Robert Knight is the author of Zombie Zone Zero, which we recently reviewed and were able to sit down with the author for you!

Buy Zombie: Even though the the story was written as Chris’s Memoir, it seems that Artie was the true main character. Was that the intent, or did he develop as you were writing?

Robert Knight: It developed as I was writing. I will start a story with a vague outline of general ideas, but then I will often “turn over the reins” as the characters develop and gain voices of their own. After about ten chapters, it’s all out of my hands and they’re moving independently, strange as that sounds.

Buy Zombie: What influenced you to deviate from your current genre to zombie fiction?

Robert Knight: I became interested in the genre while watching the The Walking Dead. The show is such a crazy mix of gruesome, horrific, humorous, unpredictable, heart-pounding adventure! I know that I have that same gross sense of humour. For example, I laughed myself silly when they put Glen down the well that time and then reeled the well walker up and ripped it in half. The television show and the comics are so wonderfully entertaining, that they have undoubtedly influenced a whole generation of writers to try their hands at zombie fiction.

I was also thinking of Stephen King’s The Mist when I wrote Zombie Zone Zero. I’ve always been taken by the thought of being trapped in a life and death situation with strangers. Especially in a supernatural situation. I grew up on Stephen King and appreciate that morbidly gross sense of humor he has, not to mention his amazing imagination. He thinks, “What if…” and these wonderful stories spring to life with brilliant characters. Love him and envy his talent.

Buy Zombie: what zombie films or books influenced your writing the most?

Robert Knight: Definitely The Walking Dead is the number one influence for Zombie Zone Zero. Then the movie Zombieland. Loved Woody Harrelson. I also really enjoyed T.W. Brown’s Zomblog and his Dead series. As a writer I’ve been influenced by literally hundreds of books. There’s so many good mainstream and indie writers now. So many books, so little time! I’ve been a big fan of apocalyptic fiction all my life, starting with The Stand and Swan Song, and more recently, The Hunger Games and Divergent.

Buy Zombie: It seems that you spent a lot of time on character development and the journey of the survivors as opposed to focusing on the zombies. Was that intentional?

Robert Knight: It was intentional. I am no zombie expert, so obviously I would identify better with the survivors. I would have been playing too far out of my league to spend a great deal of time trying to scientifically explain the whys and wherefores of the zombie apocalypse . Besides, I think if the ZA occurred in real life, most of the survivors would have no idea why corpses are suddenly walking around!

Buy Zombie: I I loved the story of the Kermode bear and how you wove it through the story line. Does it have a particular significance to you?

Robert Knight: The Kermode bear has no personal significance other than the fact that I have studied local history for my romance novels and have become enamored with some of the old stories and legends of our First Nations people, which I always try to portray as accurately as possible. For example, the ghost town of Butedale on Royal Princess Island does exist and it has an old power plant on it, so it seemed like the perfect sanctuary for my characters.

Buy Zombie: Will there be a sequel to Zombie Zone Zero?

Robert Knight: I’m not sure. I’m intrigued by the idea of seeing Artie’s daughter Melissa as a teen. I don’t think she will be content, sitting on her heels on a remote island. But will zombies still be around a decade after the beginning of the apocalypse? Popular theory says no… But what if?