New Review for Zombie Complex

One of the biggest challenges for an independent author is getting reviews.  However, they've been trickling in for Zombie Complex:  The Battle for Chattahoochee Run.  Today, I learned that Zombie Complex was reviewed by Susie of Bookworm Reviews and earned 5 out of 5 stars.  The work of book reviewers and book bloggers is especially valuable since they read plenty of books and let authors know how we are doing in comparison with others in our genre and the book universe.

I tried hard to make the characters real in Zombie Complex and the reviewer appreciated it.

Now this book shows how a real zombie apocalypse would have gone down, forget what Hollywood shows you 'Zombie Complex: The Battle for Chattahoochee Run' by Alexander Pain shows how real people try to stay alive. (Read the whole review on Bookworm Reviews.)


Of course, good reviews also pose a challenge.  They add motivation to my writing efforts and they  challenge me to keep quality high!

Reviews help Zombie Complex take off!

The Hand - Flash Fiction translated into French

With all the fine translators available on the web, I was wondering what one of my flash fiction stories would look like in French.  I thought readers in France, Quebec, and in the French-speaking world might enjoy joining my zombie apocalypse.  Thus, I chose to translate my short short story, The Hand, using the free SYSTRAN translator online.  Here is the resulting fiction de zombi!

Photo by BKleinWiki [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

La Main

Quelque chose morte était au milieu de la rue.  Elle avait attiré un meurtre entier des corneilles affamées. Ils picotaient à elle, poussaient des cris perçants à l'un l'autre, et combattaient au-dessusde elle. C'était une main humaine. J'ai regardéautour pour un humain. Mais, personne j'ai vudésormais l'ajustement cette description.

J'ai combattu de retour ma bile. Je n'ai pas ditn'importe qui. Karen conduisait. Vijay était dans ledos essayant désespérément d'arrêter lesaignement de Charan. J'ai maintenu mon doigtrépertorié le long de la glissière. J'ai maintenumon museau dirigé vers le bas. Nous avons dûatteindre l'hôpital. S'il y avait toujours d'un. 

Is "Zombie Complex" related to "The Walking Dead"?

As a zombie enthusiast, I often tweet about The Walking Dead.  I am an enthusiastic fan and it is my favorite television show.  However, my novel Zombie Complex is not related to The Walking Dead franchise in any way.  My novel is not fan fiction.  It is my vision of how a zombie apocalypse might affect a neighborhood much like mine.  As I think about a zombie apocalypse, I have a vision of how it starts and how it might end.

When I compare music by Cold Play and U2 or Lady Gaga and Madonna, I definitely see similarities.  I think everyone does.  So I'm certainly not going to deny the influence of TWD.  The show sparked my interest in the entire zombie genre.  My view of what zombies can do and how they might look is heavily influenced by The Walking Dead.  I have also been influenced by the classic Romero vison of zombies, World War Z, and movies like I Am Legend.    But, I really wonder what might be going on in the minds of zombies.  I've explored this topic in my short stories "Dog Walk of the Apocalypse" and "Zombie Cage."  When a dead person comes back as a zombie, I can't help but speculate what mind be going on in their brains once the blood begins to flow and the synapses begin to fire.  As an independently published author, I can also touch on themes of diversity and globalism that are scrupulously avoided on mass market television platforms.

When it comes to The Walking Dead, I don't watch season previews and I won't read the comic books.  As a fan of the television show, I want to be surprised when I watch the show.  I avoid spoilers like the plague.  I am just as excited as any other fan.  I also like elements of Fear of the Walking Dead.  However, I am at least 30+ episodes behind on watching that show.  It was interesting to see how people in California might survive.  Growing up in the South, it is hard to see how zombies could take over our region.  It is also hard to imagine how Californians would stand a chance.  But, the fun of the zombie genre is that it allows us to explore different people and different scenarios to answer those questions and more.

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and a Merry Christmas.  Enjoy your time with family and friends.  I'd like to share a few of the Christmas graphics that were developed by my fellow authors in my writing group:  Wolfpack Authors. 

If you are looking for something interesting to read, go to twitter and follow #WolfPackAuthors and you'll find interesting books and short stories covering everything from the apocalypse to erotica.

You really can't go wrong with anything from the pack.  Many of the authors are highlighted on the Fauph Talk Fiction. 

You can learn about many others on the Indies United Publishing House.  If you have time this holiday, take a break and immerse yourself in the short stories and books by my fellow Wolfpack and independent authors.

Flash Fiction: Thirst.

"Do you think the water is still good?"
"Well, babe, it still comes out of the faucet."
"But, are there zombies floating around in the water at the treatment facility?"
"Heck, are people even working at the treatment facility?"
"Maybe we should boil it?"
"Definitely!"
"Will that take care of zombie parts floating around in the water?"
"I don't know, babe."
"Can we use bleach to purify our water?"
"Yes."
"How much bleach do we use?
"I don't know."
"Why didn't you learn this stuff before zombies were a thing?"
"I don't know."

Photo by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) from USA [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Answers about water in an emergency:

Grid Shutdown:  How Long Will The Water Last?
Top 5 Easiest DIY Water Filters You Can Make At Home
Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water

Zombie Lymeric: Zombie from Atlanta

There once was a zombie from Atlanta,
who ate the brains of a mall Santa,
his stomach churned,
his insides all burned,
and he had to drink lots of Mylanta!

Zombie Flash Fiction - Black Friday Z

River kicked back in his tent.  On this Black Friday, he occupied the third spot from the door.  He would be the third person through the door at Big Box Electronics.  The security guard had already given him a certificate that guaranteed he would get 75% off the price of the newest PlayBox gaming system.  It would be sweet.  All he had to do was make it through the night.  He felt the cold hard sidewalk through the floor of the tent.  A shiver went through River's whole body.

Photo by Paul Budd [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

Beating the cold was just a matter of mind over matter.  He had a whole thermos of his mom's hot chocolate.  At 16, River didn't need his mom to make him hot chocolate.  But, tonight, he was really glad that she did.  His mom and stepdad, Phil, were being really cool about Black Friday.  He just snugged down as far as possible in his cold weather sleeping bag and pulled the zipper all the way up.  Then he gingerly extended his arms out so he could rest his arms on the pillow.  He was in his fighting position.  Tablet on.  Game on.  Bluetooth synched.  He unwrapped a chocolate energy bar and placed it within easy reach.  Then River carefully placed his noise cancelling headphones on.  Every ear was encapsulated and warm.  He rotated the microphone down into position and dove into the game.  His whole squad was online and ready to rock.

The battle was intense.  He heard screams throughout the night.  The explosions were so real and so vivid that River thought he could feel the concussion of each grenade detonation.  The hours rolled by and the kills accumulated.  River and his crew were kicking ass.  They were unstoppable.  Then, he caught the flashing of his smart watch in the periphery of his vision.  It was 4:50 a.m.  It was almost go time.  He quickly said his "goodbyes," shut down the game, and stowed his tablet.

According to plan, his mom would be there to secure his tent shortly after the store opened.  He would be through the door, dash back to video games, get his PlayBox, and then he would pick up some accessories on the way out.  His gift cards were charged and he was ready to go.  As he pulled off his headphones, he could hear movement outside.  The crowd was rattling the steel grate that protected the BBE front door.

"That's bullcrap," River muttered under his breath.  "I'm number three!  That PlayBox is mine."

He slithered out of his thick sleeping back and maneuvered to get his jeans.  He tugged on them and met resistance.  Someone outside was standing on the tent and his pants.  River was angry.  Dad had paid a lot for this tent.

"Hey jerkwad," he yelled.  "Get off of my tent!"

He snatched his pants and pulled them on.  He heard the tent fabric ripping.  He was mad as hell now.  But, he stifled the emotion.  His mom and dad had told him that he didn't know anything about the people he was camping with.  Some of them were poor and desperate they had said.  Don't piss them off and don't show them any of your gear they had reminded him over and over.

"Hey Bro.  It's cool.  We're chill," he said as he unzipped the tent.

He hopped out to see that the whole front of the store was mobbed.  His mom and dad had been right.  There were a lot of poor people.  Many of them had torn parkas and coats.  Of course, there wasn't a police officer or security guard in sight.  Still, he was number three and he was going to get his PlayBox.  He had a certificate.  His spot in line was guaranteed.

River heard a menacing snarl behind him.  He shouldered his pack full of gear and whirled.  It was the jerk who stomped on his tent.

"Hey man," River said.  "It was pretty uncool to . . ."

River stopped talking as the man on the tent looked up at him.  The man's eyes were black as coal.  The black-eyed man charged at River and pinned him up against the hard brick wall of the store.  The man's hands grabbed solidly onto his jacket.  There was no life in the man's eyes and he snarled savagely as he leaned in for a bite.

"No," River yelled. "Get off of me you freak!"

River blocked upward with both arms to knock his assailants hands off of his neck momentarily and ducked under his assailant.  The man grabbed River's hood and pulled him backward.  The teen responded by smacking his assailant across the face with the bag of electronics.  His assailant paused, but was unphased.  He had no reaction at all to pain.  River kicked the man in the nuts and it didn't even phase him.  It didn't phase him at all.  River grabbed his assailant's arms, swung him around, and threw him to the ground. 

The crowd turned and looked at River for a moment.  River realized that none of them were concerned with the discounts that they would receive on big screen televisions.  They all shared the same dead black eyes of his assailant.  They also all started to move in his direction.  River turned and ran as fast as he could away from the store.  As he neared the edge of the parking lot, he saw his mom and stepfather driving towards him.

He had never been happier to see their metallic blue Chrysler Town & Country Mini Van in his life.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Zombie Fans!

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As a special offer for all readers of Zombie fiction, I've reduced the price of Zombie Complex to $1.59 through New Years Day 2019!