The shot heard 'round the world at Lexington and Concord in 1775 birthed a nation. Less than a century later, cannons firing on Fort Sumter, South Carolina thrust that same nation into a civil war. The assassination of an obscure archduke sparked a chain of events leading to World War I. The dastardly bombing of Pearl Harbor led America into the Second World War.Akart's new novel, Nuclear Winter First Strike, depicts a world on the edge of nuclear Armageddon. Will history repeat itself as warring nations take their battles to the highest level of destruction? Can America avoid being drawn into these conflicts beyond her borders?Nuclear Armageddon hangs over us like a mighty sword and ordinary Americans will be caught in the crosshairs.This is more than the story of nuclear conflict. It's about the devastating effects wrought by Nuclear Winter. Our possible future is seen through the eyes of the Albright family whose roots stretch back to the early settlement of the Florida Keys.Hank Albright, a widower and proprietor of the Driftwood Key Inn, is the epitome of the laid-back islander inhabiting the Keys. His brother, Mike, is a homicide detective for the Monroe County Sheriff's department. Along with his wife Jessica, a paramedic and member of the Sheriff's department water emergency team, they become involved in the investigation of a sadistic serial killer.Hank's son, Peter Albright, is a Washington, DC reporter covering the State Department. He's unknowingly thrust into the middle of the conflict in the Middle East. Upon his return home, he begins to unravel a conspiracy leading to an unexpected dynamic between the President, the Secretary of State, and North Korea.As the drumbeats of war beat louder, Hank's oldest child, Lacey McDowell, begins to sense the warning signs. Along with her husband, Owen, and teenage son, Tucker, she begins to prepare for a hasty exit from their San Francisco Bay Area home.Will America become embroiled in the nuclear conflict? Will the President cross the Rubicon, that point of no return after which lives and cities may be destroyed? For the Albrights, like their fellow Americans, their lives are about to change forever.It was not our fight, but it became our problem.

    Governments have collapsed. Cities have become graveyards filled with unspeakable horror. People have resorted to scavenging from the dead, or taking from the living. The entire industrialized world has become a wasteland of abandoned cars, decaying bodies, and feral animals. To stay alive, U.S. Deputy Marshal Mason Raines must forage for food, water, and gasoline while outgunning those who seek to take advantage of the apocalyptic anarchy. Together with his giant Irish wolfhound, Bowie, he aligns with survivors of the town of Boone in a life and death struggle against a gang of violent criminals. With each deadly encounter, Mason is forced to accept his place as one of the nation's few remaining lawmen. In a world now populated by escaped convicts, paranoid mutants, and government hit squads, his only hope to save the townspeople is to enforce his own brand of frontier justice.

    He lived in a world of formulas and equations. A statistician in a controlled society where everything had become predictably mundane. That world disappeared the day the dead got up and began attacking the living.Now, the end is here. Blake finds himself fighting for his life in a world that is rapidly spiraling out of control. He struggles to keep himself alive and must risk everything to find his family.Along the way, Blake finds himself thrust among other unlikely survivors. Together they must adapt to the realities of the undead world, or join the legion of zombies. The characters must overcome their conditioned human apathy and come together if they have any chance of survival. Rise of the Dead chronicles the first moments of the zombie apocalypse. While the story is a fast-paced thrill ride through an ever-growing zombie horde, the novel aims to draw upon familiar themes as those found in the Romero classic films.

    To get back home he'll have to draw on every survival instinct he has as he's pulled into a web of lies and conspiracy that threaten not just his survival but that of the entire world. Surviving the Fall is a thrilling post-apocalyptic episodic series that focuses on Rick and Dianne Waters and how they each deal with the apocalypse. Stranded across the country away from his family, Rick must travel from California to Virginia to reunite with his wife and children, all while struggling to comprehend and deal with the horrors along the way. At home with her three children when she experiences the beginning of the end in a dramatic and deadly fashion, Dianne Waters has experience as a prepper and survivalist, but not even years of training and preparation have readied her for the darkness that comes with the end of the world. Now she must draw upon those skills to protect her loved ones and fight back against those who come against her and her family.

    ISIS has unleashed a weaponized version of the deadly Ebola virus, killing 97% of the world’s population. Only the immune and those who hunkered down in remote locations remain. Through the chaos strides a giant of a man known only as Stryker. He is a former Force Recon Marine, who has lost as much as anyone, but fights to preserve his honor and creed in the face of slave traders and rogue military elements who prey on the innocent. Together with his former Drill Instructor, Sarge, they struggle to eliminate the remaining evil elements in society, even as the nation’s infrastructure crumbles and life becomes considerably more difficult. Together, they care for three young women who survived the plague and attempt to give them lives that are as normal as possible under the circumstances. Follow along as they travel through a world gone mad, determined to defend the weak and innocent against long odds.

    But now they're on the verge of divorce and going to couples' counseling. On a routine trip to their counselor, they notice a few odd things -- the lack of cars on the highway, the missing security guard, and the fact that their counselor, Dr. Kelly, is ripping out her previous client's throat.Meet the Zombies.Now, Sarah and David are fighting for survival in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. But, just because there are zombies, doesn't mean your other problems go away. If the zombies don't eat their brains, they might just kill each other.

    Like a ticking bomb, this puppet master is patiently waiting for the right time to set off its hosts against the world. That time is now! A canceled flight due to a volcanic eruption and a violent animal attack at their port, almost cause Ted and TJ to miss their transatlantic cruise and a needed escape from their busy lives in the US. But there will be no peace or tranquility on this cruise as something is very wrong: animals have started to attack for no apparent reason. It will take Ted and TJ’s unique skills to not only survive their cruise, but to understand an apocalypse of madness which appears to have struck the whole world. With mammals outnumbering humans 10,000 to 1, is this the end? - - - - Early Reviews - - - “A fresh, unique, and exhilarating twist to the horror genre, but must warn readers that once they've picked the book up, they'll be hard pressed to set it back down. I loved it. Really, really well done!" ~ Readers Favorite “Shades of Zoo but scarier” “Put Patterson, King & Koontz together and then HIDE” “ML Banner is now in the ballpark with Michael Creighton” “One of the very best books I’ve read in this genre” - - - - The MADNESS Chronicles Trilogy - - - MADNESS: MADNESS Chronicles I (June 1st) PARASITIC: MADNESS Chronicles II (June 30th) SYMPTOMATIC: MADNESS Chronicles III (August 30th) Free content at MadnessWorld.Info

    Then to begin the ruination of your much anticipated weekend the grating tone of the Emergency Alert System flashes over the radio, then promptly dies.This is the beginning of a 250 mile odyssey for Morgan Carter. Morgan works on the road and finds himself far from home when his car dies, as well as his Blackberry and every other piece of electronics he has. With no idea what has occurred he reluctantly finds himself on shanks’ mare carrying that ridiculous pack that everyone made fun of him for keeping in the car. Morgan has to find his way across the state of Florida, from Tallahassee to the heart of the state in Lake County.Along his way he has to seek out food, water and shelter where he can, not to mention keeping himself from being killed by any number of now scared and desperate people. During his travels he will try and help where he can, but that can turn out to be a costly mistake. We live in a wonderfully modern society where anything we want is a mouse click away. The lights come on with the flip of a switch and even a child can turn on the faucet at the sink and water always comes out. But what if it all went away?Could you face what Morgan faces, could you make the decisions he has to make? Life and sometimes death in the blink of an eye, could you do it?

    An EMP over North America has destroyed everything electronic. No cars, no planes, no phones, no electricity. Refusing to wait for someone else to help them, ten courageous young people take charge of their future and choose to begin the long journey home. 1500 miles of adventure and lawless country await. Will their determination be enough?Alex, Quinn, Josh, Cooper and Dara - setting out on foot with nothing more than some soon to be worthless cash and a little advice from a trusted teacher, they walk through a burning city that has come to a halt. The devastation they see as they make their way out of the city is a small part of the horror that the nation will become. As the days go by with no food deliveries and no water flowing from taps, civilization will start to crumble and it will be survival of the fittest. With five States and half a Province to cross they will need to plan well, count on each other and pray for a little luck. Even with that, chances are slim of getting home when you are Stranded.

    Left to fend for herself with only a dog as her companion, she sets out on a journey to find others, leaving notes everywhere she goes…hoping that one day someone will come looking for her. When Riley meets the handsome yet mysterious Connor on the streets of Downtown San Diego, they form a bond unlike either has experienced before. When the things that go bump in the night turn out to be more than nightmares, the trio sets off for the mountains in search of an isolated resort where they can hunker down, away from the ominous shadows of the dead city streets. The peace and tranquility of the woods isn’t enough to keep the darkness away for long though and soon Riley and Connor are forced to accept that the World and the few people left alive in it will never be the same. The shadows of their past may haunt them forever…threatening to destroy what little dreams they have left of a future unless they fight to stay in the light and never lose their hope. 1/9 Family and Friends: The dog and I have left to find my Mom. Most of you know where her place is, the corner of 9th and F. I’ll leave a note there before I move on. Everyone here is…gone. I can’t stay. I’m not sure when or if I will come back here but leave a message anyway. I hope you find me. – Riley

    With fears of contracting the H1N1 virus running rampant throughout the country, people lined up in droves to try an attain one of the coveted vaccines. What was not known, was the effect this largely untested, rushed to market, inoculation was to have on the unsuspecting throngs. Within days, feverish folk throughout the country, convulsed, collapsed and died, only to be re-born. With a taste for brains, blood and bodies, these modern day zombies scoured the lands for their next meal. Overnight the country became a killing ground for the hordes of zombies that ravaged the land.This is the story of Michael Talbot, his family and his friends. This is their story a band of ordinary people just trying to get by in these extra-ordinary times. When disaster strikes, Mike a self-proclaimed survivalist, does his best to ensure the safety and security of those he cares for.Book 1 of the Zombie Fall-Out Trilogy follows our lead character in his self-deprecating, sarcastic best. What he encounters along the way leads him down a long dark road always skirting on the edge of insanity. Can he keep his family safe? Can he discover the secret behind Tommy's powers? Can he save anyone from the zombie Queen - a zombie that seems by all accounts to have some sort of hold over the zombies and Mike himself? Encircled in a seemingly safe haven called Little Turtle, Mike and his family together with the remnants of a tattered community while not fighting each other, fight against a relentless, ruthless, unstoppable force. This last bastion of civilization has made its final stand. God help them all.

    A country torn apart. A man who will stop at nothing to get home to his family.When a massive landslide in the Canary Islands sets off a mega-tsunami, the east coast of North America is square in its path. On a fishing trip off the coast of Maine, Reese Lavelle barely manages to make it to high ground when the wave hits. His only thought? Getting home to his wife and daughter in South Carolina.Cami and Amber Lavelle barely escape the wave in Charleston, they retreat inland, watching the city as it's wiped out by the wave in one fell swoop. As those who survived slowly sink into madness and the country succumbs to chaos, Cami's goal is simple: survive at any cost.

    Gone. Except for the young.There are teens, but not one single adult. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened.Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day. It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: On your 15th birthday, you disappear just like everyone else...

    Their car is vandalized and dead, along with every other vehicle in the trailhead parking lot. Unable to get a cell phone signal, and spooked by a threatening encounter--they resign themselves to a long hike home, suspecting a possible EMP attack against the United States.What they discover along the way shakes them to the core!The electrical grid has been down for two weeks, plunging the world as they once knew it into complete chaos. Citizens live in helpless terror of violent gangs--the police hunted down and killed on sight. Food and essential resources have dwindled to nothing, taken by the wild bands of marauders that have risen from the collapse to murder and plunder at will.Little hope remain, as Jane, a local police officer, and her husband Sam, a military veteran, start the harrowing journey home to save their only daughter Lea--before she is consumed by the madness.

    With no remorse they rend the planet with tooth and nail. One man stands against the scourge of death that consumes all. Teamed with a genius survivalist and a teenage girl, he must flee the teeming dead, the evils of humans left unchecked, and those that would seek to use him. His best weapon to stave off the horrors of this new world? His wit.