Sunday, May 17, 2009

Name That Zombie Contest

I went over my Dad's house yesterday to pick up my kids and he told me that he got me a gift to commemorate the publication of my second book. I knew I was in for something special when I looked over at the kids, who were giggling over in the corner with their grandmother, who was shaking her head.

You see my Dad, he's a little...different. The good kind of different. He's spent a good portion of his retirement literally travelling the globe to ride roller coasters. Yes, seriously. He's been to Japan, China, Korea, Russia, all over Europe and America. I guess there's a website where you can keep track of the number of unique coasters you've ridden, and he's ranked somewhere in the top ten. So yeah, he's a special kind of crazy.

But he's also extremely generous, having supplied my youth with bushel baskets full of comic books, records, and science fiction novels, so I knew when he had a gift for me--and that look in his eye--it would be something special. It wouldn't be a bottle of wine, another copy of Oh, the Places You'll Go!, or a coffee cup with that ubiquitous Thoreau quote.

Instead, it was a zombie.


That's him bursting out of the tomato patch, in case you couldn't tell.

I don't know what I find more hilarious, the fact that he bought me a zombie, or that he actually bought it from Sky Mall! I don't think I know anyone else who's ever bought anything from Sky Mall.

The kids, of course, instantly fell in love with the new addition to our happy home, and we decided that this was a great opportunity to have a blog contest:

NAME THAT ZOMBIE!!!!

All you have to do is post on the blog and let us know what you think his name should be. The winner will get either the UK edition of
Generation Dead or the US paperback edition, winner's choice. My kids are the judges, and we'll pick the winner June 15th.

88 comments:

auntkare_booknerd said...

i think his name should be Jimmy or Rob either one. love yall bye

sandi said...

I love that thing! How awesome!

Name...hmmm....

Romero T. Cann

Ash said...

I think he should be called Eddie.

Bianca Wilde said...

STU
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHH! <3
or Agamemnon :D

Minx said...

how about Bobby?
lol

~Meg

go with happiness said...

Gerbert!!!!!! Haha...

Gabrielle said...

D. Ed Mann

:D Just put this because of what it sounds like you're saying if this was the name. xD Haha, sorry, I know it's corny.

ReaderGirl said...

That's kind of awesome.... lol And so fitting! XP

Let's see.... Horatio? XD Sebastian?

Bat Bike said...

I think you should call him Jebediah. Jeb for short. Cool name for a cool (dead) dude. He's pretty amazing. Jethro's a cool name too. (I like J's:D)
xxAamna

FroggieJ said...

I see his name as Ethan for some reason.

That sculpture is pretty awesome though.

My SkyMall experience:
The strangest thing I found in there was a baby gate with a doggie door. It perplexed me that you could buy something to rack your knees on that a dog (or baby itself) could get through.

Thanks! Have a good day!
Julie

Anna-Tommy-lover said...

Hi Dan!
I think this is funny:
Vincent I.L Beback.
Or how about Filomeno?
Jaja_!
Hope you and your kids like it.
That zombie is so cool!
Looks like my brother when someone wakes him up!!LOL.
I want one of those, but for my room, it would be so cool!
Jaja!
It would scare my mom!
Jaja!

Talking about funny names, in Panama there is a kid named Usnavi, because they saw a boat with U.S.NAVY on it.LOL.

Bye!
xoxo
Anna-Tommy-lover*
,___,
(0.o)
/)__)
" "

Anonymous said...

That is freaky!

Ellen said...

Your dad is awesome. Sounds like he's a lot of fun. I'm going to suggest one name for now, until I can come up with something more interesting.

Andrew William Coumbach, Andy Will for short, or Willie to his friends.

You should get some styrofoam to make a tombstone in back of him with the name to complete the scene, otherwise it looks like you have a hidden body there (and perhaps other places?). Plus how will anyone know his name?

And I have purchased some items from Skymall, just because they have some unusual items. Hope things have settled down now that you're home.

Ellen

Watching said...

Looks like a Donny-Jones

Blindfolded miles said...

He looks desperate...so how bout
Desey P.

Taylin said...

In a way, this picture kind of reminds me of how I see George in Kiss of Life...

haha so my vote is George!!

MaliceInWonderland said...

Sine Mortuus (Without death in Latin) OR

Mortimer, Morty, and Atrum.

Raschel said...

I SO agree that he looks like George...lol I think that'd be hilarious!

FroggieJ said...

Though I like Ethan, I like Mortimer better!!! Good job MaliceinWonderland! I hope you win 8)

C. F. Harvell said...

That is a really cool statue!

Hmm I would say Bob or Greg...leaning towards Greg the most though

Love your books!
[Well only able to read the first one so far (the second one hasn't come out here yet D= )]
Charlene

Unknown said...

I like Steve.... as in "C'mon Steve you were supposed to fertilize my tomatoes!"

Minx said...

okay, changed my mind...how about Stevo?
~Meg

Anonymous said...

my son thinks it should be freakazoid. I think you should name him puddin tater jones.

Lily Ryan Walsh said...

Fred O' Lizer

Lily Ryan Walsh said...

Fred O'Lizer

MaliceInWonderland said...

*grins* Thanks, Julie. I tried to think of something death-related yet still fun. ^_^ *crosses fingers for the two of us*

qtmelnee said...

I would go for Tomato Patch Tommy...

Just saying, though I know he looks nothing like Tommy Williams but I think it sort of fits don't you think? :-D

Best of luck with the naming!

-qtmelnee

Becca said...

I like the name Reginald. It's pretty distinguished and he looks like a distinguished kind of guy.

Katie said...

I'd say .. Herbie, Alfie or Donald. Those names just came to mind when I looked at him.

Sugar Loving Otaku said...

you should totally name him Tom.

Lily Benan said...

Dan~

Hmmnn this one is a tuffy! Hehe

But...after some serious consideration.. ;-)
His name should be... Darren. I'm not sure why, but I also think of George, like some other people said. Yeh.... Good Luck with the name deciding!!!

Oh yeh, once for halloween, I had a zombie thing like that in my yard, and it was awesome! Its name wa Harold/Harry. Haha

I suggest those names too!

~Lily

Anonymous said...

DEAR,DANIEL

Cody w. Splintern
conner W. Splintern
i like the splintern or splinter part because he is covered in wood chips. that give you splinters....which i dont like it when i get them. which i get them all the time because i am a klutz
w stands for wood chips BUT DONT TAKE THAT SERIOUSLY lol. I wanna put that in my room. But i would name him Conner cuz my brothers name is cody. That would just be akward if my brother thought that I thought he was a zombie. Though i wish all my family members were Zombies. But sadley i would wanna be a vampire/Zombie/werewolf.
anyway he looks like a cody and a conner what about conny......nah.... maybe coder ....nah....possibly Conner....or.....cody you choose.
dan you dont have to read it all. I ramble alot
tho maybe i should have put that on the top of the letter. oh well bye.
~Brianna

p.s.See you at the otis library........maybe, i will have to beg my mom. Peace Love and ZOmbies which will eventually take over the world.

Anonymous said...

Allan Trautman the Second

YeahYeah said...

I think you should name him Bill just because it suits him. His pale skin just screams "BILL!"


:)

Casey Hoff said...

Diomedes Dirt Hands.

You could just call him
Diomedes or Dio
which is Greek.
I just
figured that he was in
a garden with
dirt
so it could be
Diomedes Dirt Hands.

Casey Hoff said...

Diomedes Dirt Hands.
You could just call him
Diomedes or Dio
which is Greek.
I just
figured that he was in
a garden with
dirt
it could be
Diomedes Dirt Hands.

Kinder said...

I think Nicandro. Nick for short.
It means death. (I couldn't find anything that meant undead). Or Orestes.

Anonymous said...

reminds me of The Addams Family so how bout Gomez or Fester? also the name Bob comes to mind as well as Arnold

Sarah said...

Your dad is made of win! What a lovely thing to do, bless him!

I think he looks like a Simon, possibly an Edgar, or Mr D.E.Ath.
Lame I know, but I've been wracking my brains unsuccessfully lol

Anna-Tommy-lover said...

Hello Dan!!!!!!!!!

How are you doing?
WHOA!!!!
OMG!!!I'm so happy!
Yesrturday I received Kiss of Life!
I screamed so much!!!
My mother said I have a surprise for you, and there it was!
Perla told me I was going yo have it in midth June, but it only took like 11 days!
I'm so happy, today I'm going to start reading it for SURE.
I'm going to have a Thriller night!xD
I'm in school and my BFF Kevin and he says hi!He likes GenDead too.
LOL!
Bye!
Take Care!

xoxo
Anna-Tommy-lover.

njhorror said...

My suggestion?


Uncle Creepy.

Taylin said...

by the way, FANTASTIC job on Kiss Of Life. im really looking forward to the sequel :D

Xavy Jaimz said...

Very cool addition to your garden!

I think you should call him "Glendower" as in the Shakespeare character :)

amberloveDB said...

i love the name stephan!
but it shouldnt sound like steven
but stephan
(ste-f-an)

Dylan said...

Zebedaiah...that's good...or maybe Zeke. Or, hey, how about this - Tyler. Tyler's good.

Brianna said...

*tantrum* GRRRRR!!!!!
okay so my mom wouldnt drive me tonight to the library. !!!! can you believe it? cuz i certainly cannot!!!! grr!!!! *pouts* will you please come to the groton public library then. :D that would make me so happy. !! please???????

okay i am done acting like a five year old girl with an attitude.

so what do ya say?

-Brianna.

p.s. i am also mad cuz my mom wont take me to borders AND I NEED NEED NEED KISS OF LIFE!!!! okay well bye.



OH AND ANOTHER NAME COULD BE.
Neanderthal..(lame i know.) OR.
Shawn splintern, john, Necco splintern, niko splintern, thats all i got

Brianna said...

ha ha ...... Al Bino. WOW IM A FUNNY ONE HUH?

Delaney the Undead said...

Not too sure about a name, but this guy looks like one of the zombie-like creatures from 'I Am Legend' lol...Sky Mall is amazing..."Come browse our hundreds of products...from automatic towel warmers to garden zombies."

I guess Id have to go with Lenny.

"What's that? Oh, its just Lenny, hes our zombie." lol.

Good luck with the name.

Delaney the Undead said...

oh and for the record, if you throw a hat on that thing it will look just like Frank Sinatra. lol Now Im reallllly freaked out.

Janice said...

Jorge,
or,
Francis!

Cayley said...

Peter, I think. Or maybe Chuck

Anonymous said...

Zydegor (pronounced Zi[long "i" sound]-de-ger)

[Ryan] said...

It should be something kind of old and classic, like Crandal or Gabrielle.

Holly Starshipp said...

You should name him:

Herbert-Lucas Wellingsworth :D

brianna said...

i got necco from the back of a box of sweethearts.
-Brianna

Kevin G said...

fromGhost sightings of ConnecticutAT THE CEMETERY BY THE BACKUS HOSPITAL BY WILLIAMS STREET WE HAVE SEEN A CT. SOLDIER FROM THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD LOOKING FOR HIS RIFLE.

With that I humbly submit "Sarge"

Anonymous said...

Gomez, Lurch, Phineas, 'The Mole,' Emmett, Shaun, Dexter 'Dex' for short, Salem (I like that one alot) or Mike.
Aamnaxx(that's my name not a suggestion;])

Ashlee said...

He's definately a Mortimer. You could call him "Morty" for shor!!!

LOL! :) :D :)

XOXO,
Ashlee

zoe,garrettandbryan said...

he looks like an Alfred/Freddy to me :]
maybe a Walter? or Donny? or possibly Francis?
:]
i saw "KISS OF LIFE" at the bookstore today and i bought it. so far i love it!!

MaliceInWonderland said...

Ashlee, I already submitted that.

Kat said...

Thanatos is a greek god of death, that would be a good name and then you could call him Than. I like Delano too bacause it means of the night.

Anonymous said...

that is sooooo cool!! my suggestion is carl he looks like a carl.


and um,well i still haven't gotten the second book because everywhere i've gone to get a copy the people tell that theres been a delay i was hoping u could tell me whats going on because im real excited about the new book and i need to kow whats going on with adam.


~Stephanie :)
p.s.thank you

RealisElastic said...

i think Garrett would be great for your new Zombie friend. or something like Ryan or Monroe! ^_^
by the way im jealous. i totally want a garden zombie. hes adorable. :)

Unknown said...

Gilbert A. Jackson the Third

Because Gilbert is an AWESOME name and you just have to add the 3RD on there!

^_^

Nassika said...

I think it should be John Missafinger. Ya know, cuz he's mising a finger. Lol. ^__^

or

Sika said...

I think it should be John Missafinger. Because he's missing a finger. Haha ^__^

Ladytink_534 said...

How about Andy? Or Icky Ricky?

Olivia said...

He is awesome! Ummm some names... Japser, Isac, or maybe Danny. My brother suggested Demetri, Umbra(means ghost), and Galileo. Like the guy who discovered that thing about our sky. Sorry about that, I keep forgetting. Time to study! ;) I hope that whatever name you choose for him fits his personality. *thumbs up*
love ya! ~Olivia

SamlovesTOMMY<3 said...

His name should be George! named after, of course the zombie named George in your 2nd book. That would be so awesome, just don't let him eat the squirrels, lol.

By the way, I finished kiss of Life yesterday and wanted to scream or throw it against the wall. Why do you always have to be like " I'm just gonna end it right here cause i feel like it and i want people to die waiting for the next book in suspense." Not cool man, not cool.

Unknown said...

Just read Kiss of Life, good stuff! ANd like I said before... name him Steve. Although I do like the name George a lot. He sounds like a heck of a zombie in the book, but the character in the Looney Tunes cartoon that Bugs named George. You know the red hair guy.

Amber Lynne said...

Tommy ;D

Gabrielle said...

My brother says "Fred".

Romeo, what about that? xD

GDeadKissofLife said...

Jericho is a good name or kaden those are rare names, But I love the name joseph (please dont name him joseph)! Oh and Nathaniel is a great name for him too. PS I just read both your books in one week! Keep writing I cant wait any longer!

sarah said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
sarah said...

i love the zombie and he looks like a Zane or Lethario to me

Mardel said...

I think that zombie resembles Annie Lennox (of the Eurythmics - 80's band, {or was it the 90's?}) So a good name could be Annie or Lennox....

Pretty ironic that Kanye doesn't believe in books. With at least 3 books with his name as coauthor, an autobiography, and his own mother wrote a book about him. Ironic. What the hell, name him Kanye.

Ash said...

My son liked the pic and wanted to name it after him. So Josiah for the zombie. Funny if you think about it!

hizope24 said...

what about Xander,Zane,or servantes?

Anonymous said...

I think Thanatos or Than for short which means death or god of death

Anonymous said...

I think Thanatos or Than for short which means dead

hizope24 said...

I was thinking about another place for the Zombies to appear. What about Washington D.C. ? Or Fort Jackson South Carolina. the zombie could be a young soldier who dies during a training exercise in boot camp and comes back during his wake. that would be crazy! I have a very active imagination.

L said...

To me, he looks like a Hansel, Jasper, or a Isaac.

What ever you name him, I think he's awesome!

lia said...

Barry ( I liked it because it sounds close to bury)

Daniel Waters said...

Hi all!

WOW! Over a hundred suggestions!
Thank you!

Take care,
Dan

Anonymous said...

Great statue, a little strange though. How about Leonard, Dewey, Floyd, Walt or the ever popular Bob.
-Abbie

Aurora Borealis said...

I'm thinking "Walnut" because everyone knows that to kill a Zombie you have to smash it's "Walnut" (or head) in. So My vote is Walnut.

Anonymous said...

I think he is an Edgar. yup that's my vote.-founder of the undead poets society

Paradox said...

How about one of these:

- Dead Fred
- Braaaaaaaiiiiins!
- Philipe
- Bob
- Uberzombie
- Graaaagh!
- Bringer of the Apocalypse
- Medulla Oblongata

paradoxrevealed (at) aim (dot) com