Eat Your Heart Out

by Dayna Ingram

A breakneck tale of kick-ass, wise-ass, sexy-ass lesbians and ZOMBIES, Eat Your Heart Out opens on what promises to be another tediously annoying day at Ashbee’s Furniture Outlet. Then the strip-mall calm of Nowhere, Ohio, is shattered by the sudden, simultaneous appearance of Renni Ramirez—hyper-competent star of the beloved Rising Evil B-movie franchise—and actual ZOMBIES, leaving Ashbee’s hapless staff and Renni trapped behind an automatic door they can’t lock.

Can failed creative-writing student/apprentice store manager/eagle-eyed markswoman Devin escape the besieged furniture store to rescue her girlfriend? Will Renni’s experience slaughtering motion-captured CGI monsters save the day before the army bombs the town? Once bitten, how many zombies can a person expect to take out before succumbing to infection? Who is the mysterious Deus Ex Machina, and what is he doing with that bone saw?

All of these questions and more whisper behind the scream of the single most important thing Devin needs to know in order to survive: is Renni a top or a bottom?

Genres: Horror, Zombies, LGBT, Fantasy, Queer, Lesbian, Fiction

146 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2011

About the author

Dayna Ingram is a queer genre fiction writer from Ohio. He earned his BA in Creative Writing from Antioch College, and his MFA from San Francisco State University. He is the author of EAT YOUR HEART OUT and ALL GOOD CHILDREN, both of which received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly. The latter was also chosen by both Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews Indie as one of the best Science Fiction titles of 2016. He lives in Kentucky with his spouse, their children, and an ungodly amount of pets. His epic fantasy trilogy, EMPIRE OF FLESH AND GOLD, is forthcoming from Lethe Press. Follow on Twitter and Instagram @thedingram

Reviews

[karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!!

when i am promised "a lesbian zombie novel," i kind of expect that the zombies are going to be lesbians, with all the emotional and physical difficulties such a relationship would entail, and some "we're here, we're queer, we're gonna eat your children".lesbian werewolves were, after all, lesbian werewolves...



but this is a novel, in fact, about zombies, in which there are some lesbian characters.so if you are planning on reading some hot girl-zombie on girl-zombie action, this is probably not the book for you. and it's not erotica, either, so you cheap thrills-seekers, go elsewhere. the sexy bits in this book frequently go awry, and are more likely to leave you laughing than revved up.

this is just a whizz-bang of a book. it is a fun zombie romp with characters that you would actually want to see in a zombie-filled situation: one has badass training in zombie-evasion from her film career, and one is just regular-people-tough and sweet and loyal and well-meaning, but isn't going to freak out if a zombie heads her way, thanks to video games.

good action sequences, good and charming characters, still pretty confused about the zombie mythology in this one, but no matter, because the pacing of the story is enough to hold the reader's attention, and it's not as though, were this a real occurrence, there would be simple and straightforward explanations about what the fuck was going on, so i am okay with a little zombie-origin-story vagueness.

definitely worth a read for its action sequences and humor. she should write more, please.


braaaaains....

come to my blog!

[Dayna Ingram · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was tempted to give this one star but, since I wrote it, I guess I have to give it five.

Okay, zombies I can buy into, but there are some very unrealistic moments in this book. I mean, when the zombie outbreak happens (and it WILL happen) who the hell is gonna have time to fuck in a field and not even worry about STDs? Or babies. I mean, shouldn't SOMEONE be freaking out about saving all the babies?!? If this novella really wanted to be realistic, I would have put in a scene where Devon has sex with a man in order to procreate and save the species. Who cares what her heart wants! Who cares what her vagina craves! This is the Apocalypse, people! You don't have the luxuries of things like condoms and meaningful relationships and lesbians and diet Coke! Get with the baby-making!

In short, this book could really benefit from more scenes with babies (babies are, statistically, the most underrepresented minority in zombie fiction), and more straight sex (there isn't any at all!).

[7jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

So... this is a zombie novella set in smalltown Ohio (where the author comes from). Devin Julian is going to work (as a new shift leader at a furniture store) when she meets the first sign of a zombie, though she doesn't really realise it then. But soon after, at work, she meets as a potential customer one Renni Ramirez, who is in town on her way somewhere else - the book is dedicated to Michelle Rodriguez, so it isn't hard to realise who Renni is really meant to be - and then witnesses the first of the real zombie attacks right outside the store... and that zombie gets in. What follows is a run around town, with the army getting involved, with moments of tenderness (and in the case of Devlin's girlfriend, also oops-cheating-with-coworker) in a wrong place, and a Nick Fury-like man somehow involved with his own bunch of armed people (who really are of government-produced origin, developed in a lab; hey, the NF guy's name actually *is* Deus Ex Machina, or Mr Machina as his group calls him).

This is a humorous and well-going story, which does leave you hungering for a bit more into the story, which is good. All characters have their weaknesses; Devlin's is understandable since she is average-ish, kinda awkward kind of woman, and even Renni has her bad moments (I mean, there's the *ew* moments of kissing ending in Devlin's sudden need to vomit, and sometimes certain actions are not wise). The zombies are of waken from their graves-and-slowish variety. We also get a somewhat surprising new kind of zombie variety, discovered in the book by chance, that I haven't yet read anywhere else, which changes the ending of the story a bit.

Somewhat short this book may be, but funny, human, and quick. And what romantic potential(s) there might be in the end (rawr) made me giggle. A lovely read.

[K.J. Charles]

Lesbian zombie novel. As you do. It's basically Sean of the Dead with lesbians, in terms of comic styling, deadpan humour mixed with brutality, and people hopelessly out of their depth splatting walking corpses' heads while arguing about relationships. Lots of body horror, obviously. A highly enjoyable romp with a couple of pretty hot scenes considering the whole zombie situation, some moments of real horror, and breakneck pacing.

At the time of writing this is part of the LGBT Fantasy Storybundle, which is a bargain.

[Fia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say, I loved this book. Devin, our main character, was cute, funny, innocent, kind of naive and oh so sweet.

The other one, Renni fucking Ramirez, a star of B-horror movies - which Devin is a huge fan of, was a bad-ass and oh so hot.

Perfect combination. There was action all the time, I never got bored and I actually loved the first narration. Devin was a great storryteller. And the book was funny, you guys. I laughed numerous times. The only thing I didn't like was Devin's unnecesary and not healthy relationship with her stripper girlfriend. That chick was obviously not good for her, but she kept defending her and I still don't understand why? I mean, she had Renni fucking Ramirez right in front of her the whole time. The ending was quite rushed as well. I'd like to see an epilogue or even a sequel would be great.

I have to say, I'm not really a fan of zombies. I'm not a fan of TWD and stuff like that. This was actually the first book I've read about them. And now I gotta say, I may read about them again. Or watch something. If there are lesbians. Or is this the only book like that?

Guess I have to find out.

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

I JUST WANT LESBIAN BOOKS THAT DON'T SUCK WHY IS THAT SO HARD

[kate vee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 hysterical and endearing and gross

[Serith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me laugh harder than I should in public.

Eat Your Heart Out really was a five star read; the writing was sharp, clever, and wasn't afraid to be silly. The characters had their own personal flairs and I enjoyed the chemistry between them. Come on: a lesbian lead in a zombie apocalypse? She was adorable. Loved her to bits.

The only reason I gave this four stars instead was because of the rushed ending. It came so fast that I thought the explanation was a joke at first. Not because it had a bad premise - it was just revealed and info dumped so abruptly that the info didn't have time to sink in. It sort of felt like the author had to add a plot to give the book reason, but I preferred the flow when it didn't matter. Ah well, at least the last few spoken lines made the literal ending funny?

Any-who, this was still awesome and I can't wait to get it into my friends hands.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5? Review on my blog!

[Cade · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, I loved the characters. I was into the chemistry. But why in gay hell would she even want to go back with Carmelle???!!! No. No. NO. Zombie attack. The dumbass was at work fucking some rando girl and never once tried to make sure her would be girlfriend was alive?! And yet our main character is like, Oh, yeah, cool. I love you, Carmelle. WHAT?! Nope. Yeet Carmelle into the nearest zombie pack and go to L.A. with Renni.

If you’re looking for literary horror, this ain’t it. Want a novella that reads like a B grade horror flick? You have arrived. It was a bit sketchy in terms of plot toward the end, but Renni’s existence covers a multitude of sins. More lesbian love in the midst of apocalypse conditions please.

But also, the concept used for the zombies? A+! I would like to see that more developed.

[Bobbi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started out promising, it seemed to have a similar humor to it like Sean of the Dead but with lesbians. It's got your standard zombie apocalypse tropes, National Guard, quarantine, survivors fighting zombies, angry sex in a field while raining with zombies coming over a hill- okay maybe not all standard tropes. Then towards the end it gets....weird and ends. Fans of zombie books should give it a read, I guess.

[P1x3lv1x3n · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was quirky, entertaining and I could totally relate! Have I ever had a cheating girlfriend that worked at a porn shop before? Well, no, but I did work at a local porn shop... And one time this guy with a bloody shirt came in, but surely he wasn't a zombie... And I have never stripped before... ANYWAY!

As many times as I had wanted to punch Devin in the face for being such a doormat, I 1 million times more wanted to see what she would do or what would happen to her next! Having a detached girlfriend and a mundane job at a furniture store was bad enough, add some dead people wanting to eat our flesh and a pinch of urine and you get the worst day ever! Which is then made into the best/worst day of your life by meeting your Hollywood dreamboat, enter Renni Ramirez... You could almost feel how sweaty her tank top was fromt he first moment a zombie stumbles past.

The Michelle Rodriguez character queues were so perfect, I not only wondered if the author went on a M-rod movie marathon before she wrote the book but I also wondered if she had been stalking her for weeks before that.

I can't say much else, other than all you have to do is read the first couple of sentences you will be hooked. From witty one liners to make out scenes to zombie gore and military interference, this book has it all.

This book rocked so hard, rocks are ashamed they don't rock as hard as this book.

I am officially starting the petition to get this book made into a movie... I'll beg M-Rod myself to be the star.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eat Your Heart Out is not your typical zombie book. It's about a lesbian and an actress, who is either bi-sexual or lesbian (I never figured out which one) trying to survive a zombie apocalypse. I liked most of the characters. The two characters I didn't like are Brad and Carmelle. Brad cussed way too much, and it got annoying after awhile. I didn't like Carmelle because she cheated on Devin, but Devin still wanted to be with her. My favorite character was Renni Ramirez. She was very kick-ass throughout the entire book, and had a great attitude. I can identify a lot with this novella. I also live in small town in Ohio. I think that's one of the reasons why I liked the story so much. Also, I love zombie and LGBT stories, so it was like getting the best of both worlds while I was reading it. The ending confused me a little. It was implied that Devin was immune to zombie bites, but it never came out and said it. The last sentence left me confused as well. I wasn't sure whether Devin stayed with Carmelle or ended up in a long distance relationship with Renni. My only other complaint about Eat Your Heart Out is that it had a little too much cussing in it for my taste. I recommend this book zombie fans looking for an original story.

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never heard of the publishers or the author, but this was a suprisingly entertaining book. Sure, it is yet another zombie story, but it does offer an interesting new twist on the genre plus a whole bunch of fun characters, including some pretty capable heroines and nonstop actions...although in parts the gore gets overwhelmed by some particularly gross bodily functions. I'd love to know what Ms. Rodriguez would think of this loving homage, but in literary form she kicks ass just as much as in her movies. Quick fun read. Recommended for zombie genre fans. Pretty nice edition too, shockingly well edited for a small press production.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is fun, stylish, and funny with lesbians and zombies. But I wanted to love it and didn't. Ms. Ingram can write, but she needs an editor. Far too much reliance on exposition (particularly at the end with a terrible infodump) and far too much dialog. The dialog is clever and witty, but I found myself skipping over pages of it. The story sort of ambles like a zombie toward an 'anticlimactic' (in the words of the main character) non-climax. It's a fun ride, but don't expect more than that.

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This was gross but also so fucking funny. Sapphic zombie stories will always be my jam. I love it. This was great, the lead character is a bit of a hot mess but in a lovable way and the story was well paced and had such great humor. I could definitely see myself reading this again because I had a lot of fun with it.

[mad mags · Rating 4 out of 5]

Layers of Fun!

Twenty-two-year-old furniture saleswoman Devin is the unlikeliest of heroes: She's prone to fainting spells. She's socially awkward and has trouble approaching customers (Her coworker Cherry's advice? Just picture everyone with a giant penis in their mouth!) or carrying on "normal" "adult" conversations (Scare quotes because who wants to act like a grownup anyway?). She tends to wet her pants when threatened. She's completely oblivious to the fact that her longtime girlfriend, the improbably named Carmelle Souffle, is cheating on her (and, when she finds out, she immediately faints...and then forgives Carmelle).

And she manages to get herself bit just hours into the zombie apocalypse that sweeps through Buttfuck, Ohio. Sure, she was trying to rescue her big bear of a boss, Biff, at the time, but still. Rookie mistake!

The plot of Eat Your Heart Out: a novella is pretty standard zombie fare: the dead start rising, and so the living try to get the heck out of dodge. Luckily, the plot is mostly incidental to Dayna Ingram's expert wordslinging. Ingram's got a wicked fun sense of humor and a delightful potty mouth. The pop culture references are many; the fangirl angle, fun and kind of meta (reminiscent of some of the better episodes of Supernatural, I think); the disembodied, floating penises, epically hilarious; and the lesbian subplots pretty much seal the deal.

The cast is rather diverse, with no fewer than four lesbians and/or bisexual women, and one woman of color in the form of movie star Renni Fucking Ramirez, of the zombie-movie-with-an-arguably-lesbian-subtext, Rising Evil. Girlfriend Carmelle is a former stripper who works at an adult store, The Sweet Onion ("Layers of Fun!"). Even though she's the cheater (Devin catches her in the act when she gallantly kicks down the doors of The Sweet Onion in order to "save" Carmelle), Ingram portrays their slowly crumbling relationship with such compassion and nuance that I kind of felt bad for the both of them. (Though the ambiguous resolution is a relief.)

Devin's aforementioned loose bladder is also a welcome surprise; so few horror writers acknowledge the indignities of human biology in life-or-death situations. (Again, I'm reminded of Supernatural - specifically, "The Mystery Spot," wherein one of Dean's many deaths involves vehicular manslaughter. "Did it look cool, like in the movies?" "You peed yourself." "Of course I peed myself. Man gets hit by a car, you think he has full control over his bladder? Come on!") Devin's references to her overactive bladder are many, and she soils more than one pair of clean (well, save for the zombie guts) pants by letting loose. I can relate; if I were to ever find myself in a zombie apocalypse, I'd be carrying around a package of Depends alongside my machete and MREs.

Devin's copious knowledge of zombie lore - not to mention, her expertise at dropping zombies, thanks in no small part to first-person shooter games - opens yet another avenue of self-referential comedic fodder.

Eat Your Heart Out is the most fun I've had reading a zombie book in a long while. With kick-ass heroines, witty banter, cultural references like whoah, girl-on-girl love triangles, and a Nick Fury lookalike, you just can't go wrong. The zombies are just icing on the cake. (Vegan buttercream, because that poor vegetarian zombie deserves a break!)

http://www.easyvegan.info/2014/02/24/...

[Amy L. Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: Uncorrected Proof received directly from the author who is a close friend of the reviewer. There may be some bias.

Three stars and a waffle.

Dayna Ingram has written the quintessential lesbian zombie novel, perhaps the only lesbian zombie novel really. Our brazen narrator is Devin, a 22 year old recently promoted to Manager in Training furniture store worker with an ex-stripper now sex shop employee for a girlfriend. Devin is a bit awkward, but adorably so, and she is as exuberant and quirky as Dayna Ingram herself (i.e. very). This makes for a surprisingly uplifting and hilarious romp through zombie infested Nowhere, Ohio. The situation is only improved by the appearance of Renni F%&@ing Ramirez, zombie movie action heroine extraordinaire with a heart of platinum plated gold. Renni and Devin team up to first find Devin's girlfriend, and then try to escape to Indiana, all while trying to avoid having their flesh devoured. Madcap adventures and lesbian romps, the occasional broken nose and awkward spanking, make this a quick paced and laugh out loud adventure in camp and zombie fun.

Ends a bit quickly, possibly setting up for a sequel(?), be still my beating heart, or at least fodder for fanfiction, written or imagined. The uncorrected proof had some awkward phrasing, which may or may not make it into the final copy, but Devin is so wonderfully awkward that these minor glitches are easily ignored. Those squeamish about bad language, bodily fluids, and cunnilingus will probably not enjoy this as much as those of us who do.

[Danika at The Lesbrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, because I have been looking for lesbian zombie apocalypse books for years (luckily, there are more than just this one now, but still). Luckily, this book is just as good as it sounds. First of all, it’s hilarious. I kept reading out passages to my partner, but I’d only get another sentence in before I wanted to read out more. This is mostly because the main character, Devin, is sarcastic and funny herself.

The zombies appear pretty much from the first sentence, and Devin is already in a lesbian relationship from the beginning, so there’s pretty much no build up to getting to the meat of the story. The zombie action has some of its own mythology, and there is definitely enough gore for a zombie story. In fact, it gets pretty sickening, and Devin sustains a realistic amount of injuries for being a random, untrained person caught in a zombie apocalypse...

Read the rest of my review here: http://lesbrary.com/2012/06/05/danika...

[I. Merey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this book on the Autobahn, kind of looking over my shoulder all the while. It's never a good idea to read in the car, but with this one, the queasiness seemed like a fine companion.

"Heart Out" promised me lesbians and zombies and booyeah, that's exactly what I got.

Devin works in a furniture store, living a life that could be dead-end or could be all right--it's a bit ambiguous. She just got promoted at work, she cohabits with a beautiful girl (who doesn't want to touch her, but that stuff can change, right?) Then the undead start moving in... and a movie star in camo pants and a sundress...

I really enjoyed the voice-- Devin is someone I know, I'm sure of it, and I liked the writing style. Good, funny writing that never took itself too seriously. Highly recommended if you're a horror fan or just looking for something a little different, to make you laugh...

[Laylah Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not usually a zombie fan, but apparently when you give me a wry, dorky butch dyke narrator whose life is a disaster before the living dead show up, I make an exception. This was fun and entertaining (and gross, as zombies tend to be!) and a quick read, easy to devour (heh) in an afternoon.

I feel like it started more strongly than it ended; the last quarter threw a lot of ideas at the zombie problem all at once, and the chaos didn't serve the overall story very well. But it was still a good time overall, and if you're in it for the giddy, trashy fun of it -- hot girls shoot zombies and also make out a little -- then it's totally worth a read. And too-good-to-be-true badass B-movie star Rennie Ramirez is my new fiction crush.

[Jenn Avery · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I picked up Ingram's lesbian zombie novella I had to wonder if my zombie obsession has gone too far. On Netflix I tend to skip over the "Stripper Zombies" category but I can't seem to get enough of the zombie genre in general. After months of reading various zombie fiction I finally came to this clever and satirical little gem. The mighty female protagonist in Alden Bell's *The Reapers are the Angels* is outdone by this cast of Michelle Rodriguez-like ass-kickers. Ingram writes with tongue-in-cheek (and other places)and delivers some compelling zombie plot along the way.

[Sonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is so much fun! i mean, what more could you want?
zombies, humour, lesbians, michelle rodriguez - sorry i mean, "renni ramirez" - fighting zombies and generally being badass ...

i laughed out loud often. although not exactly scary, it was definitely suspenseful. mostly this is just a fun, entertaining book!

maybe felt like it ended a bit soon, i thought for sure that there was going to be more to the story, but for a short novel it's excellent. it's well-paced and the characters are believable. they feel like people you might actually know.

hope she writes another soon.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro es lo mejor, lo pasé muy bien leyéndolo. El final es algo apresurado, pero está bien para un libro ligero y corto. Lo mejor es, que a pesar de eso, la autora es capaz de describir los personajes y sucesos de manera lo suficientemente específica como para poder sumergirte en este "apocalipsis zombie" con una facilidad casi natural. Además, posee un humor cercano y recurrente que se agradece.

La relación que se va formando entre Devin y Renni es genial, ojalá pudiéramos saber más de ellas en el futuro.

[Angie Engles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eat Your Heart Out is funny as heck in many parts and very touching in others. It unravels in your mind like a fast-paced movie, much better in your imagination than it probably ever could be captured on film. Dayna Ingram is a smart, snappy writer who takes what other writers would never be able to lift off the ground and keeps in running till you reach the end and wish it could start over again! This is a fun, enjoyable read that makes you fervently hope Ms. Ingram is at work on more fiction!:)

[Brooke-lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually liked this storyline pretty well. I don't want to say too much of anything, because I know I'd give some things away, but I will say one or two things. I don't like how Devin let Carmelle walk all over her even after she caught her cheating. I also like the ending, though it left a lot to my imagination. I give it either a 6 or 7 out of 10

[Brian James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read lesbian zombie books, normally, or actually never. I'm super glad I did this time. Ingram does an amazing job of showing how dire situations increase the speed and strength of our connections. The story never stops and fun was had by all, which means me.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rollicking, fun-filled and often gross joy ride through a zombie-filled Midwestern city in good company.

[Christel Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Random library find, and I loved it! Published by a small press.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, creepy, witty; the perfect antidote to "Walking Dead" withdrawal.