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Couple Few Reviews

Author: August 20, 2009

Here are two interestin’ reviews found on the web:

“. . .Somers’ Avery Cates books are a bit like a classic noir novel, an action blockbuster and an episode of Leverage in one gritty, dystopian sci-fi package. They are bold, unforgiving exercises in gunfire mayhem, sarcastic banter, and improbable jobs that work just by the skin of their teeth. . .If you’re a sci-fi and/or noir fan, you should be reading these.” — www.jeffersonstolarship.com

“. . .Warning: If you have not read Jeff Somers’ two previous books, skip THE ETERNAL PRISON altogether, since the author is not one to rehash the past events for newcomers. And to be honest, it is a bit of a struggle even for those who have read the novels before it, because Somers tries a different tactic in this third installment that will confound even the most ardent reader.” — Bookgasm

I’m actually kinda pleased by both reactions, because I do think TEP is a little more challenging and complex than previous. So what do y’all think? Too complex? Hard to digest? Be interesting to see what folks think.

File this under: Huzzah!

BAM!, Filthy Lucre

Free Short Stories

Author: August 17, 2009

I don’t know about you, but I remain kind of excited that book #3 in the Avery Cates series, The Eternal Prison, is out. So I’m gonna continue to party like it’s 1999 here. Towards that end I’ve posted two short stories set in the novels’ universe over at http://www.eternalprison.com. The stories are both free to read and distribute as long as my copyright statement is retained.

The story “Oldest Bastard on the Block” was tweeted last week over at http://twitter.com/somers_story.  The story “This Was Education” hasn’t been officially released anywhere before, although some folks will recognize it and chuckle conspiratorially under their breath. Both are set somewhere between The Electric Church and The Digital Plague, with OBB being first in sequence, though they’re not directly related to each other.

Surf on over and enjoy! Comments and feedback very welcome.

BAM!, Writing

Book Giveaway Winners

Author: August 16, 2009

Well, after much debate, consideration, and some contemplative cocktails, I’ve selected the three winners of the Avery Cates signed book giveaway! Congrats to Glenda Gerde, Michael Wallace, and the mysterious Diane in the comments of that post – Diane, contact me with your shipping info!

Thanks to everyone who entered! This was a lot of fun and I’m sure we’ll do it again soon enough.

J

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Book Giveaway

Author: August 9, 2009

Well, the official release date for The Eternal Prison is this week (8/12) and while such dates increasingly don’t mean much (the book’s been spotted in the wild and has been shipping from Amazon for a week) it’s still a handy date to celebrate. So, I’ll be giving away a few books this week.

I’m targeting anyone who might be interested in my books but who hasn’t bought them yet. Since The Eternal Prison is launching this week, I’ll be giving away signed copies of The Electric Church and The Digital Plague, books 1 and 2 in the Avery Cates series, to 3 randomly selected folks who email me at mreditor@innerswine.com or post in the comments on this blog by Friday, August 14, 2009.

Just tell me a) you haven’t read the Cates books, b) you are intrigued by the Cates books and want to give ’em a whirl, and c) if you dig TEC and TDP, you might buy TEP. That’s it! On Friday, I’ll just pick three emails/comments that appeal to me and mail ’em off.  That’s it!

BAM!, More Shit I Gotta Do

Wikipedia Triumph

Author: August 7, 2009

Oh, and I meant to point out that my shiny new Wikipedia page appears to have taken root; at least it’s no longer marked for possible deletion:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Somers

So: THANK YOU ALL. I thought this would just be a fun way of making some noise, but your response was incredible, and within days I have a working WP page just like a real live author. Now I know that if I ever want rival authors dead, small third-world countries overthrown, or reservations at a swanky restaurant, I just need to grouse here.

BAM!

Birthday, Miscellania, Booze

Author: August 7, 2009

Whew, went off the radar there for a day or two, and even a day without constantly responding to emails et al can leave you buried. Especially when you spend those days drinking heavily. So, a couple of things:

1. Tweeted Short Story Fail: I tried to set up the short story tweet over at http://twitter.com/somers_story using an automated twitter tool that allows you to schedule out tweets in advance. This resulted in a jumbled bunch of tweets that made no sense. Sadly, no one noticed. Anyway, I’m going to begin tweeting the Cates short story “The Oldest Bastard on the Block” again today at 3pm, and every going forward until 8/12 or so. And this time it’ll be manually done, so there shouldn’t be any more Fail. or at least no more Fail than usual.

2. I had a birthday. This is what birthday gifts look like at the Somers Compound:

(From left: The Singleton 12yr, Redbreast 12yr, Glenmorangie 18yr, Jameson 18yr) AH, what a time to be alive!

ALSO, and certainly not least, my wife The Duchess got me what may be the greatest gift ever in the history of gifts given to sodden writers. This lovely woman took it upon herself to track down Jae Lee – yes, that Jae Lee, the amazing guy who has done all 3 covers for the Cates books so far – and prevailed upon him to not only sign copies of the Cates books, but to doodle in them as well. Behold Birthday Win:

JL signed me books

So there you have it – I have the best wife in the world, and you do not. Have a great weekend!

BAM!