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Announcing a month of book giveaways! Day 23

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Game of Cages will be coming out on the last day of the month, so I’ve decided to hold a special month of book giveaways. Every day (unless I screw up, which I probably will) I’ll give away a book or themed set of books to someone who asks for it. To enter, you have to comment on this blog or on my LiveJournal–email, Facebook, and Twitter won’t count, and if more than one person speaks up, I’ll roll a die to determine the recipient. U.S. residents only, please.

You get a new book every day, and on the last day of the month I’ll give away my own.

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It’s an eye-witness history of WWII, as written by AP correspondents. Want it?

Update: This book has been won.

Announcing a month of book giveaways! Day 22

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Game of Cages will be coming out on the last day of the month, so I’ve decided to hold a special month of book giveaways. Every day (unless I screw up, which I probably will) I’ll give away a book or themed set of books to someone who asks for it. To enter, you have to comment on this blog or on my LiveJournal–email, Facebook, and Twitter won’t count, and if more than one person speaks up, I’ll roll a die to determine the recipient. U.S. residents only, please.

You get a new book every day, and on the last day of the month I’ll give away my own.

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A Patricia Cornwell giftpack. Want to read some works by this bestselling author?

Update: These books have been won.

Announcing a month of book giveaways! Day 21

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Game of Cages will be coming out on the last day of the month, so I’ve decided to hold a special month of book giveaways. Every day (unless I screw up, which I probably will) I’ll give away a book or themed set of books to someone who asks for it. To enter, you have to comment on this blog or on my LiveJournal–email, Facebook, and Twitter won’t count, and if more than one person speaks up, I’ll roll a die to determine the recipient. U.S. residents only, please.

You get a new book every day, and on the last day of the month I’ll give away my own.

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That’s one old-fashioned Advertising Novel (MAD MEN w/out the ironic distance) and three dumb humor books. And yes, that middle one is full of ethnic jokes with blanks where you can add whatever ethnicity you want to offend. I’m sure it seemed like progress at the time. Want these? Leave a comment to let me know.

Update: These books have been won.

Randomness for 8/20

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1) This is one excellent ad for a pen. Large images, but no video. I’d show these to my son, but then I’d have to buy him a couple. I especially love the UF heroine.

2) Have a spare million dollars? Maybe you can come up with story ideas as good as J.D. Salinger’s if you sit where he sat.

3) Have you been seeing computer folks talking about “P=NP” lately? Have you wondered what it is? Here’s your explanation.

4) An article featuring several writers who are also parents, and how they manage it. One of them happens to be me. Give it a read if you like.

5) INCEPTION… starring Dora the Explorer. Video.

6) “Can you tell me who the author of Shakespeare is?” and “What kind of bookstore doesn’t have anything on BAYWATCH?”

7) Better book titles.

When I want to feel virtuous, I think about my backup system

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Yeah, I’m a computer backer upper, and I’m damn happy, too. The first few times I lost files–always a few day’s work, never an entire project, thank Pikachu–I thought “I should back up more in the future.”

And I would be diligent about it… for a while. But I’m a lazy bastard, so what I really needed was an automated system. Which I did. (Ask me about my backup protocol!)

First, I do my writing on my laptop. There’s an 8GB travel drive on a lanyard around my neck, so whenever I finish a day’s work I copy the changed files to there. Those files (plus a number of family/kiddie pics) are as safe as I am.

I also copy the files to my dropbox folder. Dropbox is not only an online backup service, it syncs files with my home computer. As soon as I have a wifi connection, Dropbox copies the updated file to their server, then downloads it to my desktop computer at home.

Copying the files to those two places is the only part of this I have to remember to do. It takes less than 20 seconds, which is apparently just on the correct side of onerous for my lazy self.

Dropbox gives me 2GB for free (plus a little extra I get for referrals–anyone want a free backup and sync service? Lemme know)

Once the file is on my desktop, Time Machine automatically backs it up to the 2TB external hard drive on my desk. I also have Mozy, which, for five bucks a month, backs up everything in my dropbox folder plus all our family photos and home movies.

That’s two external hard drives, two online servers, and two computers. Excessive? Maybe. But to me it feels like virtue.

Announcing a month of book giveaways! Day 20

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Game of Cages will be coming out on the last day of the month, so I’ve decided to hold a special month of book giveaways. Every day (unless I screw up, which I probably will) I’ll give away a book or themed set of books to someone who asks for it. To enter, you have to comment on this blog or on my LiveJournal–email, Facebook, and Twitter won’t count, and if more than one person speaks up, I’ll roll a die to determine the recipient. U.S. residents only, please.

You get a new book every day, and on the last day of the month I’ll give away my own.

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Thinking of making an independent film? Want to learn more about making that art form you love? Don’t understand who those people onstage receiving the Best Picture Oscar did to deserve it? Leave a comment and let me know you want this book.

Update: This item has been won.

Announcing a month of book giveaways! Day 19

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Game of Cages will be coming out on the last day of the month, so I’ve decided to hold a special month of book giveaways. Every day (unless I screw up, which I probably will) I’ll give away a book or themed set of books to someone who asks for it. To enter, you have to comment on this blog or on my LiveJournal–email, Facebook, and Twitter won’t count, and if more than one person speaks up, I’ll roll a die to determine the recipient. U.S. residents only, please.

You get a new book every day, and on the last day of the month I’ll give away my own.

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Pretty self-explanatory. Want it? Let me know.

Update: This book has been won.

Announcing a month of book giveaways! Day 18

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Game of Cages will be coming out on the last day of the month, so I’ve decided to hold a special month of book giveaways. Every day (unless I screw up, which I probably will) I’ll give away a book or themed set of books to someone who asks for it. To enter, you have to comment on this blog or on my LiveJournal–email, Facebook, and Twitter won’t count, and if more than one person speaks up, I’ll roll a die to determine the recipient. U.S. residents only, please.

You get a new book every day, and on the last day of the month I’ll give away my own.

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And now, one for the ladies! Readers of a certain age (like me!) will remember Dr. Joyce Brothers from her appearances on afternoon talk shows of the seventies and earlier. Mike Douglas used to have her on all the time. At the time, she seemed like a sensible person, but has her thinking on women withstood the test of time?

Let’s take a peek at the table of contents, shall we?

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Yep, this book titles Women is actually all about men and kids. BTW, the table of contents is on this page only, so the bottom “Everywoman” section that looks like it might be continued on the next page is actually just as truncated as it appears.

Caution: may cause outrage and or angry blog posts. The other book is a satire; I include it as a palate cleanser. If you want them, leave a comment saying so.

Update: These items have been won.

Announcing a month of book giveaways! Day 17

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Game of Cages will be coming out on the last day of the month, so I’ve decided to hold a special month of book giveaways. Every day (unless I screw up, which I probably will) I’ll give away a book or themed set of books to someone who asks for it. To enter, you have to comment on this blog or on my LiveJournal–email, Facebook, and Twitter won’t count, and if more than one person speaks up, I’ll roll a die to determine the recipient. U.S. residents only, please.

You get a new book every day, and on the last day of the month I’ll give away my own.

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Video novels? you ask yourself. What does that look like? Try this:

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Yep, it’s the pilot episode of MORK AND MINDY in fumetti format. If you want to know what’s inside the video novel of National Lampoon’s Class Reunion, enter to win!

This is my sad face, indie bookstore edition

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Everyday this month, I’ve posted about a book giveaway, and I’ve included a link to indiebound.org’s listing of Game of Cages every day. In fact, I’ve had a link in the sidebar of my blog for months.

And while I’ve had dozens of click-throughs, no one has bought a book from them.

My bookstore-loving brain is hoping that those sales will show after the book is officially published (which is 8/31–only two weeks away OMG), but come on, Child of Fire has been out since the end of last September, nearly 11 months ago, and no one has ordered that, either.

It’s sad to say that those links aren’t working for me, as much as I’d like them too. I’ll check the affiliate stats again in September, but it looks like I’ll be dropping those links from my site. Which is too bad; I’ve ordered books through indiebound, and it’s a good system.