Posts Tagged ‘Zombies’

World Building Blogfest: Dead Sea Games Excerpt

Days 5 of Sharon Bayliss’s World Building Blogfest.  A day late, as usual, but today is all about the excerpt.  So you’ve built a fantasy world. You want people to read about it?  Prove it.

Presenting the brand new cover for Dead Sea Games: Adrift.

Dead Sea Games: Adrift

And an excerpt from Dead Sea Games: Exiled, fresh off the editor’s desk…

The inside of the building was dark. A long corridor ran as far as I could see, leading to a T-dead end. There were open doors on both sides of the corridor with gore-stained walls.

“No, no,” Jessie struggled against me. “Don’t take me in there. No! We’ll be trapped!”

I was reconsidering the foolishness of plunging headlong into a dark corridor in zombie territory when the decision was taken away from me. The guards burst through the stairwell door and pulled up sharply against the 2nd floor exit of cell twelve with guns drawn. As soon as they saw us, I shoved Jessie through the door and pulled it shut behind me.

The first bullets ripped through the top of the door leaving four tiny pinpoints of light streaming into the darkness, narrowly missing me in the process. I dove away from the door and covered Jessie with my body.

“Go! Go!” I crawled over her and dragged her along with me. We crawled along the waterlogged carpet, soaking in the filth of a year’s worth of rotting zombie feet, until the gunfire stopped hitting the steel of the door and started hitting the diseased fleshbags covering our exit. The white light from the bullet holes flickered and was replaced with grey and red flashes of dead flesh and rotten things.

They were coming for us.

“This is some rescue you pulled off.” I got to my knees and hauled Jessie up with me. “I’d rather be in a holding cell.”

Jessie was shivering against me, her fingers clawed against my shirt.

“Do you have a light? We need a flashlight,” I said.

I could see her head shake, no. “A glowstick? A lighter? Something?” The panic in my voice was impossible to control. I was freaking out. Jessie dug in her pockets frantically and produced a Zippo lighter.  She flicked it over and over, producing nothing but sparks. She finally found her voice in the fear and screamed at the lighter, “Light, you fucker!”

The spark caught and a tiny orange flame kicked up in her trembling hand.

“Okay, Okay, just calm down, calm down,” I said.

“I can’t!” Jessie cried.

“I’m not talking to you,” I snapped. “Calm down, Jeremy. You can do this. You’ve been in worse situations. You’ll make it. Keep fighting.”

I got to my feet and pulled Jessie with me. We still had a knife and a tiny bit of light. All we needed was a way out.

“We need to find one of the stairwells. I can boost you up from there.”

We crept along the corridor toward the T at the end of the hall. Jessie’s hand shook as she swept the lighter back and forth, trying to cast the tiny light farther down the hall. She only ended up making the place seem creepier than it already was. The shadows from the lighter moving back and forth perverted our imaginations; the twisted cables hanging from the ceiling turned into intestines, the mold on the wall became zombie blood, and dead eyes peeked from behind every door.

Something moved off to our left and we held our breath.

A flash of black streaked across the hall at our feet and Jessie screamed.

“Jesus!” I felt my heart pounding out of my chest and tried to settle. “It’s just a rat. See?”

Jessie looked over my shoulder at the huge black sewer rat peeking out behind a door. It looked curious, as if it had never seen living humans. And just as quickly as it appeared, it squealed a tiny rat squeal and bolted into the darkness.

“Guess we scared it.”

“Aaaah…” The deadhead snuck up behind us in silence and grabbed Jessie with both hands. She screamed in terror as black lips brushed against her neck and it opened its mouth. I reacted out of instinct and grabbed the zombie by the throat and threw myself at it.

“No!” …

Thanks for reading my World Building Blogfest entrees. I hope I’ve convinced you to give the world of Dead Sea Games a chance. It’s a fun, action-packed ride. Look for the release of “Dead Sea Games: Exiled” on Amazon and Barnes and Noble on February 9th, 2013!

World Building Blogfest: History and Politics of Dead Sea Games

It’s day 2 of Sharon Bayliss’s great 5-day blogfest on the subject of world building. Today we’re supposed to focus on the history and politics of our world, in my case the world of “Dead Sea Games” (1st episode available now on Amazon HERE). Beta readers of the second episode, Dead Sea Games: Exiled, brought up a lot of interesting questions about the politics of the Colony which I’ll attempt to answer here without spoiling anything for the next installment.

Day 2: History and Politics of Dead Sea Games

For the most part, the history of the world of Dead Sea Games is the history of the US into the near future. The Emergency–as the outbreak was commonly known afterwards–changed everything. Although the events that started the Emergency are well known to the survivors, the history of WHY the five East coast cities were attacked and WHO planned and engineered the bio-warfare agent are cloaked in shadow. In Dead Sea Games: Exiled, Jeremy will meet someone who may fill in some of the blanks, if only he knows to ask the right questions.

After the initial terrorist attack on NYC, the city turned on itself. Panic, chaos, and violence engulfed the city as authorities initiated quarantine protocols. The government poured resources into the city to try and quell the rising tide of stage 1 infected, but the swat teams and national guard units couldn’t outpace the infection. Quarantine of the island failed and people fled like rats, spreading the infection to the outer boroughs. Desperate to slow the spread, the President authorized a total quarantine protocol that trapped a million souls on the streets on NYC and destroyed billions of dollars of infrastructure in the process.

By the time the dust settled, it was already too late. The infection was everywhere and government forces were fighting on every front, in every city, up and down the Eastern seaboard. The focus shifted from fighting the stage 1 infected to total evacuation and the survivors in the major cities were left to fend for themselves. NYC was declared a disaster area in public, but in private it was given up as a “Dead Zone” and all travel to the city was forbidden.

Fast forward six months and 99% of the population of Manhattan has been turned in flesh-eating zombies. The 1% scramble like rodents in the ruins, trying to stay out of reach of the hordes and keep from starving to death. Three small groups of survivors band together and focus all their efforts on one building. They destroy the stairs and fire escapes below the third floor and clear the building of zombies.  With some clever fortifications and steadfast vigilance, their one building safe house holds against the Sea. Word of a safe haven spreads fast and survivors pour in to help the leaders of the three groups clear an entire block of buildings using the same technique, creating the first cell.

The Colony is established and the rule of law given to a council of three men, made up of each of the first groups’ leaders, called the Triumvirate council.  The council spends the next three months setting up a working constitution and guard force that brings some semblance of order back to the liberated cells of Manhattan. After much deliberation and several unfortunate incidents, it is declared that only citizens of the Colony are allowed permanent habitation in the secured cells. To be a citizen of the colony, you must be at least 16 years of age and sign an oath of loyalty and service to the council. Each citizen extends their right of citizenship to their own children, and up to two non-related minors, with the express understanding that they, and they alone, are responsible for the care and actions of their charges. Adults suffer severe penalties for the missteps of their children.

The young children were quickly vouched for and taken in by the adults of the Colony, but the teenagers, orphaned by the Emergency, are a different story altogether.  Too many of them took to the wilding streets of the Emergency with gusto, and there was no turning back for them. Civilization and the discipline of strangers was not welcome.  They preferred to take their chances with the zombies in exchange for a taste of unlimited freedom. Now the gangs of orphans live in the periphery of the Colony, feeding on the remnants of civilization and fighting their own battles for turf, safety, and food.

Stay tuned for Day 3 and Day 4 in one super-post on Religion, Food, Culture, and Holidays of the world of Dead Sea Games.

TOP 5 REASONS YOU WON’T SURVIVE THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

It occurred to me a few days ago that I haven’t written much about the zombie apocalypse lately. With the great reviews coming in on “Dead Sea Games: Adrift”, and the next installment, “Dead Sea Games:Exiled” coming up in a few weeks, it’s time to gin up some excitement and talk about ZOMBIES!  Inspired by a recent Reddit thread where people grudgingly admitted that some skills that SEEM easy are actually damn hard. Prominent on that list were writing (it’s fucking hard) and surviving a zombie apocalypse. In my zombie-educated opinion, here are the top five reasons you’re not going to make it when the hordes rise.

1.  Your aim sucks.

Been to the range lately? Do you have any idea how hard it is to headshot a moving target? Over and over and over and over again.  Let’s get real here, 99% of you aren’t good enough marksmen with whatever it is, pistol, rifle, shotgun, crossbow, tomahawks, flaming bags of poo, to reliably get the headshots you need to survive. You’ll miss… then panic… then get eaten. What a shame.

2. You’re soft hearted.

“Please let us in! We haven’t had anything to eat in four days. My daughter is starving…” You open the door with the best of intentions and a shotgun is shoved in your face. Sucker. Most people are decent and kind and lots of folks will come together at the end… and get betrayed, bamboozled, and butchered by the assholes in the crowd. You’re one sob story away from letting down your defenses and inviting a serial killer into your fortress.

3. You have technology-induced ADHD.

TV is out. Internet is down. No phones, no papers, no magazines, and you’ve read that book twice. I know! Let’s go outside and poke around. That’ll be fun and keep us entertained. Annnnnnd, you’re dead.  You’re going to have to learn to sit down, shut up, and be still for hours or days at a time to stay hidden and you’re just not up for it. And if you have young kids—“I’m booooored”—you might just throw yourself to the hordes willingly after a couple days.

4. You’re an addict.

Yes, you are. You’re addicted to something, whether it’s caffeine, cigarettes, sugar, food, twitter, porn, or whatever. Maybe it’s something you don’t even think about because you’ve come to accept it, like your anti-anxiety meds or two-ply toilet paper. But everything is going to run out sooner or later and you’ll go looking for your fix. Zombies are addicted too… to eating fools who leave their shelter looking for one more cup of Starbucks.

5. You give up.

Did you drop organic chem in college when it got really tough? Ever rage quit and call an electrician for that ceiling fan? Cupcakes and donuts didn’t even have to say a word for you to quit on your diet. When the apocalypse happens, life is going to go from bad to hell to worse to “FUCK THIS!” and you’re going to give in. All it takes is a few minutes of doubt and weakness and you’re done. The survivors will be those annoyingly stubborn a-holes who refuse to acknowledge they’ve lost an eight hour game of Monopoly.  The zombies own Boardwalk and Park Place with hotels and you’re the Top Hat…in deep shit.

Disagree? Leave me a comment and argue your point. Will it change my mind? No, but when has that ever stopped anyone on the internet?   Be on the lookout for “Dead Sea Games: Exiled” on Amazon in the next couple weeks.

Stay strong my friends!

Zombie Gifts: “Dead Sea Games: Adrift” FREE on Christmas

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Happy Holidays, Happy Chanukah, Happy Kwanza, Happy “I don’t have to work and I can stuff my face with cookies” Day… whatever you call it. I’d like to wish all of my friends, family, followers, and fans good cheer and good tidings at this closing of 2012.

And since I can’t get everyone a Red Ryder BB Gun, I’m using one of my KDP promo days to offer “Dead Sea Games: Adrift” for FREE on Christmas.  The 5-star rated novellette, and first episode of the four episode story arc will go free at midnight tonight and be available for ANYONE to download, all day Christmas.  If someone you’re gifting for is getting a Kindle or smartphone, iPad, PC, or Mac, load up some free Action/Adventure ZOMBIE reading material for them to give them a Merry Christmas.

Get it HERE.

Don’t forget to download your FREE copy of DSG for Christmast!  What’s that? You want to give ME a  Christmas present? If you like the book, the best gift you can give me is a few minutes of your time to leave a review on Amazon or GoodReads.

“Dead Sea Games: Adrift” FREE on Sunday

In honor of Kriss Morton’s (aka Cabin Goddess aka @AKMamma) wicked good review of my new book on her blog, I’m using one of my KDP promo days to offer “Dead Sea Games: Adrift” for FREE on Sunday 12/9/2012.  The novellette, and first episode of the four episode story arc will go free at midnight tonight and be available for ANYONE to download, all day Sunday.  If you have a Kindle or Kindle app on any smartphone, iPad, PC, or Mac you have nothing to lose by checking it out and passing it along to the zombie fan in your life (you know who they are).

Get it HERE.

Please go check out Kriss’ review on Cabin Goddess and show her some love.  Kriss is a voracious reader, prolific book reviewer, and lives in Alaska with her man and cat in a dry cabin mastering bacon recipes while she waits for the zombie apocalypse to start.  If you’re not checking out her blog on a regular basis, you’re missing out.  Follow her on twitter, like her FB page, circle her on G+, and friend her on GoodReads.

Don’t forget to download your FREE copy of DSG tomorrow!  I don’t need your money, but if you enjoy it please consider taking a few minutes to leave me a review on Amazon or GoodReads and help spread the word.