Irish Z-Day

El Inho

I've been considering this for a while and thought that I'd just throw it out there. I've wanted to write a book. I'm currently in a masters in history, so it won't be for some time, but in the future I want a project to release some steam. I've decided this could very well be a book outlining WWZ in Ireland. I was trying to consider some Ireland-specific characteristics, from the stereotypical to the logical.

Such as

-alcohol affecting the spread of infection :P
-Ireland be an island
-the hurl as a weapon

etc.

Just some preliminary ideas I had, with nothing really much more to add. Of course you could introduce the Irish history to it all. Famine could link in, with the lack of British support being regarded as a panic to the zombie infection...which subsided until now. (Literally making this bit up as I go)

Ireland offers plenty of potential unique points to give to the genre...or does it?

That's what my question is. Does anyone think this is a good idea? Does anyone think we do indeed have enough uniqueness to make this project worth while?

boards.ies you will be mentioned in my Pulitzer acceptance speech :P

Kess73

Whilst not exactly like what you are proposing, you could do worse than to check out The Estuary by Irish writer (and occasionally a Boardsie) Derek Gunn.


It tells the story of a zombie outbreak in a small village/town on the Cork/Waterford coastline.


The book tells of how the outbreak started, how locals try to survive, touches briefly on how the Irish military might try to contain the outbreak etc.


Your other ideas about alcohol affecting the spread of infection, and an outbreak on a island can be seen in the recent film, Grabbers. Whilst not a zed film, it deals with an outbreak of sorts on a small Irish island, and the comsumption of alcohol in relation to the outbreak/invasion plays no small part in the storyline.


Wayne Simmons is another writer whose work you might check out. Belfast born Simmons has four books ( Flu, Fever, Drop Dead Gorgeous, and Dolls Parts) out that deal with zed outbreaks in his home city and also around other parts of Northern Ireland. He looks at how the military would react, and goes into detail on this, he deals with the medical side of it, and of course how ordinary folk try to cope. He also touches on how members of other armed organisations might react to the outbreak.


Pretty sure that there is another author that has an Irish based zed book or zed series, but the series name escapes me at present.


The above might be good reference material for ya though, and help you avoid treading on already covered ground.

Also if you are thinking of writing a zed themed book, be sure to check what publishers will be interested in it (assuming you are not looking to release Independently ). I know Permuted Press are not accepting any submissions of Zed stories at present or for the short to medium term future.

degrassinoel

I think it's an excellent idea and you should go for it, roll with what you know, and don't wait to long to strike or the iron will cool

El Inho

cheers guys, and great tips there too kess. from all my interest in the topic i shamefully assumed the Irish z market would be fairly open...didn't realise it was so attacked already...gonna keep trying to think of some new stuff...might even try a historical work like what brooks has achieved...

ill be back in touch

Kess73

El Spearo wrote: »

cheers guys, and great tips there too kess. from all my interest in the topic i shamefully assumed the Irish z market would be fairly open...didn't realise it was so attacked already...gonna keep trying to think of some new stuff...might even try a historical work like what brooks has achieved...

ill be back in touch

The historical work style of story telling with regards to Zeds is pretty well trodden as well, but as saturated as the Zed novel market is at this point, I know that I will go out and buy any decent to good new zed story that goes on sale, and there must be thousands like me going by the explosion of zed releases under the banners of the likes of Permuted Press and Severed Press over the past five to ten years.

If it is of any help, Permuted Press are looking for submissions and here is the link to what types they are looking for at present.

http://permutedpress.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=66

El Inho

i forgot to mention one thing i do bring to the table...i'm also an undertaker...im sure i can work that in somewhere

thanks again kess...i never realised contacting publishers would be so easy? guess with demand as high as it is. ill step up this soon and get cracking on a concept...would be great to whack out a book...ill probably miss the buzz now!

ScumLord

You could also get involved in the zombie film project. I've just uploaded a plot line without an ending to start things off.

Kess73

El Spearo wrote: »

i forgot to mention one thing i do bring to the table...i'm also an undertaker...im sure i can work that in somewhere

thanks again kess...i never realised contacting publishers would be so easy? guess with demand as high as it is. ill step up this soon and get cracking on a concept...would be great to whack out a book...ill probably miss the buzz now!

Hehe I can think of a Zed book where the inside of a funeral home (or rather behind the scenes in the body prep/embalming room area) played a big part in the set up of a particular story. A portion of the same book is told from the POV of the undertaker after he has become infected in that he still has comprehension of what is going on but no control whatsoever over his zed body.


Jonathan Maberry's Dead Of Night is the book. I really do read waay too many pulp horror novels.

El Inho

Kess73 wrote: »

Hehe I can think of a Zed book where the inside of a funeral home (or rather behind the scenes in the body prep/embalming room area) played a big part in the set up of a particular story. A portion of the same book is told from the POV of the undertaker after he has become infected in that he still has comprehension of what is going on but no control whatsoever over his zed body.


Jonathan Maberry's Dead Of Night is the book. I really do read waay too many pulp horror novels.

ah jaysus i have little or nothing left :P

Kess73

El Spearo wrote: »

ah jaysus i have little or nothing left :P

Just because something has been done before does not mean that someone else cannot come up with a fresh take on it.

Most zed novels over the past five years have had similarities to earlier novels and films, but that does not stop many of them being damn entertaining reads.:)

El Inho

yeah what i've been noticing recently is everything from movies to games all owe something to something previous...

Like my favourite inspirations come from the games like dead island, shows like the walking dead and of course the classic movies.

think max brooks has really outlined zach well. hence a lot of what is written now really has to refer back to some earlier works. very hard to introduce something viable at this stage... I do have one cracking idea...and really hope you haven't read it somewhere - (im gonna trust ye)

basically the infection spreads from gingivitis, and initially spreads within ireland, which leads to zombies becoming known as gingers. i know this is an obvious one to crack on with in ireland, but its just some humour to throw in.

Kess73

El Spearo wrote: »

yeah what i've been noticing recently is everything from movies to games all owe something to something previous...

Like my favourite inspirations come from the games like dead island, shows like the walking dead and of course the classic movies.

think max brooks has really outlined zach well. hence a lot of what is written now really has to refer back to some earlier works. very hard to introduce something viable at this stage... I do have one cracking idea...and really hope you haven't read it somewhere - (im gonna trust ye)

basically the infection spreads from gingivitis, and initially spreads within ireland, which leads to zombies becoming known as gingers. i know this is an obvious one to crack on with in ireland, but its just some humour to throw in.

A zed outbreak caused by gingivitis? That is defo a new one on me. Am guessing that you will be tying the zed side of the infection into the bacterial plaque that can cause gingivitis rather than the gingivitis itself.

Zeds being called gingers is a good comedic idea and could lead to many amusing lines especially if one went down the obvious route and had one or more characters (regardless of whether they are major or minor) with red hair.

It could also work for the American market as they have a stereotype of the Irish and British having bad teeth, so that could also be worked into the humour if you have the American military/media/population watching from a distance.


Can almost imagine a book cover with a drawing of a zed brushing his teeth.:)

Neutron_pot

That would be so cool . . .although, would it be a serious book or a comical type? Alcohol affecting the spread of the disease isn't really realistic,

1. a bunch of fca recruits on a training camp having to deal with zombies
2. students dealing with the outbreak in secondary school would be funny
3. Maybe an incident in supermacs
4. Perhaps a zombie grainne seoige, kathyrn thomas or the cast of tallifornia and people so people would have to dispose of them
5. Bunch of lads starting a fight with a zombie outside a nightclub not realising its a zombie

El Inho

finally! a break through. yeah it just seems like a good disease (plus im off to the dentist tomorrow...might ask some questions :P )

but a good way for the disease to spread through bites etc.

im loving number 5 on the list there...for me playing up to the irish stereo type is vital. use of irish boll0xs and jaysus etc (this shall be tested by cursing at my german missus to see what she does and doesnt understand to define 'irish cursing')

well i have my start point now. i think irish celebs appearing at certain times might work, for example a hurling scene would be brilliant...a player feeling unwell during a leinster semi final, but he is urged to push through the barrier before sucumbing on the field. (helmet is on and all....this would play into him resisting attaks but also limiting his ability to spread infection.)

i'm going to treat this thread as somewhere i just splurge ideas and get reactions on...i presume this is okay with mods and all?

----

the book will almost certainly begin with,

His online alias sat beside all his posts as he trawled through reams of online message boards and threads. He stopped at zombie survival and asked himself just why this forum was ever created. The genre interested him, and he read through some of the material, soon developing a complete fascination with every post and debate. Unfortunately this thread was about to become one of his primary reference points for survival.

----

something that would interest me is comparing the pre- zday beliefs of zombies and the actual (thought still obviously fictional) zombie which roams in the characters world.

El Inho

Neutron_pot wrote: »

That would be so cool . . .although, would it be a serious book or a comical type? Alcohol affecting the spread of the disease isn't really realistic,

1. a bunch of fca recruits on a training camp having to deal with zombies
2. students dealing with the outbreak in secondary school would be funny
3. Maybe an incident in supermacs
4. Perhaps a zombie grainne seoige, kathyrn thomas or the cast of tallifornia and people so people would have to dispose of them
5. Bunch of lads starting a fight with a zombie outside a nightclub not realising its a zombie

my reasoning for the alcohol was due to the thinning of the blood which alcohol does. would also include the medication warferin (an anti-coagulant) as a method of slowing the spread in what will likely be lost causes. for me the only way to account for the demise of zach is obliteration.

now the whole book will be a comedy. as mentioned the spread being linked to gingivitis is the first thing i want to include, and as kess mentioned this links into the irish stereotype (ps loving the teeth reference to crack into the market). just think focusing on the teeth allows for some great imagry through out the book.

Neutron_pot

Actually now that i think of it alcohol could make for entertaining reading . . . slowing down heart, less blood to the brain etc, etc.

The sick hurler is interesting, you should check out the film "Dead Girl", not for the film but it has a part where an assh0le jock gets bit by the zombie . . . he slowly deteriorates over a day or two in class, fever, nausea, vomiting slowly rotting flesh, disoreintation etc., . . . might give you an idea or two for the hurler.

. . . .i dont know why, but i keep thinking of those really drunk messy girls in nightclubs who throw themselfs at guys . . one of the guys could be a zombie and she wouldnt realise it

El Inho

Neutron_pot wrote: »

Actually now that i think of it alcohol could make for entertaining reading . . . slowing down heart, less blood to the brain etc, etc.

The sick hurler is interesting, you should check out the film "Dead Girl", not for the film but it has a part where an assh0le jock gets bit by the zombie . . . he slowly deteriorates over a day or two in class, fever, nausea, vomiting slowly rotting flesh, disoreintation etc., . . . might give you an idea or two for the hurler.

. . . .i dont know why, but i keep thinking of those really drunk messy girls in nightclubs who throw themselfs at guys . . one of the guys could be a zombie and she wouldnt realise it

yeah there is a huge draw on the situation of someone being in a state of zombiefication but it not being evident....also this is a common motif in humour z-books

El Inho

quick update that i've cracked into the first 2 chapters of this but my dissertation as quickly told me to sit back down and behave :P more to come!

degrassinoel

Nice one, hang in there with it!

Kess73

El Spearo wrote: »

quick update that i've cracked into the first 2 chapters of this but my dissertation as quickly told me to sit back down and behave :P more to come!

The hardest bit is starting, so well done on that. Look forward to hearing more about it in the coming months.

yermanoffthetv

If you were looking for more "realistic" characteristics Ireland is a fairly important location for the biopharma industry, all the major companies are based here. big bad evil corporations are always cool.

I always liked the rec/quarintine angle of a human form rabies, given Irelands love of "dags" im sure you could work that in.zombie greyhounds...the horror

Im sure there must be some celtic mythology involving the undead if you wanted to work in some sort of historical context.

I dunno just some Ideas, best of luck with it!

Kess73

yermanoffthetv wrote: »

If you were looking for more "realistic" characteristics Ireland is a fairly important location for the biopharma industry, all the major companies are based here. big bad evil corporations are always cool.

I always liked the rec/quarintine angle of a human form rabies, given Irelands love of "dags" im sure you could work that in.zombie greyhounds...the horror

Im sure there must be some celtic mythology involving the undead if you wanted to work in some sort of historical context.

I dunno just some Ideas, best of luck with it!

The Cauldron of Plenty is an Irish myth that would tie in with bringing the dead back. Is known as Cerridwen’s cauldron in Welsh mythology and was also used as the inspiration for the Cauldron of Blood in 2000 AD's Slaine (a most excellent character)

El Inho

Many thanks for the guidance guys. I'm a Masters History student so was really hoping to draw on historical facts too. Always liked Dan Browns style were he really clouds the line between reality and fiction..or just incredible reality!

Not aiming high with Brown at all there :P

Haven't had the chance to get back into it much, but fingers crossed I'll have my dissertation completed before the summer and plough through if for the summer months.

ScumLord

You could go back to St Patricks time and say snakes is a codeword for zombies.

You could go further with it too, In Roman times Ireland was the edge of the world and the civilised people of Europe said that the Irish used to eat each other. You could have a big zombie war happening in Ireland with the local kings bringing in slaves to fight the zombies and St Patrick eventually coming in to finish them off.

El Inho

The dedication page in this book is going to be huge ....might get some charachters named after you guys...

was actually considering including somewhere the online forums and cracking humour at how accurate threads like this were in predicting something fictional coming true.

I'm hoping to keep as many unique points in the book as possible. obviously as seen earlier in this thread a lot has been covered in the genre, but some of the ideas you guys are throwing out are cracking. a bit of research and this could really take shape.

i might throw up what ive done so far (even though it was actually written between 2-6am one morning i couldnt sleep. just to see if its the right track im on.

El Inho

please bare in mind when i wrote this :P havent even gone back myself....so its raw! just an idea of my style and approach..not even sure how much is in this file.

Kess73

El Spearo wrote: »

The dedication page in this book is going to be huge ....might get some charachters named after you guys...

was actually considering including somewhere the online forums and cracking humour at how accurate threads like this were in predicting something fictional coming true.

I'm hoping to keep as many unique points in the book as possible. obviously as seen earlier in this thread a lot has been covered in the genre, but some of the ideas you guys are throwing out are cracking. a bit of research and this could really take shape.

i might throw up what ive done so far (even though it was actually written between 2-6am one morning i couldnt sleep. just to see if its the right track im on.

I want my character to go down swinging a la Spoon in the kitchen scene from Dog Soldiers.

degrassinoel

"There is no spoon! "

Kess73

it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself

degrassinoel

- if Little Red Riding Hood should show up with a bazooka and a bad attitude, I expect you to chin the bitch.

Man, 'Dog soldiers'.. best werewolf film ever!

Kess73

degrassinoel wrote: »

- if Little Red Riding Hood should show up with a bazooka and a bad attitude, I expect you to chin the bitch.

Man, 'Dog soldiers'.. best werewolf film ever!

Damn straight. Seems to be talk that a sequel may finally happen as well.:)

ScumLord

Kess73 wrote: »

I want my character to go down swinging a la Spoon in the kitchen scene from Dog Soldiers.

Like this guy?

Kess73

ScumLord wrote: »

Like this guy?

Hehe

more like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjvLLI-SHa8

El Inho

Kess73 wrote: »

Hehe

more like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjvLLI-SHa8

watched this last night and in relation to spoon..


BEST DEATH EVER

Tzar Chasm

just read this, there is the seed of a fairly decent story there.

some of the observational aspects of it are spot on, like the bit about the helmets.

MOAR

El Inho

Tzar Chasm wrote: »

just read this, there is the seed of a fairly decent story there.

some of the observational aspects of it are spot on, like the bit about the helmets.

MOAR

Thanks for taking the time to give it a look. And thanks for the feedback too!

I'm welcoming to all sorts of feedback...you can't hurt me that much :P

but seriously thanks! hope to keep you up to date with more.

laoch na mona

a cross between lacross, hockey and (at times) mixed martial arts

best description of hurling ever

degrassinoel

i heard a good one in some jason statham film where he called it "A cross between hockey and murder" just before he beat the tar out of a bunch of guys.. Blitz i think..

ScumLord

degrassinoel wrote: »

i heard a good one in some jason statham film where he called it "A cross between hockey and murder" just before he beat the tar out of a bunch of guys.. Blitz i think..

I saw that scene in a clip show and was sold on watching it straight away.

degrassinoel

just incase anyone hasn't seen it, Dogsoldiers is on youtube

search for 'Dog Soldiers - English Horror FULL Movie 2002'

oh, and a bonus brownie point for the greatest b-movie rip-off of a b-movie rip-off - Deep Rising is on there too..

search for 'Deep Rising (1998)'


Not a zombie to be seen, some really decent horror though

Paddy Cow

You could work into the movie that Ireland has been quarantined and at the end there is a ferry drifting towards the UK coastline with a load of zeds on board. Leaves you wide open for a sequel.

El Inho

Paddy Cow wrote: »

You could work into the movie that Ireland has been quarantined and at the end there is a ferry drifting towards the UK coastline with a load of zeds on board. Leaves you wide open for a sequel.

That i like. Yoink. Unfotunatley college is dominating summer hoping to get back writing in September