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My Most Romantic Story – and a Gift for You

My Most Romantic Story – this’ll be the first time I’ve shared this story with you. I wrote it especially for this weekend. But it isn’t your gift. Your gift is at the end of this blog post.

Go ahead. Scroll down past the romantic story to see it, if you want.

My Most Romantic Story – For Valentine’s Day

He was hyper. His dream of marriage was finally coming true. He couldn’t believe she’d said ‘yes’, back in February when he proposed. Now it was June, a week before their wedding day.

She was gorgeous. Red-haired and petite, she’d fit nicely in his lap.

Stock photo, public domain

They had to buy their marriage license from the courthouse. Their minister would sign it after their wedding. They’d do that this week on Wednesday.

But today was Monday. Now he’d activate his plan. He’d surprise his fiancee with a gift she didn’t expect. They’d already bought each other’s wedding rings and her engagement ring. They’d been practical, with the two of them looking over the jeweler’s wares, picking the rings they wanted.

She was really practical. He loved that, since he tended to be highly romantic. She’d be a good balance for him.

He called the store and give very careful, precise instructions for the coming week. She’d never expect this. Not only was he romantic, he had a wild imagination.

He waited eagerly for her call. She called him daily from her job as an office manager to his cubicle where he worked as a programmer.

After lunch, she called.

My Most Romantic Story – Part 2

“You mushball!”

“Did you like the rose and the poem?”

“Of course I did.”

“I wanted to do something special for you this week.”

“A single long stemmed rose.”

“And a poem. I’m an amateur, but sincere.”

“I know.”

My Most Romantic Story
Long-stemmed rose

The next day, she called again.

“Two roses! And another poem.”

“Were you surprised?”

“Yes. Am I going to get twelve roses, eventually?”

“Could be. You’ll have to wait and see.”

Then on Wednesday I answered the phone and heard, “I got your four roses and poem today. Everyone in the office is going nuts.”

“Good. I wanted to create a sensation.”

“Well, it’s working. Everyone says you’re so romantic.”

“What about you?”

“I think I’m getting a steal. I don’t know why the other girls didn’t go for you.”

“Probably because I was wearing off my rough edges on them. I was dating for ten years before I met you. I know I wasn’t ready for marriage.”

“I’ve got you. That’s all that matters.”

My Most Romantic Story

The Conclusion

The following day she called. “I got twelve roses today. And your poem. What’ll happen tomorrow?”

“Wait and see. Tonight’s the rehearsal.”

“Yes. I can’t believe we need to do all this.”

“Its traditional. And afterward we’ll have a nice dinner together, our two families.”

“Your family is so different from mine.”

“I think my family’s closer to normal than yours.”

“C’mon. My family’s normal!”

“Your mom and dad raised seven kids in eight and a half years. She breast-fed all of you through the 50s and 60s when that was not the thing to do. Your dad gave up promotions so he could come home and have lunch with you guys. That’s all unusual.”

“It didn’t seem odd.”

“Let’s see how odd we can be.”

On Friday, I picked up the phone and heard, “i think I liked this poem the most of all.”

“I worked the hardest on it. Poetry doesn’t come naturally to me.”

“I love it. All the girls are gushing in the office.”

“Am I impacting your productivity?”

“No. I can run this office in my sleep. What am I supposed to do with all these roses?”

“Whatever you want. Strew the petals over your bed.”

“Our bed. It sounds uncomfortable. And it’d be lot of work to take off the petals.”

“We’re getting married this weekend. Are you excited?”

“Of course.”

Your Own Valentine’s Gift from Me

My novel My Undead Mother-in-law begins on Valentine’s Day. I’ll give you a romantic excerpt I’ve never shared before.

George and Diane Newby are a normal, middle-aged couple who turn zombie. Note that my zombies don’t eat human flesh. Rather, they regenerate from injuries very fast, as their zombie bacteria copy their cells and replace them. As a side effect, their eyes turn bright, glowing red.

This excerpt falls between My Undead Mother-in-law and Paranormal Privateers. I tell it in the latter book as a flashback.

Through an unbelievable plot line, the Newby’s acquire a five-hundred foot superyacht in the first book.

Let me know what you think of my stories here, and I’ll send you a free Zombie Turkeys ebook. That’s the first in my series, The Life After Life Chronicles.

My Most Romantic Story
Back cover of My Undead Mother-in-law

I vividly remember the rechristening of the yacht, formerly named Rule Britannia, in January in New Orleans.

Diane had held the bottle of champagne at the boat dock and smashed it against the prow. The sheet covering the new name had slipped down, revealing Resolute Too—and the figurehead.

“George, is that supposed to be me?” Diane yelled in excitement.

“Of course, Diane. Can’t you see the resemblance?”

“Yes, in the face. She even has cat’s-eye glasses just like me. But she’s too buxom.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” I knew that part of her anatomy very well. The sculptor had actually made Diane’s waist narrower, which made her seem more buxom, but I hadn’t wanted to point that out.

From Paranormal Privateers
Back cover of Paranormal Privateers
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Your Free Excerpt, SciFi Review, & Astounding Science News

Your Free Excerpt, SciFi Review, & Astounding Science News are here in this blog post. Begin with your free excerpt below.

But it’s more than just my book. There are dozens of samples from dozens of authors.

Click at this Facebook post.

Your Free Excerpt of My Book–Plus More

Enjoy these excerpts from outstanding writers! Oh, and I have an excerpt from 'My Undead Mother-in-law' as well.

Posted by Andy Zach on Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Which book do I have for you? None other than this one.

This story begins with a happy family story of zombies who start their own business sharing zombie blood. Diane Newby, My Undead Mother-in-law, is the natural leader. You can read a tiny snippet from late in the story here. (I promise: no spoilers)

Your Free Excerpt My Undead Mother-in-law back cover
My Undead Mother-in-law back cover, no blurb.

She gasped for air as she hauled herself up on the transom dock, and she tasted gulf water. Salt water! Her zombie bacteria were dying!

As soon as she stood up, two zombie ninjas charged her, one with a katana and one with a naginata. And she was weaponless.

The lead one called to someone behind her, “Get her!”

Glancing behind her, Diane saw the two woman bodyguards she’d thrown in the water were coming up behind her. They didn’t have weapons, so she turned her back on the two killer women in front of her and charged the two behind her, slowly, painfully.

From My Undead Mother-in-law

Subscribe to my newsletter if you want to read more! Tell me what you think of it, and I’ll give you another excerpt!

Get Your SciFi Review Here – and Your Free Excerpt #2

First, my review of a zombie novel, of all things!

Your Free Excerpt
Death Doll Cover

Andy Zach

from Amazon reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars

 The worst enemies are not the zombies in this thriller

Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2021

‘The Death Doll’ by Brian White is post-zombie-apocalypse story, but oddly, the zombies aren’t the main antagonist. I’ll let you read and find out who is.

The first chapter irritated me because none of the characters seemed to be acting rationally. True, they were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, running for their lives, but still they were over the top. Or so I thought.

I’ve learned to have patience. Over the next few chapters, the author showed me each person’s point of view and their motivations and their irrationality made sense, after a while. Mr. White has given the reader some excellent characters–good, bad, and ugly ones.

If you’re a lover of zombie books, dystopian books, and action-adventure books, this next book is for you.

I received a copy of this book to review, but that did not affect my opinion of it.

Another My Undead Mother-in-law Excerpt for You

There they all ate four huge steak filets from the fridge. They didn’t bother cooking them. For the second course, they planned a whole chicken apiece. The four chickens roasted in the oven while they gobbled the steaks.

They finished clearing out the Newbys’ commercial-sized refrigerator. They each topped off all that protein with their food of choice: George ate a whole family-sized pizza, as did Don. By the time the pizza delivery arrived, they looked quite normal, for zombies.

Diane ate an entire cheesecake. And Maggie devoured a box of sugared flakes. They had never been so ravenous—and they had never been so close to death.

From My Undead Mother-in-law

You can find the excerpt here, along with a lot of other authors’ excerpts.

The latest excerpts on SciFi, Fantasy from SciFi Roundtable. I have another bit from 'My Undead Mother-in-law'.

Posted by Andy Zach on Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Last, but not least, Astounding Science Stories

Astounding Science Fiction was a SciFi magazine during the golden age of science fiction. These stories could have come from there, but they’re all genuine science stories.

Astounding Science Fiction cover

Behold the orrery from 150 BC and be amazed!

Posted by Andy Zach on Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Okay, this is science from 150 BC but it’s astounding and it’s like an alternate history scifi where mechanical technology from the 18th century is introduced to the 2nd century BC.

Now, cue Star Trek!

Posted by Andy Zach on Monday, February 8, 2021

Finally, let’s get back to my youth, where every SciFi story had a plasma drive.

Yum! I've been reading about plasma drive since the 60s!

Posted by Andy Zach on Tuesday, February 2, 2021
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Your Best Internet Science and Science Fiction and Fantasy

Your Best Science

Your Best Internet Science and Science Fiction and Fantasy – what do I mean by that?

I’ve read through the internet this January and these are the best science articles, science fiction, and fantasy books I’ve found. Plus my usual quirkiness and unpredictability.

Let’s begin now

Your Best Internet Science Articles

Let’s begin with AI combined with jet fighters.

AI Top Gun?

Posted by Andy Zach on Thursday, January 28, 2021

What can top an AI Top Gun? How about a science story that could come out of Star Trek or Star Wars?

Posted by Andy Zach on Saturday, January 23, 2021

Your Best Science Fiction

Here’s the first science fiction book I read this year and my review. I recommend this series.

Your Best Internet Science
Macedonian Hazard cover

This is the second book in this alternate history series, where a large ocean liner and its refueling tender have both gone back to 320 BCE. They arrive in the middle of Alexander the Great’s generals fighting over his empire.

The ship goes from port to port, officially neutral and promoting peace. However, they have aligned themselves with Alexander’s heir Philip and his mother Euyadice. Naturally, aside from advancing technology to the industrial revolution, the modern ship is smack in the middle of Grecian politics.

There are murders and battles, as the iron age civilization modernizes to the steam age within years. Eric Flint and his co-authors, Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett keep the plot moving and the reader engaged with colorful characters from the 21st century and the 4th BCE.

Review by Andy Zach on Goodreads
How many of these fictional starships do you recognize in this video? Let me know and I’ll give you a free copy of Zombie Turkeys, my comical zombie apocalypse book.
Fictional Starhip Size Comparison
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTPwbVqU6lc&feature=share

Next, you have a science fiction, steampunk, time-traveling trilogy I’m planning. I’m basing it upon the life of Nicola Tesla. Give me some encouragement, because I’m stuck right now. I can’t figure out how to work with Nicola or with time traveling. Can you?

I am planning a trilogy about Tesla time-traveling back in time. I'll use this interview as source material.

Posted by Andy Zach on Friday, January 29, 2021

Coming up is the best book trailer I’ve seen. I’ve never made a trailer for one of my books, but now I’ll seriously consider it.

Your Best Fantasy Books Are Next

I have to include this new short story anthology. Two of my short stories are in it. Actually, only one. The other was written by my daughter.

I collaborated on this horror short story anthology. Thanks for bringing this together, Trubbshore Gloria!

Posted by Andy Zach on Thursday, January 28, 2021

Then there’s this fantasy book. It’s the best fantasy book you’ve never heard of.

The cover of ‘The Throme of the Erril of Sherill’

I’m wildly biased in favor of Patricia McKillip. I’ve loved every book she’s written in her 40-year career. Like most of her books, ‘The Throme of the Erril of Sherill is full of beautiful language and imagery. Here are her opening two sentences:

“The Erril of Sherill wrote a Throme. It was a deep Throme, and a dark, haunting, lovely Throme, a wild, special, sweet Throme made of the treasure of words in his deep heart.”

But beyond the beautiful language is a complex, fairy-tale type plot with many twists, full of laughter and surprises.

If you love fantasy, read this book.

Review by Andy Zach on Goodreads

Let’s close this blog post with an ambiguous video. Is it science fiction? Or science fact?

Some science issues with this SF short. Can you find them?

Posted by Andy Zach on Friday, January 22, 2021