Ted Bell's Blog: A Writer's Life

Pub Day, April 1st, 2014

I can't wait for Pub Day. I've been in labor for over a year. I've been carrying this puppy around in my brain for even longer. I'm ready for delivery. I'm ready to see my babies in fine airports everywhere, sitting there all shiny and new, ready for takeoff. I want them to fly away, fly off the shelves and take to the skies, adopted by eager foster parents who will carry them aboard and jet away to places I can't even dream of...Chicago...LA....Bayou LaFourche, Louisiana. And I wish them bon voyage and make my way down the concourse, scarcely believing I'm already pregnant with a new idea...Warriors

Book Ads

I imagine I'm not alone in thinking that most ads for books are less than stellar.
A month or so ago I was flipping through the NYT Book Review and lamenting the state of what passes for advertising in the lit world. So I sat down and banged out an ad for my latest book Phantom. It ran in the NYTBR yesterday. Already seeing results.

Plain old black and white, all type, no fancy photoshop images, just an idea.

Which is exactly what's missing in almost
all of the ads running. Good ideas.

I love print advertising and spent many years trying to create ads that actually worked (see VW, Porsche, Chivas Regal, etc). I'd like to explore creating ads for authors who share my frustration with what passes
for effective advertising in publishing.

No idea how this would work, just an interesting notion...love any feedback
from those who share my frustration with the status quo...

Now back to writing my next book.

Phantom: Twists & Turns

I'm excited about PHANTOM for a couple of reasonsPhantom the first of which is I took some chances. I didn't stray from the genre (God forbid!) but I did come upon two paths diverging in a yellow wood and took the one less traveled. I walked a fine line between spy thriller and sci-fi. On the surface, the book is about the emergence of cyberwarfare and a rogue Iranian scientist. But I also tread a fine line here, using the novel to explore the mysteries of Artificial Intelligence, a subject that fascinates me. But there is no "fi" about my "sci" here.
Immersed in the subject I ensured that all the science was strictly legit. As is said in the book, "The difference between science and science fiction is timing." The book hinges upon a question: who is the villain of the piece? The man or the machine? I look forward to hearing how readers react to my choices and decision to "stretch" a little bit?"

One Word Titles

Seemed like a good idea for the first book. But, I have to say I'd kill for an adjective right now. It's getting tough to keep this joke funny...
Ted

http://www.tedbellbooks.com