"Every day starts with a blank canvas. What picture will you paint for all to see today?" ~ Dan Waltz

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Imagine a world without cancer.


Have you ever thought what life would be in a world without cancer? Some people think that it would be Heaven on Earth. Lets face it, everyone knows someone who had died from it, or is struggling to survive from it. Wouldn’t it be great if they didn’t have to suffer?

Then, there are people who think that with cancer gone something else, maybe even something worse, would quickly take its place. What do you think about that? Could that really happen? Are we talking about another decease here or something else? What could possibly be worse than cancer? What about the repercussions, are there any? Have you ever wondered why there isn't a cure? Seems like cancer has been around forever, why isn't there one? What if there has always been a cure? What if the government was hiding it from us, for what they think is "for the good of the people," or maybe they're covering it up for the good of the pharmaceutical companies. 

Read more in this thrilling apocalyptic tale. “Viral Bound.”


Viral Bound
Written by Dan Waltz

• Paperback (Createspace) $16.95
• Kindle (Amazon) $3.99

Synopsis:
I was diagnosed with cancer just hours before rumors of a cure began circling the globe. Like me, most people were skeptical, while others thanked their lucky stars for such fantastic news. Then, strange things began happening, like thousands of birds falling from the skies and fish going belly-up for no reason. People assumed foul play, but that was quickly dismissed. A secret society with government backing lurked in the shadows while a virus was born. It spread wildly across the planet, unleashing the dead to walk among us. This is when my living nightmare began, and life as I knew it changed forever.

"There is an appointed time for everything, and there is a time for every event under heaven." ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-1 KJV


DEDICATION - This novel is dedicated to my grandmother, Louise Case, diagnosed with colon cancer in 2009. She lived a full and happy life, right up to the end. 1920-2012. Thank you Grandma, for all your love and support over the years. R.I.P.

Monday, January 21, 2013

2 Hours



Here is a great little post apocalyptic film that's getting a lot of attention and deservedly so. It's worth a watch. If you like it, take a little time and let them know.

http://2hoursthemovie.com
https://www.facebook.com/2HoursTheMovie

Breaking NEWS!


Congrats!


Saturday, January 19, 2013

Just feeding the squirrels.



Just an update on what I’ve been up to for the last few days, besides feeding the squirrels.

First of all, ebook sales on my latest book “Viral Bound” have been pretty steady. Thank you very much, and the response has been awesome. If you have read the book and liked what you read, please if you have the time log into Amazon and leave me a review. It would be much appreciated.

I’ve been working on the next book “Field of Screams” as often as I can. I’m trying hard to get it out for you by fall. The story itself is one that I wrote about 8 or 9 years ago, so the story is done, but it’s rough, really rough. But, I love the story so I’m in the rewriting stage and hopefully it won’t be long.

I also will be getting back to painting soon. It’s been a while and I really miss it. I recently got some great shots of a wolverine and I always wanted to paint one, so maybe, just maybe that will be next on the growing list of things to do.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Slow & Shambling or Fast & Furious?



I’m often asked my opinion on zombies…

“Slow & Shambling or Fast & Furious?”

     About four years ago I started writing Viral Bound. I had an idea that I thought was original enough to have a chance in the already flooded zombie market. I knew it had to be different, yet I still had to keep the classic zombie feel. Not an easy task since new zombie stories get published everyday.

     I read as many books as I could get my hands on over the years on the genre, and watched many of the zombie movies. Unlike others who credit the movie “The Nights of The Living Dead” as their start in the zombie genre, I just recently watched that film about 9 months ago. But there were others and the ones I thought were the most realistic were the slow moving zoms.

     In 2011, I played a zombie in the film “Zombie Apocalypse, Redemption.” I mainly did it for the experience. I thought it would help me on my book, acting with others as zombies. I even went to zombie school to train on how zombies moved, walked and yes, even ran. Little did I know that the zombies in this film were going to be the fast and furious kind and it didn’t help much at all, except make me dislike the fast zombies that much more. Even though I enjoyed being part of the film, and I like the film, to me it didn’t feel much like zombies, but rather some mad dog virus, that makes you mean, angry and act like rabid animals.

     To me, the only thing that makes sense is slow, shambling, zombies. They are decaying after all. They have died, and the only function that remains when they reanimate is the basics, just enough to get them around and feed. Their brains are dead and their animal instincts to survive, and feed is all that’s left. It takes brain-power after all to run, to think, to maneuver around obstacles and keep balance at high speeds. Brains that they don’t have.

    That is why I chose the slower zoms for my book “Viral Bound.” It just makes more sense to me. Maybe the faster ones should be called Super Zombies with incredible strengths. Hmmm

Happy Reading

Thursday, January 3, 2013

FREE e-books?


Have authors gone mad?

     I’ve noticed in trend in peoples reading habits lately; mainly my own. I have a lot of books and when I say a lot of books, I mean a lot of books. I’ve been collecting books ever since I was a kid. My book shelves are over-flowing with them. I have no more room for physical books. Two years ago I got a Kindle and it's been a godsend. But, the collecting didn’t stop there. I then started repurchasing a lot of the books I already had, but haven’t read, so I can read them on my Kindle. I continued collecting books everyday, mainly FREE ones. They just kept appearing on my news feed on Facebook & Twitter. "5 FREE e-books here, 10 FREE there." If I was the slightest bit interested in the title and it was free, it was mine, all mine, to read when? Over 2 years I have gathered thousands and thousands of e-books, more than I can possibly read in my lifetime. 
     What I found was this; even though I still collect all the free books I can get my hands on, I tend to only read the books that I pay money for. I’m not sure why that is? All that I can come up with is value. The old “cliche” “you get what you pay for” maybe embedded in the back of my mind. Even though I know it's not true. I'm sure in the sea of FREE books there are some good ones floating around out there. But, still, if the author doesn’t value his own work, how can he expect me too? 
     Being an author myself I see another side of the FREE ebook trend thats happening. I feel it depreciates not only the book that’s FREE, but all books in general. I ask myself, how in the world is this good for the industry? And, frankly and ashamedly I can’t see that its helping in any way. If authors don’t respect themselves or their work enough to put a respectable price tag on it, what kind of message is that spreading to our readers? That books have no value? Why should anyone buy another book when there is an overwhelming abundance of FREE ones readily available with just a click of a mouse? It’s gotten out of hand. 
I'd rather have sales from people who want to read my words than have thousands of downloads from people who don't” ~ Kat Yares, author
     I Couldn't agree with you more Kat. I want my books to be read, not just stored away in a sea of lost ebooks on some computer or Kindle somewhere. Until I see a value in giving 3+ years of hard work away for free, I will continue to ask a small price for my labor of love. I hope the reader will get enough entertainment and/or knowledge out of it to say that it was money well spent. If not, my apologies in advance, we know we can't please everyone. Just be grateful that it didn’t cost you the price of a bad movie and/or popcorn, and thank you for giving it a chance and an open mind.

Happy reading.

Dan