Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1): Since the Sirens (38 page)

However, I tried to write Marty with my grandmother's physical abilities as I
remember them, because I didn't want a superhero character that didn't ring true.
Could she have walked a couple miles in the June heat, with a young man
helping her? Could she have survived stumbling away from Angie? Could she endure lying
on the bed of a flatcar for several hours? On a normal day the answer might
be no. No woman of 104 goes out and tries these things. Yet, if the world
was ending, and she had to do those things to protect her family—absolutely she
would have tried. In that light, Marty shares many of the best qualities of
my real grandma, though I'm pretty certain mine never roped cattle.

Because of who she was and how she influenced the character
of Marty—and my own upbringing, the trajectory of the entire
Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse
series
has a more positive and uplifting direction than it might have
otherwise. Liam must remain guarded with so much evil in the zombie
world, but he learns to search for the positive in mankind, and in himself. In that
sense I can relate to his character, having existed in a world containing
such an upbeat person as my own "Grandma Marty." His spiritual growth throughout these books would have made
my real grandma very happy.

On reflection it seems almost sacrilegious to put the idea of my sweet grandma
into what is essentially a piece of horror fiction, but I would find
it hard to write her into any other genre. If she had her druthers
she’d probably say I shouldn’t use her as the basis for anything at all,
and instead write about someone more interesting. Others in our
family might suggest a grandmotherly character should only exist in a friendly story akin to Ray
Bradbury’s
Dandelion Wine
, in which the grandparents are
presented in a much more mundane setting. But that wouldn’t be
me. I think people become extraordinary when faced with great
challenges. Perhaps it means I just don’t have a developed
sense of drama, as it appears I need the entire world to collapse and
zombies to pour forth before I can take a snapshot of a person and
characterize them inside that world. I’m okay with that. I think she
would be as well.

Most of my research for this book consisted of me walking around
St. Louis city and county, where I live. I spent some of my youth
pounding pavement through the redstone flats of South City. I've
spent countless hours on the highways of this metropolis. I've
visited the Gateway Arch numerous times, though I've never been
invited to walk the steps to the top. However, if you take the trams
up and down the Arch there are windows inside those cars so you can
see the metal staircase from time-to-time. Other locations throughout
my three books are places I've been, though some of the details were
edited to keep the story moving along. The area underneath the Arch
is surprisingly complex in real life, so I had to simplify. The
escape tunnel under the Arch may seem contrived, but there are lots
of air vents on the surface above the museum. Would a backup vent near
the leg of the Arch be unreasonable?

General Patton is one of my personal heroes. You may see his influence in several of my novels.
In this book Liam loosely quotes him. "A good plan, violently executed now,
is better than a perfect plan next week." This is very apropos of self-publishing. I started
writing this story in the summer of 2014. The first draft was done in December 2014. And the edits...oh my.
My editing highlighter is a nub. I could spend a lifetime perfecting every facet of this book, but at some point it has
to be released into the wild. Is this novel
perfect? Nope. Instead, I'm "violently executing" a release. And, to let my beta readers off the hook,
any errors remaining in the manuscript are completely and utterly my own. I apologize if any of those errors
detract from the story. Please, I want to always improve this product, write to me if there is a major flaw or
if you want to be a beta reader. I value your feedback.

Finally, I want to thank my family for believing in this project.
It took just over a year to turn this glimmer of an idea into a
nice-sized novel, and it wouldn't have been possible without a
supportive family.

E.E. Isherwood

E. E. Isherwood has penned three books about the infected zombies,
along with several short stories describing the wreckage they left
behind. He has designs for many more tales. His long-time fascination
with the end of the world blossomed decades ago after reading the
1949 classic
Earth Abides
. Zombies are just a handy vehicle
which allows him to observe how society breaks down in the face of
such withering calamity.

Isherwood lives in St. Louis, Missouri with his wife and family.
He stays deep in a bunker with steepled fingers, always awaiting the
arrival of the first wave of zombies.

E.E. Isherwood currently has three books in the
Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse
universe. Visit his website at
http://www.sincethesirens.com
to be informed when future titles are launched.

The
Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse
Series

“Start the Sirens” (Introductory short story)

Since the Sirens

Siren Songs

Stop the Sirens

~~~

“Start the Sirens”

Colonel McMurphy is a tired old warrior tasked with preparing a US
military medical camp for the upcoming plague. He is on the inside of
the preparations, but realizes he knows absolutely nothing about
what's coming. No one does. Well, almost no one. When he finally sees
the effects of the infection he understands all his preparations were
for nothing.

Book 1:
Since the Sirens

When 15-year-old Liam goes to stay with his ancient
great-grandmother for the summer, he immediately becomes bored around
the frail and elderly woman. He spends most of his time at the
library texting friends or reading dark novels. But one morning
stroll changes everything as the Zombie Apocalypse unloads itself
directly into his life. Now he and his 104-year-old guardian must
survive the journey out of the collapsing city of St. Louis while
zombies, plague, and desperate survivors swirl around them.

Book 2:
Siren Songs

After escaping the chaos of the collapsing city, teens Liam and
Victoria are faced with a difficult choice. Do they try to find
Liam’s parents or defend their suburban home from refugees and
the infected? They find new allies to hold things together, even as
the government appears increasingly impotent in the face of a
mutating virus. And why is a representative of the CDC trying to
enlist Liam’s 104-year-old grandma to his cause?

Book 3:
Stop the Sirens

Liam and his parents are reunited at last, but the matriarch of
their family has been taken to a covert CDC location for medical
experiments. Liam wants to mount a rescue operation, but they must
first reach a refuge, endure warring government agencies, and learn
Grandma’s location—not to mention survive a world awash
in zombies. With Victoria at his side, Liam finds his fortitude
bolstered by her faith. Together they begin to unravel the mystery of
the zombie plague.

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than I can say. I love interacting with fans. To contact me, yell at me, become a beta reader, or find more stories about the end of everything, look for me online:

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