by RG Hart
Halloween. To some it’s a season of change. To others a time of celebration of the harvest. While to others Halloween is a celebration of the strange, the macabre, magic, good vs. evil, and life and death.
To me Halloween has always been fun. From those days as a child when I went trick or treating in the crisp fall air I still have vivid memories of the smell of rotting leaves mingling with the scent of spent gunpowder from exploded fireworks. Then of course there were the treasures we collected and compared, and the sight of the neighborhood lit up with jack-o-lanterns and children with their parents roaming the street in colorful costumes. It all seemed innocent, and was a glorious celebration of community.
I later discovered and learned to love (and still do) the old universal horror movies with their genuine creepiness (scares) and dark brooding sets and lighting. And the monsters; Frankenstein’s monster, shuffling mummies, hairy werewolves, and vampires with thick accents provided me and my friends with many hours of entertainment and enjoyment. Many years later in 2010 I’ve somehow become the zombie-romance author. How did this happen? Am I following a new trend?
The truth is that many years ago, while attending a writing workshop taught by Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Katherine Rusch, I created a book proposal about a zombie who falls in love with a midget (little person is the more PC term, but you’ll have to read the book to see the significance of the term midget) and who sweeps her off her tiny feet. This proposal was created many years before the current zombie craze and long before World War Z. Although by then I had heard of the graphic novel series The Walking Dead. (awesome series BTW and well worth checking out). I know you’re thinking zombies are only lumbering undead monsters who eat brains (and other body parts) so how can they fall in love? I thought I’d take the zombie in a whole new direction, which if you read my short story in Hungry For Your Love, or in my novel Bachelorette Zombie Edition you will see how I dealt with this issue. I also decided to inject humor into the story because when you really think about the traditional zombie, who can’t get away from a lumbering, stupid monster? The movies Shaun of the Dead and Fido are good examples of exploring the humorous side of zombies.
Of course when you have zombies you must have reality television. A show about narcissistic “real” people acting badly is the perfect fit and setting for zombies. I’m currently watching the British mini-series called Dead Set which is about a zombie attack during a reality show. Hmmmm....maybe they’re following my trend? LOL.
I encourage you all to consider the zombie movies and fiction that makes you smile because the first thing we all do after a good scare is laugh so I decided why not combine them? That’s what I did in my short story and in Bachelorette Zombie Edition.
I hope you all have a wonderful Halloween and enjoy your favorite scary movies and stories, after all tis the season (or is that scream-son?) for good, scary fun.
Find RG Hart at RGHART.COM
+ comments + 12 comments
How have i missed Bachelorette, Zombie edition?!
Love FIdo, Dead Set, Shaun of the Dead... and I always wanted to write a version of Survivor, but with zombies... Started it, got side-tracked.
lovely post, RG!
Good Stuff! I love Halloween, although we never had fire works. Home made haunted houses and arguments over to dress as a group or go individual in my family. Lots of treats and and warm cider to warm up our chilled bones and a scary movie to top it off. I live so far from the street nowadays nobody comes. Oh well.
Halloween is more fun for me now that I have children. My neighborhood is perfectly spooky for trick-or-treating and my kids love it.
Reading Bachelorette: Zombie Edition now. Enjoying it. It's the first zombie book I've ever read.
Then again, I never read Bram Stroker's Dracula until last week.
This story intrigues me and I'm very interested in how a zombie can be sexy. Can't wait to read.
Rachel Firasek
Sean of the Dead is a favorite-what a great reminder that we can't write to the trends, only where our creativity leads us.
Thanks, Dana. I love this shows too. The Walking Dead series starts this Halloween on AMC. My PVR is already set.
Russ
Hi, Thea:
I know what you mean. I doubt my old neighbourhood is anything like ti was when I was a kid.
Russ
Hi, JS.
Glad you're enjoying the book. It was sure fun to write.
Russ
Hey, Rachel:
Let me know what you think. I love feedback.
Thanks
Russ
I grew up in kind of an isolated corner of CT suburbia. There were 8 houses on my street including our house and my grandmother's next door. Add another 4-5 houses on the next nearest street and that gives you an idea how full my goodie bag was and how lonely and spooky the trick or treating was. Hmmmmm....perhaps there's a story or three hiding in those memories, thanks RG for the prod!
Hi, Eileen:
Yes. Very true. I think sometimes we forget every story has be told at least once. For example, If you made a list of how many times Cinderella has been made into a book or a movie the list would stretch from here to the moon and back. LOL
My philosophy is tell your story your way then send it into the market. A good story will always sell.
Hey, Jan:
Stories come from everywhere all the time. Sit down, write and enjoy the experience. I write because I love story, always have. My view is writing should be fun for the writer. I can tell when a story (even a published one) is no fun for the author. Passion always shows.
Russ
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