LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock author Jeff Kinley has always been a fan of horror stories, so it’s no surprise his latest book features bloodthirsty zombies. But this is a zombie story with a twist. It’s a gory fiction tale interspersed with spiritual guidance from a Christian perspective.
It’s a story of sin, grace and salvation, complete with brain-eating ghouls.
Kinley uses zombies as a metaphor for the “sin nature” of man in his unusual take on the genre in The Christian Zombie Killers Handbook: Slaying the Living Dead Within. Kinley said the lumbering undead symbolize the part of man that resists God and loves to do what is wrong.
“I like the idea of the ‘monster within’ concept, with the zombies being us, the ultimate bad guy and we can’t escape from it,” he said.
The idea for the book came while Kinley was talking with a young man in Starbucks.
“He was describing how difficult his life was and how he wanted to live for God and just couldn’t seem to get it right,” Kinley said. “It just popped in my head, ‘Here’s your problem. You’ve got a zombie living inside you.’
“Think about it. These are undead creatures who can’t be rehabilitated. They can’t change themselves. That’s the struggle I think every Christian has, and as I was talking with him, I thought it was a great
idea for a book.” Kinley isn’t new to writing. He has written 15 books, including A Dad-Sized Challenge, Uncovering the Mysteries of God and The Losers Club. He is also founding pastor of Vintagenxt-what he calls an “organic faith community” - in Little Rock and a frequent speaker at conferences and retreats for teens, young adults and parents.
The idea of a blood-splattered zombie novel seemed like a great way to reach young Christians and non-Christians alike, Kinley said. Zombies can be found in movies, graphic novels and on television. Devoted fans trek to conventions where they snap up living-dead memorabilia and even dress the part. Kinley was surrounded by more than 7,000 zombie fans during last week’s ZomBcon gathering in Seattle, where he talked about how spirituality relates to the undead.
“My passion has always been to communicate truth to a new generation,” Kinley said. “Jesus spoke in the common language of the people, and I’ve tried to model that myself, as well.”
The book’s chapters flip between the fictional story of Ben Forman as he faces the growing zombie epidemic and nonfiction spiritual lessons related to the zombie theme. Kinley said he originally wanted to write a novel without the religious commentary. Kinley said his main character is not a strong Christian, but his main goal was to write a really good zombie story.
“Zombie lovers like it because there’s plenty of gore,” he said. “But people who aren’t zombie lovers are liking the fiction because it’s a great story about a family facing adversity.”
Kinley said he didn’t want the biblical message to be lost in the horror story, so he wrote commentary to go along with it.
“I decided to write a companion book inside it that would address the problems we have as believers in Christ,” he said. “As gory as the fiction is, I tried to make the nonfiction intense as well. I didn’t want to dance around the truth. I wanted t o be straightforward and graphic.”
And the book is graphic with scenes of blood, guts and death - so much so that the back cover includes a warning label.
Kinley said his publisher, Thomas Nelson, didn’t flinch at the content. He hopes the book will attract a secular audience, especially those turned off by church.
“One of the things this generation, ages 18-30, has not appreciated about the church at large is we tend to be so tame, and tame means lame to them,” he said. “It’s time for us to take a step toward the culture a bit more and not be predictable and cheesy.”
So far the feedback has been positive, Kinley said. He sold out of all his copies at ZomBcon.
“I’ve been really encouraged to see how many people have come out of the woodwork saying, ‘Finally, at last, something for my generation. Something I can sink my teeth into,’” he said.
Kinley was so excited about the book that he called on some friends in the music business to record a companion album. It’s available for free at noisetrade.com and includes a variety of styles, among them rock and a form of electronic dance music, known as dubstep.
“It’s quirky and funny but it’s really working,” Kinley said. “I just wanted to make this fun and help people get into the concept.”
Kinley is also hosting Zombie Killer Weekends for youth groups. The gatherings include activities, costumes and discussions about overcoming sin.
And, like all great horror stories, The Christian Zombie Killers Handbook leaves the door open for a sequel.
“I left the fiction story very much in suspense because I don’t want them to know what happens next,” Kinley said. “Of course I know, but I’m not telling.” Kinley will host a book signing 6-8 p.m. Monday at River City Tea, Coffee and Cream, 2715 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock. The event will feature music from the Zombie Killers soundtrack. Information is available by calling (501) 661-1496. Information is available online at zombiekillershandbook.com.
Religion, Pages 14 on 10/29/2011