Dan got his zombie novella, The Bad Road, back from a beta reader with thousands of tracked edits and lived to talk about it. We talk through the real, unglamorous mechanics of revision; accepting changes one at a time and building the instinct to write clean sentences from the start. We talk about why feedback stings, why "genius" is a myth, and why taking ego out of the equation is what actually turns a decent draft into a publishable book.

Relevant links:

• ZBC Epizode 16 "Let's talk about writing": https://www.buzzsprout.com/2124392/episodes/13412031
• The Bad Road playlist: https://tidal.com/playlist/0bc984a4-381f-43af-b416-715d7d4f6e50

Resources Dan should have read:

• Beta readers 101: https://blog.reedsy.com/beta-reader/
• Dialogue punctuation rules: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/Punctuation.html
• Editor vs. proofreader, explained: https://kindlepreneur.com/book-editor-vs-proofreader/
• What ARC readers are and how to use them: https://kindlepreneur.com/arc-readers/

Support the show

Zombie Book Club Links

• Join us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClub
• ZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/
• ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/
• Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com

Bestselling zombie author Kate L. Mary returns to the podcast to talk through what a realistic survival plan might actually look like, how you'd know it's really happening, and why a slow, confusing outbreak is scarier than the instant-chaos version we usually see in movies. We talk about getting family together, avoiding major roads and cities, and heading for the coast to escape by sailboat.

From there, we get into the practical side of life at sea: what a boat actually needs to function long-term (fresh water, fuel, navigation without GPS), why the Caribbean (specifically Grenada) is Kate's pick for a long-term destination. We also touch on how her experience writing apocalyptic fiction shapes the way she thinks through these scenarios.

Guest Links:

• Website: katelmary.com
• Facebook: facebook.com/KateLMaryauthor
• Instagram: @zombieauthormom
• Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/Kate-L-Mary/e/B00K48N5EQ

Support the show

Zombie Book Club Links

• Join us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClub
• ZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/
• ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/
• Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com

We sit down with award-winning author A.M. Geever to talk Steel City Apocalypse, a slow-burn outbreak story that traps its survivors inside a Pittsburgh zoo built to keep dangerous animals in (and, as it were, zombies out). We talk about plotting with evolving outlines, killing your darlings (scenes and characters alike), sunk cost, and why denial is the most realistic thing about the zombie apocalypse.

A.M. Geever also opens up about indie author life in 2026; release-day anxiety, watching sales rankings, Kindle Unlimited economics, and the treadmill feeling of shifting ad platforms and constant promotion. We talk about building emotionally rich animal characters, writing characters with real interiority, and why the zombie genre keeps giving writers permission to set their own rules while still forcing brutal moral choices. If you love post-apocalyptic fiction and unfiltered behind-the-scenes author talk, this one delivers both.

Contact Info & Links

A.M. Geever

• Website: amgeever.com
• Instagram: @amgeever
• Facebook: A.M. Geever Author
• Goodreads: goodreads.com/amgeever
• BookBub: bookbub.com/profile/anne-m-geever
• Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/stores/author/B07VFBKX53

Support the show

Zombie Book Club Links

• Join us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClub
• ZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/
• ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/
• Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com

At 17, illustrator Yuxel "Green Mann" G. has already built a distinct style out of zombies, gore, and dark humor. We talk about the childhood moment that turned fear into fascination, growing up during the Walking Dead era, and the artists (Tony Moore, Jhonen Vasquez, Aaron Alexovich) who shaped his eye for art that's equal parts creepy and charming.

Then we talk about making art in the age of AI, why "exposure" isn't payment, and how pricing commissions is really about respecting your own labor.

Contact Links:

• GreenMann
  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grnnann
  • BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/grnnann.bsky.social
  • TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@grnnann

Support the show

Zombie Book Club Links

• Join us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClub
• ZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/
• ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/
• Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com

Jo Salazar is back to celebrate the biggest twist in her writing career: her self-published zombie novel The Dead Weight has been acquired by Sourcebooks Fire and relaunches as If We Survive the Night on August 25th. We talk through the wild, one-DM-at-a-time path from indie hustle to a traditional book deal, what changes (and doesn't) when a title and cover get a makeover, and why a title matters when a reader is deciding in seconds. Jo also opens up about building an audience through TikTok and Amazon ads, the realities of author marketing even after landing a publisher, and the Walmart special edition bonus chapter that finally answers fans' burning 'riverboat casino' question.

Then we surprise Jo with two of her biggest inspirations in the genre: Kate L. Mary and Sarah Lyons Fleming. The three dig into mentorship, community, and what it's like to write through anxiety and real-world horror without losing the joy of storytelling. They also talk candidly about how women have reshaped zombie fiction away from the lone-wolf (mighty-whitey) power fantasy and toward stories built on relationships, found family, and emotional stakes. It's part reunion, part masterclass, and part long-overdue celebration of an author who earned every bit of this moment.


Guest Contact & Social Links

Jo Salazar

• Website: https://www.josalazarwriting.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_jo_salazar_/
• Linktree (all links): https://linktr.ee/josalazarauthor

Kate L. Mary

• Website: https://katelmary.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombieauthormom/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KateLMaryauthor
• BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kate-l-mary

Sarah Lyons Fleming

• Website: https://www.sarahlyonsfleming.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahLyonsFleming/
• Amazon storefront: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Sarah-Lyons-Fleming

Other links referenced in the episode:

• Publisher
  • Sourcebooks Fire: https://www.sourcebooks.com
• Our Town Books (Jacksonville, IL — release party host / signed preorders)
  • Website: https://www.ourtownbooks.com/
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ourtownbooks/
  • Bookshop.org storefront: https://bookshop.org/shop/ourtownbooks

Support the show

Zombie Book Club Links

• Join us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClub
• ZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/
• ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/
• Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com

We're revisiting Will Smith's 2007 I Am Legend, theatrical cut and alternate ending both, to unpack why swapping the finale flips the whole film from action-hero sacrifice to something far more morally complex. We start with Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, detour through the earlier adaptations The Last Man on Earth and The Omega Man, and get sidetracked (as always) debating whether the Darkseekers are zombies, vampires, or their own "zomb-pire" category entirely.

Then we dig into Neville's isolation and mannequin coping mechanisms, why Sam's death still wrecks us every time, and how the alternate ending recontextualizes the entire siege as a rescue mission rather than a monster attack; restoring the moral ambiguity (and the actual meaning of the title) that the theatrical cut throws away. We also talk about what's confirmed so far about I Am Legend 2, including Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan, and why the sequel is treating the alternate ending as canon.

Relevant Links:

I Am Legend (2007) – IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480249/

I Am Legend (1954 novel) by Richard Matheson – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Legend_(novel)

The Last Man on Earth (1964) – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Man_on_Earth_(1964_film)

The Omega Man (1971) – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Omega_Man

I Am Legend 2: release date, cast, and everything we know – GamesRadar+: https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/action-movies/i-am-legend-2-release-date-cast-plot-trailer-and-everything-we-know-about-the-upcoming-horror-sequel/

Support the show

Zombie Book Club Links

• Join us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClub
• ZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/
• ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/
• Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com

We welcome horror author T.J. Payne to talk about Intercepts, a sci-fi horror thriller where a secret government facility tortures prisoners into becoming "antennas" who can hijack the senses of anyone on Earth. At the center is supervisor Joe Gerhard, a man who tells himself the work is necessary right up until his own daughter, Riley, becomes a target. We dig into the banality of evil, workplace dehumanization, and how ordinary people talk themselves into extraordinary harm.

We also get into the real-world roots behind the horror (NSA-style intercepts, MKUltra, sensory deprivation research), T.J.'s wild path from Hollywood ghostwriting to indie-published success to landing in TV writers' rooms, and why he thinks "writer voice" is just the weird kid you tried to hide in middle school.

Guest Contact & Social Links — T.J. Payne

• Website: https://tjpayneauthor.wixsite.com/tjpayne
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tj.payne.author/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tj.payne.author
• Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18547206.T_J_Payne
• Intercepts (Penguin Random House): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/833286/intercepts-by-t-j-payne/

Related Topic Links (for show notes)

• Hannah Arendt & "the banality of evil": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banality_of_evil
• MKUltra overview: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_MKUltra
• Sensory deprivation research: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensory_deprivation
• Under the Bridge (Hulu, TJ Payne writing credit): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_Bridge_(TV_series)

Support the show

Zombie Book Club Links

• Join us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClub
• ZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/
• ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/
• Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com