Jackson Coppley's Blog, page 22

Book Store Orders More Leaving Lisa

Browseabout Books has gone through their first stocking of Leaving Lisa and we just restocked them with fresh, signed copies. Get a copy today before these are all gone.

Steve Jobs and Me

That’s a bold heading isn’t it: “Steve Jobs and Me.” Who do I think I am? Well I considered “Bill Gates and me,” but Steve, bless his departed soul, is more topical and, although I’ve met both men on several occasions, Steve does win in the department of personal magnetism. I’ve described Bill as the most average guy you’ll ever meet. That is not a dig in any way. He’s the kind of guy you want as your doctor or your lawyer (no mystery in the later since both his parents were attorneys). He’s solid and dependable. Steve is the guy you want as your rock star.In the late eighties and early nineties, the golden age of personal computers, I was touring the world hawking a software product I invented (that’s a story for another post, another day). I attended conferences with the Software Publishers Association, of which I was a member, and a nominee for special achievement (again, another day’s post). Steve was at our conference in Montreal, hawking the Next computer. If you follow the life and times of Steve Jobs, this was the time after he was fired from Apple and when he started a new computer company, Next.I’d already read all about Steve. He was supposedly egotistic and tended toward odd regimens such as ‘not eating anything with eyes.’ But the thing that I felt unforgivable was his paternity denial. Here I was, a responsible father, married, raising two kids, and Steve denied being the father of his daughter Lisa, forcing the mother of his child to depend on welfare while he raked in millions. Grrr. So, here I was, walking into a small room, ready to meet this cad, this scoundrel, this man of ill repute, with my head held high and my view of him squarely down my nose. After a few minutes with this bad boy of Silicon Valley, what was my reaction? I was totally captivated.Steve talked with passion, totally focused on what he was selling. What was it? I cannot remember. But what I’ll never forget was how he said it. There was a fire in the belly that bubbled up through those dark eyes of his. My impression: “I want to do whatever this guy is doing.”My next encounter with Steve was some time after that, in Cannes, at another software conference, in another hotel suite. The charm was still burning bright. If he said, ‘Let’s take this hill,’ you wanted to follow, even if you didn’t know exactly what that meant.Now we have a number of Steve Jobs portrayals out there in film. I watched each wondering if they would be like the Steve Jobs I met. Fassbender did a reasonable performance, but it would be hard to nail the man himself. You just had to be there.(Comments? Drop me a line atwww.JacksonCoppley.com/contact)

My Blog

Welcome to my blog. When I considered blogging, I stopped and asked “Does anyone still do that?” In this age of Tweets and Facebook postings, who has time for something more than 140 characters, plus a cute cat video? Well, perhaps if someone has something worth reading, someone will spend the time reading it. When you buy my novel, you’re taking on a commitment of 7 or 8 hours. Here, I promise to just take up a few minutes. So grab a cup of coffee and I’ll try to make those few minutes worth while.

Book Signings

I will be signing copies of Leaving Lisa during the following times and places:July 23   3-6 PM   Bear Trap Dunes   7 Clubhouse Dr, Ocean View, DEJuly 24   2-5 PM   Touch Of Italy      6600 Coastal Hwy, Ocean City, MD

Leaving Lisa is Now Available

Leaving Lisa is now available on Amazon in paperback. The Kindle version is available July 23, but you can preorder now and it will automatically be downloaded to your device then.

Leaving Lisa is Coming

Thanks to all beta readers of Leaving Lisa, my new groundbreaking novel. The book is in production and will be available soon. Leave us a note on the CONTACT page to receive notice when it's available.

Letter to editor of Time Magazine

In your article iNeed?, Grossman and Vella state “Once you’re OK with wearable technology, the only way forward is inward. That is exactly the premise of the short story ‘Google Boy’ in my recently released book Tales From Our Near Future. We now can ‘google’ any question to receive the answer, take any name to find all public information on a person we just met, and guide ourselves to the best place to eat based where we are standing at the moment. In ‘Google Boy,’ I show how social interaction might be for someone who has absorbed the technology internally.Social changes in the age of advanced technology are subtle and seductive. The first time I saw that anyone could see where I lived on a map, it gave me pause. When a satellite photo was later available, I was again uncomfortable. Now, who cares?We are quickly evolving as social animals and technology is pushing us in that direction. How will things change when everyone knows everything? The optimist says ‘now we can bring true analytical skills to education rather than rote memory.’ The pessimist says ‘we have now lost all privacy.’ The truth lies somewhere in between. But we need not wait long to see that truth. It is coming soon.

Book Signing September 6

See me at Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, DE, Saturday, September 6, starting at 2 PM. I will be happy to sign a copy ofTales From Our Near Futurefor you.

Review

Here is a recent review of Tales From Our Near Future:   "A good first outing! Google Boy gives us a view of the first of the new humans that genetically have always-on access to the internet and all of it's information. Aureal is Siri++ as your roommate. And Tau and Sue, my favorite, is a spy tale that literally could happen tomorrow - if it hasn't already. They are all set in and around Washington, DC and Peter and Aureal are my fictional neighbors here in Dupont Circle.” - Neil Starkey 5/7/14

Win a Free Copy Signed by the Author

Cofounder of Microsoft, Paul Allen, has one of the biggest in the world. What is it?   Be the first to post the answer on our Facebook page to get a free copy of Tales From Our Near Future signed by the author.   Post your answer on Tales From Our Near Future Facebook Page as a Comment to the posting "Win a free copy of Tales From Our Near Future"