Authors write the stories that are in their heads and hope that they’ll connect with readers. Sometimes we’re successful, but sometimes things just don’t click. Sometimes readers will grasp onto something that was an afterthought for the author. And sometimes stories connect with an audience the author never suspected.
Case in point: I overheard a discussion the other day between two millenials. They were engaged in a very serious debate over what I soon determined was The Walking Dead. I don’t watch the show, but I was fascinated listening to their attachment to the story line and characters. Later that same day I was on an elevator with a middle-aged man and an older woman. They were also in a deep conversation, and I tried not to eavesdrop until I heard the woman say, “and now she has people she can team up with to fight!” You could have knocked me over with a feather. This woman looked like somebody’s dear old grandma, but there it was again – The Walking Dead.
I would never have tagged the older professionals as fans of the show, but they were into it big time. Who would have thought that a show about zombies could have such broad reach? Again, I think it goes back to having a story line that’s engrossing and characters to whom viewers/readers can relate. It’s stories like that than can cross the divide of age, sex, race, etc.
But seriously, zombies?!