Oops! Grab Yourself Some Short Stories!! Just for laughs, try some free samples of my wacky sci-fi stories. Then grab the book for .99! Click here!It’ll be on sale from November 3rd to 7th.
“But wait Andy–what is Oops! all about?”
It’s all about what can go wrong before, during, and after a zombie turkey apocalypse.
The first story contains a tragedy–a queen’s husband and son died through drowning.
One queen saw the problem
Her king and prince had both drowned only a short distance from the shore because no one saw them signing for help. The queen sat vigil all night long, and in the morning she sent heralds with large signs in every language to all the humans, elves, dwarves, fairies, leprechauns, and even a dragon. She pled with all to find something that would let creatures communicate without signs or gestures when they couldn’t see each other. She promised she would give whatever was in her power to whoever could accomplish this.
Before turning to fiction, Andy published his Ph.D. thesis “Methods of Revivification for Various Species of the Kingdom Animalia” in the prestigious JAPM, Journal of Paranormal Medicine.
Where is my mistake in this story? You’ll have to read and find out!
Learn all about Brice Butterworth, genetic engineer
Now, what was he going to do? Brice Butterworth’s boss just told him to double the productivity of Vegan Inc.’s pickle strain they used for their Kilwowski Pickle brand. That was completely impossible.
But keeping his job required it. Brice was the low man on the genetic engineering totem pole at Vegan Inc., the last one hired and the first one to be fired if another recession hit.
He couldn’t think. He couldn’t face this. So he cruised the internet. “The origin of zombie turkeys? I didn’t know they’d found that. Hmm, a Midley Beacon exclusive, the foremost zombie news source,” he read out loud.
Let me know what you think by clicking here or emailing me at [email protected]. As always, everyone who responds with a comment or email will get a free book from me.
Author Andy Zach Publishing Secret Supers – I covered my years publishing 2016 to 2023 in my post Who Is Author Andy Zach? But I didn’t cover my Secret Supers series.
How Secret Supers Began
My daughter has cerebral palsy and lives in an electric wheelchair. She lives independently in her own apartment for the past thirteen years.
After I’d published my Life After Life Chronicles, I wanted to try a new genre. She came to me and said, “Hey Dad. Why don’t you write a book about a flying wheelchair?”
That was a good idea, so I wrote Secret Supers. The main character is Jeremy, a seventh-grader with cerebral palsy. He’s a nerd who spends a lot of time in his lab downstairs doing scientific experiments. One experiment gave him a superpower: telekinesis. He could make objects move with his mind, including making his wheelchair fly.
His friends in the special ed class also got superpowers and they decided to fight crime in their town–while in seventh grade.
But enough from me. Here’s a recent review from a reader:
Jeremy has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair to get around. He is in a special education class with Dan, who is blind, Kayla, who was mute and used a walker, and Audrey, who lost her legs and uses crutches. One afternoon, when conducting experiments in his laboratory, Jeremy accidentally gives himself superpowers. Specifically, he gains the ability of telekinesis, which he can use to help himself walk, cause his wheelchair to travel at much higher speeds, and even fly. Not wanting to keep this discovery to himself, Jeremy tells his 3 friends about it and gives each of them superpowers as well. But now that they have superpowers, what should they do? Following the words of Uncle Ben of Spiderman, they decide they must use their powers for good, beginning by trying to solve a case of a stolen car, and keep their identities a secret, modeling their costumes on the Incredibles.
This book was a fun story that placed individuals with disabilities front and center in the story. While the superpowers allow them to do things they wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise, it is what they choose to do with their powers that makes all the difference. Also, even with their superpowers, their initial disabilities aren’t erased, which I think is important. I liked to development of the characters and how they interacted and supported each other; I only wish the book had been longer so I could have spent more time with them. I am glad that there’s a sequel already published, and I look forward to reading/listening to it.
When you write a series, you want each book to be better than the one before it. How could I top four seventh-grade superheroes? In seventh-grade, I loved roller coasters. Why not have an adventure in a coaster park? So, that’s what I created with Villain’s Vacation. My Secret Supers team goes to a coaster park for summer vacation. And their worst enemy is there too, and out for revenge, in Villain’s Vacation.
“Villain’s Vacation” by Andy Zach, narrated by Michael Stafford, whisks you on a thrilling ride as four disabled seventh graders with superpowers take on Coaster World. The writing is as electrifying as their powers, keeping you glued to each twist and turn. Stafford’s narration brings each character to life, adding an extra layer of excitement to this action-packed adventure.
Secret Supers in Space audiobook cover. Click to listen.
Every trilogy needs at least three books. But what’s better than a coaster park setting? How about outer space? But how will I get them there? There is a space camp in Alabama. Why not send them there? And then . . . my readers will find out how they get to space. So I wrote Secret Supers in Space.
Here’s an audible review from 09-04-24:
Listener received this title free
Great sequel
I was given a free copy for an honest review. The story picks up shortly after the last one ended. The conversations early on give a nice recap of the previous stories. There is action, adventure, comedy, and even a little romance. This book has something for everyone and I recommend giving it a try.
I have more ideas than time to write–or speed in writing and publishing.
My current project: Sorcerer’s Apprentice World. This will be my first fantasy book. All the others are science fiction, with a scientific basis for what happens, even if it isn’t any known science.
So, what’s it about? What if magic came to the Earth and everyone got magical powers? And what if no one knew how they’d work?
That’s the premise of book one. This’ll be a trilogy too–at least.
But what about Secret Supers? I definitely have plans for a fourth book. But how can I make it as interesting as the others? That’s my problem. I’ll accept suggestions here and give you a free ebook in return.
Other projects on the runway are: a devotional on the book of Psalms, another short story collection, a fairy tale, a graphic novel, and a children’s book. Which would you like to see?
Who is Author Andy Zach? – Some Free Audiobooks
Any newsletter subscriber gets free audiobook codes–as long as they last. Click here to get yours.Don’t wait!
Do you want an autographed book? I’ll mail it directly to you with free shipping and I pay the taxes! Click here to get yours right now.
‘He felt great. He was full of energy, he had many hens to breed with, and he was the leader of a great flock.’
Sam Melvin is a reporter with the Midley Beacon, it’s a tiny local paper – with an online presence – run by its penny-pinching editor Lisa Kambacher. When Sam sees the two turkey hunters on the slab in the local mortuary, he knows he has a story to cover and he sets out to do so with great gusto. As the zombie turkeys multiply, Sam and Lisa are the leading media team on the ground and the Midley Beacon goes international, solving their financial woes and syndicating their work across the globe. But it’s not all good news. After all, there are those people-killing zombie turkeys heading into town…
This was a book I picked up with trepidation as it seemed all too possible it would be a ‘one trick pony’ stretching a single joke to beyond breaking point across the length of an entire novel. Wrong! It is like a bowl of potpourri on the sideboard of life – lots of subtle blending examples of humour – many of them very American so I suspect there were even more than I noticed, handicapped by my British perspective.
Eighth Anniversary Blog Post – My Undead Mother-in-law Review
Fun zombie read! I love paranormal and supernatural books so I was intrigued to read this series. I’ve listened to it on audible and the narrators are really fun and easy to listen to, I feel like they’re talking to actual people rather than reading a story. The storyline is funny and it has just gotten better with each book in the series.
This series is the first I have read of Andy Zach’s and I am glad I picked it up! The series continues with lots of action, characters continue to be developed, humor, and the zombies are still not mindless shells ambling around awaiting an axe to the head. Still a refreshing take on zombies as a whole. I look forward to what Andy writes next! Audio Version: Phil Blechman
Based on the title and the cover, I originally thought the detective was going to be a zombie back in the 30s or 40s. That wasn’t the case, but it was still a hilarious amateur detective story and I loved the absurdity of it all.
It’s a short read (or listen, since I listened to the audiobook), but is packed with Sam in crazy situations with all sorts of zombies. His string of good luck is as unlikely as the conundrums he finds himself involved in, but somehow it works for him.
Phil Blechman was the perfect choice for Sam’s character. Lauren Testerman did a great job channeling Lisa, the poor woman who has to manage Sam and all his antics.
This is a great book to start with if you haven’t tried any Andy Zach book before. It contains stories from both his Life After Life zombie comedy series and his superhero story Super Secrets. It also shows you Zach’s sense of humor (plus there’s one little horror story that isn’t overly gruesome). This book is great for both kids and adults and works just fine on it’s own.
I loved the silly story of the flying zombie cucumbers. Ha! Very fanciful. And they have migratory routes, like butterflies! Very silly and had me chuckling. I also loved the story with the hamster (who does play a role in Secret Supers). Perhaps rodents will truly save the world some day.
The stories also help fill in some of the blanks of the zombie comedy series, including one about Diane (the beloved zombie mother-in-law). But what I really liked was the stuff about genetic engineering and the aliens. Book 3 of the Life After Life Chronicles had a lot of stuff tossed into the story and some of these short stories really help fill those parts out.
No time life for the Secret Supers! I’ll cover those in another post.
My other series is Secret Supers, Villain’s Vacation, and Secret Supers in Space. Those are all $8 on my website and $8.95 from Amazon. This series is about four seventh graders with four different disabilities and four different superpowers–who fight crime.
“But wait, Andy!” you say. “Amazon gives me free shipping!”
“So do I. Checkmate.”
I have two more books for you, I’ll tell you about at the end of this post.
Eighth Anniversary Blog – My First Non-Fiction Book
It’s hard to believe, but I wrote a non-fiction book. It took me forty years to write. But it was worth it.
I use a different author name for my non-fiction. No sense in getting people confused.
Are you curious about Jesus Christ? Do you struggle to understand the Bible? The Gospel Medley includes the four Gospels in a single narrative, faithfully pulling the text from the World English Bible. You are now able to read all the gospel as a single, easy-to-read story.
Each Gospel describes Jesus’s life from a different point of view with different details and insights. The Gospel Medley combines every word into a single perspective with all details and events arranged chronologically.
Unlike other harmonies, The Gospel Medley doesn’t put the four gospels in columns or rows. Instead, the text is integrated word by word into a smoothly flowing narrative. Further, each paragraph references the four gospels so you can read the original citations. You also get footnotes of all the quotes from the Old Testament, giving you the context of Jesus’s words.
