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4 Writing Hooks – Which Is Best? Tell Me and Win

4 Writing Hooks – where do I get them? From my books. What are they?

The first hook, for Zombie Turkeys, from the first page:

Chapter 1
Bartonville
 
He felt different. More energetic, more alive. He bred with female after female in his flock without tiring. He stayed awake through the night. He feared no predator.
Then a turkey hunter shot him.

Zombie Turkeys, by Andy Zach

Why 4 Writing Hooks?

Why not? I don’t think I’ve shared my 4 Writing Hooks for my 4 books. And also, I read this article.

Did you read that? The best answer gets a free book from me. Respond to my Facebook post, or this blog post, or email me.

The Second Hook



Chapter 1 – Gary



“You know I love your mother. But your mother’s a zombie. Who wants to see one zombie, let alone four of them?”
“Now that’s not fair. Mom and Dad have adjusted to their zombiism very well. Mom still volunteers at church and bakes cookies and pies for the bake sales. Dad still works as an accountant at GM. There’s nothing to worry about!”

From My Undead Mother-in-law by Andy Zach
4 Best Hooks
My Undead Mother-in-law, chapter 1 icon. Click to get.

So, which hook did you like best? Or do you have another one from another author? If you do, I’ll post it/them here in my next blog.

The Third Hook of 4 Writing Hooks


Chapter 1 – Somalia
Dirac sighed with relief when the US flag came down and the surrender flag went up on the mast of the titanic luxury yacht. He didn’t mind firing rounds from his AK-47 over their heads, but he hated killing people. He knew they were only infidels, but they were still people.

From Paranormal Privateers, by Andy Zach

Okay, this hook is quite different. Do you still want to read what happens next? If you do, that’s a good hook.

The Last of 4 Writing Hooks


“Dear diary,” Jeremy Gentle dictated into his app on his tablet in his bedroom. “Today, I became a superhero.” Jeremy stopped, uncertain. Was that the best way to start his journal? Might as well just tell the story. He needed to sleep. He had a big algebra test tomorrow at Maryville Middle School.

From Secret Supers, by Andy Zach
Cover of Secret Supers Click to get.

And there you have it. My four book hooks. You can follow the links and get the one you like, or I’ll give you a free book in exchange for a review. Just let me know here.


Some Reviews

Short or long, I love them all. Good or bad, I want more to be had.


Zombie Turkeys

4.0 out of 5 stars

The handprint turkey on the cover is your first clue.
August 26, 2017


Let me start by saying that “Andy Zach” has an unusual sense of humor (or possibly has escaped from a lunatic asylum and is living under an assumed name). I invite you to check out his Amazon author page and read the bio. He’s gone all in on this zombie expert thing (since his parents were zombies) and states that he reanimated dead animals as a child for a science fair. He also currently raises phoenixes as a hobby. One more thing before starting on the story. What is that ‘thing’ on his head in his author picture?

From Amazon, by author Les Lynam

My Undead Mother-in-law




4.0 out of 5 stars

Not your standard zombie tale
December 28, 2018
When I started to read this book, I was leery. As far as I know, I’m less interested in zombies than anyone on the planet. How could I give a reasonable review? Turns out, it wasn’t hard at all. I’ve said before and it turned out to be true here that, if you have a ridiculous premise that’s hard to swallow, run with it, normalize it, and readers /viewers will eventually accept. And it worked. The original premise of cognizant, virtually indestructible zombies was lobbed and backed until I was a believer, actively rooting for zombies. Plenty of (bloodier than average) action, some smiling, if not guffaw humor, a nice fulfilling story arc in an easy readable length made for a fun book (if bloody action doesn’t bother you) with charm that didn’t take itself to seriously but still capable of many a tender and touching moments.

From Amazon, by author Stephanie Barr

Paranormal Privateers



4.0 out of 5 stars

Different tilt on a zombie series
December 6, 2018
I have read the whole series and enjoyed it. I did not find myself staying g up all night to finish or rushing home to read. That was probably a good thing as then If I had I’d of been cranky and over sleep for work. Never a pretty sight as I am not a morning person anyway. I liked the book for the unusual perspectives and storyline. If I spot about her book from this author O would definitely give it a try.

From Amazon by Rudolph Wittmer

No reviews for Secret Supers yet! You can be the first.

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New Year New Book from author Andy Zach

New Year, New Book

New Year New Book from Andy Zach

New Year New Book–“Wait!” you say. “What book is this?”

My next book is Secret Supers. It’s about four seventh graders with disabilities who acquire superpowers. They use their disabilities to hide their super identities and to fight crime. But it’s not easy, either being disabled or superpowered.

But that’s not all. I’m giving a free excerpt to my newsletter readers as of my next newsletter. Join here.

Newsletters subscribers also are automatically entered in my monthly drawing for a free book and a free audiobook.

New Year New Book – and news about the last book

My third novel, Paranormal Privateers is now available on audiobook!

New Year, New Book
Click to get your audiobook copy
of
Paranormal Privateers

If you don’t want to buy Paranormal Privateers from Audible, you can also get it from the iTunes store or from Amazon. Here are some reviews:

New Year New book
Zombie corgi butt, now in audiobook

Rudolph Wittmer

4.0 out of 5 stars

Different tilt on a zombie series

December 6, 2018

Format: Kindle Edition

I have read the whole series and enjoyed it. I did not find myself staying g up all night to finish or rushing home to read. That was probably a good thing as then If I had I’d of been cranky and over sleep for work. Never a pretty sight as I am not a morning person anyway. I liked the book for the unusual perspectives and storyline. If I spot about her book from this author O would definitely give it a try.

The next review is:

New Year New Book
Chapter 5 London chapter icon – what could it mean? Click and find out!

Ann Keeran

5.0 out of 5 stars

Undead Pirates?

May 7, 2018

Format: Kindle Edition

Super fun saga following the antics of the Paranormal Privateers. Laugh as they save the world. Who would have thought that the undead would be the saviors of the world? A not-so realistic view of the future of the world. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book. If you like comedy, the paranormal or books about pirates, you will absolutely love Paranormal Privateers.

New Year New Book and News Next

So what’s new beyond the new book?

How about a spaceship? A stainless steel spaceship?  Why stainless steel? Isn’t that heavy? Read about Elon Musk’s answer.

Continuing my outer space theme (I am a science fiction author), here’s a list of fifty-five must read science fiction books. How many have you read? Comment below or send me an email and the highest number gets a free ebook.

 

Finally, I have another picture of the starship.

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New Zombie Book Review and More Hot News from the Internet

New Zombie Book Review

New Zombie Book Review and More Hot News from the Internet

“Where’s my New Zombie Book Review ?” you ask. Right here! Author Wes Britton reviewed Paranormal Privateers, as he has Zombie Turkeys and My Undead Mother-in-law. Dr. Britton does another bang up job!

Without further ado, the New Zombie Book Review is next.

Wesley Britton’s Blog

August 6, 2018

New Zombie Book Review
Paranormal Privateers front  Click to get your copy!

Paranormal Privateers: The Adventures of the Undead (Life After Life Volume 3) Andy Zach
Publisher: Jule Inc.; 1 edition (May 5, 2018)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
ASIN: B07CJP8FYP
https://www.amazon.com/Paranormal-Pri…Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton
Paranormal Privateers is my third go-around with author Andy Zack. First, I read his bizarre Zombie Turkeys (How an Unknown Blogger Fought Unkillable Turkeys) (2016). Next came My Undead Mother-In-Law (The Family Zombie with Anger Management Issues) (2017). As the titles suggest, Zack’s world of zombie animals and people aren’t meant to terrify readers. Instead, Zack is out to amuse and entertain us with the most unusual situations and scenes most of us will ever experience on the printed page.
Paranormal Privateers continues the weirdness with a handful of returning characters and the type of zombies few of us would want to kill, destroy, or dismember. They’re, for the most part, super-heroes with superior strength, resistance to diseases like cancer, and the ability to regenerate limbs and other body parts. These zombies don’t want to lose these abilities so they carry around vials of infected blood to make sure they have the means to become a zombie again in case somebody cures them.
This time around, a crew of zombies has a presidential commission and a super-yacht to take on missions the U.S. Military can’t. Their leader is the impatient Diane Newby, the “Undead Mother-in-Law” of the previous volume. She fiercely leads her comrades as they battle Somali pirates, Crimean human slavers, and London terrorists in Harrods department store with the aid of huge zombie bulls. (Talk about a bull in a china shop!)

New Zombie Book Review – Second Part

Then, a more serious scenario pulls together three storylines as the zombie team infiltrates a North Korean nuclear facility. One of these storylines centers on a North Korean defector who first becomes a zombie, then a Christian, and then he does his best to spread both in a prison camp.

Along the way, the heroic zombies and their human allies must suffer with the schemes of Sid Boffin, a 120-year-old criminal genius who wants to rule the earth and destroy all zombies with viruses carried on fly feet. Despite his efforts, Diane and her group fight on even after losing their zombie strength and regenerative abilities.

And then . . . we get an alien spaceship bringing powerful aliens to earth. It’s almost a completely different book from that point forward, beginning about 2/3 of the way in Paranormal Privateers.

All three volumes of the “Life After Life” series so far are fast-paced romps with minimal character development full of quirky humor and off-the-wall satire. While not billed as YA novels, I see no reason why young adults wouldn’t especially enjoy these yarns. There’s much about blogging, Skype, and other contemporary matters throughout all the adventures. How about a Kickstarter campaign to fund a cure for the anti-zombie virus? Political correctness? Say “paranormal people,” not “zombies.”

No reader needs to read the previous books to jump into the action, although it wouldn’t hurt to read My Undead Mother-in-Law first to get some character background. But all you need to get into the quirky world of Andy Zack is to have a healthy sense of humor and the willingness to travel to a world that never was and never will be.

This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Aug. 6, 2018.

Your Hot Internet News from Andy Zach

I cruise the whole internet every day so you don’t have to! Here’s your daily fun.

I love hard science fiction! That’s sci-fi that doesn’t violate any known physical laws. Generally, it extrapolates from current, known technology. Many of the great SF writers were hard science fiction masters. What do you think? Let me know the in the comments, or send me a personal reply here. Best response gets a free ebook!

I grew up in the 60s during the Space Race between the US and the USSR. I read Heinlein, Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke throughout grade school and I’m tickled to see some of the predictions coming to pass, such as commercial space flight.

From science fiction, we go to fantasy. How would you like to have scales?

I might get a set to endure harsh reviews!

Now this next story bridges the gap between science and fantasy:

Naturally, turkeys feature prominently in my book Zombie Turkeys. In that book, you’ll find both wild and domestic turkeys going zombie. This video gives you the actual science that wild turkeys are tougher than domestic ones.

Your Chance to Create a New Zombie Book Review

By that, I mean you can review my books for fun and profit. Fun, because that’s the way they’re written. Profit, because if you promise to review one, I’ll send you an ebook!

To help you in reviewing books, consider this article on character-driven versus plot driven books:


Do you like books that focus more on character development or books that focus on action? Or, like me, do you want both?  Please tell me in the comments, or send me nasty emails!

Finally, let’s finish as we began, with hard science fiction:

Next question, after reading the predictions above, is, do you agree? What do you think will happen in the next ten years? The next twenty? The next thirty? The best comment or email will then get a free ebook of your choice from me.