IMPORTANT NEWS

MY BLOG HAS MOVED TO MY WEBSITE!!

www.myranour.net

 Why did I move it? My webmistress suggested the move, assuring me that google hits are higher if a blog is connected to a website. 

BOY WAS SHE RIGHT! My views have gone up a lot just today, when the website went live, 7/28/16.

I also think it looks nicer. Come see what you think. All my previous blog posts are there. Each new blog post is also highlighted on the home page.

For anyone following my blog, please go to my website from now on. www.myranour.net

Blog url:  http://myranour.net/blog/

NEWS ABOUT MY WEBSITE: Dawn Seewer created a new website for me, and I think it is amazing. She took my idea and did what I asked - combining my romance & horror writing. 

It is merged but also separate. I haven't seen another website like it. Come see the fab job Dawn did. 

Myra Nour

How Would You Survive a Zombie Apocalypse?

Today's blog continues with this topic. Previous post dealt with staying secured in  your home & making it to an island

USING A BOAT TO STAY ALIVE!

IMPORTANT NOTE: MY BLOG HAS CHANGED TO MY WEBSITE. SEE IT AT: www.myranour.net

I think those of us who really dig zombie lore, have thought about this topic or discuss it in earnest with our friends. Many zombie books have survivors utilizing boats to escape the mainland, perhaps to try and find a habitable island. Some use the boat as their  house; a safe environment away from the diseased land.

 I know when I heard that the characters in Fear The Walking Dead were going to escape to a yacht, I was excited. I am a huge fan of The Walking Dead, but all the action has been in the states. How fun to see a different way of trying to survive.

Not a boat, but a big, honking, fancy yacht!

PROS:

You would be away from people & zombies on the mainland. You can fish to help with protein supplies. If you know about the sea, you can scavenge for other food sources; lobster, crab, kelp etc.

You won't have the diseased as well as looters beating down your door or windows.

You have at least a few comfy beds, couches and a nice place to sit and rest on the outside of the boat. You can jump off and swim anytime you want; if the ocean is not too cold and there are no dangers lurking nearby.

Water. If you have a desalinization unit like Strand, you are in good shape. At least for the immediate future. But then when you need parts or repairs, this will move down to a negative in the Con area.

CONS:

There will be people on other boats, and they will be envious of your fabulous ride if theirs is not as big and nice. Even if their boat is fab, they will want what you have; supplies, guns & women. Maybe men too for the same reasons - sex. And also may want slave labor, people to do the chores. Like sailors who were kidnapped for sailing ships in years gone by.

Fuel. You have it, they'll want it. This is going to be one of the hardest items to keep your safe haven afloat and working well. Sure you can dock at a harbor or island, but will it be overrun by the dead?

Water as mentioned in Pros. Run out of it and it is one of the biggest negatives. Food, the next big item you don't wish to run out of. Fish and kale are great, but there may be times when these aren't available. And everyone gets tired of the same diet, plus nutritional needs demand more than these two basics.

Confined space. Riding on a yacht would be great fun, but eventually you will want room to walk around. Those with claustrophibia will feel very confined and trapped.

Trouble within. Put people in a confined space and there will be problems. Not everyone likes everyone else and even if they do, the small space will create an environment rife for arguements and fights.

Nowhere to run. If your boat gets overtaken you have nowhere to run. Yes, you can jump in the sea or escape in a small craft (Stand has a really nice one, but every boat may not), but then your chances of survival will go way down.

Well, I have to say I didn't think I'd come up with more cons than pros on this list. Because, in spite of the issues, I always thought a boat sounded like a great way to escape the monsters on land.

Last thought...maybe one of those humongous military ships that are self-sufficient with desalinization units and energy would be the best place you could possibly ride out the apocalypse! 

Thinking of the one Brad Pitt got on in World War Z. Pretty sweet ride. Course their supplies would eventually go down, but if the ship was not filled with people, it would last quite a while. You would need enough people to protect it from marauders.

                                     WOULD YOU CHOOSE A BOAT?

I know I haven't covered every issue that would arise and welcome contributions through comments.

 

 

Book Chat

Once a week I’ll be discussing a Book or Movie/TV Series I love.  Or posting a submission from a reader/author about a movie or book in the horror or zombie genre. Sharing the love of a book or movie as if you were talking with a friend.

We continue with Book Chat and a review of a zombie novel. 

Sit down, relax and let’s chat

The offering this week is an exciting book by Rhiannon Frater.

The First Days (As the World Dies, Book One)

 

 BLURB:
Rhiannon Frater's As the World Dies trilogy is an internet sensation. The first two books, The First Days and Fighting to Survive, have won the Dead Letter Award for Best Novel from Mail Order Zombie. The First Days was named one of the Best Zombie Books of the Decade by the Harrisburg Book Examiner. AmericanHorrorBlog calls Rhiannon Frater "a writer to watch."

The morning that the world ends, Katie is getting ready for court and housewife Jenni is taking care of her family. Less than two hours later, they are fleeing for their lives from a zombie horde.
Thrown together by circumstance, Jenni and Katie become a powerful zombie-killing partnership, mowing down zombies as they rescue Jenni's stepson, Jason, from an infected campground.

They find sanctuary in a tiny, roughly fortified Texas town. There Jenni and Katie find they are both attracted to Travis, leader of the survivors; and the refugees must slaughter people they know, who have returned in zombie form. 

Fast-paced and exciting, filled with characters who grab your heart, The First Days: As the World Dies is the beginning of a frightening trilogy.

My Review:

5 Stars!

 

The character Jenni was a great way to kick this book off. Describing a mom in shock as she watches her baby's ( now a zombie) tiny fingers scrabbling under the front door. Baby wants mom, but not in a good way! 

Katie rescues Jenni and they set off across country together, discovering horrors that the zombie plaque have created for them. They also find out how self-sufficient they are in surviving this world. But they definitely seem to need each other. Jenni is a more fragile character and is too dependent on Katie, but after reading her story, you can understand why her sanity is questionable at times.

 Once they find the sanctuary city (real sanctuary, not a political sideshow), it  is clear they may have a shot at real safety. There are many compelling characters introduced, especially the two handsome, rugged men who will of special interest to the two gals. The descriptions of how everyone pitched together to secure their walled home was impressive. If you love zombie stories, like I do, mainly because of the great characters and seeing how people survive the apocalypse, you will enjoy this book.

https://www.amazon.com/First-Days-World-Dies-Book/dp/0765331268/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468611979&sr=1-1&keywords=the+first+days

Myra Nour

www.myranour.net

Zombie & Horror Lovers Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1214883125197004/
Twitter:   https://twitter.com/MyraNour  
Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/

If you missed any of my recent blogs, they are:

Friday July 22nd - Author Guest Post - Legacy of Death

Wednesday July20th -Book Chat - Bloodlust

Monday July 18th - Movie Chat - Aah! Zombies!!

Wednesday July 13th - Monsters in the closet

Monday,July 11th - Movie Chat - Blair Witch Project

 

Author Guest  Post

 Every Friday is open for authors to promote their books

Today, I decided to kick this off by offering one of my own stories.:)

Legacy of Death by Myra Nour

A S/F short story with horror elements

 https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Death-Science-fiction-short-ebook/dp/B0056IC19E/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468424005&sr=1-1&keywords=legacy+of+death+myra+nour 

BLURB:

The Wazee are a peaceful race of scientists and explorers. When they set down on a dead world, they seek the facts. What could wipe out the sapients of this planet?

Unearthing an ancient text, they translate a story of death and destruction. When the Wazee discover the truth behind the worldwide genocide, they are stunned. The captain knows nightmares will haunt his sleep the rest of his life.

A macrabe tale by a multipublished, award winning author. Previously published in Twilight Times August, 1999.

A reader's comments, "Very dramatic, eerie, and a mystery ending, just like those Twilight Zone episodes I so enjoyed, and still enjoy." Larry 

 REVIEWS:

Legacy of Death by Myra Nour

(Science Fiction Short Story)

This is a short story, where the peaceful Wazee race, are explorers and scientists. They set down on a planet, that seems dead.

They find the remains of a being from a dead planet they land on, clutching a text in it's hands. When they take the text back to the ship and decipher it, the tale is very chilling.

Point of view switches between the wazee to the being who wrote the text, but it's easy to follow along. I don't want to give too much away, but the ending had a superb twist that I did not expect. Very original, very chilling, and a good short read.

Uncaged reviews - 5 Stars
http://uncagedbooks.blogspot.com/

The alien's POV at the beginning was a bit rough to understand, but when the story switched to the human's POV, it was an easy read--an excellent read. And so was the ending when it reverted to the alien's POV. Before I'd finished the story, I thought I'd guessed the ending. I was wrong.

The plot is about aliens visiting the Earth in the future and what they discover about the human race, about the planet Earth.
5 stars!
 CLox via Amazon

EXCERPT:

Went into the bathroom to shave.  Can you read my writing Dear Journal? My hand is shaking so as I sit to write this. Not that it matters if anyone can decipher it. Sorry, Dear Journal, I digress.  I’ve always felt better after my morning shave. I saw the familiar face frowning grumpily back at me in the mirror. It froze in mid-twitch, as if a frigid Arctic wind had found its way into my tiny bathroom and plastered the shocked expression there for all eternity.

                A good jest by some forgotten dark god – to smite from the darkness, and return its victim to an equally black pit. Forgive me Dear Journal, here I go again with repetitive words. Here we go round the Mulberry bush… funny how little childhood rhymes keep popping up in my head, as if doing their best to distract me. But no, I was ever one to follow a story through to its completion.

                After discovering  my own frozen effigy, the room turned gray and I gripped the sink to keep from falling. They have truly won the whole game now. The aliens will rule alone soon- all too soon.  I don’t feel any pain.  I am numb. Numb with despair, the same flood of painless pain I had felt when my wife died.

                There were tears in my eyes Dear Journal…can you imagine, I couldn’t cry for Paul or the world, but for myself, yes. Selfish bastard! Many of my previous readers and girlfriends were right about that, it seemed. Or, is it a selfishness borne to every man at the appropriate time? I wax philosophical, I hope it is the truth.

                I took several deep breaths and tried to still the trembling of my finger as I touched the oily blackness of the thing on my throat; my Vawee, my death. It was surprisingly soft and my finger left a slight indentation for a brief second. I grasped it in revulsion, planning to flush the thing. Such pain! Every nerve in my body screamed in protest. Had I forgotten the Vawee could not be removed, or had some feeble hope wavered in my brain because it was now myself who suffered?

Myra Nour

www.myranour.net

Zombie & Horror Lovers Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1214883125197004/
Twitter:   https://twitter.com/MyraNour  
Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/

If you missed any of my previous blogs they are:

Wednesday, July 20th - Book Chat - Bloodlust

Monday, July 18th - Movie Chat - Aah! Zombies!!

Wednesday, July 13th - Monsters in the closet

Monday, July 11th - Movie Chat - Blair Witch Project

Wednesday, July 6th - Book Chat - Review of The Hungry

Wednesday, June 29th - An Island During a Zombie Outbreak; Movie Chat - Survival of the Dead 

Book Chat

Once a week I’ll be discussing a Book or Movie/TV Series I love.  Or posting a submission from a reader/author about a movie or book in the horror or zombie genre. Sharing the love of a book or movie as if you were talking with a friend.

We continue with Book Chat and a review of a horror novel. 

Sit down, relax and let’s chat

The offering this week is an interesting book I read from author Bernard Lee DeLeo.

Blood Lust: A Dhampir Action Thriller

  5 Star Book!

Half human, half vampire, Jedidiah Israel Blake comes of age with his sire’s lust for blood. Wielding incredible power, Jed grows up next door with his childhood partner, Erin Constanza, sharing Jed’s monstrous secret of what his Mom thinks of as raising the ‘Dark Superman’.

Jed and Erin, now a policewoman with the Sacramento Police Department, find out their lives have been catalogued by a secret government group formed to watch Jed’s growth into adulthood power. They want to harness Jed’s blood lust for their own purposes.

He’s happy to oblige.

Buy Link:  https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Lust-Dhampir-Action-Thriller-ebook/dp/B01B6P2NCK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469057575&sr=1-1&keywords=bloodlust+bernard+lee+deleo#navbar

My Review:

 Jedidiah is a very interesting character; part human, part vampire. Let's face it, he is violent in nature, and loves it. As the story progresses he becomes even more immersed in the joy of killing and taking blood. BUT he only kills bad people. Kinda reminds me of Arnold's famous line in True Lies, "They were all bad."

I was hooked on this story from the beginning when Jedidiah killed a really horrible serial killer in a...very disturbing and different manner. Breaking him into a folded mass so he could be stuffed into a suitcase. Don't be put off! When you see what the serial killer does to poor woman victims you will cheer the hero on. 

 Erin is fascinating on her own. Tough, kick-ass woman cop, who knows all Jed's secrets, or she thought she did. He's been holding back some interesting mysteries from her. The two characters have a sizzling relationship; sometimes they aren't sure where it is going, but they press forward. They love each other as best friends and try to work on their romantic relationship in between all the madness of the world and Jedidiah's lust for blood.

A secretive part of the government has been keeping an eye on Jed and they ask his help in fighting terrorists. He is only too happy to oblige. There's no coddling for killers in this story which I applaud. No white house administration antics of making terrorists into common criminals so they can get a cushy stay in a prison.

I highly recommend Bloodlust to anyone who enjoys a mystery thriller with a large dash of half vampire hero. I look forward to seeing more from Bernard's talented pen in this tale.

Myra Nour

www.myranour.net

Zombie & Horror Lovers Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1214883125197004/
Twitter:   https://twitter.com/MyraNour  
Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/

If you missed any of my previous blogs they are:

Monday, July 18th - Movie Chat - Aah! Zombies!!

Wednesday, July 13th - Monsters in the closet

Monday, July 11th - Movie Chat - Blair Witch Project

Wednesday, July 6th - Book Chat - Review of The Hungry

Wednesday, June 29th - An Island During a Zombie Outbreak; Movie Chat - Survival of the Dead 

Monday, June 27th - Book Chat; review of horror novel The Adominable

 Wednesday, June 22nd - Book Chat; review of zombie novel Rise Again

 Monday, June 20th - Securing the farm house from zombies in Night of the Living Dead

  Movie Chat

Once a week I’ll be discussing a Book or Movie/TV Series I love.  Or posting a submission from a reader/author about a movie or book in the horror or zombie genre. Sharing the love of a book or movie as if you were talking with a friend.

Sit down, relax and let’s chat

The offering this week is a movie that cracked me up, and had an original idea that was interesting. I told my daughter, Chris, about this movie and somehow she convinced her teen daughter to watch it with her. Heather does not like horror, so it was surprising that she loved the movie as much as her mom did.

Aah! Zombies!!

 The film uses color footage to show the action from the zombies point of view in which they see themselves as normal humans and occasionally switches to black-and-white footage to show the zombies from the point of view of normal humans.
    Wasting Away, Wikipedia 


As the synopsis explains; when the film is black & white, the characters are seen as they really are - zombies. They moan when they think they are talking, they walk slow, like drunkards, and look like the undead. When it switches to color they see themselves as normal human beings. They talk normal, move like they always did, and see themselves as they were.

The story starts with a soldier who gets turned into a zombie via a military experiment. The rest of the serum is transported by soldiers, who accidentally lose a barrel from the back of the truck. The serum ends up mixed up with ice cream served at the bowling alley. One of the characters works at the place and he plus all his friends eat it, turning into zombies.

They see themselves as normal, but something is weird in the world around them. Things are speeding up, such as when people talk. They run into Nick, the soldier who was first infected. He think he and the others are immune to the infection because they ate dairy products. He suggests they stay together, being convinced the military will hunt them down to cover up.

Nick goes into a Mexican restaurant to spy on the Doctor and Colonel involved in the experiment. It was a hilarious scene, with Nick dressed in Sombrero and poncho . He hears patrons sounding like they took super speed while they talk, kind of a chipmunk sound. He tries to serve food but he keeps having body parts dropping onto the food, like an ear if I remember correctly.

There is a lot that happens and I don't want to give it all away. But  Cindy & Tim, two of the zombies go to check on Cindy's family with bad results, while Vanessa goes to an interview. That was another hilarious scene that didn't end well for the interviewer. He was intent on seduction but got more than he bargained for!

The story ends with everyone but Mike and Nick getting away and starting their own zombie town. It was funny and sad. They saw themselves doing things like playing ball and having a normal existence, while back to the reality color film, they were zombies stumbling around and moaning.

If you love campy, comedy horror movies like I do, you must rent this one!

Myra Nour
www.myranour.net