My Head is Spinning, and Anyone Up for a Review?

One of my favourite words of wisdom comes from Gregg Levoy, who said, "Rejection is a writer's best friend. If you are not failing regularly, you are living so far below your potential that you're failing anyway."

I've sure found this to be true for submitting my work (the harder I tried the more success I had), but now that I'm promoting and marketing Fatal Encryption, it also applies to getting the word out about my book. When my first novel, Taxed to Death, came out twelve years ago, I knew very little about the internet and did little online promotion. Now, I've found list groups, websites, blogs, reviewers, and several places to feature my work on line.

A couple of days ago I joined MySpace and, oh my gosh, my head is spinning. There are so many people, so many groups just for writers, never mind everyone else, that I'm wondering how I'll ever find time to visit them and post comments, or promote my book. I've also signed up with GoodReads which I'm slowly getting to know, but there are more sites to join. I figure if I do a little every day, a year from now I'll know a lot more people, and maybe they'll know me. Not all of this will result in sales, but if I don't try, I've failed myself and that's simply unacceptable.

If anyone out there is interested in becoming my friend on MySpace, I think all you have to do is go to www.myspace.com/debrapurdykong and let me know, but as I say, I'm still figuring things out. And if anyone's looking for more friends, I'd be more than happy to join you.

Also, if anyone would like to review a copy of Fatal Encryption and post reviews either in print or on the net, I'd be happy to send a complimentary copy to the first three people who request the book. If you'd like to read excerpts first, please visit my site at http://www.debrapurdykong.com/

If ever there was a case for taking your time....

Not strictly a literary subject, but does anyone know when that big particle accelerator in Geneva is striking up? I think its due any time now and normally I’d look forward to it (just love all that mind blowing stuff that the geeks come up with from time to time) but on this occasion, hmmmm. See, normally I trust the scientists implicitly, almost blindly. If they say that embryo research is a good thing, then that’s fine. If a bloke in a white coat assures me that genetically modified crops are safe, I’ll be the first to munch his plums. My problem with the CERN project is simply this; there’s a chance that it will destroy the planet. Okay, I know it’s a very small chance (like winning the lottery three times on the bounce) and I accept that the potential to expand man’s understanding of his existence is mouth watering but seriously, do these statements make the potential risk acceptable? Once the button’s pressed there is no going back. If the strangelet appears, then its game over and the scientists, the smug bugger collecting his winnings for the third Saturday in a row, me, you, everything; all gone when the experiment "spits out something that would convert our planet to a shrunken dense dead lump of something called 'strange matter." But surely, with even the smallest chance of bringing on armageddon the boffins will be taking precautions won’t they? Apparently not; schedule issues caused them to delete the low energy ‘test’ run from the program. “We’ll be starting up in May 2008, as always foreseen, and will commission the machine to full energy in one go,” said LHC Project Leader Lyn Evans. Well Mr Project leader, just ‘cos you’ve got a girls name doesn’t mean the rest of us are in a hurry to see if you’ll find the God particle or just God.

Recycling Jimmy

Taking a peek behind the story

Every story has a backstory; those first gems of inspiration that made a writer run to her keyboard or notebook and write.

Visit The Story Behind The Book today to read more about the early development and inspirations like this old family photo that set the novel, JANEOLOGY, in motion.

And don't forget to leave a comment on this blog along with your email address to be eligible for the book giveaway at the end of my May 08 blog tour.

Thanks!

Karen Harrington

http://www.karenharringtonbooks.com/

Introducing...Dean Koontz's ODD-cast

It's no secret that I admire Dean Koontz and his books. I think he is a very gifted author and I've enjoyed his novels over the years. I am behind on the Odd Thomas series, but I'm hoping I'll have some time this summer to get to my 'read' pile.

Today, I checked out his new web movie--ODD PASSENGER. It's actually not that bad. Okay, the acting may not win any awards, but the video has a suspenseful mix of special effects, music and narration.

I am calling this his ODD-cast.

Dean Koontz's "Odd Passenger" Webisode 1

Dean Koontz's "Odd Passenger" Webisode 2

Dean Koontz's "Odd Passenger" Webisode 3

I can't wait for webisode 4! I love Odd Thomas!

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif, author