What was most surprising to me about Andy Zach’s Zombie Turkeys? – that is qualified as an actual adventure story! I wasn’t expecting that. About a quarter way in, when a young reporter gets the assignment to follow a swarm of 10,000 rampaging turkeys into a stretch of unfamiliar woodlands, it actually grabbed my attention while I was driving, and I was scared for the reporter (even without the zombie element, 10.000 turkeys is a LOT, and being a reporter is no protection against 10,000 wild animals).
We get a little bit of everything in this novel. The prologue is very funny. There is plenty of carnage, the author has plenty of fun envisioning industrial scale defenses against zombie turkey hordes. There is nice wish-fulfillment as a small-time newspaper becomes wildly successful reporting on the zombie-turpocalypse. Finally, there is also nice wish-fulfillment as the reporter finds ways to survive, the reporting teams grow and expand, and even as love finds its way into the mix.
Part 2
There are two major comedic set pieces included in the novel: a turkey dinner at the Whitehouse (which had a funny moment (to me), where Michele Obama encourages her children to walk across the backs of the secret service agents, and says something along the lines of “Go ahead sweetheart – that’s what they’re there for.”) The second major comedic piece involves professional sports and fandom – when a zombie horde overruns a stadium, fans compete to see which band of hooligans can kill the greater number of invading turkeys – it is a broad set-piece that gets richer and richer as it plays out.
A book with the title of “Zombie Turkeys” promises light entertainment, and that is delivered. There is more adventure than I expected, and slightly less direct comedy — the characters play their scenes straight. The comedy is in the absurdity of the events (at least for me).
Fans of zombie fiction should definitely give it a try. Graduates of the “Goosebumps” books (and there are a LOT of them) might also really enjoy it. Fun. Gruesome yes, but fun (and very friendly).
Forget New Zombie Turkeys News–Where’s the Free Stuff?
Before we get to the free books, let me mention Rik Ty is the author of Thrill Kings, an exciting SciFi thriller. Here’s the book:
All you have to do is click here. Then you’ll go to my contact page.
Next, enter your email address and say you’d like to subscribe to my blog newsletter.
Or you can click here. Then you’ll go to my homepage. A handy pop-up window will allow you to subscribe to my newsletter.
Then sit back and relax. Month after month, you’ll be entered in my two monthly drawings. One is for a free copy of my book in ebook or paperback format. And the other drawing is for an audiobook of my books.
I’ve already given away my books to thirty-four lucky people! You might be next!
Pro-tip: You can enhance your chances by getting your friends to subscribe. Send me their emails and as they subscribe, I’ll give YOU an extra chance for each one in that month’s drawing!
I have a search for Zombie Turkeys on Google which sends me anything referring to Zombie Turkeys. Look what the Google dragged in!
Then there’s this poll. I intend to make my Zombie Turkeys audiobook in September and publish it. I recently found another way of doing an audio book–using a robot to read it.
Let me know what you think!
Here’s the robot reading, if you’re curious. Maybe this is the next big thing in audio books!
And Now for Something Completely Different
The Game of Thrones has almost caught up with Zombie Turkeys and My Undead Mother-in-law with the paranormal animal craze. Check out this next picture:
Humorously speaking, zombie polar bears aren’t as funny as zombie turkeys. But then, I don’t think GoT aims for humor or comic relief. If they ever want to, I’m willing to license Zombie Turkeys to them for a nominal fee: one percent of their annual revenue.
Let’s make this a two-way conversation! The first person that responds to this post by comment or by email (mention the title in your email), gets a free e-book of your choice, Zombie Turkeys or My Undead Mother-in-law.
Several people asked me what inspired me to write these books. For Zombie Turkeys I said simply, “We fried a turkey and ate it. Around the dinner table someone said, ‘What if the turkey came back to life?’ ‘A zombie turkey!'”
“That thought thrilled me. What if turkeys came back to life as zombies? What a perfect way to satirize the whole zombie genre! So I wrote Zombie Turkeys in November 2015 for NaNoMo, national novel in November month. Click to find out more.”
What about My Undead Mother-in-law? And how do we get free books?
Wouldn’t you like to know! Where Zombie Turkeys focuses on zombie turkeys, in My Undead Mother-in-law I ask and answer the eternal question, “What should I do if my in-laws are zombies?”
Let’s start with the famous undead mother-in-law herself, Diane Newby.
Diane Newby, hosting her children for dinner.
Here’s Diane’s description from My Undead Mother-in-law:
“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.”
Diane greeted us at the door. “Hello, my love!” She hugged Karen.
Karen barely flinched as she looked into her mother’s bright-red eyes. But she grunted “Ugh!” at the force of her embrace.
“Ease up, Mom.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“Hello, Mom,” I said as I hugged her as hard I as could.
She hugged me back twice as hard.
“Ugh,” I grunted too.
Diane still had blond-highlighted brown hair, as she did when I first met her. She’d gained a pound or two though. She smelled of the body talc White Linen. I recognized it because Karen and I bought it for her birthday last year, pre-zombie. And she still wore her cat-eye reading glasses on a chain around her neck.”
No doubt you want to know more about Diane and her offspring. Next, I’ll tell you how to get my books for free.
Get free books by doing this
What do you think? Sacrifice your first born child? No. A chicken? No. A turkey? A good guess, but no.
You just have to write to me and promise to review my book, either Zombie Turkeys or My Undead Mother-in-law. Heck, you can cut and paste someone else’s review! Here they are, click here.
But Andy, I don’t like to write! How can I get free books?
Glad you asked! Here is the final way you can get free books. Sign up for my newsletter. Each month I give away a free book to one of my subscribers. Just click here and enter your email.
That’s all for now!
Click here to get the print copy of My Undead Mother-in-law.
