The Odd Man Out

Like Justine, I missed the first round. It would've been on Christmas, so I hope you'll forgive me. Aside from the holidays, I was buried in various deadlines. (Still am, but can't let it slide by a second time.) Fortuitously, I'm currently revising the manuscript for my first novel for MTV Books--SOULLESS--and plan to deliver the new draft on Monday.

So, here I am...Odd Man Out. What am I talking about? Well, let me put it this way...SOULLESS is a dark, gruesome novel about the walking dead and the deterioration of human society. A superficial look at the array of talent and titles in the MTV Books lineup might make some people wonder what I'm doing here. But SOULLESS isn't just a zombie novel. It's also a story about 21st century teens making hard decisions, and the lines you might be willing to cross to save yourself and the people you love.

And I've never minded being the odd man out. In college, my group of friends were people who didn't have a group of their own. As an adult, I'm the answer to the old Sesame Street song "One of These Things is Not Like the Others." A curiosity. An oddity. Growing up, I was often one of the only guys (and often enough, the ONLY guy) in the mix. It's still common. I've never been that comfortable with the kind of back-thumping, beer-chugging "guyness" of certain guys, always gotten along better with women. Maybe that's because my parents were divorced when I was young and I was raised by my mother. Or maybe it's because, with my mother working 70 hours a week, my brother and I were often looked after by my older sister and all of her girlfriends.

I'm not the only guy in the MTV Books lineup, of course. (Hi Alex.) But SOULLESS is a departure for the line, I think. The Odd Book Out. On the other hand, anyone who has read my Jenna Blake (Body of Evidence) books, or the Prowlers quartet, probably already knows this, but SOULLESS might not be as big a departure as it appears at first glance. The situations are more extreme, but the dynamics remain, and are all too real.

I should probably have introduced myself earlier. :) My name is Christopher Golden. I've been a full-time writer for more than fifteen years, writing novels, short stories, comics, video games, non-fiction books, and now screenplays. (Well, not RIGHT now...the Writers Guild of America is on strike, and needs your support!) I read constantly, when I'm not watching movies or (way, way, way too much) television. I'm sure I'll talk later about what I'm watching and reading. Meanwhile, come visit: www.christophergolden.com or http://www.myspace.com/christophergoldenbooks

So there you go. A little about me, and a little about SOULLESS. Next time, I suspect I'll talk a little about the state of the world, the cult of celebrity, and the dread that lurks at the back of all of our minds in the 21st century--all themes that play a major role in the novel.