Dave Rowlands
Bio
Author and Creator of Anno Zombus, but don't let that worry you; I write more than just zombie stories.
Discover more about Baby's parents role during the Auspocalypse at amazon.com and come and join us at the Anno Zombus facebook group.
Achievements (1)
Stories (52)
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Family First
Let’s go! 2025 is here and I’m strangely motivated. What have I got in the pipeline? Well, the most relevant thing here is the novel that I’m working on. I am currently 79K words into a work of fantasy with a similar sort of feel to Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastards series, with a smattering of Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicles for flavour.
By Dave Rowlands12 months ago in Motivation
Princess of Prophecy
The river ran backwards on the day the Queen vanished. Over a thousand-year long reign this had only happened once before, when she vanished for a year to bear a child. That child, now nearing his fourth century, wasted no time in consolidating control and declaring his mother dead. His reasoning was the river; when she disappeared to give birth to him, he said, the course of the river stayed true. The Elder Council, wise and long in their years, concurred with the Prince’s statement. Furthermore, the forest through which the river runs was becoming blighted, the blight seemingly being sourced from whatever foul sorcery had changed the course of the river; presumably that same magic that had caused the Queen’s absence.
By Dave Rowlandsabout a year ago in Fiction
Don't Open Me
There was only one rule: don’t open the door. It stood alone, solitary, standing atop a cliff overlooking the village. It was not connected to any building, just the frame with a closed door standing solitary vigil over our village. It had always been there, always been closed. There was nothing behind it, people had walked all the way around it. The handle had rusted in the ocean air. In living memory, it had never been opened. Now it yawned ajar.
By Dave Rowlandsabout a year ago in Horror
Unidentified
What is in the sky? Is it a flying object? Unidentified!
By Dave Rowlandsabout a year ago in Poets
The Void Beckons
I awoke covered in sweat. I didn’t bother turning my head to check the time; I knew what the time would be. Twenty-three minutes past four in the morning. The same dream waking me at the same time every single night since… since when? It felt like forever, but the real trigger point would have been… what? Did something happen?
By Dave Rowlands2 years ago in Horror
Impact
It was over almost before it began. Travelling up the expressway, the front left wheel buckled and twisted. The car slammed into the concrete barrier, mere inches away from my tender flesh; the only shielding a few millimetres of metal that was grinding away and some already shattered glass. My phone had gone flying from out of my pocket and was bouncing about the vehicle as my partner shrieked from the driver’s seat.
By Dave Rowlands2 years ago in Wheel
Dave's Thoughts for 2024
The New Year is done, we're nearly three weeks into 2024 and I'm already strangely productive. I felt it on the first of January, in fact, though perhaps it had been building since Christmas. Regardless, I entered the New Year with positivity and, more importantly, PRODUCTIVITY.
By Dave Rowlands2 years ago in Motivation
My Day Off
At first, I didn’t know what had happened. I’d gone through my front door to leave the house, ready for work. Armed with my briefcase, clad in a shirt and tie. I carried an umbrella, a tiny, clear affair that was hardly any use whatsoever, because the weather reports the previous evening forecast rain, though none had yet presented itself, at least not before I stepped through the threshold.
By Dave Rowlands2 years ago in Fiction
Baby's Hope
Baby wasn’t sure how she and her friend had become separated from Postie and his wagon, there had been a blur of action as a large group of bandits had attacked. The resulting noise had attracted a large number of Dead and though they’d beaten back the bandits, they’d had to run from the Dead with the intention of swinging back to return for the wagons, filled as they were with deliveries for communities as far North as North went.
By Dave Rowlands2 years ago in Horror
Freedom, at long last!
I had a troubled youth. That is the only safe way to express that. Shortly after I turned 15 we moved into a house that we had to share with another human. I use the term 'human' lightly, as this particular person would constantly make all of my friends uncomfortable, particularly those of the feminine variety (I've had issues with trusting males my entire life). This 'human' worked as a security guard, as well, and had access to firearms.
By Dave Rowlands2 years ago in Chapters
My First Attempt. Runner-Up in Writers Challenge. Top Story - September 2023.
When I was 17 I decided that I'd start writing a fantasy novel. Seems reasonable, right? Did to me at the time, too. I knew absolutely nothing about writing a book, so I simply took up a notebook and a pen and began scribbling. I wrote seven pages in that feverish first session, and figured upon reading that it was good enough (it wasn't, by a long shot!) and that I enjoyed it enough (this, however, completely fair and reasonable) to continue.
By Dave Rowlands2 years ago in Writers
