Hello survivors.
The days are longer now. But we still need to keep the fires lit, not for light or warmth, but to keep the mutant creatures away from the bunker doors. Someone grab a broom and get the radioactive slugs off of the bunker roof – they’re screwing up the radio. Now’s not the time to slack. Summers are short. Let’s hop to survivors!
If you are finding us in the future, today is the end of April 2025, we are at episode 17 of season 5 and careening towards the finish line.
The big question in my mind is what to do next after we close out the series. And, to that end, I want to offer any creatives out there the opportunity to pitch me something.
Here’s my offer: if you would like to write something in the After the Apocalypse universe, or apocalypse related, give me a proposal!
Seriously! Shoot me an email at cyktrussell at Gmail dot com. Pitch me your idea. Give me an overview of your characters and story arc.
What’s in it for me? We get more content for the podcast listeners.
What’s in it for you? I will get your work in front of 13,000 monthly listeners and I will pay you, $50 an episode for 2500 words.
I’ll take care of the audio production.
You retain ownership of the content and distribution rights. I just own the podcast.
Consider it or tell your friends who are creatives. And if it works, we can work on a longer-term project.
But, act quickly, first come first served, and production would start before the end of summer 2025.
…
So – we are, like I said careening towards the end of the season. I have managed to stay ahead of the publishing schedule and it’s getting easier now as all the pieces and characters are where I want them as we move towards the final conflict and resolution!
I was at an out of town wedding over Easter weekend and I sequestered myself in a Starbuck early Saturday morning to knock out the first draft of this episode! Dedication! Discipline!
I also read a book and a half during the car ride.
Kind of a funny story – I like used books. Used book stores, and used book sales. Whenever I find myself near a pile of used books I inevitably buy a few. But, I am not that discerning. I’ll see a cover that looks cool and buy the book. It’s only after I get them home do I realize I’ve bought the 3rd book of a trilogy.
And that’s what happened with one of the books I just read. I bought the 3rd book. Then I had to make a decision. Do I read it? Do I throw it back? Do I go buy the first book and see if I like the series?
After much equivocation I bought the first book and read it in the car over the weekend.
This trilogy is called “The fifth Wave” by Rick Yancey. This first book, which I read was published in 2013. It’s an alien invasion apocalypse.
Another thing I didn’t realize until I was mostly done is that it is a YA series. I frankly have a difficult time parsing out why these are considered YA. I think it has to do with the main characters being young adults and some of the emotional themes – but they’re really splitting hairs.
Anyhow. It was an easy read. I really liked how the author made it so you really never knew who the bad guys were and who the good guys were until the very end. The tension was excellent. The action was great. A real page burner at the end. The characters were a bit YA for my liking but that didn’t slow the story down.
Turns out this first book was made into an eponymous movie in 2016 – so I’ll need to chase that down. It’s got one of my favorite actors in it – Ron Livingston from Office Space and Band of Brothers. https://youtu.be/kmxLybfGNC4?si=95KOdfv_NgLA1BV4
It’s a different take on the alien apocalypse and you may like it. Not very taxing. A palette cleanser for some of the denser stuff I read.
Now I need to buy the second book so I can finally read the third book that I bought at whatever used book pile. Certainly worthy of an afternoon in the car. If you’re one of those people who can read in cars.
I’ll let you go for this week. Remember to let me know if you have an idea for something on the podcast feed you want to write – as a sort of pilot series – I’ll produce it and pay you.
Go pick up a copy pf the first season book – I worked hard on it and it’s a good read.
Buy a book -> https://booklocker.com/books/13731.html
I haven’t made as much progress as I want on the second one. It’s in the queue. I just need to find the time.
I appreciate you all.
Now – as the early summer sun fights through the swirling dust, one of the foragers has found a flower in the deadly wastes. Pushing up through the cracked earth. Blooming like a memory of times long past. Lay it as a blessing on the bunker hearth. Hold fast to the hope.
And keep surviving.
