, Bird Box, The Amityville Horror, The Shining.

I just started to read Mark Tufo’s Zombie Fallout and am enjoying it greatly!

 

5. What has been the most challenging part of getting this book out there?

It was definitely not the actual writing of the book itself. It has been everything since then; sending out over a hundred emails and queries to literary agents and publishers only to be rejected by some, those who at least had the courtesy to respond. Many of them don’t reply at all.

These big name publishing people pimping their mainstream vanilla projects, afraid to put something different out there. Not all of them are that way, but IMO the majority are. So I published my work myself.

My work is not just another zombie book. It describes an Infection Armageddon, with pandemic conditions turning humans into non-living beings who do not realize they should be dead. Its a post-apocalyptic world that feels oddly similar to what we are experiencing now with the Covid-19!

Anyways — I must digress. To finish answering your question — the social media aspect and promotion of the book are quite challenging! I’m not great with social media, don’t really understand a lot of it. But I have a couple of daughters in their 20s who are doing their best to coach me up!

 

6. Where can people find your book?

My novel is available on Amazon, my website 1merrilldavid.wixsite.com/wickedawake also has a link directly to Amazon where you can purchase the book. It is available in ebook and paperback. 

 

7. Where can they follow you?

People can follow me by email- merrilldavidhorror@gmail.com

Facebook- Merrill David

Instagram- 1merrilldavid

my website 1merrilldavid.wixsite.com/wickedawake 

books2read

goodreads

 

8. What do you think about the horror Twitter community?

Twitter is great!

But so is the Gram and Facebook.

And I have come to discover that all three are unique and seem to reach different types of people, with different motivations. I am finding all to be beneficial in getting my product out there, but I find that I have the most fun with my Instagram account. My following there isn’t quite as high as on Twitter or Facebook, but that’s where I have connected with some other really cool and talented folks

 

9. What writing rituals do you have?

I went through some difficult times a couple years back, between having a small brain tumor removed and my wife passing suddenly without warning.

And it seems as if some of my sickest, darkest writing came during those down, painful moments. Things are much better now, so every once in a while I stub my toe on the coffee table or intentionally rack myself just to get in a dark place once again, making the creative juices flow.

 

10. What’s next on the horizon for you? Another book?

Currently working on WICKED AWAKE 2, probably about a third of the way done. I left a lot of unanswered questions from book 1, so a lot of those will be answered. And if all goes well, there could be a part 3. But I also have a couple of other ideas in mind, so we shall see which direction I lean. I would love to see Wicked Awake turn into comic books or a film… just in case anyone from Marvel is reading this right now…

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