Most readers of small-press horror fiction are already familiar with David Dunwoody. His short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and print magazines, and he’s been a guest on several horror-related podcasts. With the rerelease of his novel Empire hitting the shelves this week, I caught up to him for a question and answer session regarding his work, his reaction to success and his plans for the future.

Enjoy.

___

So, Amazon just emailed me this morning and told me my preorder of Empire’s in the mail. Seeing as how I missed it the first time around (I need to track down a Permuted copy, as the cover’s badass), what should I be expecting?

Empire takes a post-post-apocalyptic approach to the zombie story: the human race has been besieged for over a century, and generations have been born into a world where undeath is part of life. Humans are no longer at the top of the food chain, and the natural balance has been upset – enter the Grim Reaper, whose former role as an uninvolved bookkeeper has given way to new work: slaying zombies and trying to protect humankind. The story has elements of dark fantasy and weird horror, but at its heart are the zombies – only now they have a predator of their own.

How different are the two versions, if at all? Any new or reworked content?

I polished a few things, but it’s essentially the same novel with wider distribution and that foreboding new cover. It’s kinda cool seeing the two Reapers side by side though!

I know you’ve got novels, short story collections and collaborative efforts in print right now. Which one did you start with, and how did you wind up with Permuted Press?

My first sale was to Permuted’s first anthology, The Undead. That story, plus a zombie serial I had been writing for The Hacker’s Source magazine, led me to develop Empire. Originally conceived and presented as a serial novel on the Web, Empire caught the attention of Jacob Kier at Permuted, who sponsored the site and helped get the word out. And when I finished the manuscript, I sent it off to him.

What did you do when you found out Empire was being picked up by Simon and Schuster?

I seemed to be on an emotional delay until my family reacted to the news. Maybe I was just overwhelmed by how big and unexpected the deal was – hell, I still am! Now, seeing the book released a second time, and promoting it again two years after its initial release, has brought on a feeling of déjà vu. But with the old anxiety comes the wonderful excitement too.

I’ve always promised to buy myself a certain pen I’ve been lusting over for the last several years if I ever manage to sell a novel. Did you do anything interesting to celebrate any of your sales?

I definitely have a one-track mind. I seem to celebrate every sale by diving into a new project. The sale gets me excited about the potential of the next thing. And in the case of Empire’s sale, I was pretty burned out on zombies after finishing the novel – it got me thinking about all the angles I hadn’t yet explored with the little rotters. I’ve now come to terms with my zombiholism, and look forward to every relapse.

You seem to have blown up recently, especially at conventions. How do you deal with all of the attention?

I just enjoy having the chance to talk with other readers and writers about the things I love, no matter which side of the table I’m on. What’s been most gratifying about connecting with fans is hearing their personal experience of the story. It’s as if the work evolves as each reader brings their unique point of view to it.

I also feel very weird being introduced as an author. There’s a sense of disbelief and – I guess there’s no more eloquent word for it than warm fuzzies – I don’t ever want that to fade.

I was in the audience for your panel at Horror Realm here in Pittsburgh last September. I was blown away with both your public speaking skills and the way you candidly answered some very personal questions. How much preparation went into planning your appearance and picking the works you read from?

I try to do as little planning as possible for interviews or anything like that. There may be a few points I need to make sure to hit, but the more premeditated I am going into any social situation, the more I sound and feel like a robot. Winging it is a lot more fun. The story was chosen at the eleventh hour, as I wasn’t sure what I’d be able to read (I’m legally blind) – and, as it turned out, I had to defer to my friend Stephen A. North, who did a great job reading my tale.

You talked in length at the panel about a character named Grinning Samuel and something about extensive clockworks, if I’m recalling correctly. I remember being very intrigued by it. Who is this guy and what’s going on with the clockworks?

Grinning Samuel is the titular character from my story in The Undead. He’s a very old zombie who, in life, was a clockmaker by trade, and has refurbished his decaying body with mechanical jaws and hands. By the time he meets the Reaper in the story “Clockwork” (Zombology, Library of the Living Dead Press) he is more machine than man. His origin was revealed in the novella “Lost Souls” in The Undead: Headshot Quartet.

I’ve noticed that a lot of readers who pick up one zombie novel go on to read (and review, especially on Amazon) dozens more. Why do you think zombies pull people in like that? What makes them so cool?

“We’re them. They’re us.” I think that line from Romero sums it up. A lot of zombie readers are very much into survival strategy and apocalyptic scenarios, but the zombie in particular has that market cornered. That semblance of humanity is the zombie’s most unsettling characteristic. It’s looking into a pair of human eyes that are looking at you and realizing there’s nothing inside. It’s the reason that Romero’s monster is in the pantheon of classic nasties alongside the werewolf and vampire. They’re us, but they’re not. Even a sympathetic, intelligent and emotive zombie like Bub in Day of the Dead is still a zombie. You cheer when he gives that fuck – you salute to Rhodes, but you cringe when he grabs Logan’s hand.

Can you see yourself writing other novels in the vein of Empire, or continuing the story? Do you ever see yourself branching out into something entirely different?

The sequel has been written, and there are related stories in some anthologies – check out the link to “Other Empire Tales” at empirenovel.com. I don’t know just when the sequel will see print, but the success of the Empire re-release will no doubt be a factor in that.

I am branching out into novels and novellas with more of a sci-fi bent, as well as more weird horror (as in the recent collection Unbound & Other Tales). I’m trying to create more of my own monsters. But fear is always part of the foundation and, more often than not, there are apocalyptic overtones. I’m not sure why that is. Maybe it’s the idea of an event leveling the playing field for all of humanity, tearing away class and creed and showing us what people really are inside. That’s what Romero’s films have done so effectively, and perhaps that’s another element of the zombie scenario that we all find to be as compelling as it is unsettling.