Welcome back, readers! Today, we’re diving into a delightfully off‑beat corner of the literary world with an author who blends nostalgia, humor, and time‑bending chaos into one unforgettable ride. I’m excited to introduce Wayven Pienaar, the creative mind behind Hey Zombies! Thanks for Nothing — a satirical adventure that catapults three very unlikely travelers from 1987 straight into the bewildering landscape of 2026.
Wayven’s background in journalism, her love of storytelling, and her playful skepticism toward horror and sci‑fi come together to create a fresh, funny, and surprisingly thoughtful take on generational culture shock. Her characters — a determined reporter, a thoroughly unimpressed teen, and a wanderer who followed the scent of free appetizers into destiny — navigate a future full of smart devices, social awkwardness, and a healthy dose of “What on earth is happening?”
In today’s interview, we’ll explore Wayven’s writing journey, the spark behind this hilarious time‑travel satire, and what readers can expect from her ever‑growing body of work. So grab your favorite drink, settle in, and enjoy this conversation with an author who knows how to turn absurdity into art.
Let’s get into it.
👉 Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GL38X2P8/
🌱Beginnings & Background
You mention you’re a lifelong book lover — what were the books or authors that first made you want to write?
I can pinpoint the exact moment the spark lit: an airport bookstore in 2001. I picked up Carl Hiaasen’s Lucky You and ended up laughing so hard I was given the side eye from some passengers. Before that, I hadn’t realized that ‘funny’ could be a high art form. Hiaasen showed me that you could tackle serious themes like greed, corruption and human nature with a sharp, comedic edge. That book taught me that prose doesn’t have to be “solemn” to be significant.
As a journalism graduate, how has that training influenced your storytelling style and voice?
Journalism was the ultimate training ground for versatility. In newsrooms, you learn to adapt your voice instantly to suit the story, whether it’s a punchy, investigative lead or a lyrical feature piece. That training destroyed any ‘writer’s block’ regarding genre; I don’t see different genres as boundaries, but rather as different lenses, which I’ve been trained to use, to tell the best possible story.
You’ve said you’re not a big horror or sci-fi fan — what inspired you to write a story that dips into both genres anyway?
Ha! Yes, indeed I said that. I never, ever thought I’d dip my toes into sci-fi. But in order to tell my story, I didn’t have much of a choice. Once I started researching the logistics, the cross-wires, the glowing buttons, and the sheer chaos of it all, I realized how much fun it is to break the laws of physics! Sending three innocent characters hurtling toward 2026 was a total departure for me, but I’ve learned that sometimes the best stories are found outside your comfort zone.
📘About the Book — Hey Zombies! Thanks for Nothing
The premise is both wild and hilarious — three people from 1987 dropped into 2026. What sparked the idea for blending nostalgia with future chaos?
This was a long time coming. The longer I live, the more I have those “shaking my head” moments. Those times when you look around you and see that, what once was right with the world, is now completely wrong with the world. It was during one of those “shaking my head” moments (or “smh” as the modern kids would say), that the idea for the book came about.
The trio of characters — a reporter, an 11th grader, and a hobo following the smell of free appetizers — is incredibly unique. How did you land on this combination?
Dave, one of my characters, was saddled with the task of sending three people on a temporal mission at the request of the President who was feeling a little on edge about the future of Monty. The idea was to infiltrate the media, education and society in general. Although, to be honest, none of them were prepared for what happened at the convention centre. Jeremy thought he was on a field trip, Daphne came because she thought there was a scoop for a story, and Dwayne just wanted a sandwich.
The story is labeled as a satire. What parts of modern life were the most fun (or painful) to poke fun at?
It was a blast, mostly because the mockery goes both ways. Nobody gets a free pass in this book. I loved putting Jeremy with his 1980s haircut and his ‘Rick Astley’ tour t-shirt, into a 2026 classroom. His modern-day classmates absolutely shred him for it. But Jeremy gives just as good as he gets. He’s standing there looking at these kids with their jeans hanging halfway down their thighs, literally defying the laws of physics, and wondering why their pants haven’t hit the floor yet. With Daphne securing a job at a TV station, there’s a lot of chaos there too. But you’d have to read it to find out!
The characters only have four weeks to determine whether the future is a “victory lap or dumpster fire.” Without spoilers, what did you discover about the future while writing this?
There are so many twists an turns in this book and the ending is profoundly sad, but based in truth. Writing this made me realize how much we’ve outsourced our agency to billionaires and politicians while we were distracted by the ‘free appetizers’ of life. We’ve been complacent, and we’ve acquiesced to systems that don’t actually have our best interests at heart. And who’s paying the price for it? Certainly not them.
The book contrasts the “Me Generation” with the “Everything is Smart Generation.” What do you think each era misunderstands most about the other?
The “Me Generation” understood the value of hard work and that community was built in person. The “Smart Generation” have outsourced their brains to AI and their hearts to an algorithm. To the older generation, if you can’t look someone in the eye and strike up a conversation without an app acting as a chaperone, you’ve lost your humanity. Meanwhile, the younger generation sees that ‘old school’ approach as intrusive or even aggressive. We’ve reached a point where ‘chatting someone up’ is seen as a boundary violation rather than a social skill. We’ve traded the ‘value of hard work’ for the ‘efficiency of an interface,’ and in the process, we’ve become incredibly isolated. The ‘Smart Generation’ is connected to the entire world, yet they’ve never been lonelier.”
✍️Writing Process
How do you approach humor in your writing? Does it come naturally, or do you refine it heavily during revisions?
I’m a firm believer that if you have to explain a joke, it’s dead; and if you have to over-edit it, it’s dying. When I’m writing humor, I pen it exactly as it hits me. I don’t sit there and move commas around for three hours to find the perfect beat. If you refine it too much, you lose that initial punch, that raw ‘lightning in a bottle’ moment where the character says something genuinely unexpected.
Time‑travel stories can get complicated. How did you balance the comedic elements with keeping the timeline logical (or intentionally illogical)?
This question makes me think of a scene where Jeremy admits to being in love with Elle McPherson. Of course, his Elle and their Elle are generations apart. I don’t think I was fully prepared for how hard it would be to write this book and I’ll be the first to admit that it was a massive balancing act. There were moments when I’d be deep in a scene and realize I was accidentally bleeding the 2026 perspective into the 80s or vice versa. It’s tricky to keep your head straight when you’re managing multiple decades, but it all came together quite nicely in the end.
Have your previous four books influenced how you approached crafting this one?
Honestly? Not at all. My previous works are very distinct from one another. Whether that’s a ‘good’ thing or a ‘bad’ thing for my brand, I couldn’t say, but for my creativity, it’s essential.
Did any of the characters surprise you while writing — changing direction or taking on a life of their own?
I laugh just thinking about them now, because they absolutely stopped listening to me at a certain point. Jeremy, my 11th grader, completely took on a life of his own. You see, he’s the engine of the chaos; when he goes off the rails, which happens often, he doesn’t go alone. He drags Daphne and Dwayne right into the mess with him. But the real surprise was Dwayne. For the first two years of his story, he was this man hidden behind a beard and long, sticky tresses of hair, clinging to his anonymity. Then, suddenly, he decided it was time to let go of the hurt he’d been carrying. He revealed his handsome, true self to the world. I honestly didn’t see that coming when I started, but that’s the beauty of it. Sometimes the characters know when they’re ready to heal before the author does.
🎭Themes & Messages
What do you hope readers take away from the clash between past and present?
My hope is that we can see where our silence and acquiescence has gotten us. The fact that we are so divided along political lines, hasn’t helped us as a human race, because if we were unified as humans, we wouldn’t be in the mess we are today.
Were there any real-world frustrations that secretly fueled the satire?
Yes, and I didn’t have to look far for inspiration; I just had to walk down the street. There were many. Among them, $9 lattes, smart checkout lines, smart toasters, cashless restaurants and robots serving you dinner. And don’t get me started on “TikTok”
🚶♂️ About the Author’s Journey
What has been the most unexpectedly rewarding part of becoming an author?
The most rewarding part was the escape. There is an immense sense of fulfillment in being able to step away from the frustrations of ‘real life’, the $9 lattes and the ‘smart’ everything and just delve into the lives of my characters. There is something magic about realizing that a complete story, with all its twists, turns, and truths, came solely from my pen and the ideas in my head. To build a world from scratch and watch a character like Dwayne find himself, or Jeremy navigate a world he doesn’t understand, is incredibly grounding.
What advice would you give readers who dream of writing but don’t know where to begin?
I would say just write. Whatever comes into your head, just put it down on paper – you can always make sense of it later. But don’t wait until that perfect opening sentence hits, because you can sit in front of a blank screen for a long, long…long time
😄 Fun & Personal Questions
If you, personally, were dropped from 1987 into 2026, what would shock you the most?
Ha! Probably cell phones. I think I’d be afraid of it. My first impression would probably be that it was some sort of detonator. And I think I’d be freaked out if I heard this coffee order in the Starbucks line: “I’ll have a venti iced white mocha, only one blonde shot, nine pumps white mocha, made with sweet cream, no ice, extra salted caramel cold foam, and extra caramel drizzle.” In 1987, coffee was just a drink; in 2026, it’s a chemistry experiment. I think I’d just turn around, find the nearest bench, and wait for the timeline to reset itself.
If your characters had access to modern social media, which one would cause the most chaos — and why?
Daphne Mutton for sure. She is a reporter with no filter, which is a dangerous thing to be in the 2020s. I have no doubt that Daphne would get canceled across X and Facebook within 24 hours.
What’s one question readers never ask you, but you wish they would?
They never ask, ‘Is it hard to write a book?’ And I really wish they would, because the answer is a resounding YES. People see the humor and the absurdity of a guy like Dwayne or the banter between Daphne and Jeremy, and they assume it’s all fun and games. But it is a massive undertaking. It’s hard to balance the light and the dark, hard to keep the timelines from collapsing into each other, and hard to face those ‘zombie’ truths about our world every day at the desk. Writing is a labor of love, but it’s still labor. It takes a lot out of you to build a world from scratch and then have the courage to tell the truth about it. So, the next time you see an author, ask them if it was hard. I guarantee you’ll see a very tired, very fulfilled person nod their head.
🎤 Closing Questions
What do you hope readers feel after finishing Hey Zombies! Thanks for Nothing?
I expect there will be feelings of regret. Regret that we’re so far gone, that we can never change it back. I hope it creates a need for unity rather than division, I hope it allows women to see why they’ve become so lonely as a demographic and that a man flirting with you isn’t the crime of the century. If we can break the ‘zombie’ spell of silence and division, maybe we can stop the dumpster fire before it consumes everything. I want readers to feel that it’s not too late to be human again.
Where can new fans connect with you, learn more about your books, or send you their questions (as you invite them to do)?
They can find me on my website: wayvenpienaar.com or email me at info@wayvenpienaar.com or they can subscribe to my newsletter. I’d love to connect. I don’t have social media, but all emails reach me and I ensure a timeous response.
And finally — if you had to describe this book in three words, what would they be?
ABSURD. RAW. TRUTHFUL
Thank you for joining me for this fun and insightful conversation with Wayven Pienaar. It’s always a pleasure to sit down with an author who not only brings humor and heart to the page but also offers a fresh perspective on how our past and present collide in surprising ways. Hey Zombies! Thanks for Nothing is more than a quirky time‑travel satire — it’s a reminder of how much (and how little) our world has changed, and how every generation has something to learn from the other.
If you enjoyed this interview, be sure to explore Wayven’s other works and keep an eye out for her upcoming book. Don’t hesitate to visit her website, connect with her directly, and let her know what you thought of the story. Authors love hearing from engaged readers, and your support helps their worlds continue to grow.
Thanks again for reading — and stay tuned for more author spotlights, book discussions, and creative conversations coming soon. Until next time, keep exploring great stories and discovering new voices.