Whenever I write a book review as part of an author’s or publisher’s promotional campaign, I like to post the review online a few days in advance of the scheduled publication date—enough time to let interested readers and potential book buyers know that the book will soon be available, but not so far out that they’re likely to forget about it before the book reaches the booksellers. Usually, it’s a good strategy, but there are times ….
There are times when my cleverness bites me in the ass. Had I been thinking clearly (and clearly I had not), I would have realized sooner that the October 19th publication date of Robert Greer’s new novel, First of State, came at a time when the political and media propaganda/noise machines would be revving toward their redlines in the run-up to the mid-term elections—a condition virtually guaranteeing that any reference to my First of State review in a blog post would be immediately lost amidst the frenzy. For lack of a better plan, I felt it best to let the din subside first, and then proceed as if that were the plan all along.
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Timothy Hallinan, author of at least ten published novels and one of my favorite living writers, is more than a month into what he calls The Stupid 365 Project—his commitment to make a 300-word (minimum) random-subject blog post at The Blog Cabin every day for a year. Nearing Day 40 and with his resolve intact, Tim hopes to attract some new readers to his blog for the duration. Having been a reader of TS365P from its beginning, I highly recommend that you, too, follow along and, perhaps, leave a comment from time to time. Tim’s writing is often insightful, always thoughtful, sometimes humorous, usually spot-on, and never a waste of one’s time—as evidenced by the online community that seems to be building around this thing. C’mon, join the fun.
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