Apex/TZF Blog Interview of Ty Schwamberger by Janet Harriett

Janet Harriett: What made you want to write a zombie historical novella?

Ty Schwamberger: Two things: I’ve always loved zombie films & books and history was the only subject I ever really liked in school. In fact, my degree is in history (which has since proved pointless to even have). During college, I read my first historical fiction novel, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, which I really enjoyed. So, when it came time to write a twist in the zombie subgenre, I thought it’d be a fun experiment to infuse two of my favorite things: history and horror.

JH: Why is the Reconstruction-era South an interesting setting for a zombie tale?

TS: Well, maybe one of the reasons for the zombie craze in popular media is caused by a deep-rooted fear of what happens after we die. What if sometime in the future a horrible chemical spill or some evil sorcerer comes along, you somehow come back to life, then start ambling around like a weirdo looking for a fresh lumping of brains to sink your teeth into. Crazy, huh? Maybe one day it will happen. Perhaps. Well, maybe not. I also knew I didn’t want to place the zombies in a modern day city. Hell, that’s been done far too many times (though, I still enjoy watching and reading them). So I chose the South after the slaves were freed. Besides zombies, of course, racism is still a factor in today’s America. A fear, really. People are still afraid of what is and isn’t politically correct. Zombies + Racism = scary stuff!

JH: Where on the zombie taxonomy do these fall?

TS: The far, far left. We’re talking politics here, right?

JH: How are the zombies in The Fields different from the zombies we’ve seen elsewhere? What ethical or moral questions does this open up for exploration? 

TS: The zombies are a metaphor for something bigger. They’re not just running around, snapping their decaying jaws at the next closest human scalp. The zombies in THE FIELDS represent some of the deep-rooted fears that live in all of us – social injustice, racism, fear of the unknown, failure, disappointing one’s father, etc. So, yes, there are zombies in the story, but that’s not what the story is about. Jonathan Maberry wrote the Introduction for the novella and described THE FIELDS as: “It’s part horror story in the classic sense – misdeeds from the past coming back to haunt the present. It’s part zombie story. It’s part adventure. And it’s part social satire in its darkest sense. The Fields is a morality tale. With zombies.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. Really.

JH: A sympathetic slave-owner might be a tough sell for a protagonist when dealing with modern readers. Why do readers end up sympathizing with Billy Fletcher?

TS: I think readers will relate to the dead slave owner’s son, Billy, because he really doesn’t want to be a slave owner. In fact, he doesn’t want to be anything like his father. His father had run the tobacco farm for years until he fell sick and died. Now, the slaves have been freed, the fields are drying up, the plants are dying and Billy must find a way to save his family’s farm. He has no idea how to go about this, until a stranger by the name of Abraham knocks on the front door of his plantation house. The tall, strange man offers him a deal. A deal he can’t refuse – bringing back his father’s dead slaves to work the fields. Through it all, Billy is having an internal battle within himself. He knows making these once-dead slaves work again in the fields is wrong, but also doesn’t want to disappoint his father. Billy must choose between what he believes is right and wrong.

JH: Although the novella opens with Billy being chased and attacked by a zombie, the zombies ultimately aren’t the villains here. What other forces are at work?

TS: Some people say that zombies are the Devil’s playthings. The Devil pulls this or that person’s or thing’s strings to bring people back from the grave. To do his bidding. But, the zombies in THE FIELDS aren’t evil. In fact, these zombies were slaves while they were alive. They had to work under the blistering sun and get beat when they didn’t do as they were told. Death was their Godsend. They had peace in death. Given the choice, they sure as hell would choose to stay buried in the cold soil behind the tobacco fields, than be resurrected and be forced once again to work in the fields they toiled in while alive. It’s another one of the Devil’s messengers, a man named, Abraham that is the face of evil in this story, not the zombies.

You can order a copy of THE FIELDS here. You’ll be glad you did. Promise.

Janet Harriett is a freelance editor who hunts typos for sport and shapes prose for pay. As a writer, she leans toward pulp and science fiction stories. She lives in Ohio with her husband, three cats and six coffeemakers. Find her online at www.janetharriett.com.