Saturday, April 21, 2007

On Becoming A "Pusher" For Scott Sigler.

















Yes. I said a "pusher" for Scott Sigler. And just who in the hell is he? An overnight smash in the Science Fiction world, fifteen years in the making. Here is some information on his books, some in print, or available only as pod casts:

Books in print from amazon.com.
Books as pod casts from podiobooks.com, podshow.com

EarthCore Synopses (from scottsigler.net)

Deep below a desolate Utah mountain lies the largest platinum deposit ever discovered. A billion-dollar find, it waits for any company that can drill a world's record, three-mile-deep mine shaft.

EarthCore is the company with the technology, the resources and the guts to go after the mother lode. Young executive Connell Kirkland is the company's driving force, pushing himself and those around him to uncover the massive treasure.

But at three miles below the surface, where the rocks are so hot they burn bare skin, something has been waiting for centuries. Waiting ... and guarding. Kirkland and EarthCore are about to find out firsthand why this treasure has never been unearthed.

print

pod cast

ANCESTOR SYNOPSES (from scottsigler.net)
On a remote island in Lake Superior, scientists struggle to solve the problem of xenotransplantation -- using animal tissue to replace failing human organs. Funded by the biotech firm Genada, Dr. Claus Rhumkorrf seeks to recreate the ancestor of all
mammals.

By getting back to the root of our creation, Rhumkorrf hopes to create an animal with human internal organs. Rhumkorrf discovers the ancestor, but it is not the small, harmless creature he envisions. His genius gives birth to a fast-growing evil that nature eradicated 250 million years ago -- an evil now on the loose, and very, very hungry.

Print

Pod Cast

Infection aka Infested (Due to a movie named "Infection" Print release will be called Infested.
Infection (from podiobooks.com)
Perry Daswey is 6-foot-5, 265 pounds of angry ex-linebacker. He knows all too well that if he doesn't control his quick temper, people get hurt. Through constant focus, he has locked his violent past away in the deep dungeons of his mind. The infection changes everything. Strange,..
Pod Cast

The Rookie (my synopses):

Get your football and science fiction fix here. You've never experienced sports like this. Big money politics, crime, gridiron action with humans and aliens. Prejudice has graduated to a whole new level.
Pod Cast:
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These books deal with mature themes, strong language "...and lots and lots of violence." quoting from Scott's pod cast introduction. He can best be described as a writer of science Fiction, horror and the suspense-thriller, all rolled into one fabulous story. Each book has been better then the last.

My personal favorite is Infection because it deals with a terrifying new disease. Ancestor is the runner-up as it deals with genetic engineering run a muck. Some of the theory in this story is now actual experimental "success" today. This is the kind of story which will cause you to gasp at some of our current "discoveries". Just because something can be done, does not mean it should be done.

So, I attended Scott's book signing for Ancestor's print release. We junkies were about fifteen in number. This event was held at Borderlands Books, in San Francisco. Scott read an action-packed episode from the story. The scene takes place aboard a plane, flying through a storm, where we get our first good look at a well-intentioned medical experiment gone haywire.

Scott took questions from us Junkies, Pushers, and Super Pushers. How did this all get started? We loved EarthCore so much and some started calling it EarthCrack. From there we whined about having to wait for new episodes like a bunch of "junkies" and so we are. A few of his fans are almost as entertaining as Scott's stories.

We call up on his "gore" line and cry for the next episode, complain about his technical errors and other "mistakes. Scott takes it all in stride. Oh, no he doesn't, he cops an attitude. His first out-going message on the "gore" line was something like: "If you are calling to criticize me, look I'm sensitive. Just shut your clambaster and enjoy the damn story! All right?"

Scott puts his calls on special "bonus" pod cast episodes for the rest of us Junkies to enjoy. We have engaged in discussions of... well, several parts of the male anatomy. Some have taken the roles of new characters as additions to his stories with new side plots. I have had much fun acting out frantic examples of a junkie in "withdrawal". And of course there is the occasional spoof on one of Scott's technical screw-ups. We junkies speak to him in the most loving and appreciative terms.

"Scott, this is Tim from somewhere. Scott, you sick @#$%!" (rhymes with truck). Scott says it is things like this which make his mother proud! Sigler has the best stichk I've heard in a long time!

But behind the banter is a solid, serious businessman, as well as a creative talent. After messing around trying to get published the good old fashioned way (and getting nowhere), he released EarthCore as a free pod cast. His audience has grown with each subsequent book release. He changed agents and got a small publisher to handle printing Ancestor. Scott was also recently interviewed in the New York Times.

Then it was time for Scott to make a subtle little statement to the publishing establishment. He requested that if we were going to purchase Ancestor, we should all buy it from amazon.com at 9 AM April 1, 2007. He wanted to push his book to the top. We complied to the tune of 3,800 books sold in three days!

Needless to say, this got noticed by larger publishers and Crown Books, won an auction for the rights to three books. As I said, Sigler's an overnight sensation in the making for fifteen years.

Scott intends to reward his "original junkies", by keeping track of us and giving us special "original junkies only" stuff. Networking with his fans will further "enlighten" the publishing industry. Scott is grateful to his fans for quick and consistent feedback on his work. He is not offended by our feedback, no matter how he might howl in response to a "gore line" call. Scott sees the aspect of networking with a fan base as the next wave in publishing. People who get content for free, which they like, will buy that content. This radically changes the power structure within the publishing industry and some of the old school folks don't like it one little bit.

So, Mr. S.,you keep spinning your yarns, getting sassy with us junkies while planning your domination of the world. We junkies will keep calling in; some of us making complete fools of ourselves. We'll keep buying your books and pushing your stuff 'cause, dude:

YOU'RE ONE HELL OF A GOOD WRITER!

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Twitter: Ah, Come On - Give Me A Tweet!

Some of you are grumbling about me losing the ability to type. A subtle hint for a blog post, I presume. Well, read this.

You gotta check out something called twitter.com. Its a silly little site where you can leave tiny messages for all your friends. Each message is a tweet! Then you get to look around and invite people (only to realize some of the coolest ones are already on the site).

One of you can't be bothered. How sad. It sounds silly, and maybe it is, but twittering is also a great way to get the word out to the public, or just those you choose as your "friends" about what you are up to professionally, or otherwise.

So like don't live in defeat! Give me a tweet!