Duncan Bradshaw lives in the EPIC county of Wiltshire in Southern England, with his wife Debbie and their two cats, Rafa and Pepe. Obsessed with zombies, GTA and biscuits, he wiles away his free time writing awesome stories, playing video games, drinking Guinness and hitting people on the head with a stick. Sometimes all while smoking his manly pipe.
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| Duncan Bradshaw |
We had a chance to catch up with Duncan recently. Once the smoke from his manly pipe had cleared and he'd finihsed hitting us on the head with a stick we I had the opportunity pick his brain about the things that make him tick, his choice pick of zombie killing weapons and why a 3000 volt tazer-hand might come in very handy for every day life.
He're what the author of
Class Three and
Class Four: Those Who Survive had to say.
1.
Why Zombies and how did they become the focus of your first two novels?
I’ve been pretty obsessed with zombies
since I watched Dawn of the Dead as a kid. Since then, I’ve watched the films,
read the books, played the video games, worn the socks, you name it. I’m
probably the easiest person in the world to buy presents for, well, as long as you
don’t buy me something I already have. Then we’ll have the whole awkward
situation, where I have to put on my fake smile, and go ‘great…thanks’, and
you’ll totally know. Any chance of us camping for a fortnight on the Isle of
Man next November is out of the question then.
Anyway…back in 2006, I came up with
what would become the first chapter in my debut novel, Class Three. Just a mix
of procrastination, drinking and playing video games meant that I didn’t do
anything until mid-2014. A couple of friends of mine self-published their work,
and I saw that the ability to be able to turn my ideas into something real, was
possible.
Although I am writing books on
subjects other than the undead, which is weird, I know that I’ll always want to
write books on zombies. Now that I’ve created my own apocalyptic world, I’ve
got loads of ideas on how to bring this dead world to life and build my own
canon.
2.
Do you mostly write in the morning, daytime or the witching hour?
Most of my writing is done in the
evening. With a full time job, I tend to get home, cook tea and then sit down
in front of the laptop and get as much down as possible. At weekends, I tend to
start around midday. This gives my brain a chance to mull stuff over and then I
have a good five-six hours’ worth, before I wind down for the evening and spend
some time with the wife.
3.
Which author has had a major influence on your work and why?
Can’t say I’m particularly influenced
by any one author. There are certainly ones that I enjoy, Max Brooks’ WWZ and
Zombie Survival Guide are the peaks of undead fiction for me personally. And
humour-wise, Danny King’s ‘Diary’ series really floats my boat. When I come to
my own work though, I just try to write my way. My rule of thumb is to write my
books as if I were telling the story to mates in a pub. Sure certain sections
require different vernacular and mannerisms, but otherwise, I write it as I
would say it. A lot of people want to emulate their favourite authors, which is
their own choice, I just want to write my way.
4.
Which book, or books, do you think everyone should read?
If you’re into zombies, there is only
one book you should read, and that is World War Z by Max Brooks. An undeniable
classic. The way it’s structured through interviews and tales of survivors
through the apocalypse, recounting acts of heroism or selfishness, it pulls you
in. There are interviews and brief snippets in there which could be expanded on
even further and made into full blown novels themselves.
Aside from that, the Walking Dead
comic is a must as well. I wait for the yearly hardback, so gorge myself on it
for a day and then go cold turkey for another twelve months. Kirkman absolutely
nails the sheer brutality of the zombie apocalypse. No one is safe, don’t get
attached to any character, cos chances are high that at some point they are
going to die.
5.
Do you think zombie fiction is finally getting the recognition it deserves?
I think with the vast array of zombie
fiction these days, it can be difficult to find the brains from the stringy
bits of vein, but not impossible. Ultimately, with any hugely successful
sub-genre, people will point to the stuff which is sub-par or not really adding
anything, probably because it’s quite an easy thing to do. But…as with any
genre, if you look hard enough, there are some really good stories being told.
A lot of people lay the dearth of quality firmly at the door of
self-publishing, I don’t subscribe to that. I think you’ll find that a lot of
the original ideas are actually coming from these people.
The inevitable problem is that, like
music, you can only take zombies so far, which is why it is key to introduce
new types, new ways of infection, or different focus. Personally, I like a bit
of action in there, to help balance out the reflective moments, but I want to
know how people are surviving in the end of the world. Plus, with any
apocalyptic setting, you get the proper bad guys, the humans who use the
scenario to their own end, and with that, you have a huge array of opportunity.
One advantage of the sheer size of the
zombie genre, is that there really is something for everyone, and that can only
be a good thing.
6.
Zombies – slow or fast?
Whilst I can understand the modern day
upgrade of the undead to parkour running athletic chompers, I’m a Romero
purist. The big draw to me as a kid when I was introduced to zombies, was the inexorable
feeling of dread you get from seeing a slow moving horde shuffle its way
towards you. Your brain is telling you that escape is a foregone conclusion,
but you’re still looking at them, you’re distracted. If your mind isn’t on the
prize, you’re going to make a mistake and before you know it, your intestinal tract
is going to be hauled out from its internal cavity and used to feed the dead.
I’m not completely averse to the
undead moving faster; just I think that is more an indictment on our way of
life in a 24 hour, always on society than anything. Plus, you could argue, that
by making them run, you are doing something different, and that is no bad
thing.
7.
Blunt instrument, firearm or blade?
Oohhh, now you’re getting into the
nitty gritty. Well, firearms have to be ruled out, for one, they’re not exactly
prevalent in the UK and two, the noise. This isn’t to say that if you got your
hands on an AK-47 during the apocalypse, you should trade it for a packet of
custard creams. It would come in handy in a do or die situation, or against
raiders.
I personally err more towards an axe,
the all metal ones, you don’t want no wooden handle and metal head one. Let’s
say you have just crudely ventilated a zombies head, and are trying to retrieve
the weapon before their mate tucks into you. The last thing you want is yanking
it out, only to find that you are left holding what amounts to a big bit of
kindling.
Baseball bats would be pretty handy I
think, same as cricket bats. A well-made piece of wood will always hold you in
good stead. Just stick clear of swords (useless in confined spaces) or golf
clubs, you’ll get one good hit in if you’re lucky, before you’re left holding a
bent piece of metal.
One thing to bear in mind is that
cracking open a skull with an implement is not as easy as it looks in films.
At this point, my solicitor has
advised me to add the word ‘allegedly’.
Like anything in life, make sure that
whatever you use is well made, and that you are comfortable using it.
8.
If you could save just one luxury, what would it be?
I’d have to take a leaf out of ‘The
Battery’ here and save my iPod. Yes, I know that you won’t be able to charge it
once the power goes, and you don’t want it on whilst you’re mooching around a
building. But if you’re holed up somewhere, it’d drown out the morale-sapping moans
of the undead. Plus, music can get you pumped up before you have to do
something, like venturing out for supplies or dealing with one of the group who
says they haven’t been infected, but you know that they are.
9.
What do you think is most likely to cause an actual zombie outbreak?
I think it’s more likely to be
something which is human made, escapes from a research facility or
intentionally released by someone who is a bit irked. Maybe they didn’t get
offered the last Rolo? Maybe they tired of people posting pictures of their
dinner on social media? Regardless, they’ve taken it upon themselves to level
the playing field.
Or…my outside bet? Some form of extra-terrestrial
material. A meteor breaks up in our atmosphere, and the compounds react with
the air and before you know it, everyone is a ticking zombie time bomb.
10.
What is your number one piece of advice for surviving a zombie apocalypse?
I think we’re quite lucky in the UK to
have one important facet installed within us all. The inability to trust others
completely. We’d always be wondering if Mrs Jenkins is keeping her and her
family to themselves, for reasons other than what she said about the third
Thursday of every month is ‘staying in the cupboard day’. I’d wager you a Mint
Club bar that her youngest is one of the undead, and she’s feeding him hacked
off appendages.
Honestly, the main thing, as in life
these days, is common sense. If something seems a bit dodgy, then skip it.
Don’t risk your own life and those who depend on you, because you want to go
and pet a cat. In a house. With bloody hand prints all over the walls and door.
Which is on fire. And Rolf Harris is there. Just move along, nothing to see
there, okay?
11.
If you were a character in one of your books, what would be your opening line?
It would have to be in keeping with
the level headed, erudite, amazing and thoroughly modest person I am. Oh, and
sarcastic. I think a witty one liner, just before I get eaten, I’m thinking me
and a chum find a corpse with the top of their skull missing, and something has picked out some of the brains
and it looks a Mr Whippy, I’d say ‘Do ya want a flake in that?’ before the open
topped zombie starting chomping on the larger of my two testicles.
12.
Does music play a part in your creativity?
Definitely, tend to have music playing
in the background, sometimes it’s contextual, so Red Dead Redemption soundtrack
was handy for a section in my new book, or Vangelis for something with aliens
in it. Otherwise as long as it’s not too distracting, pretty much my ‘usual’
sort of music.
Though when I come to editing, I have
to make sure there are no lyrics. You cannot edit properly whilst singing the
words to ‘I whip my hair back and forth’. I mean…
Dammit.
13.
If you had to live in a clichéd alternate reality would you choose medieval
fantasy, futuristic sci-fi or something else?
I’d have to go for futuristic Sci-Fi,
the kind we were promised as kids. So flying cars, every meal is in some form
of tablet form, dogs have aerials on their heads and people wear silvery
jumpsuits.
Oh, and endless adverts showing on the
side of HUGE airships. Everything is bright and sunny, or as I call it,
annoying. People would also have really stupid sayings, so instead of saying
‘hello’, they’d say things like ‘vulvic connotations to you’. Plus they’d be
smiling, all the time. Yeah, I can’t say I’m too happy about it either, but
hey, flying cars RULE.
14.
If you had a super power, what would it be?
This is probably going to be more
about the things that bug me, but I’d quite like to have an electric hand. Slow
moving people in the street…you try to overtake them, so go right, they
psychically sense this, so they too, move right. So you go to the left and,
yep, they move to the left. Simple remedy, a few thousand volts to the back of
their head and you can step over their twitching unconscious body. It would
make some stuff inconvenient, but if it was just one hand, or activated by a
cool word, then I’d still be able to high five people without incapacitating
them.
Yeah…patience is not one of my
virtues.
15.
Star Wars, Star Trek or Sci-Fi curious?
Star Wars. Hands down. I like a bit of
Star Trek, don’t get me wrong, but the Holy Trinity is etched upon my very
soul. I have found with age though, that Return of the Jedi is a bit of a
ballbuster, those damn Ewoks. But as long as you put aside the idiocy of an
intergalactic, merciless Empire failing to see off four foot high teddy bears,
who are armed with bows and rocks, then you’re all good.
The prequels were a tad disappointing,
but, there were elements in each which were cool. The Darth
Maul/Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan fight was cool, and Revenge of the Sith, except for THAT
moment, has more lightsaber battles than you can shake a stick at. Yes, a lot
of people go out in really stupid ways, but c’mon, they weren’t all terrible.
Except for Attack of the Clones, that
should be unmade.
16.
Do you think roleplaying games and video games are good practice for the
impending zombie apocalypse?
I think games like Zombicide encourage
teamwork, an evening on that brings people together and forces them to look at
the bigger picture rather than the atypical ‘everyone for themselves’ thing
that most games have.
Left 4 Dead, (though I’d argue they
aren’t zombies) is pretty good at again making sure you have someone’s back, as
two guns are better than one. Dead Rising is excellent for encouraging a little
creativity.
Out of all of them though, State of
Decay is probably the one which you should play as it’s basically an Undead
Sims. You gotta deal with community then, and the bigger picture, where each
and every death is something you mourn, rather than just hitting ‘start from
the last checkpoint’.
17.
Do you think the influx in zombies in entertainment has reached its apex or is there
plenty more to come?
I think a lot of people in the media
would like us to believe that the wave has well and truly broken and that it’ll
all come smashing down to the shore soon. But unless I’m mistaken, I’ve been
reading these articles for nigh on seven or eight years now. I think at the
moment, the zombie stock has never been higher. They’re in the mainstream, The
Walking Dead TV show has just gone mental, you have ‘normal’ people watching it
in their droves.
As with anything, it will eventually wane,
but the genre itself is now so thoroughly interwoven into culture and society,
that there will always be people that want more and more undead entertainment.
18.
What’s your favourite Zombie video game or have they still not made one quite
right yet?
I’d have to say the first Dead Rising.
State of Decay sure comes close to it, but DR just grabbed me. I blame Dawn of
the Dead, that film is the pinnacle of zombie movies, and the opportunity to be
thrown into a shopping mall, with endless numbers of zombies and a vast array
of weaponry, was just mind-blowing. Yes, it has issues, but what game doesn’t? For
mindless zombie killing fun, with the joypad throwing psycho’s thrown in for
good measure, you’d struggle to top it.
19.
Do you have a guilty pleasure you are willing to share? An interest completely
unrelated to zombies?
Most of my other interests are pretty
mundane, video games, music, skipping from puddle to puddle whilst humming
Nickleback b-sides. Not sure if it counts, but I love a good font. That’s not a
euphemism by the way. When I get my books finished, one of my favourite parts
of the whole process is going through dafont.com and seeing which font I’m
going to use for the front cover and chapter headers.
20.
What’s next for Duncan Bradshaw?
I’m currently working on a non-zombie
book, which is very odd. With both Class Three and the first book in the Class Four trilogy, they pretty much wrote themselves, this one has been a bit like
pulling teeth at times. But, I want to prove to myself that I can do it, it’s a
bit of a far out concept, but has plenty of gore in it. Not quite prepared to
let too many details out yet, but you can find out on my website or Facebook.
My main love though is still writing
about zombies, and towards the end of the year, I’ll be starting work on book
two of the Class Four trilogy. It’s called Versus, and picks up with a number
of characters from the first two books and a third faction. They all go head to
head, hence the title, and there will be all kinds of mayhem, and probably,
some cool zombies in there too. I’m aiming for it to be released mid-2016, so
again, hit me up on Facebook to keep up to date with the progress.
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| Duncan Bradshaw by Trioxin Portraits |
Buy a copy of Class Three
