People think vampires are so sexy, and I’ve never really understood why. Maybe it’s the whole penetration aspect? I don’t know. Anyway. I decided that other kinds of undead deserve a little love, too. What’s wrong with zombies?
Oh, sure, people point out that vampires are sentient while zombies are not. In fact, that’s the whole point of zombies. Plus they are gross and rotting, whereas vampires are just supernaturally strong and attractive and (depending on who you are reading) may sparkle.
But what if a zombie wasn’t completely zombified yet? What if he was only half-dead, in the way that a vampire is only half-dead? He wouldn’t come swooping in your window at night, or sweep you off your feet with his Byronic temperament, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. A lot of the things that vampires do are… well… creepy. Thirsting for your blood, watching you sleep… Plus, I personally wouldn’t be happy in a relationship where I could be physically overpowered.
A zombie, now… a zombie would probably be happy to follow your lead. He would love you for your brains. He would be a willing and adoring follower.
It has been done – I’m sure Warm Bodies is the first thing that comes to mind – but I don’t think it is done often enough.
And so I conceived of Howard Mullins, the anti-vampire. In my feminist retelling of the classic boy-meets-girl, the woman is the strong one, the leader, the decision maker, and he really loves her brains.
…Plus I get to make rigor mortis jokes.
To read excerpts from my not-too-serious zombie romance, click here.
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