The Z Word

About the Book

“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 Zombieland 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.

Praise

“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

“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

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.