After the Apocalypse is a serial podcast that tells the story of the survivors of a 21st century plague that has catastrophically wiped out 90% of human population. Will they be able to survive? What happens to our modern world when the great plague comes? Can humankind survive and learn, or will it devolve into a dark ages nightmare of our worst traits? Listen to the story of After the Apocalypse and find out.

...

After the Apocalypse is written and produced by Chris Russell (that’s me) aftertheapocalypse.me

The show is narrated by Robert Weinheimer who’s work can be found at https://commandvoices.com/

The intro and outro music is by Bobby Quinn https://www.fiverr.com/bobbyquinnc

Thank you for listening to After the apocalypse. Make sure to subscribe and please tell your friends. Because this show can only survive the apocalypse with your help.

Be a good survivor and spread the word. Go onto your favorite podcast service and write a review.

One of the best ways to directly support the show is through our Patreon page –go to patreon.com/AfterTheApocalypse https://www.patreon.com/AftertheApocalypse

Links to everything can be found in the episode and show notes.

You can find out more about the show at our website www.aftertheapocalypse.me

Until next week. Thank you for listening and keep surviving.

Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/after-the-apocalypse.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the Apocalypse

A pandemic survival story

Season One, Episode Seventeen - “Prey”

It was a bumpy and uncomfortable ride. And the old man chittered on happily behind her like old people...or crazy people do.

Like when your Mom or Granma keeps an entire conversation going regardless if you are even listening.

Those interminable phone calls Janet used to avoid and dread, droning on and on about the flotsam and jetsam of an old person’s life, only to surface from the lily pads every once in a while, to ask some prying or unanswerable...personal question.

Janet felt a momentary pang of sadness.

Maybe she should have taken the time to talk when she had the chance.

Before everyone she knew was taken by the Apocalypse.

...

Outro – S1 E17 After the Apocalypse – Prey

Hello and welcome back by survivor friends! So we have our two protagonists trapped on a roof in the apocalypse! Just like many of us feel most of the time!

Hope you all are enjoying it. We’ve gotten up to 8500 downloads. And believe it or not we’ve managed to knock out 17 episodes, which is about 42,500 words!

My plan is to find a good stopping point in the next 2-3 episodes and end season 1. Don’t worry, I won’t go away, I might take a couple weeks off, but I’ll be back. I’m going to turn the existing words and audio into a book set.

If you think about it, it makes sense. I’ve already got the content built so I might as well leverage it into a book, e-book and audio book. It’s pretty easy these days to self publish and I’ve done it before a couple times, both on Amazon and Audible.

Of course , you, yes you, can help.

First, I’ve started a Facebook group called AfterTheApocalypse all one word. You can go there and chat with other survivors and give me some feedback. Second, while you there you can help me vet some cover ideas. Third, I’m going to need a launch team when I release the book(s) so you can help with that.

And finally, as always, you can help me survive by dropping a nickel in the slot of the Patreon page and telling a few science fiction geek friends about the podcast.

I have been watching and reading some interesting SciFi over the last couple weeks.

First, I watched the new Netflix apocalypse movie “Army of the Dead”. I won’t spoil it for you but it was pretty disappointing. I really like Dave Bautista, especially his role as Drax the Destroyer in the Guardians of the galaxy movies, but he couldn’t save this one.

Second, and on a much more positive note, the new season of Love, Death + Robots on Netflix was incredible. This is a series of animated shorts, but they are all incredibly robust, standalone stories each with a beginning, middle and end. The Drowned Giant, based on a story by J.G Ballard, is an amazing and thoughtful piece that speaks volumes without having to say much.

Snow in the Desert, based on a story by Neal Asher was a really good apocalyptic treatment. I would pay real money and go see a movie treatment of those characters and that universe. It’s a shame there are only 8 episodes in this whole new season.

Moving along down the short fiction video quality scale is a channel on YouTube called Dust. It’s a whole bunch of short...

After the Apocalypse

A pandemic survival story

Season One, Episode Eighteen - “The Shot”

(Narrator)

What runs through the mind of a dog?

Not just a dog, but a soldier and a veteran.

FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF BILL THE DOG (think of him as a soldier grunt. He speaks simply and mostly in the present tense, but with urgency:

Now.

It is quiet. I am alert.

My pack is safe.

I see them on the roof of the building. The large cat waits below.

The pack is my duty. I protect the pack. I fight and die for the pack.

I hold here out of reach of the cat, waiting. It is hot. I am thirsty and hungry.

But I will wait. Until my new man says otherwise.

The new man commands less than my soldier.

The new man gives commands.

But the woman acts like pack leader.

There is only now. There is only the mission.

I can fight. I can harass. I can run.

But I must protect the pack.

...

Outro S1 E18 – The Shot

Hello my survivor friends. How’s the apocalypse going? The is Chris your host fro this apocalyptic after-party. Thank you for showing up and joining the old man and KJ for an adventure!

https://shows.acast.com/after-the-apocalypse

I really liked Robert’s read of this one. I think he got the dialogue just right. I had written these two chapters about the animal farm in 2020 during the height of the pandemic while I was experimenting with this universe to see if it merited the effort of my attention.

I wrote it originally as a two-parter with the cliff-hanger. This time around I tried to cram it into 1 episode but it would not be crammed so we left the original 2-parter structure with the cliff hanger and fleshed out the dialogue a bit.

I think it works.

We are 2 episodes away from wrapping up season 1. Like I said before, we are going to take a break after episode 20 and turn the first season into a paperback, ebook and audio book. The mechanics of this are not unfamiliar to me. I have done it before, but not for a couple years.

I contracted a starving artist to work on a cover for me and another to edit it back into book form. The difference between writing for an audio read and a regular read is minor but I think it’s worth the help.

When I write for audio I break up the paragraphs into smaller chunks and phrases to reinforce the cadence. So I’m having a nice lady from Jamaica go through and pull some of those back together for readability. Also she’ll delete all the audio instruction notes, look for typos and blatant grammar issues, like dangling participles.

I would love to have any of you who are readers support the book launch if you’re game. I could use typo hunters. You get a pre-release of the book. Come over and join the FaceBook group for After the Apocalypse and join the team.

I’ll apologize for making you work hard, but There are a bunch of Facebook groups and pages called After the Apocalypse, mine is https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldmanapocalypse/

Another thing I’ll be recruiting for is a book launch team. In couple months when all this comes together I’ll need help in, for lack of a better word, marketing. Again, FaceBook, After the apocalypse.

Since we last talked I’ve been reading a Robert Heinlein, retrospective called Requiem, which if you are interested you can procure on Thriftbooks for $5.29. It a collection of “unreleased” stories and other stuff. One of the stories is a novella he wrote in 1950 called Destination Moon.

You may know him from his more famous works, Stranger in a Strange Land, Time Enough for Love, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

This novella or short story depending on your appetite is followed by piece, penned by Heinlein about the mak...

After the Apocalypse

A Pandemic Survival Story

Season two, Episode nine “Reunion”

Bella watched as the big dog pushed his head into the old man’s lap. The dog was wiggling its butt like a puppy and the old man was pretending to be mad.

“No”, the old man said, looking away from the supplicant dog, who was vigorously nuzzling at him. “You didn’t listen to me. You could have gotten yourself killed.”

The dog gave a big push and the old man slipped out of the chair sprawling onto the linoleum floor. Bill pounced on the old man as he fell to the ground and licked at his face. The old man put his hands up for protection and laughed despite himself.

...

Outro S2 E9

Hello my survivor friends.

Welcome back to the apocalypse.

In this episode I wanted to give all y’all a bit of a breather from all the tension and action. That last episode where KJ has to escape across the river was harrowing. Death, destruction, fear, tension, cats and dogs living together – real end-of-the-world stuff!

My editors and I had a multi-day discussion as to whether she would bring her boots with her. Tim said to tie the boots around her neck. I just couldn’t see how she could swim with the boots around her neck.

I rewrote it 3 times. Tried a compromise. Long distance swimmers actually have these waterproof floaty bags they put stuff in and tie to their ankles. But it was getting to complex and awkward, so I sent them a text that read “I don’t care about the @#$%@ boots!”

It’s running joke between us now.

I figure in the Hollywood version of the story this scene will give them an excuse to have the heroine take her clothes off! Of course, by the time Hollywood is done with it there will be sea monsters, laser beams and aliens.

So – I wanted to take it easy on you this week. And I gave you that tense reunion scene as a flashback so you would already know the outcome and it wouldn’t require so much stress.

Then we got them all together back at the school.

A bit of a holiday gathering if you will.

The security of the group.

The gathering. Not the quickening. The gathering.

It’s odd how strangers can come together for a common purpose in times of crisis.

...

Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/after-the-apocalypse.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the Apocalypse

A Pandemic Survival Story

Season two, Episode two “Pursuit”

KJ clutched the knife in one cold hand, lowering the heel of her other hand to the ground for support.

She was in a full crouch now. Just a few yards away she could see the hooded man on the bench, under the portico, and he looked to be dozing.

“If he’s a guard, he isn’t a very good one,” She thought.

Something about him didn’t fit.

A moment ago, as she was sneaking along the wall, she had glanced into the window of the resort and saw some of the thugs.

The King’s soldiers were no better at guard duty. They lay sprawled and asleep on the lobby furniture, surrounded by trash and bottles, no doubt sleeping off another hard debauch.

...

Outro Episode 1 Season 2

Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/after-the-apocalypse.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.