Sailing the Apocalypse

I've posted this on my main website but I'm reposting here for those of you who don't visit www.scottbwilliams.com all that often.  As always, there's a new book in the works and this one is another fiction title that might interest some readers of Bug Out Survival. Part humor, part adventure and part disaster, Sailing the Apocalypse is the story of one man's ultimate bug-out with his family before the collapse he fears has a chance to happen.

I'm wrapping up the manuscript within a few days and it will be all set to go to the copyeditor shortly thereafter.  Sailing the Apocalypse is a novel of about 70,000 words, and is the first novel I've written in the first person point of view.  This is a story I've really enjoyed working on and writing it has given me several ideas for other works or possibly sequels to this one. Anyone who has spent as much time on or around the water as I have could not help but run into some of the eccentric characters sailing attracts. The main character of this story is one of those, but like most sailors and boatbuilders, Terry Bailey is resourceful and independent even if he does take a lot of his ideas too far. 

With "apocalypse" in the title, a lot of my readers will assume this book is another "post-apocalyptic" or dystopian survival tale like The Pulse or The Darkness After, but it's actually more "pre-apocalyptic" if anything. The Wharram catamaran featured in the story and on the cover is christened the Apocalypse by Terry and his family after they build and launch it.  And it's purpose is to be their new home and escape pod from the doom that Terry is certain will soon befall his country. Readers of my other works will see a bit of the prepper mentality in this character as well, but he's much more off the deep end than I've recommended in my serious nonfiction titles on the subject or here on Bug Out Survival

Sailing the Apocalypse is available for preorder now in the ebook form for just five bucks from the usual retailers linked below, and the print version will be available about the time the ebook is released.  Although the release date posted on Amazon and the other stores is February 15, the book should be available a full month earlier or by the end of January at the latest.


Amazon Kindle
Apple iBooks
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

 

Revisiting Favorite Wild Places

I spent a couple of weeks in September wandering around the Southwest by motorcycle, mostly camping in national forests and other public lands, which there is no shortage of in this region.  Many of the places I wanted to revisit were favorite areas I've done lots of backpacking and exploring in, such as the San Juan mountains of southern Colorado and the Blue Range Primitive area of southeastern Arizona.  These are also areas discussed as bug out locations in my book: Bug Out: The Complete Plan for Escaping a Catastrophic Disaster Before It's Too Late.

Riding the Suzuki Vstrom 650, I was able to leave the pavement for long stretches of exploring unpaved forest service roads.  A lighter, more off-road capable bike would be e even better once there, of course, but with all the highway and interstate riding to do the 3700-mile trip out and back from Mississippi, the DL650 was a good compromise.  I plan to post a more detailed account of the trip with more photos on my main website soon, but wanted to share a couple of photos here too.  Those of you living out West are fortunate to have access to so much publicly accessible wild land for exploring, camping, hunting and in the worst-case, as potential bug-out locations.

Southwestern Colorado near the San Juan Range

Blue Range Primitive Area, Arizona

An another note, before I left on the trip I did an interview with Morry Baines, who runs a multitool review site and has been working on a round-up of interviews with various survival authors and others with questions such as "What is the most useful tool for the outdoors?"  You can read the answers including mine and those of some of my fellow survival authors including Jim Cobb, Bernie Carr and others here: http://bestmultitoolkit.com/expert-roundup/most-useful-tool-outdoors/   The full interview that I did is here: http://bestmultitoolkit.com/interviews/scott-williams-bugoutsurvival-com/

Morry also wrote an article on multitools aimed specifically at boaters, and since much of my writing has to do with bugging out by boat, here is the direct link to that: http://bestmultitoolkit.com/knowledgebase/multi-tool-boat-essential-tips/

Also, don't forget that I'm giving away a free copy of Refuge After the Collapse (Book II of The Pulse  Series) every Friday of this month to subscribers to my newsletter.  Last Friday's winner was Wayne in Fort Edward, NY.  Today's winner will receive notification through the newsletter list, and will be announced to the rest of the list later today or tomorrow.  There are three more Fridays in this month, so if you haven't won a copy yet, hang in there, you've still got a chance.

Book Giveaway Winners

This is a repost from my main website:

Just an update to announce that the winners have been selected  for the ten  signed copies of Refuge that I offered to those signing up for my author newsletter.  If your email address was chosen, you should have received a notification through the newsletter.  Of the ten winners, I have received a reply back from eight and books have been mailed out to those eight winners.  I'm still waiting to hear back from the other two, so check your spam folders and inboxes carefully to make sure you didn't overlook the notification, which should show up as an email from my address: scott (at) scottbwilliams.com

The eight winners who should receive their books soon are:

Khris - St. Petersburg, FL, David - Southport, FL, Gary - Mohnton, PA, Beverly - Kosiusko, MS, Kathryn - Canton, MO, Vivian - Mill Creek, WA, Devon - Ludington, MI and John - Kirksville, MO.

I will send out another direct email to the other two chosen winners soon and if no response after a few days, will select two alternate winners.

For the rest of you who have signed up for my newsletter, thank you for subscribing, and I want to make sure you have another chance at winning a copy of Refuge.  To that end, I will be giving away one free copy at random every Friday of this month from among my subscriber list.  Stay tuned as well to the newsletter updates for an announcement of my next book, which is in progress now and coming soon.

Refuge is available on Amazon and in bookstores now and I've gotten great feedback on it, including hearing back from some of the giveaway winners that they've already purchased and read it before learning they had won.  Review copies from the publisher are late going out as has happened upon the release of my last two books, so if you're on one of those lists to receive one, I apologize for the delay and have word that they will be shipped out this week if not already.

Book Giveaway Signup Link

Yesterday I posted an announcement of a book giveaway for ten copies of Refuge After the Collapse (the sequel to The Pulse).  Many of you who follow this blog have signed up for the giveaway using the embedded signup form I included at the bottom of yesterday's post.

Some other readers brought it to my attention though, that this form did not work for them if they received updates to this blog through an RSS feed or email subscription.  If you tried to sign up for the giveaway and didn't get a confirmation notice and an email from my newsletter service verifying that you indeed wanted to be added to the list, you were not added.  I apologize for the confusion but the newsletter service (hosted by MailChimp) is new to me and I should have posted a link rather than an embedded from so that those of you who subscribe to the blog rather than visit Bug Out Survival directly would be able to enter.  So if you didn't get a confirmation, here is a link to the signup form:

Scott B. Williams Newsletter Signup

You can also enter by visiting the signup page on my main website here:

http://scottbwilliams.com/blog/newslettersignup/

After you enter your email address and click 'submit', be sure and check you inbox and SPAM folders for the verification email.  If you do not respond to it to verify that you wanted to subscribe, you won't be added to the list.  This is a good thing as it keeps you from getting unwanted junk mail.

I also want to point out that this signup is for my newsletter and is not a subscription to updates here at Bug Out Survival.  The purpose of the newsletter is to let subscribers be the first to know about the next book giveaways and releases, and will also provide me a way of contacting you directly through email if you are a winner in one of these giveaways.  As mentioned in yesterday's post, you will only get an occasional email from me through the newsletter and your email address will never be shared.  Remember too that you can unsubscribe at anytime.

Thanks again for all the interest in my new book and good luck with winning one of those free copies.  I look forward to staying in touch with my readers through the newsletter, and will soon have some news to share regarding the next books after Refuge.  

Book Giveaway: Refuge After the Collapse

I have word from the publisher that copies of Refuge have shipped from the printer to the warehouse, so the book should be showing up for sale soon, though the official release date is still posted on Amazon and other sites as September 23.

I should have my author's copies sometime before then, and I want to announce a giveaway of ten (10) signed copies that I will personally mail out to the winners, who will be chosen from the email entrants to the giveaway once I have books in hand.

To enter for a chance to win a copy in this giveaway, all you have to do is enter your email address and first name in the form below.  If you are selected I'll contact you by email to get your mailing address.

The sign-up will also add you to my newsletter mailing list, so you will be the first to know about my next books (two projects currently in the works) and other giveaways, previews and occasional recommendations of other books I've recently read.  This newsletter list is new and will be my go-to method of keeping readers informed in lieu of social networks like Facebook and Twitter with their ever-changing policies and restrictions.  You'll only get an occasional newsletter email, certainly less than one a month and most of the time even less, and you can be sure your email address will never be shared and that you can opt out of the list at anytime, including right after this giveaway, if you choose.

If you chose to enter, thanks for your interest in the sequel to The Pulse and good luck!

(Update Notice:  If you are reading this blog post from an email or RSS subscription feed, the signup field below will not work.  I posted an update about this after publishing this post.  Use the signup form at this link instead: Scott B. Williams Newsletter

If you are reading this on the web at www.bugoutsurvival.com, the form below should work.  Either way, you won't be entered unless after clicking subscribe you get a notification saying that an email has been sent for verification.  You must opt-in to the list after receiving that email.)

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First Name

Polar Pure is Available Again!

Back in January, 2010, I posted a review of one of my favorite water purification methods: Polar Pure Water Disinfectant.  You can read the article for all the details of why I like this iodine purification method so much, and how I've tested it in a wide variety of environments, including jungle rivers in Central America with no ill effects:

http://www.bugoutsurvival.com/2010/01/gear-review-polar-pure-water.html

But then, suddenly Polar Pure was taken off the market in 2011 by the DEA because of illegal drug manufacturers allegedly using the pure iodine crystals that come in the bottle for making crystal meth.  This put a small family business on indefinite hold and took a great product for the bug out bag off the market.

I still had some older bottles on hand when the ban went into effect, and since Polar Pure has a long shelf life I wasn't too worried, but I could no longer recommend it for others since finding it was a challenge.  But just today I was sorting my gear for an upcoming motorcycle trip out West, where I expect to be camping in the backcountry as I explore remote forest service and BLM roads off pavement.  Looking at my old bottles of Polar Pure, I decided go online to check on the latest status and was delighted to find that it is back on the market and for sale at Amazon for the same price as before the ban.  I'll order a couple of fresh bottles immediately, as this is one of the best water purification options I know of when you have to travel light.  Even if you own and prefer filtration systems, it doesn't  hurt to have a bottle of Polar Pure in the bug out bag.  It's lightweight, can last for years, and only costs $15.

Refuge (Book II of The Pulse Series)

Just a quick update on the expected availability of Refuge which I finished up in June.  My publisher has shipped the finalized files to the printer and I got word yesterday that copies will ship from the printer on August 21, which should put them in the warehouses of Amazon and other distributors and retailers about a week later.  So hopefully the book will be available to buy around the 1st of September instead of the 9th as posted on Amazon now.

Here's a view of the back cover, which I did not have at the time of my last update here:

As with all these books done through my publisher, the printed price on the cover is the list price only.  The selling price on Amazon and other online retailers will be significantly lower.  It's currently listed on Amazon for $11.26, but I expect that price to go lower upon release, but final selling price is up to Amazon.  The Kindle Edition will also be available at the time of the print release and should be under $10.

I want to thank all the readers of this blog and especially those of you who have purchased and enjoyed The Pulse and The Darkness After, making it possible for me to continue exploring the concepts presented here on Bug Out Survival through works of fiction.  I think fiction can in many ways be more thought-provoking than nonfiction when it comes to considering just what one might do in the event of a catastrophic disaster like the solar flare scenario explored in these novels.  I try to make the stories as realistic as possible, but at the same time, the goal is to entertain more so than to teach.  I look forward to continuing these stories as well as beginning new ones.  More to come soon with the announcement of the next project...

Discussing The Prepper's Workbook on Destiny Survival Radio

Once again I enjoyed chatting with John Wesley Smith of Destiny Survival Radio about my latest book release, this time The Prepper's Workbook.  My co-author, Scott Finazzo joined us as well as we went into the details of the book and why it was intended not just for those who think of themselves as preppers, but any family or individual who wants to be ready for emergencies.

John has also posted his written review of the book on his Destiny Survival site here: http://destinysurvival.com/2014/07/10/the-preppers-workbook-gives-checklists-and-guidance-for-prepping-no-matter-what-your-level-of-preparedness/

The link to the interview can be found here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/39273878/167_williams_finazzo_the_preppers_workbook_071014.mp3

Sequel to THE PULSE Finished

   Days have turned into weeks with no contact from anyone outside of North America, where the power, communication and transportation grid has been completely destroyed by massive solar flares. In the ensuing chaos, grocery store shelves have been stripped bare and panicked survivors have fled the cities and towns, sweeping across the countryside in a desperate attempt to find sustenance and avoid the violence. 
   Artie Drager has risked everything to sail from the West Indies to New Orleans, where his daughter Casey was attending college. Finally catching up with her after discovering she had long since evacuated the city with her friends, Artie’s plan to get her to safe refuge on his brother’s sailboat begins to fall apart. Artie and his daughter must fight to survive, and hard choices must be made when part of their crew fails to return before they must set sail.
   This sequel to The Pulse explores the descent into anarchy that occurs when everything familiar in modern life is suddenly stripped away and survivors must adapt to a harsh new reality or die.

I have been working hard at wrapping up the manuscript for Refuge, the sequel to my first novel: The Pulse and it is now in the hands of the editors and hopefully on track for release later this summer in July or August.  Refuge picks up right where The Pulse left off, after a series of strong solar flares has shut down the grid over the southern U.S. and maybe even worldwide, as far as the characters in the story know.

My intention all along while writing The Pulse in late 2011-early 2012 was that there would be one or  more sequels, as there were so many possibilities for this unlikely group of characters thrown into such a life-altering event.  I wanted to move forward on the first sequel immediately after the release of The Pulse in the summer of 2012, but at the suggestion of my publisher,  I agreed to first write the parallel story for young adults, The Darkness After.  Response to that book has been extremely positive as well and I also plan one or more sequels to it, although they will likely be independently published so that I can get them out there sooner.

Hopefully, readers of The Pulse will not have forgotten too much of the story and will be able to pick up Refuge and move forward with ongoing dilemma that Larry, Artie, Casey, Jessica, Grant and Scully have gotten themselves into.  Things certainly get even more complicated for them in Book II, but setbacks and disappointments are to be expected in a major SHTF event like the one in this series.

I will post updates here as the publishing process moves forward, and there will almost certainly be a GoodReads Giveaway that you can sign up for as well.  As with all my books, review copies will be available for other bloggers and writers with related sites who wish to receive one.

Update on Review Copies and Giveaways

I'm reposting this update from my main site, www.scottbwilliams.com for those of you who only check in here.  As many of you know, The Prepper's Workbook has now been shipping from Amazon for about two weeks, and is even available on the shelf in many Barnes & Noble locations.  Some of you most likely had your pre-ordered copies before I even saw a copy, though my author's copies finally arrived at the end of last week:

For those of you who have requested a review copy or are among the ten lucky winners of the Goodreads book giveaway for this book, please be assured that you will be getting your copy from the publisher as soon as they get the shipment they are awaiting.  The way the book distribution system works, shipments often go out from the printer directly to the booksellers before even the publishers or the authors get theirs.  The book industry is changing so fast anyway that every time I have a new book released it seems there is a surprise of one kind or another.

For those who have been patiently waiting for this book for so long, my coauthor Scott Finazzo and I again want to thank you for your continued interest despite the delays and setbacks.  We have gotten word from our editor at Ulysses Press that sales of this book have been fantastic, no doubt due to the continued interest so many people have in doing all they can to be prepared for the unexpected.  We hope you will find it useful in your own preps once you get your hands on a copy, and that you will use it as intended, as a workbook to be written in, marked-up and customized to your needs.

Scott Finazzo Discusses The Prepper's Workbook

My coauthor of The Prepper's Workbook, Scott Finazzo, discussed our book on Kansas City's KCTV5 News earlier this week.   Finazzo is firefighter with the Overland Park Fire Department in that area, and his extensive experience as a first responder to disasters and emergencies brings another dimension to this book. Here is the interview:


KCTV5

Because of the interview, Finazzo got his hands on the first hard copy of the book to ship from the printer.  We are hoping these will start shipping any time now.

Prepper's Workbook Giveaway on Goodreads

My publisher is sponsoring a book giveaway of 10 copies of The Prepper's Workbook on Goodreads.  You can enter to win one right here.  The giveaway ends March 18.

The publisher should have copies of the book in their offices around the first of March.  I will announce other opportunities for free copies this book here on Bug Out Survival once I have copies in hand.  Those of you who have survival or prepping related blogs and would like a review copy should email me directly with your address information.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Prepper's Workbook

by Scott B. Williams

Giveaway ends March 18, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Foreword by Jim Cobb

My friend and fellow Ulysses Press author, Jim Cobb, best known for his excellent site: Survival Weekly and his bestselling Prepper's Home Defense has written the foreword to The Prepper's Workbook.  I'm posting it here to give you a little better idea of the intent and purpose of this book and how it should be used:

Foreword
I first became acquainted with Scott Williams by reading Bug Out: The Complete Plan for Escaping a Catastrophic Disaster Before It’s Too Late. This was the first of his books I’d read and to say I was impressed is a dramatic understatement. Here was a guy who’d truly been there and done that. Not only did he have practical experience, he was able to communicate his knowledge effectively. His writing style was easy to follow and a pleasure to the eyes and mind.

Time and again in subsequent books, Scott has shown he is no armchair prepper. His knowledge and skills have been hard-won by doing rather than just reading a few books and regurgitating the same information someone else came up with and never tested in the real world.

I’d hazard a guess and say that well over 90 percent of preppers are list makers. We make lists of bug-out bag contents, food pantry supplies (both what we have on hand and what we need to acquire), wish lists of the gear we’d love to buy once we get that bonus from work, to-do lists for chores and projects. The list of lists goes on and on, doesn’t it?

That said, many preppers, even the ones who have been around a while, are probably missing a thing or two (or more) on those lists. Maybe they forgot about them, maybe they never heard of them before. No matter the case, more than one prepper has agonized over whether they’ve accounted for everything. When the balloon goes up, or the grid goes down, is the worst possible time to realize you forgot something.

The beauty of The Prepper’s Workbook is they’ve done the remembering for you. With easy-to-understand forms and checklists, all you need to do is fill in the blanks. Granted, that might be oversimplifying things just a tad as prepping in general involves (or should involve) a lot more doing than reading. The point is, follow the proverbial bouncing ball and, by the end, you should be fairly well set should disaster strike.

I know many preppers who are avid readers and they often lament a creased cover or a dog-eared page as they want to keep the books looking as nice as they can. This book, however, is made to be beaten up, written in, marked up with highlighters. If at the end of the day it looks like a five-year-old college textbook, with all sorts of notes in the margins, then you’ve used the book correctly.

Every prepper has a different plan for what to do in a crisis and how to go about getting things done. That’s as it should be as we each face unique circumstances and challenges. There is no one single game plan that will work for everyone. That is where The Prepper’s Workbook will really help, as it allows for customization to suit your individual needs, strengths and weaknesses. By following the instructions and filling out the forms, you will be able to create a survival plan that is unique and perfectly suited for you and your family.

Fill out the worksheets, run through the checklists, complete the projects. Take your time and do everything the way it should be done—no cheating! Be honest with yourself and recognize where your plan is lacking, then work toward improving on that weakness.

Even if the worst never comes to pass and you never have the opportunity to truly put your plans to the test, you’ll rest easier at night knowing that if the world begins to fall apart in the morning, you’re ready for it.

—Jim Cobb
Author of Prepper’s Home Defense and

The Prepper’s Complete Book of Disaster Readiness 

Prepper's Workbook Front and Back Covers

I've been working with my editor and coauthor Scott Finazzo this week on the final proofing and approval of The Prepper's Workbook, and everything has now been finalized, from the interior design to the front and back covers.  It will be sent to the printer next so those of you who have been patiently waiting for a copy should have one soon.  There were some more changes made to the front cover since my last post here, so here is the final version as well as the back.

Front:

Back:

The list price printed on the back doesn't mean much, as almost all online retailers and especially Amazon sell for a significant discount off retail.  Right now it's listed for pre-order on Amazon for $11.03 but that price fluctuates for all kinds of reasons only Amazon knows and it may be less when it's actually in stock and ready to ship.  I really hope that will happen sometime in late February, even though it's listed there as available March 18.  All I know for certain is that at this point, our work is done so the rest depends on the shipping and distribution times.

Once copies are in my hands and in the publisher's offices we will have some book giveaways, and as always, review copies will be available for those who have related websites and blogs.