Newest Apple Book Store Reviews (Continue to) Show 4-Ratings

Using iTunes on your computer or the iBook app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, you'll see that 'Flatline Virus: When Zombies Evolved' is rated 4 out of 5 stars, including (8) #1 ratings and (6) #2 ratings.

I Painted a Cartoon of Mine from 20+ Years Ago (see down and to the right)

OK,I admit, the humor is a little dark. I just wanted to see how it looked in color. The original was pen and ink in shades of black and grey. No captions. Doesn't need any. I think you'll agree.

A New Painting - Check Out the Reptile Eye

I'm finishing up a painting of a reptile's eye which you can see on the right side of the blog under 'Check Out One of My Paintings'. It's not my usual landscape style. I found the color and subject interesting, so this is my first painting of the winter 2011-2012. I'm going to try painting one of my old cartoons next. If I write another book, I think I should paint the book cover. That should be fun.

A Repost - Some Unusual Words (and what they mean) You'll See in 'Homo Optimus'

These are some words you'll see in the book that are designed to describe something in the future, say 124 years from now. Some are words that currently exist, just not in everyone's everyday vocabulary.

the Hype-a slang word for (all the data on) the network of networks, formerly called the internet. It's short for Hyperfinite, meaning a very, very large number, approaching an infinite number, like the amount of data on it.

Aqualiens - extraterrestrial beings that live in water.

Data skins - the augmented reality related to a specific person, place or thing.

Astrobiologist - A scientist who makes use of physics, chemistry, astronomy, biology, molecular biology, ecology, planetary science, geography, and geology to investigate the possibility of life on other worlds.

Benthic - relating to the collection of organisms that live at the bottom of the sea

Cryophilic - relating to organisms that thrive in the cold

Augmented Reality - a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input. Thus, the technology is supposed to enhance the current perception of reality. Ever watch a football game where the scrimmage line is in blue and the first down line is in orange...and there's an arrow on the field denoting that it's first down and 10? That's augmented reality today.

the Legacy - kind of like a super-Facebook where everyone captures (video, audio, images, text, etc.) almost everything of significance in their lives on the web from birth to death.

Cephalopods - a member of the family of mollusks, e.g. squid, octopus.

2000 Pages Views

My little blog has had 2000 page views. Wow. Never thought it could happen.

Oh, and as an aside....My book sales have come from Canada, Australia, UK, France, Germany and the United States, that is, that I know of. Not all the retail channels report country of purchase, so there may be more.

Price Reduced to $0.99 - Both Books!!

A pre-holiday discount sale is on now for each of the books. They will or are available for 99 cents each, a reduction from the ridiculously low price of $2.99. This make take a few days to be effective.

Oh, I just looked and the Origin of Homo Optimus is now available on Barnes & Noble. Thus, the new book is now selling on my biggest three distribution channels, i.e. Apple, Amazon and Barnes & Noble ('though at $2.99 for the next few days).

Update - Apple Store's 19 Reviews Can't Be Wrong - 4-Rated !!!

But see for yourself.

Flatline Virus: When Zombies Evolved has 19 ratings in the Apple Bookstore averaging 4 stars out of 5.

The Origin of Homo Optimus: Humans, Aliens & Superbrains is now available in Amazon and Apple.

An Excerpt from 'The Origin of Homo Optimus: Humans, Aliens and Superbrains'

Introduction

It is 124 years in the future.  

Chapter 1 - The Court Scene
 
Kenneth Douglas was brought into the courtroom from the side door. He was clasped in handcuffs. He had never even seen the inside of a courtroom before this and he found the experience a little unnerving. "Geez," he thought, "I can't understand how they found out I did it. No way the police knew how to catch me. Who could possibly have tracked me? I should have stopped at 20, maybe. Where the hell is my lawyer?"

Ken's father, Bill, was in court to see his son likely go to jail. Like the rest of the Douglas family, Ken didn't like where humanity was headed. The difference was he wanted to do something about it. Bill knew his son would make a public statement, a publicly-viewed act, somehow and somewhere with his incredible cyber skills. He did. Unknown to less than three or four of his closest friends, Ken was indeed the Boston Hackmaster, whose lavish pro-retro pranks hit the news on a regular basis. He was a hero to some and hated by others. Bios loved him; Cybers didn't. All agreed the Hackmaster had a good deal of skill to do what he did while evading the police and security forces everywhere. Bill knew that a guilty plea or verdict could mean not only several years of jail, but also that his son's bio-enhancement privileges could be denied forever, effectively shortening his life significantly. If you chose a life of crime, you would not be allowed a long life. The judge could not help seeing the creativity and humor in it all. "No one has been able hack into anyone's data skins until you did this, young man," said the judge. "It's too bad to waste your talent. Unfortunately for you, the sentencing guidelines call for too harsh a term. You're a talented, misguided kid, but my hands are tied on this."

"If only there were another option I had," thought the judge, "but I'm just not aware of anything else I can do."

"Mr. Douglas, you are accused of twenty-one counts of breaking into the personal, governmental, or company data notes and modifying them to suit your humor", said the judge.

The judge had read over the police report. Douglas had hacked into the augmented realities of persons, buildings, landmarks, a retail store, a couple restaurants, a sports team, a city greeting post, and a church. The kid didn't just scrawl filthy words onto data notes which described these persons, places or things as they viewed them in reality. No, thought the judge, he wanted to tarnish the use of data skins in general.

"I'm choosing not to read these out loud, but they are part of your criminal record," said the judge.

The judge read the file to himself and found it amusing, despite its criminality. The young man wrote about Wanda Sykes that "…her closest friends believed she held a patent for weaponized halitosis and also farts in her sleep."

His notes on the Boston Museum of Natural History said, "It is currently occupied by 28 employees and 254 visitors, no fewer than six of whom have erections. Please take special note of the crowd forming around a sex act taking place on the second floor."

The judge was pretty sure he knew the restaurant whose augmented reality had been modified to read, "The chef of this lowest-rated establishment broke up with his boyfriend and suffers from depression for which he is overly self-medicated. The restaurant treats its customers like its own family, four members of whom are currently incarcerated for various crimes in Walpole State Prison. The state Health Inspector vomited profusely here yesterday after swallowing something he later described only as 'squishy' and is under treatment at a local hospital for terminal diarrhea."

The judge read another to himself which caused him to smirk. The data skin hacked into was 'America's Most Beloved Ball Park' (where Beloved was crossed out to read Oldest) which read "Faithful fans are taking turns this season holding up the walls of 223 year old Fenway Park while the $2 billion Red Sox pitching staff drank themselves out of the playoffs for the 124th consecutive year."

"How do you plead, Mr. Douglas?"

'Homo Optimus' is Now Selling in the Apple Bookstore!!

Wow...about two weeks ahead of schedule! Apple is my biggest retail channel at 42% of sales vs. 35% for Amazon. It will be a few more days before it's up on Barnes and Noble (18% of sales per the latest reporting). It's also just shown up at the Kobo Bookstore. Koby, Sony and Smashwords represent about 5% of my sales in aggregate.

Regarding the book....It's a little coincidental that there's been some news which relates to the story line(s) in the book. For one, there was news that an ocean of water under an ice cap had been confirmed for Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter. (Frankly, the news was a little stale; it's been really believed for at least five years). Secondly, we had news of another asteroid missing the earth. I know I used a comet in the book. Comets present a much higher risk to the earth, albeit despite a much lower potential for occurrence.

2011 Word of the Year is 'Tergiversate'

A panel of editors, lexicographers and others at Dictionary.com have chosen the Word of the Year for 2011. The word is...Tergiversate

Pronounced "ter-JIV-er-sate", it means “to change repeatedly one's attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate.”

'Homo Optimus' Has Been Approved for Premium Distribution!

...which means it will be on sale in the Apple Bookstore, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, Diesel, etc. about two weeks from the end of this week (so, around December 17th, approximately). I sent Mark Coker, the founder and CEO of Smashwords, my distributor, an email asking him to look into why the approval might be taking so long. It has been 'pending approval' since 11/2. I did the same thing for the last book. It seemed to get hung up for more than the usual week to ten days. Anyway, I looked this morning and it is approved for what Smashwords calls Premium Distribution. The standards for publication are more stringent. Of course, the sales potential is also much higher, something I wanted to be in place for the holidays when all those new iPads, Nooks and Kindles will be given as gifts.

Lazy Language?

A Word About Our Language
My books and paintings...that’s what this blog was created for. Books are a way we use language. Today I’d like to take a little time to write about our language, more specifically spoken language, not written language...and English.

Language changes all the time. It evolves just like we do. The rapid pace of our lives has had an effect, I believe. Some of these changes have resulted in the use of lazy, ambiguous, even rude (whether intended or not) language. I have two examples today.

Are you all set?
Here’s a pretty common restaurant scene. You’re sitting across the table from someone, engaged in conversation, sometime during the meal. The waitress/waiter stops by and asks, “Are you all set?” For the life of me, I have no idea what she just asked. Is she asking...

“Are you finished?”
“Do you want your check?”
“Do you need anything or anything else or anything more?”
“Is the meal OK?”
“May I clear the dishes?”

Which is it? Am I the only one who thinks this is a lazy, ambiguous use of our language? Here’s another example.

You’ve just gassed up at the pump, walk into the convenience store/gas station, grab a snack from the little store they have, and line up behind a couple other customers, waiting to pay. Finally, it’s your turn. The clerk asks, “Are you all set?”

What the hell does that mean? Does it look like I’m all set? All set for what? All set meaning I don’t need any help? Or all set meaning I look like I need help?

Hey buddy, I’m holding a couple candy bars. I’ve just pumped $40 of gas from your pumps outside. I have a couple twenty dollar bills in one hand and two candy bars in the other. I’m all set to pay, but I’m not all set because I haven’t paid. So, am I all set? I don’t really know.

From what I’ve read, ‘all set’ may be an idiom which is used mostly in the northeast and eastern U.S. I do know I hear it all the time. I feel it’s lazy language, ambiguous at best. Say what you mean. How about ‘May I help you?’ or something similar?

Next Topic - ‘No Problem’

Let’s use the same restaurant scene as above, although it could apply to just about any retail scenario. Your meal is being served, but you notice that one of the silverware sets is missing. You ask your waitress for another set. You thank her when she brings it. “Sure,” she says, “No problem.”

What? No problem? Someone says it’s no problem for her/he to be doing his/her job? It implies it might have been an inconvenience for them, but we should be so thankful it wasn’t a problem for them. If it were a problem, they wouldn’t have done it?

Wouldn't it be better to say, “It’s a pleasure to serve you” or “You’re welcome” or something similar?

FEEL FREE TO COMMENT...

Homo Optimus Passes Meatgrinder Process

What? Well, I re-submitted the book after making the changes I referred to in the previous blog entry, i.e. making sure those two paragraphs were in the same 'Normal' style as the rest of the book. I later received an email from Smashwords that the book passed the 'autovetter' process. It still has to be manually examined and that may take a week or two, depending on the volume at the distributor.

Some E-Book Formatting Items You Don't Care About!

Formatting an e-book for publication, especially for premium distribution (e.g. Apple, B&N) requires a special, vanilla-type use of Microsoft Word, something I never really paid any attention to. I took a lot of time attending to this for the first book. It was new to me. You can't use tabs. You can't use odd or super large fonts. You can't hit the space bar to place your paragraph beginning. You can't hit the carriage return more than four times in a row. You can't number pages. Blah, blah.
But it's all good. It's because of the e-book readers. That's what they require. So, I thought I was all prepared when I started this book. I would just use the same format as my last book. Just delete the text and start with the new book. Yeah, right. I submitted it to Amazon on or about November 2 and the book's been up for a couple weeks now. However, I'm still having trouble with Smashwords. I discovered one little biddy tab and re-submitted. Error. I just went through the formatting again and discovered two paragraphs in Body text style hidden among the rest of Normal text style formatting. Yuck. So, I've fixed that and now resubmitted. It may be another two weeks before the book gets approved for premium distribution. Oh well.

The Apple E-Book Store Rates 'Flatline Virus' 4 Stars out of 5 (17 Reviews)

Here's a review....

'Future Words' to Look For in 'Homo Optimus'

These are some words you'll see in the book that are designed to describe something in the future, say 124 years from now. Some are words that currently exist, just not in everyone's everyday vocabulary.

the Hype-a slang word for (all the data on) the network of networks, formerly called the internet. It's short for Hyperfinite, meaning a very, very large number, approaching an infinite number, like the amount of data on it.

Aqualiens - extraterrestrial beings that live in water.

Data skins - the augmented reality related to a specific person, place or thing.

Astrobiologist - A scientist who makes use of physics, chemistry, astronomy, biology, molecular biology, ecology, planetary science, geography, and geology to investigate the possibility of life on other worlds.

Benthic - relating to the collection of organisms that live at the bottom of the sea

Cryophilic - relating to organisms that thrive in the cold

Augmented Reality - a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input. Thus, the technology is supposed to enhance the current perception of reality. Ever watch a football game where the scrimmage line is in blue and the first down line is in orange...and there's an arrow on the field denoting that it's first down and 10? That's augmented reality today.

the Legacy - kind of like a super-Facebook where everyone captures (video, audio, images, text, etc.) almost everything of significance in their lives on the web from birth to death.

Cephalopods - a member of the family of mollusks, e.g. squid, octopus.

'The Origin of Homo Optimus: Humans, Aliens and Superbrains' now published!

It's now on Amazon and Smashwords, the distributor/retailer for $2.99 in e-book format. Soon to be available in the Apple iStore (using the app or thru iTunes store), Barnes & Noble, Sony, etc.

So Bill, why did you write this one?

Let's go back to the first one. Why did I do that?
1. I had an idea for a zombie book and wanted to see if I could see it through.
2. Well, I did see it through. Then I thought, maybe I can get it published.
3. Then I discovered I could publish it on my own in electronic format.
4. Not only that, but I found I could publish for almost nothing and people actually bought it.
5. The process of developing an idea, researching it, writing a story with characters and a plot, then seeing it through to publication was exhilarating and a great creative outlet during the golf off-season, while my paintings were drying.
6. So, I wrote a second one and here we are.

The Origin of Homo Optimus: Humans, Aliens and Superbrains sent to Publication

I have submitted the e-book to Smashwords and Amazon for publication. I am awaiting approval. I knew the formatting and book cover image were accepted. It should now be 2-3 days before it shows up on the electronic bookshelves...

In addition to listing it on its own website, Smashwords distributes to the book to Apple (my largest seller), Sony, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Diesel, etc.

I submitted the book directly to Amazon (Kindle Publishing).

You can see the book's trailer on You Tube (click on the spot to the right under interesting links).

New Book - likely to be called 'The Origin of Homo Optimus'

Here's an update. The following are completed: 1) re-formatting for e-book submission; 2) first and second edits; 3) draft of book cover (see at right); 4) book title (I believe I'm sticking with the one at right; 5) first draft of a short description of the story line which I'll need for e-book submission.

Right now the book stands at 53,000 words in length.

What's left?
1) Maybe one more edit; 2) finalizing a few techy words in the book, e.g. my word for the web or internet. It's important because I use it a number of times; and 3) finalizing the book cover, title, and short description. Oh, almost forgot...I need to produce a book trailer (about a 40-45 second spot video like a movie trailer which attaches to this blog and Smashwords, etc...gives the potential reader some idea about the book in more than just words).

Untitled New Book

The first draft of my new, yet untitled book is complete. I've also completed the formatting for e-book publishing as well as the first edit. I am currently working on getting the last four or five candidates for the book title down to a single one, garnering images and ideas for the book cover and getting ready to go through the editing process again (always a number of edits).

The story line includes the development of a human-friendly superintelligence, the apocalyptic earth-crossing course of a dark comet, and the strange happenings of the pre-colonization expedition to Jupiter's moon, Europa. The minor plots intertwine. The book will be about 52,000 words.

Updated Retailer Reviews of 'Flatline Virus'

Apple iStore - 15 reviews - 4 stars out of 5 (42% of sales)...now my largest seller
Barnes & Noble - 3 reviews - 3.5 stars out of 5 (18% of sales)
Amazon - 2 reviews - 2.5 reviews out of 5 (35% of sales)
Other (Sony, Kobo, Smashwords) - 0 reviews (5% of sales)

If You Want to Buy 'Flatline Virus' - It's an E-Book

My book is not in paper print...it's available as an e-book (meaning in electronic print). You can buy it online at the Apple Bookstore (see iTunes), Amazon, Barnes and Noble (those are the major ones) and also Sony and Smashwords (my distributor).


The links to some of those are to the right under my picture where it says 'Links to New and Exciting Places'. Enjoy!

Latest Reviews from Major E-Book Sellers

Amazon - 2 Reviews - 3 Stars out of 5
Apple - 14 Reviews - 4 Stars out of 5
Barnes & Noble - 3 Reviews - 3.5 Stars out of 5

Approaching 1000 Page Views

940 so far. Thank you, viewers. (You can check the number yourself at the bottom left of this blog)

Latest Reviews for 'Flatline Virus'

Amazon - 2 Reviews - 3 Stars out of 5
Apple - 12 Reviews - 4 Stars out of 5
Barnes & Noble - 3 Reviews - 3.5 Stars out of 5

Based on the latest statistics, Amazon represents 40%, Apple 36%, Barnes and Noble 20%, and Sony 4% of my book sales.

Apple Store (iTunes) Ratings

Latest Ratings show 10 reviews with 4 out of 5 stars for Flatline Virus.

My second book is under way with 21,700 words so far. The working title is 'Not Afraid. The Dilemma of AI Plus'.

Just Finished My Kindle Publishing Author Page

Check it out. The link is over the right of the page with some others.

Latest Review Status for 'Flatline Virus: When Zombies Evolved'

Apple Bookstore
10 reviews - 4 out of 5 stars

Barnes & Noble
2 reviews - 2.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon
2 reviews - 3 out of 5 stars

New Book - Report

...working on it. 8000 words drafted so far. Working title is 'Not Afraid - The Dilemma of AI Plus'

Time to Check Out the Amazon Ratings

We've all been (well, I have) waiting for someone else in Amazon to review Flatline Virus other than RB. It's happened and serves to smooth out the average rating to three stars out of five. Back to sanity.

By the way, Apple (iTunes) shows seven ratings averaging 3.5 stars out of five for Flatline Virus.

Likely Scenarios of Book I am Researching

I am excited about the book I am working on. That is, I'm not writing it yet, but taking notes and researching the material. The various futuristic ideas I believe will stick include the following:
1. The story takes place about a hundred years from now.
2. There will be pre-colonization expedition to Europa, a moon of Jupiter, perhaps the most likely candidate for extraterrestrial life outside of Mars.
3. The 21st century is full of conflict for humanity, at least partly due to the huge technological changes occurring. There are other reasons as well.
4. The world is in danger of an apocalyptic event.
5. Artificial intelligence is reaching human level. This has huge implications for mankind.

My One Amazon Reviewer-For Now

This is Ross' picture from his Amazon reviewer profile.

I'll never know how many potential readers Ross has chased away. He reviewed the book about a week after it was published; and yet, Amazon still remains a strong sales outlet for me. I have only one review from Amazon and it's my best sales channel. I have more from B&N and Apple. Was that one early review responsible? Maybe. I still wonder how he confused my zombie book with a work of William Gibson (the famous author) who would never think of stooping to a book about the re-animation of the dead and sell it at the ridiculously low offering price of $2.99. Ever notice a William Gibson (the famous author) title as compared to the author's name? Very, very different from mine. His name is larger than the title (because it's the draw for readers). I guess Ross was duped by my fabulous marketing effort and compelling cover. Check out Ross' other reviews. My view is that his view is rather negative overall.

Happy July 4th!!!

Here is a 'Flatline Virus' Review Found on the Apple iStore

34% of the books I've sold have been through the Apple iStore. Through Apple, I have six reviews with an average of 4 out of 5 stars. This is one of them. If you click on this image, the print will be easier to read.

Book Price Reduced Temporarily to $0.99 !!!

The time is right (and the price) to buy Flatline Virus: When Zombies Evolved. I want to see what the effect will be on sales, i.e. can I make up the difference between a price of 99 cents versus $2.99 on volume? A 99 cent book is much easier to buy.

Working on a New Book!!!

Although I won't start writing until the Fall, I've started researching and taking notes on a new science fiction novel. No draft title yet. The setting will be Earth, perhaps 100-125 years from now, although I may have scenes from Europa, a moon of Jupiter as well as our moon or Mars, which by that time may be be colonized, to some extent. The Earth will be in conflict for a number of reasons. There is an expedition to Europa for the purpose of determining how habitable this moon may be. Allegedly, there is water aplenty there.

The themes should include Transhumanism, loss of humanity, brain-computer interfacing, cognitive, bio and cyber enhancements, and artificial intelligence.

Try Another Painting vs Photo

OK, I admit, for this one below I took more artistic license. That is, more color saturation, intensity...or for that matter, more color at all. Also, I decided to use different shadows, angled differently. This is a scene at the golf club.

Compare the Photo to the Painting

Here are some more samples of my painting. Please keep in mind that the photo I use may be interpreted in an impressionistic way. That's what I've done. If the color, brightness, intensity doesn't exactly create the image I want, then zowee, I change it. That's artistic license at work.

Thoughts About Material for a New Book

I have been researching the future, say 100-150 years from now. Or at least what the so-called expert futurists are calling for (and many others). I will say it is an eye-opener and great fodder for a science fiction novel. A couple months ago I became fascinated by the term 'singularity'. That got me going, that is, looking into the increasing speed of technology change. That led me into nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, transhumanism, posthumanism, generational space ships, colonization, cognitive enhancement, and much more. So, that's where I'm headed for the next book...not all of the above, but certainly some.

Update on Apple iBook Reviews

Tonight there are six reviews by readers of 'Flatline Virus: When Zombies Evolved' on the Apple iBook app site. These six average 4 stars out of 5.

Barnes & Noble Reporting Sales of Flatline Virus!

My distributor is now showing the sales coming in from Barnes & Noble for Flatline Virus: When Zombies Evolved. The breakdown by sales channel thus far is this by percentage:

Amazon (KDP including US and UK) 50%
Barnes & Noble 32%
Apple iBooks 18%

Finally the Apple iStore Sales Start to Show Up!

Smashwords, my distributor, is now reporting some sales coming through from the Apple iStore (iBooks). They seem to be at a rate about 1/2 or maybe a little less than Amazon, at least now. I also noted today that Amazon is reporting that sales of ebooks are now exceeding those in print for the first time. Ebook sales have been more than hard cover books for a while.

4 Star Ratings on Apple iStore !

I just checked my iBooks mobile app for the Apple iStore where my book is sold. The reviews average 4 stars out of 5. Granted, the average is based on three reviews, but that's hopefully a better indication of reader satisfaction than one review on Amazon.

Paintings vs. Pictures

I usually paint from a photograph. I like to take some artistic license with colors, light, and so forth, but I believe you can see the resemblance between the paintings and the photos they are drawn from. Some artists can make their paintings very, very photorealistic. I wish I could. Maybe in a few years.

Another Sample from 'Flatline Virus'

To set up the scene...Steve and Ellen, on their way home from their zombie-ruined honeymoon, spot a school bus on the side of the highway which Ellen recognizes as one from the school where she is a teacher. Two zombies are attempting to get in...

From a kneeling position, Steve swung the tire iron around and struck the bus driver on the side of the skull, sending him awkwardly off balance. This allowed Steve to get up and face a zombie who finally saw a meal outside the bus instead of through glass. The bus driver lunged forward at Steve, trying to grab an arm. Steve swung the baseball bat down on both of the driver’s extended arms. Steve could hear them both break. There was no cry of pain from the Z, only another advance toward Steve. Steve jammed the barrel of the bat into the face of the bus driver, sending him three steps backwards. Not deterred, the bus driver advanced again, somewhat more cautiously, waiting for Steve to make a move. Whether it was his Border Patrol training, his humanness, his youthful quickness, or just a survival instinct, Steve used all of them in a blitz attack on the zombie bus driver. It was clearly startled, trying to move back and to the side. But Steve was just too quick. He took a swing at the Z’s lower legs, breaking one, as he got behind his opponent, taking another swing at his head, bringing him down to the ground. With three more roundhouse home run swings to the Z’s skull, he threw the bat to the side, and shoved the sharp end of the tire iron into the ear socket of the bus driver. The kids on the bus had their noses pressed up against the windows. They were very impressed with Steve’s superhero action and quite happy to get out of the bus. After they untied their scarves, belts, and ties (which they had used to secure the door, preventing the dead driver from getting in), a few sped into the bushes to relieve themselves.

A Scene from the Book - Saving Blankie and Emmie

This is a sample from the book. The scene is this. Steve Spalding went to pick up his two dogs from the neighbors, the Senecas, who had been caring for them while the Spaldings were on their honeymoon....

The Senecas loved dogs and Blankie and Emmie got along well with them. As Steve pulled out of his driveway, there were eyes looking at him through the boarded up windows of most of the houses on the street. He pulled the Jeep in the Senecas’ yard, stopped the car, opened his door, and walked to the door on the side of the house. He knocked on the door. Nothing. He rang the doorbell. Nothing, but he could hear the dogs barking, then squealing somewhere in the house. He called them, “Blankie,” along with, “Hey, Phil, Marj, you home?” Nothing, except the sound of dogs squealing like they were hurt. Then Steve heard Blankie growl like he had never heard him. Blankie was only about a year old and still growing, about 70 pounds, part Husky and part Great Pyrenees. They called him Blankie, partly because he was mostly white and partly because his intellectual capacity wasn’t anywhere near the doggie Mensa level. Emmie, mostly a sheepdog, had the brains and speed. Blankie was normally a pussycat and almost a nuisance because he wanted to be so close to your side. On rare occasions, he had flashbacks to his earlier life, before Ellen saw him at the animal shelter. They suspected he had been abused. He wasn’t really friendly with anyone he didn’t know. If they were wearing jeans and Blankie didn’t know them, Blankie was known to bite. He bit one of Ellen’s friends right on the butt, perhaps because of the jeans, perhaps because he just didn’t know the friend, or perhaps he was being territorial. At any rate, a rather vicious growl from Blankie was not usual. Steve ran around the back of the house where there was a bay window which gave the Senecas a great view down the hill over the sweeping plains to the mountain in the distance. What Steve then saw shocked him like nothing else in the last two weeks of coping with zombie attacks.

A Review to Ignore

If you've seen the Amazon listing, you will notice one review of 'Flatline Virus: When Zombies Evolved'. The reviewer clearly was expecting to read a book by William Gibson, the famous, best-selling, award-winning science fiction writer. What he read was my book. Sorry. Maybe he should have known. My middle initial is D. The famous Gibson doesn't use his. In fact, his name is usually larger than the title of his book. That's how famous he is. I don't have fault with the reviewer being disappointed that he didn't get to read a William (the famous one) Gibson book (maybe a clue was that it was selling for $2.99). Although I have received some personal, quite positive unwritten reviews regarding the book, it is my first and I'm not best-selling or famous or award-winning. I do, however, take umbrage with the 'flawed science' criticism. I spent many hours researching the science-related aspect of the book, e.g. viruses, pathogens in general, decomposition, vaccines, epidemics and the CDC. It's all well-documented in published articles, wikipedia and elsewhere.

The reviewer ('RB' for short) is a rather prolific reviewer, although I did notice his last three were 1 star out of 5. Kind of negative, like a lot of his. The image below is from his reviewer profile page (yes, really). I wouldn't show my face either. His very short reviews on many items, not just books (in fact, books seem to be in the vast minority), like the one on Flatline Virus, are not well defended, or defended at all. They're just a stick in the eye with little else. I hope you give the book a chance. By the sales figures, the one review didn''t seem to matter.

My Zombie Philosophy

If you're reading this, you must have at least a passing curiosity about zombies, or my book which is in the zombie genre. Generally, zombies are slow-moving, mindless dead people who feed on human flesh (some say brains). Zombies in the movies are pretty easy to avoid because they're so slow and stupid. The trouble is, they are relentless. They don't get tired. They don't stop to rest and more of their friends keep arriving at your doorstep. They just don't stop trying to eat you. Eventually, live humans are overcome by their sheer numbers. The appearance of zombies usually means there's some sort of apocalyptic event going on. Everyone is going to be a zombie or eaten by one (maybe in reverse order).

I've seem many zombie movies and read my share of zombie books. In most of these, there seems to be a disconnect between the science and the fiction. Zombies are dead people. Wouldn't they rot and decompose in a matter of days or weeks into a pool of oozing bones and bodily fluids? Wouldn't predatory animals have an interest in these mobile meat wagons? Well, if that's the case, why would humans have to worry about an apocalyptic event involving a virus that reanimates dead people, a la zombies? After a month, they'd all be a mass of rotting flesh with no risk to the living; I wanted a book that would, at the very least, try to address these problems for me. I didn't find one, so I wrote it myself.

I needed a reason to explain how the dead could reanimate. After some research, I chose a virus as the biological entity that could hijack the cells of the living and set the story in motion. I have accelerated the time frame as to how fast the process of natural selection (and Darwinian evolution) could work. In 'Flatline Virus', zombies evolve (or rather, the endogenous retrovirus behind the zombie disease) and become plotting, intelligent, dangerous and even communicative entities within the 23 day time frame of the story. Further, I endeavor to address some of the questions that might bother the typical science fiction reader, like 'how do zombies assimilate food for energy?' and 'why aren't they rotting sooner?' I use several scenes and some friendly links to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) in order to talk about what the CDC is seeing with regard to the zombie epidemic.

So, my zombies evolve. Yes, they do so rather quickly, but that helps the story. Since a virus hijacks the dead body of its host, there is a solution to the pathogenic problem. I won't tell you what it is. That's for me to know and for you to, well, you know the rest.

NOW AVAILABLE ON ALL MAJOR EBOOK CHANNELS - "Flatline Virus: When Zombies Evolved"

Yey!!!  The book is now available on all the major ebook distribution channels, including Amazon, the Apple iStore and Barnes & Noble.  It is also available on Smashwords, a large retail ebook channel and my ebook distributor.  I have priced the book temporarily down to a ridiculously low discount level in order to get a larger number of readers.  They are showing up in the sales reports I receive.  At some point I will reset the price back to the original level.

Important Notice

There is a very famous, best-selling science fiction author by the name of William Gibson. I am not him. He's not even a relative of mine. I am William D. Gibson, the not so well-known, not so best-selling author who just published his first book, an ebook at that. For a paltry $2.99.

During the first week my book became listed on Amazon, the book and retail giant directed those of you curious to view my 'other books' to those written by the other William Gibson. Except they weren't mine. They were the other guy's. After all I haven't written any other books. I just have one. Confused? So were others. It's corrected now.

The Book's Story Takes Place In....

Here are some of the locations where the story takes the reader in Flatline Virus: When Zombies Evolved:

Silver City, Tyrone, and Hurley, New Mexico

El Paso Airport

Sorrento and Naples (Airport), Italy

Aboard a military flight (Air Mobility Command) to the U.S.

Dover AFB, Delaware

BWI Aiport, Maryland

Aboard a flight from BWI to El Paso

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA

Approved for Premium Catalog !!!

Good news! I just received word the book is approved for the Premium Catalog. That means that Smashwords will be distributing the book to Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Sony, Diesel and the Apple iStore. It's already up on Smashwords and Amazon. It pays to be a squeaky wheel. I emailed them (Smashwords) about the 10 day delay. Mark Coker (CEO) emailed me back. Apparently there is a backlog of books to be approved, but he put it through. I had a feeling. When I uploaded the book on 3/21, it started at 596th in line and took 7-8 hours to get in, and another 24-36 hours to be published. I had been expecting a shorter turnaround.

"Flatline Virus:When Zombies Evolved" Now Up on Amazon !!!

It just went 'live' this morning. For a day or so, all you could see was the book cover. Now, the book is available. Yey!

I'm still waiting for the book to be set up on Barnes and Noble, Sony, Kobo, Diesel and the Apple iStore. I'm told it's 'pending', meaning only a few days, hopefully.

The key was making sure the formatted book and cover met the standards required, e.g. indenting, pixel width and height for the cover, chapter heading, copyright language, etc. My upload to Smashwords sat in a queue of 595 ahead of mine. It was in that queue from about 9:20am until about 4:30 or 5:00pm that same day. I was thinking it might take five or ten minutes. Not!

Update on Where to Find the Book

My distributor is Smashwords. They're pretty big. They have the book on their site along with 25,000 others. I am waiting for approval for my book to be distributed to the Premium ebook outlets such as Barnes and Noble, Sony, Apple iStore, and others. That approval should come in a few days. Also, I uploaded directly to Amazon and you should see it on Amazon in 24-48 hours. I'll be placing links as they become available.

The job of re-formatting my Word Doc file to meet the standards of the Smashwords 'meatgrinder' was unbelievable. Their formatting guide was 55 pages long. All the nice formatting I had done had to be re-done. Formatting for a printed version is much different than an ebook. But I'm up and published now versus 'forever' if I waited for a printed book publisher to be interested.

You can find my new book on www.smashwords.com

The name of it is 'Flatline Virus: When Zombies Evolved'.  So, yes, it's a zombie novel.  I've done a trailer for it on YouTube. I never heard about trailers for books, only movies. I am waiting for approval to be distributed to other retailers such as Apple, Sony, Barnes and Noble. I have an ISBN for the book (needed for Sony and Apple).

The long version of the description goes like this:

An endogenous retrovirus, long dormant in the human DNA, was triggered into an active status. Steve Spalding, a Border Patrol Agent, experienced one of the early cases along the Mexican border. Two illegal border-crossers died unexpectedly in a holding cell in the Lordsburg, New Mexico Border Patrol station. Their corpses moved. Within a couple weeks, the virus responsible for the reanimation of the recent dead developed into a worldwide pandemic. It evolved rapidly. The dead displayed improved cognitive and motor skills. Steve and his new bride, on their honeymoon in Italy, witnessed a breakout of the pandemic and worked their way to return back to the States. The panic in Italy was palpable; international borders were closing. Like most travelers, the Spaldings attempted to change their return flight. After some difficulty, they did manage to get back to the USA  and, eventually, New Mexico. The flights back were not without a number of horrific encounters with the dead, some on planes. In a parallel timeline, the CDC was working diligently to find a timely cure for the disease. We learn about the pathogen from scenes at the CDC, including its potential origin, type, power, cure and evolution. We also find there is a link between a main character at the CDC and a man and his family from Silver City, New Mexico, where Steve and Ellen Spalding have taken refuge, having saved his daughter and a number of her high school friends. The man’s past makes him a good choice to be ready to withstand the onslaught of the horde of walking dead which makes daily assaults on the armed compound. The situation grows more serious when the infected display characteristics of the dead. One member in the small group who was fortunate enough to take refuge may be the answer to stopping the disease. Assaults on the compound by ever-increasing numbers of zombies, and even a roving band of heavily armed thugs, bring the groups’ long term existence into question. Then, a final siege by the dead. Who lives and dies will provide the answers. Or will it?

Book Trailer is on YouTube for my new e-book

I'm in the process of publishing an ebook called 'Flatline Virus: When Zombies Evolved'.  Details of how to purchase, where , how much, etc. are forthcoming after I receive word that my upload was successful. The trailer, which is about 40 seconds long, may be viewed by on YouTube at this link. Keep in mind it's supposed to be a tease.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct54bo7h-LI

My Paintings - some of them

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