Hello everyone! Thank you for checking out The Talkers are Talking. This story has been in the works for over 8 years and made it to 13th place in the first Nerdist competition. Since then, it has expanded into a trilogy, and I will update you with publication details as soon as possible. I try to only send updates when I have relevant information and am currently (5/24) working on the final draft of Book 1. I appreciate and look forward to all comments, critiques, and suggestions!

SYNOPSIS

Global Warming is not only real, but it’s brought with it a new horror even the scientists couldn’t see coming. At 84.7°F, the air becomes poison. And when a person is exposed to such temps, their brain becomes diseased. The few who haven’t been infected have escaped to the cooler temperatures of the sewers and tunnels below ground.

CHARACTERS

Olivia and her rag-tag group of semi-misfits desperately seek the rumored "Atlantis," a haven built by a paranoid hedgefund billionaire.

Sergeant 0307 will do anything to ensure the safety of that Haven.

And those in charge will do even more to make sure the inhabitants of The Haven are able to survive in this new world.

As if avoiding the hot air wasn’t already task enough, all of the infected have become fevered, but still rational-thinking cannibals.

BACKGROUND

Talker’s story came from a dream, and some of the themes and shape it has taken are inspired by Whitman’s Leaves of Grass and the long-forgotten Goff’s Echoes from the Firing Lines, but the insides and bones of the story draw on poetry from writers less present in the typical canon. The story is written partially from the perspective of an autistic woman and is an #ownvoices narrative.

Enjoy and thanks for your support!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Janna reads when she brushes her teeth and writes in her sleep. She is the editor of Lamplit Underground (Lamplitunderground.com) and the head of the Break the Bechdel with Strong Female Characters Syndicate. Janna is a professor/freelance writer by day, beer geek by night and writer in between. She loves the dark in lamplight, folklore and travel and beat everyone at arm wrestling in second grade. Janna has lived all over the world with longer stints in Boston, Brooklyn, and England, and once drove from Germany to Bulgaria. She teaches English at various universities, including SUNY schools and was most recently an instructor at Rutgers University.

COVER DESIGN

Annika and Ben Faircloth at Trust Fun Art & Graphics (They’re amazing) http://www.trustfundart.co.uk/