Tantorious is a semi-monthly podcast series featuring interviews with well-known authors, hosted by Allan Hoving and presented by Tantor Audio.
Born in Belfast, Ireland, Wayne Simmons is the author of the zombie novels Flu and Fever, just published in print, e-book and audiobook editions by Tantor Media. Bram Stoker Award-winning author Joe McKinney calls Simmons “the bare knuckle boxer of the zombie genre. He hits hard, and he’s absolutely relentless.”
Excerpts from the audio interview:
Q: How did you become a horror novelist?
A: I’m something of a lifelong horror geek [laughs]. I watched a lot of early horror films, collected a lot of comics and action figures. I can’t actually remember a time when I wasn’t into horror. So it was a logical progression to want to get involved in some way. I started writing reviews, then interviewing horror authors, then decided “I gotta have a crack at this myself” [laughs].
Q: Why are zombies so popular right now?
A: In a way, zombies — and monsters of all kinds — have always been with us and never go away, because they represent what strikes fear in us. That said, certainly since 1968 when George Romero set the classic “Night of the Living Dead” in our laps, the popularity of zombies has grown. For me, zombies represent the herd mentality – that feeling of being alone and isolated – when all the odds seem stacked against you and there’s no way out. And we’ve all felt like that; it’s a metaphor that people relate to.
Listen to a sample of the Tantor audiobook edition of FLU, narrated by Michael Kramer.
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