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Welcome to new subscribers from E-Gov. Because many are receiving this free monthly newsletter for the first time, let me tell you what it’s about. Regular subscribers, feel free to skip the next paragraph. TaleCatcher news has four regular sections:
During September, a movie studio inquired about film rights for the novel and Jill and I set up the lone author booth at a tradeshow of publishers and booksellers. Also, the Naked in Cyberspace poster series continued, with the unveiling of the naked cat. Check out those stories and more in News Headlines. Bill Neugent |
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You've Got To Be Kidding |
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What might spyware do? I did not click through to find out. It’s certainly possible for spyware to record every keystroke on the target machine, package them up, and spirit them away. Heck, it could also record what’s said in the vicinity of the target computer. And if the target has a web cam… Well. See you later. |
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Treasure Hunt Clue |
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As always, remember
that this is a game of skill and no purchase is necessary. |
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News Headlines |
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The quest for extreme marketing humiliation continued with an excursion to a tradeshow of publishers and booksellers at the glitzy Borgata casino hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. What could I do to get noticed, I wondered? Easy. Rent a booth on the tradeshow floor, the only author booth in a sea of booksellers and publishers. Hey, I might be different from the rest of them, but at least I could Be a Good NAIBA. What else does an author do to get noticed and sell books? What’s worked best for me have been speeches. I did two during the month, the most prominent being a luncheon keynote speech to 160 people at an E-Gov Information Assurance conference. Two sold-out E-Gov book signings followed that talk. A week later came the role of conference chair at an Information Superiority conference. Other promotion experiences were routine, a three-way video teleconference meeting with the MITRE Knowledge Management Book Club (thank you Antoinette Arsic), an interview with Alison Stern-Dunyak, a delightful MITRE reporter, and a telephone interview with journalist Sharon Gaudin, who had the session published and posted on a Datamation eZine within hours of our chat. Other web sites and at least one email list picked up the story, generating some online sales. At this point, many of you surely are disappointed.
For the past two months this otherwise modest newsletter has featured
a naked gal and a naked guy, both serving the shameless purpose
of drawing attention to the novel. Those of you who hunger for more
flesh will not be disappointed, for the Naked in Cyberspace series
this month features a naked
cat (1,011 KB file). Okay, maybe this wasn’t what you
had in mind, but at the NAIBA tradeshow all three naked images were
featured on T-shirts and the image that drew the most attention,
hands down, was the cat. |
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Whining and Dining |
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Imagine my delight to find my old partner now a host at L’Auberge Chez Francois. The trouble is, there’s nothing to buy. We only visit L’Auberge to dine on their terrace, which by the way has the most spectacular ambience of any outdoor restaurant in the D.C. area, thank you, no contest. The incredible thing about their terrace is that they don’t take reservations. Those are taken only for indoor tables and you have to call weeks in advance. For the far-superior outdoor tables, you just stroll in a few minutes before they open. Voila. We can do that. The thing is, all their tables are great. Bribery is unnecessary. I felt so sorry for my old partner. The food? It’s fine but nowhere near as phenomenal
as the restaurant guides say. For an in-depth assessment of a meal,
see Kathy Wang’s
web log. One feature we enjoy is the assortment of veggies.
We ordered a beef entree with two meaty medallions and a vegetarian
entree and split them. The vegetarian dish had maybe ten different
veggies! This was awesome. I once ordered the vegetarian entree
at the Hunan Lion in Vienna and they dumped before me a colossal
mound of a green leafy thing they might have found on a beach at
low tide. I didn’t know what it was and didn’t want
to know. At L’Auberge, I recognized everything on my plate.
Taken singly, each was routine. In aggregation, the dish was delightful.
As usual for us, the culinary high point proved to be the berry
tart, in the classic French style so rarely found in the U.S. |
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Advertisements |
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Throughout August and September, reality emulated my novel with worms and blackouts. Spread the word by recommending my talk: Cyberterrorism; We’re Toast. The talk gives the story behind the news, is informative and entertaining, and is in great demand. Mandatory honoraria are coming, although I’d prefer organizers buy copies of the novel rather than give me a fee. So far, six groups have bought almost 800 copies and several other groups are considering purchases. Of course, if the organizers don’t buy books for the crowd, then I need to be able to sell and sign books after the talk. Think of this not as an ad, but as a public service announcement, since the novel raises awareness about our national vulnerability to cyberterrorism. Enjoying this newsletter and wish there were more to read? Try the novel. Several people have likened the writing style to that of Robert Ludlum. Incidentally, hardcover copies are now available from Amazon.com and bn.com. |
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Copyright Information |
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Final Notes |
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Contact Information |
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