A new post

Yesterday was my wife's birthday. Now that that is past, I can write some more. Most likely I will be able to get the next installment to the story in place within a day or two. During that time, catch up on this one, or maybe revisit one of your earlier favorite ones. Also, please feel free to give me criticism. II am never going to improve as a writer if I do not know when I do something wrong and I fix it. Have a great one and enjoy the next couple of days.

Things to think of

With Christmas right around the corner and the other winter holidays in full tilt, I thought I would write a little something more positive here than the normal doom and gloom of the undead. Yes, I celebrate Christmas, but to be fair to all that read this, Happy Holidays. I hope your days are bright and your family is loving.

One of the things that made me smile this year was the Layaway angels I read about in the news. These are people that have gone into store and found those people that are in the most need of help to pay off their purchases. They then pay the layaway off for them, allowing them to actually get their gifts. Most people have only spent about 100$, but I read of one person that spent nearly 10k doing this. That article made me smile and to think how great people can really be.

Of course, there is the flip side of that. On back Friday their was the woman that peppered sprayed a crowd of people just so she could get a deal. I was disgusted by this and it hurt me to know that some people truly do not know what it means to help others and to be their for them.

What I really want to point out though is the spirit of the season and the fact that no matter how tough things can get at times, there are those willing to help their fellow human out. This year has been very tough for me and my family. I am working a lot less and therefore we were not able to get much for the holiday for our children. I am not saying that w still would't have had a wonderful day, because we are lucky enough to have a wonderful family here, just that the kids would not get very many gifts.

My wife was on this website called cafemom.com that is a forum for mothers to talk about all of life's issues and to get support from one another. This is a wonderful place to get many ideas that we would not have thought of on our own. She was asking in one of the forums about simple homemade gifts that we could do for the kids. One of the other mothers on the site asked if it would be OK if she sent us a few things. My wife agreed and this other mother sent us a few gifts for the kids. Some clothes and a toy for each of them. It did bring tears to my eyes that there are strangers that are willing to help others out. We plan on recording our kids opening the gifts and sending the video to her in thanks, so that she can see what her generosity has done for them.

On a different note, I am also going to be trying to see if I can do more. I am trying to be more sustainable in my own ways. Basically growing some of my own food so that I do not have to buy it at the store. One day I hope to be able to help others with some fresh food. There is a great kickstarter program here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/488253196/freight-farms-grow-fresh-food-in-any-environment that could have some very large implications. One of these could be placed somewhere and the food used for local needs. If I was running one, I would ensure that at least a part of the food produced went to hungry people in the area.

No matter what your life is like, this is the time of year to put down old hatreds and to love one another. We can look past different beliefs and just work together to make a better future. One of my favorite lines ever is this, "It is not how you believe, just that you believe." And maybe, we can believe in a better future where we help one another and we all are better for it. Peace, hope and love.

Zombie boot Camp

This is not a post about zombie going through boot camp to run faster and overall eat people better, although that could be interesting, it is an Idea I had just the other day. I was reading some tweets and one link caught my eye, it was a Run for Your Life link. If you have not checked out this site, I would do so now here: http://runforyourlives.com/ . I read into it and instantly fell in love. Then, I went to youtube and found some videos from their 10/22/11 event. Even now I am excited just thinking about it. This looks to be so much fun, and with races next year I could try it myself.

The issue I have though is this, I am out of shape and it may just kill me to do this run. This is where the boot camp idea comes in. I think it would be great to have a place that could help people train for this type of thing. But just running would not be any fun, I would have to make it an experience people would want to come to and maybe even pay for it. So, here is my thought on how a three day trip could be.

Day one: The guests arrive at location. They find right away that this is not going to be a cake walk, as everyone is thrown into some type of PT right away. Obviously guests can opt out of that, but where is the fun in that? Once that is done, we must set up camp. We would actually have to set up tents and start fires. All of this would be survival type of training. Once camp is set up, we take a journey over to the shooting range and get right down to taking a few shots with some guns. Afterward would be dinner and rest. A Campfire would be available for all to sit around and chat it up.

Day two: Early wake up with another bout of PT. Once that is done, we start course training. This would be a simulation of obstacles that one would find on the 5k, and I would even have zombies available to help set the mood. I can assume that this would take most of the morning. Lunch would be followed by combat training. Basically, paintball. Teamwork with different scenarios would be done. One scenario in particular would have some of the people becoming zombies trying to infect others by touching them. Only a shot to the face mask would stop them. Whichever team was left would win it all. I can imagine these games would go on for hours. Dinner and relaxation would follow on this.

Day Three: Again morning PT. Afterward some more obstacle training (different, harder ones). Followed by some training in preparedness. he last day would be filled with camp being broken down and everyone heading back to main base. I am thinking relaxation and food for everyone before they go to leave.

Each day would have other odd training involved, whenever there is some downtime. This is similar to boot camp, but without the really mean drill instructors. It would be fun and engaging at all times. I could easily add in more events into the days, or at night. Such as movies on a screen or even night time games.

That was my thought. What do you think? Would you sign up for a Zombie Boot Camp?

Creatures that Go bump

I am working on other short stories at this time, and I was thinking about the direction I wanted to take. Now mind you, I have written a number of stories that involve zombies, but I need to expand my horizon of tales. I love writing about zombies, but I cannot continue writing short stories about them. My novels will be great, I know it, but I just cannot think up anything else with zombies and shorts.

There are plenty of other things thought that I can write about. I thought about mind control or telekinetic abilities, but those sometimes feel over done. Maybe a doll possessed by a serial killer? No, that was done once already. Maybe I shall stick closer to my own thoughts and genre. I have always liked vampires and werewolves. Ghosts and goblins, maybe a troll or two.

OK, let me give it a whirl shall I?

The light flashed so bright Kyle lost all sight. The sensation of weightlessness overcame him for several seconds, each second lasting many times longer than a year felt. A rib cracked and the wind left his lungs in a whoosh as his body hit the ground finally. The smell of gasoline and burning flesh assaulted his nostrils while the heat of flames baked his skin and curled his hair. On instinct Kyle moved away from the heat, still attempting to see but his eyes grasped at nothing but white light.

Kyle's ears lost the ringing sound that had filled them, only to be greeted with the sound of screams of the wounded and dying. Still pulling away from the heat, Kyle's hands grip someone's leg. Horror breaks out across Kyle's face as he realizes that this leg is not attached to anyone. The taste of bile overcome all of his senses with his stomach up heaving everything that he had ever eaten.

The world turned fuzzy as Kyle' vision finally returned, and a scene of dread opened up.....

I think this is a good start to something, now I need to figure where it is going. Maybe next time I will continue with this thought process. Till then, stay safe.

Long Time Gone

It has been over a month since the last time that I wrote a blog post. The reasons are plentiful and valid. To fill you in, if you did not know, My wife has been pregnant for some time and in the last month or so has been at the end. because of this, add work and other children to that as well, I have not had any time to write. It turns out though that the pregnancy was not to last and she gave birth to out little girl on November 3rd, 2011. he is healthy and amazing.

Most are probably wondering how it is that if I didn't have time to write before, how could I possibly have time to write now? The easy answer to that question is this, I am the only one awake in my household. Every one else is napping and I get a little bit of time to myself, so I felt it was a good time to write a bit.

I had so many projects on my plate previously that I was overwhelmed. I had several stories from others I was supposed to read and write about (sorry guys) and several stories I was writing as well. I even was going to get one published into an ezine, but that did not work out as I didn't have the time to edit the stories. That is all going to change now though as I concentrate on one thing at a time.

What I really am hoping to do is to take my short stories and put them together into one collection and put it on Amazon. This is not going to be something that will be done within a couple of weeks, or even months. I plan on this taking me a long time to complete. The reason being is my available time is very limited. I will most likely find time to revamp and edit the stories that I have already written and make them perfect. Once that is done, I will write a couple of new ones to ensure there are about 10 stories in this book.

I will also hopefully find time to continue to write here on my blog once a week for now, if not more. At least then we can all be updated.



Also, I would like to direct anyone interested to Dan King and his book that was released last month.

http://www.amazon.com/Unlikely-Missionary-Poverty-Fighter-BibleDude-net-ebook/dp/B005UDPQ2O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321381796&sr=8-1

blog  http://bibledude.net
twitter  http://twitter.com/bibledude
facebook  http://www.facebook.com/bibledude.net
email  dan@bibledude.net

This man has touched many people's lives. Although we may not all be Christian's or religious, I am sure we can all take away some lessons from him. At least give it a shot as it is well written and could inspire any of us to do better.

Finding time to write

   I love to write. It is the one thing I can always count on to relieve my stress. It is something that truly springs out of my head and I can finally get those thoughts on paper. It clears my mind of all those thoughts that drive others crazy. Again, I love to write.
  The biggest problem I have with writing is finding the time to actually write. I have found that I write the most and the best during the day, usually in the morning before I really start the day. The problem with that though is that I am usually busy during that time. My wife and kids demand a lot of my time, and my wife hates it when I am home and I ignore them all.
  The time I do get to write? The night time. After the kids are asleep and my wife is curled up in bed watching something on netflix. It is the only time I get to write. Some nights I have a great night and I write a lot and some great stuff. Unfortunately this is usually only about once a week, and most nights I find that I am too tired to even write.
  Maybe I should drink some coffee, or maybe do some exercises in order to have more energy at night. What do you usually do to write at night? I am open to any suggestions that will help me to write more. I have too many good ideas to not write them out, so I guess I will have to try and suck it up to get this writing thing done.

Where were you on 9/11?

I was 18 years old and a senior in High school. I was in a public speaking class working on an exercise with a few classmates when our teacher came in and told us that a plane had hit one of the World Trade center Towers. The first thing I said was "It has happened before. A plane once hit the Empire State building during World War 2." We then went on with our day.
A few minutes later our teacher came back into the room and told us the second tower had been hit by a plane and that it was no accident. She then had our entire class go into the business room and watch the news. It was over the next 30 minutes or so that we watched as the towers fell and the reports of the other planes came in.
In a short time period the principal came in and told us to leave and not watch the news. The school clamped down on any information coming in, and I didnt really learn anything new until I got home. I must say, I was glued to the TV for days afterward, watching everything unfold.

That is where I was when it happened, and it will never leave my mind.

Interesting twist

As I was writing I found myself going back to the beginning of the story to write a prologue. It was nothing wrong, but it took an interesting twist. Apparently I cannot keep away from zombies themselves, as they have now found their way into my fantasy novel. This is kind of exciting though... I think it is anyway. I will update as we have more breakthroughs in my writing.

I shall continue

What is on everyone's mind right now? Why, it is the hurricane that is. Hurricane Irene is heading up the east coast and is reeking havoc everywhere it goes. Winds and rain are battering everyone that stands in it's path and there is no stopping it. So, what am I doing? I am sitting here writing and getting myself mentally ready to walk in the storm to the store.
  That is right, I am crazy enough to walk in this dang storm. It is not that I particularly want to walk outside during a hurricane (but that 10 year old boy in me thinks it is cool) it is just that I have been sent on a mission by my pregnant wife. I need to fulfill this mission or I would have one very sad woman on my hands, and honestly, that is just no good.
 So, I am psyching myself up for running to the store. I don't want to get wet either, but it is gonna happen. What I am really excited about though is this new story I am writing. I have written 4000 words over the last few days. This is a huge accomplishment for me, as I have a hard time finding the time to write. My hours at work are sometimes strange plus I have a family, so the conditions must be just right for me to be able to write.
  Here is a little info on it: Marcus is a young man working hard to keep his family afloat. With the death of his father recently he has had to pick up the slack and fill a void left behind. Things never seem to go his way, but a chance find on a journey into the local village finds him starting an adventure that he never thought possible. He and his family find themselves in the middle of world events, and how those events play out is determined by their actions.
  That is a rough idea, and even I am not really sure exactly where things are going to go. We shall see and I will let the story tell itself in my writing. I must go and prepare a bit more, until next time. Everyone, stay safe and warm.

What a night

Last night I was writing like a mad man. Once I was all done for the night and too tired to even think I had knocked out an amazing 2000 words. That was crazy and exciting. I just sat down and began to write with the words flowing from me like no other. This is not a short story, it will be a much longer novel, and most likely one in a series. I will tell you that it will not be a typical horror story. It is more a fantasy/adventure type.

  Never fear though because the way my mind works I will most likely still have a zombie or two involved in the story. In fact, they may be quite prevalent. Whatever the case may be I am excited about the direction the story i headed and how fast it is coming to me. I will keep everyone updated as to my progress on this and anything else I may start writing.

What to write?

 I find myself stuck in that conundrum quite often. What should I write? Should I work on another short story and get it out there for everyone to read? Should I work on my current novel project? Or should I maybe try something new that I have been thinking about? There is a lot that I love to read, and I am sure that I would love to write different stuff as well. But what to write?
  Up to this point I have written a lot of horror type of stuff and one erotica.Everything I have published has been a short story. My head is full of grand dreams and stories that I should be noting, but I forget to sometimes. Even sitting here I have at least three different stories flash across my mind, and a part of me wants to live each of them out. I guess one day I may write them all, but what should I write first?
  Short stories are great, as they can be thought up, written and edited in a short time frame. I can usually have one from start to finish in a few weeks. That is a short amount of time. A full length novel takes a lot more time to write, but the story is much more in depth and I am more committed to the characters. There are benefits and pitfalls to both.
  Although, I am now thinking a little bit more on it and I have found that I really want to live a huge grand adventure. Something that is a journey and fun. It would lean in the fantasy direction, but with a little bit of scifi  mixed in. Well, I guess writing it here has helped me make my mind up. I better head on out and start this, I have the feeling that it could be a long story.

My Writing

Hello Everyone,
   I am writing this as I am finally going to start to get back into my writing phase of life. Things over the last month have been so hectic in my personal life that I was not able to get anything done at all, even when it comes to finishing my short stories.
  Speaking of my short stories, I have been working on wrapping my latest one up, finally. If you remember correctly I did post it, but decided I had been tired and slightly delusional when I did it, and it really needed a proofread through. I then un posted it, and never revised it. Well, I have now begun revising it so that it is better and the story flows from beginning to end. I also tweaked it a bit, and will most likely be changing the name of it, as the current name does not really fit with what the story currently is.
   I must say though that this story is being very much influenced by those funny little science guys at necropology.com I would definitely check out their work. I must add in though that their ideas are new and radical, but when I think about it I am actually shocked that no one had thought about this type of stuff before. It is revolutionary. I will make sure I start updating daily here so that anyone that is reading will know what is going on.

The Last Man

That is going to be the title of my next short story. I am hoping that I can write it this coming week and have it published by the weekend. It will be a little bit different, as it will bridge the gap of two different genres, erotica and horror. I hope that I can mesh these two together in a way that is both frightening and fun.

This story will also be based in the Z Age - in which the undead walk the Earth and rule the living. What we find is that there is this one guy who has survived with some others, and so he must find how he fits into this new world of theirs as the last man. This should create some exciting scenes and also some drama. A little bit of gore and horror thrown in and should be a good read at night alone, or a crowded bus. I will let you all know when I get it published.

My next story

KI have been thinking about what I wanted to write next. The Z Age is a point in history, the stories themselves fit into it. I was thinking about writing another short story that bridges two genres, I think Horror and erotica. Obviously horror due to the fact that it is based in this world with zombies, but I think erotica could be fun to write. I have written one short story I published at smashwords that was erotica. Although it was not my best work, it has garnered some attention. I think this time I could do better. I will update on here as I come up with ideas and let anyone that is reading when it will be out.

What a Novel Idea

The Z age is a world that I have created in my fiction writing. Think of it as the next evolution in man, or devolution that is. We went from the stone age, moved into the bronze age, iron age came next. From there it was a little fuzzy, but dark ages came and went and somehow we found ourselves in the modern age. We were very content and happy in this time, until something went wrong.
Just like typical fashion, we found a way to screw things up and we released a plague upon the world. Now we have entered the Z age, or Zombie era. Not sure how long this is gonna last, but I am writing the stories of survivors and victims as they traverse this new unforgiving land.
Some of these stories I may write here, others can be found at Smashwords. Hope you enjoy and take heed, as even the CDC says one must be prepared for the worst.....