Hello everyone! Thank you for stopping by my blog for the fifth week of “Seven Weeks to Christmas Author Interviews & Giveaways.”  There is one more week, next Sunday, that I will have two more author interviews, so please show your support and stop on by. Then, the week after that, December 16, is my release party for… The Christmas Secret, which will be an “online” party. You can stay in the comfort of your own home,  and visit my blog, anytime that day.  I’m giving away a few copies of my book, and one commenter will receive a grand prize that will be revealed just before the party begins. Don’t forget, you must comment to enter the giveaway.   Now on to this weeks interview…Jeremy and I met on another blog. He won my book, Crying Bear, during a giveaway, and well the rest is history. He is awesome, his work is awesome, so please join me in welcoming Jeremy Hawkins, Graphic Designer/Author as my guest today!
-Virginia Wright

BIO:

I am a graphic designer/artist by trade and in the last several years have become a blogger of a few sites. From Horror to Zombies and mixed with a few interviews with people I think you should know, I feel it hasn’t even scratched the surface of who I am. Keeping myself busy by filling my day in an ever changing design world looking for the next shift in this market, I find much joy in keeping up with trends. I am the curator of “Horror Blogger Alliance” where those people who run sites of a horror nature that need a starting point, start here. Created by my good friend Carl Manes who has gone onto other projects as he it in the processes of getting his script into production… he left me to maintain the site.

On top of that my Zombie site “Retro-Zombie” started of with me turning folks into zombies, which now holds a level of all things retro, though sometimes the zombie factor sneaks back in.  Last my review/interview site “Two Thumbs” that serves as my place to meet cool interesting actors, writers, artists and find some great music.  All and all I am just one of those people who love art, film, music and happy that the cards dealt to me allows me to show my passion… and share it too.

I wrote a book called “Chatterbox” back in the summer of 1996 after visiting a civil war house/museum, when I saw many items within the walls of this house and where I thought each had their own story to tell. Toys, silverware, photos and a little empty jewelry box with the word “Chatterbox” written on the lid… there I was with an idea to tell little stories. Inspired by the idea that you don’t have to be alive to have a story, now of course I have never written anything up to this point… so I just did it. It remained hidden for several years until friend Reggie Bannister [Star of Phantasm] asked me to read it, he said if he liked it… there was the potential for him to write a forward. So here it is 2011 and it still lay hidden from anyone who knew I had it, a little redesign… now it’s an e-book. It’s rough around the edges, but it’s meant to be thought invoking… I am proud of it for my first attempt, it’s funny I tell people just cause I write doesn’t mean I am an author.
You write and you also do art and design. Can you please tell us a
little bit about what type of art and design you do?

Life takes all in different directions and is it where you thought you might be? I can design anything you might need; I have always had this ability to be told by my clients “this is what I am looking for” be it a website, ebook cover, Cd cover… I see it in my head and send them a sample. Most times I can do it in one-shot, now of course not all the time. I believe that my art/design is a better representation of who I am compared to my writings. So what did you want to do with your life, did it ever change… I always knew I wanted to create art and that turned into design. Luckily most of my jobs let me be creative, I am thanking my parents and wife they let me shine.
Could you tell us about your latest book? Where can viewers purchase it?

I followed up with a new book this year called “Retro-Zombie: Art & Words” which is a shorter book and available in print. It has gotten some very nice feedback and I am grateful to those who have enjoyed it. It’s the same as the first book, but this year I discovered my love for old books, vintage art/photos I am known as “Retro-Zombie”. This confuses people a little, because they think I am a zombie lover only, so they come to my sites looking for the zombies. Now there are zombies, but it’s becoming more devoted to all things retro… right now I am stuck in the 1980s. So the book is just crazy stories/ideas wrapped around whatever art I saw in my head.
Where online can people find you?

Okay this is the fun part I have three sites that I run/ maintain that I would like to tell you about if that is okay… still there good. First site is called “Howlin’ Wolf Records: On-Line Magazine” where I work for this independent record label as their one of the promotional people. This site features music/film/interviews with things I think you should see or know about. Second is “Horror Blogger Alliance” it’s a place for people who have horror based sites, with over 840 members. Third is that “Retro-Zombie place where I just post my findings about anything and everything.

Howlin’ Wolf Records: On-Line Magazine:

http://www.jmhdigital.com/

[Retro Zombies]:

http://izombielover.blogspot.com/

Horror Blogger Alliance:

http://horrorbloggeralliance.blogspot.com/

If you might be interested in my books, t-shirts, ebook design please go here and it will direct you to all my stuff. [http://izombielover.blogspot.com/p/welcome-to-retro-zombie.html]

-In the End…

Thanks to those who made it to the bottom, I hope I maybe entertained you a little. I wanted to thank Virginia for letting play in her pool… I have a hard copy of my book “Retro-Zombie: Art & Words” that I would love to share with one of you.