Even more adventures to choose from
I guess last Friday's post was more or less the official announcement for Thrusts of Justice, the upcoming second book in the Chooseomatic series. I'm still plugging away at it, but won't be comfortable scheduling a release date until I have a solid draft that I'm really happy with. So what are you supposed to read in the meantime? If you enjoyed Zombocalype Now and are chomping at the bit for more nostalgia-tinged choose-your-own-adventure revamps aimed at grownups, I'm not the only writer to have stumbled upon that particular goldmine. Here are some other books you might want to check out:
The Adventures of Whatley Tupper
Authors Rudolf Kerkhoven and Daniel Pitts sort of took the opposite approach with this book from what I did in ZN -- rather than being up against a zombie outbreak, you're cast as a hapless high school janitor forced to deal with the shadowy world of custodial intrigue. Yes, of course you run up against some kind of conspiracy, and must use all of your skills (most of which are related to cleaning products, but you're a damn good janitor, and proud of it) to get to the bottom of things. The situations get pretty absurd, and it's good, clean fun (see what I did there?). Also, I ran into Kerkhoven on the Kindle Boards, and we challenged each other not to obsessively check our Amazon sales for a week (I'm happy to report that we both succeeded, although now I'm back to checking mine twelve times a day and ripe for a second intervention).
Banana Hammock
J.A. Konrath hardly needs my help to move books, but this foray into interactive fiction isn't one of his stronger-selling titles, so maybe I can actually help throw a few readers his way. Harry McGlade is a recurring character in Konrath's Jack Daniels thrillers, where he's mostly used for comic relief -- here, you'll play the part of private investigator Harry, and it's all comedy all the time with no relief in sight. You're immediately pulled into a web of Amish deceit by a client who is clearly the least Amish woman ever, but it's not your job to be smarter than Harry, here. It's your job to make all the stupid decisions he would, and just hope you don't get too dead, too quick. Konrath has a lot of fun with the CYOA format, and although it might be a little off-key for some of his regular readers, if you're looking for something goofy that doesn't take itself even a little seriously, this book is good times.
Beer, Women and Bad Decisions
In this book you're cast as what the Penny Arcade guys would call "some species of Bro," and your goal is very simply and sincerely to get yourself laid. I'm not saying it's for everyone, but if the word "adventure" to you means the same sort of thing that it probably does to Tucker Max, you should grind this CYOA up and snort it off the back of a stripper. Or something.
The thing I find most interesting about these books is that even though we all had more or less the same idea -- to update the 1980s kids books for adults -- we all went about it in really different ways. Seriously, don't pick these up expecting them to read just like Zombocalypse Now, but if you got a kick out of my book, at the very least download the free samples from Amazon and find out what choosing your own adventure means to them.
The Adventures of Whatley Tupper
Authors Rudolf Kerkhoven and Daniel Pitts sort of took the opposite approach with this book from what I did in ZN -- rather than being up against a zombie outbreak, you're cast as a hapless high school janitor forced to deal with the shadowy world of custodial intrigue. Yes, of course you run up against some kind of conspiracy, and must use all of your skills (most of which are related to cleaning products, but you're a damn good janitor, and proud of it) to get to the bottom of things. The situations get pretty absurd, and it's good, clean fun (see what I did there?). Also, I ran into Kerkhoven on the Kindle Boards, and we challenged each other not to obsessively check our Amazon sales for a week (I'm happy to report that we both succeeded, although now I'm back to checking mine twelve times a day and ripe for a second intervention).
Banana Hammock
J.A. Konrath hardly needs my help to move books, but this foray into interactive fiction isn't one of his stronger-selling titles, so maybe I can actually help throw a few readers his way. Harry McGlade is a recurring character in Konrath's Jack Daniels thrillers, where he's mostly used for comic relief -- here, you'll play the part of private investigator Harry, and it's all comedy all the time with no relief in sight. You're immediately pulled into a web of Amish deceit by a client who is clearly the least Amish woman ever, but it's not your job to be smarter than Harry, here. It's your job to make all the stupid decisions he would, and just hope you don't get too dead, too quick. Konrath has a lot of fun with the CYOA format, and although it might be a little off-key for some of his regular readers, if you're looking for something goofy that doesn't take itself even a little seriously, this book is good times.
Beer, Women and Bad Decisions
In this book you're cast as what the Penny Arcade guys would call "some species of Bro," and your goal is very simply and sincerely to get yourself laid. I'm not saying it's for everyone, but if the word "adventure" to you means the same sort of thing that it probably does to Tucker Max, you should grind this CYOA up and snort it off the back of a stripper. Or something.
The thing I find most interesting about these books is that even though we all had more or less the same idea -- to update the 1980s kids books for adults -- we all went about it in really different ways. Seriously, don't pick these up expecting them to read just like Zombocalypse Now, but if you got a kick out of my book, at the very least download the free samples from Amazon and find out what choosing your own adventure means to them.
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