Jonathan Maberry & Dust & Decay

Wednesday, August 31, 2011 7:01 AM Posted by Enna Isilee , 26 Comments
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Zombies, FTW! I'm a sucker for a good zombie story, and one of the best zombie stories I've ever read was Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry. It was one of my top 10 books of 2010! Today I get to interview him and give away a copy of the SEQUEL to Rot & Ruin called Dust & Decay which came out YESTERDAY! Read on, fellow zombie hunters!

How do you celebrate a book “birthday”? Do you have release parties? Any traditions?

I used to throw a party with the release of each book, but the crazy thing is that I have too many releases per year to manage that. Lately I’ve been writing three novels a year in three separate genres; plus comic books nearly every month, graphic novel collections, and anthologies in which I’m a contributor. It’s wild.

For major book releases I now select a bookstore for an official launch, and I turn that into a party. I bring a cake with the book cover on it, I have all sorts of goodies on my table (weird snacks like Gummi body parts), and often I include things like zombie make-up artists, actors dressed as characters from the book, and so on. Sometimes I have costume contests at my signings, which is always a lot of fun.

I’ve coordinated some of my comic book releases with the local comic shop and the local theater. For the release of MARVEL UNIVERSE VS THE PUNISHER, we had a signing in the lobby of the theater and then everyone watched Punisher: War Zone.

If you could have a birthday party with any theme you chose, what would the theme be?

I’m planning a nationwide marathon of zombie role-playing games. Winners will have characters named after them in a future book. I’ll have a zombie make-up artist at the release event; as well as big Jell-O mold in the shape of a brain (yes, I actually have a brain-shaped Jell-O mold), and zombie snacks of various disgusting (but delicious) kinds. I’ll sponsor a local zombie crawl, and I’m looking into having a zombie movie event at the local movie theater. I did that once before and it was a big success, now I want to go bigger.

Is there anything you have to have when you’re writing? (music, quiet, chocolate, etc.)

Coffee. And…oh, yeah, coffee.

If you were to describe your writing process in three words, what would they be?

Discipline. Consistency. Fun.

What kind of music do you like to listen to? Favorite band/artist?

I have more than ten thousand songs on my iPod. I’m deeply into music of all kinds. The stuff in heaviest rotation tends to be classic blues (Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Mississippi John Hurt, etc.), classic rock (Eagles, Steely Dan, Beatles, etc.), singer-songwriter stuff (Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Sarah McLachlan), and some world music with an emphasis on Celtic music (Loreena McKenitt, Mary Black).

I make really oddball music mixes. It’s not unusual to have showtunes from Camelot or Fiddler on the Roof back to back with Nick Cave, Gregorian chant, Johnny Cash, and Coldplay.

If you lived in the world of Rot & Ruin, do you think you would be a zombie? If not, what would your job be?

I’d be a teacher, probably concentrating on fighting skills. I’ve been active in jujutsu for nearly fifty years, and I teach Japanese swordplay as well. I’d be teaching bounty hunters and zombie killers.

Jonathan's mad-lib turned out unsurprisingly creepy. Almost as creepy as what the paragraph actually said.
There was a bizarre corpse, and Benny turned to see a mushy-skinned man shuffling quietly around the corner of the sword. He wore ancient nerves that were stained with dark blotches and, incongruously, a garland of elegant flowers around his arm. Marigolds and honeysuckle. The man’s brain-stem was shaded for a few steps, but then he crossed into the flesh, and Benny nearly screamed.
*mad-lib idea was inspired by Alysa at Everead!


 
GIVEAWAY TIME!
Today's giveaway is hosted by Kaitlyn in Bookland! You can win a copy of the BRAND NEW Dust & Decay! But you have to go to her blog to do it, so get going!

All review content © Enna Isilee, Squeaky Books 2007-2011

26 comments:

  1. Heather HoytAugust 31, 2011 at 8:17 AM

    Zombies are just so cool. And I don't know why.

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  2. MeredithAugust 31, 2011 at 8:18 AM

    I haven't read the first in this series, but I've started to hear some really good things about it lately. I'll have to check it out.

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  3. DianaAugust 31, 2011 at 9:41 AM

    Haha, I like Gregorian chant too. And I've taken Japanese jui jitsu -it's a totally awesome form. I highly recommend it. Also, how cool is Mr. Mayberry! What great ideas for his book launches! Costumes, food, and even movies -that's the way to go!
    GREAT interview!

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  4. UnknownAugust 31, 2011 at 10:10 AM

    Great interview! I wish I could enter my own giveaway! hahaha

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  5. LinWashAugust 31, 2011 at 1:50 PM

    I loved Rot & Ruin, so yay for your interview of Jonathan Maberry!!! I can't wait to read Dust & Decay.

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  6. CheyAugust 31, 2011 at 1:52 PM

    Love the interview. He seems like quite a character. Kind of reminds me of an old friend of mine. I really need to read Rot & Ruin.

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  7. AnonymousAugust 31, 2011 at 2:10 PM

    I have to admit that this book is really tempting me. I went to the bookstore the other day and saw Rot and Ruin and now I feel like I must read it simply because there are zombie hunters. How awesome is that?

    --Sharry

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  8. Laura HAugust 31, 2011 at 5:32 PM

    Zombies, woohoo! I love the new zombie trend way more than the vamps :)

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  9. brendajeanAugust 31, 2011 at 6:15 PM

    Fun interview. He feels the same about coffee as I feel about chocolate!

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  10. Jonathan MaberryAugust 31, 2011 at 6:18 PM

    For anyone interested in the books, there are thirteen pages of free prequel scenes for ROT & RUIN available on the Simon & Schuster webpage for the book. http://books.simonandschuster.com/Rot-Ruin/Jonathan-Maberry/9781442402324

    And there are twenty-five pages of free scenes set between ROT & RUIN and DUST & DECAY. Here’s a link to the main page; access the scenes by clicking on the banner that reads: READ BONUS MATERIAL BY JONATHAN MABERRY: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Dust-Decay/Jonathan-Maberry/9781442402355

    Benny Imura and his friends will return in FLESH & BONE (2012) and FIRE & ASH (2013)

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  11. VivienAugust 31, 2011 at 9:52 PM

    I cannot wait for Dust and Decay!! I really enjoyed Rot and Ruin.

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  12. AnnaSeptember 4, 2011 at 1:37 PM

    I really like John, he's funny! :D

    Grace Radford in the google form thing! :D

    Cool interview, thanks! <3

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  13. AnonymousSeptember 5, 2011 at 1:15 PM

    WOW. He has a lot of work on his shoulders, with all of those releases! And the way he celebrates them is pretty neat and fun! Love it! Especially the interview! Funny and interesting to read! <3

    THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE GIVEAWAY!! C:

    chocolatestarpie(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  14. ebakerSeptember 7, 2011 at 9:06 PM

    I heart zombie books and I haven't read either of these books definitely on my wish list now!
    e(dot)baker219(at)gmail(dot)com

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  15. ElisquaredSeptember 10, 2011 at 9:39 AM

    He is a very busy man! I didn't realize he was involved in so much. that RPG across the nation as zombies sounds super cool. I always love Zombies VS Humans when it's played on campus.

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  16. UnknownSeptember 13, 2011 at 8:01 PM

    I <3 Zombies! I loved Rot & RUin! Can't wait to start this :)

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  17. AnonymousSeptember 15, 2011 at 3:07 PM

    wah a zombie book? i need to read the first one first so i can read this! *excited*

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  18. AnonymousSeptember 15, 2011 at 3:31 PM

    yay i love the gregorian chant!! hehehe cant wait for this book

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  19. PabkinsSeptember 16, 2011 at 6:58 PM

    Oh Jonathan is so awesome by coming and commenting and telling us about the content and pages we can find elsewhere to get a fix inbetween. Too gracious of you oh zombie king!

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  20. The More the MerrierSeptember 16, 2011 at 9:22 PM

    Those release parties sound amazing. Who wouldn't want to be around a ton of people dressed up as zombies.

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  21. iLuvReadingTooMuchSeptember 18, 2011 at 1:20 AM

    WOWIE. I wanna go to a party like that! Great interview :D

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  22. MeganSeptember 19, 2011 at 3:24 PM

    WOW! Great interview! I was afraid of zombie books (I'm a total horror wuss) until I read Rot & Ruin and now I love zombie stories. I think Zombies are going to rule Halloween this year!

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  23. Jen | Book DenSeptember 19, 2011 at 4:09 PM

    LOL. I love the mad lib! :) Cool interview.

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  24. poisnivyredSeptember 20, 2011 at 8:18 PM

    Just the cover of this book threatens to give me nightmares'. Loved the mad lib!

    Kelsey d

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  25. HelenSeptember 20, 2011 at 9:38 PM

    I would love a zombie birthday party. It would be so cool!

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  26. erinSeptember 21, 2011 at 2:45 PM

    OOOOOOOH... zombies... gotta love 'em :)

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Thank you so much for commenting! I read each and every one.

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