Interview with Author Rick Pipito on Eden’s Order Trilogy

I already posted the questions about the three novels, (Flesh and Leftovers, Blood The Second Helping, and Bones At Breakfast) and there arose a few more when the trilogy was published as a whole.  Here are those questions and the answers…  Be warned there may be some spoiler material…

Q1: Where did he cover idea come from?  It is different from the style of the three included books.

Dan was wrapped up with getting the second graphic novel put together, and I knew I needed something quickly.  He had done the covers for all three novels and those concepts were all his ideas.  For Eden’s Order, I wanted to have a tree to symbolize the Garden of Eden, but I also wanted to include all three themes.  If you look, the bark of the tree is flesh like in texture, the branches are shaped like bones, and the ends are colored red to symbolize blood.  I presented that idea to Dan, and he came back to me with the cover a few hours later…

Q2: Is there anything different about the trilogy as a whole than as was previously published separately?

The three novels are the story, but this is like a greatest hits package.  I expanded the timeline to cover all three novels and graphic novels.  There are also 3 new short stories just to make it something extra.  The stories from the graphic novels were also included in a novelized form for those people who aren’t too keen on buying a comic book, but are curious as to those extras.  Overall there are 63 short stories plus the main plot.  I also went in and edited a few things that weren’t caught in the first book gramatically.

Q3: Why don’t you have your picture on the back like in the original publications?

I was rifling through some pictures that my wife had taken and found that one of the tree.  After passing it through an eerie horror looking filter I decided it would be a better addition than seeing my mug again.

Q4: So this is the Eden’s Order Trilogy.  Do you have names for the further books and plans to publishe them as trilogies?

As I’ve stated before, there are a total of 9 books and 1 prequel/sequel book.  There will also be graphic novels for each of these.  All of the novels do have names, but I’m only at liberty to tell you this… Book 4 is called “Souls 4 Supper” and is the first part of the “Pandora’s Chaos” Trilogy.

Q5: Tell me about the new zombie story you added.

When people began giving me feedback from the first novel, they asked if I was going to do more zombie stories.  I initially said no, but then decided to do the spinoff comics to appease those who wanted it.  Then I got more feedback from multiple sources saying “Rick, you covered everything zombie wise, but didn’t mention Frankenstein.”  For the trilogy I wanted that little extra, so I decided to read Mary Shelley’s novel and did research on the actual science of what electricity does to muscles.  They actually performed these type of experiments in the early 1800s, so I figured on using that as a way to tell the story my way.  It remains distant enough from the Frankenstein that we all know and love to be an entirely unique story that “inspired Mary Shelley’s story.”

Q6: What about the new vampire story?

I had covered every vampire legend out there, but since I was writing the new zombie short I wanted vampires and werewolves to get the same treatment.  This story is after the events in the trilogy and through a near death experience contracts a rare condition.  He ages rapidly and is able to gain his youth back through draining other’s youth.

Q7: Same question about the new werewolf story.

There was really nothing for me to do new with werewolves, so I thought about another classic.  For zombies I had Frankenstein.  For vampires I had Dracula.  So for werewolves I brought in inspiration from a combination of story and truth.  The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde is blended with my own originality and Jack The Ripper’s story.  The funny thing about this is I’m not really sure if the main character is really a werewolf or just has animalistic urges.  You read it and tell me what you think.

Q8: Are the graphic novel stories true to the visual version?

I did everything I could to make the reader visualize what the artists did so well.  The challenge was the words.  I had no problem turning novel stories into comic spin offs, but to make those spinoffs translate to novel form was a challenge that in the end was a great success.

Q9: Why publish the trilogy as a whole when all three books are so easy to get?

I honestly did it for selfish reasons.  It was easier to carry around 1 book instead of 3 books and 3 comics.  It was also for marketing purposes.  Some people had felt far behind because I had published 3 novels and they hadn’t read the first one yet.  With this available on www.lulu.com they can now get it all in one package that is well worth the price.  The extra stories can also be found with the three books for the Kindle at www.amazon.com