1. Identify the Problem: Sometimes it’s professional disappointment or being overwhelmed by projects or not liking the book you’re working on or just being tired. Know what’s sapping your motivation.

2. List the potential solutions: I’m a listmaker by heart (sometimes I rewrite my to do list several times a week just to complete the act of writing the list again). I find that sometimes just writing down everything I could do about something is helpful. So let’s say your problem has been identified as “being tired” in step one. That’s my current problem as I’m writing this blog. So your potential solution could be: take a nap, step away from the computer, drink a diet coke, go to bed early, stop playing Skyrim until 2am. And maybe ten or more other solutions. Just seeing them all listed out will make you feel like you can actually conquer this issue.

3. Be realistic: In my other writing persona, I’m in the middle of writing three contracted books in rapid succession and I’ve been listing my page count/word count totals at the end of each day. They’re pretty massive, due to the quick due dates and lots of people have been asking how I do it. I’m realistic. I know what I CAN do and also know that if I have visitors or an appointment during a day, I might not be able to do as much, so I adjust my goals accordingly. Just being aware of what you CAN do as a writer can help keep you from getting overwhelmed by trying to do too much too fast.

4. Be kind: To yourself. Sometimes you need a day off. Sometimes you need a break. Sometimes you need to let go of a project that isn’t working. This one is always a challenge to me (I hold myself to often impossible standards). But I’m learning and I’m working on showing myself a little compassion as a writer. Because there are days I can do it all. And there are days that I can’t. And that’s ok.

So how do you stay motivated as a writer? Or a reader? Or a human?

1. The Progresso commercial with the guy operator. The commercial starts with a woman calling the “Progresso Hotline” to say, “It fits!” The woman operator is like, “Woohoo!” Then it shows another woman saying, “They fit.” The male operator says, “OK.” She asks to talk to a female operator. Why it makes me laugh: It’s so flipping true. A boy would never totally get why fitting into skinny jeans is like the best day EVER.

2. Little Vader. It’s an oldie but a goodie from VW and last year’s Super Bowl. You’re all geeks, but I’ll remind you. Little boy dressed as Vader can’t seem to get the Force to work. Until Dad “helps” with his starter key fob. AWESOME. I’ve seen a preview for this year’s VW Star Wars commercial. Dogs. Barking. Imperial March.

3. Russian Guy’s Mini-Giraffe – DirecTv’s ad with the Russian “Opulance, I Has It” isn’t that hilarious on its own. Until he sits down next to the mini giraffe on the princess pillow and gives him/her a kiss. I die. Each time. And I want a mini giraffe. Thanks.

4. Seattle Mariners – I don’t live in Seattle anymore, so I don’t know what the Mariners are up to nowadays, but back in the day they had the most hilarious commercials. From players sharing a hotel with the Mariner Moose (who left hair in the drain) to Jay Beuhner’s bald head causing a reflection in the eyes of a batter… every time they made me laugh. Also, they once had a spirited debate on the pitcher’s mound about some classic. Look them up, well worth a chuckle, even if you don’t like sports (and I’m not a baseball fan).

5.Betty White Snickers – I’ll be honest, I think the rest of these commercials have been crap, but that first one with Betty White getting tackled and needing a Snickers to get back to being a guy… yeah. Betty White is awesome.

And now we’re almost to 2012 Superbowl, where a bunch of new commercials will launch. I’m sure most will be silly, but at least one will blow my mind. I can’t wait!

To paraphrase Doctor Who, zombies are cool. All you have to do is take a stroll through your local bookstore, click over to Amazon, or switch the TV to AMC for The Walking Dead, and it’s easy to tell that animated, rotting corpses are the ‘in’ thing these days… and it’s about time the iconic zombie shuffled his way into the cultural spotlight.

When it comes to my debut horror short story, Dead Man Walking, I’d like to sound impressive and talk about endless hours of market research and polling readers to discover their interest, but I really didn’t do any of those things. Instead, I simply ran with a thought that popped into my head one night while I was at work.

While I’m a full-time writer these days, I was a correctional officer in a prison at that time, and the nights can be long and boring… and don’t get me wrong because boring can be good. When it comes to being in a prison, boring is great, because the alternative can get messy.

During one of those long stretches of night when the inmates were locked up in their cells to sleep, my mind took a macabre turn and wondered what it would be like have a zombie running loose within the prison walls. Yes, my brain occasionally slips its leash and wanders off into some really strange places. Of course, there’s never just one zombie because one bite leads to another, which then leads to another. Pretty soon, there’s a full-blown zombie apocalypse happening behind the brick walls and razor wire.

After the initial idea oozed into my brain, I started really thinking about how it would work in a location where you can’t even walk from one end of the hall to the other without going through at least two locked doors. Does a lock really stand a chance against the undead? The answer is yes… and no. In the world I created, it all depends on the particular zombie because not all zombies are created equal.

Another reason for Dead Man Walking to be handled the way it was is that I wanted to create a zombie origin story. There are plenty of zombie movies and books out there but the vast majority of them feature a world that has already fallen to the undead. I wanted to back things up and show the beginning; give readers a last look at the world they know before it starts to crumble.

Working in a prison can be quite an educational experience, and there’s one part in the book that always brings up one particular question. I don’t want to reveal any spoilers but the answer is yes, you can use powdered coffee creamer, a 9-volt battery, and steel wool to create a certain effect employed by the main character at one point in the story. I might have taken a little dramatic license to enhance the effect but it’s probably still not something you should try at home.

I’d like to thank Jesse for inviting me over to share my thoughts with you, and I really appreciate the fact that I get to keep my brain in this zombie-infested neighborhood because I need that little piece of gray matter to keep my next book, Little Demons, on track for its February release.

You can catch up with me at my website, www.itsjustmarty.wordpress.com or find me on Twitter @ItsJustMarty. Feel free to stop by anytime. I don’t bite… much.

Ok, this story sounds awesome and thanks to Marty for jumping in to guest! I’m off to buy “Dead Man Walking” right now! You should, too!

11. Making the decision to move to Arizona/Putting our house on the market/selling our house in Illinois. This one is obviously a very personal moment for me and my family. We lived in Illinois for almost ten years (it was our “three hour tour” turned decade) and had a lot of friends there. But we had family in Arizona and a desire to reset. So we shut our eyes and jumped off the cliff, selling our house. It took forever, we had some stutter-starts and damn, but did we take a bath. But we did it. More on that later.

10. The Walking Dead, Season 2. I loved Season 1 of “The Walking Dead”, I even recapped it for Orbit on their blog. I hesitated to watch Season 2, as I had heard about the drama with writers on the show and honestly… sometimes Season 2s of shows just kind of suck (Heroes, I’m looking at you). But man… it was worth the wait. So good. Yes, I have major frustrations about the writing of the female characters, but I’m so sucked into the world that I can set that aside and just watch, mouth open as the story unfolds. Part 2 of Season 2… is it time yet???

9. Release of Halo: Anniversary and Portal 2. Yeah, I’m one of those. First off, I freaking LOVE Halo. I love that my husband and I can play it in cooperative mode. We have played Assault on the Control room literally a hundred times of more. It’s my favorite. So Halo with upgraded graphics. Yes, please. And Portal 2. I more watched Michael play Portal than played. I’m not big into puzzle games, they sort of stress me out. But he asked me to play Portal 2 to help him get some coop acheivements and I FELL IN LOVE. The story is funny, the music is great and please. Portals. Robots. Apeture Labs. Get me some.

8. Release of Flip This Zombie. January 2011, the second book of the “Living With the Dead” series was released. Continuing the adventures of Dave and Sarah after MARRIED WITH ZOMBIES was a terrifying concept. I had written plenty of books before, but never Urban Fantasy until MARRIED just kind of fell out of me during a blurry 2 week period where I barely stopped writing long enough to eat. Could I do it again? Well, I did. And I loved adding new characters and pushing Dave and Sarah’s relationship along the rocky road of marital discord and zombies.

7. Release of Eat Slay Love. I had already written almost the entire third book in the series when I made a joke about EAT SLAY LOVE on twitter. Orbit ran with it and the book came out in July, capping off the series (at least under Orbit unless some miracle occurs) and leaving hundreds to ask, “Are you going to write another Dave and Sarah book?” Also, there was Russell Brand in it (yes, he’s my coked up rocker, not that you asked).

6. Adele. Adele isn’t a moment, she’s a person. And her debut album 19 rocked my world. Everyone else seemed to figure her out this year. So I salute you Adele, for being the kind of person it seems like it would be fun to hang out with. Also “Someone Like You” inspired the “Crying” sketch on SNL and now I giggle every time it comes on before I sing along. And maybe cry a little.

5. The Royal Wedding. What?? I’m a GIRL. I love that Kate Middleton seems chill. I love that they actually seem to like each other. I liked getting up at 4am to watch the wedding and squeeing over the dress. Now for the Happily Ever After, thank you. And probably some very large-toothed children.

4. Moving into the wild world of self-publishing. Why did I do it? Well, I wanted more choice, I wanted quicker turn around times and I wanted to write more zombie books set in my “Living With the Dead” universe. My first foray under my Jesse Petersen name was IN THE DEAD: Volume 1, a collection of short stories set in the Living With the Dead Zombieverse. The sales have been slower than I anticipated, but those who have read it seemed to have enjoyed it. And I sure enjoyed writing it.

3. Eat Slay Love is a finalist in Goodreads Choice! A totally unexpected honor that I staggered into in November/December. I woke up to an email. And I realized that this award nomination was based on the best reviewed books in each genre. So, hello! HONOR! And then the readers got to vote for the winner. I managed to survive to the very final round, beating out some pretty heavy hitters before the end. Winning would have been awesome, but it really was just an honor to be nominated.

2. Sending out new projects to New York. I do love to publish on my own terms, but I also like having a book on shelves, expanding my readership and getting paid. So I’m very excited to have several projects out in the world, including a full book about monsters under my Jesse Petersen name. There might also be a zombie book (not Dave and Sarah) going out soon, too. Just saying. Will anyone nibble? Maybe. Maybe not. But I like that I’m trying.

1. Moved to Arizona. So about selling that house. Once we did, we bought a gorgeous new one in Arizona. In August, we packed up my car and our cats and took a very long road trip. Soon after, my husband repeated it and we were… home. My husband has started his own business for runners (www.sevenrunners.com)  and is training beginner triathletes (www.therunningmike.com). We are close to our two beautiful nephews and have a mountain pretty much growing out of our front yard. It is bliss. And it was the best/weirdest year ever.

What about you? Favorite moments now that your hangover from celebrating is long gone?

The whole thing got me thinking about the internet and how it’s really changed how people are able to treat each other.  It used to be that a guy like this jerk would have done what he did and the poor customer would have been screwed. He might have been able to report the incident somewhere, but what else could he have done? Now he tells a few gaming mags/blogs and all of a sudden we ALL know what’s up and we’re tweeting about it, blogging about it and demanding that someone fix it.

What the douchebag forgot is that he’s a “public person”. Just vaguely mind you, but still. He represents a company (his own now, the controller creator has fired him) and so what he says isn’t just about the fact he’s a bully and a jerk. I sometimes see the same sort of attitude online from other public people. They tweet about situations they’re not informed about, they get into twitter wars over the stupidest crap and they make themselves look sooooo bad. Once that stuff is out there, you can take it back or change it just by changing your twitter handle.

The bottom line is, isn’t it just easier not to be a jerk, online or otherwise? Not to use the supposed anonymity of the interwebs to kick the dog because it makes you feel better. Because the thing is that you never know who the dog is online. And also… you just shouldn’t go around kicking the dog because it’s mean and small and petty and makes you look like a bitch when people catch you doing it.

I am not saying that I’ve never said anything online that I’ve regretted. I’m sure you can find some stuff I’ve written that makes me look… well, probably mostly pathetic rather than bitchy. If I’ve been bitchy, it’s probably in a more generic “snarky” way than specifically toward another human person with feelings and a mom.

Maybe it’s all about entitlement. Jerks on the internet (and in real life) think they’ve “earned” something. Whether it’s your business or your respect they’re going to demand it if you do anything to deny it. Only they haven’t “earned” anything. I don’t think I “deserve” your business or your good reviews or your blogs. Not because I’m just awesome anyway. The only way I “earn” that is by somehow catching your eye with my product, having it live up to your expectations and then the rest is up to you. I appreciate the book purchases and the reviews on Amazon, I might even ask for them. But I don’t think you “owe” me.

But this guy, and others like him, whether they be actors, writers or whoever… they think we all “owe” them just because they think they’re hot shit and we should worship accordingly. But nowadays, the only thing you’re going to get out of that kind of crap attitude is a bad reputation, three pages of “the guy is a jerk” on google searches and a new twitter handle.

I guess what it comes down to is don’t be a douche. Not online and not in life. It doesn’t pay. Just ask the jerk in the Penny-Arcade
story.

I love music, don’t get me wrong. I love all kinds of music from classic rock to classical to ridiculous pop to rock and even some country (though not a lot). I sing in the shower and I think music would be something I miss in the zombie apocalypse. But when it comes to writing, I just can’t do it. I don’t know what it is, for the first ten to fifteen minutes, it’s totally fine. I write along, music playing and all is right with the world.

And then it’s like over-stimulation hits me. I start getting all the words in the song ringing in my head over top of the words for the story. I get all irritated and annoyed and the music goes off.

BUT the lovely thing about writing is that there’s no way to do it “wrong”. Like writing via music, do it! Don’t? Then turn it off and enjoy the silence (except for those voices in your head of course). I’ll be doing the second one.

Harley on the car ride to Arizona. She had her own pillow.

WHAT?

One reason why I chose Seattle, specifically and the Pacific Northwest in general to set my stories is that I lived there. From 1996-2002, I lived in Seattle, Bellevue and Redmond, WA. I felt comfortable setting a book in the city since I’d lived there recently enough to be able to write it and not have to constantly be checking and double checking my research.

Another reason I picked the area is because it has such atmosphere. If you’ve never lived in the Pac-Northwest, let me tell you, there is fog, there are mountains and big trees, it’s super green and super urban, but there are also these strange, quiet pockets where you feel like maybe the world HAS come to an end until you see another jogger or hiker.

Plus, there’s the cool factor. Seattle was the birthplace of grunge. That alone gives it the highest of cool factors out there in my opinion.

Oh I’ll write books in other places. FLIP THIS ZOMBIE is set in Phoenix and EAT SLAY LOVE ends in my old home of Normal, IL. I also have a book set in one of my favorite cities, New York. But I’ll probably keep coming back to the Northwest. After all, home is home, no matter where you roam.

This has lead my husband and I to a solution that has stood the test of time for thousands of years. The ancients used this method, so you know it’s good. He becomes my tester. Movie tester. If we think there might be something gag worthy… he watches the movie first. And then we discuss. He advises. Or at least tells me the parts where I should close my eyes and cover my ears.

This is our system. And it works for us.

So do you ever need a “food taster” for certain things? Scary/gross/whatever?

1. Set your boundaries — Sometimes we equate real with TMI. As if you talk about every detail of your life online that somehow that makes you more real. But giving too many details about yourself is not only dangerous (I mean, I know all of YOU aren’t crazy stalkers, but someone might be), but it also dilutes your message. On a personal note, I have posted things, had people respond and then wondered why someone was talking about my life. Well, I invited you in, didn’t I?

2. Don’t jump on bandwagons — A big way to get tweets, comments, whatever, is to jump on a bandwagon of what’s popular. I know we zombie fans see that alot, right? But the thing is that unless you’re really passionate or knowledgeable about the subject your talking about… the real fans will see it. Backlash is ugly. Just ask Ashton Kutcher.

3. Do talk about what you really like — I try not to limit myself just to topics like “buy my book” or “Zombies are awesome” because really… how interesting is that (okay, the zombies are awesome). I talk about video games, cats, hiking, my nephews (within reason), the fact that I eat smoked meats and occasionally I bitch about how hard it is to lose weight. If some of what I say is annoying to some people, they probably unfriend or unfollow me. That’s ok. I figure that I am who I am. Smoked meats and all.

4. Respond and respond — Sometimes time contraints keep me from doing this, but I do try to answer my @ replies on twitter or comments on my blog (when I catch them, WordPress and I are battling at present) and I try to tackle my email inbox at least once a month. I don’t like having one-sided conversations, I doubt you do either.

5. Recognize you are lucky — If you’re worrying about being “real”, then that probably means you do something that makes you a public person. Whether you’re a blogger, writer, actor, whatever… keep the humility that you are LUCKY to do something awesome for a living. Gratitude is as real as it gets.