Here is a picture of the cover of my book with it's nominee ribbon.

​ The Zombie Apocalypse (TZA) was created by five events. First, a disease called the Nova Virus began in West Africa. It was highly contagious and soon spread to other parts of the continent. The disease had a high mortality rate. The medical systems in Africa lacked the ability to deal with the numbers of those becoming ill from the disease or the competency to care for those who were ill. At the time, no cure or vaccine existed.
Second, while every other country in the world put a travel ban on people who came from the infected areas, The President encouraged people who were ill with the Nova Virus to come to the United States for treatment. The people who came here to be helped became known as Nova Travelers. Despite our medical system’s best efforts, the disease began to spread into the American population. The spread of the disease started slowly. It infected the hospital workers, and then it spread to the general population when hospital workers violated the quarantine protocols.
Third, panic ensued once word had gotten out that the disease had spread to the general population. Patients would be admitted into hospitals feeling the effects of the Nova Virus and then they mysteriously vanished. It turned out that they were being taken to special treatment facilities by the government. Next of kin, family, and friends were not informed what had happened to the patients.
Once the special treatment facilities were overwhelmed by the number of patients being brought to them, The President was forced to finally admit—and attempt to justify—the actions of the government, stating public health concerns. Some people believed him, others did not. The President, never one to let a good crisis to waste, over stepped his lawful authority. He signed an Executive Order authorizing the United States Treasury to pay Luxem Corporation five billion dollars to discover a cure or a vaccine for the Nova Virus. He stated that the “gravity” of the situation forced him to do this. There was no public outcry or challenge to this order. A precedent was now being set. In times of emergency, The President would be able to bypass Congress and rule by fiat.
The fourth event occurred when Luxem found a cure and vaccine for the Nova Virus. A few days before they were supposed to ship it to thousands of drug stores and medical facilities, there was an explosion at the factory where the cure and vaccine had been manufactured. This caused the vaccine to become contaminated by a virus that was being stored nearby. That virus was used in a biological weapon that was secretly being developed by Luxem. Luxem, not wanting to lose money, chose to ship the now contaminated vaccine.
The final event was The President and the media encouraging people to get vaccinated against the Nova Virus. Millions of people lined up eagerly for the vaccine. There was a side effect, however. Within two hours of receiving the vaccine, people began turning into Zombies. They in turn, created other Zombies by biting or clawing other people.
 

https://www.amazon.com/Trek-Elysium-Chronicles-Survival-Guide/dp/1681890135/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470073951&sr=8-1&keywords=the+trek+to+elysium+chronicles
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Work continues on Book 3 in the series, The Trek to Elysium Chronicles: Volume 3: End Game. So far it looks like I am way ahead of schedule on this project. If I had to hazard a guess, I am going to put this book at 125-140 pages, so it will be the shortest of the series.
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