>>>
>>> NEW
>>> NEW DAY NORTHWEST IS BACK. NOW FROM THE AAA TRAVEL ALCOVE,
HERE IS MARGARET LARSON.
>>> WELCOME BACK.
WE MET ISAAC MARION ON NEW DAY
SIX YEARS AGO WITH HIS DEBUT NO
NOVEL WARM BODIES.
IT BEGINS THE SAGA OF A ZOMBIE
WHO COMES BACK TO THE LAND OF
THE LIVING.
THE LIVING. THEY ARE ON A QUEST FOR
REDEMPTION ON A COLLISION
COURSE WITH FORCES BENT ON
AFFECTING THE WORLD.
PLEASE WELCOME BACK, ISAAC
MARION.
MARION.
MARION. HOW WAS THAT FOR A TITLE?
>> THANK YOU, GOOD SUMMARY.
>> YOU HAD YOUR FIRST NOVEL OUT.
YOU HAVE BEEN PRETTY SUCCESSFUL.
>> I NEVER HAD ANY IDEA.
THIS WAS NOT A BOOK THAT I SAW
BEING A WIDE AUDIENCE THING.
IT WAS KIND OF LIKE A STRAND
IDEA.
IDEA.
IDEA. THIS WAS THE ONE THAT LAUNCHED
MY CAREER.
MY CAREER. >> AND THERE'S GOING TO BE A
MOVIE.
MOVIE.
MOVIE. ZOMBIES ARE OFTEN A METAPHOR
FOR SOMETHING ELSE.
WHERE THEY IN YOUR BOOK?
>> DEFINITELY.
>> DEFINITELY. I STARTED THE BOOK BECAUSE OF
WHAT THAT METAPHOR IS ABOUT.
NOT BECAUSE I WANTED TO WRITE A
ZOMBIE NOVEL BUT I HAD THIS
THEME I WANTED TO EXPLORE OF
DEPRESSION AND THE STATE OF
LIFE THAT I WAS IN IT THAT TIME.
IT WAS REALLY AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.
[ LAUGHTER ] I CAN'T THINK OF A
BETTER METAPHOR FOR IT THEN
ZOMBIES.
ZOMBIES.
ZOMBIES. YOU HAVE NO WILL TO LIVE AND
THEY DON'T KNOW WHY THEY ARE
DOING ANYTHING.
DOING ANYTHING. THEY JUST GO THROUGH THE
MOTIONS.
MOTIONS.
MOTIONS. WITHOUT FEELING ANYTHING.
SO THIS WAS KIND OF LIKE SOMEHOW
THE DOTS CONNECTED AND THIS
WOULD BE A WAY TO EXPLORE WHAT
I AM FEELING WITHOUT IT BEING
DEPRESSED.
DEPRESSED. >> IT FEELS LIKE OTHER PEOPLE
CONNECT WITH THAT.
EVEN IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT
IS EXACTLY.
IS EXACTLY. YOU DO RELATE TO THE
CHARACTERS.
CHARACTERS. SO HIS JOURNEY, HAS IT NARROWED
YOUR IS JOURNEY AS A PERSON?
DOES IT STILL FEEL LITTLE BIT
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL?
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL? >> IT DOES.
HE GROWS THROUGHOUT THE STORY
QUITE A BIT.
NOTHING IS REALLY SOLVED BY THE
END OF THE BOOK.
IS THE FIRST STEP IN
REMEMBERING WHAT LIFE IS ABOUT
AND WHAT HE USED TO FEEL.
AND AND SO MUCH MORE TO IT THAN
RECOVERING FROM THAT PIT AND HE
HAS TO FIGURE OUT THE WAYS AND
MEANS TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL
PERSON.
PERSON.
PERSON. AND HOW DO YOU FIND A PLACE IN
SOCIETY WHILE BEING THIS
OUTSIDER CHARACTER.
OUTSIDER CHARACTER. IT IS A THING YOU LIVE WITH THAT
YOU HAVE TO FIND A BALANCE
WITH.
WITH.
WITH. THAT'S HIS BUT STRUGGLE
THROUGHOUT THE BOOK.
HE FINDS A WAY TO EXIST IN THIS
VERY DARK WORLD.
>> THAT HAS TO BE GOOD.
>> AND LOVE IS PART OF IT.
THAT'S A GOOD SYMBOL FOR THE
WAYS YOU CAN REALIZE LIFE, THE
PASSION FOR LIVING AND
INTERACTING WITH OTHER PEOPLE.
>> AND ALL THE WAYS.
DID YOU SELF PUBLISH?
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR JOURNEY?
>> I DID AND IT'S A STRANGE
JOURNEY.
JOURNEY.
JOURNEY. IT STARTED THAT BIG.
AND IT CAME FULL CIRCLE TO BACK
ROW STARTED.
ROW STARTED. THIS WAS A VERY SMALL SCALE AND
THEN IT GREW UP INTO THAT.
SO I'M DOING THE SAME THING.
A MUCH MORE EFFICIENT BUT STILL
THERE WAS BASICALLY WARM BODIES
WAS PUT IN A PATH THAT IT
DIDN'T NECESSARILY BELONG ON
BECAUSE OF THE MOVIE AND WAS
POSITIONED AS THIS BIG
BLOCKBUSTER NOVEL.
BLOCKBUSTER NOVEL. AND EDIT THIS MASSIVE WIDE
APPEAL.
APPEAL.
APPEAL. IT WAS NEVER REALLY THAT.
IT WAS IN A GRAY AREA.
SO THE PUBLISHER AND THE PEOPLE
WHO BOUGHT IT WERE EXPECTING
THAT TO BE WHO I AM.
AND BLOCKBUSTER ZOMBIE GOT.
SO AS I CONTINUE THE SERIES, IT
DIDN'T HAVE A MOVIE PUSHING IT.
THIS WILL MEET OUR THRESHOLD OF
BLOCK BUSTER.
BLOCK BUSTER. >> ARE THERE SMALLER INTERNAL
STORIES THAT YOU CAN RELATE TO.
ALL THE MOVIES GETTING MADE NOW
HAVE TO HAVE GALAXIES FAR FAR
AWAY.
AWAY.
AWAY. SO
AWAY. SO HAS THIS BEEN THERAPEUTIC
FOR YOU TO WRITE THIS?
>> DEFINITELY.
>> DEFINITELY. ESPECIALLY WARM BODIES ITSELF.
IT WAS VERY MUCH, I WAS
FIGURING IT OUT IN REAL TIME AS
I WAS WRITING IT.
MY STRUGGLE WAS HIS.
IT BECAME MORE COMPLEX FOR THE
REST OF THE BOOKS BECAUSE OF
THE STRUGGLE GETS MORE
INTRICATE.
INTRICATE. IS NOT JUST HOW HOW DO I FIND A
REASON TO LIVE BUT HOW DO I
ENGAGE WITH SOCIETY AND WHAT IS
MY DUTY TO THE REST OF HUMANITY
AS A FUNCTIONING PERSON.
AND HOW I GO INTO THIS.
WHEN I STARTED THESE BOOKS, I
DIDN'T HAVE AN ANSWER AND I
DON'T QUITE DO.
BUT I'M CLOSER.
WE HAVE A LOT OF SIMULATION FOR
MYSELF.
MYSELF.
MYSELF. >> YOU SAID IS NOT TOTALLY
WRAPPED UP.
WRAPPED UP. >> IT IS WRAPPED UP AS FAR AS
THE STORY.
THE STORY. SPEECHES SO THERE WILL BE NO
MORE.
MORE.
MORE. >>
MORE. >> THEY DON'T DIE AT THE END.
SO THERE'S MORE TO IT.
[ LAUGHTER ]
>> HOW DID YOU GET COMFORTABLE
WITH THIS ENDING THE SERIOUS?
SEEMS LIKE THAT'S A LOT OF
PRESSURE.
PRESSURE.
PRESSURE. YOUR WRITING AND WRITING AND
THEN THERE'S THE END.
WAS THAT TOUGHER?
>> IT IS HARD TO LET GO OF IT.
ESPECIALLY AFTER NINE YEARS IN
FOUR BOOKS.
FOUR BOOKS. MY ENTIRE WRITING CAREER AND
MOST OF MY LIFE HAS BEEN ABOUT
THESE CHARACTERS. AND LIVING IN
THIS WORLD.
THIS WORLD. SO LETTING GO OF THAT IS TOUGH.
WHEN I HAVE FANS SAYING WRITE
MORE ESPECIALLY.
MORE ESPECIALLY. SO I DON'T WANT THIS TO BE A TV
SHOW WHERE JUST KEEPS GOING
UNTIL IT'S TERRIBLE AND YOU
STOP WATCHING.
STOP WATCHING. >> WHAT'S NEXT?
ARE YOU WRITING SOMETHING ELSE?
>> I HAVE NOT STARTED YET
BECAUSE I'M STILL DOING THIS,
THIS JUST CAME A COUPLE OF
WEEKS AGO.
WEEKS AGO. SO I'M DOING THIS FOR NOW.
I'M EXCITED TO START THE NEXT
BOOK, I HAVE ABOUT FOUR IDEAS
LINED UP. I'M PRETTY SURE I
KNOW WHICH ONE I WILL START.
THERE'S A LOT MORE DEVELOPMENT
TO BE DONE.
THEY ARE ALL UNIQUE WEIRD
IDEAS.
IDEAS.
IDEAS. THEY HAVE ZOMBIES OR THE
APOCALYPSE OR ANYTHING LIKE
THAT.
THAT.
THAT. >>
THAT. >> YOU COULD JUST CARRY
FORWARD.
FORWARD.
FORWARD. >> I JUST MOVED TO ORCHIS
ISLAND.
ISLAND.
ISLAND. I'VE BEEN IN SEATTLE MOST OF MY
LIFE.
LIFE.
LIFE. A
LIFE. A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO I
DECIDED TO GO IN ON THE WRITING
AND PUSH AWAY THE DISTRACTIONS.
SO I'M LIVING IN A CABIN IN THE
WOODS.
WOODS.
WOODS. >>
WOODS. >> YOU CAN ALWAYS GET ON THE
FERRY AND COME BACK.
THANKS FOR VISITING WITH US
TODAY.
TODAY.
TODAY. AND CONGRATULATIONS ON ALL THE
SUCCESS.
SUCCESS.
SUCCESS. YOU CAN TAKE A COUPLE OF CLOSER
LOOKS AT THIS.