Frequently Asked Questions

As I continue to wait for my website to be up and fully functional, I thought it might be fun to share my FAQ with you. This is the FAQ as it will appear in the About E. Van Lowe section of the site. Hopefully it gives you a little insight into who I am. If you think of any questions I haven't included that readers might want to know, please send them along. I'd appreciate it. In the mean time, if you'd like to get a sneak peek at my home page Click here: E. Van Lowe Coming Soon

FAQ

Why did you decide to write NSDWAZ?

Ever since I worked on the TV show Even Stevens, I'd been wanting to write a YA novel. I came up with a few ideas. This is the one that stuck.

Why Zombies?

I have always loved zombie movies. I wanted write a zombie story that had chills, but was still fun, sort of like a Sean Of The Dead for teens.

You're not a girl. Why did you write from a girl's point of view?

Most of my friends are girls. It's been that way since high school. I've been a confidante for my female friends on boy issues, so I've been hearing girl problems for a longtime. I have nothing against writing about boys, but girls are more interesting. Sorry fellas. My hope is that while the book is about a girl, boys will find it interesting as well.

Where did the character of Margot come from?

I hate to say this, but Margot is mostly me—not the snarky part, but the insecure part.

Did you have a high school manifesto?

The night of junior high school graduation I was miserable with who I was. I didn't write down a manifesto, but I did come up with one. And just like Margot, midway through high school, I realized I hadn't achieved any of my goals.

Is there a sequel to NSDWAZ in the works?

Not at the present. I've moved away from zombies. But don't worry, there's still lots of weird stuff happening in the next book.

So, what's next for you?

I have completed a novel called Boyfriend From Hell, about a girl, her single mother, and the boyfriend from hell...literally. And I'm currently writing my first book series.

Where do you write?

At home mostly. But I like to move around the house, so I write in my office, the living room, my favorite spot is the dining room table. It keeps me close to the food.

Do you have any advice for young writers?

I started writing when I was ten. Nothing significant happened with my work until I won a writing contest as a senior in college. So you have to love it, and you have to stay with it if you want to get published. My best advice is, never get discouraged.

The Book Cover Contest

A lot can be said with a simple image. Take the zombie image to your left. I thought it was too cute in a macabre sort of way not to share. I find quite a few cool or cute zombie images on photobucket. I'm going to display several here over the next few months to keep you in the mood for zombies... You know, so come September you'll buy a certain book. Okay, enough marketing. Today's image is by Daisy Destruction.

This morning I discovered quite by accident, that a blogger at Tor had posted 5 versions of the Never Slow Dance With A Zombie book cover on her site. Wow! They did 5 book covers. Who knew? Included was Tor's reasoning for choosing the one they chose. I found the discussion fascinating, and I think you will too. Click here: The Art Department: Never Slow Dance with a Zombie, or, emo zombie boy FTW!

I liked several of the covers, but I think they went with the right one. If you'd like to weigh in on your own favorites, I'd love to hear from you. You will also see my name spelled out the way my mother intended. Ignore it. I am E to all my friends.

Sleep tight...

Twilight Thoughts, And Thank You

I went to a meeting today at a TV company. Before I started writing novels I made my living writing and producing TV shows. Anyway, I get to the meeting and I tell the guy (who was very nice, by the way) that I am now writing teen novels. When I tell him my subject matter it's clear he's intrigued. He tells me he just started reading Twilight. And I say, "mine is nothing like Twilight."

I love Twilight. It's one of my favorite series of all time. And I'm sure many of us wished we'd written it... although if we had we couldn't enjoy the reading so much. Anyway, I've been to too many meetings lately where I say what I'm working on now, and people reference Twilight. Believe it or not, aside from Summit (the company that made Twilight) most execs out here had never herd of it before the movie. So you can imagine how I feel when people ask "is it like Twilight?"

What I'd like to say right here tonight, is that we all must follow our own muse--not some one else's. I know it's a me-too world, and when something succeeds too many clones will show up. But I write what I write, and I hope you will read and enjoy it. I didn't write it to copy Twilight, or any other book. I hadn't even heard of Twilight three years ago when I started my first novel. I wrote it because my muse said "write this." What I've discovered in life is that when you try jumping on the band wagon, you usually fall off. I don't know what any of you guys are trying to accomplish out there, but I hope you are following your own heart, your own muse and not someone else's.

By the way, by the end of the meeting the guy was saying he wanted to do a TV show with me... after he read Never Slow Dance With A Zombie. I wanted to say: "Why don't you finish Twilight first."

And then twenty minutes later, I dropped of an ARC... I can gripe all I want, I still need to make a living ;-)

On another note: I want to thank Chelle76 for mentioning E's blog in her blog, On The Tip Of My Fingers..., as one of her favorite blogs. I was stunned. Mainly because hers is one of the best, most intimate blogs I've ever read. You can check it out here: http://chele76.blogspot.com/ And I apologize, Michelle, for thanking you in your comment section three times. Sometimes, I am an idiot!

That's it for tonight. Sleep tight, don't let the zombies bite.

Flutter, The New Twitter

This has nothing to do with anything important. As Twitter-mania reaches new levels, Slate V presents a mockumentary about a company that wants to take microblogging to the next level. It's funny, and it shows how crazy things are getting. Check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeLZCy-_m3s

Update!

There has been a change in my profile. Never Slow Dance With A Zombie will be in stores in September. You won't have to wait until Halloween. That's great news. AND it's already listed on Amazon. Those of you who want to pre-order Click here: Amazon.com: Never Slow Dance With A Zombie: Books
Okay, I know I'm dreaming on this last part, but somebody might.

My website is still not up. This is all due to technical glitches. I am hoping to have the problems solved by the weekend. I will keep you posted. And finally, I still haven't signed those 11 books. What a strange case of procrastination, huh? But they are on my coffee table. I will sign them before sundown.

Sleep tight, don't let the zombie bite.

The Autograph Dilemma

There are some people who can make the simplest, most fun task seem like a chore. I don't think I'm one of those people, but after I tell you my problem you may not agree. When I started this blog I said I was going to chronicle my journey toward publication. Several days ago, right here in this blog, I celebrated the fact that the ARCs for Never Slow Dance With A Zombie were in, and that I was asked by my publisher to sign 11 copies.

I sat down over the weekend about to sign a copy for a fellow blogger and stopped cold. Where do I sign? I went through the few autographed books I own and discovered there doesn't seem to be a dedicated spot. Some signed the inside cover. One signed the back of the book jacket. I think the most popular place is the inside page with the title. My book has three such panels: two with just the title, and sandwiched between those is one with the title, my name and the publisher.

Which do I sign?

I know it's a silly problem. But one I am taking quite seriously. I want to get this right. So, yesterday I went to the local Barnes and Nobel (It was open on Easter Sunday) to further investigate. I thought I'd leave the store with a feeling of security. I thought there would be tons of autographed books available and I would see a pattern. No such luck. I left as confused as when I arrived.

So here I sit, pen at the ready, going back and forth over three pages. I feel like a contestant on Let's Make A Deal... is it behind door number one, door number two, or curtain number three. Pick the right one, and I'm a hero. Pick the wrong one and I've got seven cans of Vienna sausage. I will let you know what I decide. Hope I'm right.

Sleep tight...

The ARC's Are Here

I just got 10 Advance Reader Copies of Never Slow Dance With A Zombie. ARCs are soft bound books created for newspapers and reviewers. 10 isn't many. I plan to give them to selected teen girls who will read the book and then do a review on my new website. Hopefully the reviews will be good, and people will want to read the book. That's the idea, anyway.

The other good news is my website, evanlowe.com, should be ready to go online tomorrow. Tatiana has been tweaking a few things, and we're even adding a new game. So, while the writing of the new novel isn't going very well at the moment, things are moving along.

AND my publisher wants me to autograph 11 copies of the ARCs for the teens who consulted on the artwork for the book cover. You know what that means? In a few days I will be signing my first autographed copies. I'd thought about the day when I'd have to start doing signings. I wish I had a cooler looking signature. And now that I don't write a lot--since everything is on the computer--when I do write my hand cramps up. Maybe I should practice... No, that sounds a bit too vain. I will sign the 11 books in one sitting and see how I hold up. I'll let you know how it goes. Anyway, it's an exciting time.

Sleep tight, don't let the zombies bite.

Blurbquest III

The third ( and final--so far) blurb for Never Slow Dance With A Zombie comes from Mike Price, Executive Producer and writer for the long running hit TV series, The Simpsons. Here it is:

An insightful, knowing look at the “horrors” of High School that also happens to be hilariously funny. If this book doesn’t make you laugh out loud at least a dozen times, then maybe you’re a zombie.

Thanks, Mike. I know how busy you are, and I appreciate you taking the time to do this.

What great blurbs. They're getting me even more excited about the publication of the novel. But I have run out of blurb candidates, and I still need one more killer blurb for the book jacket. So my quest starts anew... Joss Whedon, are you listening?

Sleep tight, don't let the zombies bite.