Tim Long Interview
[audio:https://www.buyzombie.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Author-Tim-Long-Interview.mp3]Chip Fehd: All right Chip Fehd for BuyZombie.com here at Crypticon 2011 sitting here with author Timothy Long. Timothy say howdy.
Tim Long: Hey guys, hows it going?
Chip Fehd: This is, you guys are missing out at a fun time. I’m sitting here at his booth and he has sold out at just about everyone of his books including the Zombie Wilson Diaries. Folks if you have not gotten a copy of that book you are SOL cause he’s only got one left and after today it’s out of print. So let’s get started. Thank you for spending a couple minutes with me.
Tim Long: Thanks, no problem.
Chip Fehd: First question I have for you is: As a horror author what is your viewpoint on the state of modern horror?
Tim Long: I think it’s great because there is a lot of stuff coming out. Not just in print but stuff that’s really pushing the boundaries. I know a lot of people are talking about the movie “A Serbian Film” and how disturbing it is but that ust goes to show that if there is a boundary there is something that is going to get pushed. even if it’s going to get broken with a movie like that.
Chip Fehd: I agree! Now my specialty is zombies. What is it about the zombie mythos. The whole zombie mythology that you find most intreguing?
Tim Long: I’m not a traditional zombie guy. I’ve written a couple of less traditional zombie books but really I like the satire involved. Shaun of the Dead is my favorite movie of all time and I just love making fun, not of just the zombies but the people that are surrounded by zombies. That’s how Zombie Wilson came about. I wanted to do something different. The book resvolves around a guy that’s stuck on a deserted island with a zombie girl for 30 days.
Chip Fehd: That’s awesome and that brings me to my next question, You wake up tomorrow and the zombie apocalypse has hit. What 3 non-family members would you want next to you?
Tim Long: Well I would have to say I’d grab my crazy neighbor whose got a lot of guns. I would definetely grab Max Brooks because no one knows more about zombie weaponry then he does. Oh and J.L. Bourne just because he’s hardcore.
Chip Fehd: He’s a badass
Tim Long: He’s kind of a badass
Chip Fehd: He is a badass absolutely.
Tim Long: That guy does little video podcasts where he shows his machine guns.
Chip Fehd: Do you have any zombie related goodies coming out in the near future?
Tim Long: I do. I’ve got a 3 book deal with Bermutic Press and the first book should be out for ZomBCon in OCtober and it’s caled “Beyond The Barriers” and again I’m trying really hard to do different stuff with the zombie mythos. So there’s going to be a different kind of zombie in there that people haven’t seen before.
Chip Fehd: Nice nice. Other then zombies what is your favorite horror genre?
Tim Long: I am a huge Steven King fan so I’m going to have to say the super natural or he’s into more science ficiton these days with books like Under the Dome and Tommyknockers.
Chip Fehd: What, if anything, scares you? Were you into scary stuff as a kid? WHat scares Timothy Long?
Tim Long: The scariest thing that I remember as a kid was going to see the first Friday the 13th at the drive in. I was just a young lad sitting in the back and I was terrified and had nightmares for weeks about the arm coming out and grabbing the survivor out of the boat. That scared the crab out of me. You’ll never see me alone on a boat on a freaking lake.
Chip Fehd: *laughs* I remember that scene. Inspirations! Your inspirations both genre and non-genre. Who inspires you?
Tim Long: Stephen King again huge fan. I love Clive Barker’s stuff. My favorite writer right now, and has been for the last 10 years, is Steven Erikson. The guy writes epic fantasy but he writes it like no one else. He consistantly deliver 1000 page books that are a great read. Wonderful characters. You never know if they are a good guy or a bad guy. One book their good and the next book you find out, kind of like George Martin, they aren’t so good afterall.
Chip Fehd: When you sit down and write. When you sit down and create your magic what is your preferred writing environment?
Tim Long: Noisy
Chip Fehd: Really?
Tim Long: Yeah I actually write on the train most of the time. My commute from out in the boonies to Seatle. I spend about 2 hours of my day writing. It’s very noisy, lots of people around.
Chip Fehd: Do you write to music?
Tim Long: Not usually no, a lot of times I’ll write to the TV blaring.
Chip Fehd: The all important question that I want to know and I’m sure all of the zombie fans want to know: Do you prefer the Romero zombies, the slow movers or the new Dawn of the Dead remake/Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later fast track stars with an attitude zombies?
Tim Long: I’m torn. I like both just as well. I joke about two of my books. The first is the Zombie Wilson Diaries has a slow zombie and Among the Living has zombies that are kind of evolving they get a little faster as the books goes on. So I go both ways. I like fast and slow. What I want to see is a civil war where the fast zombies fight the slow zombies.
Chip Fehd: That would be cool. That would be a nice one. What advice could you give, as a published author to new writers?
Tim Long: Have you considered every other career out there? It’s a brutal market. But, if you love the craft, if you love writing, and you want to work hard at it and your going to write every day. And your going to not only write but learn the craft, even if that means taking some writing classes, more power to you.Get your stuff out there in front of people.
Chip Fehd: My final question and I know your a big expert on the subject – Independant publishing or do it yourself publishing vs waiting for an agent and taking the traditional route. What are your viewpoints on that and what advice can you give regarding that?
Tim Long: Well I’ve got an agent now and nothing beats having an agent at your back. They know the market. They know who to sell to. They know whose publishing what. They know what kind of advances you can get. If you do get a book deal they know how much you can ask for in advance. What kind of royalties you can ask for. On the other hand if you want to work hard and put yourstuff out there and consistantly deliver material that people like there is absolutely nothing wrong with self publishing. Just make sure you get a really good editor. Pay them. Get a good cover artistist. Make it look professional. And if you do that people will read your stuff. They’ll check it out. And you’ll make money. That’s the nice thing about self publishing. You don’t have to wait on royalties. You get paid for your work.
Chip Fehd: Awesome. Do you have any bit of advice for the audience?
Tim Long: If it’s undead aim for the head!
You can check out all of Tim’s books on Amazon.
