After the Apocalypse

OK, my survivor friends, as promised I have news. My summer has been jam-packed. This month has been even jam-packier. Let’s talk about Pat’s story contest story we just listened to. Again, 900 words isn’t a lot to play with and I think he did a good job building a story arc into that space. It’s got a beginning, middle and end. There are clear stakes and a complete character arc. I could see this story as a ClarkesWorld or Dust or Escape Pod offering. More to come - We both just submitted stories for the summer contest. The second book of the After the Apocalypse 5 novel series is finished and shipped and available anywhere you buy books. So go get it. Read it. Tell your friends. Leave a review. Let the world know that this is a great series and they won’t regret engaging. But, wait! That’s not all. I also built a commercial proposal in July and submitted it to publisher. The process helped me organize my thoughts and content in a form that I can reuse. So that was cool. Let me know if you’re interested in seeing the proposal. It took me most of July to get the proposal prepared.But, one of the things they ask for is comparison books. Basically what are other book that have been published recently that are representative of how your book might be seen in the market and how did they perform. My knee jerk reaction was to reach for famous apocalyptic books, like The Stand, or The Road, or The Earth Abides, or The Dog Stars. But I felt like this was lazy and not a true comparison. So, I researched more contemporary post-apocalyptic fiction and found three that I’ll share with you. I listened to them all on audio, because I had a deadline. All of them were available through my library on the Hoopla app. So, my friends, if you love listening to post-apocalyptic fiction, get yourself a library card and use their app to get your fill of free, high-quality fiction. The first book was A Beginning at the End by Mike Chen. It’s a post-apocalyptic family drama based in current day San Francisco Area. It was ok, but a bit soap opera with a wimpy main male character. The second book was Moon of the running leaves by Waubgeshig Rice. It is written in the POV of a First Nations people in Canada searching for a new home after some sort vague systems collapse ends civilization and government. I really liked this book.  Especially the audio version. It has a lyrical cadence to it. It is beautifully written. The third was The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton. I think this was the best constructed of the three. The opening chapter builds characters and stakes so well and then grabs you by the throat. The stakes are high. The story is set in a rapidly devolving Florida. The environment is reclaiming the lands. Government is failing. Humanity and our protagonists learn to adapt and evolve. These are all worth listening to. They are all deeper than just chase scenes and explosions. And now we stumble into August and I’m turning my attention to several other projects. Including helping listener Colin create a 3-episode Australian apocalypse arc that we’ll start releasing in August. And Mike Darling from the Apocalypse Post wants to collaborate on a story. Anyhoo – go leave a comment on the podcast in whatever pod-catcher you’re using – give Pat and Virginia some feedback. You can always poke me on the After the Apocalypse Facebook page, and if any of this patter hits you in such a way that you want to talk to me directly, just send me an email at cyktrussell at Gmail. But, before you do that, get my 2nd book, read it and leave a review. And pull your face out of the cloying, fetid mud and gaze hopefully at the burning clouds and acid flashes of lightning. Hold your gaze. And keep surviving.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Patrick Rushbrook is a self-described “middle aged white guy in Kentucky with a beautiful wife and two teenage daughters, who writes silly stories to entertain himself instead of doing more productive things with his spare time.” Patrick had always been interested in writing but isn’t exactly a self-starter, so he didn’t take up the craft until age 39, after finding Reddit’s nosleep page. Growing jealous of some of the wildly successful, yet terribly written stories there and craving reddit upvotes to satisfy his fragile ego, he ventured into the game where one of his early stories was the first iteration of the Exterminator character. In 2024, Patrick achieved the title of “professional writer” by earning an incredible $400.In addition to his literary endeavors, Patrick is also a professional drummer and an un-professional guitarist, where he’s earned a grand total of $75 and a t-shirt that was three sizes too big. You can find Patrick on Instagram at patrickrushbrookwritesBut the best place is at his Author Subreddit -  r/ hgtv_neighbor …Patrick and I worked together to vet an audio performer for this series and landed on the voice you will hear today reading the work – Austin.Austin C. Baker is a storyteller and experience designer from Plymouth, Indiana, with a lifelong passion for narrative and creativity. From writing comic books and filming backyard skits as a kid to designing immersive events and ghostwriting fiction, Austin has always sought out meaningful ways to connect with audiences.He holds degrees in Experience Design, History, and Strategic Leadership & Design from the University of Indianapolis, where he also spent several years teaching. Alongside his design and writing work, Austin is an actor and voice actor, bringing characters to life across screen and audio.Today, he runs BDP XD (https://www.bdpxd.com/ ), his own experience design studio, while also continuing to write and teach professionally. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Apocalypse CaféThe Exterminator’s Apocalypse, Episode two, Exterminate!Welcome Survivors to the second episode of “The Apocalypse Café”. This is a series I’ve created as a follow up to the After the Apocalypse 5 season run. Her we feature new artists with new stories.  If you are looking for the original five seasons of the After the Apocalypse story arc then you need to start at Season one, Episode one.I’ve decided to tweak the format after listening to the first episode. I found the commercial break after the introduction to be an awful experience, so, instead, today, I’m going to read this short introduction then we’ll fade right into the story episode, and I’ll throw a commercial break at the end followed by a more traditional outro, where I can provide additional updates. So, when you hear the outro music you can skip ahead. Today we present episode 2 of a 3-episode arc written by Patrick Rushbrook. And performed by Austin C. Baker – The Exterminator’s Apocalypse, Part 2, “Extermination.” ...You can find Patrick on Instagram at patrickrushbrookwritesBut the best place is at his Author Subreddit -  r/ hgtv_neighbor Austin can be found at BDP XD (https://www.bdpxd.com/ ), his own experience design studio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ad-Free: How to get Ad-Free episodesHello my survivor friends. Thank you for being part of the After the Apocalypse Family. I have set up Ad-Free versions of all the 5 seasons and 100+ episodes of the After the Apocalypse story on Patreon. Go to the After the Apocalypse Patreon page and you will have access to all the episodes without commercials. This is Chris, the author and producer speaking to you from the end of August 2025The podcast will continue to be free to listen to with programmatic ads inserted on any podcast feed, but, if you despise commercials and want to help me get paid directly instead, I have posted all the episodes and seasons on the Patreon page. So, now, through the miracle of modern technology, you can subscribe to the Ad-Free membership tier  and get unlimited access to all episodes and seasons as long as your subscription is valid. Or you can buy the individual digital audio files and seasons directlyAnd, I’m assured that you can also subscribe to an Ad-Free RSS feed directly from Spotify. You’ll also have access to scripts and extra episodes and you can even chat directly with me. Give it a try and let me know if you have any problems. A little something to help you survive the apocalypse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the ApocalypseA pandemic survival storySeason five, Epilogue...This is an epilogue to the whole series to tie up loose ends and character arcs. It has four scenes that jump forward in time. ...It had been four weeks since the battle. It had taken that long to decontaminate the DC from the drug filled drone spray. Still, Mags eyed her coffee suspiciously. “It should be fine.” Brent reassured her, “We sprayed enough water on this place in the last few weeks to melt an iceberg.”“I know.” She said, “I just don’t want to get dosed. I don’t have time in my schedule for an acid trip.” She looked at him and made a vague circular gesture that seemed to include the whole world. “We’ve got so much to do.”...Buy a book -> https://booklocker.com/books/13731.htmlWebsite -> http://www.oldmanapocalypse.com Buy me Coffee -> https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cyktrussellSubscribe page on Acast -> https://plus.acast.com/s/after-the-apocalypsePodcast on Acast -> https://shows.acast.com/after-the-apocalypseFacebook group -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldmanapocalypseYouTube -> https://www.youtube.com/@cyktrussellPatreon to support the show -> https://www.patreon.com/AftertheApocalypseMerch Store -> https://www.teepublic.com/stores/after-the-apocalypse Twitter -> [email protected] -> https://www.runrunlive.comPodcast on Acast -> https://shows.acast.com/runrunlive Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 After the ApocalypseA pandemic survival storySeason five, Episode nineteen – “Consumed” ...The King was quite pleased with himself and was pleased with the outcome of his work. He leaned back in his chair and took a swig of high-end whiskey. In the old world this would have been a luxury brand. Very expensive. Something he couldn’t get. Unless he stole it from some rich asshole. It wouldn’t be wasted on him intentionally. That world hadn’t made any luxury for him. Now this bottle and everything in the DC was his.  Hell, everything was his. As far as he could see and as far as he could reach, it was all his now.  ...Buy a book -> https://booklocker.com/books/13731.htmlWebsite -> http://www.oldmanapocalypse.com Buy me Coffee -> https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cyktrussellSubscribe page on Acast -> https://plus.acast.com/s/after-the-apocalypsePodcast on Acast -> https://shows.acast.com/after-the-apocalypseFacebook group -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldmanapocalypseYouTube -> https://www.youtube.com/@cyktrussellPatreon to support the show -> https://www.patreon.com/AftertheApocalypseMerch Store -> https://www.teepublic.com/stores/after-the-apocalypse Twitter -> [email protected] -> https://www.runrunlive.comPodcast on Acast -> https://shows.acast.com/runrunlive Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.