Showcasing a new series every month to show you the best series Wattpad has to offer, and an interview with the writers for more information about their series and writing!
Just as they pulled into the parking lot, Queen's 'Don't Stop Me Now' blared through his earpiece and the parking lot. Soapies from all over turned toward the source of the noise.
Jayson gritted his teeth at the feedback. "What are you doing?"
"Soapie bowling. You get to shoot, I get to bowl," he chirped as if it should have been obvious.
"What's with the music?" he asked, firing off another set of rounds at the oncoming swarm.
"I need a distraction and sound seems to attract their attention. Now shut up and shoot a Soapie so I can concentrate."
Jayson laughed as Taylor spun circles around the lot, picking up speed as he slammed into one Soapie after another, singing as he went.
"Don't stop me now...I'm havin' such a good time. I'm havin' a ball..."
He sang along, "Don't stop me now..." Pop! "Don't stop me now..." Pop!
"Cause I'm havin' a good time, and I don't wanna stop at all..." they sang together, snickering as they went.
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INTERVIEW WITH THE WRITER
What inspired you to create the Zombie Soap series? Were there any specific influences or experiences that sparked the idea?
I started Zombie Soap as a joke. At the time, I'd had an anthology of short flashfic stories I'd written from when I was fourteen, and when I went into the Ambassadors program, some fellow trainees and I connected over writing. They thought The Missing Soap Collection was hilarious, so I ended up writing a few more for fun. Zombie Soap was meant to have been one of them, but I realized there was no way I could capture the magic that made the anthology so fun in just one tiny chapter.
During that time, I created a Google document where my Ambassador intake peers added their own hilarious scenarios to potentially use for the characters. Ironically, only one was used where Taylor mentions in Chapter 6 that the Soapies will sniff him out by his sweet scent alone.
I think for me, what makes the series so special is that it's about friendship, but also, there's an original virus created by generic soap. It doesn't get weirder or better than that.
After eleven months, the story was marked complete and immediately went on to win a Watty in 2020. I guess you could say the rest is history.
How do you keep track of all the details in your series?
Oh, that's tough. So... I tend to have a million thoughts zooming through my brain at any given moment, and a lot of times, I think about something until I have it memorized. Not eye color or anything like that, but I think far ahead when I write, and therefore, it stays fresh in my mind as I'm writing to catch up to those thoughts.
Do you have a favorite book or moment in the series? If so, what makes it special to you?
That's an impossible question to answer because the whole damn book is funny (at least it is to me). But if I have to choose an all-time favorite moment, it would be in Chapter 6 of the first book where Jayson and Taylor go out into the city to rescue their friend Monica, who is trapped in a pharmacy. As they're rolling along in Jayson's truck, they start bowling over Soapies (the nickname for zombies) and singing Don't Stop Me Now by Queen. Best action song ever.
Have you ever encountered any challenges or surprises while writing the series? How did you overcome them?
I think my biggest challenge was actually during the second book, Zombie Soap: Conspiracy. 2021 to the beginning of this year were pretty tumultuous for me as I struggled with mental health, new medications that induced unexpected reactions, learning who my real friends are and aren't, while almost losing my husband, dad, and daughter within a year of each other. They're all okay now, but each of them almost died from one illness or another, and I never knew at any given time if I'd say goodbye. Not to mention, I lost two close friends within a week of each other during the first year of the pandemic, and then my ferrets all passed away from old age in 2021. It REALLY wasn't a good set of years for me.
When Kara died (she was my last holdout among the ferrets and freaking ancient), she started having seizures similar to what Loki went through in Chapter 1, Book 1. It is a screeching sound you never ever forget, and that night really hit home for me because of how the series starts. I ended up taking a four month hiatus because I just couldn't return to the series without associating Kara's passing with it.
There were so many breaks overall during the writing of the second book, and the biggest challenge was not closing the document the moment I opened it. My readers adore the characters, and I love them too, but sometimes it's hard to turn to the things that make you smile when you're so crushed by depression and anxiety and fatigue.
I don't know how I overcame it except to put my brain on autopilot and just push through.
Do you have a favorite character in your series?
I'm not supposed to answer this! The readers are OBSESSED with every character for one reason or another because I wrote them to compliment each other with their personalities, cultural differences, and flaws. With so many moving parts and a large cast, I prefer not to give out a favorite in case someone is really drawn to someone else.
However, I will say the big fan favorites are Taylor and Jeannie. Even as an author who is known for being unpredictable with twists and turns, I know if anything happens to those two in particular, the readers will flipping riot and come after me with the pitchforks and torches.
Do you have any advice for your fellow writers on starting a series?
My advice to fellow authors is to write because you love it. Don't compare yourself to others. We don't all start at the same level, and everyone's journey is different. Taste is also subjective, and just because one person doesn't like your story doesn't mean it's bad. Everyone has different tastes and styles, and you're only doing yourself a disservice by quelling your voice in favor of what is currently on trend. Trends fade, but your voice can echo through time.
