Be sure to enter for a chance to win a KINDLE – preloaded with books from all the Crossroads Tour authors! (Details at the end of this post)
*******
Karen: Tell us a little about what Will and the gang are in for in The Undertakers: Queen of the Dead, the sequel to The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses.
Ty: Thirteen-year-old Will Ritter and the rest of the Undertakers have won their first victory, but the celebration is cut short when a new threat emerges through the Void between worlds. Lilith Cavanugh, the Queen of the Dead, is even more ruthless and dangerous than her predecessor, and her ambitions are even more sinister.To defeat her, the Undertakers will need to prevent an assassination, rescue Will’s family, and somehow convince a skeptical F.B.I. agent that their cause is just. But how to you convince a grown-up that monsters are real?
Karen: The zombie apocalypse is upon us. What are your three must have items?
Ty: First: my son Andy. He's been planning for the zombie apocalypse for years! He knows exactly where to find sanctuary, how to equip yourself, how to locate food, where to deliver the most effective blows to the walking dead, etc. I wouldn't last a day without him with the zombies closing in.
Second, a shotgun and a truck-load of shells. Yeah, I know. A Quaker with a shotgun??? Well, this Quaker don't intend to be lunch for no rottin’ cadaver, and if that means relieving said cadaver of the ten pounds of meat atop his shoulders, then so be it! (Whew! We are talking hypothetically, aren't we?)
And finally, I'd bring Jonathan Maberry's ZOMBIE CSU. You just can't beat it when it comes to zombie info, and knowing your enemy is half the battle!
Karen: I love all the fan artwork sent in by kids on the Join the Undertakers.com fan site. Is it exciting when you can have that kind of response from and interactive experience with the reader?Ty: When I got into middle grade fiction, Heather Brewer told me that I'd love the audience, that there is nothing like fans of that age group! Well, she was right. The enthusiasm I get when I visit schools or do other personal appearances is absolutely incredible! The fan letters warm my heart. Just knowing there are so many readers out there just waiting for Book Two of the Undertakers' story makes me want to work that much harder on Book Three!
Karen: Do you have to tone down the gore for the mid-grade level? It seems like the kids don't have any problem with it if their drawing are any indication lol
Ty: Gore in middle grade fiction is nothing new. Just ask Darren Shan. I wanted to make the Undertakers more character driven than plot driven; it's a story about the kids, not the Corpses. That said, this is a "zombie" novel - sort of - and you have to deliver on the promise that implies!
Gruesome things happen in my pages. And, as far as I can tell, my readers wouldn't have it any other way. I know I wouldn't!
Karen: Thanks so much for the fun interview Ty!
Author links: Website | The Undertakers | Books
******
Karen": Welcome to For What It’s Worth Carrie! According to your Short and Sweet Bio: "I am whack-a-ding-hoy. I write books that are also whack-a-ding-hoy" Um….elaborate please :-)
Carrie: I first heard the phrase “whack-a-ding-hoy” in a video game called Afterlife. It’s one of those sim games where you have to maintain heaven and hell, and your guides are this very snarky demon and a really airheaded angel. And the demon says things like, “DEMONS DO NOT DRINK ROOT BEER.” And the angel says things like, “That’s totally whack-a-ding-hoy, boss! Tee hee!” And I have no idea why I’m telling you this, except that I really liked that game. Anyway, whack-a-ding-hoy means really crazy, and that describes both me and my books, I think.
Karen: You say that you are the "ultimate geek girl" Plan your ultimate geek dinner. Who would you invite?
Carrie: I guess that depends on whether or not I can invite fictional characters. I hope so! Because I think a dinner with Spock, Sheldon from Big Bang Theory, Wil Wheaton, and Batman would be about SEVEN HUNDRED DIFFERENT KINDS OF AWESOME. Although Sheldon would probably have to bring his couch, because he wouldn’t like mine. And after dinner, we’d all play Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock, which Spock would naturally win, because HE’S SPOCK FOR GOD’S SAKE.
Karen: As someone who's worked with actual brains for a living (as an autopsy coordinator/statistician and a manager of the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center) and written about zombies in your debut novel Bad Taste in Boys, how do you think you would fare during a zombie apocalypse?
Carrie: I feel like I’m fairly well prepared for the zombocalypse. I play a lot of zombie video games, and I know a lot of things about zombies, but my most important element of zombie attack prep is that I married a ninja. So my survival plan is to stand behind him and all his ninja friends and yell helpful things like, “Get him in the head!” Which will probably annoy the crap out of them, but remember the valuable zombie knowledge I possess? I’m a valuable, if annoying, asset.
And yeah, I’m proud of that.
Karen: What is Halloween like at your house? Do you go all out with decorations and costumes? Carrie: Oh yeah! I go way the heck overboard, partly because Halloween has always been my favorite holiday, and partly because it’s my son’s birthday. So we start talking about our costumes around Christmas, and all of us change our minds about 700 times before settling on something. I’m not really able to decorate quite as extremely as I’d like because my kids are still young, and walking down the Halloween aisle at the store sometimes freaks them out. But I’m PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE, and the future includes plastic zombies in cheerleader costumes. I think that future is awesome.
I also think YOU are awesome. Thanks so much for having me to visit!
Karen: I had to tone down my Halloween decorating after one year I sent all the small kids screaming down my walkway in terror. Oops. But all the Dad’s were taking videos lol
Author links: Website | Blog | Connect | Books
******
Each day of The Crossroads Blog Tour, a new research question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all answers by the end of the tour.
Answers are to be emailed to tour host, Judith Graves by October 28th at MIDNIGHT. Winner of the grand prize will be announced on OCTOBER 31st – HALLOWEEN.
The GRAND PRIZE you’re vying for? A brand new KINDLE, preloaded with a title from each of the participating Crossroads Blog Tour Authors. That’s right folks, a free KINDLE preloaded with 13 free titles from the participating authors!
Twitter chat hosted by Mundie Moms on Monday 1/29 from 8-9 CST/ 9-10 EST
I am totally convinced that when the zombpocalypse comes, teenage boys will have great survival tips. Awesome interview! :)
ReplyDeleteWendy @ The Midnight Garden
I am not worried about the zombie apocalypse. I'm all set. And also, you're supposed to scare people on Halloween...muahaha.
ReplyDelete