Major Increase in Words Written for Book 5

The word total is up to over 16,000.  

Book #5 is a Reference Manual

At least that's what I'm calling it now. I have 10,000 words thus far. It is the kind of book that invites photography, but when you see the title (working on it), you'll understand why I didn't add any. I'm not about to provide the photos for this manual. Call it a guide. Call it a manual or a reference manual. Or just call it which has a lot of information about something we are all familiar with.  I haven't seen anything similar on the market. Well, that's it for now. Back to work.

I Didn't Think I Wanted to Begin Another Book....

But, I am collecting some information for a sort of 'Reference' book. It's not fiction. It's not related to Zombies. That's about all I'll say now. It's very different from any of the four books I've written. I haven't seen one like this on the market now.

Zombie Rules

Zombies have rules. Or rather, we have rules about zombies. Most of us know the basics, but I'd thought I would recite for you the rules I generally follow in my books with regard to how I think zombies behave.

They behave badly. They bite people. No, that's not what I mean.

Zombies are dead people that become reanimated. In my two zombie books, a virus 'hijacks' a living person's cells, kills the person, and takes over enough of the original body's activities to allow it to kill more living and thereby pass on the pathogen to others. The virus is passed on by biting generally, but the bodily fluids of any infected living person can do the same thing.

Zombies have sensory abilities, e.g. sight, hearing. However, we wonder if they can smell (they surely smell because they are decomposing) although they seem to pick up on any fresh meat smells. They grab and therfore have a sense of touch, yet they feel no pain. It's also likley they cannot taste. If they could, why the heck would they eat what they eat?

They do not tire. They have one goal, that of finding fresh meat and eating it, thereby passing on the virus. Their cognitive powers are very limited, being just sufficient for minimal motor movements like walking, grabbing, biting, looking around. They can't really figure out things, like figuring out how to get into a house. They will push on windows, doors until they open or until there are enough of them to push something open with the force of several of them. Some may use simple tools to smash windows, but such actions are limited to the Zombies who are members of Mensa. They do not tire and are absolutely relentless in seeking out living human meat.

Some have observed that a few seem to have remnants of past living memories, seeming to recognize a relative before they grab them and eat them. Some have been know to make a sound or sounds, like groans or even words, but this is very rare and likely due to pockets of air in the lungs or body passages that pass through the vocal cords, kind of by accident. Generally, they don't make sounds. It wouldn't behoove them to make sounds while they amble up behind an unsuspecting living person and bite them.

Zombies don't really intend to travel in groups, but do seem that way when a bunch of the dead heads have spotted a target. Further, they don't consume flesh to enhance their energy supply in any great way since they don't have a working digestive system.

Zombies are more active at night when it's cooler and decomposition slows down. They are in a continuel state of decompostion and will rot enough in 2-3 years so as to not be a threat to most of the living. In the colder north, the decompostion stops with the cold weather, but when the dead defrost they beomce dangerous again and continue to rot.

We all know they need a head shot to be stopped ('killed?). It has to be through the brain. Otherwise, the dead will continue to be a threat.

I'll stop here, except that I've heard that zombies are able to 'survive' under water for some time (although much more limited than above water). They are susceptible to preadotrs. Dogs are spooked by them, but wolves and other predators find them delicious and easy prey.

Pulseless Pandemic (The Zombie Outbreak) Now Available on Barnes & Noble

I've priced it at $2.99, exactly the same as the other four. It just showed up today, first the title and price, next the image of the book cover. I'm still waiting for the description which I'm sure is on the way. So that makes the book available on all the largest sales channels.

My Comment re RB's Early Review of Flatline Virus on Amazon (Mar 2011)

If you happen to read this review, be sure to give this book a fighting chance and check out the current 4-star ratings by 24 reviewers in the Apple Bookstore. RB is correct on one point. The author isn't the famous science fiction author William Gibson, but the science is right on, at least for a zombie book. It's well researched, science-wise. I'm sorry to disappoint the reviewer by not being the 'real' William Gibson, but as I recall, the 'real' one doesn't sell books for $2.99 or write zombie stories. - The author, William D. Gibson.

Book Sales by Sales Channel - 2011 and 2012

This is approximate. The reason is that Amazon reports immediately. I have to wait for the distributor totals. Thus, this will overstate the Amazon percentages a bit. That said, here they are. They include all sales of 2011 and thus far into 2012:

Apple  -   44% (still the best sales channel for me)
Amazon  -  34% (second as always and somewhat overstated)
Barnes & Noble - 19% (third as usual)
Other - 3% (starting to increase a little)

Other includes Smashwords, Kobo,
Sony and some others.

Pulseless Pandemic (Book 4) is now available in the Apple Bookstore

All four of my books are now available on the Apple iBookstore. Apple is my largest selling channel. Pulseless Pandemic is a Zombie story.   I have not seen the book in Barnes & Noble yet. Apple has been a great selling channel. My first book, Flatline Virus, has 27 reviews with an average rating of 4 out of 5.

The four books now available are:
1) Flatline Virus - When Zombies Evolves
2) Homo Optimus: Humans, Aliens & Superbrains
3) Alien Contact: Titan
4) Pulseless Pandemic: The Zombie Outbreak

My Best Month Yet...in Amazon!

This July has been the best month (read as most book sales) I've had in Amazon since I started last year, a little over a year ago. The four books certainly make a difference. There's kind of a multiplier effect. Since Book 3 (Alien Contact:Titan) just appeared in Apple and Book 4 (Pulseless Pandemic) has not yet appeared (should be soon as it has been approved for Premium distribution in Smashwords) in the Apple bookstore, I am looking forward to result there. The same goes for Barnes and Noble where the same is true. Apple should have a huge effect on sales as it is my largest sales channel.

Finally! Book 3 - 'Alien Contact:Titan' Now Available in Apple Bookstore

It's July 25. The book was published in late May. For some reason, the channel to Apple took a really, really long time. But it's there and that's what counts. I sent a couple emails to Smashwords, then tried updating the version with a new upload and a larger format cover. Whatever it took worked.

Pulseless Pandemic Now Available on Amazon and Smashwords

My book #4 is now available on Smashwords and Amazon. It's a Zombie adventure. Smashwords will be distributing to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Diesel, and Kobo, etc. over the next week or two. The story starts in Africa with the virus making a cross-species jump from the great apes to humans. It's a killer like ebola and HIV. But worse. It reanimates the dead. You'll follow the threads of an airline pilot bitten just outside of Kinshasa in the Congo; an infected US Senator returning from Paris; a shipment of gorilla and chimpanzee meat to New Orleans causing mayhem in the Big Easy. This is how the virus has spread worldwide in a matter of weeks. We have a few main characters who find refuge and are able to defend it against invaders, live and dead. The language is a little more coarse than I've used in prior books and I've managed to throw in a little romance and sex, a first.

The first three books are:
1. Flatline Virus - When Zombies Evolve
2. The Origin of Homo Optimus: Humans, Aliens & Superbrains
3. Alien Contact: Titan

Book 4 is 'Pulseless Pandemic' (The Zombie Outbreak) !!!

The book is uploaded to and submitted to Smashwords and Amazon. It is therefore now pending review. Smashwords is my distributor for Apple, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Diesel, Kobo, etc. There is a several week delay before the book will be seen on the ebook shelves, sometimes less.

This time I wrote the book on an iPad. This was convenient and fun. The trouble is I had too many paragraph returns. I had to omit them all. Pain in the butt job which I could have avoided. The format part of ebook publishing is the least fun. But it's done and hopefully everything will pass muster.

I've included the book cover off to the right on the blog for viewing. The brief description is as follows:

Book Description

It developed in the great apes of the Congo basin, making a cross-species jump to humans, like ebola and HIV.  Its status blossomed into a world-wide pandemic.  A virus, so virulent, it killed nearly every one it infected. And it didn't stop there. The virus caused the dead to reanimate. The walking dead fed on the flesh of the living, causing the disease to spread geometrically.

From Africa to the rest of the world, we follow several threads of mayhem, death, survival, reanimation and more death. These include a bitten airline pilot on a flight to Paris; a New Orleans celebratory bushmeat dinner for the local African population which turns into tumult in the Big Easy; a freighter headed to the Bahamas with a tainted cargo, a special passenger and an infected crew; a deathly ill U.S. Senator returning from Paris who spreads the disease in the Capitol; and a special game buffet of gorilla and chimpanzee meat flown into Key West from Kinshasa in the Congo which launches the story of our main characters. We follow them to the end of the story. They find a place of refuge they think is safe and survive a number of assaults by the living and the dead. A heavy measure of violence, a lesser measure of sex.

The unhappy circumstances unravel to an apocalyptic ending where a cure is created, but the end is perhaps uncertain. 

Book #4 is Finished

1. The book is finished.
2. I have a title, but I'm not solid on it yet. The word zombie will be in it, probably as a subtitle. By the way, I only use the word zombie once or twice in the book. There are a number of other synonyms for the Z word.
3. I'm working on the cover.
4. I've finished the editing.
5. In addition to the cover, I have to put into ebook format with all the Smashwords wording and my marketing for my other books at the end.

New Book & 4000 Page Views!

New Book...The writing is finished. It's at 47,500 words or so, I still have a lot to do before it's ready to publish. I need a title which I'm working on. I need a cover which I'm also working on. I need to edit it which I've started. Generally I go through a number of edits before I'm satisfied. The book may get a little longer as a result. Also, this time I didn't place chapter headings in all the places I need. That will be part of the edit process.

The story takes us from the Congo where the virus originates (like the Ebola or AIDS virus, the simian connection is unmistakeable in a place where nasty diseases boil up from time to time). It spreads quickly and widely from there. We'll follow some of these connections. Some of them cross as the story unfolds. The scene becomes apocalyptic with only the hope of a cure for the disease. Also included is a romantic entanglement for spice.

Also, the blog just passed 4000 page views, another milestone.

Update for Various

1. The e-book sellers have sent the word down that book covers will be required to be at least 1400 pixels or so, way up from about 500 pixels. Apple may be driving this, but Amazon is also on board. I've got to believe that the iPad, especially the new one with HD (retina display) is the reason. E-book readers will want to see a larger book cover than the little thumbnail image they now see. Apparently, the old covers won't be required to be changed, but I will endeavor to send in a larger image for each of mine. It will take a little extra work, since I don't have the original larger one, especially for my first Zombie book.

2. The draft of Book 4, my second Zombie book, is at 30,000 words now and moving along.

3. My third painting exhibition just finished up on June 30th at the Taunton Art Association. I had some positive comments about the Misty Woods in the Morning and the Seggreganset #2 painting. I will be fixing my signature on the latter as it should be less of a distraction (smaller, less angled per a constructive comment by an experienced painter).

4. The blog is approaching 4000 page views.