Eleven Up: Interview with Carrie Harris, author of BAD TASTE IN BOYS

Please welcome Carrie Harris to the Apocalypsies blog!

Her book BAD TASTE IN BOYS is out today. Here's the summary:

Someone's been a very bad zombie.

Kate Grable is horrified to find out that the football coach has given the team steroids. Worse yet, the steroids are having an unexpected effect, turning hot gridiron hunks into mindless flesh-eating zombies. No one is safe--not her cute crush Aaron, not her dorky brother, Jonah . . . not even Kate!

She's got to find an antidote--before her entire high school ends up eating each other. So Kate, her best girlfriend, Rocky, and Aaron stage a frantic battle to save their town. . . and stay hormonally human.

Doesn't it sound awesome?

Without further ado, here's the interview:

As Apocalypsies we had to survive the fires of hell, fight raving zombies and find our way through eternal darkness, so please tell us a bit about your path to publication.

I took the scenic route to publication. I’ve been writing for over 15 years now. I’ve done roleplaying books and websites and plays and technical writing—about the only thing I haven’t done is write cereal box copy, although now I’m tempted. My first book was a NaNoWriMo novel that started off as a fantasy satire and somehow turned into a political satire halfway through. And then I wrote a series of really depressing books and hung out in coffee shops and wore a beret. (The worst part is that the beret was PLAID.) Eventually I quit trying to be a “serious” writer and wrote something just for fun. That was my first YA novel, which got the attention of my superawesome agent and went to editorial acquisitions more times than I could count. But ultimately, it wasn’t the right first book for me. BAD TASTE IN BOYS, however, sold in about a month, because zombies are irresistible.

How long did it take you to write BAD TASTE IN BOYS and how did you get the idea for it?

I wrote half of it and got stuck, because the second half sucked serious suckables, and I didn’t know how to fix it. So I set it aside for a while and toyed around with other projects until I figured out what to do. All in all, it took me about nine months of actual writing, with a three month break somewhere in the middle.

As for where I get ideas, I like to play this game called Monster Math, which I talk about on my website. The whole idea of Monster Math is to put together ideas in new and interesting ways. I knew I wanted to write a zombie book, and a book about the dead football players from the movie Beetlejuice, and a book about weird science. So I mashed the ideas all together and divided them by high school geekery.

And I thought I’d never use algebra after high school.

On your website (which is totally awesome) you mentioned that you love monsters. What’s your favorite monster? And what kind of monster would you like to be? Maybe a Merpire or Frankenthullu as you mention on your website? Or something ordinary like a sparkly vampire or a snarling werewolf?

I’m an equal opportunity monster fan, although I tend to get obsessed with various creatures depending on when you ask. Like right now, I’m all about the Yeti. I don’t think the Yeti gets enough love. I’m also very interested to know if sparkles would make a Yeti sexy. THESE ARE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS.

As for what I’d like to be, when I talk to myself, I call me the Sparkly Merpire Princess.

SPARKLE SPARKLE SPARKLE.

Sadly, I’m not making any of this up.

Can you tell us a bit about the project you’re working on right now? And most importantly does it have monsters?

Well, I’m waiting on edits for my sequel, which is called BAD HAIR DAY and should be out sometime in summer 2012. It’s about werewolves and nanotechnology and blueberry flavoured astronauts and killer coconuts, and it makes me snarf things out my nose when I think about it. And I’ve just finished what I’m hoping will be my third book, which is in a whole new world, only without Aladdin.

Now that song is stuck in my head.

We want to know more about Kate Grable, the protagonist of BAD TASTE IN BOYS. What would she do on her last day before the end of the world?

Well, she’d probably tell you that she’d like to find a secluded place and make out with her crush Aaron for a while, but she’s too responsible for that. She’d be rushing hither and thither trying to cure the virus/disarm the laser/figure out how to kill the aliens/whatever. And it’s pretty impossible to stand in Kate’s way when she wants something. We have that in common. Ask my husband; I get really scary determined when I’ve set my mind on something. It’s like I’m harnessing my internal Yeti or something.

Of course, the Apocalypsies want to make sure that our fellow writers are prepared for 2012. After all, it’s our writerly duty to ensure that you live long enough to read all of our books. So what’s your favorite weapon for fighting off zombies? We want to know! With a book like BAD TASTE IN BOYS you’re probably an expert.

I AM an expert! Not only do I write monster books, but I have a ninja doctor husband. No, seriously. He has a fourth degree black belt in ninjutsu, and I’ve actually seen him knock shuriken out of the air with his hands. It’s surprisingly sexy.

Ahem. Anyway. I am not a black belt. I have a green belt, which means that I should be able to fall down without hurting myself, although sometimes I think that’s debatable. So I need something easy to use, that doesn’t need reloading, and doesn’t require me to get within biting distance.

Obviously, that weapon is a lightsaber. GET ON IT, SCIENTISTS.

And what one food would you most like to have with you? If you’re not too petty I’d suggest becoming a cannibal, but that might not be your top choice. So...what is it?

I love potatoes. In fact, my husband wrapped up a potato and gave it to me for Christmas once. I figure it’s a good choice—in an emergency I can use it to bash some poor zombie’s head in.

Please name three books that our readers must read before the end of the world.

HOW TO SURVIVE THE END OF THE WORLD

HOW TO AVOID THE END OF THE WORLD IN THE FIRST PLACE

BAD TASTE IN BOYS

But you knew I was going to say that last one, right?

Thanks so much for interviewing me!!!

Thank you for the fun interview, Carrie!