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Tonto Fielding has a new television reality show that he is pitching to several producers. In it, the members of the cast display an instinctive set of characteristics, not learned through written or spoken words, but instead, simply understood by all members of the group, who must follow these unspoken rules to be accepted and considered normal. Essentially they will interact under a mask of acceptable behavior with regards to the other members of the group with whom they choose to interact, respecting each other’s essential needs, wants, and desires. This will include safety, food, sleep and the emotions of love, pleasure, anger, and fear. The “hook” here, and what will differentiate it from other reality shows, is that the group will look for ways to fill each member’s essential needs. The better someone in the cast is at successfully interacting with others; the more likely he or she will be to have a large portion of their life and behavior influenced by the opinions of his peers. And then at the end of each show, the cast will have five minutes to verbally abuse, spit at, pull hair, punch, and claw each other.

Today’s Guest Post is by Karina Fabian about her newest release: Neeta Lyffe

I was not interested in writing your usual zombie novel, so when I was asked to write Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator, I gave myself permission to go a little nuts and try out some new things.  I knew it was going to center around a reality TV show, so I thought I’d add in all the things networks are doing nowadays to promote their shows:  weblogs (where the characters diss each other and promote themselves), forums (complete with trolls) and even a documentary that explained the whole zombie phenomenon.

I don’t think it would work for most books, but I had a lot of fun with this.  It let me go behind the scenes without worrying about head-hopping.  It spared me a lot of having to describe landscapes and backgrounds and such–I could cut right to the jokes.  The documentary let me add in a couple of flash stories that are much better for having the context of the entire novel.  Many reviewers enjoyed the fresh style, which did keep the novel moving.

It also helped me learn to work with a huge cast of characters, something I’d not done before.  That proved invaluable when I wrote my next book, a serious science fiction novel involving a crew that finds an alien device that shows them the weakness of their souls.

Now, however, I’m working on Neeta Lyffe II, and I’m finding that without the reality TV show angle (this one is at a convention), I’m not as free as I was in Neeta I.  I can’t make a forum fit.  The weblogs are more news-oriented.  There is a new documentary, however.  I really like being able to tell a separate but related story without flashback or characters just talking about it.

Experimenting with new formats is a great way to free up your imagination.

Byline: The Zombie Apocalypse Meets Reality TV!

Blurb:

By the 2040s, the shambling dead have become and international problem. While governments and special interest groups vie for the most environmentally-friendly way to rid the world of zombies, a new breed of exterminator has risen: The Zombie Exterminator. When zombie exterminator Neeta Lyffe gets sued because a zombie she set afire stumbles onto a lawyer’s back porch, she needs money, fast. So she agrees to train apprentice exterminators in a reality TV show that makes Survivor look like a game of tag. But that’s nothing compared to having to deal with crazy directors, bickering contestants and paparazzi. Can she keep her ratings up, her bills paid and her apprentices alive and still keep her sanity?

Excerpt:

The workout room had a weights set and an elliptical in one corner, but Neeta ignored them. She needed more vigorous exercise than that if she wanted to burn off her emotional funk.

None of the plebes had done the routine she’d just set for herself. It didn’t really reflect the reality of zombie movements, either. Although the crew had designed the targets to look much like actual undead, they moved too quickly, changed direction too suddenly, lunged and retreated in ways zombies couldn’t imitate. They zigged and zaggged, dropped from the ceiling to zoom back up, flung themselves from the ground to trip the unwary. For once, this wasn’t about train