Hey, haven’t been
here a while, but guess who’s back? The notoriously funny Stuart West with yet
another novel—Zombie Rapture. (I’ve
never seen anyone so prolific.) It’s what’s known as New Adult. That means,
it’s probably a bit too much for teens, but for people around 18 or older, it’s
really good. And I mean REALLY, REALLY good. I give these 5-stars hands down. I
couldn’t stop reading it. So without further ado, He-e-e-e-r-r-r-e-e-e-‘s
Stuart!
Hey, Suzy-Q, good to be back. How are them unicorns doing?
Ahem. So Stuart, I
never get tired of reading your books. Your writing is not only eloquent, but
the juxtapositions you use made me laugh throughout the book. Zombie Rapture is your finest hour, and
hopefully not your final hour. Seems
everyone wants a sequel. Tell us what your story’s about.
SRW: Well, dang, if you haven’t gone and made me blush
again, Suzanne. Thankee kindly. Nope,
not my final hour. Already have two more books lined up and am working on a new
one.
Oh, good. What’s
Zombie Rapture about?
Hmm? Tough to describe without giving away too many
spoilers. But I’ll try. Hunter, a ready to graduate high school senior, has
just found true love—at least as true as teens believe, everything
hand-wringing angst with them—with fellow student Jordan. And he’s more than
ready to flee his boring and redneck small Kansas town. For the first time,
everything’s perfect until… he wakes from a nap to find everything’s changed.
His parents are acting very strange, even violent. The neighbors are up to
something, but worst of all, Jordan’s missing. Along with Scout (Jordan’s
younger sister), his grandpa (ornerier than a three-inch splinter and twice as
sharp), and a few new acquaintances, the newly formed dysfunctional family sets
out on a quest to save Jordan.
Apparently she’s been kidnapped—taken by the dead who are
now predominantly walking the earth. But these aren’t ordinary zombies. They’re
sentient, would rather eat fried chicken than human flesh, and, um, believe
they’re now living the Rapture come to earth.
Whew. Why zombies?
SRW: Why is the sky blue, Suzanne? I dunno. I wanted to try
my hand at the genre, I suppose. Do something maybe a little different with it.
Experiment a bit.
At first, I came up with some monumentally stupid ideas.
Baby zombies? I got excited about that one for all of five seconds. I mean, how
suspenseful can a book be if all you have to do is step over the zombie baby?
As I said, painfully, bone-headedly dumb. Ouch!
Hahaha! I have to
agree with you there. But you know, the thing that amazed me about this whole
story, is that it starts on a light and almost ridiculous note, but grows more
and more serious as the book unfolds, like you had a serious message here. Is
there a secret message? Or do we have to wait until the sequel to find out?
(And there better be a sequel.)
SRW: Well, you know I like to put humor into my books
(whether it works or not is the reader’s call). Sometimes I think if you lead
with humor, it makes the reader more invested in the characters. And I couldn’t
keep the good time laughs of the first part of the book going for fear it’d
turn into a parody, a silly comedy. The stakes are high indeed, very
bittersweet, dare I say a little romantic?
No secret message. The book stands on its own. You take from
it what you want.
As for a sequel? Gah! Everyone wants one! I thought I’d said
everything I had to say with this book. But now I’m seriously reconsidering.
We’ll see.
I sure hope you do
one. Stuart, as I said earlier, I’ve never seen anyone so prolific. Tell my
readers about all the other books you’ve released in the past three years. The
list almost seems endless.
SRW: Not endless, Suzanne. But, man, do I have blisters on
my fingertips! Let’s see, there’s my Tex, the Witch Boy trilogy (and Elspeth,
the Living Dead Girl spin-off). I’d categorize these as socially relevant,
paranormal, whodunit, suspense thrillers, romantic comedies. Did I leave anything
out?
Then there’s a series of adult thrillers: Neighborhood Watch
(your typical suburban paranoid ghost story), Godland (the worst vacation site
EVER), and The Secret Society of Like-Minded Individuals (a proposed trilogy of
thrillers about a corporation that sponsors serial killers; very cat and mouse,
very darkly humored).
Wow! Could you please
give us the link to buy Zombie Rapture?
And as far as other books go, I guess all one has to do is write Stuart R. West
into Amazon and kaboom.
Yep. Here’s my Amazon page where everything awaits just a
simple click away: Kaboom!
And readers, I don’t
know if you’re aware, but Stuart has one of the funniest blogs I’ve ever read.
Here’s the link: According to Suzanne, the funniest blog
she's ever read!
Hahaha! Well, thanks,
Stuart, for yet another visit to my blog. I always look forward to having you
because I know you’ll make me and everyone else laugh. Readers, leave a comment
for a chance to win one Stuart West’s newest novel, Zombie Rapture.
SRW: Thank you, Suzanne! Always fun to visit. Watch out for
zombies of any types!
Unh-hunh, yeah,
right.
Good interview, and Stuart West's books sound both interesting and fun.
ReplyDeleteThank you much Rhobin.
DeleteCongraulations, Rhobin. You have won a copy of Stuart West's Zombie Rapture! Stuart, could you please exchange emails with this lady so you can send her a copy?
DeleteIt is. It's one of the best books I've read in a long time.
ReplyDeleteHi Stuart and Suzanne! I enjoyed reading the interview. Zombie Rapture is great, and I in the "Write a sequel, Stuart" camp. I want more adventures about Hunter and Scout! :)
ReplyDeleteI want them to find Jordan.
Delete