APOCALYPSE WOW by Ben Mariner

APOCALYPSE WOW
by Ben Mariner

Jack Winters is in a bit of a pickle. Things started out just fine. He had a decent job and a few friends. Then he met the woman of his dreams. They go out on a date and things go really well. That’s when things go south. The morning after turns out to be a week later and the world went ahead and ended itself while Jack was far away in dreamland. Now he’s awake in a post-apocalyptic world with no family, no job, and worst of all, no girlfriend. Along with his friends and some other random tag-alongs, Jack will journey cross country to find the woman of his dreams against zombies, heavy metal horsemen, pirates, and a power so immense and evil it will put his very soul to the test.

EXCERPT
7:51 a.m.

My alarm went off at the same time it always did. It prattled out its god awful incessant whine like it’s prone to doing as if I actually cared about its existence. I reached a hand out from under the blanket and slapped the snooze button with a little more gusto than I probably should have. Maybe it’s just me, but putting a little extra mustard on that snooze button in the morning gives me a feeling of satisfaction, like it’ll think twice about bothering me again if I just smack it hard enough.

I rolled over and went back to sleep.

8:00 a.m.

The alarm blared back into life. Who decided nine minutes was the standard amount of time for the snooze feature on an alarm clock? Was there some kind of study done at some point that found that people only needed nine minutes of extra sleep at a time? Personally I would think fifteen or twenty minutes would be more appropriate. Again, maybe it’s just me. I pushed the blanket back and lurched onto my feet. The room was spinning ever so slightly. That had to do a little with standing up too fast, and a lot to do with being hung over. I clicked the snooze button on the alarm with the big toe on my right foot. Everything in my room was on the floor. I didn’t own a traditional bed. It was just a futon mattress lying on the floor, so everything had to be at ground level so I could easily reach it. I was trying to adopt a Japanese style of living.

All right, fine. I just couldn’t afford real furniture. Are you happy now that you got me to admit that?

~Buy APOCALYPSE WOW on Amazon

AN INTERVIEW WITH BEN
-What inspired you to become a writer?

The constant influx of ideas is always pushing me to write. They get too jumbled up in my head if I don’t write them down. It gets very distracting, and then it’s all I think about. The ideas come from literally everywhere, even the tiniest thing, and getting them down on “paper” is the best cure for a cluttered mind.

-If you could visit your book’s world for a day, what one thing would you do?

Great question. The world of Apocalypse Wow is really just a post-apocalyptic America so it’s hard to say. I think I would want to go to Heaven, Wisconsin. It’s the physical manifestation of Heaven on Earth and anyone who has ever died and gone to heaven could be there. It would be so much fun to mingle with the biggest names throughout history.

-Give us a fun or interesting fact you learned researching this book.

This book is purely fiction, so not a lot of research went into it. Most things in there are from memory, honestly. However, I did have to do a little digging to find some really good 90’s music for the chapter tracks in some chapters and I came across a lot of music I didn’t even know existed at the time. A lot of great alternative and grunge stuff. I love finding new bands even if they’ve been around for a long time.

-Which of your characters would you go out for drinks and pizza with?

Jack, Barry, and Mike would be the ultimate drinking buddies. They’re just relaxed guys that like to have a good time and debate the finer minutiae of social interactions or argue over who was a better James Bond. Sitting down at a table with them for pizza and beer would be a good night. No telling where it could go.

-What do you enjoy reading in your free time?

I’ll read pretty much anything, honestly. I prefer fantasy books above everything followed by sci-fi and then a good mystery. I’ve even dabbled in the romance genre, though not to any significant extent. The only thing I won’t really read is non-fiction. It’s just never been able to hold my interest. There are a few very rare exceptions, but generally that’s the only thing I won’t read.

-Is there a genre you could never write? Which and why?

Again, non-fiction. I’ve written a little something in almost every genre just for fun. I just simply don’t have the dedication to do the research needed to write a legitimate non-fiction book because it would require reading more non-fiction and we already talked about how I feel in that regard.

ABOUT BEN

Ben Mariner is the author of Apocalypse Wow as well as The Many Lives of Zane Montgomery, which definitely sold some copies to some people. He currently lives in Denver with his wife and animals. He enjoys mozzarella sticks, dunk tanks at carnivals, and solving crime with his psychic powers and best friend/sidekick.

Find him online:

-blog
-Facebook
-Twitter @A_Writer_Guy

~Follow the rest of the tour

GIVEAWAY

Ben Mariner will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn host.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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