I am Robert Chazz Chute, a suspense writer living in Other London. I write apocalyptic epics and killer crime thrillers. Check out all my books at AllThatChazz.com.
What? More?
Okay, I’ve been a:
Retail Slave, wage ape, journalist, philosopher, sales rep for publishing companies, massage therapist, columnist, speech writer, six-second comedian, short story funny man, suspense writer, crime novelist, Boo, Dadeo, fighter and recliner.
Now I command an army of ninja monkey assassin clones. We will survive the coming apocalypse.
But everyone thinks they’ll survive, don’t they?
You keep preparing your food supplies and stocking up on seeds. I’ll chronicle the coming collapse.
It’ll be fun.
This Plague of Days 
July 18th, 2013 at 10:05 am
Why an autistic protagonist?
July 18th, 2013 at 3:01 pm
Hi Dave!
The short answer is, “Why not?”
However, you’ve given me an idea for a blog post that will go into greater detail. Thanks for that. The slightly longer answer is that the autism spectrum is fascinating and plays to our hero’s special interests. There’s quite a bit more going on with Jaimie Spencer than his diagnosis (and that label is challenged in the text several times. He’s certainly atypical.)
Thanks again! ~ Chazz
July 18th, 2013 at 4:21 pm
I ask Chazz because my son was recently diagnosed with Autism. I am also a fan of zombie apocalypse books and movies. Supporting both these causes is important to me.
July 18th, 2013 at 4:55 pm
Ah! In which case, more detail is in order. Jaimie Spencer is on the autistic spectrum. Though the use of the term is phasing out, he’s closest to Aspergers. The experts prefer to use more general terms for autism as of late because it’s been widely acknowledged that autism has so many broad presentations.
Jaimie’s special interest in words and their meaning and Latin phrases. He can also see auras. There’s a lot going on with him in TPOD. For instance, he’s a selective mute. That diagnosis is considered a anxiety disorder and has nothing to do with autism. (It does serve the story, however.)
I think you’ll enjoy a passage from early on in Season 2. It’s kind of a nod to all parents of children with special needs. Jaimie was always difficult to test and more difficult to label. His mother, Jacqueline, takes some time to accept the diagnosis while his father, Theo, slides into denial. What they do as parents (each in their own way) is love and accept Jaimie for who he is. They use the label to get more services at school but labels aren’t their focus. (Jacqueline can be especially frustrated with her son, but it’s the communication gap that makes life so difficult.)
What you’ll find in TPOD is that a lot happens that appears to be paranormal. It may get more that way in future episodes (no spoilers) but everything that happens in Season One has a basis in reality. The capabilities are real but only appear paranormal. That’s another reason autism is such a fascinating bit of nature at work.
I strive for verisimilitude by giving this dystopian future a context that’s factual. I hope you enjoy it.
Best,
Chazz
October 4th, 2013 at 6:17 am
Chazz, I just blogged about you – about that cool video you did, Plotting vs. Pantsing, I love it! Hope you don’t mind my spreading your word…Please come and see it at my blog!
October 4th, 2013 at 6:19 am
Chazz, I just blogged about you and your cool video, the one about Plotting vs. Pantsing, I love it! If you have a minute, I’d be very happy if you came and took a look at my blog post – hope you’ll like it too!
My blog post is at: http://claudenougat.blogspot.it/2013/10/how-do-you-write-pantsing-vs-plotting.html