To put it mildly, with all of the hyperbolic hype, million dollar advertising, sensationalized news, wars, political machinations, terrorist attacks, celebrity scandals, hyperventilating talking heads, and widespread anonymous screaming going on out there these days, it's very difficult to get anyone's attention.
Let me be candid . . .
My last shameless self-promotion fell flat on its face. No one was moved by my lugubrious plea to give my personal Gross Happiness Quotient a much needed boost by buying dozens of my brilliantly entertaining novel as holiday gift. Indeed, I got up every single morning, faithfully checked the New York Times Bestseller List, and frankly was day-after-day quite shocked to not see it debuting in the Top Ten. Just yesterday I finally called the Times to suggest there must be some mistake, but for technical reasons got disconnected. My line must have been crossed with another call because I distinctly heard laughing before the connection went dead.
Anyway . . .
The only conclusion I could draw -- since my Shameless Self-Promotion - Part 1 is without any question so persuasive it probably should be registered as a WMD with the NSA and Department of Homeland Security -- is that no one saw it. Like thousands -- more like millions! -- of extremely vital and noteworthy announcements, it was brutishly swept up and swallowed by the tsunami of nonsensical infotainment being upchucked in copious excess in our world of digital delirium.
So . . .
What can I do? How can I cut through the cacophonous roar and have my message heard?
I sat for hours pondering this. I was so totally absorbed by this conundrum, my new cat, Arthur, used me as a scratching post and I had to throw my sweater away.
Then I remembered a phenomenally effective promotion I used back in L.A. one summer to get my indifferent, drug addled, me-generation friends to attend a pool party!
Back in those wild and crazy Hollywood days, I had put together a invitation mailer with a pic just like the one at the top of this page. In bold letters was this message:
Attend my party or I'll shoot this dog!
The
turnout was spectacular! I felt loved and respected, people ate all
the food and drank all the beer, wine and mixed drinks I provided, and
the life of the dog was spared. What a smashing success! I assure you,
everyone was talking about my Encino pool party bash for weeks
afterwards -- well, at least a couple days or until their hangovers
abated, whichever came first.
So!
The
ball is in your court, readers. You're all incredibly brilliant
people, or you wouldn't be here at this website. Just finish this
sentence and know deep in your heart where it truly counts, that you
stepped up, stood tall, felt the love, and did the right thing:
Buy my book or . . .
And we're not just talking dogs here, folks. It's not just about the whole messy business of dog brains and fragments of canine cranium scattered all over the yard.
We're
also talking $$$! Meaning, saving $$$ big time! And what timing!
This excellent bargain arrives just when your out-of-control holiday
extravagance has the limits on those credit cards being bludgeoned like Conor McGregor's sparring partner!
Dig this!
Just for the holidays, ebooks of The Man Who Loved Too Much - Book 1: Archipelago are specially priced at only $2.99! Does it get better than that, my loyal and gullible chums?
This adventure in credulity and shock wave to literary sensibilities is available from all of the usual suspects. You can even walk into your favorite local book store, and after giving you an enigmatic smile, the clerk can order a copy -- if it's not already right there behind the counter with the nudie magazines.
The Man Who Loved Too Much - Book 1: Archipelago
Amazon (Kindle) . . . amzn.to/1tyIRiw
Amazon (Paperback) . . . amzn.to/1z8F8aD
Apple iBooks . . . apple.co/1nkebQx
Barnes & Noble . . . bit.ly/ZDnQVO
Kobo (Indigo) . . . bit.ly/1Og3q8g
Kobo (US) . . . bit.ly/2qSmc0J
Powell’s Books . . . bit.ly/1mxVXtS
Tower Books . . . bit.ly/1oyzU7T
Smashwords . . . bit.ly/1w62HOX
Direct from printer . . . bit.ly/1r6qWYQ
Poor Billy Green! When he was just turning four, his father tried to throw him in the trash. He was a smart kid but that just seemed to create enemies. His darling mom did everything to protect him. But this was Detroit, armpit of the wasteland! Catholic school didn’t help much, except the time he got his first kiss from an atheist nun. Home life was dismal. Was his father capable of anything but drinking beer and farting? And what was with that neighbor who made puppets and tried to molest Billy? Golly! Detroit was sucking the life out of him. At such a young age. Then adolescence swirled around him. Like water in a toilet bowl. High school was a B movie. Only without a plot. So finally he did something about it. Billy ran away … to college. Cornell University. That was a good move for sure! He studied hard, lost his virginity, met the love of his life. Things were definitely looking up! What could possibly go wrong?
[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]
Shameless Self-Promotion – Part 2
