Hey guys this is George Cook of thedeadwarseries.com. Please take a few minutes and check out my interview with Phillip Tomasso III the author of the "Vaccination" series of zombie books.
Here's the synopsis for Vaccination: What if the H7N9 vaccination wasn’t just a preventative measure against swine flu? It seemed like the flu came out of nowhere and yet, in no time at all the government manufactured a vaccination. Were lab workers diligent, or could the virus itself have been man-made? Chase McKinney works as a dispatcher at 9-1-1. Taking emergency calls, it becomes immediately obvious that the entire city is infected with the walking dead. His first goal is to reach and save his two children. Could the walls built by the U.S.A. to keep out illegal aliens, and the fact the Mexican government could not afford to vaccinate their citizens against the flu, make the southern border the only plausible destination for safety?
Here is my interview with Phillip Tomasso:
George Cook: What inspired you to become an author?
Phillip Tomasso: I grew up with a reading disorder. It wasn't until I was in 7th grade that I read my first book cover to cover. It was S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders. I was hooked from that point on. When I found out that she was jkust 16 when she wrote that novel, I realized a few things. I was always a story teller. If Hinton could write a manuscript that made me become an avid reader -- then I wanted to also write stories for reluctant readers, and to entertain as many people as possible!
George: Why write in the zombie genre?
Phillip Tomasso: After devouring the four books by Hinton, the next book I read was Stephen King's Firestarter. And from THAT moment in time, I became a fan of horror fiction. I went on to read every book by Stephen King, Dean Koontz, John Saul, Robin Cook ... you name it. One day I discovered Joe McKinney's Dead City. It is still my all time favorite zombie novel. Like with Hinton, I wanted to write zombie novels. I would never compare my writing to Hinton or McKinney's, but they are truly the inspiration.
George: Lets's get to the Vaccination. What the series about? How many books are there in the series?
Phillip Tomasso: Vaccination is a trilogy. Vaccination (Sept '13), Evacuation (Dec '13) and Preservation (March '14). It revolves around a 911 dispatcher saving his kids, and making it from place to place with a small, close band of survivors.
George: As I'm sure you know there are thousands of zombie books out there right now. What makes yours stand out?
Phillip Tomasso: I have fast and slow zombies. I do not want to give anything away. In Vaccination, you notices something . . . off, about my zombies. It is explored a little more in Evacuation. And in Preservation, there is no denying that my zombies are different. Deadly. Smart.
George: What's the cause of the zombie apocalypse in your books?
Phillip Tomasso: The swine flu erupted in countries in the late 90's. People scrambled to find a vaccination to prevent severe illness. In my books, the vaccinations are contaminated in a lab mishap. Everyone inoculated succumbs to the side effects. Becoming a zombie. Since so many people get the flu shot -- the number of zombies to non-infected is crippling!
George: Are you trying to make any greater point with your books or just write a good zombie story?
Phillip Tomasso: I make several points in the book. My main character is badly flawed. Having suffered through a divorce where all he thinks about are his two children, he finds that he is more selfish and arrogant than he ever realized. More self destructive and uncaring than he'd like to believe. I've read reviews that suggest my book is against inoculating people. It is not. However, I have never received the flu shot. I find it too suspicious. The reasons why are called out in the novels.
George: Do you have an online prescence? If so where? Blogs, web sites, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Phillip Tomasso: philliptomasso.com
Twittr page; @P_Tomasso
Page On Facebook
George: Where are your books available?
Phillip Tomasso: Amazon, and Barnes & Noble
Universal codes for ebooks:
http://mybook.to/vaccination
http://mybook.to/evacuation
George: Any thing you would like to say in closing?
Phillip Tomasso: Severed Press -- my publisher, has been amazing and supportive. In 2014, I also have a horror novel, RIVERBED, due out in June/July, and a second zombie trilogy, Starting with Damn The Dead in late fall.
