Tuesday, November 20, 2012

[Interview & Review] Perseverance: A Zombie Tale by James Lacey






Welcome Author James Lacey


James Lacey lives in the Pocono Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania.  When not writing, he works with disabled adults and children as a paraprofessional and Special Olympics coach.  James also enjoys hiking, camping and watching football.





If you could travel in a time machine where would you go back to the past or into the future?
Definitely the past.  Assuming I don’t do anything to mess up the present, there are a lot of historical events that I would love to have been present for.  And I like not knowing what’s going to happen tomorrow or the next day.  I think that knowing the future would take the fun out of living.

If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things would you want with you?
A month’s supply of food, sunscreen and a working speedboat with plenty of gas.  Haha.  No seriously though, I’d still want the sunscreen.  I’m Irish and burn in the winter.

What is one book everyone should read?
One book that everyone should read is the Bible.  I’m not a religious man and I’m not trying to support one religion over the other, but the stories in the Bible are still excellent examples of basic human morals and values.  Then, if you can, check out the Torah and Qur’an.  There’s a common theme throughout all three of them and it makes you wonder why we have so much trouble in the world.

If you could have any superpower what would you choose?
I want to be like Professor X and be able to read people’s minds.  I think knowing what people are thinking, or how they are thinking, would go a long way in explaining this crazy world.  And I work with Special Needs individuals when I’m not writing, so knowing what and how my students think would give me an edge.

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?
The healthy answer I try to impress the opposite sex with is a bag of Breakfast mix from the Emerald Nuts corporation, and a water.  The real answer is a sausage and cheese biscuit and hashbrown from McDonald’s and a large coffee (black).

What book are reading now?
I’m currently re-reading The Hobbit before the Peter Jackson movie comes out in December (*Nerd Alert* I already bought my tickets).  I’m also reading a sci-fi short story collection called The Glass Parachute.  It features two stories by a guy I used to work at a casino with, Shawn Wade.  (Available on Amazon)

What’s your favorite season/weather?
Summer, summer and more summer.  I want to move out of Pennsylvania and down south so that I have way more summer than I do now.  I like taking my book or Kindle or notebook down to the lake and sitting on the grass watching and listening to friends and families enjoy the weather as I read.  Sitting at home in a comfortable chair when it’s snowing is nice too, but it can get lonely without anyone around, and eventually I have to get out of the chair to shovel.  I don’t like shoveling.

What was your favorite children's book?
My mom used to read me The Little Engine that Could  every night when I was a little kid, because I wouldn’t go to bed without it.  Then in elementary school I had every book in the Dinotopia series and I reread them all of the time.  Even now as an adult I think the idea of people living alongside talking dinosaurs is awesome.

Beach or Pool?
Beach.  I grew up swimming in a river and lake.  People try and tell me that pools are cleaner, but I think they’re only as clean as the people who clean them.  Swimming in actual water is what was intended, and I love doing it.

Any other books in the works? Goals for future projects?
I have two incomplete manuscripts that are waiting for some tlc, but since the release of Perseverance I’ve been getting some pressure to write a sequel.  I’m really excited to hear that from so many people, so I think I’ll have to give in and make that a priority.  After the holidays though.

Thank you James for visiting today and PLEASE OH PLEASE write a sequel!!! I'm waiting to see what they find as they head out. :)







Perseverance: A Zombie Tale
James Lacey
Publisher: 23 House Publishing
Pages: 324
Genre: Horror

Book Description

It didn't happen the way it was supposed to...

I am a teacher. At least, I was before it all happened, before I was forced to survive. I taught social studies at the high school. I was also the coach of the school's successful debate team. It was a cold Saturday in January when I heard the first rumor of trouble...

You know, pop culture had defined the zombie apocalypse time and time again, all coming from the minds of horror writers, film producers, and video game designers. Who knew that when it really happened, it wouldn't be anything like they all predicted. Oh sure, the dead reanimated, and they were certainly hungry for living flesh...but what were the mysterious red-eyes, zombies that moved faster than their stumbling counterparts and seemed to not only communicate, but to exert some kind of control over the others.


"James Lacey takes the classic zombie story that we all know and love, and then twists it off into the new directions and unexplored territory. Perseverance is fresh, exciting, and edge-of-the-seat spell-binding."

- Samantha Murphy, 13 Nights of Blood: Legends of the Vampire
Photobucket



Before I start a new zombie novel I always have in the back of my head, "Yeah this will be like many I have read, the dead come back and start eating the living. The main character has to survive and find a sanctuary away from the undead." Perseverance: A Zombie Tale, is a lot like that but it has definitely got a lot more going for it. It is actioned packed and I don't think there was one minute that I said "Well this is like all the others" and want to put it down. And  I have definitely read A LOT of zombie novels.


Right from the beginning James captured my attention. The main character is a Social Studies teacher at a school event and one of his students parents doesn't show up and he goes home with him.  They start watching the news and hear weird things going on.  The next morning he decides to look out his third story window. And from that point on I wasn't wanting to put this book down. Let's just say it was a good thing he was on the third story. :)


At that moment he had to decide to rescue his girlfriend Ashley and find somewhere safe. Where? Anywhere that these Zombies that resemble those in films, gory, smelly, yucky disgusting human eating zombies were not. After rescuing Ashley (not easily I may add)  they make the decision to leave and then make the even harder decision that would haunt them later, to leave others asking for help. His first thought was he had to protect Ashley even if that meant forsaking others that where in trouble.

This book was awesomely great (Is that even a correct adjective?). It was packed with lots of adventures and zombie attacks. People making friend, sticking together and "Persevering" The main characters attitude started out only to protect his girlfriend at all cost, even to the point of avoiding others and no one else mattered.  You see him start to change his way of survival as they become attached to more people through out the novel. This book is about survival, trying to figure out how the whole thing started  and what caused the zombies. Also, finding out how the zombies can be defeated, why some are mindless and why others can communicate and have super human powers.

James did a great job of getting me in and not letting me go. There was a lot of gory zombie eating humans and humans killing zombies for me not to want to put it down.  I'm not sure if James has plans on writing another one but if he does I'll be the first one to read it.

I definitely have to give James 5 stars! Perseverance really held my attention and turned out to be a great zombie novel. Read It!



It's a Zombie Baby video spoof ~ I love it!! Great job James!




1 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for the review, Michelle! Glad you enjoyed the book and the video! There will be more videos and Perseverance Bonus Content featured on the website in the coming weeks. I hope you and your readers check it out!!! -JL