Apocalypse Preparedness

Dreams are strange beasts. Every action and detail make perfect sense while you’re asleep, and your mind projects a vivid picture of a world you’ve never known but feel like you know. When you wake up, if you remember your dream, you might think: What the hell was that?

I’m one of those people who remembers my dreams more often than not. I’m also a lucid dreamer, which means if something happens in my dream that I don’t like, I can change it without interrupting the flow of sleep or the dream. I’ve gotten several story ideas from my dreams.

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been sick. That means that I’ve been sleeping more and taking medication to feel better, all of which have had an impact on my dreams. One night in particular, I had a crazy dream about the zombie apocalypse,

Now, it’s not odd for me to dream about zombies. In fact, it probably happens more often than it should. In this dream, a group of us survivors had found a warehouse and refuge from the undead threat. We took the chance to get our supplies in order and prepare food for the journey that lay ahead. I have no idea where we were going, but we were heading back out.

The distressing part of the dream came about when I discovered that the stew was being made out of people. We didn’t kill them, but we were using them because other meat supplies were low. There was a scene in my dream where one of the other survivors asked me to sample some of the marrow from the bone they were boiling, and my stomach knotted—both in my dream and in real life—but in my dream, I tasted it, and it tasted just like cow.

As the dream progressed, we had to find ways to store and carry the stew on our trip. For some reason, Tupperware was nonexistent (or maybe we just couldn’t find lids that matched the containers, I don’t know), and we discussed how glass jars would be heavy and hard to carry in our bags because they would break. Our only option was to put the stew into already-opened cans, but how would we keep them from spilling? Thankfully, I had a supply of plastic lids with me, so everything worked out. We were able to gather our supplies and head onto the road. (I woke up before I knew where we were going.)

When I woke up, my brain reeled from what my dream had presented. I had a what-the-hell-was-that moment, but at the same time, it made me think. What would we have to do during the apocalypse that would repulse us in “normal” life? Would we be reduced to be no better than the zombies? Would we do whatever we had to to survive?

A lot of books (including my own) and movies try to answer these questions, and often times, the answer isn’t pretty. In a lot of cases, humans turn out to be worse than the undead—but only because they can be conniving and tricky where zombies have only one motivation. The whole idea of cannibalism is the reason we find zombies so repulsive, but what happens if we are reduced to that stage? It’s happened in survival situations before, who says it couldn’t happen again?

I don’t have any answers to the questions my dream proposed, but I find them fascinating. It might be something worth exploring sometime down the road. The other question that also cropped up as a result of my dream was:

What unconventional supplies could be potentially life-saving in the zombie apocalypse?

I pose this question to you. Please share in the comments what unconventional supplies you would bring, and I’ll enter you into a giveaway for a chance to win your choice of one of my ebooks.

Made it Through!

Well, we all survived the first week back to school after Christmas break. It was touch and go for a while, and the week ended with yelling and tears, but I got over it pretty quickly. It seems we’ve settled back into our normal routine.  But I tell you what, I was incredibly happy to have the weekend show up.

The nice thing about this weekend was I got a lot of writing done. I have one chapter left until the first rough draft of my latest book is done. (It's still untitled.  I thought I had one, but it needs to be reworked.)  That’s an amazing feeling. Next comes edits, but those are easy. I have something to work with. Getting the first round on paper is the hardest part of the process.

I hope the rest of you had an amazing and productive weekend and are gearing up for a fantastic week. It’s going to be a great one!

Friday is the release date for Dealing with Devils.  Don't worry, I'll remind you when the time comes.  Until then, please enjoy the amazing cover.

Dating a demon has its advantages, like helping deliver souls to Hell. Wait...what?

Katie’s world has been turned upside down. She's fallen for Josh—despite the fact that he’s a demon from Hell. Wes is finally out of her system and her life. Convinced she can change Josh, she sets out to make him a better person, only to find out things aren’t as simple as she’d originally thought. For one thing, Josh has Katie help him deliver souls to Hell, and she kind of likes it. And to top it off, other more powerful demons are battling for her soul, and revelations from the past could change the course of her life forever.

How Would You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse?

You know you've thought about it. You know you've planned it out. How would you survive the zombie apocalypse? I’m un-dying to know! Send your essays (500 words or less) or videos to pembrokesinclair[@]hotmail[.]com or use the contact form in the right hand column. Please don’t send attachments. I won’t open them. Please paste your story or link directly in the body of the email or the contact form. Thanks!


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