Tim Shumaker grew up the middle child of three with an older brother and a   younger sister. A nightstock clerk at a supermarket just outside of   Pittsburgh, Shumaker always dreamed of being a writer. He started at just   16 years of age and has written over 40 novels since then, writing most of   them out by hand. Inspired by superheroes, comics, and stories of the   supernatural, Shumaker’s first published work, Screwed Up World, imagines   how a group of teenage friends would face the zombie apocalypse.   Shumaker confesses, “Most of these ideas come from dreams; I don’t know   how it works – it just happens,” and the stories come to life. Writing is his   creative outlet, but Shumaker also collects toys of everything from super   heroes to Lost in Space and The Lord of the Rings. Currently, he actively   collects The Walking Dead toys and uses them to recreate scenes from the   show.