The Z Word

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“Sexy, scathing, delightful, and intimately devastating.”—Gretchen Felker-Martin, author of Manhunt and Cuckoo

Packed with action, humor, sex, and big gay feelings, The Z Word is the queer zombie romp you didn’t know you needed.

Chaotic bisexual Wendy is trying to find her place in the queer community of San Lazaro, Arizona, after a bad breakup—which is particularly difficult because her ex is hooking up with some of her friends. And when the people around them start turning into violent, terrifying mindless husks, well, that makes things harder. Especially since the infection seems to be spreading.

Now, Wendy and her friends and frenemies—drag queen Logan, silver fox Beau, sword lesbian Aurelia and her wife Sam, mysterious pizza delivery stoner Sunshine, and, oh yeah, Wendy’s ex-girlfriend Leah—have to team up to stay alive, save Pride, and track the zombie outbreak to its shocking source. Hopefully without killing each other first.

The Z Word is a propulsive, funny, emotional horror debut about a found family coming together to fight corporate greed, political corruption, gay drama, and zombies.One of Lit Hub’s Most Anticipated Books of 2024
One of Book Riot’s Most Anticipated Books of 2024 
One of Geek Girl Authority’s 12 Most Anticipated Science Fiction Books of 2024

“This cinematic romp has something for nearly every reader; humor, gore, heat, action, and mystery all swirl in the San Lazaro desert.”—Booklist, starred review

“With an endearingly messy protagonist and wonderfully complicated relationship dynamics among the entirely queer cast, King-Miller skillfully explores real issues facing the LGBTQ+ community while cleverly pairing the beats of a romance novel with the visceral gut punches of survival horror.”—Publishers Weekly

“Sexy, scathing, delightful, and intimately devastating.”—Gretchen Felker-Martin, author of Manhunt and Cuckoo

“Sharply written and filled with richly drawn, complex characters that I genuinely cared about, The Z Word is one of the most innovative and deeply affecting novels I’ve read in a while. Playful, acerbic, and utterly engrossing, it’s astonishing to realize that this is Lindsay King-Miller’s debut. I’m ravenous for more!”—Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes 

“This book’s coming in hot! King-Miller brings a delightful appetite for rollicking weirdness, queerness, sexiness, and chainsaw prowess. An absolute blast.”—Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker Award–winning author of Queen of Teeth and A Light Most Hateful

“Queer, quirky, and a rollicking good time, The Z Word is the perfect zombie novel you didn’t know you needed in your life. Come for the chaotic bisexuality; stay for the humorous, heartfelt tale about found family in a world filled with monsters.”—Gwendolyn Kiste, author of Reluctant Immortals and The Rust Maidens and winner of the Lambda Literary Award and the Bram Stoker Award

“Good zombie stories peel their own skin back to expose the fragility and the humanity of the characters within, and Lindsay King-Miller’s The Z Word pulls it off with the best of them. Packed to the brim with drag queens, complicated relationships, and buckets of blood, The Z Word is scary, funny, gross as hell, and ultimately deeply touching. The zombie apocalypse has never been queerer—or more fun.”—Matthew Lyons, author of A Black and Endless Sky and The Night Will Find Us

“Comic and gruesome in turn, The Z Word is that rare can’t-put-it-down, miss-your-stop-on-the-subway kind of read. (Ask me how I know.)”—Calvin Kasulke, author of Several People Are Typing

“A gripping read about actual community and the dangers of corporate Pride that bites down on you like a wild animal and doesn’t let go.”—Mattie Lubchansky, author of Boys Weekend
Lindsay King-Miller is the author of Ask a Queer Chick: A Guide to Sex, Love, and Life for Girls Who Dig Girls. Her fiction has appeared in The Fiends in the Furrows, Tiny Nightmares, The Jewish Book of Horror, Fireside Fiction, Baffling Magazine, and numerous other publications. She lives in Denver with her partner and their two children. The Z Word is her first novel.“Don’t they have anything besides this hard seltzer bullshit?” I fume to nobody in particular. Only a handful of people are foolish enough to be sweating their asses off out here on the front porch, instead of inside, where they would still be sweating their asses off but also dancing or flirting or getting laid.
     “I think the good drinks are in the kitchen,” says a young, heavily bearded white guy sprawled on the porch swing. “The planning committee got, like, ten cases of this stuff donated, so they’re trying to offload it.” I recognize him vaguely from the few Pride planning committee meetings I attended last summer and fall. I think his name is Mike.
     “Right.” I sigh, pick up a seltzer and inspect it—Seabrook Black Raspberry—then drop it back into the sea of melting ice. I’m sure if I go inside, I could find something better in the fridge. Our hosts, Samantha and Aurelia, are craft beer lesbians. But Sam and Aurelia are also nonmonogamous lesbians who are, apparently, an hour or less away from a threesome with my ex-girlfriend Leah. I was inside for five fucking minutes before I caught a glimpse of Aurelia caressing Leah’s neck. No beer is worth that.US

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