SIX QUESTIONS WITH JAMES SCHANNEP
Are You Ready For When Zombies Attack?
James Schannep is a novelist, screenwriter, and game designer. His signature series is "Click Your Poison" where YOU are the main character. Take control of the story and choose from over fifty possible endings. Just released is INFECTED, a fully interactive audiobook adventure for iPhone/iPad and Android devices.
 AppStore:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/click-your-poison-infected/id1590501949
GooglePlay Store:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cubusgames.cyp
SIX QUESTIONS
1 - Which writer who came before, do you admire the most?
Michael Crichton. He had the "sweet spot" nailed. Engaging, popular fiction that spoke to the human experience. Science Fiction that felt near-future plausible. He also had a hit TV Show, movie, and book out all at the same time. Â
2 - Which teacher(s) had the most profound effect on you?
I'll say the whole English Department at the United States Air Force Academy, and specifically, my advisor, Tom Coakley. They brought a much-needed humanizing element to military education and I don't know that I would have made it through without them.
3 - Besides writing, what’s your favorite hobby or passion?
Running. I'm fortunate enough to be in good health so that I can run without pain and truly get lost in the activity. Some of my best, most inspirational ideas come to me while my mind wanders on a long run.
4 - What is something that those who don’t write fiction do not know or understand about it?
As a child, I was often in awe of story. I couldn't get enough of that feeling of being wowed. Yet, something we take for granted is that the creator will never take the same level of joy in their creation as a fan. We writers can't be surprised or awed by our own writing. We can be proud, sure, but it's not the same. George Lucas can't love Star Wars as much as the biggest Star Wars fan can, for example.
5 - Can you think of a key breakthrough moment in your work, for you, that you’d be willing to share?
Forward momentum is key. In my youth, I used to read whatever I'd already written as a way to immerse myself in the story world before I began, but this wasn't sustainable. By the end, you'd have to read a whole novel just to get started! Keep going, then come back later to edit.
6 - What’s next for you?
I've just finished my next branching-path interactive gamebook, HAUNTED. Unfortunately, you can't read it for Halloween, but I promise it will be as creepy as ever when it launches 2/2/22. It's a house that molds itself to your fears based on the choices you make.