An interview with Michell Plested

Sep 25, 2017 Posted by Simon Rose on Sep 25, 2017 | Comments Off on An interview with Michell Plested

My guest today is Calgary author, Michell Plested, who has published six novels for children and young adults.

Earlier this year his newest novel, Scouts of the Apocalypse: Zombie War was released. Zombie War is the second in the Scouts of the Apocalypse trilogy.

Scouts and Zombies. How did that come about?

I had an idea for a story when we were driving out to a deep woods camp. The area we were going to is really off the grid. It is actually a forested area off a logging road. No power, no water and no cell phone signal. The idea was simple: what would happen if we (the Scouts) came back to civilization after the camp and the world had gone bad?

I put the idea away for later thinking one day I might write the story

The next night we were telling stories around the fire and the Scouts were telling some particularly bad ghost stories. After several that featured Rocky and Bullwinkle as the heroes I said, “Enough!” I proceeded to tell the story of our Scout troop returning to Calgary only to find that Zombies had overrun the world.

Your story takes place in and around Calgary. What made you chose that as your setting?

The story began as one for my Scouts. They were actually in the story itself. I used landmarks they would see on the way home to make it more real for them so it made sense to keep all that when I wrote the full story. I can actually see readers go on a drive and follow the steps in the story.

There are a lot of zombie stories out there. What makes yours different?

I’ve been told by my readers that what makes this series of stories different is the feeling of hope and optimism. Most zombie stories have an endless parade of casualties. While there are a few of those, there are more survivors than not.

You mentioned the Scouts were in the original campfire story. Are they in the final books?

The books are not exactly like the original campfire stories. The characters in the books are all based on the Scouts but aren’t exactly the same people. The fun the Scouts have with the books is guessing who the characters are based on.

You have two books in the series right now. Scouts of the Apocalypse: Zombie Plague and Zombie War. Is that all of them?

There is one more planned. Scouts of the Apocalypse: Zombie Masters is the planned final book in the series. That one is planned for a 2018 release.

Where can people buy the first two books in the series?

The books are available for order in all bookstores and online stores in both print and electronic formats.

Scouts of the Apocalypse: Zombie Plague:

Scouts of the Apocalypse: Zombie War:

Scouts of the Apocalypse is available for order everywhere in print and electronic formats. If you would like to learn more about the author, you can visit http://www.michellplested.com/.

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