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Posted on Apr 27, 2016 in Books and Movies

Interview with Zombie Author E.E. Isherwood

Interview with Zombie Author E.E. Isherwood

By Armchair General

Armchair General Interviews Zombie Author E.E. Isherwood

Armchair General recently sat down with the former online editor of the Armchair General website, Brian King. Mr. King writes under the pen name E.E. Isherwood and currently has a series of books called Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse. Book 4, Last Fight of the Valkyries, has a release date of April 28, 2016.

ACG:
Can you tell us how you came to be a writer?

EE:
Thank you for inviting me. Yes, after my many years in the Armchair General community I had written so many articles and read so much history I felt I was ready to take on the task of writing a book. However, I admit I was also slightly burned out on military history after almost fifteen years of talking about it every day. That’s why my first four books are set during the zombie apocalypse instead of in real history. It allowed me to have some fun, while still staying true to the military principles I’ve gleaned over the years.

ACG:
So your books have elements of military history?

EE:
The books are, on paper, about as far from military history as you can get. The first book starts with a 104-year-old great-grandmother and her 15-year-old great-grandson going out together into the Zombie Apocalypse as it spills out in St. Louis, Missouri. However, I used military technology and strategies throughout the books as the wider battle against the zombie epidemic swirls around my heroes. For example, in one scene the military sets up a blocking force on one side of a river to prevent anyone from leaving the city. As you might expect, this leads to all sorts of tension and some units break from that force to try to help the civilians trapped in the diminishing pocket of safety across the river. It reminded me a little of the Russians sitting outside the Warsaw ghetto, watching it get crushed. I should note this is but one example of how the military is used, and overall their service is honorable. The commanders involved are getting orders from an increasing fragmented leadership, with competing directives, which makes unit integrity an issue throughout these stories. They are not the bad guys, by a long shot.

ACG:
But the books aren’t about the military?

EE:
No, the books are about the two civilians I mentioned above. But the action around them has to be realistic. You wouldn’t expect to see the military fighting street to street against zombies just because they can. Not only would they stretch themselves too thin, but they have no means of resupply and there are no logical reasons they would attack into the zombies. Instead, though I only mention it in passing, the military spends a lot of time harboring resources, establishing fortified positions in key geographical locales, and planning for missions supporting those directives. Sometimes they show up as part of specific operations as they involve my heroes since there is a plot arc relating to the cause of the plague that makes things…chaotic at times.

ACG:
Can you tell us about your latest book?

EE:The first three books focus on the two heroes above as they struggle to escape the city as well as escape a rogue CDC team bent on finding the cure at any cost. The fourth book begins a new story arc involving the young man and his girlfriend as they follow up on clues they’d been given about who released the plague and how they can stop it. Liam, the young hero, also religiously read zombie books and was taught the basics of military history by his father (so sometimes he quotes Patton, for instance). His books make him appear smarter around much older people who have no idea what zombies are, though otherwise he is just an average young man. He also takes it upon himself to write a history book, so he can place proper blame on the people who released the plague. That’s his motivation for leaving the safety of a refuge and go out looking for answers. In the fourth book they’re led to a deep pit mine and a national military cemetery. Both hold vital clues about what the virus is going to do to mankind.

ACG:
Do you have plans to write in other genres?

EE:
My first interest as a writer is in the post-apocalyptic genres. This includes zombies, yes, but I also have another series of shorter books set just after a nuclear war. The action takes place in high plains Kansas where teenagers drive fast sports cars as part of an end-of-the-world courier service. It isn’t quite the Mad Max level of barbarism and desperation, but it’s along those lines in terms of story and survival elements. I’d also like to get into fantasy writing of some kind, as I still have fond memories of playing Dungeons and Dragons for many of my teen years. I have ideas for a science fiction series as well as an interest in doing some kind of military historical fiction. I really need a second version of me to write out all these ideas.

ACG:
Thank you for following up with your current engagements. Is there anything you’d like to share as a parting shot?

EE:
I appreciate the opportunity. I would love for your readers to check out my books and join my Facebook page. They can do both from my website at www.zombiebooks.net.

Mr. Isherwood’s contact information:

Amazon Author Page

Facebook Page

Twitter Page

2 Comments

  1. “It reminded me a little of the Russians sitting outside the Warsaw ghetto, watching it get crushed”
    Warsaw Ghetto Uprising took place between april and may 1943. Therefore even before the Kursk battle. By then the Red Army was nowhere near from the Warsaw, even from the prewar polish-soviet border. The Warsaw Uprising, operation of polish resitance Home Army (Armia Krajowa)begun on august 1st 1944, when first Red Army units were sighted approaching the eastern parts of Warsaw. But the russian offensive stalled on the Vistula river, and Red Army did not supported the Uprising in any meaningfull way.
    As a wargaming, historical portal, You should’ve catch such an error.

  2. Yep! Good catch. I did mean the later Warsaw Uprising, which was observed by the nearby Soviet units.