May Day! Writing #Zombie, Lizzie Borden

Now that the annual Blogging A to Z is over, what's next?

The print versions will be coming soon for the second edition of Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter and the new sequel, Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter 2: The Axe Will Fall.

Some thoughts on writing a sequel:

1. A story dictates where it wants to go. The characters do have minds of their own.

In Lizzie's case, the trial is over, life has moved on, she's living in the upscale house on "the Hill" that she and her sister, Emma, had bought. 

But... when you've been on trial and accused of murdering your father and stepmother... when your family is blamed for the horrific outbreak of undead, life can never be normal, can it?

Of course, there is another outbreak, especially when many of the townspeople simply couldn't think of putting grandma or that loved one out to pasture, even if they had turned into a disgusting zombie. They. Couldn't. Do. It. So there is another outbreak... and worse... these family members-turned-monsters are disappearing. Is someone stealing them? Killing them? Using them for nefarious purposes?

Lizzie's charming, and handsome, self-defense instructor Pierre Moret is back, urging Lizzie to once again do her part. Which she doesn't want to do. She's done it. She's had enough.

But she'll pick up her axe again... to end this scourge, and for her sister, Emma, who also suddenly goes missing. That is another part of the story.

2. Modern vs. Historically Accurate?
Book 1, Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter followed the events of the trial and certain real-life events. It had to veer into the unknown. After all, zombies, right? And would a woman of her time be out in the street, gasp, fighting, and keeping time alone with a man? Well, if you're already a social pariah who was acquitted for murdering two people, but still guilty in people's eyes, does all the rest really matter? So the story has some modern sensibilities, which it had to have, I'd say.

Book 2: Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter 2: The Axe Will Fall.
 The trial is over, and in real life, Lizzie's life was pretty quiet, and boring. But when zombies are involved, it can't be. So this time, Lizzie's life goes beyond the real life events. Her life takes a few dramatic turns, which I think answer the questions, What if? What if she had followed a normal life? What if her life had gone on a different track? Would she have fallen in love, or just be remembered as "that" woman, the accused killer, the woman of loose morals, who'd maybe even had a "gasp" love child?  

So the book offers a different Lizzie, reticent as first, determined, stubborn, maybe even open to the idea of a different life. So that was the idea - I had to tie up the events of book 1 and then what? It only seemed natural where the story led.