Welcome to the Saturday Spotlight a weekly feature that shines the light on Indie and Debut authors. This week I have the pleasure to introduce readers to:
STEPHEN HERFST
~Author of Zed~
Hi Stephen, welcome to the blog. Please tell us a little about yourself.
If I had to define myself in a few words, it would be:
"Quiet, outgoing, thinking, reflective, driven, lazy, observant, competitive, confident, doubtful"
Depending on my mood, the topic and the people around me, I can be many things. When I began life I wanted to be a programmer but now I just want to be independent. I am always open to trying new things and have always made it a habit of doing things I haven’t done before.
I was born in Germany, from Dutch-South African descent and currently live in Australia although I'm currently working in Philadelphia and my family lives in Malaysia. I don’t believe that I can define one country as my home and hope to travel for the rest of my life.
What inspired you to write Zed?
The inspiration came to me while I was watching The Walking Dead. I was bored at the drama and the angst that unfolded so much so that I wanted something else - and then it hit me. I wondered what it would be like to write a zombie story from the perspective of a zombie. This snowballed into the basis of a story that would be humorous, touching and inspirational; not things that you usually associate with the average zombie story! I then spent the next month writing the story, followed by over two months editing and polishing.
Have any authors inspired your work?
I think every author has inspired me in some way - even the bad ones. If I had to pin-point a few, it would be Piers Anthony simply for the light and entertaining path he writes through his books, Enid Blyton for the imagination and Nick Hornby for the inspirational aspects of his books.
If you could cast your book as a movie who would play the lead roles?
For the role of Zed I would choose someone that is intelligent, cerebral, humorous, aggressive and willing to follows his convictions. It would be great to have someone like Ewen McGregor or Michael C Hall. They both have comedic timing and the ability to convey their thoughts physically.
For the role of Chase, I would have someone that acts well, can do Southern accents and is thoroughly likeable and brilliant. It would be a toss-up between Chloe Moretz and Dakota Fanning.
Can you share any future projects with us?
Since Zed is a trilogy, I will be writing the next few books over the next six-to-eight months. I have the story arcs in place and just need to put a little more polish on it until I move forwards. I am hoping that from all the lessons I learned from the first book, the next few will go a little smoother and have fewer adjustments in the editing process.
I am a Software Engineer by trade but have always loved books. During my early years I would read about 5-10 books every two weeks and have always had a fertile imagination. My world was novels but in later years I find it harder to spare the time. I have always had side projects along-side my formal work and have always wanted to write but haven’t found a topic that has interested me until now.
I released my first novel on February 18. It took one month to write, followed by three months of editing. I am proud of this novel, although I am not yet finished. I have two more novels to write in this series, as well as a number of pet projects in the work that I feel 'have legs'. My hobbies include Tennis, Squash, Texas Hold'em, Restaurants (yes that's a hobby), watching good movies and reading good books.
Thanks for being on the spotlight today Stephen, your book sounds fun!!!!
Giveaway
Today Stephen will be giving away three e-books from your online vendor of choice (amazon, barnes & noble, google, iBooks, scribd, sony, kobo, booksonboard, smashwords, booktango). To enter please just leave a comment. Winners will be drawn Sept 8, 2012.
"Zed is not your typical zombie. He is cursed with the affliction of thought ... although he tries to make the best of a bad situation. The goals for his unrest are simple: to improve his stride, to taste a lightly-seared pork loin once again and avoid Activists at all costs.
His life was predictable, controlled and good until chaos crashed the party. In just one day his world is destroyed and his ability to survive is tested. Would he be able to get through this in one piece? And would he somehow be able to survive the unstoppable force that goes by the name of Chase?"
Find out more about Stephen on the Web~Facebook~Goodreads
Walking Dead (CC) AMC
Thank you for taking the time to interview me :)
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