A new book compiled by a UF alumnus tackles zombie pregnancy, mummy problems and other spooky stresses.
The book, “Chicken Soup for the Undead Soul,” was published Oct. 12 in a digital format on Amazon. This week it can be purchased for $2.99, but next week the price will go up to $3.99.
Jordan Alva, who created the book, said a website where readers can send in their own endings to the stories will launch this week.
“The concept is a spoof on many of the ‘Chicken Soup For the Soul’ books,” said Alva. “I think there’s Chicken Soup for every single kind of soul out there.”
Alva, who graduated from UF in 2011, said the idea for the book started out as a joke among friends.
“I figured we would write some stories and pass them around,” Alva said. “After seeing the quality of the stories that were submitted, I thought that the collection might have more potential than just being read at friend and family gatherings.”
Alva approached friends and family with the idea and asked them to write short stories to included.
Jennifer Lewis, Alva’s sister and a UF alumna, said she was inspired to write her story “What to Expect When You’re Expecting a Zombie” when she was pregnant.
“Vampires and zombies are very in right now,” Lewis said. “A lot of that stuff is very serious and dark, but this is more humorous and pokes fun at the idea that these new characters would need something like this.”
Alva said many of the stories were intentionally left unfinished so that readers can write their own endings.
“We started to notice that even as we narrowed some of the stories down, there was still more to be told,” Alva said. “We thought it would be interesting to see what people picked up on from the story and how they would continue it.”
The reader submissions will be published on Wattpad, a story-sharing site. Alva said the most popular submitted endings might be published in a printed version of the book. Alva said he hopes to work with different schools across the country and invite students to be a part of the writing process for the unfinished excerpts.
This story has been updated to reflect a correction.
