Ross Payton's Blog

StoryBundle is proud to present the Holiday Gift Bundle, which features eight books in a multitude of flavors. The titles showcased in the bundle represent genres such as traditional fantasy, medical thriller, non-fiction, supernatural horror, murder mystery, urban fantasy, historical adventure and even zombie humor, which makes it the perfect gift for every kind of reader (including yourself)!

The lineup consists of quality indie authors along with some New York Times bestsellers, and includes:

On the Riverside of Promise by Vasileios Kalampakas
Unsettling May Have Occurred by The Editors of Damn Interesting
Hunting in Hell by Maria Violante
The Select by F. Paul Wilson
The Hour Before Dark by Douglas Clegg
The Disciple, Part I by L. Blankenship

If you pay more than the bonus price of just $8, you get two bonus books, which are:

The Halo Effect by M.J. Rose
Zombies of the World by Ross Payton

In addition to just getting the digital version of Zombies of the World, people who qualify for the bonus books also get coupons for 20% off a print copy of the book, and 10% off a poster combo pack! We’re also proud to feature the exclusive debut of Damn Interesting’s Unsettling May Have Occurred – Occasionally Uncomfortable Obscure True Stories from History.

StoryBundle is also introducing two new features alongside the Holiday Gift Bundle that make gifting books supremely easy: Gift Cards and timed delivery.

Gift cards are a new feature we added for the Holiday Gift Bundle that allow you to send someone a code that they can redeem for any future StoryBundle bundle! When someone receives a gift card, they can keep the code (codes never expire) and decide for themselves when they want to redeem it. If they don’t like this current bundle and would prefer, say, a romance or a sci-fi bundle, they can wait until a bundle they like comes up and redeem it then. Best of all, all gift cards are bonus-enabled, so the gift recipient won’t miss out on any books in the bundle.

Timed delivery is available for both gift cards and regular gifts. This allows you to control exactly when your recipient will get the gift of StoryBundle. Want it to arrive exactly on Christmas, their birthday, or specifically for the fourth day of Hanukkah? Fill out a future date and time at checkout and we will deliver your gift right when you specify.

Why StoryBundle? Here are just a few benefits StoryBundle provides.

Get quality reads: We’ve chosen works from excellent indie authors to bundle together in one convenient package.
Pay what you want: You decide how much six fantastic indie books are worth to you. If you can only spare a little, that’s fine! You’ll still get access to six thrilling titles.
Support indie authors: StoryBundle is a platform for indie authors to get exposure for their works, both for the titles featured in the bundle and for the rest of their catalog. Plus, when you’re supporting indie authors you’re supporting the little guy or gal.
Give to worthy causes: Bundle buyers have a chance to donate a portion of their proceeds to charity. We’re currently featuring Mighty Writers and Trees for the Future.
Receive extra books: If you beat our bonus price, you’re not just getting six books, you’re getting eight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlzQYbiYb9s

It is tragic that this PSA commercial is even necessary but many people die each year because of black market purchases of zombie body parts or intact specimens. Even the slowest, weakest zombie is still dangerous to the living. Please spread the word!

Special thanks to Nathan Shelton, Jason Brasier, Sam Walker, Tanner Ross, and Vintage Stock for their help in creating this video.

If you’re concerned about your chances in a zombie encounter, please take the Zombie Survival Quiz to see how well you would do in a crisis!http://www.zombiesoftheworld.com/quiz

As part of getting ready for Halloween, I’ve started binging on zombie films. There’s a good number of them on Netflix and I watched a hidden gem on it recently: Rammbock. It’s only an hour long so any zombie fan should take the time to watch it.

Rammbock follows Michael, on his way to see Gabi, his ex-girlfriend in Berlin, when the undead rise up. He becomes trapped in her apartment with a teenager named Harper, but Gabi is nowhere to be seen. As the apartment faces the inner courtyard of the building, Michael and Harper talk to the other residents in hopes of figuring out how to survive. Of course, their plans don’t quite work out so well.

I enjoyed Rammbock because it offered good acting, a good story, and interesting dilemmas for the survivors. The zombies had a few unique quirks of their own, and the film wraps nicely in only an hour. Gorehounds will be very disappointed though, as there is very little blood and no gruesome death scenes. However, if you enjoy interesting takes on the dilemmas survivors would face in a zombie attack, give Rammbock a try.

RPPR Presents: Zombies in Gaming Panel at Gencon 2012

I participated in a panel discussion about zombies in gaming at Gencon this year with Kenneth Hite, Dennis Detwiller, and George Vasilakos. If you want to get ideas about zombies interact with role playing games and what the best new zombie flicks out are, take a listen!

After taking the Zombie Survival and Risk Analysis Quiz, you may be unpleasantly surprised by the results. We all like to think of ourselves as canny survivors, able to conquer any undead horde, but the truth is survival requires good risk analysis and preparation. The quiz should help point out your current weaknesses, so you know what to work on before the next attack.

Lesson 1: Make sure your survival plan matches your outlook

In general, each survivor ‘class’ is categorized by their level of aggression towards the undead, general preparedness, trust towards other humans, and their desire for shelter versus their desire for mobility. In other words, the class is your general outlook during a zombie attack. It represents your general survival strategy, but this may conflict with your survival plan. Diplomats are better suited at waiting for rescue or escaping than attempting to kill all zombies, for example.  If your plan has a low chance for success, retake the quiz and pick a different plan to see how well you do.

Lesson 2: Trusting others can help you survive

No man is an island. While humans are often more dangerous than the undead, they can also be invaluable in fighting off the undead. Improving your social skills and connections can help you find trustworthy allies and detect untrustworthy survivors.

Lesson 3: Go all in with your survival strategy

Once you pick a basic strategy, it is often better to devote a great deal of time and effort to it, rather than use half-measures. If you want to fight the undead, kill every zombie you see. If you want to focus on getting a defensible shelter, choose a large building to fortify rather than a small apartment. If you want to recruit other survivors, get a large group of them, rather than a few.

Lesson 4: If you don’t like your class, change your outlook

Some people have expressed dismay at their chances of survival after taking the quiz without realizing how easy it is to improve their chances of survival. The determination of who lives and who dies in a zombie attack is usually not a matter of who is the strongest, smartest or most charismatic, but a matter of choices. The choice to remain alone or stay with other survivors. The choice of which shelter to use. The choice of when to fight the zombies and when to hide. By changing what your choices are, you can change your chance for survival.

Lesson 5: Learn what the threats are!

Every major zombie species requires different tactics. Common Gray Shamblers are easy for any well equipped survivor, as they are slow and unintelligent. But Revenants and Talking Zombies are far more dangerous, if you don’t know how to deal with them. Reading field literature can only improve your odds of survival!

Take the quiz now!

Are you ready for the next zombie attack? Can you survive all of the many dangers, both undead and human? A new online quiz has been published to help educate the public.  The quiz assesses personality, skills, and attitudes toward the undead and other survivors in order to determine how likely the individual is to survive in a zombie attack.

The quiz was based on material from Zombies of the World.  Years of research are contained in these pages, revealing at least 20 distinct zombie species, their range, habitat, conservation status and behavior – including attack styles. Find out today what your weaknesses are in a zombie crisis!

The Department of Homeland Security has warned citizens to prepare for potential zombie attacks, adding that such preparations could also be used in case of natural disasters.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency hosted an online seminar for its Citizen Corps organization to help emergency planners better prepare their communities for disaster. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year first launched a zombie apocalypse social media campaign for the same purposes.

Ross Payton’s new book, ZOMBIES OF THE WORLD: A Field Guide to the Undead, was named Best Humor Book in the 24th annual Benjamin Franklin Awards at a ceremony in New York on June 4. Named in honor of America’s most cherished publisher/printer, the Benjamin Franklin Awards™ recognize excellence in independent publishing.

Presented by the Independent Book Publishers Association, the largest not-for-profit trade association representing independent book publishers, the awards are judged on editorial and design merit by top practitioners in each field. Awards are given in 54 categories. More than 1,300 entries were submitted to the competition.

“For my book to be named the humor book of the year by seasoned, knowledgeable professionals in all areas of book publishing is a great honor,” Ross Payton said.  “I’m very excited and encouraged, as this is a very competitive contest.”

This is not the first or only award for Zombies of the World. Payton’s opus was a finalist in IBPA’s Bill Fisher Awards, Best First Book category. ZOTW also received a silver medal in the Independent Publishers (IPPY) Book Award in the Graphic Novel/Drawn Book–Humor/Cartoon category. In the IPPY competition, out of 3,200 entries from 44 states and 11 countries, only 372 medals were awarded.

Zombies of the World has garnered high praise and excellent reviews for its imaginative concept, sophisticated design and remarkable artwork.  Reviewers at The Zed Word described it as sharply written, wonderfully illustrated and designed, mercifully concise, and deeply influenced by zombie culture. And most important of all: it’s really fun to read.

Payton’s all-color book is available on the Web at http://www.zombiesoftheworld.com/the-book/ in print or pdf; and at amazon.com in print or Kindle.

My book, Zombies of the World, is up for an award in the Best Reference/Nonfiction category. Please vote for it!

This post provides a handy list of resources to prepare for the next attack of the undead, including a link to Zombies of the World.

Look at you, all plump and fleshy, with a quickening pulse and body jam-packed with sweet meats. That brain of yours, with the scrumptious gray matter and thinking cap makes certain re-animated corpses crave a dining bib.

So what are you to do when the formerly living awaken with a hunger for a little human takeout? Are you ready for the zombie apocalypse?