Editor’s Note: This exchange is part of a series of brief interviews with emerging writers of recent or forthcoming books. If you enjoyed it, please visit other interviews in the I’ve Got Questions feature.
- What’s the title of your book?
How to Survive a Human Attack: A Guide for Werewolves, Mummies, Cyborgs, Ghosts, Nuclear Mutants, and Other Movie Monsters
Running Press (Hachette) Sept 7, 2021
- In a couple of sentences, what’s the book about?
Human attacks account for a staggering 100% of premature deaths for zombies, swamp monsters, androids, exceptionally large animals, and other preternatural beings. This is the first-ever survival guide directed at those populations.
- What’s the book’s genre (for fiction and nonfiction) or primary style (for poetry)?
It depends who’s asking. If you’re a monster, this book is a crucial manual for navigating the many ways that humans attack. If you’re a human, this book is none of your business. Move along.
- What’s the nicest thing anyone has said about the book so far?
“As a cyborg manufactured in 2067 and sent back in time to KILL ALL HUMANS, I found the advice in Flann’s book invaluable in blending in with the puzzling society of today. Since reading it, I know not to leak milky fluid when I get aggravated, and I’ve even had moderate success with online dating!”
— DAN VEBBER, Co-executive producer, The Simpsons and Futurama
“As a member of the walking undead, nothing ruins my day quite like some yahoo pulping my noggin with a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire. Thank goodness How to Survive a Human Attack is here to help me avoid detection while doggedly roaming the earth seeking the human brains I crave. Thanks, K.E. Flann!”
–RICH DAHM, Co-Executive Producer, The Colbert Report and The Middle
- What book or books is yours comparable to or a cross between?
The book will have likely appeal for fans of Max Brooks’ The Zombie Survival Guide and the TV show/film What We Do in the Shadows.
- Why this book? Why now?
Humans have never been especially easy to dominate or eat, but now they’re more savvy (and possibly more irritable) than ever in the past 200,000 years. It’s not really possible to “wing it” anymore, even if you have wings.
- Other than writing this book, what’s the best job you’ve ever had?
At the Ministry of Preternatural Resources, I have the privilege to serve as Cranial Impact Assessment Officer, drawing upon years of experience with paved areas, including Food Lion and the gas station, to ensure safe passage for visitors to the human world. I’m proud of activities I’ve designed (now accepted as best practice) for introducing preternatural beings to their surroundings – these include human petting zoos, chasing demonstrations, and audio tours with rentable headsets.
- What do you want readers to take away from the book?
I would ask that readers please not take anything away from the book. Even though paper can seem alluring as food or nesting material, the book’s contents should remain inside the book at all times.
- What food and/or music do you associate with the book?
Music and food are very closely associated. If you have a bad-ass score or theme song, you are 72% more likely to succeed with desired eating and dominating activities. Make sure to choose something up-tempo and percussive, possibly with a face-shredding guitar solo.
- What book(s) are you reading currently?
A horror novel called The Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin
Learn more about K.E. Flann at her website.
Follow her on Twitter.
Buy the book from the publisher or on Bookshop.org.