Today,
I’m going to interview Jack the Zombie. You may already know him. Depends upon
where you go for pizza.
I
wish I had insisted on the pizza place, but nooo. I let Jack decide the
location for the interview.
So
I’m at the run-down offices of the Boston Zombie Support Group, in a well-worn
office building. Next door, there's a kettlebell group in session, and it
sounds like a dropped bell could go right through the floor.
Jack
Kershaw, part-time media relations guy for the BZSG, and full-time zombie, sets
a cup of coffee in front of me. I don't touch it. Zombies like
coffee so strong it's almost crunchy.
Jack:
Great to see you again, Liza. You said you had something to show me?
Liza:
I do! I wanted you to see the new cover for your book.
Zombies
in Love.
By
Nora
Fleischer
Jack:
That's a great picture of my girlfriend.
Lisa.
I think it works.
Jack:
You know, a lot of women can’t look that natural holding a shotgun. [He
smiles, reminiscing.] She shot me with it once.
Liza:
What? Why?
Jack:
Just a small misunderstanding. These things happen. [He squints,
confused.] Why does it say Zombies in Love on it? Lisa's not a
zombie. And who's Nora Fleischer? Is she the artist?
Liza:
What are you? Brain dead? Oh wait, that
might be considered an insensitive question with a Zombie. Let me rephrase my
question.
Have
you forgotten Nora was with me the last time I interviewed you? She’s your
author. The one who gave you life…well sort of.
Jack:
Oh, you mean my biographer! She's not
the cover artist, is she?
Liza:
No. That's Philippe McNally.
Jack:
He’s very talented.
Liza:
Tweet him at @PhilippeMcNally, tell him how talented he is! I’m sure he’d love to hear from
you.
Jack:
Well, please tell Nora I want a copy for Lisa's birthday.
Liza:
What do you think of the picture of you?
Jack:
Am I really that pasty?
Liza:
Yes.
He
grins.
Jack:
Still, pretty good for a dead guy. Don’t you think?
Liza:
I don’t really know. To be honest. You are the only zombie I’ve ever
interviewed, and I’ve done so twice. Probably because you are very much the
gentleman and have refrained from eating my brains, or gnawing on my leg.
Jack:
Glad you appreciate that like humans, zombies aren’t all the same either.
Liza:
Well, I try to be sensitive to all creatures, living and dead.
Jack Kershaw just wants to hold on to his new job at Lisa Alioto's pizza parlor, and to keep Lisa from finding out that he's a zombie. But Jack learns that he and Lisa are in serious danger. His second chance at life is the inadvertent result of a lab experiment by two graduate students, and Winthrop University-- a school which knows how to keep its secrets-- will do anything necessary to conceal that someone on campus raised the dead. With the help of Boston's zombie horde, can Jack and Lisa escape Winthrop's sinister clutches?
Nora Fleischer has a PhD from Winthrop University, and promises every word of this story is true. She lives in Minneapolis with her lovable husband Sven and children Wolfgang and Anastasia. She’s on Twitter as @zombinanora. Or you can talk to Jack at @bzsgjack, which might be more fun.
Great interview. Jan sounds like a great zombie. Tweeted.
ReplyDeleteIt's Jack. I worry you'll damage his self esteem if you call him Jan. He already has to deal with the whole dead thing. :)
DeleteLooks like a fun book. I do worry about Jack's girlfriend tripping and falling, letting the shotgun go off and either hurting Jack or someone else. Hopefully she's not holding the gun when they are out trying to hold hands. It just seems like it might be a little unsafe, and I worry for Jack.
ReplyDeleteI don't think she could kill him....
Delete