Dystopian, Horror, Drama - 80k

[Mercy]

Hello Beautiful Beta Readers,

I’m looking for beta readers for my dystopian horror-adventure–esque, queer-centric novel in progress, How We Survive. Think The L Word meets The Last of Us.

The primary audience for this book is adult readers of dystopian fiction who are drawn to relationship-driven survival stories with queer and BIPOC representation at the forefront. Secondary audiences include fans of horror-adjacent speculative fiction.

Trigger Warnings: This is an adult novel with themes of survival. The story contains blood and gore, though it is balanced by moments of deep human connection. Characters face zombie-like creatures, violence, and the constant presence of weapons. While there are no on-page rape scenes, several characters grapple with the aftermath of sexual assault and abuse in ways that call for tenderness or center empowerment. The book also addresses themes of suicide within a hopeless world.

Blurb: Breaking up is hard to do. Breaking up during the apocalypse? Practically impossible.
Loon has spent years holding everything together; loving harder, giving more, never asking for much in return. Just as they’re ready to finally walk away from their partner, the world unravels. A strange cat-borne parasite mutates into a global plague, turning people into predators and prey and leaving cities in ruins.

Survival forces Loon and Mara to stay bound together, but they’re not alone. On the road, Loon finds strangers who just might be the family they’ve always needed. With every step toward a perilous cross-country journey to find their mother, the bonds grow more fragile and the choices more costly.

But when the road ahead grows darker with every mile, Loon faces a choice no one should have to make: is it braver to cling to the safety of found family, or to walk into the unknown alone, chasing the mother who may not even be waiting at the other end?

How We Survive is a gut-punching, unflinching apocalypse novel about survival, found family, and the thin line between devotion and freedom when the world is falling apart.

Please fill out this form if you’re interested in beta reading for free.
Because it can be challenging to connect with legitimate beta readers (and avoid spam or scam accounts), I’m asking interested readers to complete this form first, thank you for understanding.

https://forms.gle/Sdi34dr3t9EaaDrh9

[Liz]

Welcome to the community. I was going to tell you to check out the threads on scammers but it looks like you're already on top of it. Still, I'd highly recommend checking them out to see a list of names, emails, and some potential things to watch out for. Best of luck,

Lisa