Eureka! (And finally a zombie gunslinger related post)

I had the greatest idea EVER occur to me this afternoon!

While I was driving around the North Fork of the Duchesne River this past weekend with my dad I kept telling him how the mountains would be a great hold fast in the aftermath of the zom-pocalypse. There's water, wood, game, fish, and the terrain is far too rough for the walking dead to navigate....thank you Max Brooks and WWZ for the idea.

It's been nesting in the back of my mind ever since. Then whammo!! At work the pieces cascaded into place and formed the zombie-western, post-apocalyptic story of Dead Reckoning.

As always, I wasn't nailed to the idea until a thought up a title that fit just right. Dead Reckoning works on many levels:

1) Wikipedia defines "dead reckoning" as - the process of estimating one's current position based upon a previously determined position. While traditional methods of dead reckoning are no longer considered primary means of navigation, modern systems (GPS) are very widely used.
A disadvantage of dead reckoning is that since new positions are calculated solely from previous positions, the errors of the process are cumulative, so the error in the position fix grows with time.
This applies very well because the whole premise of the story is that the generation (or possibly the next generation - 2 from the zom-pocalypse) following the outbreak has reverted back to Old West style living. They only vaguely know where they are headed based on the previous period of American history. They are learning as they go through trial and error and finding ways to adapt to rougher living, competition with other survivors, and contending with the ever present threat of zombies. A second application is that technology has failed almost entirely because there is no one left to pilot the satellites, keep the ISPs humming, or generally leave the lights on. Therefore a humanity that has become increasingly dependent on mass media, abundant power, and knowledge at the touch of a button is now forced to eek out a living in the wilderness like their forefathers.
2) A definition for "reckoning" is - an opinion or judgment, or the consequences/retribution for one's actions.
This fits because in the story it is not known/no longer known what caused the outbreak to begin with. Some think it was government work/weapons/testing that lost control and others believe it to be God's judgment on a crumbling, immoral world. Either way it just so happens to be that it is the dead wreaking havoc against the clustered pockets of lingering civilization.
The whole thing won't be entirely Old West....that would just make folks think there was a post Civil War outbreak. There will be those with modern firearms, but ammo (particularly brass shells) is running short and people are going back to black powder weaponry. Fuel was mostly consumed as people fled into the mountains from all over the country. Air travel, aside from the rare glider or hot air balloon, is nearly non-existent. Travel by horse and wagon is easier than it was in the late 1800s due to the fact that paved roads still criss-cross the country, but they are falling apart, dead ending in the canyons, or being washed out from repeated storms and no maintenance.
Another problem....beyond the obvious zombie infestation....is that Mad Max-ian bands of cannibals and marauders have formed to pillage and plunder the settlements. And what is a sleepy mountain town without a self appointed, greedy baron out for land, power, and domination. These fat cats monopolize trade, passage, and any source of power (electricity, water, fuel, etc). Perhaps some even construct pioneer style forts which they defend with armies of hired thugs who run amuck and present yet another threat to those trying to pick up the pieces.
Hunting is difficult because some animals have become even more skittish of humans due to the wandering dead, while others (bears, large cats, wolves, etc) have become much more violent and aggressive, attacking any human and tearing them asunder. They do not consume the flesh of zombies...aside from your routine scavengers like carrion birds and coyotes. Animals cannot become infected from the bite of a zombie because they lack the brain physiology of a human which stores the zombie-ism.
Printed books....already becoming a rarity (imagine the future!) are treasured - the most highly sought after being Max Brooks' Zombie Survival Guide, and what would be the American West without the zealous Bible thumpers clamoring for leadership of their flock.

Lucky find, even luckier save

Check it out!! (*unless you're Shelley, in which case you should heed my disclaimer/warning before checking it out)

http://hiddenway.tripod.com/world/

I don't remember when I stumbled across this site.....must have been about 6 months ago or so.....and I certainly don't remember saving it to my favorites list, but I'm very glad I did. The amount of information is overwhelming, the dedication is impressive, and best of all the inspiration is endless!

*Fair warning to Shelley: it's a definite DO NOT read before bed! Your head will be spinning with ideas as you lie there staring up into the dark wishing you could sleep because you have so much to do tomorrow. I thought about hyphenating all of that, but felt as though I'd be squandering a lifetime allotment of hyphens.

My inner-workings

I was recently sent a short questionnaire from Shelley at http://wickedlydivinecreations.blogspot.com/. It was kinda fun. My answers are below:

What is your dream job?
Owner of a horse ranch for disabled kids

Where would you like to live?
Just about anywhere in the mountains. It doesn't even have to be the Rocky Mountains, just somewhere suitable for a horse ranch.

What century would you like to live in?
Mine is a bit of and overlap - I would say the 1800s spanning the first few decades of the 1900s, probably ending 1920ish

What would be your last meal?
I LOVE seafood, so I would say sushi and snow crab legs with shrimps and scallops. No oysters!

Why did you start a blog?
To have an easy to manage forum to share my ideas and creations. I also like connecting with other people, but loathe facebook.

What is your favorite article of clothing?
I like my boots and almost any button up plaid shirt.

What is your favorite film?
It's hard to narrow it down to any specific title, so I'll say anything in the Adventure genre: Indiana Jones, Rambo, LOTR, etc. "Epics" are good.

What would you like to do before age 100?
Full circle back to starting a horse ranch. I would settle for building a cabin if I can't go for the full blown ranch/lodge/log home.

Vastmorlund with labels

Here's the new map with place names. They could change if the muses bless me with more creative names, but we'll just have to see what comes.

Vastmorlund

This awesomely incredible world is unexpectedly my new Vastmorlund! Hooray!! I wasn't satisfied with the other map(s) I kept trying to turn out for it.......so I bowed to the genius that is http://donjon.bin.sh/

This all encompassing generator is hands down the VERY BEST I have ever come across. It does EVERYTHING - worlds, weather, characters, ships, names....astounding!

Much, much more to come....

"Japan" Maps

Ryu'shima (Dragon Island)

Yamashi (Mountain Island)

(No name)

I spent the day making use of Google Translator to give the islands and towns actual Japanese names. Admittedly I fudged things a bit in places - and I'm sure I screwed up a few others since I don't have any idea how Japanese grammar and sentence structure work.

I haven't renamed the western island yet because I can't find anything that I feel suits it.

The key is as follows: RED dot = temple, BLACK dot = town/city, BLACK square = fortress/castle

Once I have the maps complete (or at least to minimal satisfaction/capabilities) I will add a few notes to the workings of the world. I still haven't decided if these landmasses will comprise the whole world or just be a portion. On the smaller scale I reckon them at a 1cm:10 miles ratio - that's printed on standard 8.5 x 11 paper.

Knick knack paddy whack, throw a geek a bone

I just stumbled across a veritable treasure trove of talent and inspiration! And by "just" I mean yesterday afternoon and I've been perusing it ever since. Check this out:

http://greywolf.critter.net/images/ad&d/clipart

I was Google-ing images of leather armor and came across this great pencil drawing...so I clicked it and was taken to the above site. The long list of clip art and other related links are jam packed with the incredible artistic talent of one Todd Jordan 'Greywolf' Peacock. What a fantastic resource!

I have spent hours and hours going through the site and viewing every pic I can find. I have already written a few pages of story based solely on the drawings of: scroll-eye.jpg and hat-floppy.jpg

I mucho highly recommend taking a peek, or really long gander at this wonderful site. I guaran-damn-tee that you'll find something you like, and next thing you know inspiration will strike like lightning and you'll be pounding the compie keys or scribbling furiously in your sketchpad. Kara, you may sling watercolor whilst Shelley sews maniacally :) Kara I'm sure you'll give it a much deserved "Zowie!" Shelley...um...you will be very sweet...and probably make some strange Aussie exclamation that I've never heard before :)