Dying Days 4 CoverArmand Rosamilia is the author of the ‘Armand Rosamilia’ series! This is the fourth installment of these sex craving undead and he took a moment away from his writing to share some details about his special love of zombies in all shapes and sizes!

Buy Zombie (BZ): Can you share with our readers a bit about the world that you’ve created in ‘Dying Days’ for those who haven’t read any of it yet?

Armand Rosamilia (AR): It is a zombie world that readers sometimes forget has zombies in it. The bulk of the story is about the survivors and how crazy awful some of them still are, others who’ve gone over the deep end, and the few that stick to their morals (and guns) and are trying to survive another day. This isn’t about hope and a happy ending. It’s about trying not to get killed by your fellow man while avoiding getting bitten and sexually violated by a zombie.

BZ: Of course without spoiling the first novel, what can we expect in your recently released ‘Dying Days 4′?

AR: The zombies have gotten even worse. They’re starting to evolve and no one will ever be safe again.

BZ: What inspired you to create the world of ‘Dying Days’?

AR: I got on a kick, reading zombie books after I read The Rising by Brian Keene. I wanted to create my own world with my own set of rules. I stuck to the basics of zombies but added my own unique twists and turns, and it keeps evolving as I write more stories.

BZ: Who is your favorite character in the ‘Dying Days’ series and why?

AR: It was the main character, Darlene Bobich, up until Dying Days 4. The feisty redhead Tosha Shorb became my favorite because of the interesting things she added to the book. Darlene will always be my sentimental fave, but Tosha has some really cool attitude, sex appeal and sarcasm.

BZ: Any plans to expand the ‘Dying Days’ series into any other medium?

AR: That is the dream. Had an option to do an independent film of the first book but it looks like that fell through. The series is on audiobook, in print and eBook. I’d love to do a comic book/graphic novel of Dying Days at some point. Even a web-based comic book series would be killer. Just haven’t found the right person/people to do it with yet. I also think a Dying Days birthday line (napkins, balloons, party favors) would be the perfect fit.

BZ: Who is your favorite character outside of your own work in the zombie genre?

AR: Conan the barbarian. I spent my teens reading everything I could with Conan and not just the RE Howard books. I collected the complete run of Marvel Comics, too. Still a huge fan.

BZ: The age old question which always must be asked, slow or fast zombies and why?

AR: It doesn’t matter to me, to be honest. As long as they are scary and not just there so people can find new ways to kill them. My only real fault with The Walking Dead was the prison fences, where they spent so much time each show stabbing heads and splattering blood everywhere. It got boring for me, but only that part (don’t go sending hate mail). My favorite zombie movie is the Dawn of The Dead remake, and the fast zombies were scary in that one. I know I can’t outrun them.

BZ: Do you have any plans for future zombie novels lined up? Either a continuation of the world you created in ‘Dying Days’ or an entirely new setting?

AR: Sticking with Dying Days right now. I’ll be working on Dying Days: Origins 2 for a November release, Dying Days 5 for next June and I’ll have a few other releases as well. In the upcoming State of Horror anthology series from Charon Coin Press I’ll have stand-alone Dying Days shorts featuring new characters you might or might not see in future Dying Days books.

BZ: What is your zombie survival plan or what would be the start of how you winged it in case of a zombie outbreak?

AR: My plan is simple: be patient zero or die as quickly as possible. I’m not built for the zombie apocalypse. I’m too fat, too lazy and way too pretty to be a survivor for long.

BZ: Who are 5 people, besides immediate family and nearby friends, that you would want to be stuck with or in a group with during an apocalyptic event not exactly a zombie outbreak but something that would affect life as you know it on a global scale? Why?

AR: Frank Edler (for the sarcasm)… Jerry Benns (for the management)… Dale Comstock (for the protection)… Joe McKinney (can’t have too much protection)… and Alyssa Milano (who will then have to marry me, and the restraining order will become void)

BZ: While a clearly overly infection sub-genre of horror, what hasn’t been done with zombies that either you would like to tackle yourself or see someone else do?

AR: If there is something new I hope I can be the one to find it. I’m greedy that way. I’m not sure how many other authors have made their zombies biters as well as rapists, so I might have a unique idea right now… until FX or HBO steals it.

BZ: Who do you feel is directly responsible for your entry into the field of writing and specifically the inclusion of zombies into your work?

AR: My mother for the entry. She still is a voracious horror reader, and I didn’t have to go far to find Dean Koontz and many other authors on her bookshelves. But when it comes to zombies, it would be Brian Keene. The Rising was a huge book for me, because it got me thinking about how you could do zombies uniquely.

BZ: Do you have any suggestions, aside from your own work that is, on novels you recommend zombie fanatics pick up?

AR: Obviously Brian Keene. Joe McKinney never ceases to amaze me with his zombie books. This Plague of Days by Robert Chazz Chute. Anything by Mark Tufo, John O’Brien and Shawn Chesser. There are a ton of great books. Heck, I ran the Summer of Zombie 2014 Blog Tour and had 30+ zombie authors involved and had to turn away twice as many.

BZ: Where can readers and fans alike find out more information about your books and upcoming projects that you’re involved in?

AR: The easiest place is at http://armandrosamilia.com and you can listen to my new podcast, where I interview horror authors as well: http://armcastpodcast.com
Thanks!
Armand Rosamilia

10516633_10204171118138283_4296768031839309486_n (1)Armand Rosamilia is a New Jersey boy currently living in sunny Florida, where he writes when he’s not watching the Boston Red Sox and listening to Heavy Metal music… and because of him they won the 2013 World Series, so he’s pretty good at watching!

He’s written over 100 stories that are currently available, including a few different series:

“Dying Days” extreme zombie series
“Keyport Cthulhu” horror series
“Flagler Beach Fiction Series” contemporary fiction
“Metal Queens” non-fiction music series

he also loves to talk in third person… because he’s really that cool. He’s a proud Active member of HWA as well. 

You can find him at http://armandrosamilia.com for not only his latest releases but interviews and guest posts with other authors he likes!

and e-mail him to talk about zombies, baseball and Metal: 

[email protected]