tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090067307076060972024-02-07T14:36:18.966-05:00Somewhere in the pages . . .Online home of author Brendan P. MyersBrendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.comBlogger268125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-11790679321948554132016-11-03T14:44:00.001-04:002016-11-03T17:53:18.360-04:00The Elephant in the RoomWhy, hello, dear friends. How are you doing? Well, I hope. I am fine, thank you. It has been some time since I've shared anything with you here, and I'm sincerely sorry for that. On the other hand, I think we both know why.<br />
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Come on, we've both sensed it. There have been awkward pauses between us as we've passed each other on the street. Averted gazes. Fumbling goodbyes. Therefore, I think it long past time time we addressed the elephant in the room, to wit: What can you do for me?<br />
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I know, I know, it sounds awfully terse and straightforward when you say it out loud like that, doesn't it? Even so, I think it will do us both good if we simply clear the air and have this frank discussion, don't you?<br />
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Oh, you do! Thank you. Whew. That's a relief. Well, then! Here goes:<br />
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1. The first thing you can do for me is to <b>buy my books</b>. If you have already purchased my books, thank you! They're not expensive. Some people (total strangers, even) think at least a few of them are pretty good. So, thanks for buying one! Why not buy another? Buy them all! Collect them! Trade them! Share them with your friends!<br />
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(Seriously, each purchase of either Kindle or paperback version raises my author rank and makes me that much more discoverable to other readers, so sincere thanks to all who have bought one or more of them.)<br />
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2. The next thing you can do for me is to <b>leave a review</b>. Books without reviews don't sell. I know! Some of my books have no reviews. And they don't sell! Even a few sentences can make all the difference. To those of you who have left reviews, thank you. It means a lot.<br />
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3. If you're a member of Goodreads (or Amazon) <b>put my books on a list!</b> Lots of people use lists to discover new books and new authors. Why not me? For example, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1358.Pirates_" target="_blank">here's a Goodreads list</a> of pirate books that I think <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10633538-swash" target="_blank">Swash!</a> would be perfect for! And <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/129.Best_Adult_Vampire_Books" target="_blank">here's a list of vampire novels</a> that <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25916285-applewood" target="_blank">Applewood</a> or any of its sequels could sit on proudly. And <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4698.Best_YA_Fairy_Books" target="_blank">here's a list of fairy books</a> that <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23260996-the-mound" target="_blank">The Mound</a> could find a place on.<br />
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You get the idea. Maybe there are other lists you think my books would look good on. Be creative! Don't be constrained! And thank you. I would do it myself, however these sites (rightfully!) don't allow authors to put their own books on lists. It has to be organic from the fan base! And that is as it should be.<br />
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4. Like and follow <a href="https://www.facebook.com/brendanpmyers/" target="_blank">my Facebook page</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/brendanpmyers" target="_blank">follow me on twitter</a>. I don't post to Facebook as much as I should, but I'm on twitter most every day. And I try to keep it interesting and keep spamming to a minimum. Honest!<br />
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At any rate, I could go on . . . but seriously, it's hard to get motivated to write new books (and I think I've got a bunch more in me! Further sequels to <a href="http://amzn.to/2eskvUs" target="_blank">Applewood</a>. A follow-up to <a href="http://amzn.to/2fIwj6T" target="_blank">The Mound</a>. At least one epic end of the world nightmare.) if you can't sell the books you've written. And I just don't have the budget for traditional advertising. So my books have to sink or swim on their own merits and by word of mouth.<br />
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Hopefully (and with your help!) I can get the word out better than I have been doing. And if you have any other ideas, I'm all ears! All suggestions entertained.<br />
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As always, thanks for reading.<br />
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<br />Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-57713434154584642016-04-15T10:48:00.000-04:002016-04-15T13:44:44.525-04:00The Space of Life Between<i>It's morning again in America . . . but not for Scott Dugan.</i><br />
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I'm delighted to announce the next volume in the <i>Applewood</i> saga is now available for <a href="http://amzn.to/1SGrz9w" target="_blank">pre-order from Amazon.Com</a>. Titled <a href="http://amzn.to/1SGrz9w" target="_blank">The Space of Life Between</a>, the story goes like this:<br />
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<i>Three years have passed since young vampire Scott Dugan and his uncle found refuge in Mexico. They thought they had put their troubled pasts behind them, until the day a familiar face shows up to ensnare Dugan in a scheme that will transport him to the killing fields of war torn Central America and beyond. </i><br />
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<i>And when Dugan learns the truth about their mission, he must decide whether he owes his allegiance to the human race he was once part of, or to his newfound self.</i><br />
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For those who haven't read them, for a limited time, the price of the first volume <a href="http://amzn.to/1qLC3Ox" target="_blank">Applewood</a> has been reduced to just 99 cents, and the follow-up <a href="http://amzn.to/1VpG6wt" target="_blank">Fledge</a> to just $2.99. As always, if you're a member of Kindle Unlimited, you can read any of my books for FREE!<br />
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If you're unfamiliar with the <a href="http://amzn.to/1qLC3Ox" target="_blank">Applewood</a> saga, it tells the tale of a boy named Scott Dugan, who along with his friends battle a vampire outbreak in their small Massachusetts town. The sequel <a href="http://amzn.to/1VpG6wt" target="_blank">Fledge</a> follows Dugan as he and his uncle go on the run from shadowy government forces who want Dugan for their own nefarious purposes.<br />
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This new entry, <a href="http://amzn.to/1SGrz9w" target="_blank">The Space of Life Between</a><i>,</i> picks up where <a href="http://amzn.to/1VpG6wt" target="_blank">Fledge</a> left off, with Dugan and his uncle refugees in Mexico. I won't say too much more about it, but there are plane crashes and earthquakes and Marxist revolutions, along with surprise visits from old friends, and I hope you'll find it a hell of a lot of fun.<br />
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(You don't need to have read any of the previous volumes to enjoy this one. But I hope you will!)<br />
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To pre-order the book, click any of the links above to go to my Amazon page, or <a href="http://amzn.to/1SGrz9w" target="_blank">click this link</a>, or the book cover on the right. Release date for both the Kindle version and the paperback are May 18th, however I'll release it early if there's enough interest . . . and it's done!<br />
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And don't forget to check out my other books, such as my most recent book <a href="http://amzn.to/1SGtB9q" target="_blank">The Mound</a> or my pirate adventure <a href="http://amzn.to/1qLDwVb" target="_blank">Swash!</a> Most folks seem to like them too!<br />
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Thanks, as always, for taking a peek at my work.Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-1470741736918555462015-09-02T12:51:00.000-04:002015-09-02T12:51:52.214-04:00Kindle UnlimitedI'm pleased to report I've enrolled all of my books in the Kindle Unlimited program, which means that subscribers to that program can now read all my books for free. It also means I can, for limited periods, make my books available for free to all Kindle users, in the hopes that folks might snag them, like them, review them, shelf them on Goodreads, and tell their friends. So, check in often at my <a href="http://amazon.com/author/brendanpmyers" target="_blank">Amazon Author Page</a> to see what book might be free!<br />
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(As always, whether or not you're a member of Kindle Unlimited, my books and shorts remain available for sale, all at prices ranging from 99 cents to $4.99. WHAT A DEAL!)<br />
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Unfortunately, membership in Kindle Unlimited means my books are now exclusive to Amazon (one of the rules of the program) so none of the links off to the right (other than the Amazon and the paperback link) will take you to my books. But the hope is that if I do well enough there, maybe get myself a readership base, I can at some later date make my books again available elsewhere.<br />
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If you've followed <a href="https://twitter.com/bpmyersbooks" target="_blank">my twitter feed</a> at all, you know I have mixed feelings about Amazon's KDP Select program -- no, that's not true either. There's nothing 'mixed' about them. In fact, I think it is borderline illegal.<br />
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For example. I think it unfair that Amazon requires authors to make their books exclusive to Amazon to take advantage of some of the program's offerings. In the days of brick and mortar bookstores, was there ever a book you could buy at Borders but not at Lauriats or Barnes and Noble? The very thought of it is preposterous. I think too that Amazon's 60% plus (and growing) share of the ebook market flirts dangerously near anti-trust territory. I'm old enough to remember both IBM and Microsoft engaging in long, drawn out legal affairs when they too began cornering marketplaces. I've often opined how much it boggles my mind that Apple is perceived (and adjudicated) the bad guy in most every ebook skirmish, when it appears to me that it is Apple that has my own best interests at heart. Amazon wants me only to sell books cheap.<br />
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On the other hand, there is no denying reality. Amazon does, in fact, have a 60% (and growing) share of the ebook marketplace. Unlike previous brushes with marketplace hegemony, there is no sign that anyone anywhere is going to do anything about it. In my years of holding out on the program I've watched writers I view as contemporaries do very well in the program, some even becoming bestsellers.<br />
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Meanwhile, from the outside looking in, I've watched ebookstore after ebookstore close, watched Barnes and Noble essentially abandon the nook, all while Amazon's market share climbs. No, if you are trying to get yourself read and noticed, Amazon is the only place to do it; and if you can't sell books at Amazon, you can't sell books at all.<br />
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The good news is that in the brief time I've been enrolled in the program, people are <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Applewood-Brendan-P-Myers-ebook/product-reviews/B011J59F7S/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending" target="_blank">finding and reading my books</a>! In fact, I can now quite literally watch people turning pages as they read them, and I'm delighted to see that most folks who do start them, finish them, sometimes in one sitting.<br />
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As always, thanks to all my loyal readers for taking a chance on my offerings (speaking of, have you read THE MOUND yet? It's a fairy horror mystery romance. You'll like it. I promise) and often leaving reviews at Amazon or Goodreads and checking in with me on Facebook. It truly means a lot.Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-72986457092670163402015-05-04T09:13:00.001-04:002015-05-04T14:58:33.869-04:00A Nation of Gladys Kravitz'sSo a tragic, but interesting thing happened over the weekend. David Goldberg, a 47-year-old Silicon Valley entrepreneur (and husband of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg) <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/03/business/dave-goldberg-47-surveymonkey-chief-and-sheryl-sandbergs-husband-dies.html" target="_blank">died “suddenly” while on vacation with his family</a>. When I saw the news, I clicked on a few articles, and was struck immediately that no mention was made in any of them of exactly how he died. And the reason it struck me was because in this day and age, it seems there is no escaping the lurid details of how any of us die.<br />
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Yes, I understand we live in a celebrity culture, and people’s appetites are insatiable when it comes to the deaths of famous people. For example, it wasn’t ENOUGH for us to know that Robin Williams killed himself, we needed to know HOW he killed himself (hanging). Then, it wasn’t ENOUGH for us to know that he hung himself, we needed to know also that he wrapped a plastic bag around his head, just to make sure.<br />
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I do recognize this sort of thing has been going on since forever. Indeed, the words of Elton John’s tribute to Marilyn Monroe come to mind: “All the papers had to say . . . was that Marilyn . . . was found in the nude . . .”<br />
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And hey, so wasn’t Whitney Houston!<br />
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When the brilliant New York Times media guru David Carr died recently, dropping dead in the Times newsroom, it was sad and tragic news. But most everyone who knew of David Carr also knew he had battled plenty of demons in his time, most especially, years of drug abuse. He had written a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Night-Gun-reporter-investigates/dp/1416541535" target="_blank">very well acclaimed memoir</a> about it. Those closest to him also knew he was a cigarette smoker (ironically, perhaps one of the more benign substances Mr. Carr had ever put into his body.) And when the news came (because of course it did) that Mr. Carr’s sudden death was due to lung cancer, the moralists and finger waggers of our day <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/02/18/david-carrs-death-and-the-stigma-of-lung-cancer/" target="_blank">had lots of fun with it.</a><br />
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Perhaps the most egregious recent example of wallowing in the manner of someone’s death also comes from the Times, when fashion designer L’Wren Scott took her own life. It wasn’t ENOUGH for us to know that she killed herself. We had to know HOW she killed herself. And if the Times obituary for her wasn’t a veritable <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/18/nyregion/lwren-scott-found-dead-in-manhattan-apartment.html" target="_blank">“how to kill yourself with a scarf” primer</a>, then I don’t know what would be.<br />
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Now, I do acknowledge that celebrities and so-called “public figures” are fair game when it comes to this, however unseemly it may be. But what about the rest of us? Because it seems whether famous or not, public figure or not, the manner or cause of our deaths – what specific cancer kills us, for example – is going to end up in our obituary, whether we want it to or not, whether it’s anyone’s business or not.<br />
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Maybe I misremember, but I don’t recall years ago, every obituary containing a cause of death, particularly the obituaries of older people. “Natural causes” was often used as a catch-all for any of the hundreds of things that can (and will) kill us as we get older. Do we need to know that an eighty-year-old man dies of prostate cancer? That a ninety-two-year old had colon cancer? Or, in the case of eighty-two-year old Joseph Lechleider, a Father of DSL Internet Technology, that <a href="http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/04/technology/joseph-lechleider-a-father-of-the-dsl-internet-technology-dies-at-82.html" target="_blank">it was esophageal cancer</a> that finally did him in?<br />
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When I opined about some of this on twitter yesterday, someone responded that in most cases, cause of death is a public record, and that gathering causes of death is important for public health. Yes, it is. Then, someone else chimed in that Mr. Goldberg and his wife LIVED online. They OWE us an accounting of how Mr. Goldberg died! No, they don’t (setting aside even that Mr. Goldberg’s 400+ twitter posts is hardly “living your life online.”)<br />
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No, I contend that people’s insatiable appetite to know the cause and manner of someone’s death is akin to prurience, plain and simple, an insatiable prurience to know other people’s business. Exactly when did we become a nation of Gladys Kravitz’s?<br />
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At any rate, rest in peace, Mr. Goldberg. You died too young, and you leave behind a loving wife and two young children. That’s all I need to know.<br />
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UPDATE: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/technology/dave-goldberg-cause-of-death.html?smid=tw-nytimesbusiness&_r=0" target="_blank">The family wished to keep the details private.</a><br />
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It's a shame they couldn't.<br />
<br />Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-75744048768386522052014-10-23T07:49:00.000-04:002014-10-23T08:42:36.745-04:00Introducing THE MOUNDVery excited to report today is the official release date for my book, the fairy horror mystery romance THE MOUND. As offbeat as it might sound, I'm oddly proud of this one and think it might be pretty good. I'd be grateful if you gave it a shot (and would marry you and have your children if you left a review.)<br />
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Plot goes like this:<br />
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<i>"The new police chief in Bixbie, Massachusetts, is trying to stay off the booze and start a new life. Bixbie doesn't have much in the way of crime anyway, that is until people start disappearing. </i><br />
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<i>While investigating, he learns Bixbie is also home to a mysterious mound thousands of years old. Though its purpose is unknown, it becomes clearer when his runaway daughter Dani comes to town. </i><br />
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<i>Because what Hogan doesn't know is Dani believes she is to become queen, and local skateboarder Ian Sinclair is to become king, of a fairy tale kingdom populated by elves and pixies and helpful brownies. And you know what? She may just be right."</i><br />
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THE MOUND . . . where faeries are real, boys can fly, and true love will always win in the end. Available NOW at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NR6GM6A/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00NR6GM6A&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-mound/id921662370?mt=11" target="_blank">Apple</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-mound-brendan-p-myers/1120405071?ean=2940046190908" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a>, <a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-mound-2" target="_blank">Kobo</a>, <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/478165" target="_blank">Smashwords</a>, and in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1502413930/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1502413930&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20" target="_blank">paperback.</a><br />
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As always, thanks for taking a chance on my stuff.</div>
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Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-54322889143828907072014-10-01T11:33:00.001-04:002014-10-21T12:09:53.599-04:00And all the ships at sea . . .<i>(Yesterday's excellent <a href="http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/Nemesis_Rises">Charlie Pierce piece</a>, coupled with today's <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/10/01/boston-herald-cartoon-pretty-darn-racist/1nUVAuKit0VJUWYlyuXJGM/story.html">Boston Herald</a> and <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/really-politico">Politico</a> embarrassments, inspired me to republish this short, first published here in 2010.)</i><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>merica's number one talk show host was already in a foul mood that morning. He had noticed a small scrape on the door of his Hummer after the valet brought it around. Adding to his trauma, traffic to the studio was a real bitch.<br />
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Maybe that was why on this day (as opposed to any other) he was particularly sharp-tongued, inspiring some of his thirty million or so listeners to action.<br />
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During the first hour, he said he believed Muslims in America were a fifth-column bent on our destruction. When a caller suggested we try to befriend them, the host countered, “I have a different idea. You want to befriend them. I want to kill them.”<br />
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In a sweaty apartment outside Newark, listener Joe Sikes thought that was a splendid idea. There was a Muslim temple just down the street. It was almost time for afternoon prayers. The place would be crowded.<br />
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Returning from a break, the host warned it would soon be impossible to buy guns. “They're going to take our guns away, just like the Nazis did!” He went on to remind his listeners that German citizens who refused to surrender their guns were murdered in their homes by jack-booted thugs.<br />
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An unemployed laborer outside Philadelphia named Scott Foster wasn't going to let that happen. In fact, he'd seen a motorcycle cop just the other day whose boots were polished to a fine sheen. Would he be the one who tried to take his guns? <i>From my cold dead hands</i>, he thought.<br />
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Gathering his guns and ammunition, he overturned the dining room table and made himself a hidey-hole. He then put on his bulletproof vest and killed his mother before calling 911.<br />
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In the second hour, the subject of abortion came up. The host railed against “baby killers” and not for the first time mentioned one doctor by name and the place where he worked<br />
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That was all listener Phil Hastings needed to hear. The doctor was just a few towns away.<br />
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In the third hour, the host questioned the president's eligibility for office.<br />
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“He's not even a citizen! He has no right to be president!”<br />
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In a long hallway outside the kitchen of a D.C. ballroom, police officer James Casey was listening too. One of the cooks had the radio playing softly.<br />
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In between the applause and laughter and the din of clinking glasses, he caught himself nodding when the host said he no longer recognized the country that he loved.<br />
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“This country is being taken away from us! Right before our eyes! And this president is responsible!”<br />
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A roar of applause came from the ballroom. Even before it crested there was movement down the hallway. Men with earpieces and bulges prepared for the VIP to exit the ballroom.<br />
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As the talk show host continued assailing the president, the cop realized there was nothing he could do about him. But the woman he loved had just come out the door.<br />
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<i>(All quotes are verbatim. All incidents but the last are true.)</i>Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-67885252497034960032014-09-24T12:10:00.000-04:002014-09-26T13:50:35.946-04:00More from THE MOUND<i>(I'm pleased to report my fairy horror mystery romance novel THE MOUND will be available October 23, and is available for pre-order NOW. Details on how to reserve your copy below. Meanwhile, here's another taste. Enjoy!)</i><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">O</span>ddly, Hogan saw one of those who stayed behind was the boy, Ian Sinclair. He stood alone in the middle of the gym, at about the same place he’d made such a splash earlier in the evening. Staring up at the stage in his (now that all the lights were up) almost silly looking lion tunic, tartan kilt, and green leggings, there was what appeared to be an amalgam of anger and determination on his face.<br />
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Hogan turned away when he heard the garage door at the rear of the stage open, through which earlier the car had made its grand entrance. Through the door this time came gurney-bearing Bixbie Fire EMTs along with a pipe smoking man who Campbell introduced as Doc Sullivan. Doc waited for Dunn to finish before taking possession of the bodies.<br />
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Meanwhile, Hogan’s eyes fell upon a distraught looking Miskovic standing apart from the scene. Seemingly in a daze, the young cop stared blankly out at the now garishly lit gymnasium. Walking over, Hogan put his arm around his shoulder and patted him on the back.<br />
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“I’m sorry,” he said. It was all he could think of.<br />
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Miskovic didn’t respond, keeping his gaze riveted toward the gym. Hogan turned that way too, seeing then that a man wearing a hood and a long brown robe in the nature of a monk’s habit approached Ian Sinclair from behind. As he moved closer, Miskovic and Hogan watched the hooded man reach inside his robe to remove a long and scary looking knife.<br />
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“Ian!” Miskovic yelled. The two watched the boy cock his head questioningly. Miskovic shouted again. “Behind you!”<br />
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Ian turned just as the unknown man charged. Hogan and Miskovic and no doubt everyone on that stage could only watch in mute horror as the man plunged the knife into Ian’s chest.<br />
<br />
“No . . . no . . . no . . .” Miskovic uttered in a horrified whisper to witness for the third time that evening the gruesome ending of a young life.<br />
<br />
In what seemed slow motion, Hogan winced to see Sinclair hang impaled on the knife a long while, his body bowed in the classic curved C he had seen the gut stab victim take so often. The stabbing man twisted the knife further before pulling it out. While Sinclair still hung awkwardly, the man backed away and looked at his hand, letting out a shriek to discover that at that moment, in his hand was a snake. A long, black, angry looking snake.<br />
<br />
The man began bounding about almost comically, shaking and waving his hand trying to dislodge the creature, but the movement only assisted in coiling it further up his arm. Still jumping manically, he used his other hand to finally rid himself of the thing, flinging it to the floor, where it promptly disappeared. Still leaping and bounding, making unintelligible anguished croaks, the cloaked man then turned tail and ran for the nearest exit.<br />
<br />
Sinclair stood in the curled C another few seconds before straightening his legs and drawing full height. He took a moment to inspect himself, making sure he was none the worse for wear, before turning his face toward the stage. Hogan saw then that what had earlier struck him as anger and determination had been replaced with . . . something else. It was hard to explain. There was a new certainty, to be sure, as if this incident had taught him something. There seemed also a new maturity, that he was no longer the gawky youth who had marched into the gym that evening to make a point of some kind. And yes, dammit, Hogan had to admit there was something . . . unearthly on his face. In his eyes. Those green orbs that were now his eyes, that had seemed to glow earlier in the evening, now pulsed with newborn energy. There was something beatific and angelic there too, as if he thought he might have been, but now knew that he was, immortal. From where Hogan was standing, he couldn’t argue.<br />
<br />
With all that and more revealed on his face, Sinclair sent one last glance to the stage as if to snapshot a remembrance of what had been done there, before he smartly straightened his tunic, spun on his heels with the polished assurance of a military man, and strode toward the doorway.<br />
<br />
Hogan and Miskovic stared a long while after he left. Eventually, Hogan turned to the other men on stage and saw them all gaping too. Doc Sullivan’s pipe had fallen from his mouth.<br />
<br />
“What the . . .” was all Hogan managed to say.<br />
<br />
Turning to Miskovic, he was surprised to see the officer already turned his way. The young cop was smiling, maybe even tearing up a little, letting out some of the pent-up emotion of this long night. That was okay with Hogan. It was a very human response. Eventually, Miskovic was able to speak.<br />
<br />
“Told you he was special,” he choked. It earned him Hogan’s last smile of the evening.<br />
<br />
<i>(THE MOUND, coming October 23, 2014, and available for pre-order NOW from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NR6GM6A/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00NR6GM6A&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">Amazon.Com</a> and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-mound/id921662370?mt=11">iTunes</a>. Reserve your copy today! And as always, thanks for reading.)</i>Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-71748251271931765732014-09-06T10:37:00.000-04:002014-09-06T10:49:35.329-04:00Random Musings and Some UpdatesSince last we spoke, I’ve finally come up with a title for the latest, my fairy tale horror mystery romance. Funny, I’ve never written a book without having at least some idea of the title halfway in. I'm not sure if it's connected, but this is also the longest book I've written. Or maybe, it's just because this one was so . . . weird, that I had already finished the thing and was halfway through the first edit before I settled on THE MOUND. Why THE MOUND you ask? Well, here’s the teaser blurb for it:<br />
<br />
<i>Levi Hogan, the new police chief in Bixbie, Massachusetts, is trying to stay off the booze and start a new life. Bixbie doesn't have much in the way of crime anyway, that is, until people start disappearing.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>While investigating, Hogan learns Bixbie is also home to "New England's Stonehenge," a mysterious mound thousands of years old. Its purpose is unknown, but becomes clearer when Hogan's runaway daughter comes to town.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Because what Hogan doesn't know is Dani believes she is to become queen, and local teen Ian Sinclair is to become king, of a fairy kingdom populated by elves and pixies and helpful brownies. Before long, even Hogan starts to think that maybe, just maybe, the Scots-Irish founders of the town brought something along with them.</i><br />
<br />
(If interested in a brief excerpt from it, see my previous post.)<br />
<br />
Even I’m not sure what to make of it. But I think it might be the best thing I’ve written. Or the worst. I can never tell. I’m my own worst critic. Also, I’m doing something with this one I haven’t in a long time, that is sending it off to agents to see if there’s any interest. Part of me thinks if there’s none, I’ll just shelve it and move on. And part of me thinks I won’t. Time will tell.<br />
<br />
On a parallel subject, a good friend who occasionally follows my scribblings on social media said that he detected sadness or frustration creeping into some of my recent ramblings. Hopefully, it’s only because he’s a good friend that he noticed. I don’t mean to be that way! But if I am sad or frustrated, I’m not surprised it sometimes bleeds through. I’ll work on it! Promise.<br />
<br />
And don’t forget, I’ve made a couple of shorts permanently FREE! The first of my humorous hard-boiled P.I. series TELEGRAPH HILL and NEARLY DEAD, the St. Pete prequel to my New York zombie novel SINCERELY DEAD, are both FREE at <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/BPMyers">Smashwords</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/brendan-p.-myers">BN</a>, <a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Search?Query=brendan+p.+myers">Kobo</a>, and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/brendan-p.-myers/id451932066?mt=11">iTunes</a>. Click the FIND MY BOOKS AT box on the right for the device of your choice.<br />
<br />
I’m seeing more activity at Goodreads, which is awesome. Just today I saw a 4-star review for NEARLY DEAD, with the reader saying “I’d like to see more zombies of this type.” So grateful when people take the time. Makes all the difference. And if I’ve learned anything, it’s that books without reviews don’t sell. Trust me.<br />
<br />
Oops! There’s that “sadness and frustration” again! So I’ll stop now.<br />
<br />
As always, thanks for putting up with me. But mostly, thanks for reading my work!Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-19369822544668970882014-08-12T09:33:00.002-04:002014-09-22T13:01:39.556-04:00I See Goat People<i>(I'm pleased to report my very strange, very bizarre, fairy novel is now complete. Since I've been teasing my Facebook friends with references to it -- you do<a href="https://www.facebook.com/brendanpmyers"> follow me there</a> don't you? -- I figured I'd share a taste. Enjoy! )</i><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>~</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span> wall of rain swept across the reservoir, roiling the normally placid waters. Overhead, lightning flared and thunder boomed. Dani stood at the rear window of the cottage taking it all in, marveling in awed fascination at the power of nature. She wondered if even storms were living things, before realizing that of course, they were. She knew now that everything was alive. She also understood that this particular living thing was in a very bad mood indeed.<br />
<br />
When there was a pause in the celestial light show, Dani sat on the love seat and again buried her nose in the werewolf romance. But as in those long hours on the bus, she couldn’t read more than a word or two before her mind wandered. She smiled inside to think that no book could ever come close to the real romance that had recently entered her life. She even teared up to think how blessed she was. What had she ever done to deserve Ian? She had no idea. But she wasn’t ever going to let him get away.<br />
<br />
After a while, she heard banging from the front of the house, but imagined it was simply the screen door become unlatched. When it went on, a rush passed through her to realize someone was knocking. It was Ian. It had to be. Tossing the book aside, she leaped from the couch and ran to the kitchen.<br />
<br />
Opening the door, she saw it wasn’t Ian at all. Her heart sank, but she tried not to let it show. It was the nice old lady from the police station she met the other day. Trudy was her name. She had a bulging brown shopping bag clutched to her chest.<br />
<br />
“Hey there, little girl!” the woman said with a smile. “How about letting a poor stranger in out of the rain?”<br />
<br />
Dani returned the smile and opened wide to let Trudy in. Oddly, she didn’t seem wet. Not a hair of her bun was out of place. Before closing the door, Dani saw no car in the driveway either. Who knows? she thought. Maybe she was dropped off.<br />
<br />
“I do hate to barge in like this,” Trudy said contritely, “but I thought it long past time for just us girls to have a nice conversation.” Setting the bag on the table, she turned and asked, “I hope you don’t mind?”<br />
<br />
“Not at all,” Dani said politely, though she did think it a bit strange. After the woman went quiet and simply stared, Dani asked, “Umm . . . can I get you anything?”<br />
<br />
“You know what might be nice,” Trudy said, clapping her hands together and taking a seat. “A tall glass of milk for us both. It’ll go nice with the surprise I brought!”<br />
<br />
Pasting on a smile, Dani went to the fridge and poured Trudy a tall glass and a smaller one for herself. Setting them on the table, she sat down opposite Trudy and watched her drink half the glass in one loud slurp.<br />
<br />
When she set the glass down, Dani suppressed her smirk about the milk mustache now on the woman’s upper lip. In fact, she realized the milk mustache was augmented by the more than a wisp of real mustache already there.<br />
<br />
When a flash of lightning lit the room that same moment, Dani saw the woman also had long hairs sprouting from the bottom of her chin. Between that and the mustache, the clear image of a goat came to her mind. Having been raised better, she set it aside.<br />
<br />
“So,” Trudy began. “I want to hear all about you and the boy. I think Ian is his name? I must say you two made quite a couple the other night! I tell you, everyone in town is talking about it. But first . . .”<br />
<br />
She paused and put a mischievous grin on her face before reaching into her bag. With a ta- da motion she pulled two plump apples from within. Bright red and juicy looking, she put one down in front of Dani and took the other for herself.<br />
<br />
“I been meaning to drop these by for the chief,” she explained. “Fresh picked from Red Apple Farm. I tell you, they’re just about the best in all Massachusetts. Did you know their orchards are more than a thousand feet above sea level? I think that makes all the difference.”<br />
<br />
With that, Trudy picked up her apple and took a big crunchy bite. Afterward, she closed her eyes to savor each chew. When she opened them again, she saw Dani hadn’t touched hers and motioned her head toward it.<br />
<br />
“I’m telling you sweetheart, it’s the best apple you’ve ever had. Better than a man, you asked me.” She took another big chomp.<br />
<br />
Not wanting to be rude, Dani picked hers up and took a bite. Trudy was right. It was delicious. Whether it was better than a man, she would leave to Trudy. It certainly wasn’t better than Ian. Of that she had no doubt.<br />
<br />
“You’re thinking about him right now, aren’t you, little girl?” Trudy asked with a naughty smile before taking another gulp of milk.<br />
<br />
Dani could only blush. She didn’t want to talk about Ian with this woman. It was too personal. Too private. When she glanced again at Trudy, she saw the woman had closed her eyes to relish another bite. Her sheer manner of chewing again summoned to Dani’s mind the image of a goat. What made it stranger still was she had no experience with goats. She wasn’t sure she’d even seen one in real life. But she knew one when she saw one.<br />
<br />
“Did you know,” Trudy went on with a mouth full of apple, “there’s even a rumor going around that you believe yourself to be a queen? Is that the funniest thing you ever heard?”<br />
<br />
Dani’s vision started fading in and out. She wasn’t certain she’d heard what she thought she did. Looking up, she saw Trudy now had bits of apple all over her goat face. She watched as the woman reached out an impossibly long tongue to snag a chunk that had somehow found its way to the end of her snout.<br />
<br />
Feeling faint, Dani looked down to relieve her nausea and saw beneath Trudy’s skirt were a pair of goat legs with thick gray fur upon them.<br />
<br />
“A queen,” Trudy said in a voice that could belong only to a goat. “Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous?”<br />
<br />
Dani felt darkness approaching. Reaching out her arms, she tried grabbing hold of the table but it was too late. When the blackness came, she fell to the floor with a heavy thud, bringing her untouched glass of milk along to shatter into a thousand pieces.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Trudy grabbed another apple from the bag. With her eyes closed in almost depraved pleasure, she took a big bite.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~</div>
<br />
<i>Thanks for reading! And keep your eye out for THE MOUND, a mystery horror romance fairy tale. </i><i>Meanwhile, don't forget to visit my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Brendan-P.-Myers/e/B002EDYPJ8">Amazon Author Page</a> to check out my other offerings! Thanks again.</i>Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-76162093295032042242014-07-23T18:14:00.000-04:002014-07-29T07:29:25.266-04:00A funny thing happened on my way to . . .Writing the promised new Londergan short. But more on that later.<br />
<br />
As noted in this space a few weeks ago, I enrolled all my ebooks into Amazon’s KDP Select program, meaning they are currently only available in ebook format at Amazon for the Kindle (as always, most are available <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&bbn=283155&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&qid=1406200167&rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_82%3AB002EDYPJ8%2Cp_n_feature_browse-bin%3A2656022011&rnid=618072011&tag=brepmye-20">in paperback format</a> and you should buy one.)<br />
<br />
Funny thing is, I hardly ever sold books at Amazon, but did indeed sell them at other outlets, most notably the Apple iTunes store and Barnes and Noble. But it wasn’t a lot, and I figured if the government is going to allow Amazon hegemony in the ebook marketplace, who am I to argue?<br />
<br />
And whaddya know, after a few frustrating weeks, there are signs of life. In fact, I’ve sold more books at Amazon this month (all currently at 99 cents, by the way, nudge nudge, wink wink) than I have in years. I even had my first Amazon borrow. I’ve long half-joked I was embedded in Amazon’s “pay this author no mind” algorithm, because no matter what I did, I couldn’t sell books there. Now that I’m exclusive to them, I am. Hmm . . .<br />
<br />
Anyway, my contract runs out in early August, and if things continue, I may just remain there and try to grow sales. I’ve had <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Swash-Adventure-Brendan-P-Myers-ebook/product-reviews/B003XNTB0G/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending">a couple of wonderful reviews</a> lately as well, most notably on my pirate adventure <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XNTB0G/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003XNTB0G&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">Swash!</a> for which I’m very grateful. To be honest, I’m my own worst critic, and even I think that book’s pretty damn good.<br />
<br />
Another thing I’ve done is removed pretty much all the Dick Londergan’s from my catalog, going so far as unpublishing the Londergan novel, <i>Hell City</i>. Much as I like and appreciate my befuddled hard-boiled P.I. (and lots of folks at Apple and Barnes and Noble seemed to like him too!) he has, for whatever reason, never gained traction at Amazon. Maybe because they’re so short, or so different from my other offerings. In hindsight, I should have used a pseudonym. Lesson learned.<br />
<br />
However, after unpublishing them all, I did go back and republish <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EIMKZPG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00EIMKZPG&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">The Ghost and Mr. Londergan</a> because well, there IS a ghost in it, which is kind of in keeping with the rest of my stuff. Also, it’s a novelette of around 13,000 words, so at 99 cents for a few hours entertainment, it’s still a bargain. That too received <a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R2JZ1E4HVOHSLG/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00EIMKZPG">a wonderful review</a> recently, so maybe, just maybe, things are looking up.<br />
<br />
In any event, I did get started on that new Londergan, got a ways in, when somehow, I began work on another novel. I don't even remember why or how or when I segued into it. But it's been going on a few weeks now, and I’d say I’m more than halfway into it and the writing is going well. It has some of the whimsy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XNTB0G/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003XNTB0G&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">Swash!</a> as well as elements of horror from some of my other works.<br />
<br />
And for the first time since maybe I wrote <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XNTB0G/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003XNTB0G&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">Swash!</a>, I’m actually enjoying the writing process and discovering along the way what's going to happen next, because as always, I’m writing blind, having no idea where things are going till we get there.<br />
<br />
In other news, I was delighted to do an Amazon search recently and find the fictional town of Grantham from my vampire novel <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050K6FEK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0050K6FEK&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">Applewood</a> merited a mention in the recently published <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LIAZRLS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00LIAZRLS&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">Horror Guide to Massachusetts</a>, a compendium of locations both fictional and non-fictional throughout Massachusetts where horror stories were set. Check it out!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7jojoxnWp4ec6g2xa6j-icdG53oZ7GoVYC4afs7pzPEsJXsm-ZYcR5rM1JrqFXasQfcKBuD2TMYIA5bIbbjom-yGCBBW32h6DMlw6tk7aJcxd7kLkg87mZfwFNQFFR5xJKYlLGCJlUW20/s1600/HorrorGuide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7jojoxnWp4ec6g2xa6j-icdG53oZ7GoVYC4afs7pzPEsJXsm-ZYcR5rM1JrqFXasQfcKBuD2TMYIA5bIbbjom-yGCBBW32h6DMlw6tk7aJcxd7kLkg87mZfwFNQFFR5xJKYlLGCJlUW20/s1600/HorrorGuide.jpg" height="400" width="366" /></a></div>
<br />
Funny, things like this always seem to happen at just the right time, when I’m feeling down or about to throw in the towel. I’ll sell another book (even one copy) or find someone left a kind review or a nice comment on Facebook. So maybe there is hope, as the last line (or something like it) from my lone attempt at a thriller <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JTW88M/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002JTW88M&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">Hope Town</a> (and even THAT had a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R2PK7CJQAYP0AO/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B002JTW88M">kind Amazon review</a> left recently, though she hated the editor. Me too, reviewer. Me too.) put it:<br />
<br />
“Above all else, Parker still held out hope.”<br />
<br />
Happy reading! And as always, thanks for stopping by.Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-41554449504956719262014-07-03T09:58:00.000-04:002014-07-03T10:20:17.293-04:00Happy Fourth of JulyWhile contemplating whether or not to post anything in honor of the holiday, I happened to be perusing my books when it occurred to me that the Fourth plays a prominent role in some of them, going back to my first effort, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002GP6U2Y/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002GP6U2Y&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">Sumner Gardens</a>. </i><br />
<br />
In that one, twelve-year-old budding thespian Conner O'Neil gets involved in a town production of <i>The Music Man</i> performed over the Fourth of July weekend. The night of the Fourth, he engages in bottle rockets at forty paces in the middle of the street with his future brother-in-law.<br />
<br />
In my vampire saga <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050K6FEK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0050K6FEK&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">Applewood</a></i>, fourteen-year-old hero Scott Dugan uses the Fourth to have his first date with a girl who has moved in across the street. The two ride their bikes to a New England downtown rich in history to enjoy the festivities. When the city girl finds it a little cornpone, Dugan sets her straight:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Puzzled by the question, Dugan had to think a moment about<br />his answer. “Well, first of all, you better start using ‘us guys’ when<br />you talk about this stuff now, remember?” Her smile took some of<br />the sting off. “But I guess you’re right, it is a big deal around here,<br />probably ‘cause there’s so much history. You can’t turn around in<br />this town without bumping into some of it.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“Coupla years ago, there was this high school teacher shot<br />himself out in the woods over by the school. They never did figure<br />out just why he done it, shot himself I mean, but to close the case,<br />the cops needed to find the bullet. They looked for weeks out in<br />those woods, and recovered seventy-eight bullets. Some of the bullets<br />they found went all the way back to Revolutionary War days.<br />But they never did find his bullet.”</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>She looked thoughtful as Dugan went on.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“The place you’re sittin’ right now is the same place that the<br />volunteers came when the Revolution broke out, and after that the<br />Civil War. I’ll bet if we went back far enough, we’d find out that<br />some kinda Indian thing happened right there too, long before the<br />white man set foot on these shores.”</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>He looked over at her and smiled. “Like I said, you can’t get<br />away from it.”</i></blockquote>
I suppose that's true of most everywhere, but it is absolutely true for those of us who grew up in New England. There is no getting away from it.<br />
<br />
Finally, in my pirate adventure <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XNTB0G/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003XNTB0G&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">Swash!</a></i>, in which eighteenth-century pirates find themselves trapped in our time, another Fourth finds young protagonist Chris Duggan at the town parade. For their sake (and his own sanity) Chris has tried to keep the pirates under wraps, however, at the parade, Chris finds the pirates are about to make a very public debut:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Another marching band followed, and Chris knew the short parade was almost over. He began to hear cheering and whistles from down the street. Everyone stood on tiptoes trying to get a glimpse of what it was. He couldn’t see anything except the cab of a truck slowly making its way up the street, but a moment later he recognized the white haired man waving from the passenger seat and smiled to see Barney Zimmerman. Whatever it was, his float was getting the most effusive cheers. Then, through gaps opened by crowds of people rushing toward it, he saw it.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Rising majestically from the back of the flatbed was a pirate ship made entirely of living things. Its palm tree masts were festooned with purple lilacs. The billowing sails were made of sheets of green sod. As it moved closer, like he knew he would, Chris saw the crew of the Lady Grace, all manning their stations while waving and throwing beads to the crowd. But their appearance had changed. They looked different somehow. It took more than a moment for him to realize it was their clothes. Gone were the silly hand-me-downs taken from the giveaway bin at the church. They were now dressed in proper pirate costumes, though costume wasn’t the right word, for Chris knew this was how they should be dressed. And the captain was the best dressed of all.</i></blockquote>
I don't know what it means (if it means anything at all) that I'd return to the Fourth at least three times in my books. I was a bit of a history nut growing up. It is that most American of holidays. For myself, I have mostly good memories of Fourths of July past, though some bad. As in most things, I prefer to remember the good.<br />
<br />
At any rate, may your own Fourth of July find you safe and happy and among those you love. And as always, thanks for reading!<br />
<br />
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<i>"Not only won't I play it, but if Robert Preston doesn't, I won't go see it."</i> - Danny Kaye turning down the lead in the film version of <i>The Music Man.</i>Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-82652870854466483952014-06-23T11:35:00.001-04:002014-06-23T11:35:28.750-04:00News from the Cover DepartmentI'm delighted to report I've freshened up the cover to <i>Swash!</i>, my tale of eighteenth-century pirates let loose in the modern world:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYSTjo36KUgAzw-BZFO1Cn7jk0rWn00Je07pL2uMxRSIUTK454ah8h2-AYfv0G0nmtx4O1OrOICb3GDBIgI6-g1E6JABrwR18mWwHEZ0-zeo_LT2qlfvV6gCpwlOFn_1I3cDJlBbWM8ym/s1600/SwashCov2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYSTjo36KUgAzw-BZFO1Cn7jk0rWn00Je07pL2uMxRSIUTK454ah8h2-AYfv0G0nmtx4O1OrOICb3GDBIgI6-g1E6JABrwR18mWwHEZ0-zeo_LT2qlfvV6gCpwlOFn_1I3cDJlBbWM8ym/s1600/SwashCov2.jpg" height="640" width="432" /></a></div>
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Isn't it wonderful? The image itself comes from the public domain and is titled "Who Shall Be Captain?" by a man named Howard Pyle, who did a series of pirate illustrations as well as many others. You can read all about him on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Pyle">Wikipedia</a>.<br />
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I'm doubly pleased to report that <i>Swash!</i> has it's first Amazon review! It is extraordinarily kind. A snippet:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>In all honesty, this book is one of the most enjoyable surprises I've come across in a long time, and I am an avid reader. From the moment I started this delightful tale, I felt like I was transported directly into what was happening. I was drawn right in and didn't want to leave. </i></blockquote>
To read more of the review (and more importantly, to pick up your own copy in either paperback or Kindle edition) click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XNTB0G/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003XNTB0G&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">this link</a> to go to its Amazon page.<br />
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By way of refresher, the plot of <i>Swash!</i> goes something . . . like this:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>When a late winter storm unearths an ancient shipwreck, the sleepy seaside town of Sully's Rump is turned upside-down, first by the media, then by the resurrected pirates who come back to reclaim their ship. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Local historian Arthur Cobb wants the ship for himself, but so does his nemesis, gazillionaire businessman Barney Zimmerman. Caught between the two is young Chris Duggan, the boy who found the wreck, who just wants to help the pirates get home. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>He realizes the only way to do that is to rebuild the ship and fulfill the pirate curse, but soon learns dislodging the pirates from the Rump may prove more difficult than was deciphering the curse that brought them there. </i></blockquote>
Give it a shot! You'll like it. I promise.<br />
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And as always, thanks for visiting.Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-15772933237707455712014-06-13T17:33:00.000-04:002014-06-14T07:21:42.294-04:00Fun with Text AnalysisAs promised (or threatened, depending on your point of view) <a href="http://bpmyers.blogspot.com/2014/04/on-whats-next.html">in this post</a> a few weeks ago, I've been puttering away on a new Dick Londergan tale.<br />
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For those that don't know, Londergan is my version of homage to the iconic private detectives of the past, except in Londergan's case, he's a detective from the past who happens to be caught in the modern world.<br />
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Meanwhile, one of the things I like to do while writing is to run my stuff through a text analyzer, mostly to make sure I'm not falling into the trap of repeating crutch words over and over (as is my habit) and also with an eye toward the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesch%E2%80%93Kincaid_readability_tests">Flesh-Kincaid</a> grade level and reading ease scale, just to make sure I'm not overwriting.*<br />
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I mentioned in <a href="http://bpmyers.blogspot.com/2010/02/some-silly-things-i-do.html">a post years ago</a> this was one of the silly things I do (along with reading aloud) to make sure the words flow smoothly. I remember noting in that post a couple of the habits of Raymond Chandler, one of my favorite writers.<br />
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Chandler came to writing late in life, sharpening his skills writing short stories for <i>Black Mask</i> and other pulp magazines before setting off to write his first novel, <i>The Big Sleep</i>, and the rest of the Philip Marlowe canon.<br />
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I remember reading somewhere that Chandler used to write his stories on index cards, just to make sure SOMETHING HAPPENED on each and every card that would move the plot or the story along. Otherwise, he just tossed the card.<br />
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So recently, just to get myself into “hard-boiled mode” in preparation for writing the new Londergan, I read a few chapters of Chandler, then had the bright idea to run some of his prose through the <a href="http://www.online-utility.org/">online text analyzer</a> I've been using lately.<br />
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Here's what it had to say about the first two chapters of <i>The Big Sleep</i>:<br />
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Number of words: 4051<br />
Number of sentences: 374<br />
Average number of characters per word: 4.16<br />
Average number of syllables per word: 1.36<br />
Average number of words per sentence: 10.83<br />
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Small, short words, as you'd expect from the machine-gun cadence of the hard-boiled patois. Sentences were longer than I'd have guessed, though. Now, to the "reading ease" portion:<br />
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Flesch Kincaid Grade level: 4.69<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
SMOG: 7.52<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
Flesch Reading Ease: 80.71<br />
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(The "SMOG" index is ostensibly how many years of formal education a person needs to understand the text upon first reading.)<br />
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Just for fun, here are the results from the first Dick Londergan short, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0092STYD0/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0092STYD0&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">Telegraph Hill</a>:<br />
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Number of words: 4446<br />
Number of sentences: 405<br />
Average number of characters per word: 4.04<br />
Average number of syllables per word: 1.34<br />
Average number of words per sentence: 10.98<br />
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I'm actually kind of blown away by the similarity, but in a good way. Then again, I do remember being in the zone when I wrote that one. I was so flinty, you coulda lit a match off me.<br />
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And "reading ease":<br />
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Flesch Kincaid Grade level: 4.54<br />
SMOG :<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 7.55<br />
Flesch Reading Ease: 82.06<br />
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And . . . I'm blown away again. I don't think I've ever written anything before or since that low on Flesh-Kincaid, including the rest of the Londergans. Plus, I'm usually lucky to be around 77 or 78 on reading ease.<br />
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Finally, the text analyzer provides Helpful Hints! on how to make your writing clearer. Here are some of the suggestions it made about Mr. Chandler's masterpiece:<br />
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<b>List of sentences which we suggest you should consider to rewrite to improve readability of the text:</b><br />
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<i>Here, in a space of hexagonal flags, an old red Turkish rug was laid down and on the rug was a wheel chair, and in the wheel chair an old and obviously dying man watched us come with black eyes from which all fire had died long ago, but which still had the coal-black directness of the eyes in the portrait that hung above the mantel in the hail.</i><br />
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<i>Over the entrance doors, which would have let in a troop of Indian elephants, there was a broad stained-glass panel showing a knight in dark armor rescuing a lady who was tied to a tree and didn't have any clothes on but some very long and convenient hair.</i><br />
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<i>There were French doors at the back of the hall, beyond them a wide sweep of emerald grass to a white garage, in front of which a slim dark young chauffeur in shiny black leggings was dusting a maroon Packard convertible.</i><br />
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<i>I stood up and lifted my coat off the back of the damp wicker chair and went off with it among the orchids, opened the two doors and stood outside in the brisk October air getting myself some oxygen.
Then the butler came pushing back through the jungle with a teawagon, mixed me a brandy and soda, swathed the copper ice bucket with a damp napkin, and went away softly among the orchids.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The old man licked his lips watching me, over and over again, drawing one lip slowly across the other with a funereal absorption, like an undertaker dry-washing his hands.</i><br />
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<i>The butler did his best to get me through without being smacked in the face by the sodden leaves, and after a while we came to a clearing in the middle of the jungle, under the domed roof.</i><br />
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It goes on like that for pages.<br />
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And yes, Mr. Chandler will get right on that.<br />
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<i>* The most cursory Google search on Flesh-Kincaid reveals lots of discussion and debate among writers about just what it means and how important it is. The answer is, and should be, not at all. For example, you'll find children's books that rate a 10th grade reading level, and adult literary masterpieces (some Hemingway shorts, for example) that rate a fourth-grade level. Like anything else, it's just a tool. Your mileage may vary.</i>Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-37415056344333558962014-06-05T08:14:00.000-04:002014-06-17T14:28:06.601-04:00The Year of the Gerbil<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3864522-the-year-of-the-gerbil" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Year of the Gerbil: How the Yankees Won (and the Red Sox Lost) the Greatest Pennant Race Ever" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1266999024m/3864522.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3864522-the-year-of-the-gerbil">The Year of the Gerbil: How the Yankees Won (and the Red Sox Lost) the Greatest Pennant Race Ever</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1648029.Con_Chapman">Con Chapman</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/958408946">4 of 5 stars</a><br />
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The passing of baseball lifer Don Zimmer brought a number of thoughts to the mind of this Red Sox fan. In 1978, as manager of the Red Sox, Don Zimmer brought the team to a 14 ½ game lead over the hated New York Yankees . . . and then the wheels came off, in historic fashion. <br />
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No need to recount the horror, the loss upon loss, Butch Hobson sailing throws past first base, Bobby Sprowl (“the kid has ice water in his veins”), the Boston Massacre, the one game playoff, Bucky (bleeping) Dent . . . like I said, no need to recount the horror. <br />
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Needless to say, there were very few books written about that season. In fact, the only one I've ever run across dedicated to that season alone was this one, “The Year of the Gerbil” by Con Chapman. <br />
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Longtime Sox fans know 'the gerbil' was Red Sox lefthander Bill Lee's unkind* nickname for Zimmer, referring to his jowly visage. Of course, Lee had his own reasons for disliking Zimmer, not the least of which was Zimmer burying him on the bench, refusing to pitch him out of spite when the Red Sox might have used him, when winning just ONE GAME might have made all the difference.<br />
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What brought this book specifically to mind was reading the thoughts of former Red Sox shortstop Rick Burleson. As tough and gritty an on-field competitor as there ever was, Burleson played for Zimmer on that ill-fated 1978 team. In his tribute to Zimmer, Burleson said that Zimmer was “the best manager he ever played for,” and that's no surprise. As a former player himself, a teammate of Jackie Robinson, a member of Brooklyn's only world championship team, and an original Met, in his own day, Zimmer too was about as tough and gritty as they come. No surprise at all that Burleson and he would get along just fine.<br />
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But it's a quote about Rick Burleson that will forever stick in my mind from this book, that is that “Rick Burleson loved to win in the same way Norman Bates loved his mother.” And anyone who ever saw "the Rooster" play knows exactly what he's talking about.<br />
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Anyway, for this Red Sox fan, it was worth reliving the horror, if only for lines like that.<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/23921136-brendan">View all my reviews</a><br />
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UPDATE: Delighted to have a visit from the author himself. In the comments section, he clarifies just where the "gerbil" nickname came from, and at least initially (after Lee was goaded into it) it wasn't meant at all unkindly. Thanks Con for both the visit, and for clearing that up.</div>
Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-65355418867942980452014-05-28T12:37:00.000-04:002014-05-29T07:19:40.921-04:00Some Light HousekeepingAs I mentioned on twitter and Facebook (you do . . . follow me there, don't you?), I read the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/26/business/media/a-platform-and-blogging-tool-medium-charms-writers.html">article in the New York Times</a> this past weekend about Medium.Com, and was intrigued enough to take one of my (I think and hope) good enough for a wider audience posts here and reposted it over there.<br />
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It was one of my more personal posts, the one where I talk about running into Stephen King at Fenway Park. You get a minute (technically, seven) <a href="https://medium.com/@brendan_myers/965a05043a16">give it a read</a>! If nothing else, it looks nicer there than it ever did here.<br />
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In other news, have you met Jill? If not, I'm pleased to announce she is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/149964826X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=149964826X&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">now available in paperback</a>! With a swanky new cover to boot:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMW16NoADoLS6X52xLl0gE4EcXIpXhsno8skXN-uV8eNcu3xeiYav8j3OJ5ZOAywGAWzeYfz-2dUiO-gp-jNZXisC1bLX0obi3GUKUSEpKYgy8729cAHP6INuG8GiLfg5cRzUUll6EILRq/s1600/21cSordidcov.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMW16NoADoLS6X52xLl0gE4EcXIpXhsno8skXN-uV8eNcu3xeiYav8j3OJ5ZOAywGAWzeYfz-2dUiO-gp-jNZXisC1bLX0obi3GUKUSEpKYgy8729cAHP6INuG8GiLfg5cRzUUll6EILRq/s1600/21cSordidcov.JPG" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
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Of course, Jill won't be happy about it. Not one . . . little . . . bit.<br />
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I've also updated the book with two new additions, the otherwise uncollected FORTUNATO'S GHOST and THE INTERSECTION. I'll continue to make those available as standalones at Amazon for .99 cents, mostly just to occasionally offer them for free in the hopes someone will like them enough to buy something else.<br />
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Speaking of new covers, I also made one for FORTUNATO'S GHOST. Check it out!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL2CMpzbjawms6kikyYfGtyHarc1rtrXSRb-8qYEyMqhw3BYYDPqX7gxU8IimCPCaNxbgqv4_lGQnmbHuD_zsGqAhJR4sKATMpOAgzteYtV8ShGx6wzIvc2jRcSIuMQst_R1phKGes-6BX/s1600/FortCov.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL2CMpzbjawms6kikyYfGtyHarc1rtrXSRb-8qYEyMqhw3BYYDPqX7gxU8IimCPCaNxbgqv4_lGQnmbHuD_zsGqAhJR4sKATMpOAgzteYtV8ShGx6wzIvc2jRcSIuMQst_R1phKGes-6BX/s1600/FortCov.JPG" height="320" width="215" /></a></div>
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Finally, as noted last week, in a "Hail Mary!" move, I've pulled my books from all other retailers and gone exclusive to Amazon, mostly to take advantage of promotions they offer only to people who go exclusive to them. Among the promotions is the ability to control book giveaways, and I've been giving them away like crazy, always with the hope that people will like them enough to both review them, and to buy something else.<br />
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And because statistically, most people who even clicked on this post haven't read this far, if you visit my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Brendan-P.-Myers/e/B002EDYPJ8/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&tag=brepmye-20&linkId=RAQDE2EZM55A2UZ5">Amazon Author Page</a> RIGHT NOW . . . you might find that the best New York zombie apocalypse novel EVER WRITTEN is available on Kindle for free. If you missed it, you'll still find it's the best bargain on Amazon at just $2.99.<br />
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But don't forget to leave a review!<br />
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And as always, thanks for reading.Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-41562875973653343802014-05-19T13:36:00.001-04:002014-05-27T18:52:26.203-04:00Welcome to Exigua Publishing<span style="font-family: inherit;">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">May 19, 2014 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Exigua Publishing, a newly formed venture, is pleased to announce it will be the exclusive home of New England native (now Florida-based) author Brendan P. Myers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“It's a real coup for us,” said Exigua CEO Brendan P. Myers (most definitely a relation.) “In fact, we couldn't be more pleased to have Brendan in the fold.” </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">He went on to add, “To be the exclusive publisher of Brendan's wonderful blend of horror and humor, his short stories and novels. To bring new entries of what are quickly becoming beloved series and characters like the APPLEWOOD saga, THE DICK LONDERGAN CHRONICLES, and the DEAD series to market, well. It's simply a dream come true.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For his part, Myers is just pleased to have finally found himself a publisher. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“It might sound a little silly, but to have someone to bounce ideas off, to tell you you're not crazy, to have someone you know will always have your back when times get tough. That's what I feel I've been missing all these years.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When asked “Why Exigua?”, Myers responded, “I was looking for a publisher with a Latin name, because that's important to me. And when I learned 'Exigua' was the Latin word for 'small,' I knew I was getting close. But it was only later, when I discovered 'Exigua' is perhaps more precisely translated as 'meager' or 'scanty,' that I knew I had found a home."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Myers went on to say his relationship with Exigua is already paying dividends. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“It's embarrassing to admit, but until recently, I had been using Microsoft Office 2000 for all my manuscripts (Time flies!) The first thing Exigua did was reformat all my ebooks using OpenOffice, making extensive use of styles, and really cleaning them up. They even added some graphic flourishes. Check it out!”</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPfn8S_3r8RVJWwDyGA84c1K_Ze-DWifKoRApy7d_K5v6_F-bkZZNzTspLlOyQ-I_s5pATr2nvtDdbGSPlBZXQtzX_tOxA2G5dI3WDcGh_V89zN2MT1WjIjYCPwNvqWAdI3mK1u2-cZhWX/s1600/Screenshot+-+5_19_2014+,+1_42_36+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPfn8S_3r8RVJWwDyGA84c1K_Ze-DWifKoRApy7d_K5v6_F-bkZZNzTspLlOyQ-I_s5pATr2nvtDdbGSPlBZXQtzX_tOxA2G5dI3WDcGh_V89zN2MT1WjIjYCPwNvqWAdI3mK1u2-cZhWX/s1600/Screenshot+-+5_19_2014+,+1_42_36+PM.jpg" height="640" width="404" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Myers added, “Exigua also once and for all mastered the confounded 'Smashwords Style Guide' which I'd been struggling with for years. So, for these and other reasons, knowing they put out a quality product I can be proud of, I'm looking forward to a long and fruitful relationship with them.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When asked about his recent decision to go exclusive with Amazon, Myers answered, “In conjunction with my move to Exigua, I wanted to focus on the largest ebook retailer in the world. And as much as I appreciate all the other retailers and hope one day to rejoin them, the fact is that Amazon has a third of the ebook marketplace." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Going on, Myers declared, "It's my plan over the next few months to take advantage of all the promotional tools KDP Select provides, to even at times offer my books for free, in the hope that maybe, I'll start getting some reviews. Basically, it's all about trying to jumpstart sales, b</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">ecause let's face it, if I can't sell books on Amazon, I can't sell them anywhere.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">(For a link to Brendan's Amazon Author Page, click below -- and revisit frequently over the next few months for his ongoing FREE Kindle downloads.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://amazon.com/author/brendanpmyers"><span style="font-family: inherit;">amazon.com/author/brendanpmyers</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">BPM/bpm</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">PRESS INQUIRIES: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">bpmyersbooks at the gmail machine.</span>Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-84813736784690372772014-04-17T14:57:00.002-04:002014-04-18T10:23:40.757-04:00On What's NextSo, I find myself in between things at the moment, doing my best to pump my latest book (my New York zombie apocalypse novel <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1495229157/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1495229157&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">SINCERELY DEAD</a> which is really, really good and you should buy it) and also wondering what (if anything) I should write next.<br />
<br />
I’ve long been a few chapters into a follow-up to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JTW88M/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002JTW88M&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">HOPE TOWN</a>, with an eye toward turning that (perhaps!) into a series. Thus far in the follow-up, Parker’s life is going downhill fast, but Nate has a life preserver to toss him – if only Parker will grab hold.<br />
<br />
I’m more than a few chapters into the next volume of the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050K6FEK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0050K6FEK&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">APPLEWOOD</a> saga, which I’d very much like to continue, except that stopped selling a long time ago, not to mention hardly anybody read the follow-up (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005JY7TRY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B005JY7TRY&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">FLEDGE</a>) anyway, so that seems a non-starter and probably a waste of time.<br />
<br />
And though this one hardly sells either, I think my pirate adventure <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XNTB0G/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003XNTB0G&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">SWASH!</a> would make an excellent candidate for a sequel. In my mind, it would pick things up a few years later, with Chris graduated from college and running the zoo on Sully’s Rump, when Captain Hornblossom and his merry men return. I have an idea I’d like to flip things on its head, with Chris and Sarah returning to the eighteenth-century – to save Barney from something? Who knows!<br />
<br />
I guess I’ve been fortunate in that I have lots of ideas, some written down, others still flitting around inside my head. I’ve never had to worry about “writer’s block” or where the next idea would come from. No, the problem with me has always been simply putting my ass in that chair and getting down to business, but once I’ve made the decision to do that, I know the writing will come.<br />
<br />
However, it makes no sense to write sequels to books that don’t sell, so unless they get miraculously discovered and embraced by the public, I’m not going to write any of those. Besides, writing novels is (for me, anyway) extremely time-consuming and (lately) very injurious to my health. Seriously. The last one almost killed me. BUY IT!<br />
<br />
And writing novels that hardly anybody (short of family, friends, and only the occasional kind stranger) buys or reads is simply soul-crushing. I just can't do it anymore.<br />
<br />
Therefore, I’ve decided my next (and unless I'M miraculously discovered and embraced by the public, no doubt last) bit of writing will be another entry in <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/byseries/243">THE DICK LONDERGAN CHRONICLES</a>. Yeah, hardly anyone buys them either. But at least they’re fun to write! Plus, being short, they don’t take it out of me the way a full-blown novel does.<br />
<br />
So stay tuned to this space, where Dick Londergan will no doubt once again find himself in the midst of his most vexing case yet . . .<br />
<br />
And as always, thanks for reading.Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-22542512158832827862014-04-07T11:52:00.000-04:002014-04-07T13:01:28.350-04:00In Praise of Philip WylieA number of years ago, in conjunction with the transition to the new millennium, Modern Library came out with a list of the <a href="http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/">Hundred Best Novels of the 20th Century</a>. Of course, any list like that is bound to be controversial, and this one certainly was. What I remember most about it was that a long-held pet theory of mine at least now had (perhaps!) some basis in truth, that is that 1934 was the greatest year for American literature in the past century (and maybe, ever?)<br />
<br />
No fewer than seven novels published in 1934 ended up being honored on the Modern Library list, and coincidentally or not, a number of those books also happen to be among my all-time favorites, including <i>Tender is the Night</i> by F. Scott Fitzgerald (no. 28), <i>Appointment in Samarra</i> by John O’Hara (no. 22), and <i>The Postman Always Rings Twice</i> by James M. Cain (no. 98).<br />
<br />
Other books published in 1934 that the editors of Modern Library deemed worthy of being called “the best” of the past century were <i>I, Claudius</i> by Robert Graves (no. 14), <i>A Handful of Dust</i> by Evelyn Waugh (no. 34), and <i>Tropic of Cancer</i> by Henry Miller (no. 50).<br />
<br />
Now, it would take someone a lot smarter than me to posit a theory about what it was about 1934 that sparked such genius. The country was in the fifth year of the Great Depression. We were between two great world wars. It also happened to be the golden age of magazine fiction, providing lots of outlets for young writers to sharpen their skills before coming out with their masterworks. Who knows?<br />
<br />
But even before the list came out, I found it curious that so many of my favorite books were published that year, and it was only later I'd discover another author who published a book that year that deserves every bit the acclaim of the ones mentioned on the Modern Library list, and that book was <i>Finnley Wren</i> by a writer named Philip Wylie.<br />
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The first time I remember even hearing the name Philip Wylie was when the University of Nebraska put out their wonderful edition of the science fiction classic <i>When Worlds Collide</i> (which also contains its sequel, <i>After Worlds Collide</i>). I stumbled upon it in a Barnes and Noble one day, drawn to the no doubt excellent cover, and decided to give it a shot.<br />
<br />
The plot of the book (and later movie) is probably well-known by now. Earth finds itself in the path of two rogue planets, one of them on a collision course with Earth. Some scientists believe the other planet might just be hospitable enough to allow human habitation, the problem being how to get from here to there. Though both the language and the science in the book are dated, there's a lot about it that still rings true.<br />
<br />
What most delighted me about stumbling upon this book was that it introduced me to Philip Wylie, and after reading it (as is my wont when I discover a new author) I hunted down most everything else by him I could find. Seemingly almost forgotten today, Wylie was a working writer for more than half a century, who distinguished himself in a number of genres, including science fiction, crime, and social criticism.<br />
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Among many other things, he wrote the screenplay to the Claude Rains classic, <i>The Invisible Man</i>. His 1930 novel <i>Gladiator</i> is often credited with inspiring the character of Superman. The aforementioned 1934 novel <i>Finnley Wren</i> is a tour de force and an English language masterpiece. Later, during the Cold War, Wylie wrote a number of books featuring a post-nuclear war America, most notably in <i>Tomorrow!</i> Wylie himself became personally involved in Civil Defense initiatives.<br />
<br />
Not content with simply writing fiction in a variety of genres, in the nineteen-forties Wylie began delving into social criticism with his books <i>Generation of Vipers</i> and <i>An Essay on Morals</i>. His social criticism extended into the sixties with, among his last published works, <i>The Magic Animal, </i>the animal in question of course, being man.<br />
<br />
But what I find to be the most approachable Wylie are the "Crunch and Des" stories he wrote, mostly for the Saturday Evening Post, that you can now find in a number of modern editions. Telling the tales of a pair of commercial fishermen in Florida, they are guaranteed to bring a smile.<br />
<br />
So, in a nutshell, if you're ever at a yard sale and see a dog-eared and yellowing book by a guy named Philip Wylie, pick it up. You'll be glad you did.<br />
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(Wylie's Wiki entry here, if curious: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Wylie">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Wylie</a>)Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-13748725324173128492014-03-27T07:42:00.000-04:002014-03-27T13:40:24.437-04:00Another Taste of Sincerity<i>(Here's another excerpt from SINCERELY DEAD, the best New York zombie apocalypse "Poseidon Adventure"-style (except instead of an ocean liner it's New York City and oh, there are zombies) novel you're not reading . . . yet.)</i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">F</span>rom our rooftop perch, it appeared as
if fire still smoldered in some parts of the city, but the blackish
plumes I’d witnessed earlier rising up from neighborhoods to the
west and east seemed more subdued now; weakish puffs of whitish smoke
revealing, perhaps, that whatever fires had been raging only hours
earlier had burned themselves out.<br />
<br />
Still, the air remained redolent of
whatever still smoldered in those isolated pockets, along with other
things: some kind of coppery tang blended with a hint of raw sewage
and the overwhelming stench of what could only be rotting flesh.<br />
<br />
The roof itself was gravel and mostly
barren, its flat features broken only occasionally by a set of pipes
sticking up here and there, and pieces of long abandoned machinery
that once did who knows what.<br />
<br />
Off to the right, I saw Edwin on his
knees at the edge of the building peering down at the street. To
Paresh, I said, “Keep everyone together. I’ll be right back.”
After he nodded, I bent low and scurried over to join Edwin.<br />
<br />
Getting down on my knees, I raised my
head to peer over, and like a physical blow was struck immediately by
the overwhelming stench that had only been hinted at by the stairway.
I started to reach toward my breast pocket for my handkerchief before
remembering it wasn’t there.<br />
<br />
“Fuck,” Edwin said beneath his
breath, nervously twisting his long umbrella. “Fuck fuck fuck,”
he added for good measure.
<br />
<br />
I found no flaw in his logic.
<br />
<br />
There were tens of thousands of them
now gathered in front of our building, maybe more. Sneaking a glance
up Ninth and then down along 42nd Street, I saw more were arriving by
the minute. It appeared that if you were undead, all roads led to the
Camelot.<br />
<br />
Leaving Edwin alone, I half stood and
then scurried to the western end of the building just off 42nd
Street, where I dared raise my head and glance directly down at the
entrance to the Camelot itself. The stench brought tears to my eyes,
but there was no doubt about it. The crush of bodies down there was
even more intense, with thousands of them pressing up the famed
twenty-nine steps. More were arriving every second to press in from
behind.
<br />
<br />
“Fuck,” Edwin said quietly. I
jumped, not having heard him sidle up beside me. But I knew what he
meant, and what he meant was that if the mass of bodies hadn’t
already broken down the steel doorway in the second floor lobby,
perhaps by weakening the ancient plaster the otherwise sturdy door
had been built into, or maybe forgoing the door altogether and using
the press of flesh to eventually bust through the plaster and
Sheetrock and two-by-fours in the wall itself, sooner or later,
physics alone meant it was certain they’d be in the building; that
is, if they weren’t already.<br />
<br />
“What the fuck do they want?” Edwin
asked in a strained whisper.<br />
<br />
Turning in his direction, I saw he
wasn’t looking at me. He was unable to take his eyes off the
freakish sideshow going on down below.
<br />
<br />
“What do they want?” he asked
again.<br />
<br />
I took the questions as rhetorical,
though I admit I was starting to have my own theories. But he did ask
it twice.
<br />
<br />
“Well, you’re the expert,” I
said, “but isn’t the answer usually . . . brains?”<br />
<br />
It got a smile out of him. Eventually.<br />
<br />
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<i>"Sincerely Dead." The zombie book . . . for the rest of us. Available now in ebook and paperback from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IFRB162/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00IFRB162&linkCode=as2&tag=brepmye-20">Amazon.Com</a> </i><i>and everywhere fine New York zombie apocalypse novels are sold.</i></div>
Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-83292125597962751712014-03-24T14:19:00.001-04:002014-03-25T12:03:45.867-04:00So I Raised All My PricesAggressively, even. And you know what? I might raise them even more. But it’s not why you think . . .<br />
<br />
Long story short, it’s because I’ve tried everything else. But it seems no matter what I do, or what I try, I simply can't sell books. And I’m left wondering if, because I’ve waded in the .99 cent to $2.99 seas for so long, people aren’t even finding me anymore. I’m postulating if I raise my prices closer to what, you know, real publishers charge, and what people who buy books from, you know, real publishers expect to pay, then maybe, people will at least have a chance to find me.<br />
<br />
By way of background, my short stories have been priced at .99 cents (that is, when I haven’t just been giving them away) for years. They're not selling. The novels I have control over have been priced at $2.99 (and in two cases, $3.99) in all that time too. They’re not selling either. And at the low, low price of $2.99, even my most recent book isn’t selling, and I mean, c’mon! It’s got zombies, and New York City, and a mob hitman, and a “Poseidon Adventure”-style feel to it. WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE?<br />
<br />
And no, it’s not because they suck, either. Seriously. I mean, one or two may be kind of “meh” (and you’ll have to read them to discover for yourself!) but I’m quite sure they don’t suck; believe me, I’ve thought long and hard and been brutally honest with myself before grudgingly reaching that conclusion.<br />
<br />
I do recognize the DICK LONDERGAN CHRONICLES were a departure for me, that they're offbeat and not for everyone. Yet oddly enough, they’ve been my bestsellers this year (by "bestsellers" I mean maybe a half-dozen or so, at .99 cents a pop.) So I do think when the right people read them, they indeed get a kick out of them.<br />
<br />
I recognize too that I probably write in too many genres (humor, horror, etc.) and people might just be confused about what I write. If they like a Dick Londergan Chronicle, they might think, “Yeah, but I don’t read zombie or vampire stuff.” But know what? If I like a writer, I like a writer, and will read whatever they write. If that makes me guilty of thinking there are other people out there like me, so be it.<br />
<br />
Basically, it’s about discoverability. Maybe people simply dismiss ebooks that are priced so cheaply. Or maybe, because my “Customers Also Bought Items By” list on Amazon is filled with people nobody ever heard of, who also either give their books away or sell their books very cheaply, they’re not finding me that way either.<br />
<br />
So, want to get to know <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/byseries/243">hard-boiled P.I. Dick Londergan</a>? It’ll cost you $2.99. Want to read a terrific <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sincerely-Dead-Brendan-P-Myers-ebook/dp/B00IFRB162/ref=la_B002EDYPJ8_1_9_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395680665&sr=1-9">New York zombie adventure</a>? That’ll cost you $4.99 (or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nearly-Dead-Pete-Zombie-Tale-ebook/dp/B00C8AN5PW/ref=la_B002EDYPJ8_1_10_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395684151&sr=1-10">try out the prequel</a> for $2.99 and see if it’s for you.) Want to read a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Truck-Story-Brendan-P-Myers-ebook/dp/B002BWOYJ8/ref=la_B002EDYPJ8_1_2_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395684206&sr=1-2">fun Red Sox tale</a> that’s fit for the whole family? It’ll cost you $3.99.<br />
<br />
However, you CAN currently read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Swash-Brendan-P-Myers-ebook/dp/B003XNTB0G/ref=la_B002EDYPJ8_1_8_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395684264&sr=1-8">my pirate adventure SWASH!</a> for the low, low price of just .99 cents! Limited time only, I’m afraid. That one might go up to $5.99 at some point, because you know why? It’s worth every penny.<br />
<br />
If you’ve made it this far (and recent studies of users web habits reveal that most of you haven't) thanks (as always) for your forbearance, for your continued support of my writing, and for just being you! And hey, if this new pricing scheme doesn't work, if people don't buy my books at higher prices the same way they weren't buying them at lower prices, then I've lost nothing because . . . well. I think Mr. Preston said it best:<br />
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<br />Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-89691074787615415162014-03-13T10:48:00.000-04:002014-03-14T08:09:55.121-04:00On EndingsThis morning, while exploring other people's reviews of books that I've reviewed on Goodreads, I saw these two reviews juxtaposed and it made me smile:<br />
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Now, it's probably no coincidence, in that the ending to <i>Under the Dome</i> seems to be the most controversial thing about it . . . well, that and the politics.<br />
<br />
Me? I’d argue that it’s not a deus ex machina ending at all. Certainly, the ending of <i>The Stand</i> is (for the unititiated, "deus ex machina" is Latin for “God in the machine,” a much critized and well worn cliché ending often used by writers who have left themselves nowhere else to go or just want to end the damn thing. Wikipedia explanation <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex_machina">here</a>.)<br />
<br />
<i>The Stand</i> used a quite literal machine (the one that Trashcan brought into Las Vegas with him thinking he was doing everyone a favor) to sort out the good people from the bad and bring things to a nice, tidy conclusion. But <i>Under the Dome? </i>Well . . . of COURSE that's what it was. What else could it be? In fact, I'd be curious to know what the above reviewer thought it was. A force of nature?<br />
<br />
In fact, as I <a href="http://bpmyers.blogspot.com/2010/08/some-final-thoughts-on-dome.html">blogged while reading it</a>, I thought <i>Under the Dome</i> was fairly “meh” UNTIL the ending, which salvaged it for me. But then, you’re never going to please everyone.<br />
<br />
Which got me thinking about the ending to my most recent novel, SINCERELY DEAD, as well as the endings to some of my other novels and short stories. Now, I don’t give myself credit for much, but I do think I do endings fairly well.<br />
<br />
I love the ending to my pirate adventure, SWASH!, which I liken to the feel-good ending of <i>Willy Wonka</i>. I like the ending to SUMNER GARDENS too (a book that has LOTS of other things wrong with it) in that it ends almost exactly the way it begins and (I think) wraps everything up nicely. I like the endings to many of my short stories.<br />
<br />
But with my most recent ending . . . I took a risk, and by that I mean, I'm fairly sure it doesn’t necessarily end the way a reader may think it might. In fact, it might have a slight deus ex machina ending of its own (though even that is somewhat in keeping with all that came before it.)<br />
<br />
Funny thing though, the only feedback I've gotten thus far on the ending of SINCERELY DEAD wasn't the feedback I expected. Yes, the reader thought something else was going to happen, but what he thought was going to happen was (to my mind) never going to happen. In fact, I never even contemplated going in that direction. I only hope right now that opinion is an outlier . . .<br />
<br />
At any rate, please read it and judge for yourself! I can’t wait to hear what you think, good or bad. I've got thick skin! I can take it. Really.<br />
<br />
And as always, thanks for reading my stuff.<br />
<br />
PS: If you're interested in acquiring the TRUE FIRST EDITION of SINCERELY DEAD, then make sure you order your paperback copy in the next few days (it's currently on sale at Amazon for only $6.29!)<br />
<br />
I found a couple of minor errors (I mean, really minor. So minor in fact that I bet you can't find them. But I know they're there. ) that I plan on correcting over the weekend. After that, the FIRST EDITION will be forever unavailable. Act now!Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-12612144573066955332014-02-14T05:24:00.000-05:002014-02-14T05:24:59.790-05:00Happy Valentine's Day<i>"So maybe bringing Velarde back into the city wasn’t the best idea I ever had." </i><br />
<br />
When a mob hitman learns his boss is about to turn squealer, he takes it upon himself to use the zombified version of the man he was sent to kill to take out the boss, but soon discovers that taking even a single zombie into the Big Apple can lead to devastating consequences. And when the zombie apocalypse is inevitably unleashed, an epic adventure of survival unfolds, as a small band of the still living make a desperate bid to escape this now city of the dead.<br />
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From the author of APPLEWOOD and the award-winning ADAMSON'S ROCK comes this long awaited full length follow up to the seriocomic zombie short NEARLY DEAD. Get your copy today.Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-50883884605917978092014-02-13T13:02:00.001-05:002014-02-13T13:38:40.413-05:00The calm before the stormAt least, I hope there's a storm . . .<br />
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Not much to say in this one. Just blowing off some nervous energy in advance of tomorrow. I won't mind if you stop reading right here.<br />
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Well, tomorrow's the big day, the release of my new zombies take over New York City novel, "Sincerely Dead." All systems are go. The files are loaded up at Smashwords and Amazon. Smashwords will automatically release the ebook to iTunes and Barnes and Noble tomorrow (but of course, you can pre-order it now! Click the big book on the right.) Because Amazon doesn't allow us peons to pre-release, I'll pull the trigger there later on this afternoon, and the Kindle version will probably be available sometime late this evening.<br />
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Funny, I was working on edits as late as yesterday afternoon, when I realized I was doing more harm than good. So those parts you don't like probably happened then. It actually got to the point in proofing the paperback I had to ignore the text, else I'd see something else I wanted to change.<br />
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But nothing's perfect, right? And what's that they say? Don't let perfection be the enemy of the good? (If it's indeed good, that is.) At any rate, toward the end, it was just taking out and putting back in commas, changing the order of words, etc. I think it might be just about ready.<br />
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As noted previously, I'm trying to do everything within my (very limited) power to make this one a success. Tweeting and Facebooking (and blogging) the hell out of it. Doing a Goodreads giveaway (if you're a Goodreads member, click the link over there on the right and enter the drawing!) Tomorrow morning, I'll post something about it over at Kindleboards.<br />
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I've spent lots of time in Caliber and Sigil the past few days and weeks making the ebook as pretty as I can. For what it's worth, I think it came out pretty good. I've also been prettying up some of my older works ("Swash!" in particular -- I'll never understand why folks didn't buy that one) in the hopes that if folks like this one, they'll poke around those as well.<br />
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It'll take a few days for the paperback to become available at Amazon, however I pulled the trigger at Createspace this morning, so if folks don't want to wait for Amazon, you can buy it right now directly from Createspace (the printer) if you want to by <a href="https://www.createspace.com/4539832">clicking this link.</a><br />
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In terms of the book itself, I think it might be the most "me" book I've yet written (now, whether that's a good thing or not remains to be seen . . .) Honestly, I have no idea if it's any good. I've stopped even soliciting beta readers. I didn't hear back from most of them the last time around, and I don't blame them. I do think this one might be pretty good, though. At least, I'm fairly sure there's a good story in there somewhere, even if it might have taken someone more talented than me to find it.<br />
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Something else to be nervous about: I was tempted almost to the last minute to add a disclaimer, something like, "This is a New York City of my imagination. All mistakes are on purpose." I think one of the reasons it took so long for me to write this (a natural sequel to "Nearly Dead") is that I just don't know New York City as well as I do St. Pete or Boston (obviously). Even now, I'm nervous that I have characters looking west to the East River, or east to the Hudson, or something like that. But what's done is done.<br />
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Anyway and in conclusion, if it sounds like a "Poseidon Adventure"-style tale of desperate survivors attempting to escape an impossible situation (except instead of an ocean liner it's New York City and oh, there are zombies) this one might just be up your alley.<br />
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Until tomorrow. And as always, thanks for reading.<br />
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<br />Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-34967375041485729182014-02-07T07:53:00.000-05:002014-07-09T08:33:45.368-04:00A Taste of Sincerity<i>(Please enjoy this excerpt from "Sincerely Dead," my new dark comic zombie novel, available NOW in both Kindle and paperback format from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sincerely-Dead-Brendan-P-Myers-ebook/dp/B00IFRB162/ref=as_sl_pc_tf_mfw?&linkCode=wey&tag=brepmye-20">Amazon.Com</a>.</i><i>)</i><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">N</span>atural sunlight hadn’t made its way into the second floor lobby since at least the Truman administration, but we could see beyond the window that sallow electric light still burned. When we reached the door, Edwin brought his head to the window and peeked through. He took longer than seemed necessary, but when finished, he moved his head aside and looked my way, motioning me to have a look as well. I moved my head toward the window.<br />
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Peering through, I saw the lobby was now an abattoir of body parts and severed limbs, its floor slick with blood and offal. The remains of a naked man lay in a far corner, and what remained wasn’t much. One of the Johns who’d taken a powder, no doubt. I thought it a shame he’d lost his head, because it ended up costing him his head. Having seen enough, I moved my own head away.<br />
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Glancing toward Edwin, I whispered, “I don’t see anything moving, do you?”<br />
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Edwin shook his head. “Even so, we can’t be too careful,” he said quietly. “So, here’s what we’re gonna do. We open the door a crack and see if Paresh is still there . . . and still Paresh, if you know what I mean. Lucy, you keep your hand on the handle and be ready to pull it shut. And you,” he said, looking at me before glancing at my Rossi. “You, be ready for anything.”<br />
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I nodded. Stepping back, I put both hands on my gun and went into my crouch. Lucy put her hands on the door handle and prepared to open it. Edwin clutched his umbrella and bent low.<br />
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“On three,” he said softly, “and Lucy . . . remember . . . just a crack.” After Lucy nodded, Edwin went on. “Ready? One . . . two . . . three.”<br />
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Lucy pulled down on the handle and then pushed the door open an inch. No more. Through the crack, Edwin whispered, “Psst. Paresh. It’s me, Edwin. You still there? You okay?”<br />
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Hearing nothing, he began again. “Psst. Hey, Paresh–”<br />
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The rest happened in a blur.<br />
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Paresh’s familiar Indian-lilted voice shouted.<br />
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“IT ISN’T SAFE!”<br />
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A head appeared in the window.<br />
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Half its face was gone, exposing teeth and gums and sinew.<br />
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An ear was missing.<br />
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It looked me straight in the eye.<br />
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I froze in place.<br />
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I recognized the hat.<br />
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Inhuman grunts and rasping snarls started coming through the now open door. Next, I watched ten Polish sausage-sized fingers reach through the crack, grab the door, and start pulling it open.<br />
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Lucy used all her strength to try to pull the door closed. Almost comically, Edwin pushed his umbrella through the crack and tried stabbing the thing in its legs. I came to my senses.<br />
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Aiming, I pulled the trigger once . . . twice . . . three times, blowing away the fingers.<br />
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The sharp report of the shots in the narrow hallway was near deafening, though not loud enough to muffle the bellowing yelp that came from the other side of the door. I watched what was now left of the hands slowly slither away.<br />
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With nothing pulling against her, Lucy fell backward onto the floor, along the way pulling the door as shut as it would go with Edwin’s umbrella still in it. I looked up and through the window just in time to see a Louisville Slugger fly through the air and bash the thing on its head.<br />
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It remained standing though, appearing stunned for only a moment before cocking its head quizzically and turning in the direction of whoever wielded the bat.<br />
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Running past Lucy, I grabbed Edwin by the collar and yanked him to his feet before throwing open the door. The creature looked ready to pounce.<br />
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Having surrendered the element of surprise, Paresh now held the bat limply in his hands and appeared resigned to his fate. But the undead thing surprised us both. It turned again toward the now open door. The thing and I made eye contact.<br />
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Paresh’s horrific blow had knocked the hat off its head, revealing the balding pate of a man I knew had once tried to move heaven and earth in a doomed attempt to regrow his hair. The fingerless stumps of what were once delicately manicured hands now dripped pools of blood onto the floor. The custom suit that was made special for him in the garment district was now bloody and torn.<br />
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Still, I’d recognize Carmine Caridi anywhere. We’d worked together long enough. He was one of the two bodyguards I’d given the afternoon off so I could have some private time with Gino.<br />
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This was too much.<br />
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Letting out a shrieking howl, Caridi raised his bloody stumps of hands in my direction and began moving toward me with that now familiar shambling gait I’d seen so often in St. Pete.<br />
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It’s funny what goes through your mind when a zombie approaches. As for me, I was thinking that although my experience with New York zombies was thus far limited, having spent some time in St. Pete, I at least had a point of reference, and I was already sure I liked St. Pete zombies better. What was it Sarah had said about them?<br />
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“They only take the assholes”?<br />
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Maybe that was it; or maybe, it was just that I didn’t know any of them. But it seemed obvious to me now that my New York zombie experience was going to be a little bit . . . different than the one I’d had in St. Pete. I almost let out a chuckle as the still growling Caridi came within three feet . . . two feet . . . and then I heard someone shouting.<br />
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“Shoot it! Shoot it in the head!”<br />
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I recognized Edwin’s high-pitched voice. Somewhere in the dark haze of my vision I saw Paresh again prepare with the baseball bat just in case the crazy madman with the gun decided for whatever reason not to use it.<br />
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Coming back to myself, I raised the pistol, aimed between Caridi’s eyes, and pulled the trigger. His head exploded. Brains and bone and gristle went flying through the air. Even so, still he reached out and shambled toward me until, just as he was near enough to grab me, he crumbled to the floor like a felled oak.<br />
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I don’t know how long I stood there. At some point, I started hearing squealing yowls and wailing moans coming up the fabled steps of the Camelot Hotel, the steps I’d walked up only yesterday in a hurry to have a nice, long sleep. The shambling of what sounded like ten-thousand pairs of feet shuffled up the stairway, getting closer and closer, until someone grabbed me by the elbow, turned me around, and hustled me toward and through the still open door.<br />
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<i>Sincerely Dead. The zombie book . . . for the rest of us.</i><br />
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<i>Pick up your copy today!</i>Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-809006730707606097.post-50024988170568232562014-01-27T15:43:00.001-05:002014-02-01T23:10:20.137-05:00The Waiting is the Hardest PartSo I asked a friend recently who enjoys my political snark on twitter if he reads my blog as well, and he answered, "Nah. I checked it out, but it seems like all you do there is try to sell books." Well . . . yeah. It's really the only reason I do it (and frankly, the only reason I'm on twitter too.) Granted, I recognize the best blogs and bloggers write about useful subjects of more general interest, but a writer's blog typically talks about writing and their writing experiences, and yes, tries to sell books.<br />
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He did have some advice for me, though. He said I should blog about politics. But then, we have similar political positions and tend to agree on most things. I wondered then if he'd be so keen to have me blog about politics if we . . . didn't. At any rate, I told him no one wants to hear a novelist's political opinions, just ask Orson Scott Card or Stephen King. In fact, I worry sometimes that talking too much politics on twitter might turn people off my books, and so of late, I'm trying to keep that in check.<br />
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And now, the reason for this post: a quick <i>Sincerely Dead</i> update.<br />
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It's <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/400278">up at Smashwords</a> and on its way to the iTunes store, and should be available for pre-sale there any minute now with an official release date of February 14th, Valentine's Day. Why Valentine's Day? Because I write books with heart, that's why. Really, I do. Love them or hate them, I put a lot of heart into them. I like to think most all of them leave people feeling good.<br />
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And not to make too much of this, but I do feel like I have a lot riding on this one, so I'm being very careful about it and trying to do everything right. I have in the past released books that weren't quite ready and been embarrassed by it. Not going to happen with this one. It's one of the reasons I went the pre-release route, even if not a single person buys it in advance (though I hope they do. Nothing wrong with a little buzz!)<br />
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Another thing I'm doing to make it as successful as I can is putting out a paperback edition, which I haven't done with some of my most recent work. I'm doing it with this one both because it's long enough to support it (150 pages at last count) and also because I think it deserves it. I'm the worst critic of my own stuff, but I truly do think this one is pretty good. I know it has heart, anyway. I know that much.<br />
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Something else I'm doing is updating the prequel short story <i>Nearly Dead</i> with the first two chapters of the new one, and I'm going to make that free again so folks can read the prequel and the first two chapters and hopefully, be intrigued enough to buy the book. I might make <i>The Intersection</i> and maybe another free too and include the first two chapters of the new one. Why the hell not? No one is buying them anyway.<br />
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I'll also be doing a Goodreads giveaway of five signed copies of the paperback edition. I did that with <i>Applewood</i> and it seemed to generate some interest, and though it's been a couple of years since, I think and hope folks might be interested in this one too.<br />
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I've also recently bought some targeted advertising at Goodreads, just a small unobtrusive blurb that pops up in the corner of users screens. I've been surprised and gratified how successful it's been in getting folks to shelve my books. Not buy them, mind you. But still. It's something.<br />
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Of course, I'll be Facebooking and tweeting the hell out of it as well, in hopefully an entertaining and non-spammy way. I'll post an announcement over at Kindleboards on release day.<br />
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In short, I'm trying to do everything I can to make this one a success, because after a half-dozen novels and a few dozen shorts, if folks aren't interested in this one, then I'm going to have to face the fact that one, two, or or all of these are true: a) I can't write, b) I can't or don't know how to sell books, c) I don't write books that people want to read.<br />
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I'd hate to think that, because it would be facing up to the fact I've wasted lots of time these past few years. But life will go on. The world will keep spinning.<br />
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And I'll have lunch.Brendan P. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152826197748921049noreply@blogger.com0