About Me — Sunshine ZombieGirl. AKA Kate, Existential Editor…
By: Sunshine Zombiegirl
Tags: Introduction, Self, About Me, Autobiography, Zombies

About Me — Sunshine ZombieGirl

AKA Kate, Existential Editor extraordinaire.

Author, Nov 6, 2020

Quick fun facts: I’m 45, have been married since I was 18, and have two boys over the age of 21. I’ve got a Bachelor’s in Business Administration, and I owned my own company for five years.

I’ve taught myself sewing, jewelry, bottle beading, cross-stitch, embroidery, making headdresses, and costumes. I designed my tiny house, learned landscaping, carpentry, painting, patio building, driveway repair, and building code. I navigated dealing with contractors, worked as a home stager, organizer, and decluttered a ton of junk. I homeschooled my children and am the instigator of all things when friends really want to get something accomplished.

I grew up in the heat and desert of Arizona. It gave me a respect for water and arable land. One of my biggest dreams as a kid was to live somewhere that had real trees and lakes.

Then I moved to Wisconsin and Minnesota. I still love trees and lakes.

My family took a lot of road trips when I was a kid. It opened me up to the idea that people can live anywhere and do anything and go anywhere if they have enough gas. Also, five gallon buckets suck for peeing into while sitting down.

I adore traveling, and have been to all but Hawaii, Mississippi, Louisiana, North and South Carolina, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maine in the US. I’ve also been to Mexico, Canada, and Ireland. My favorite thing to do is take a plane trip somewhere I’ve never been, stay with people I’ve never met, and get lost on the back roads there. I’ve driven in most major cities in the US during rush hour. Some of them, I drove in a Yugo.

Most of my days look like a whirlwind of taking care of other people’s needs while navigating the wide world of business annoyances. I spend time with my husband, my two dogs, and practice self-care and writing when I can.

Writing is the only thing I get paid for on occasion. I paint houses for barter (and fun).

Yes, I am a Gemini, thank you for asking.

In case you were wondering, I am only a zombie when I have seizures. Or before coffee. Or after 10pm. And sometimes, non-consecutive Tuesdays. No, I haven’t eaten brains.

I started writing when I was seven. My main topics were monsters, murders, and mysteries. Nancy Drew was a favorite back then. By the time I was eight, I’d been inspired to write my own newspaper on my mom’s ancient college typewriter. The ribbon was worn down, but I had plenty of practice smacking the keys down hard enough to make words.

My imagination has almost always been my best friend since I grew up as an only child. Nothing made me happier than reading nearly everything I could get my hands on. My grandmother’s adult book collection was at hand, so I read Roots when I was eight and The Lord of the Flies when I was nine. My reading habits most likely made me focus on the darker sides of human nature rather than people being their better selves. Having read Grimm’s Fairy Tales early on, I appreciated the bloodier version of Snow White rather than the Disneyfied one.

I’ve always been curious about what made people tick, but also what made them behave the way they did. I played that out in story after story that I wrote.

I hit a moderate pause of writing when I had children. I love my kids, but little kids are distracting and exhausting. That’s when I learned that if I don’t write daily, my dreams get crazier and crazier until I do. Writing, for me, is an exercise in getting all my excess imagination out, so I don’t dream about ninjas, vampires, and zombies all in the same dream.

It took me years to feel comfortable with writing non-fiction. I wouldn’t say that I hated it, but telling the truth was boring compared to the strange beasts that wandered from my head into my computer. It wasn’t until I discovered Medium that I realized I enjoy being a truth-teller.

My current Medium “goals” are to get through the next year, publishing one (or more) stories a week. I’m in the process of building a tiny home, and my time is scarce for now. I write as often as I can.

My very first “official” Medium story was curated and featured to my delight and dismay. I wasn’t sure what it meant, but I was happy it happened.

My first foray of submitting to a publication came at the request of the publisher.

That first month and a half on Medium, I found momentum. I pushed myself to reach out to other publications. I did as many writing prompts as I had time for. It was freeing to share life and struggles with others.

And, of course, I documented my humorous battle with tech.

On occasion, I do get a little risque about DIY.

Silliness aside, I’m a firm believer that if I can touch someone’s lives in a meaningful way, I’m doing the right thing. I think that, overall, the meaning of life is about how you affect other people’s lives. You can choose to be a complete asshole, or you can be kind. Life is a choose your own adventure, so I don’t pick the monster path.

Kindness and understanding are in short supply, and that’s why I write humor as much as possible. I also write about everything else that pops into my head. I consider it a worthwhile endeavor to put a smile on people’s faces.