User:NetKat27/Z. A. Recht

Z. A. Recht or Zachary Allan Recht (February 4, 1983 - December 10, 2009) was an American zombie novelist, who published his first novel, Plague of the Dead, in 2006. His second novel, Thunder and Ashes was published in 2008. His third book, Survivors, was released on June 19, 2012, after Recht's sudden death on December 10th of 2009, at the age of 26. Thom Brannan finished the book.

Z. A. Recht was born Zachary Allen Recht on February 4, 1983 to parents Keith A. and Mary Recht.

Formal Schooling
Recht attended Inwood Primary School, in Inwood, West Virginia, and Bunker Hill Elementary , in Bunker Hill, West Virginia. Both schools cover grades Prekindergarten - Third Grade. Recht eventually attended, and graduated from, Powhatan School, a private school for grades Kindergarten - Eighth Grade, in Boyce, Virginia. He went on to attend John Handley High School, in Winchester, Virginia. Recht went to both West Virginia University, a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, and Northern Community College, a multi-campus community college with the main campus located in downtown Wheeling, West Virginia.

Military Training
Recht completed boot camp in the U.S. Army at Fort Jackson, S.C., where he graduated as 1st squad leader and won the sharpshooter competition.

Career
In 2007, Recht was employed as a staff writer at The Journal, a newspaper out of Martinsburg, West Virginia.

Permuted Press
Z. A. Recht published two books through the publishing company called Permuted Press : Plague of the Dead in 2006 and Thunder and Ashes in 2008.

Public Appearance
In 2009, Z. A. Recht participated in the Horror Realm convention in Pittsburgh, where his fans were able to meet with him and hear readings of select passages from his works.

Simon & Schuster
Recht had signed with Simon & Schuster shortly before his death. They republished Plague of the Dead in both Trade Paperback and eBook form on December 29, 2009 as well as Thunder and Ashes in Trade Paperback and eBook form on November 23, 2010.

Death
Zachary Allan Recht died in his home, on December 10, 2009. Cause of death is presumably known, but family members have chosen to keep this information private. This level of secrecy, combined with the sudden death of a man this young, leads to the obvious conclusion that death was either by drug overdose or suicide.