From the Book
Gena Showalter has a thing for zombies. With Alice in Zombieland, she melds disparate genres and influences together to create an original and unpredictable story, one that will keep readers guessing. She shares more on her process and primary passions below.
YOUNG ADULT: When did you decide to start writing?


Gena Showalter: I was in my early twenties, and I’d dropped out of college a number of times. I had a heart-to-heart with myself about a possible career, and writing was the only answer. So, I put everything I had into creating that first manuscript… and failed miserably. But I kept at it and after seven unsold manuscripts under my belt, snagged the very awesome Harlequin as a publisher!


YA: Tell us a little bit about your latest work.


GS: Alice in Zombieland features a sixteen-year-old girl who loses her entire family in a car crash, only to discover her father was right. Monsters stalk the night. She has to learn to navigate this dark, new world—and with the help of bad boy Cole Holland, she just might survive. 


YA: What are some of the qualities in your latest work that set it/you apart from what’s currently our there on the market?

GS: You know, I’ve not read any zombie books. As a child, any kind of gore gave me nightmares. And I know, I know, why am I now writing fight scenes between slayers and zombies? But I guess, within my own books, I see the light chasing away the darkness. I see good conquering evil, and I’m always for Evil Guy butt-kicking.


YA: What can we expect next from this series, or from your body of work in general?

GS: The war between zombies and slayers is heating up. Confidences will be betrayed, and friends will go missing (or worse). Someone new comes to town and changes everything. Alice will experience the fight of her life—the battle to save her spirit. Prepare to be shocked!


YA: Who would you count among your strongest influences, and why?

GS: Definitely my parents. They are honest, hard-working, and oh so loving. I admire and respect them in every way, and wouldn’t be where I am today without their support.


YA: Are zombies the next vampires in the young adult world?
GS: I think zombies make great villains, but I’m not sure women would be able to fall in love with a man whose flesh was actively rotting. Okay, I’m sure. I tried to write a zombie hero once, and the editor called and begged me to change him into some other kind of creature. As written, she found him… icky. ß(that’s the nicest way I can put it!)


YA: If you could cast the Dream Film Adaptation of your work, who would you cast?
GS: Hmm, let’s see. After doing a Google search on actors/actresses under 25, I think I would go with…
 
Alice Bell – Dakota Fanning or Juno Temple. Both are blonde and beautiful, and extremely talented.
Cole Holland – Alex Pettyer (with his hair dyed black, of course J). Let’s face it. He’s amazingly gorgeous and more than that, he has the brooding thing down. And with his muscles, I bet he could kick zombie butt no problem. 
Kat Parker – Lily Collins. She is so dang beautiful, and I think she could nail the sweet but mischievous nature of the character one reviewer called “bold and fierce and hilarious, and the most loyal, fluffy, little pitbull in the world.” 
Frosty – Jeremy Sumpter. I think he could have fun as the tattooed, sarcastic bad boy with a thing for Kat Parker. (And a killer instinct all the zombies fear.)


YA: Do you have pursuits outside of young adult fiction?

GS: I also write adult fiction (paranormal, contemporary) and even wrote a “non-fiction” book with one of my dearest friends, author Jill Monroe–Dating the Undead, a parody magazine about dating vampires, shape-shifters, zombies and more! I had such a blast!
