Zombies! discussion
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Wow there really is a lot of ladies in here but then again my wife is a Walking Dead fan too. Then again watching a zombie movie or reading a zombie book it almost the equivalent of riding a roller coaster. Surviving to the end is a major rush.
So equating zombie survival to a roller coaster ride....would you ride in the front of the roller coaster, where you see it coming, or the back of the roller coaster, where you get the sling-shot effect?
Netanella wrote: "So equating zombie survival to a roller coaster ride....would you ride in the front of the roller coaster, where you see it coming, or the back of the roller coaster, where you get the sling-shot e..."Probably somewhere in the middle. My motto for the ZA is actually quite simple. I tell the fastest and boldest member of the group that I will be right behind them every step of the way, while telling the rest to follow me. In most cases it is only necessary to outrun one member of the group and let one other blaze a trail. ;)
Lol!! I saw a great pic on Facebook the other day. It said: be nice to fat people, they might save your life one day" then u u see shane from walking dead agreeing. :)
Mod
I guess girls like zombies :)
Tammy K.wrote: "What colors did you say that you chose for your tent trailer?"
Blue and white. It started out with 70s beige, with a rust coloured stripe along the bottom and yellow and orange stripes. With flower decals. Well, "flowers". I should post a pic...
It was quite retro. Now that it's painted, I sorta miss it - but it's a 1982, so some of the paint was getting pretty ragged.
I agree Laurie. I think death is preferable over assimulation into the ""collective". In my saga, I've approached the virus as an evolution to revisit Matheson's original treatment of the topic.
Elizabeth,I am too young to remember the 80's decorations in details, yet I recall watching a movie or something that showed using flower stencils for bedrooms.
Like lets say I had a child in 1986 (and again in 1988) I might paint the crib white and decorate it using flower stencils (hoping for girl and getting a boy each time!).
When you're husband is away one sunny day, you may consider adding a personal touch to your tent trailer using a couple flower stencils? Just a thought.
Good Morning (afternoon or evening) my fellow zombie lovers,Can you believe it is Friday already?!
Friday is usually the busiest day of the week for me.
Today is no exception. I am off to the craft store yet again! There is a good sale at JoAnn's and I have a really good coupon for 40% my entire purchase .. woo hoo! Score!!
My good friend Alice and I will be picking up some extra odds and ends that we need to make more items for the Bazaar.
Alice wants to paint up some costume masks and add feathers and rhinestones. Yup, sounds cheesy, but eh its for charity and Alice loves all things that glitter.
I'm not sure what I will be purchasing but I am certain that I have twenty dollars that is burning a hole in my pocket. With a 40% off coupon, that can spell trouble.. I love discounts!
When I get home in the afternoon, I need to write up a review for a R4R that I just finished. It was really a good book. I loved so much about it. It does have a few wrinkles but man, whenever I get a book this good, it makes me wish that I was a better reviewer.
Just thinking about the book, makes me excited to share with my friends what I loved about the book, but then I find myself staring at a blank screen at a lose for words.. ugh!
My day completes itself with a couple games of Rummy tiles with the Rummy Girls.
--
OK that is a day in the life of Tammy K.
Now what are your plans?
Got any hot deals that you're chasing?
Any plans to hang with your "gang"?
Any weekend vacation trips?
Did you do any thing you want to share with us?
In short people, start talking ! :-P
Woo-hho, eight hour Friday. It's like a gift from heaven. I may have to go to church this weekend.Tonight is all work. After the dogs are taken care of, I'll be on the computer until I can't keep my eyes open anymore. Heading up to Sarasota with some friends in the morning to play discgolf and drink delicious, delicious beer. In the evening I'm taking the gf to dinner and a show at the local comedy club with some friends of ours. Should be a grand time.
Mod
Ian have a great weekend!Elizabeth, a trip to the library is a fun day in deed!
Last week I drove by the library and commented to my passenger that since I've gotten my ereaders, I haven;t been in the library.
I really need to go before they start closing them all down!
I hope you and your daughters had a great trip.
I'm looking forward to sleep, glorious sleep after a long week of training. No plans but reading and hanging out with the kids.Tammy - with all that creative talent, got any zombie costumes planned for the upcoming Halloween?
Mod
Last week I drove by the library and commented to my passenger that since I've gotten my ereaders, I haven;t been in the library"
Happily, my library uses OverDrive, so I can still sneak in a few awesome reads while the girls are browsing. I also looooove the atmosphere.
Amen to that Laurie, nothing like home sweet home, gonna brave out the hot temperatures here in NY in the AC and will be doing plenty of reading in between laundry breaks. I just hope I can finally get around to finding some good reading material!
Laurie and Anton,Happy reading to you both! I hope you've both got good books lined up.
Elizabeth, our library also uses overdrive, that's how I read the latest Kim Harrison the Hollows series book.
I refuse to pay the asking price of $12.79 plus tax for a kindle book.
Netanella, have a great nights sleep :-)
And its bad luck to tell anyone what your Halloween costume will be before the big day :p my lips are sealed ;-)
A close friend of mine is facing a diagnosis of terminal cancer. I am crushed by the sad news, but inspired by his good humor and fortitude in the face of the unthinkable. I have sent my prayers and support, but that is not close to enough.John Stephen Walsh has been my online friend for a decade. We never met in person, but we know each other better than most "real-world" friends do. We met through political debate groups on Yahoo (long before Facebook was invented) but we both dropped out of those years ago. Then, coincidentally, he contacted me out of the blue when I was starting to write Voyage of the Dead in 2011. Turns out he has been writing horror and science fiction stories for many years. He really helped motivate me to write my first book. He was always there for feedback and encouragement. It's a debt I can't repay, not that he would ever ask me to.
After releasing Voyage of the Dead and Flotilla of the Dead, I turned the tables and convinced him to compile some of his stories into an indie anthology of his shorts. The result was "Love Has A Taste" (Kindle 2012). I know it is hard for anthologies to compete in a market dominated by novels, but these are some damned good stories!
So I am asking you to BUY HIS BOOK! The royalties may come in time to help him. Regardless, his legacy as an author is worthy of celebration. I can assure you that this collection of horrific stories deserves a place on your Kindle, or at least in your cloud. Some dark and stormy night you will find yourself drawn to one of these terrific tales. And if the author frightens you, just tell him I sent you.
With Love.
Please Share this post.
http://www.amazon.com/Taste-Stories-S...
Love has a Taste
Thanks Tammy. Good books? Not so much. I haven't read anything good in a while. A lot of these novels today are just so poorly written...I find myself reading old literature more often than not.
David,Its honorable of you to support your friend. I will put your friends book on my wish list so that I remember to grab it when next I purchase a kindle amazon card. ATM my kindle account is down to less then a buck, until I can grab another one (later this month).
Anton,
I agree that in today's world of instant self publishing, a fair amount of the novels out there are not masterpieces.
However, I reached my maximum tolerable limit to classical literature in my high school and college years.
If I never see the cover of another classic again in my life, I will be OK with that.
I usually give a book three chapters or 1/3% to pull me into its storyline. If it fails to do so by then (or if it is simply too annoying) I delete it off my kindle and move forward.
I like (like most kindle owners) have thousands of e-books waiting either on my kindle, in my amazon cloud, or on my computer in my e-calibre library.
One blessing that I find with today's world of instant self publishing is that so many new and previously unheard of authors can add their visions to the various genres.
No longer do a small group of elite publishers control (and restrict) the direction of a genre.
The world of indie publishing has broadened and invigorated the e-book market.
Now if I want to find a book with aliens zombies, or aliens who control zombies, or a government working with aliens, but in denial of zombies, or vice versa, I stand a better chance of finding that book.
Of course, it is also true that not all plot ideas should be turned into a book, not all books should be sold, and many indie authors (or book bloggers) should not quit their day jobs. :-0
Just got the book, David, and I'm looking forward to reading it! Love this tagline: "Zombies, vampires, lesbians, abortion, apocalypse, sex, cannibalism, spree killers, telepathy, love, monsters, demons...all the things that make life worth living are in the pages of my first collection."
Netanella wrote: "Just got the book, David, and I'm looking forward to reading it! Love this tagline: "Zombies, vampires, lesbians, abortion, apocalypse, sex, cannibalism, spree killers, telepathy, love, monsters..."
I think you'll enjoy it Netanella. John has a very creative and often twisted mind. He's a good friend. And I am happy that there is a little good news today. After being told by one doctor yesterday that he only had "weeks to live" he got a second opinion from a specialist who says aggressive treatment could give him months or even years. Still a very hard pill to swallow and lots of pain and heartache ahead of him, but not quite as hopeless as yesterday.
Also, thanks to you and others who responded to my appeal, Love has a Taste jumped more than nine hundred thousand spots up the Kindle charts since last night. John doesn't want anyone to buy his book out of pity, but I reminded him that nobody will know what a good writer he is unless they read it. I told him to relax, focus on his health, and let me pimp his book. :) I'm sure the royalties will be put to good use. Thanks again!
Look at us Grow!When I looked at the membership number of the group this afternoon, I seen that its jumped to 2076.
Just three weeks ago on July 20th we were at 2002. I know because I commented to Elizabeth on the moderators suggestion thread that we were all ready growing from the day the new moderators stepped in July 8th (or around then).
74 new group members in 21 days is an impressive feat.
None of that would have been possible without our two new moderators and the small handful of diehard members who spread the word, and started up some group activities.
I offer up a heartfelt thank you to each member (new and old) who have joined in the group discussions. If we keep talking, they'll keep coming!
Netanella wrote: "Hey, anyone hear from Brandon?"Not I
Mod
One extremely common topic in our group is what makes a zombie a zombie, and which work of fiction (book or movie) is the official standard for the zombies genre.I've banged my head up against my monitor more times then it's healthy to do so in frustration with this topic.
Anyway, while I was browsing the net I came across an article on zombies in ancient mythology and religion that I found had a couple good points. I am not validating the bloggers facts, or that he got all of the mythologies mentioned because I recall some that he's missed.
But... For any one interested in zombies before the days of Hollywood and western civilizations version of zombies
This article is a good starting point on your exploration.
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/t...
Hello, hello! I'm kind of new around here. Joined not that long ago and have been trying to figure out a way to dip my toe in the water around here but then realized..that's zombie food attitude! Jumping in now :) *waves* hi fellow zombie fans :)
Ghoulia Childs followed me on Twitter today. She does zombie themed recipes. I thought it was pretty funny.Welcome aboard Tera!
ha, Ghoulia Childs. That's funny right there. Thanks for the welcome, Ian :)
Hi Tera, welcome.Moderator Jim, see how Tera is new and yet she has an icon... Hmm.
Ian, I too have a twitter account but rarely can think of clever things to say in 140 characters. Too much pressure.
Anton, hi again
Are you asking for fictional stories with
Necromancer ceremonies?
Hello Tammy and thanks for the welcome :)
Tammy K. wrote: "Hi Tera, welcome.Moderator Jim, see how Tera is new and yet she has an icon... Hmm.
Ian, I too have a twitter account but rarely can think of clever things to say in 140 characters. Too much pre..."
Tammy, I think Anton was referring to you accusing me of performing such ceremonies to launch this thread. LOL. ;)
Hi Tera, welcome aboard! Dive right in! If you want to get into a buddy read, I hear Tammy has a good one going this weekend. :)
Anton wrote: "Necromancer ceremonies? Where?!"By coincidence, I just grabbed a freebie that features zombies and necromancers... Desolation (Infernal Designs) is free today at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CTXVC80
David wrote: "... Tammy, I think Anton was referring to you accusing me of performing such ceremonies to launch this thread. LOL. ;)..."I do not recall seeing your denial of this. :D
I do have a busy weekend, don't I?
Tammy K. wrote: "Hi Tera, welcome.Moderator Jim, see how Tera is new and yet she has an icon... Hmm.
Ian, I too have a twitter account but rarely can think of clever things to say in 140 characters. Too much pre..."
Hi Tammy. No! I thought you were all having an online group seance! Anyways, in response to your last message, I agree, and there are positive and negatives to everything of course. I just have been looking the wrong places I guess. I'm a picky reader, I cannot seem to finish a best seller such as Mortal Instruments, yet, I loved "Warm Bodies" Most fans of the zombie culture detest that book.
I did read the first four Mortal Instruments books. I rated the first three books, three stars (average read) and the fourth on 2 stars (did not like it). I know that there was a book five and six, but I can not be bothered to look up their names. It is very rare that I like a book that is popular with the masses.
In fact, when others pressure me to read a book because everyone else is, its a sure fire way to guarantee that I will not read it.
Example: Wool any and all of the series. I do not care if it is going to be made into the next hottest television series or movie.
When someone tells me how famous a book or an author is, meh. I reject that book/author because superfans can not be trusted.
Until you posted the name warm bodies, I had no idea the series was around. But upon looking it up, I see that its mad crazy popular with many of my YA reading goodreads fans.
That is not a death sentense for the book but the fact that out of the 8 goodreads friends that I have which listed the book as either read, or to read, only one wrote a review. That review was two words long, "loved it." in other words not a real review, just enough to get credit on goodreads as a review.
That is a death sentence.
If you loved it and can not say a single reason why, then either you did not read it, or you did not really love it.
When I love a book, I am not in lack of words to tell you why.
I do not read books, because "all the cool kids are."
Meh again!
Reading is my passion. I read what I read because it moves me.
When it comes to modern literature, then yes...the mainstream stuff and how their popularity is fueled by sassy characters and physical, carnal, character driven stories. We'll never see another book like 1984, its not Hunger Games enough. Every once in a while, I stumble across a guilty pleasure...such as "The Host" *nods... I admit, I liked it! (0_o). As for the independent market, well when I said it was hard to find a good book , that's only because there are so many of them. And Warm Bodies only became famous because of the film. It went largely unnoticed for a while before it.
I hated the book The Host. Totally loathed it. (I did not and will not watch the movie.)In fact, it was the only book by that author that I read, and it caused me to swear her off long before the Sparkly vampires and pouting werewolves showed up.
But to each their own, eh?
Haha, yeah, Twilight was terrible...yet, look at all the success Meyer had with it. It can be discouraging! The Host was different, not exactly pristine prose by far, but I liked the story nonetheless. Even the film was handled well, directed by an academy award nominee...(I know, big deal)
The theme of being taken over by aliens in a spiritual way is not original, but they took the concept in a different direction. I really liked the "good alien" theme, featuring a society of honest aliens that do not need a monetary system to function, or where they will simply give you their car if you need it.
This is actually a very old theme. In my opinion, there is a fine line between "someone being taken over by an alien" and "someone being filled with the Holy Spirit", or "being possessed by a demon".
Anton wrote: "Haha, yeah, Twilight was terrible...yet, look at all the success Meyer had with it. It can be discouraging! The Host was different, not exactly pristine prose by far, but I liked the story noneth..."
Oh you are taunting me!
When I looked up my review/rating of the book, it seemed that I gave it three stars where as my memory of the book was that it was two stars. I should update my review to reflect my growing repulsion of the thing.
Here is a link to my post on the book in question:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
A while back I watched an author make a comment about what a superstar meyers was. At the time all her twilight books were at their peak interest, and her sales were like 15% of the market of her genres. I can not recall exactly what he said but it went something like this...
S. Meyers is a mega star in the world of paranormal romance novels. Her sales are an amazing 15% of the total sales of paranormal romance novels. Wow, 15% that is an impressive number! (pause for dramatic effects).
and yet that is only 15%, which means 85% of the books in the paranormal romance novels being sold are not written by S. Meyers. (another pause here)
So that leaves us some room to sell our books too.
I read it, I can understand why you disliked it. However, if Souls were like Vulcans, who have 3x the strength humans, then a Vulcan female would be physically superior to a human male! Although, not sure the aliens in "The Host" were strong. What if they were? Would you have dismissed the misdoing of male hitting female? Heh...
My feelings about the abuse would remain the same. My extreme dislike for all things Meyers revolves around the fact that her female characters are weak, submissive, need a man to tell them what to do, how to act, who they are or who they aren't. and as I say in my review, suggest that if your boyfriends hit you repeatedly until you are unconscious, its all good because you deserved it. (Remember the original identity was still present in the body while the alien was inside it and the boyfriends knew that!)When you are writing a book that you are actively targeting to an impressionable and vulnerable audience you should not be promoting physical abuse, verbal or mental abuse as anything other then unacceptable. (just my views)
I agree there, but The Host wasn't really YA was it? As for Meyer and her knack for making her female characters weak, you may have a point there. I never thought of it. I mean, the female Vampires were far from weak!
Just have to jump in and say I really LOVE the Silo Saga ("Wool" series). I have pre-ordered Dust already. Some of that might stem from my friendship with Hugh Howey, but not much. I am a fan of apocalyptic fiction more than of horror and I love to be surprised by the books I read. Hugh did a masterful job of that! I really respect Hugh as a trailblazer for indie authors. I've met him in person, as well as numerous chats. He even referred some of my early fans with tweets for my books. He's a really nice guy and talented writer with great advice for new authors. And of course I envy his well deserved success.
So, Tammy, if you don't want to read Wool, perhaps you would like I, Zombie. It hasn't been blown out of proportion and fits the genre here. I just think you might want to give his stuff a chance.
Anton,Yes of course it was actively promoted as a young adult novel!!!
Here is its amazon page
http://www.amazon.com/The-Host-Novel-...
Her female vampires were not weak? Eh? There is weak as in physical strength and weak as in shallow, flat, stereotypical.
I want to be a vampire, please make me a vampire.
No! You must not give up your human life!
But I must! I love you (this chapter)! I will melt away into hysteria without you. You are my sole purpose of life!
You silly human girl, you know nothing of me and my kind!
Don't worry human girl, me the big bad wolf will save you and swear my eternal love!
Oh, bad wolf boy, you understand my sorrows. If only the sparkly vampire man boy would just allow me to become a vampire, I would not hate him...oops love him...oh dang, whatever is it that I feel?!
In swoops shiny vampire man boy, get away from my .... Can't say that world I'll get in trouble but female dog will work....
No shiny man boy I loved her first! Let's us poof out our chests and fight.
Oh no! My friend only wolf boy is fighting my shiny vampire man boy what shall I do?!
....
I bet you liked Kristen Stewart in Snow White and the Hunstmen though! She was more bad ass, Joan of Arc type! *nods.I think that's the problem with YA. The female is usually, not always, but usually the damsel in distress.
Haha...shiny man boy.
I've not seen Snow White and the Hunstmen.Its is rare that I watch movies or TV.
My house television has not been turned on in over two months.
We got net flux the other month, but it turns out that I don't watch it like I thought that I would. When I do watch it, I'm usually watching an older TV series like Murder She Wrote or Quincy.
I've gone to one movie this year world war z, and I wasn't moved one way or the other by it.
Books and music are my entertainment. Oh and that dang plague inc game.
Sadly it is not just the YA genre that portrays women as little more than pets, property and or utterly dependent upon the male gender.
I've read numerous apocalypse, science fiction and urban fantasy books with female characters that start off reasonable intelligent and capable until the male romance interest enters the story.
I am not trying to suggest that the female characters should be written like the stereotype male "man on a mission" "knight in shining armor" characters.
But that the female (and male) characters need to be more balanced.
If in real life I met a female who behaved like s. Meyers female characters, I'd slap them silly for carrying on like an idiot.
If said females do exist, they don't live in these parts. Which is probably best for us all.
I want to read about characters that are realistic and relatable.
Books mentioned in this topic
Zombie Fallout (other topics)World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (other topics)
Dawn of the Dead (other topics)
Voyage of the Dead (other topics)
Relic (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Christopher Rice (other topics)Nancy Holder (other topics)
Jonathan Maberry (other topics)
Tamara Thorne (other topics)
Douglas Preston (other topics)
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Very cool. What colors did you say that you chose for the tent trailer?
When I was a kid we had a tent trailer that we called the gypsies trailer.
My parents gave each of us a section of the canvious walls to draw on. In the end it looked like street art but we loved it.