Hailing from South Africa, this week’s Prophet of Doom concocts zombie apocalyptic fiction that will frighten all but the most hardened of the genre’s readers. Baileigh’s latest book is Hold The Line, the fourth installment in the Heroes of the Apocalypse Series. Let’s get to know the lady behind these dazzlingly haunting books. (Links in description may be affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you)
Copper: Your books definitely walk on the horror side of apocalyptic fiction. What books or movies frightened you as a child?
Baileigh: As a child, I loved the movie Gremlins, but I was terrified of Stripe, the main antagonist. He was named after his white mohawk and scared the bejeezus out of me. To make matters worse, my mom knew I loved the movie and the cute and cuddly Gizmo. So, she got me the movie poster and stuck it to my bedroom wall. I had nightmares for weeks imagining that Stripe was watching me with his evil, little eyes. Eventually, I scratched his eyes off with a crayon and my mom realized what was up. No more poster!
Copper: You’ve written a series called Heroes of the apocalypse. Which fictional hero would you bring to life (excluding those from your own books) for the sake of saving humanity?
Baileigh: It’s a toss-up between Deadpool and Wonder Woman. Deadpool is hilarious and pretty much indestructible, plus deep down he’s a nice guy. Cheesy and vulgar, but nice. I wouldn’t want to clean up after him though!
Wonder Woman on the other hand is a goddess and an Amazon. It doesn’t get much better than that, does it? Brave, intelligent, and incorruptible, she represents the kind of person I’d like to be. They both have heart, and I think that’s what heroes need to save humanity, but in the end, it will come down to us. As much as we wish for super heroes, we have nobody but ourselves to rely on or to blame when things go wrong.
Copper: The first book in the Heroes of the Apocalypse series, Trial by Fire, imagines a “deadly plague that turns people into undead monsters.” If you absolutely had to become an undead Universal movie monster (Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolf Man, The Invisible Man) which would it be?
Baileigh: Dracula, for sure. Who doesn’t want to live forever? Plus, the thought of being able to escape awkward social situations by bursting into a cloud of bats is super tempting. I’ll really miss garlic, though.
Copper: What one song would you need to survive the apocalypse for the sake of helping you maintain your sanity?
Baileigh: This is a tough one. I love music, and picking just one song seems impossible. On the one hand, I’d want something to remind me of home. On the other hand, I’d want something that inspires me to keep going no matter what. Something tough and gritty. This Night by Black Lab would serve that purpose, but it could get depressing after a time. So, I’d rather go with Black Lab’s This Blood. A great backtrack for killing zombies. Or vampires. Werewolves. Aliens. Basically, anything.
Check out Baileigh’s Heroes of the Apocalypse series in Amazon!
Copper Smith 