It seems like every time you turn on the television, some person has devised some new, sadistic way for people to make themselves look good. Any product that comes with even the vaguest promise that it will keep you young and beautiful forever is a guaranteed best seller, even if the science behind it is a little shady. Even more so if there's no science behind it at all. I am constantly amazed by the people who lay out hundreds of dollars a month or more for supplements, creams and foods that they claim will make them younger, or stronger, or extend their lives by a few years, especially when the only proof they have of its efficacy is that “my sister-in-law's cousin's friend said it works wonders.”

The format of the story was more of an experiment to see how long I could keep a promise to myself. Having lost a lot of my desire to write due to various circumstances (someone I know says that “life mugs you in an alley”), I found that I missed that part of myself and promised that I would write a little each day, even if it was just something silly. Even at their very best, nearly all zombie stories end up being a little silly, so it was a natural progression. Posting it on LiveJournal was a way to make it a little more real, if you will, because while it is unbelievably easy to let myself down, it is much harder to let down an audience, even if it's just an audience of three. I love you three very much.

Zombie movies and zombie novels, most recently Stephen King's Cell, have always been a favorite of mine. I am always struck by how many of them include the same kinds of characters, no matter who is doing the writing. There's Levelheaded Guy, who usually ends up being the leader of the group and calming things down, along with Tough Girl, who is always ready to beat the hell out of the zombies. Then there's Surly Guy, who acts like he's in charge and can usually be found trying to make the whole thing difficult for the others. No one is sure why Surly Guy hangs around, except to make life miserable for everyone else. He usually has a purpose though, you just don't know what it is until the end. Finally, there's the Mature Teenager. Generally speaking, Mature Teenagers usually hook up with other teenagers and enjoy some Extracurriculars, but I decided to make mine a little younger. You understand.

In any case, I hope you enjoyed Minor Side Effects. The last thing I intended it to be was some sort of deep philosophical work or social commentary, so don't go back looking for anything of that sort in it. Like most of the things I've written, I only do it to amuse myself and hopefully amuse a few other people in the process. I was hoping to amuse one special person in particular though, so there are quite a few in jokes. However, they seem to stand on their own, so it's all right.

Minor details? I haven't been to Wisconsin, but I've seen and heard enough about the small towns by the lake that I feel comfortable enough writing about them, even if I'm not ready to call them by their odd nicknames yet. The unnamed little town is unnamed for a reason. Detroit is just Detroit. I've only been there once, but I'm pretty sure there's a Radisson. Any other details that are a little fuzzy or miscalculated are entirely my fault and should be dealt with accordingly. But don't get too serious on me. After all, it's just a story, right?