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Hear ye, hear ye!

Michael 7 Comments

At the end of August, I promised you an announcement “sometime in September.” It’s September. Sit back and allow me to announce.

The announcement is there will be an announcement next week. That announcement will be the cover reveal for my first piece of fiction, Bad Impressions, the first in the series following Marc and Aimee as they investigate the disappearances, and sometimes over appearances, of “art, sculptures, precious gems, and the types of doodads that the rich and famous tend to collect.” And what would a good investigation be without a murder or two.

But not to have an announcement-less announcement post I am also announcing the formation of my ARC reader team, the Advance Review Copy reader team for Bad Impressions. Technically the pre-announcement for that as the official invitations won’t go out until next Monday when the new website and social sites go live. But you, dear bloggers, get first crack at submitting your desire if you have a desire of joining. Spaces are limited so if you desire, I suggest you act on that soon.

Here is how the ARC program works. I will send you a free e-book copy of Bad Impressions in exchange for an honest review on Goodreads. Details including dates and method of submitting your reviews will be sent by email to those chosen for the ARC team.

Some details about Bad Impressions. The book is a cozy mystery with some overlap with romantic comedy. Think of Marc and Aimee as the twenty-first century equivalent of Nick and Nora Charles. Or so they think.

Date to know:

  • October 5: “Official” ARC Invitations released.
  • October 6: Cover reveal, website,and social media sites go live. Subscriptions to newsletter opens.
  • October 20: Pre-order period open for ebook, paperback, and hard cover
  • November 3: Bad Impressions released to all major distributors!

Care for a taste:

       They, those who are learned enough in this world to qualify as ‘they,’ say it should be a goal of every investigator that a murder is solved within 48 hours. I take exception to that. I don’t want to get ahead of things here, but I am an investigator of sorts, and I never strove (hmm, I never have striven?) . . . I have never challenged myself to solve a murder within 24 hours. That I am not an investigator of murders may have something to do with that. I am, as I said, an investigator of sorts, and without giving too much away this early in the telling, the sort I was investigating was the sudden appearance of too many originals. Originals as in paintings that is. Impressionist paintings to be as specific as I can be, again, without giving too much away.

What can you do now?

So yes, if that’s just the first paragraph you want to read more and you can want until November! If you want your free ebook version of Bad Impressions impressions in exchange for an honest review, send your name and email address to my personal email, mrossrph@msn.com and I’ll see you are sent an invitation to join the ARC team.

Buttons, Buttons, Self-Controlling Buttons

Michael Leave a comment

In our last post we riled for a bit about buttons.  Buttons on the remote controls that we’re certain on there just to frustrate us when we’re trying to change channels in a dark room. We’ve discovered another set of buttons that are out to rule the world.  Unlike the irritating but basically innocent buttons of remote controls, household appliances, even car radio and climate controls, these buttons pose threats and real danger.  They are the buttons on your hand held electronic devices.

Phones, readers, and tablets all have those cunning buttons along their edges, built into the seams separating the front and back pieces, hiding where nobdoy with fat fingers or long nails can reach but are pushovers for a little pressure from a nearby pen in a briefcase.  Yes, they are…turned on remotely.

Consider these real life examples.  On a recent trip, He of We dutifully turned off his phone before boarding and slipped it into his carry-on soon to be stowed under the seat in front of him.  When arriving at his destination, he took it out to text his progress to She of We and discovered it was already on.  It was on without him having to have held the power button in until his finger went numb. Not long ago at a food court a young lady a couple tables away shrieked (yes, shrieked) in horror and dismay that her tablet not only turned itself on in the depths of her classic messenger bag, but had also drank up the last of the juice in its battery.

Power switches work both ways.  Both of We have had readers and phones turn themselves off.  Usually He of We’s phone magically turns itself off sometime before She of We calls, thus prompting wonderings of why he bothers to carry a phone that he never answers.

Turning electronics on or off isn’t all these device controllers do for themselves.  No, these pieces of silicon and solder switch modes, take pictures, open files, and call friends or relatives with no human assistance.  Remember that the next time your phone rings and you’re standing in the middle of an intersection yelling “Hello, hello.  You pocket dialed me again!” into it.

Buttons, buttons.  If they aren’t frustrating you when you can’t figure out what they do, they’re frustrating you by doing things on their own.  Maybe when the day of everything being voice activated comes along it wil all be better.  Yeah, right.

Now, that’s what we think. Really. How ‘bout you?