The No Where Apocalypse: Book Two Cover Reveal

Okay, here it is. The book will be released within a month or so. For sure by July 4th (2016).

Surviving No Where

Bob Reiniger's saga continues where it left off in book one (Stranded No Where). He has made it through his first winter alone in the middle of the upper peninsula of northern Michigan. He now realizes that he's never getting home (Joliet, IL). He'll never see his wife, his parents, or his brother ever again.

He must make a new life, even here...in No Where.

New friends arrive; new troubles follow. And though there aren't many people around, Bob seems to find the strangest possible.

He knows he must do better than "just make it" here. He must Survive...even in No Where.

If you didn't get a chance to read the first installment of this series, it's available on Amazon. Either click here, or on the picture below.

I hope you all have as much fun reading this series as I have had writing it. I've just finished the frist draft of book three (Defending No Where) and I'm on to book four (Searching No Where). Watch for those books later this summer and early fall.

As always, thank you for reading my blog and books. Without you, I am nothing more than a drivel spewing hack. You, the reader, make this all possible. You are my muse and my inspiration.

And maybe there's a little bit of Bob Reiniger in all of us, huh?

Until next time,

e a lake

How the End of the World Will REALLY Look

Recently, Howard Godfrey had a post entitled "What are Realistic Expectations TEOTWAWKI". Howard writes on his site, Preparedness Advice Blog, about all things apocalyptic and such. And most weeks I read his advice.


Here's a link to his post and a copy of the great picture he used to promote it (I really love this pic):
http://preparednessadvice.com/self-sufficiency/realistic-expectations-for-teotwawki/#.VzDVL4QrJD8

Howard points out several things that we may or may not be ready for when the apocalypse arrives. And if you've been a reader of mine, several of these will sound eerily familiar.

1. Food will be in extremely short supply

Grow it, grill it, or catch it -- those are your options. No more running to the store for this or that. Fast food? Ha; gone with the wind. And you've probably had your last taste of milk for a while -- perhaps ever.

The lack of food and fresh water will probably do most people in. Even some of the causal preppers won't be ready to take and prepare their own meals.

2. Like and work will be starkly different

On the good side, you won't have to go to that job you hate so much anymore. Your job now will be surviving, and that means several different things.

First and foremost your days will be consumed with finding water and food (as mentioned above for their importance). This will be difficult without a car; maybe even impossible for some. And consider this: have you ever field dressed a deer before, much less a rabbit or a squirrel? There's no zippers on those animals you know.

When you're not hunting or foraging, you'll most likely be protecting you home, your supplies, and your family. Like Howard says in his article: "Try standing watch most of the night and then do a full hard day's work."

Life as we know it will be gone. A new world will await your every day. A world you won't recognize. A harsh, stark world that may just eat you alive...if you aren't prepared.

That's what happens to Bob Reiniger in my latest series Stranded No Where. He wasn't prepared, and he struggles oh so mightily.

I'm off for a long weekend in Virginia with family. I sure hope TEOTWAWKI doesn't happen while I'm gone. I didn't leave my daughter and her husband with all that much food for my two dogs.

Until next time -- keep reading,

e a lake

If you like Post-Apocalyptic, You'll Like This

"This cannot be happening? How will I survive?"

If you're a fan of post-apocalyptic novels like The Road, Wool, and Home you are going to love this new series: The No Where Apocalypse.

Follow Bob Reiniger as he wakes to find himself in the most impossible position he could ever imagine: The End Of The World As We Know It. And to make matters worse, he's alone, poorly supplies, and 400 miles from home. He is truly smack dab in the middle of nowhere.

Now available on Amazon Kindle: Click here to get your copy today.

As always, thanks for following!

e a lake

Things you won't miss in the Apocalypse: #4

Unwanted Phone Calls

We all hate them. And I don't think the discussion about the pesky interruptions in our day needs to go on any further. So when the Darkness wipes out phones -- all phones -- no one is going to miss any form of telemarketing.

No one is going to miss...

Unwanted telemarketers telling us they have a crew in our area today and they'd be happy to remove that low hanging tree branch. Newsflash -- I don't have any large trees in my yard. And even if I did, I'm sure I could handle it myself.

Or how about the lovely folks that call us on our cells, begging for donations. Yes, I love puppies, and old people, and clean air. No, I don't want to give money to Bernie, or Hillary or Ted. I don't care to share my pending vote on the citywide dog catcher referendum either. Just leave me alone.

I hate talking on the phone, anyway

Just ask my children. They'll tell you how a conversation with dear old Dad goes.

Them: Hi, what you doing?

Me: Super busy (sometimes true). What do you need?

So if I don't care to talk on the phone with my loved ones, why in the devil do I want to talk to you?

Sorry all teens, the Darkness will suck for you

Remember, all forms of electronic communications are going to die. That means no:

• Lengthy calls with that person you can't live without
• Chatting
• Instagram
• FaceBook Updates
• Texting

I know, dagger through the heart. But there will be an upside. You're going to get to know your immediate family members better. Okay, this might not be such an upside for either party now that I think it through.

But you'll be too busy surviving (hunter/gatherer mode) to care anyway...after several months of iPhone withdrawal.

Want to talk to your friends? No problem, sort of. You'll need to figure out where Chrissy and Tommy and Trigger have gone to. You like dead people? (Not so much?) Then maybe you should just stay put with your family. It'll save the emotional trauma.

Yeah, it's going to suck

But look on the bright side. According to most "preppers" and "prepping experts", chances are you're not going to live more than a year or two. So that phone that's glued to your hand right now? Not a big deal when you're starving, or sick.

In the next ten days I'll be beginning a new series...five people you'll meet in the apocalypse.

Until then -- enjoy your phone....

e a lake

Things you won't miss in the Apocalypse: #3

The Internal Revenue Service

Oh, my friends, this is a timely one!

There are two types of people in The United States: those that love tax day, and those of us who hate it. And these groups are easy to tell apart. Lovers of tax day get refunds. Non-lovers (like me) owe money at the end of the tax year.

The Darkness will save us all from Tax Day

And the dreaded IRS.

First off, if you get a large refund you're just plain silly...goofy in the brain. Why do you insist on lending people money at a zero percent interest rate? No one, and I mean absolutely no one, would do that for you. So that "forced savings plan" of yours that the government generously sends back to you was yours all along.

And if you owe, like me, why haven't you made your estimated payments? That would save you a whole bunch of grief come April 15th, you know.

But what if that all went away?

That's one of the benefits of the Darkness (or what you might call the apocalypse or TEOTWAWKI). No more taxes, or tax day. No more government. No more IRS!

Yeah, the Darkness will have its ugly side (or I should say sides) but taxes won't be one of them.

Most money and income will be gone

Transactions will become barter based. I trade you four cans of pork and beans for a live chicken. You trade two of those cans to another soul for five 12-guage shells. They trade one of those cans for a clean bottle of water. 

Much simpler, right? And no taxes to be paid.

You won't be going to work anymore. No more 9 to 5, no more bosses with unreasonable demands. No more rushing home to catch little Suzie's soccer practice.

What a nice simple life you'll have.

There will be a down side, of course

Finding food and water will be your new "Job". That and keeping yourself, and your loved ones, safe. But if you don't have to rush off to work, or worry about paying or filing your taxes, you're going to have all sorts of extra free time.

Is that a fair trade? Well, maybe.

Until next time when we talk about not missing the unwanted phone calls,

e a lake

Things you won't miss in the Apocalypse: #2

The Recycling Police

Don't get me wrong, we sort at my house. Trash is separated from recyclables, and almost weekly we have 30 to 40 gallons to be reused somewhere in the world.

But some folks take it too far

And you know exactly who I mean. That relative that brags about only having five gallons of trash a month because he or she recycle the rest. The neighbor who only buys recycled materials. The kids in your neighborhood that wander around on trash day in their neon-green shirts, urging you to dig through your crap and fish that one aluminum can out of the bottom. The one covered in potatoes peels or dog crap.

I have nothing against recycling; I'm just not fond of the Recycling Police.

I won't miss sorting my trash in the Darkness

Not me. I also won't miss trash day -- both literally and figuratively. My recycling comes at about 5:00 a.m. That's a little before my comfort zone of rising (since I wrote fiction well into the dark hours). So if I don't get my recycling out the night before, it ain't getting out that particular week.

And I hate each spring when the groups of youngsters spread out in the neighborhood. "Please remember to recycle," they say, pleading with tears in their eyes. Or even better, "Save the planet for me, Mister."

Wow, now I hate spring...and kids in neon-green shirts!

No one is going to bother you in the Darkness

Not about recycling, at least. They may beg for food, or shelter, or protection. My former recycling materials will be of no one's concern any longer.

Plus, people will recycle in new ways. Those plastic bottles shown here? Forget about the BPAs. They will be used many times over to store fresh water, regardless of dangerous they were once thought. They're easier to carry in a backpack than a five-gallon pail, right?

We will be more creative with our recyclables at the EOTWAWKI. We will have to be because once they're gone...they'll be gone forever.

Goodbye people worried about the trash we spread

I can't say I'm going to miss you.

Until next time when we talk about not missing the Internal Revenue Service,

e a lake

Things you won't miss in the Apocalypse: #1

Presidential Campaigns

Every four years a new group of candidates come out of the woods and announce they are "running for the office of President of the United States of America." Sometimes they are substantive: Barrack Obama, Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy. Real candidates that stand for something besides the status quo.

Then there are the quirky: Ralph Nader, Ross Perot, Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders. All legitimate candidates but a bubble or two off of plumb. They talk a good talk; sometimes things they say make a lot of sense. But in the end...they flame out. (The jury is still out on Mr. Trump).

And then the true status quo: Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Hillary Clinton, John McCain. These folks offer nothing new. Just four (or sometimes eight) more years of what we already have. Bland, beige, boring.

What if that all went away?

Enter the Apocalypse (I call it The Darkness). Gone is all electricity and power; gone are all forms of mass communication (cell phones, Twitter, FaceBook, landlines, faxes). Travel is pretty much limited to foot, or a horse if you can find one.

Do you know what that means people? Think about it: No more debates, No more commercials, No more town hall meetings, No more sound bites. The end of the rhetoric...finally!

In the Darkness, we may not even have a President

Communities would be self-ruled. No need for someone (or many someones) a thousand or more miles away telling us what to do. Think they could help with the limited food supply after two months of Darkness? Doubt it. 

Our former leaders will be too busy hiding, all bunkered up in some fortified hole in the ground. Surrounded by decades of fresh food and water. They might even be chuckling as what's left of the citizenry scrounges to survive.

But we have the last laugh

No longer will we have to listen to these government types (they call themselves Civil Servants) beg for our votes. If the trains still ran (their computers were destroyed with the Darkness, so they don't) this new breed of candidate could do whistle-stop campaigns, ala Teddy Roosevelt.

But why? There'll be nothing left to rule. A formerly great country, in a formerly well-connected world, will be a shell of its former self. (And just so we're clear, the rest of the world will have the same Darkness to deal with).

We will all suffer

But at least we won't have to listen to these clowns anymore!


Until next time when we talk about not missing the recycling police,


e a lake