NO SUCH THING AS BAD PUBLICITY

Ok, so sometimes after a long, hard day at work I like nothing better than to sit down with a bowl of sugar, dip my toes in it and put my foot in my mouth. The sweetness of it all makes me forget how bitter my foot really tastes.

Yesterday I wrote a post, IGNORANCE IS BLISS, and it seems to have caught the attention of more than a few of you. Somehow that post found it’s way to the eyes of Evo Terra, the head honcho over at Podiobooks.com (my guess is by twitter but I don’t know for sure). Evo re-tweeted my post and thanks to him, my website has received the most hits it’s ever seen in a single day. Some of you left comments, some of you downloaded my promo for THE ZOMBIE CHRONICLES and some of you probably read the post and clicked away hating me. The point is that thanks to one little post, the podiobook community came out in droves to correct me in the error of my ways.

But I still got some ’splainin to do…

First off, thank you to all who took the time to read and comment on the post. It’s nice to know that there are people out there who take an interest at getting involved. I fear though that my words have been taken out of context. When I said that “the podiobook community is very tight-knit and breaking in isn’t easy” I DID NOT mean Podiobooks.com specifically. I was using the term podiobook very loosely and not using it to represent a website. I think Podiobooks.com is the shit and I listen to it all the time.

Aside from Podiobooks.com though, it’s hard to get your work noticed unless you are a master at PR. When I said “tight-knit and hard to break into” I just meant that it’s hard to get noticed as a newbie with nothing more than a website and a microphone. Yes I know that Podiobooks.com is there to help but if there were no such thing, then what would you do? Spend hours emailing and sending promos to other podcasters, taking away from your writing and recording? If that’s what it takes, sure, why not. But it’s hard, hard work and it would be a waiting game to get that break, to get that one other podcaster with a gazillion more listeners than you to play your promo and send others your way, getting your own work noticed.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not above hard work. Not in the slightest. I think podcasting a novel is hard work, but it’s all worth it. I do it (or am going to be doing it) for the sheer pleasure and fact that I love writing and well, I might as well put my degree in radio broadcasting to good use and broadcast what I write also.

I just don’t want any of you thinking that I think the Podiobooks.com community is a ‘closed’ community. I know that’s not what they intend it to be and the very presence of one of Mr. Terra’s phone numbers on my blog proves that. By the way, Evo, if you get a call at 3am…it wasn’t me! I myself hope to join them in the future by submitting my novel there to gain more listeners.

Sometimes it can feel like you’re all alone when you’re really not and it can be frustrating at times. You’re brain envisions the worst and your fears take over and in my case when that happens, I write about it.

Regardless of what you may think of me after reading IGNORANCE IS BLISS, it doesn’t matter. I’m just happy you came to visit and HOPE that you keep coming back to see what’s in store. I kind of like causing a bit of a ruckus every once in a while. Don’t mind me…

Now excuse me while I wipe my foot clean.

IGNORANCE IS BLISS

As I get ready to embark on my first ever podcast novel I realize I don’t have the slightest clue as to what I am doing. I mean, I’ve listened to a bunch of them, read the blogs and emailed some of the greats but when it comes right down to it, I am alone in this and that…isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Sure, I worry. Will I have any listeners? Will it be promoted anywhere other than just in the circle of my own friends? And perhaps the greatest worry that plagues me is will it be any good? Those are all natural fears I think though, when going into something like this. I look at the likes of Mur Lafferty and Scott Sigler and Matthew Wayne Selznick and Tee Morris and think to myself, how the hell did they get so many listeners? But my ignorance to all this could be my biggest strength of all.

I just sit down at my computer, record what I’ve written and hope for the best. I send emails, post links and try and do my part but I guess if people think it’s good, they’ll find it. I’ve learned that the ‘podiobook’ community is very tight-knit and breaking in isn’t an easy task. So until I get that ‘big-break’ I will continue to be ignorant in my ways, be a shameless self-promoter (hey it worked for J.C.) and just go on doing my thing.

If I get on your nerves, sorry about that, I’m just trying to be heard. Did I mention I have a podcast novel beginning on September 1, 2008?

The Zombie Chronicles: PROMO

Here is the first official promo for The Zombie Chronicles. If you’re a podcaster, feel free to download it and play it on your broadcast. If you don’t have a podcast, download it anyway and email it to all your friends and help spread the word about September 1, 2008.

 
icon for podpress  TZCPromo [1:35m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Playing for Keeps Launches Monday!

I want to take a few moments out of the work I have been doing for THE ZOMBIE CHRONICLES to bring something to your attention. It will just take a few seconds, I promise…

Monday, August 25, 2008 marks another historic day in the world of podcast fiction as the Queen of the Universe, Mur Lafferty FINALLY gets her shot at the Amazon.com charts.

Playing for Keeps was originally released via podcast in the fall of 2007 but Mur has been podcasting since 2004 and has been writing ever since the age of 13. In 2008, Keeps was picked up by independent publisher Swarm Press and now has it’s official release date in trade paperback on August 25.

If you haven’t heard it or read the free .pdf that Mur has released, I can honestly say that Playing for Keeps is going to rock your socks. It takes place in Seventh City, the birthplace of superpowers and centers around bar owner Keepsie Branson and her friends. All the superheros are self-centered and egotistical and all the villains are manipulative and conniving. When Keepsie comes into possession of an object that the superheroes want and the villains need, all hell breaks loose in Seventh City and Keepsie and her friends are thrust into the middle of a battle that will decide who the real good guys and bad guys are.

This was definitely one of the funnest podcast novels I ever listened to and Mur is so deserving of her book deal with Swarm Press. It’s been a long time coming.

I implore you all to get up on the morning of August 25 and head on over to Amazon.com to purchase one, two or three copies of Playing for Keeps and help Mur get the recognition she deserves for this outstanding debut novel by reaching the top of the charts.

I don’t ask for much people, so when I tell you this is important, just go with me ok?

Official Release Date Set for ‘THE ZOMBIE CHRONICLES: ESCAPE’

The release date has been set for the first in a series of podcast novels, THE ZOMBIE CHRONICLES

Book One: ESCAPE, Episode #1 will debut right here on September 1, 2008

More details to follow including what it’s all about and a special preview of Episode #1

Keep it bookmarked right here to stay up to date on everything ZOMBIE!