Saturday, September 21

Spotlight on Joanne Nundy and Run From the Dead

Author Q&A

We sat down with Author Joanne Nundy to ask her a few questions about being an author and her thoughts on Run From the Dead.

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite childhood book?

My favorite childhood book would have to be Matilda by Road Dahl. I read a lot of his books when I was young but this is that stand out one for me. Absolutely loved it.

QUESTION 2. Have you ever considered writing under a pseudonym, why or why not?

I’m actually considering it now so I can write in a different genre. I mainly wanted to write in my own name because I wanted to see my name out there. Not for other people to see but just for me.

QUESTION 3. How do you process and deal with negative book reviews?

Well, it’s good to have other authors to complain to about these things. Get it all off your chest, have a good whine about it then go back to the negative review or critique and try and work out if its valid and what you can do better next time.

QUESTION 4. Are there therapeutic benefits to modeling a character after someone you know?

Haha yeah there probably are. I think it happens naturally to model a character on those around you. I personally don’t get anything therapeutic from it though because I tend to feel bad if I need to kill off a character.

QUESTION 5. What is the most difficult part of your writing process?

The most difficult part of the writing process I’d say is the editing side. When you have to go back over your own work several times you really start to hate it, and that’s not a nice feeling. You wonder if it’s even any good or if anyone else will like. The doubts creep as the hard work hits home. Critique can be very hard too. You really need a level head when it comes to having your work pulled apart.

QUESTION 6. What comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why?

I think it’s the characters for me. I have scenes come to me in a visual form and I tend to see the characters first then the situation they find themselves in. Music can really help this process too.

QUESTION 7. Would you and your main character get along? Why, why not?

Haha I’m not sure to be honest. She’s similar to myself in annoying ways I guess so maybe not lol.

QUESTION 8. If you were to write a spin-off about a side character, which would you pick?

Ah well that’s exactly what I have done. My next few books will centre around one of the other characters. However the character I think I liked the most in Book 1 was probably Jack. That would therefore be a YA book and could be fun to write. He’s quite light hearted and naive so it would definitely be interesting.

QUESTION 9. What part of the book did you have the hardest time writing?

I’d say getting the beginning right was the hardest. I rewrote several aspects of it and my editor cut bits out too lol. It was difficult finding the right tone with how I wanted it to proceed and how it should proceed.

QUESTION 10. What is a significant way your book has changed since the first draft?

I put in a lot more trials and hardship in than I original had. I have had some brilliant critique partners helping me along the way which allowed me to write a much better book than I originally wrote. My editor was fantastic too. I also had to remove some other pieces I had written in with different characters but I haven’t discarded those. They will be making an appearance in later books.

QUESTION 11. How would you describe your book’s ideal reader?

Well, that would be me, I think. A mother who loves zombie apocalypse. I have always loved zombie apocalypse especially the walking dead. However, watching that show dramatically changed for me when I had my children. Everything felt different, so much harder and more stressful. So that’s what I introduced…a mother who needed to get to her children. Anyone who loves a battle would enjoy this too, and if you like a strong female lead. It’s something I wanted to create, strong women throughout.

QUESTION 12. How do you celebrate when you finish your book?

I rest lol. The first book I took a photo of my screen and shared it in the facebook groups I was in mainly because I knew they would understand. The second book I just rested because I knew how much more work there was to come hahahaha.

RUN FROM THE DEAD FEATURE

The dead are rising and violently attacking people on the streets of the UK. Driven by an insatiable hunger for flesh, they attack anyone who dares to go out.

Anna is trapped as the zombie apocalypse rages outside her front door. Desperate and alone, she must find a way to get to her children who are with her Ex-partner. As Anna runs from the dead, she finds help from Rob and his fifteen-year-old brother, Jack, despite Rob’s better instincts. Together, they run the nightmare gauntlet that used to be their neighbourhood.

Run from the Dead is the first book in a zombie apocalypse series, following ordinary people trying to stay alive no matter what the cost. Battling the dead and humans alike, the people left must become somebody new. Someone prepared to do whatever it takes to live.

Anna must learn to survive this cruel new world, where the living can be just as terrifying as the dead.

(Source: amazon.com)

Blood flows in the streets as the undead tear limbs and flesh from the living in the city of Hull. A viral rage is unleashed, hitting the UK faster than it can be contained.

On the brink of losing everything, Marcus runs through the housing estates now occupied by the rising dead. He searches for his family whilst learning how to fight the flesh hungry beasts, collecting lost souls along the way.

Christina, a single nurse, hopes her unborn child stays inside her until this madness can be dealt with. Forming new alliances can bring surprises in many forms, proving the world can be shocking for even the most hardened of people. A zombie apocalypse isn’t the only thing that can take you by surprise.

The cruel times now thrust upon those still living separate the good from the bad. Some can be trusted with your life and others cannot.

But in a world where the dead have risen, can anyone survive this unchanged?

(Source: amazon.com)

ABOUT JOANNE NUNDY

I was born and raised in Kingston Upon Hull, Yorkshire, UK. I’m a Yorkshire woman at heart and even decided to set my debut series there too.

I write horror because it’s what crawls inside my brain.

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