Q&A With Jason Kristopher 

Mickey Mikkelson connected me with the author of the zombie post-apocalyptic series The Dying Of Light Jason Kristopher! One review called The Dying Of Light “The best zombie book since World War Z!”

Q: Jason, welcome to Book Notions! Where did the idea for The Dying Of Light series come from? 

A: From a dream, actually! More a combination, really – two vivid nightmares that wouldn’t leave me alone. The first was about a sole survivor of a zombie plague, and the second involved a military group escaping zombies through underground corridors. In that second dream, I was this sergeant – I still remember the weight of command, the terror of losing soldiers, those insane defense mechanisms like brick walls rising from the floor and these psychological warfare “Zone Cannons.”

The military aspects from that dream inspired what became AEGIS, though the organization itself evolved during the writing. David Blake grew from that lone survivor concept, while the underground bunkers came from the desperate need to hide and protect humanity that permeated both dreams. What’s wild is how clearly, I can still see those dream images – the zombies climbing electrified fences, not caring about the burns, using our own weapons against us. That visceral fear of “they’re not staying down!” made it straight into the books.

Q: How long did it take you to write each book in The Dying Of Light series & how many books can fans expect to be in the series? 

A: End was my marathon baby – started on 8/6/2008 and finished around 4/15/2011. Why so long? I got completely lost in what we call the “murky middle” because I was pantsing it without an outline. It wasn’t until I discovered J.A. Konrath’s “A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing” that I learned proper outlining techniques and could finally finish. Oh, and End went through NINE name changes. Nine!

Interval started in January 2011 and finished in January 2013, while Beginning started on my birthday in July 2013 and finished November 2015. That one took forever because I over-outlined it and got bored – when you know every beat of your story, sometimes the magic of discovery disappears. Had to force myself through that one.

The Walker Chronicles were written between the main books, except for Signal Breach (released this year in the updated collection) and Sonata in Z Minor (coming February in Requiem: An Anthology for the Undead from Wordfire Press).

The series is completed in four books, though I’m always finding new Walker stories to tell in that universe. Fair warning: I’m terrible with timelines. Loco Moco is pushing 10 years and two-name changes, while When Iron Wakes is at 14 years and counting!

Q: Are there any messages & emotions you hope readers learn and feel after reading the series?

A: Hope. That’s the big one. As writers, stubbornness and hope are our stock in trade: hope that we’ll finish the book, hope that it’ll be good, hope that readers will connect with it. But for readers, I want them to know that no matter what the loss, you CAN come back from it… eventually. There’s always a light, even in the darkest times.

David loses everything in End. His girlfriend Rebecca, her son Eric, his entire world! And yet he finds Kim, finds a new family with First Team. That’s intentional. For so many of us going through hard times, the family you CHOOSE becomes everything. Choose wisely, fight for them, and never give up.

Especially with our world, the way it is today—so divided in so many ways, hope feels almost impossible to grasp sometimes. But somewhere deep in my heart of hearts, I must believe we’re too stubborn to let ourselves “go quietly into the night,” to quote Thomas (again). We’ll fight, we’ll survive, and maybe we’ll even find something worth living for along the way.

Q: When Hollywood gets the rights to The Dying Of Light series, who is your dream cast to play the characters you created? 

A: I’ve given this way too much thought over the years! For David Blake, I’d love to see Oscar Isaac or Jake Gyllenhaal – both can nail that journey from broken survivor to reluctant hero. Isaac has that everyman quality but can go dark when needed, while Gyllenhaal is brilliant at playing damaged characters who find their strength.

Kim Barnes needs someone who can command authority while showing vulnerability – Tessa Thompson or Gemma Chan would be perfect. Both can handle the action sequences and have that natural leadership presence Kim needs.

For Colonel Maxwell, Bryan Cranston or Idris Elba would bring the perfect mix of fatherly warmth and military command. Maxwell needs to be someone you’d follow into hell but also trust to adopt orphaned kids.

Henry Gardner MUST be Walton Goggins. He’s got that ability to be charming one second and absolutely terrifying the next, and I’ve loved him since Justified and everything since. Michael Shannon could work too, but Goggins has that snake-oil salesman quality (in the best of ways) that Gardner needs.

And for Dr. Adamsdóttir, Tilda Swinton or Lupita Nyong’o would bring the right mix of brilliant scientist and unexpected warmth. Swinton has that otherworldly intelligence, while Nyong’o brings gravity and heart to everything she touches.

The chemistry between these actors would be incredible, especially watching Isaac/Gyllenhaal and Thompson/Chan develop David and Kim’s relationship against the backdrop of the apocalypse.

Q: For anyone wanting to write, what is your advice? 

A: As William Forrester said in one of my favorite writing movies, Finding Forrester, “the first key to writing is to write.” A lot of people will tell you that you should write every day, but those of us who aren’t independently wealthy and/or incredibly healthy will tell you that’s often just not possible. But here’s my first key: Everything related to your story is writing. Sitting in the dark, thinking about your story? That’s writing. Walking the dog and trip and coming up with some blocking for an action scene? That’s blocking. Watching a movie in your book’s genre? Yep, you guessed it. My second key: Just write one single sentence. It doesn’t have to be perfect, or even great, or even good. It can be outright garbage. Doesn’t matter; write it anyway. Then, tomorrow, or when you’re feeling up to it, write the next one, with the same expectations. Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files, Codex Aleira) has a great talk he gives occasionally about “priming the pump”—and it’s so good, because that’s what we must do. You’ll get nasty, dirty water for a long time as you start pumping… but eventually, the water (your words) will run clear. But you have to start before that can happen!

Q: How does it feel knowing that people say The Dying Of Light is better than World War Z? 

A: I love that people read my books and enjoyed them so much! But I want to say this, and I think it’s important: it’s not a zero-sum game. There’s not just one zombie book out there. It’s okay to enjoy more than one, and for different reasons.

I was lucky enough to meet Max Brooks at San Diego ComicCon the summer End came out, and as WWZ was something of a research reference for me during the writing (as well as The Zombie Survival Guide), I naturally mentioned it to him and thanked him for the helping hand. He was not amused, but I still count it as a great honor.