Jesse Petersen Interview
Jesse Petersen is the author of the celebrated and entertaining Living With The Dead Series and had some time to sit down with our reviewer J.R. Jackson for an interview!
Can you provide a brief summary of your novels?
The Living With the Dead series is about a couple who are in marriage counseling when the zombie apocalypse hits Seattle. In MARRIED WITH ZOMBIES they have to use the advice of their (now dead, thanks to them) marriage counselor to get out of the city and work together. The second book, FLIP THIS ZOMBIE follows the couple as they continue their journey through the apocalypse and start a small business (Zombiebusters, Inc). And the third book, EAT SLAY LOVE brings the couple to what they hope is the “wall†where the country has been split in between the infected and the uninfected. There is also a short story collection set in the same world called IN THE DEAD: Volume 1 and a stand-alone short story called “Shambling With the Starsâ€. Those both follow other people through their own experiences.
What was your motivation(s) to write in the zombie/horror/apocalyptic genre?
Well we had gone to Zombieland, which I loved (I’m a big fan of the zombie comedy) and I just started thinking about the opening action sequence of MARRIED WITH ZOMBIES when Sarah and David discover that their marriage counselor is a zombie and has eaten the couple meeting before them. I was describing it to my husband and asking him if he thought it was funny, which he did. And when I said someone should write it, he reminded me I’m a writer. So I did, almost entirely to entertain myself, but several publishers ended up interested in it so that was quite a lovely surprise!
Was is difficult to create a romantic zombie apocalyptic trilogy?
Not really since the journey of Dave and Sarah is as much about survival as it is their “romanceâ€. They have to learn to work together in order to just survive, so of course that leads them to look at their relationship. It seemed like a very natural progression to me, how their relationship mirrors their fight for survival.
How was the experience of seeing your work move from an idea to a rough draft to the finished product?
I’m actually multiply published in another genre, so it wasn’t as much of a surprise as it might have been. But it’s always fun to take a book from sale to on sale
When you sit down and write what is your perfect writing environment, i.e., quiet, music, a specific room in the house? What helps get you in the mood? Watching classic horror films or…?
I did watch a LOT of zombie movies while writing this book, since it is a bit of a satire on the zombie genre as well as a romantic comedy with zombies. Which was FUUUUUN research. But I wrote this book very off the cuff and just wherever the mood struck me. After the first book, I went back to my much more normal way, which is plotting and writing in my office a specific number of pages each day.
Who are 5 people, besides friends and family that you would want to be stuck with during the zombie apocalypse?
Romero invented the genre in so many ways, so I guess he’d be good to have around. Plus, he’s ridiculously tall (I met him at ZombieCon last year). So he’d be good for sighting. That Bear Grilles guy, the survivalist… he’d probably be good. Not for the fighting necessarily, but for teaching everyone how to turn their pee into fresh drinking water or whatever. I watch Top Shot on History Channel. I’d definitely want a marksman of some kind. I’m a good shot, but you can never have too many weapons specialists in a zombie apocalypse. Paris Hilton. This is because someone in your group is always sacrificed in zombie movies, and I’d like to pick her for the job. Early on. For the last spot… I think Harold from the first season of Top Chef. He never threw anyone under the bus, he was a good leader and he could make FOOD on the road!
In a hypothetical zombie apocalypse, what would be your preference and why? The classic slow zombie or the fast zombies we’ve seen in some of the film adaptations and movie remakes?
As a survivor, I’d say slow zombie. At least you have time to see them coming. As a writer, I like the hybrid I created. Slow plus fast!
What advice can you impart to authors just starting out who want to break into the zombie/horror/apocalyptic genre?
Write something you are passionate about and is true to your voice and then edit it mercilessly. Get a great agent and don’t expect that you’re going to publish right away. Breaking into the industry takes time.
Who do you feel is directly responsible for your entry into the horror genre and specifically the inclusion of zombies into your work?
Zombieland, my husband and my literary agent take the blame for me. Zombieland for sparking an idea, my husband for encouraging me to write it and my agent for believing it could be sold.
What and who are your favorite authors and books?
I like a lot of different books but I don’t read as much as I’d like to. Between the move and writing so much, it’s hard to read, though I joined a book club here. I like some fantasy, romance, horror, true crime, etc.
If you had to do it all over again, the writing, the search for a publisher, etc, what would you do differently?
Well, again, being published in another genre, it wasn’t really the same process as it might have been. My agent took the book, opened up an auction and we went from there. Orbit was passionate about it and paid me very well and I wouldn’t change a thing. I wish it had sold better, but sales are sort of a fluid, weird thing.
Do you have any plans to continue the David and Sarah Living with the Dead series? Maybe a standalone novella?
I would love to carry on, but Orbit does not want to publish more books in the series ( that low sales thing again, so anyone who wants to buy the books, I appreciate it). If I do publish something else in the universe, I would be publishing it independently (as I published IN THE DEAD: Volume 1 independently). It would only be available via Kindle/Nook/Smashwords. There are many readers asking for another book, so I may do another full length novel or perhaps a novella with Sarah and David.
You can follow what Jesse is up to on her official website!
