“I got outside and realised I only had my hospital gown on which promptly fell off because it wasn’t tied at the back. I was naked…almost. When they do an operation like this, you’re fitted with a catheter. So there I am, naked as the day I was born with a big frigging catheter hanging between my legs. I am scundered, I thought to myself. I tried to remove it but my zombie fingers wouldn’t work.” Kidney Transplant Zombie.
For far too long zombies have been seen as the monsters they are not so it’s time for a few changes! Welcome to Zombie Blues where you will discover what really goes on behind those dead eyes and shuffling walk. You will meet ten different zombies each with a story to tell. From Vegetarian Zombie to Kidney Transplant Zombie to The Zombie who would be King, you will reevaluate everything you thought you knew about the undead. You will finally get to hear their side of the story. What lies behind their tears and how did the apocalypse really begin? Enter if you dare because everything you knew about zombies is about to change.
A trip to the old Wild West town of Belbridge brings the Time Warriors face to face with an old enemy. The arachnoid Mentara have harvested the townspeople and left it a ghost town. Along with sole survivor Elijah, Varran, Michael, Jacke and Tyran find themselves trapped on the Mentara homeworld.Deep in the heart of enemy territory they discover deadly secrets and the lethal leader of the Mentara forces, General Cade. The race is on to save the people of Belbridge from the Mentara food harvesters before Cade uses the town as the launch pad for the total domination of Earth. When Varran, Jacke and Michael are kidnapped by a new faction of Mentara, Tyran and Elijah are left to face the horrors of the Mentara agenda. What they find will change them forever. Who are the Nasgul? Why has General Cade been waiting for Varran? Who are the butchers of Carden? What will Varran do when he faces the most impossible decision of his life? A decision that will determine who lives and dies.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Copyright Damien Larkin
Traumatized by the effects of Compression travel, soldier Darren Loughlin holds the key to the fate of Earth’s Martian colonies. With his Battalion decimated, his fractured memory holds the only clues to the colony-wide communications blackout.
With time running out, Darren pieces together his year-long tour of duty with the Mars Occupation Force. Stationed in the Nazi-founded New Berlin colony, ruled by the brutal MARSCORP, he recounts his part in the vicious, genocidal war against the hostile alien natives and all who question Terran supremacy.
But as his memories return, Darren suspects he is at the centre of a plot spanning forty years. He has one last mission to carry out. And his alien enemies may be more human than he is…
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Cavan based writer Stephen Carey has released a scary horror survival novella in paperback and on Kindle entitled The Road to Anyplace Else. See Below is the synopsis and where to get your copies.
Copyright Stephen Carey
A dark and twisted road trip to a mysterious world called Anyplace Else.
Sometimes cruel, sometimes kind, it is a different road for different people. Once you enter Anyplace Else, you will be given a new life. However, there is no guarantee your new life will be a better one. If you decide to enter, there is no going back. On his fifty-fifth birthday, Jim Fletcher decided things had to change. He couldn’t take it anymore. He got in his car and began the arduous journey to his new life. Jim believed that Anyplace Else would grant him everything he was looking for. But Jim was not prepared for what the road was about to show him.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
For millions around the world Christopher Reeve will always be Superman, Tom Baker will always be Doctor Who and Basil Rathbone will always be Sherlock Holmes. And for millions more there is only one Wonder Woman; the legend that is Lynda Carter.
Although there were two previous Wonder Women in earlier attempts to bring the character to the small screen played by Linda Harrison of Planet of the Apes fame and Cathy Lee Crosby, respectable ratings gave executives the idea that there was still mileage in the character; they just hadn’t found the right format or story yet. So when Crosby declined a series they found Lynda Carter, after a search as extensive as the one for Harry Potter. She would be Wonder Woman from 1975-1979 and to this day, despite a couple of attempts to revive the character (one from Joss Whedon, the other from Ally McBeal creator David E. Kelley which even got as far as an abandoned pilot, although photos of the new costume as modelled by Adrianne Palicki are widely available on the internet) she remains the definitive Wonder Woman.
Producers decided to start right back at the beginning, placing Diana Prince and Wonder Woman in World War 2 where it all began. However, this changed as the series progressed bringing her right up into the present with Steve Trevor played by Lyle Waggoner. It was explained away as the son of the Steve we met in the World War 2 setting. If history had been a little different, he would have played Batman rather than Adam West but as my mother and Pierce Brosnan said ‘What’s for ya won’t go past ya.’ A very true saying.
If there’s one thing the television series did more successfully than any other television super hero show was not only embrace its roots but show them off every week. From its distinctive theme song (it works here, doesn’t with Enterprise) which everybody could sing and I still remember the words, “You’re a wonder, wonder woman! With the power you possess! We’re so glad you’re on our side!”.
This was laid against the comic strip montage title sequence where the both Lynda and Lyle morphed from comic strip to real life with a white smile that glinted to the camera. Yes, we even did that too in the mirror but could never get the glint. It was almost a disco theme song which has burned its way into our memories. Although the version we all know didn’t really come into it until season 3 and caused many a fan to throw their wrists up in front of their faces to deflect bullets. Thankfully no one ever took that to the extreme of testing that out in real life.
Wonder Woman laid its heart out to the audience so you knew what you were getting. But did you know that the one thing most associated with the show was the famous spin when Diana changed into Wonder Woman was actually Lynda Carter’s idea? Producers needed a way to show the transformation on set so Lynda suggested the spin where she would be engulfed in a golden explosion and appear in her famous costume to save the world. So successful was the idea that it was incorporated into the comic books as part of the official lore and yes, many a fan did do the spin and the explosive noise when no one was looking, me included. Before you younger people snigger and point, things like this are the mark of a good show that people are enjoying. Just as kids today pretend to be Daleks or delete like the Cybermen, Wonder Woman fans spin.
Launching under the title of the New Original Wonder Woman, it would see Lynda Carter dominate the airwaves in a series of mad adventures that were a good mix of comic book drama and spy stories, at least in the beginning. She was kicking Nazi ass long before Dr Jones. However the network ABC were reluctant to renew the series despite strong ratings and the order for around 12 additional episodes. So Jerry lieder, president of the Warner network back then, went to CBS with the suggestion of transforming the series to the present day, in which format it stayed for the remainder of its run. The war effort stories had quickly become limited in their scope even with the introduction of Debra Winger as Diana’s younger sister who arrived from Paradise Island as Wonder Girl. The new format however proved very successful with audiences and could kick the show in new directions previously unseen. It was a move made to make Diana a force that did not kill and less violent than in her first appearances.
Another neat trick was to do what they did with the Bionic Man and Woman and that was to use sound effects whenever she used her powers. Like the bending of metal to punching holes in walls to super jumps, they were sounds that kids could easily copy and pretend to use in the playgrounds.
Now the show was called the New Adventures of Wonder Woman, it sees Diana Prince return after 35 years and work as an agent for he ADC, the Inter Agency Defence Command, alongside Steve Trevor junior, the son of Steve Trevor that worked with Wonder Woman in the war. He was the spitting image of his dad which was handy. He had heard stories of Wonder Woman from his dad but they came across as a strange mix of good friends and almost lovers. This time Diana’s identity was protected by a pair of Deirdre Barlow glasses, as big as reentry shields. Well, it worked for Clark Kent long enough.
We had a robot dog nowhere near as cute as K9 that sounded exactly like the Road Runner called Rover and a super computer IRA who knew exactly who Diana really was. Initially paired with Steve, his promotion to her boss allowed Diana to go off on her own and not have to hide her identity change from Steve every other episode. This was a show that was constantly evolving, making changes necessary to help make it the best it could be. They were never afraid to include the iconic things like the Invisible plane even if it didn’t appear for entire seasons at a time.
We also got to see some new outfits such as the blue swimming all in one piece and the motorcycle outfit which initially involved a double spin but was reduced to a single one. However, fans, myself included, were partial to a double spin. It made it more exciting. Even that was something the writers expanded on. Just as the makers of The Incredible Hulk dreamed up new ways for Banner to Hulk out, so too did the makers of Wonder Woman eg falling off a tall building and trapped in a spinning chair by the Pied Piper.
Wonder Woman could also talk to animals and fire energy bolts when the need arose and woebetide anyone that got caught in her lasso of truth. Wonder Woman was also a very on the nose series as writers used environmental concerns, teenage fads of the time eg skateboarding as springboards for new stories. ratings were good. Audiences loved the show and it looked like a fourth season was on the cards. In anticipation of this, a new revamp was laid out in the Man Who Couldn’t Die where Diana ended up teamed up with a super chimp and an indestructible man. A new supporting cast were also introduced as Diana was relocated to Los Angeles but t’was not to be. Eager not to be seen as the superhero network, both Spider-man and Wonder Woman were cancelled. However fans could buy their very own doll with fashion outfits which is a hotly sought after collector’s item and before anyone asks, no I haven’t got one – yet.
As I said, Wonder Woman was a series that knew it had to keep evolving to make itself better and more audience friendly. It wasn’t afraid to use fads of the time whether it be disco or fairgrounds Disco Devil and the Phantom of the Rollercoaster, Nazi versions of herself, spies and aliens including one that looked remarkably like a certain Sith Lord, the Zardor. There were threats from time travellers, computer thieves, car thieves, viruses and even the monsters that are sci-fi fans in the episode Spaced Out. But no matter how outlandish the plot, Lynda Carter was taken to the audience’s hearts with her portrayal of the titular character and to this day remains the face of Wonder Woman. She was effortless in distinguishing both Diana Prince and Wonder Woman although how nobody caught her on with that smile that would terrify any toothpaste advert is beyond me, yet remains part of the appeal. The minute she whipped off those Barlow glasses and the famous music started up you knew this girl was about to kick ass. But she also brought a vulnerability to the role which made you believe that maybe Wonder Woman may not be able to save the day. Whether it be against a giant gorilla based on a comic book story, Gargantua, or the Pied Piper, there was always a sense of danger to the character’s safety.
In the two part The Boy Who Knew Her Secret, small silver pyramids are used by aliens to replace people like the Body Snatchers. When Wonder Woman is attacked by one of the pyramids and she fights to stop her mind being sucked dry, there’s a real sense of danger that she will fall to the alien threat as she battles them inside their own mindscape which is threatening to consume her. Similarly in the Mind Stealers, when she is caught in the crossfire of an alien plot, she is attacked in her home by the Zardor, a Darth Vader-like monster from the Skrill. Aliens were ten a penny for the series making her Earth’s champion in more ways than one. But mankind returned her faith in them when a teenager sees her change but keeps her secret until the lasso wipes his memory. Through it all you just knew this was as true to the character and the comic books as we were going to get while at the same time being universally appealing to all demographics, making her as successful as the Incredible Hulk to television audiences; something Spider-man couldn’t even do.
Somehow I don’t think anyone will ever take Lynda’s crown, not this side of eternity. Sorry Miss Gadot.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
I actually don’t collect the Pop figures or Bobble Heads but my wife saw this one and thought I’d like it. Aw that woman knows me so well. They say tap his head but you need to give him a good whack to get the lights and sound effects. Age is just a number folks. Love it!
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Cavan based writer Stephen Carey has released a brand new book of short stories based in the superhero genre in novel and Kindle forms entitled The Superior People Collection Below is the cover and synopsis.“
Copyright Stephen Carey
A world of flawed superheroes, super-powered presidents and sadistic villains masquerading as peaceful neighbours. Enter the world of The Superior People!
Find Stephen on Facebook page Facbook.com/StephenCareyStories
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
All Torchwood photos copyright BBC
I was in hospital recently and had my DVD player with me to cope with the boredom. One of the boxsets I brought with me was the entire Torchwood series right up to Children of Earth and something struck me.
From the start Gwen Cooper, played by Eve Myles, was brought in by Captain Jack to remind them what it is Torchwood is fighting for; people living normal lives without the nightmare of aliens. She was to be the conscience of Torchwood given how its hubris had brought about the near destruction of Earth when the Cybermen and Daleks invaded Canary Wharf in the classic Doctor Who two parter Army of Ghosts and Doomsday. Up to that point Torchwood had no problem covering up the murder of a law abiding person. Gwen witnesses first hand two cases in her two premiere adventures Everything Changes and Day One. Gwen is horrified to learn Captain Jack and co have no issues destroying a deceased person’s reputation by labelling their death a suicide. They don’t see the pain and suffering that leaves a family; Gwen does and is very vocal about it all. And this is what secures her place on the team.
When we first meet her Gwen is a normal policewoman living a happy life with her boyfriend Rhys played by Kai Owens. They have their ups and downs like everyone else but nothing that can’t be sorted. No one in the Torchwood team has that, something Gwen points out to them in a telling scene where she asks them directly. Tosh, Owen, Ianto and Jack are all surviving on casual relationships. There is no emotion, no ties but they are all basically empty shells whose lives are filled with Torchwood and Torchwood alone. This isn’t Gwen but it soon becomes apparent that she too is being consumed by the life of Torchwood.
In emotionally charged scenes, Rhys becomes increasingly frustrated by the missed meals and time spent away from home. On a romantic night out, she runs off in the middle of a date because Torchwood needs her and she openly defies him in public which Jack berates her for. He knows she is losing the normality connection he asked her to being to Torchwood but despite her best efforts she becomes lost in this new exciting life. In Cyberwoman, the first signs that she is losing herself completely is when she and Owen are trapped together by the fore mentioned monster, in reality Ianto’s girlfriend from the battle of Canary Wharf and the sexual tension begins. But in Countrycide, where they are almost eaten by cannibals in the Welsh countryside, she ends up in bed with Owen leaving poor Rhys to fend for himself. She has met monsters and aliens but the horror that sends her over the edge is when she asks the head cannibal why they eat people and he answers because they like it. This is too much for her and she cannot talk to Rhys about any of it. It’s a natural progression of her spiralling out of control and not coping well by falling for the team’s sexual predator, Owen Harper played by Burn Gorman.
However she enjoys it too much and falls her him. In Combat she discovers that Owen had fallen in love with a female pilot that had become trapped in the present day to the point where he has become so grief stricken by her departure that he puts himself in a cage with a Weevil so he can die. Gwen’s jealousy is real and she realizes what a fool she has been.
In an act of cowardice, she tells Rhys about her affair but immediately gives him a retcon pill which gives the recipient immediate amnesia. For her story arc this works well especially when Rhys is murdered in the season finale End of Days.
Eve Myles gives the performance of a life time as she spews her grief at Jack and Owen, as furious at them as well as herself. The Torchwood team turn on Jack and open the Rift accidentally releasing the demon Abbadon which only Jack can destroy.
Now, here’s the problem.
Gwen’s journey in season one is one of self redemption. She is sucked in by the Torchwood life and nearly loses what is important to her; Rhys. That is good writing but then the writers of torchwood screw the whole thing up in season two.
Gwen now has a sexual tension with Jack. When Jacke returns in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang at the start of season 2 (he had helped defeat the Master along Doctor 10 and Martha in Utopia-Last of the Time Lords), Jack is disturbed to see she has an engagement ring and she seems embarrassed saying “He asked me.”
In the episode Adam, where an alien infiltrates Torchwood, altering their memories so they think he has been a member of the team for three years. When the truth is discovered, Jack must give them all retcon so Adam can be erased from existence once and for all. Previously in the story, Gwen has no idea who Rhys is and together Jack and Rhys help her regain those lost memories. They all sit round a table in the Hub, taking the amnesia pill one by one to bring them all back to normality.
And this is where Gwen is destroyed as the supposed heart of the series. She admits to Jack she loves Rhys but not in the way that she loves the former time agent. Now one of the writers for this show went on a television type critic show back in the eighties to slate the Sylvester McCoy first season to the face of two of the writers, Pip and Jane Baker. Maybe he regrets that now he’s in the same position. Cyberwoman anyone? Not the show’s finest hour. What were they thinking? After everything that they put Gwen through they come up with this tripe? And they are destroying Jack’s character as well. The man may be omnisexual but the previously heterosexual Ianto suddenly took a shine to man love and he and Jack are fierce lovers. To make Gwen suddenly fall in love with Jack is poor writing, very poor. It makes no sense in terms of characterisation and immediately wipes out her wonderful story arc from the first season. Rhys is something she is just settling even on her wedding day. Even when she tells him she loves him and is getting married to him despite being nine months pregnant with an alien baby, it just falls flat. As a viewer you know she is just waiting for Jack to tell her he loves her and can’t be without her which he never does. Not quite, close.
In the episode Something Borrowed, the sexual tension between Jack and Gwen is literally spilling off the screen even when the alien shape shifter in the story impersonates Jack. The character is fractured completely as the viewer knows that Rhys really is second best. There was no need for this story thread. After the events of season one she and Rhys should have been rock solid especially when he learns the truth about Torchwood and his fiancée’s job. So for me, it’s not real. She’s settling because we as the viewer know she is full of it.
Fortunately this trend stopped in Children of Earth and Miracle Day when they were just colleagues looking out for each other especially when Ianto is killed by the virus unleashed by the 456. She and Rhys are expecting a baby and this time when she tells him she wants him to stay rather than run off to space to deal with the grief of losing his lover and grandson all in one go, you believe it’s to keep Torchwood alive, not because she wants to shag him.
So in retrospect, Gwen became a powerful figure in television land, shooting at a helicopter while cradling her baby in the other. But poor judgement on the writer’s behalf almost wrecked her character as the heart of the series and really one of the most important aspects of the show. Without the heart, science fiction really doesn’t work and for Torchwood their heart will forever be slightly flawed. Love Gwen, Love Eve but hate the stupidity of the Torchwood writing team.
My name is Owen Quinn, I’m an author and photographer living in Northern Ireland. I’ve been a sci fi fan all my life.
What was your inspiration? Could you talk about a bit about your Time Warriors novels?
Originally as a 16 year old I wanted to write for Doctor Who so wrote a sixth Doctor story by hand, complete with potential novel cover but it was sent back because it was hand written. As a young fool who thought this story would become an instant classic, I took the hump and decided to create my own series and heroes. Now as I got older, I couldn’t believe half the rubbish that was being churned out so mapped out what would be the first Time Warriors television series then wrote them out as a story arc similar to what we saw as far back as Buffy and Angel. Life got in the way so it wasn’t until my thirties that I properly wrote them as a book. I got an agent and he loved them and when we sent it to publishers it turned out the single book was in fact a four book saga as you see today. What I always wanted to see was sci fi based here in Ireland but not exclusively and have strong Irish characters as leads in the series so I created Jacke. You have to create characters that people can identify with and be ready to go on these adventures with with strong enemies. As I say, anyone can write monsters invading the Earth but it’s breaking that down into something the reader can connect with and take away with them. As Clive barker says villains should always talk eloquent evil. Book five and six are coming out and there’s a few other projects in the works I can’t reveal yet.
Could you talk about the process of being self published?
I got tired of waiting for publishers who didn’t want money up front to publish the books and it was the recession so self publishing was the only way to get them out there. I read about an author called Catherine Ryan Howard who did exactly that and followed her advice so here we are. I went via Createspace which is a good avenue for someone starting out. It helps if you have computer literate friends who can work through some of the processes otherwise you will pay Createspace to do stuff for you such as covers, templates etc so some tech minded is always good to have as it saves you money. What I will say to anyone thinking of doing it, remember your book is a product like any other. Treat it as such. Would you buy faulty kettle? No, so ensure your book is free of typos, the story is as you want it to be and your cover is exactly what you want. If it takes you six reads to get rid of the typos do it. Better that than having mistakes which will put people off. Many people self publish without any thought and declare themselves authors; they’re not. They make up their own reviews etc which will get you nowhere fast. You will be found out as many have. So make sure you’re book is something that you would buy and not be disappointed with. To get your book out there is a proud achievement so treat it with pride. Self publishing was a bad word to many publishers but not so much these days as more and more are using it and using it properly.
Yes I’m always looking for contributors and the site was originally just for the books. But I went to a comic book signing, Savage Noe, written and drawn by local writers and artists. I was there to take photos for them. I wasn’t expecting a big crowd but the lien was out the door. I stood there and watched person after person come up and say thy could draw, write or had an idea but didn’t know where to go to explore the possibilities.Right then I knew I had to make the Time Warriors website more than about me and the books. It had to be a platform for anyone out there who had a talent could come to be featured and shared out either by a feature or interview. It rapidly grew to global as the world of people in my position trying to get their comic book, art, books film, or monster making out there. The world of cosplayers is an amazing one and W now is known as the place to come to get your name out there which makes me very proud indeed. As for contributors, it isn’t just about writing articles or news pieces, it’s about honing their skills and seeing what the results are. I always help them with advice about how to do articles and reviews etc so it’s giving them a chance to write about anything they want to. When I get messages from other countries asking for interviews or complimenting the site I’m chuffed. A lot of the time you think no one is taking notice when in fact you never know who’s watching your work.
How did you get involved with the USS Cuchulain group?
I have always been a Star Trek fan having attended conventions all over the place and I discovered USS Cuchulain on Facebook. I invited the founding member for an interview. It quickly escalated into other members being featured and one of them reviews the Star Trek Ship Collection for me. Star Trek conventions here were happening all the time years ago but died away so it’s wonderful that there is a new interest in Star Trek even if I don’t think much of the movies. And it’s great Irish fans are bringing it back to here which can only benefit sci fi fandom in general here. I met some of the members at Dublin Comic Con and will be meeting more of them in the months ahead.
What was your favourite fan moment?
Depends what you mean. If it’s movies, I have so many favourites; favourite horror is Salem’s Lot by a mile. Favourite meeting a celeb moment, so many, George Takei was particularly memorable man as was Nichelle Nichols and Jimmy Doohan. And of course the Doctor Who celebs are great ambassadors for fans. Doctor Who as you know is my passion but if I had to pick a Star Trek moment I can’t; again too many to list, Tin Man,Sins of the Father, Best of Both Worlds, The Offspring, Reunion, the list goes on.
What do you have coming up?
I have books five and six of the Time Warriors coming up and next year will be great for fans here as there are so many cons it’s like heaven. As for the site, TW will continue to bring you new talent and stories from the world of sci fi and fantasy so stay tuned.
Trevor Kennedy catches up with Belfast-based author Owen Quinnand discusses his new book, Zombie Blues 2, and lots more.
Trevor Kennedy: Owen, it’s always great to chat with you. Your new book, the sequel Zombie Blues 2, obviously concerns the hordes of the undead, but could you tell us a little bit more about it please, for the benefit of the readers of Phantasmagoria? What sets your Zombie Blues series aside from the rest of the sub-genre?
Owen Quinn: Zombie Blues is the world viewed from the inside of zombies’ heads. They are not zombies by choice and they are not happy about it!
It’s a question that came to me watching the Walking Dead. Why did the little girl stop to lift a toy bunny rabbit in the very first scene? Why did Morgan’s wife try to open a door as a zombie? I began to wonder if there could be something left of the original person in that shuffling corpse and what if they held the answer to the apocalypse origins? And more importantly what if they hate being zombies and trying to tell us something. Hence Zombie Blues was born. We meet several individuals with their own stories to tell of life pre=zombie and what happens in behind those dead eyes. Hopefully readers will find them fun, happy and maybe shed a tear at some of the stories. Throuhg their undead stte we may just learn a few life lessons before our own ends.
TK: You’re obviously a big fan of zombies, but what are your favourites? For me, you just can’t beat George Romero’s original Night/Dawn/Dayof the Dead trilogy.
OQ: Those are where it began for me so that trilogy will always be on the list. Believe it or not, zombies were never my favourites; it was werewolves for me. My true appreciation of zombies really began with the Walking Dead. In the first 45 minutes of that show I totally and completely fell in love with zombies. I came out of the first episode felling sorry for the zombies and seeing them as the victims rather than the monster. That for me was huge from a story point of view because we forget these were people with lives full of hopes and dreams that had been ripped away with the apocalypse.
I often base my villains on a simple line from the Time Warriors. Creatures like zombies want to stop parents singing lullabies to let their children sleep soundly at night. If the darkness wins the world will fall silent and normality will be ripped apart like a tissue. But like everything in life, zombies aren’t as simple as that.
TK: Do you prefer the older style more slow, slumbering zombies (who always catch up with their victims anyway!) or the modern ones who can run extremely fast, as we have seen in the likes of 28 Days Later and the remake of Dawn of the Dead?
OQ: I hate 28 Days Later lol. They are just rabid animals. They’re not zombies. I love what they did in the remakes of Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead. Those guys really tried hard to come up with something fresh while honouring the originals. Shaun of the Dead and Cockneys vs Zombies I adore. Even the 80s flick The Supernaturals was a clever idea restricted by budget but solid zombie story. I love them.
The whole scare point of a zombie is how slow they are as was done brilliantly in Cockneys Vs Zombies. That scene with Richard Briers on a zimmer frame is hilarious. But this slowness is what makes zombies so deadly. We can run but we get tired. Zombies don’t. They keep coming even when you’re on your knees gasping for air. When we get tired we get sloppy. Four zombies could take a weakened person down easily. It’s when they come en masse that the true threat of the zombies is felt. Individually they can be handled but in a herd very little can stop them. They just keep coming. For me it’s a metaphor for death itself; we know it’s coming and can stay ahead of it through exercise and healthy lifestyle but it gets us in the end.
Copyright Owen Quinn Artist Stephen Mooney
TK: What would you say to the naysayers who claim that we have been over-saturated with zombies in recent years?
OQ: Bollocks. I could say the same about Star Trek and superhero movies but as long as writers come up with good stories no franchise should become stale.
TK: Will there be a Zombie Blues 3 at some point in the future?
OQ: I’ve already started lol To be honest when I wrote the first one I never thought I’d go for a second never mind a third because of the Time Warriors books. But I find working on both franchises at once allows me to jump between projects if I’m stuck on one.
TK: Moving on to your other literary works, you’ve also penned the popular Time Warriors series. Are there any more adventures for the team currently lined up?
OQ: There are and right now I’d need a clone to help me out to put them on the page. I will be releasing The Belbridge Mystery along with or shortly after Zombie Blues 2. Following that I will be releasing The Return and hopefully by 2121 I will have completed Vengeance which I’m really excited about. In between that will be Zombie Blues 3 somewhere.
TK: Of the Time Warriors stories that I’ve read so far I’ve always found them to be rather heartfelt, positive and hopeful, despite all the nasty monsters and aliens they encounter. Was this intentional when you first created the series? What were you trying to say when you wrote these books and what inspired them?
OQ: I was inspired by the fact Doctor Who didn’t want me as a writer lol But then again I was only a kid and it was Colin Baker’s era. I wrote an entire story with cover called Wail of the Banshee. I got a lovely letter from then producer John Nathan turner turning me down. I decided then to write my own series and so was born the Time Warriors. I just wrote stories of what I wanted to see on television and the movies.
But anyone can write a story with outer space monsters eating people in a small ton on Earth. But for me every story needs to have a connection to the reader. Time Warriors is sci fi with a heart. I deal with all sorts of subjects like bullying, unrequited love, loneliness and the death of loved ones but all wrapped up in a sci fi story. That’s what I want with all my stories is to speak to the individual and let them relate to the characters and stories.
Everything I have ever experienced inspires me. My parents inspired me in ways I never knew until they were gone. My mother, Josie, introduced me to this sci fi world through Doctor Who and Star Trek and I have never stopped loving it. In the years when I was being badly bullied I immersed myself in movies and television. Sci fi and horror is a part of me that will never die and I’m as passionate about it as my dad was about football. As a kid I was bullied as I said for years leaving some scars but I turned those scars into my characters and stories. The story ‘The Survivor’ in book 2 of the the Time Warriors: The Voalox Horror’ is a result of that. I truly hope that any kids being bullied read that and find the strength to rise above it and know there is hope. That sounds so corny but I totally mean it. I care about people and helping them; if that is done through a story then fantastic. My job is done.
I was writing my own stories all the time. I finished my French O-level in twenty minutes (it was a two hour test) and spent the rest drawing a story featuring the Doctor and the Daleks. (I got an A; just saying lol)
TK: At the recent Dublin World Con 2019, I was part of a panel discussing the fantasy/sci-fi/horror scene in Northern Ireland. As expected, that tired old chestnut of “How do we incorporate The Troubles into our work?” cropped up. I gave my usual answer to this question, in that generally I don’t and try to steer clear of it as much as I can, as it has been done to death anyway and my creative works are a form of escapism from The Troubles and lots of other things too. What’s your own take on all of this though, Owen?
OQ: While it is an important part of our history I think we need to break the stereotype. The fact you were asked this means people still see the North in those terms. We have come so far and I truly believe this generation will not allow us to go back to those times. Our culture is diverse and wonderful and we as a people should be proud of what we have around us. There is so much to see and for anyone that doubts that ask yourself why the world claims to Irish. I’ve made one of my lead characters a black girl born and raised in Belfast post Troubles. I did this on purpose to break the stereotypes just as Gene Roddenberry did with the Enterprise crew. If readers can see themselves reflected in your characters you have them engaged.
TK: Do you feel there is enough help and support out there for local “Norn Iron” writers like ourselves?
OQ: No, I was just discussing that today. It’s shocking and anyone out there is all money, money, money. It feels like everyone is splintered. We are the land of saints and scholars yet there is nothing for writers to platform their stuff except social media. They fund it themselves although I believe there may be grants available for certain things. There are groups etc which hold readings etc but no real unity that I’ve experienced.
I always said that if I made it then I would set something up to help writers here to get noticed. I sincerely hope I can make that happen some day.
TK: Creatively, what’s your plans for the future, Owen?
OQ: Keep healthy after my transplant for one lol Keep writing, enjoy every moment and try something new as often as possible. Live is for living and you’ll be surprised at just how much of that goes into your stories. As Mark twain once told Captain Picard, read my books, what I am is pretty much there! Captain Sisko once told his son Jake, a writer has to lift his head up once in a while or the world will pass you by (I’m paraphrasing). It’s true though, you have to find the balance between living life and writing, the legacy of you will be lost forever if one outweighs the other.
TK: Owen, I look forward to hearing more from you and about your works in the future. Thanks for the chat!
The Time Warriors and Beyond 
