Duck It! follows one of the few survivors of a worldwide sickness who documents his journey from Florida to the Midwest and confronts his own past and fears. Why did you choose a notebook-style, first-person narrative rather than a more traditional structure?

I chose to tell the story first-person, notebook-style, because it’s how the character(s) became most real to me. I never start writing until my characters are truly real in my mind; and in today’s world, through social media, most people are always documenting themselves. It’s only fitting that Lionel tells his own story, and fearing the collapse of the worldwide web, he wisely does so old-school: pen and paper.

How does the collapse of society expose the life Lionel never chose for himself?

The collapse of society exposes the life Lionel never chose, because it forced him to finally make a choice. Before, despite not loving his chosen path, Lionel was quite comfortable on it and felt no need, no pull to diverge. Now, having to choose, needing to make his own decisions going forward, he can’t help but look back at his life and all the choices he didn’t make.

The book balances dread with dark humor. How did you decide when to let Lionel joke and when to let things hurt?

The answer to this question, I would have to say is the end result of my answer to the first question. I can’t honestly say that I “decided,” it was more so that, it’s who Lionel is. Dark humor is a part of him, because of his upbringing. He also believed it to be his shield, his superpower, but on his journey, because he finally made a choice, he soon realized he’s just a regular human. And pain, whether mental or physical, hurts. This is the best way I can explain how naturally it was written.

What kind of understanding did you want readers to have of Lionel by the end of the story?

The understanding I wanted readers to have of Lionel by the end of the story is… Honestly, it ties back into my answer to the former question. I want readers to see and understand that Lionel is just a regular person, but without a filter or needing “likes,” because the world we (he) live in no longer exists. So, by the end of Lionel’s exit from his home state, the question that remains is: How truthful would we really be if we really didn’t care about likes and subscribers, if we really didn’t fear being judged and persecuted? And let’s say you did find “your people,” people who hated everything you hated, is that really the world you want to live in, a hate-filled one? Because that’s ultimately what Lionel’s journey is about.

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