Writing is About Putting Yourself to Words

• Operative Reveals Cyber Terrorist Plot

  2008 Aug 28

  In my last post, The Starbucks Caper…, I thought I was going to meet the mysterious Jake Stone, who claims he was a covert operative for the CIA, NSA and other secret groups and that he has top-secret information to reveal that will shock the world. Instead, I received a Starbucks gift card and a letter with time sensitive ink. As I read the letter sitting in my car, the ink began to vanish. Luckily, I was able to photograph most of it with my phone before it disappeared. Here is what he wrote:

  A secret group of powerful and well-funded individuals calling themselves ICER have hacked into a newly developed wireless device installed in cell towers by Homeland Security after 911 that can reprogram any computer from aircraft to PDAs. The hackers also turned the device into a powerful weapon that can kill any living creature in its swath using cell phones as tracking devices.

  It is believed these people can hack into any computer system including the power grid, banks, and other critical infrastructure systems with this technology.

  No one knows for sure which cell towers contain the devices so the devices cannot be destroyed unless every cell tower in the US is disabled. They are fully integrated into the cell tower equipment and whoever is controlling them now changed our access codes so we can’t get in to turn them off. These devices were built with the highest security levels available…512-bit encryption…we couldn’t break the code in 200 years using all the computer power of all the computers on the Internet. We would have to destroy at least two thirds of the cell towers in the country to stop them.

  
  JS

  

  

  

• The Starbucks Caper - Is This for Real?

  2008 Aug 21

  

  You won’t believe this, but after I arrived home from work yesterday my phone chimed – a text message from Jake Stone, the alleged CIA, NSA operative I mentioned in my previous post, Clandestine Operative Hints at Cyber Terrorism Plot.
  

  
  

  The message said,

  “Go to the Starbucks closest to you and order a tall Caffe Misto. Pay with your debit card. JS”

  What no time? Now I’m thinking this is so melodramatic like a cheap spy movie from television’s black and white days. So I immediately drive to the nearest Starbucks – a freshly built, clean structure that had yet to earn its handful of regulars.
  

  
  

  An older man, white beard, glasses and wearing a cheap imitation of a captain’s hat and faded jeans, sat alone at one of the wired tables near the entrance. That’s him, I thought, but then why would he make himself so obvious? I went in and ordered the Caffe Misto. I handed the barrister my debit card and waited for her to swipe the card and hand it back. Instead, she walked over to the barrister preparing my coffee and spoke in whispers. This is it, I thought, I’m dead meat. I danced nervously at the counter ready to bolt out at the slightest movement.

  “Sir, your coffee,” he said.

  With that he handed me my coffee and debit card.

  “Sorry for the delay. We have to check all the cards now. There's a theft ring in the area.”

  Popeye sitting outside must be my man. I started for the door and stopped as two little girls about five or so ran up to him followed by their mother, a thirty something woman wearing a billowing summer dress that made her look forty. Nice cover, I thought.

  “Oh, sir this is for your trouble,” the young man said holding up a sealed Starbucks envelope.

  “What is it?”

  “A gift card.”

  “For my trouble?”

  “Yeah.”

  I leave and notice Popeye and his crew have sailed off. Back in the car, I open the envelope. It’s a gift card all right with a form letter thanking me for buying Starbucks coffee. I throw it down on the seat and start the car. I’m about to pull away when I notice letters forming on the back of the letter. It’s new information from Jake Stone.

  

  

  

• Clandestine Operative Hints at Cyber Terrorism Plot

  2008 Aug 18

  I really don’t know how to put this, but I recently received a strange email from person calling himself, Jake Stone, saying he is involved with the CIA, NSA and other clandestine organizations and that he was now in a position to reveal information about cyber terrorism that will shock the world. My spam blocker didn’t even pick up the email and the domain server and IP address don’t exist when I tried to track its source.

  He asked that I post several pieces of information on this blog since my upcoming book, DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM, touches on the very things he is involved with. The problem is my book is fiction with elements I made up from my research, but he says much of it is fact. I don’t know why he chose my blog – traffic to my site is not stellar and I can only conclude that maybe he doesn’t want to make a big splash right out of the box.

  Here’s what he wrote:

  “I am now in a position to reveal information that will shake the foundations of our government and the world. My family is dead, killed, and I have a rare cancer that is eating my life away each day. I have nothing to lose.

  There is a secret group of powerful and well-funded individuals who plan to use the Internet, cell phones and computers to do something so devastating, so destructive that when it happens the world’s jaw will drop.

  All this crap about the New World Order, Ameros and these massive retention centers they are building in Texas is just a ruse to throw off the most intelligent and resourceful conspiracy buffs like Michael Tsarion and Jordan Maxwell. All of that is to get people’s attention away from the real conspiracy – the group’s devastating agenda. Think about how easy it is to manipulate information on the Internet and in the press. You may not even believe what I’m saying, but there are signs and I will show you how to spot them.

  Read Valerie Plame’s Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House and you will get a glimpse of what I’m talking about, but take it with a grain of salt because the CIA has redacted the book. Better to read Laura Rozen’s afterword. She’s a Washington journalist who does not accept the official spoon fed information as truth. 60 Minutes just aired a piece on Plame because her story now rings true in light of President Bush’s popularity ratings.

  That’s all I can safely say right now.

  JS”

  I put in the links on his post.

  

  

  

• Future Trends of Publishing

  2008 Jun 18

  I was recently a guest blogger on Joe Wikert’s Publishing 2020 Blog with a post on the future trends of publishing. Here are the first few paragraphs. Click on the link below to read the rest of the story.

  I recently caught a broadcast on my local NPR station from American Public Media about the troubled book publishing industry.

  The most recent trend is that bookstores are ordering more books than they could ever sell because they are trying to compete with online book stores. They fear, according to the report, that if customers cannot find what they are looking for, they will go home and order the book online. Their fear is justified – after all, the average big box bookstore like Borders can stock approximately 100,000 titles while Amazon can list millions.

  While book publishers may be rejoicing over increased orders, the orders are really a double-edged sword because the bookstores can return any books they don’t sell after 90 days.

  To add to the problem, some bookstores are returning books before the 90-day window, waiting a week and then ordering more books. Now they have another 90 days to pay for the books and whatever they don’t sell they can return without losing a dime, according to the broadcast. More evidence that the publishing industry’s consignment model no longer works. Add to that decreasing book sales and you have a formula for disaster.

  You can read the rest of the story by going to Joe Wikert’s blog.

  

  

  

• Cyber Attacks are like Sex: No one wants to talk about it

  2008 Apr 19

  It's one of America's well-kept secrets - cyber attacks. No longer the pranks of computer whiz kids it is now the new espionage of the 21st Century.
  
  Hacking into government networks has become the mantra of nation states, organized crime and the web of terrorists.
  
  You will rarely hear about it in the news unless a major site is taken down because governments and businesses don't want to invite others; don't want to appear vulnerable or short sighted and don't want the world to know they had inferior security on their networks.
  
  But it goes deeper - this is the espionage of the 21st Century and governments around the world are doing it on a massive scale. The NSA, CIA, FBI and Homeland Security are all actively involved in cyber security and attack prevention. It is now a matter of national security.
  
  I have always believed that one day hackers would be powerful enough to take control of one of our country's major infrastructures like air control, electricity or the Internet. This belief spawned DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM, my high-tech thriller about a clandestine group who manage to hack into the nation's power grid and cell phone network and hold the US hostage.
  
  My book is fiction, but more and more of it is coming true everyday. Business Week ran an in depth article in its April 21, 2008 issue "The New E-spionage Threat," about the rising attacks on America's most sensitive computer networks. Here's a quote from the article.
  

  "The U.S. government, and its sprawl of defense contractors, have been the victims of an unprecedented rash of similar cyber attacks over the last two years, say current and former U.S. government officials. "It's espionage on a massive scale," says Paul B. Kurtz, a former high-ranking national security official."
  

  And if you think that is scary, hackers brought down an entire country in May 2007. Tiny Estonia had to shut the Internet down throughout the country to prevent hackers from disrupting their infrastructure as reported in the September article in Wired Magazine, "Hackers Take Down the Most Wired Country in Europe."
  
  The plot of DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM is similar only it happens in the United States. And if you don't think the threat is real read the first 100 pages of my novel by clicking here or buy the eBook at Lulu.com.
  

  

  

  

• So You Are Still Not Sure About Self-Publishing?

  2008 Apr 10

  

  

  

• Amazon's BookSurge Decision a Harbinger?

  2008 Apr 04

  Amazon recently announced that it will no longer list print-on-demand books unless they are printed through their own POD publisher, BookSurge. The decision has started an avalanche of shock and awe not only among POD publishers, but traditional publishers as well.
  

  New York Literary Agent Richard Curtis and founder of E-Reads said it is a harbinger of book censorship.
  He writes,
  

  "While you're trembling, consider the possibility of a mega-retailer ultimately deciding what you read as well as how and where it's printed."

  Pretty scary stuff. You can read the rest of the story on his blog, The Nine Gazillion Pound Gorilla Bares its Fangs.
  
  And there's more. Read Mr. Curtis' follow up post, Direct Sales... about how publishers may deal with Amazon.
  

  

  

  

• The Writer's Edge: The Science of Rejection

  2008 Feb 27

  The Writer's Edge: The Science of Rejection
  
  Ever try to read between the lines of the mountains of rejection letters you received from literary agents? Take a look at my post on The Writer's Edge for some answers.

  

  

  

• SIMPLY WAIT: THANK YOU! from Patry Francis

  2008 Feb 01

  I just received this email from Karen Dionne of Backspace and one of the wonderful people who helped organize THE LIAR'S DIARY BLOG DAY on Tuesday, Jan. 29.
  
  

  "In the end, very nearly 400 bloggers helped move her novel from a ranking of 55,000 on amazon at the start of the day, to #1 in Mystery, 375 overall by evening. Those statistics prove the day was a success, but we knew it would be even before the day began because we could see the groundswell of support, feel the sense of community.

  Canada's National Post did a story about our effort on the 29th, and the next day, told us it was their third most-read online article EVER. We're hoping that others in the print media will now come on board. What took place was a remarkable demonstration of the power of the Internet community, and deserves to be told. And of course, we hope Patry's sales continue to soar, and more important, that her recovery goes smoothly."
  
  

  And don't forget to read Patry's thank you on her blog, SIMPLY WAIT: THANK YOU!
  
  

  

  

  

• Update to THE LIAR'S DIARY BLOG DAY!

  2008 Jan 30

  
  UPDATE TO THE UPDATE - Thanks to Richard Cooper, one of the 300 bloggers who just pointed out that Patry's book soared to the Number One position on Amazon for Psychological and Suspense fiction yesterday. Check out his blog with the screen shot of this phenomenal success story.
  
  

  ***
  

  The power of the Internet and more specifically the power of blogs proved to be a significant force yesterday in the publishing world.
  
  Patry Francis' THE LIAR'S DIARY jumped from a sales rank of 26,701 to 380, up 6,926% on Amazon.com. The book was the 2nd largest gainer in sales in 24 hours as of yesterday afternoon.
  
  Her current rank on Amazon is 440 up from 10,947 or a 2,387% increase in sales! Thanks to the selfless efforts of more than 300 bloggers who wrote about Patry yesterday and all the wonderful people who bought her book.
  
  Take a look at my post below and the links there to realize the reach of this noble effort.