These zombies will capture your heart
In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a zombie invasion going on. Hit TV, of course, but in books, as well: Corey Redekop reads from his first-person zombie novel, Husk, at the Winnipeg International Writers Festival next month.
Meanwhile, local writer Jeffrey John Eyamie has published his first novel, Zombie Princess Apocalypse (Woolly Mammoth Yarns).
Eyamie agrees that zombies are everywhere but says his zombies are different.
"Zombies are pretty voguey nowadays," he says, "but they’re the George Romero, Night of the Living Dead-type of creature. In this world, the zombies are still mindless, but that’s kind of where the similarities end."
In Eyamie’s zombie world, wishes come horribly true, as the typical girlhood dream of being a princess leads to an uncontrollable desire to maim and eviscerate.
"I thought it was more appropriate to have them eat hearts instead of brains," he says. "Getting back to zombiehood’s voodoo roots, my zombie princesses are susceptible to mind control, too! I mean, can everyone really want to be a princess? Maybe the mind control was already in place. Being a zombie is a disease still, I guess... but really it’s a consequence of wishing you were a princess.
"Which, as we all know, isn’t the most realistic thing for a girl to wish, and yet..."
Eyamie’s heroine is Emm Dillinger, teenage misfit and former sideshow performer. To her surprise, she finds herself leading a band of outsiders called the Oddities. (Zombie Princess Apocalypse is the first book in a series.)
"I love Emm, but she’s got a lot of problems to solve," Eyamie says. "Nobody said it was easy to be an adolescent girl in 2012. At least Emm has hatchets and a chance to even the score.
"I wrote this book to explore power fantasies, both male and female," he adds. "Seems to me that we’re all caught up in the princess myth or the superhero myth or other power fantasies — the athlete, the celebrity, the mogul, the writer... and I thought it was fertile ground for an action book.
"Hopefully, Emm and the Oddities will fight other dangerous desires of the human heart."
Meanwhile, local writer Jeffrey John Eyamie has published his first novel, Zombie Princess Apocalypse (Woolly Mammoth Yarns).
Eyamie agrees that zombies are everywhere but says his zombies are different.
"Zombies are pretty voguey nowadays," he says, "but they’re the George Romero, Night of the Living Dead-type of creature. In this world, the zombies are still mindless, but that’s kind of where the similarities end."
In Eyamie’s zombie world, wishes come horribly true, as the typical girlhood dream of being a princess leads to an uncontrollable desire to maim and eviscerate.
"I thought it was more appropriate to have them eat hearts instead of brains," he says. "Getting back to zombiehood’s voodoo roots, my zombie princesses are susceptible to mind control, too! I mean, can everyone really want to be a princess? Maybe the mind control was already in place. Being a zombie is a disease still, I guess... but really it’s a consequence of wishing you were a princess.
"Which, as we all know, isn’t the most realistic thing for a girl to wish, and yet..."
Eyamie’s heroine is Emm Dillinger, teenage misfit and former sideshow performer. To her surprise, she finds herself leading a band of outsiders called the Oddities. (Zombie Princess Apocalypse is the first book in a series.)
"I love Emm, but she’s got a lot of problems to solve," Eyamie says. "Nobody said it was easy to be an adolescent girl in 2012. At least Emm has hatchets and a chance to even the score.
"I wrote this book to explore power fantasies, both male and female," he adds. "Seems to me that we’re all caught up in the princess myth or the superhero myth or other power fantasies — the athlete, the celebrity, the mogul, the writer... and I thought it was fertile ground for an action book.
"Hopefully, Emm and the Oddities will fight other dangerous desires of the human heart."
~uptownmag.com
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