Author Q&A: James R. Tuck

James R. Tuck is a promising writer with a career that's just beginning to take off. He just released a novel called Blood and Bullets, and is currently working on a follow up. He's also the author of "He Stopped Loving Her Today", a post-apocalyptic love story that appears in our One Buck Zombies collection. We spoke with James recently about his work, his influences, and the benefits of cardboard as a zombie deterrent. Here's what he had to say...

You're a professional Tattoo artist. Does your artistry influence your writing? (Or vice versa?)
Sometimes. I think years of thinking in pictures has really helped me when it comes to descriptive writing. I can "see" how things would look even though I am using words on paper. For a decade and a half people have come to me and described what they want so I then translate it into an image. This is like that in reverse. I get the image in my head, whether it is of a zombie that has begun to putrefy and so the gasses inside has blown them up like a water balloon and they slosh with every step, or a vampire's head exploding from a silver bullet and I then write it out so that the reader can "see" it too.

There's a possibility that "He Stopped Loving Her Today" might be adapted as an independent film. How's that progressing?
It's in a holding pattern right now as I clear my schedule with writing the Deacon Chalk series and CoopaCabra Productions clears their shooting schedule for the winter. We are looking at springtime to begin production. It should be a lot of fun. A lot of really talented folks are signing on to work on the project.

Also, your book "Blood and Bullets" is coming out soon. Tell us a little about it.
BLOOD AND BULLETS is book one in the Deacon Chalk: Occult Bounty Hunter series. It is the story of a monster hunter named Deacon Chalk. Five years ago his family was killed by a monster. While hunting down that evil piece of shit, he rescues an Angel who was held by the bad guys. They were using her to try and make Nephilim, the monstrous offspring of Angels and humans. He goes on to find his family's killer and being only human, gets himself killed trying for revenge. The Angel shows up and resurrects him as more than human, giving him the edge he needs to kill the monster.

Now all he wants is to go on and be with his family, but being Catholic he can't take himself there. Suicide is a mortal sin and he would go straight to hell so instead he throws himself at monsters, hoping that one day one of them will be monster enough to take him out and send him on his way.
It's a dark, violent, bloody book. But apparently it's also funny. If you like monsters, guns, and action-packed badassery, then this is the book you have been looking for!

"He Stopped Loving Her Today" is a unique take on the zombie genre. What inspired you to write it?
I really wanted to get inside the head of someone who has lost everything. I mean really has nothing left but his own life. Then you put in front of him the one thing that meant the most to him. But of course it is the zombie apocalypse so things are crazy. It's a dark, twisted love story...with zombies.

Who are some of your favorite horror writers?
I really like Brian Keene. His stuff is so good. Tom Piccirilli, when he wrote horror, was excellent. Poppy Z. Brite wrote some excellent horror in the late 80's/early 90's. Ed Lee wrote the most disturbing book I have ever read. THE BIGHEAD. Damn, that book is effed up. Seriously, look up effed up in the dictionary and you will find a picture of that book. Not for the faint of heart. It was awesome, but completely out of control. Other than that I read so much dimestore horror as a kid, some good, some horrible, it all is part of my writer DNA and it comes out, bleeding through onto the page.

You're stuck in a building surrounded by zombies. How do you fight your way out?
There are so many variables. I wouldn't get trapped in a high-rise building...if you get overrun you have a limited amount of space before you cannot get out. So I would stick with buildings I could conceivable survive jumping from. I think it would be better to set up in the open, where you can see the zombies coming from miles away. But if I found myself in a house, surrounded by zombies I would make a lot of noise on the one side of the house to draw the horde there and make a break for it on the other side while it was thinned out. Hopefully I planned ahead and have a vehicle stashed closeby.

But something that Max Brooks said in The Zombie Survival Guide has really stuck with me. You don't have to armor up to prevent heavy duty attacks, you only have to stop someone from being able to bite you. He suggested using cardboard for armor. It's light, durable, thick enough to stop bites, and plentiful. I think I would probably go with that. But I would raid a sporting good store or a biker store too. They have a lot of leather and kevlar clothing that is light and breathable. Between the two I should be able to make a break for it.

"He Stopped Loving Her Today" appears in One Buck Zombies, on sale now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.