Ask the Author: R.S. Merritt
Answered Questions (19)
R.S. Merritt
Sounds good. Accept.
R.S. Merritt
I've always loved the genre. What set me off was I was sitting on my back porch looking out over the pond behind my house and there was a couple planks missing from the fence on the other side. I just sat there imagining what would happen if a few hands started ripping away at the planks and Zombies started streaming through. What would I do? Where would I go? What would my neighbors be doing? How do I protect my kids?
It just all kept going round and round in my head until I broke out the laptop and started writing. As often happens the characters took on a life of their own and went down paths I would never have foreseen when I first started typing.
Thank you so much for the question. I hadn't thought about that broken fence in a while and now it's going round and round in my mind again!
It just all kept going round and round in my head until I broke out the laptop and started writing. As often happens the characters took on a life of their own and went down paths I would never have foreseen when I first started typing.
Thank you so much for the question. I hadn't thought about that broken fence in a while and now it's going round and round in my mind again!
R.S. Merritt
Hey Wendy - It should be on Amazon later this week. I've been waiting for it to pop up as well and had to e-mail them to see what the hold up was. Sorry about leaving you hanging!
R.S. Merritt
Hi Arely,
So happy you are enjoying it! I love that kind of feedback!
I try to keep everything as real as possible so try to think of only what the people in that situation would know. It annoys me when every Zombie movie/book the people running through the woods happen to run into someone who was the head of the CDC and get the full scoop.
Over the course of the story it becomes pretty evident from different sources who is responsible and I think the way it comes to Steve and crew is pretty natural and makes sense. I don't think anyone in these situations would ever be able to know for sure exactly what happened but from the evidence they come across they're able to form a really strong Hypothesis.
I hope that answers your question! In other words, the theory turns out to be mostly true :-)
So happy you are enjoying it! I love that kind of feedback!
I try to keep everything as real as possible so try to think of only what the people in that situation would know. It annoys me when every Zombie movie/book the people running through the woods happen to run into someone who was the head of the CDC and get the full scoop.
Over the course of the story it becomes pretty evident from different sources who is responsible and I think the way it comes to Steve and crew is pretty natural and makes sense. I don't think anyone in these situations would ever be able to know for sure exactly what happened but from the evidence they come across they're able to form a really strong Hypothesis.
I hope that answers your question! In other words, the theory turns out to be mostly true :-)
R.S. Merritt
Hey Thomas - Zombies! Book 1 should be availbale in paperback format soon. The Zournal Series and Son of the Keeper Series are both available now on Amazon in Paperback format. Thank you for the question!
R.S. Merritt
I lived in the Watch Hill lighthouse. My dad was the last lighthouse keeper before they automated it. http://rhodeislandlighthousehistory.i... I lived in the SouthEast Light on Block Island for a few months as well. Love Santa Cruz! My wife and I are dong a Napa Valley trip not too long from now (Wine!). I lived in Petaluma, CA when I was in HS. Won a scholarship (in a writing contest) for two weeks on board this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Califor... You may have seen her in the harbor. Small World!
R.S. Merritt
I like writing Novels about the sorts of things I day dream about and interest me. I spend a lot of time on the road and traveling and always seem to be looking at the landscape through a Post Apocalyptic filter to keep myself interested. What would it look like around here after a Zombie Outbreak? What if dragons lived over in those woods? What if some of the people in the cars around me are secretly from another dimension where magic is a real thing? How'd they get here? Thanks so much for the question and best of luck in your writing as well!
R.S. Merritt
Hey Lisa. Thanks so much for the feedback. That stuff should've already been fixed in that edition. I'll go back and hit it up again though for the ones that got missed. So glad you're enjoying the story!
R.S. Merritt
Nice. Maybe one of those condos on the beach that are lifted way up on the stilt things for the storms. Like on the outer banks in the Carolina's. You could have a whole group who survived and lived off fishing and built bridges between the condos with the Zombies all wandering around below them.... Hmm... Wonder if they get well water right on the ocean? I'd think not but maybe rain water... Awesome idea! I hope your son enjoys the series! (My son and I have had many discussions around how to Zombie proof our house! (especially after we both read that book Brooks wrote about how to prepare for a Zombie Apocalypse.)
Zournal ended but I just started a new series "Zombies!" which I'm thinking may have some of the survivors traipsing along the outer banks now that the stilt idea is stuck in my head :-)
Zournal ended but I just started a new series "Zombies!" which I'm thinking may have some of the survivors traipsing along the outer banks now that the stilt idea is stuck in my head :-)
R.S. Merritt
I really like the Post Apocalyptic / Fantasy / Sci Fi. I feel like that space gives the author the freedom to explore how people come together in the event of something cataclysmic when the rules of society have fallen away. The Sci Fi anchors it to the possible while the Fantastical aspect lets there possibly be other forces at play as well. I think those three genres blend together really well to build a world that's unique and interesting for the characters to come alive in.
R.S. Merritt
Hi Denise. All of the ebooks should be available on Amazon for the Kindle. You should be able to click above on the book and then click the link to buy it and it should take you to the amazon page for it. Let me know which book it is if you try an that doesn't work. Thanks!
R.S. Merritt
The books pretty much start out with Steve finding a munched up cat in his neighbors bathroom.. A Zombies gotta eat!
R.S. Merritt
Either Red or White will work for the most part!
R.S. Merritt
As I get all these stories out of my head and down on paper I'm gradually able to remember what I need when I go to the grocery store!
R.S. Merritt
Write for the love of it. Write to get the stories out of your head. Write because you love to do it.
R.S. Merritt
Book 6 is the conclusion of the first 5 books. I think it is at a natural place to end the story. Even though I've fallen in love with all the characters and love the world that has been created. I think there is potential there for more stories but for now it is off to other adventures.
R.S. Merritt
I don't. If I've got nothing then I just don't write. I do a lot of driving so as I'm driving instead of just listening to the radio or audio books or whatever I look around at the countryside and try to imagine dealing with it in the wolf d I've created in my head. Merging the two and visualizing generally leads to new ideas. I normally come up with so much stuff I forget half of it. A good example would be using BillBoards to escape from Zombies. But then you're kind of screwed once surrounded right?
R.S. Merritt
I'm currently working on Book 6 in The Zournal series. I'm really enjoying where it is going. I've also got some ideas for my next book and am excited to get the time to get started rolling on those as well.
R.S. Merritt
I lived in two. My dad was the last keeper for Watch Hill light before it became automated. https://www.watchhilllighthousekeeper...
We'd moved there form Block Island where we lived here for a bit:
http://www.lighthousefriends.com/ligh...
It was definitely a unique experience. I remember my class coming out for a field trip to my house.
We'd moved there form Block Island where we lived here for a bit:
http://www.lighthousefriends.com/ligh...
It was definitely a unique experience. I remember my class coming out for a field trip to my house.
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