DundahMifflin

I'm an author, and one of the most difficult things I find myself doing at the start of writing a novel is naming my characters something that is appropriate to their personality. I also share my name with Joel, and when The Last of Us was first announced, I flipped shit because Joel isn't a very common name. What made you want to use Joel for the main character of a post-apocalyptic tale, as opposed to more 'rugged' names?

I moved to Normandy last June near Lucas and Hunt. I was probably about three minutes drive from that entire area all over the news and the only thing it brought to me was sadness. I'm getting the impression a lot of people complaining about what happened have never been near Missouri, or St. Louis. It's a close-knit and overall kind community.

I'm very sorry you had to experience the loss of a business. The Ferguson community is friendly and welcoming, and the cowards who burned this down clearly were not from Ferguson or anywhere close. I hope nothing but the best for y'all.

What was your initial reaction to the news?

What was the hardest thing about leaving The Walking Dead?

I first found you during the events of Ferguson last August. I thought your take on a first-person, no dialogue style was great. Politics and everything else aside, I'm curious to hear what you thought of St. Louis despite the Ferguson drama? I understand a lot of out-of-towners didn't get a chance to see the city itself which is a shame.