Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in Arizona with my husband, the old, bald guy and our two teenage sons. We enjoy camping (which we call kamping) and boating. I’m a new indie author of the children’s book Moore Zombies: The Search for Gargoy, illustrated by Brian Allen.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I was inspired to write Moore Zombies after playing video games with my children. The only reason I constantly lose is because there are way too many buttons on the controller, but my kids get a good laugh out of my futile attempts. Anyhow, I was thinking that zombies are mean and ugly, and felt it was time to turn the tables on humans and come up with a better looking, nice zombie family who were afraid of people. I like the contradiction and also went a step further in making contradictory characters: a baby (Baby Zom), a dirty little boy who likes to camp (Kamper), a preppy or nerd type (Broheimer), and a teenage girl fashionista who is into goth (Gothina). I also thought it would be fun to add a stay-at-home Mombie, and have the kids love tomato juice!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not that I know of – but then I don’t compare my writing habits to anyone else’s. I like to say I’m either disorganized in an organized way, or organized in a disorganized way. I write EVERYTHING down – any thought or idea, anything I think would be funny in the artwork and then start moving, organizing, rewriting, deleting and so on and so forth. I keep doing this until at some point I feel it is at its best. There are points in time where I like to take a break for a day or two so that I can come back and review the material with a fresh brain.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Hitckhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was an easy read yet full of fun!! I grew up reading a lot of detective stories as a child and loved those – Nancy Drew, The Hardy Brothers, The Three Detectives. Also I loved Judy Blume and at some point had an autographed copy of a book from her – wish I knew whatever happened to that. From about 4th to 6th grade we had no television as my parents felt we were watching tv too much (and this was in the early 80’s!), so I read a lot!
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a second Moore Zombies book, however, I am heavily involved in marketing Moore Zombies: The Search for Gargoy. I’m sure everyone knows what that entails so I won’t bore you with the details.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My best website for promoting is all of the above. I’m expanding my following on twitter, facebook pages, moorezombies.com, and youtube. I really appreciate goodreads, thebookmarketingnetwork, bookgoodies, and of course awesomegang and bookreadermagazine. I enjoy making youtube videos with my boys to help promote my moorezombies website, however finding time to do so is difficult with their busy schedules. But we do have a lot of fun when we get around to making a video!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Since I’m a new author, I believe I am in the position to accept advice more so than to give advice at this point. However, I can tell you that I think you’ll find there is more work to be done in marketing a children’s book than there is in actually writing the book.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I ever heard came from my grandmother. She told me, “Don’t ever date a man you wouldn’t marry.” At the time it made no sense to me. Now it makes perfect sense; hence the old, bald guy.
What are you reading now?
I’d love to tell you about some fun books I am greatly enjoying. However, please review the part about marketing a children’s book. I read blogs, tips, techniques, how-to articles, etc.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I am looking forward to sharing my book directly with children via presentations. I used to volunteer my time inside the classroom often when my children were young. I really miss how contagious the fun can be in just being silly.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I always enjoyed Edgar Allan Poe but that might be too depressing for a deserted island. So, I’d have to say I’d take along a copy of Moore Zombies: The Search for Gargoy as in inspiration, and write the other 3 books while I was on the island.
Author Websites and Profiles
Wendy Knuth Website
Wendy Knuth Amazon Profile
Wendy Knuth’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account