The Zombie Death Extreme Website is up!

OK, dirty little secret time: I played with some formats in Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator in part because I didn't want to write some of the background scenes. Rather than slowing down the story with a lot of background and explanation, for example, I would put up a forum announcement by a fan saying, "Whoa! Check out this article about Neeta's lawsuit! Did her really sue her for $500,000?!" or I could refer to a previous episode of Zombie Death Extreme with only the words, "Goldie's responding well to medication--right?"

But when you have an ambitious publisher with a sense of fun, shortcuts can backfire.

Kim contacted me last week withe the suggestion that we build a website and fake forum with all the reference stuff I'd put in the book. I told her I thought it would be fun, then I went back and realized just how much background stuff I had. By then, however, she'd bought the domain name, set up a strawman, created a forum, and even made a subdomain for Lyffe Undeath Exterminations.

Oh! uh, guess I'd better fill that up then. So I looked at some reality tv show sites and some exterminator business websites and created www.zombiedeathextreme.com.

The Zombie Death Extreme website is full of fun stuff. I didn't put in all the references--I can't afford to hire actors for the video blogs, and haven't gotten to the articles yet--but I do have the characters and all the episode summaries, and a little bit of fun about zombie extermination. There's a forum up, too, and I already have at least one friend willing to play crazed fans (he's multi-tasking) and post for me. Go join in the fun. www.zombiedeathextreme.com.

I'll go back and add stuff later, too. Shortcuts are nice, but sometimes, the long scenic route is fun, too!

My Novel's Journey: Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator: Format Fun

Normally, I tend to write in the 100,000-word range, but I want Neeta Lyffe to be shorter and punchier, so I'm playing with ways to impart information that are quick and fun. Since I'm parodying reality TV, I'm adding in a lot of different communication tools: video blogs, documentaries, and forums. Over the next couple of entries, I'll share what I've learned about each. Today, we'll start with video blogs.

Like a diary entry, a video blog can give quick insights into someone's thoughts. However, since the characters are blogging for reality TV, they can also snipe, complain and backstab at a distance without having to deal with the immediate reactions of others.

Advantages: I can focus on the person without worrying about the group.

Disadvantages: Introducing that this is a video blog gets monotonous. There are only so many ways to say it.

Here's a clip from Roscoe, one of the contestants on Zombie Death Extreme:

Back in his trailer, Roscoe leaned back in his computer chair and turned on the webcam. After checking his hair in the image projected on his screen and mashing his lips to give them more color, he set it to record. "Okay, so LaCenta said it first, and she was a totally out of line for saying it when she did, but honestly..."

He leaned in close, sharing a secret. "...we were all thinking it."

He checked the file, saved it and uploaded it to his Zombie Death Extreme blog.

"And then there were five!" He wove his fingers together and moved into a yoga stretch.

Oh, gawd, was there any high better than surviving another episode?