cyber party | Bertram's Blog

Blog Tour 2009

October 18, 2009 — Pat Bertram

Today is the first day of the Daughter Am I blog tour, and frankly, I’m a bit nervous. Although I always intended to post to my own blog every day, I’ve only managed to average three or four times a week, yet here I have committed myself to thirty-five days of guest blogging, together with at least a brief post here to keep everyone up-to-date on my touring activities. That is a total of 70 bloggeries in 35 days! Do you think I can do it? Of course I can — I will have to.

Today I am honored to be a guest at Make Mine Mystery. I’ll be talking about cultivating humor and how it can enhance even the most suspenseful or terrifying story. I hope you disagree, that way we can have a lively discussion! So please click on this link to visit: Make Mine Mystery and be sure to leave a comment.

You can find the almost complete Daughter Am I tour here: Blog Tour 2009. I should already have the topics picked, the articles written, the promotion finished, but as you can see, it is still a work in progress.

If you haven’t already participated in my DAUGHTER AM I HAS FINALLY BEEN PUBLISHED! LET’S PARTY!! party, then please come! I would enjoy your company. You might enjoy it, too. There are puzzles, games, and a giveaway for everyone.

Odd to think that I am doing something I never thought I’d do — post a blog with no redeeming value, just announcements. Can I say in my defense that I’ve been staying up till 2 or 3 a.m., first to put my party together, and then to work on my blog tour? No wonder I’m not writing.

Click here to buy Daughter Am I from Second Wind Publishing, LLC.

Click here to buy Daughter Am I from Amazon.

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Posted in blogging, books, internet, writing. Tags: blog tour, cultivating humor, cyber party, Daughter Am I, Make Mine Mystery, Pat Bertram. 2 Comments »

DAUGHTER AM I HAS FINALLY BEEN PUBLISHED! LET’S PARTY!!

October 14, 2009 — Pat Bertram

I’m sitting here trying to come up with something witty or at least interesting to mark this momentous occasion of having one more of my novels released into the world, but all I can think of to say is, “Hallelujah! Let’s Party!” Please help yourself to some champagne. I promise it’s the best pretend champagne money can’t buy. The fun, however, is real.

For those of you who like action games, here is: Book Invasion.

For those of you who like more cerebral games, here is: Memory by the Book.

For those of you who like card games, here is: Daughter Am I Solitaire.

For those of you who like jigsaw puzzles, you will love these! Click on a cover to work a puzzle. They are in order of complexity from the easiest to the I-dare-you-to-solve-it.

And that’s not the end of the fun! There’s more!

Read the first chapter of Daughter Am I. Click here to find the chapter.

Giveaway! Download free samplers from Second Wind Publishing, which include the first chapters of all their published novels. The mystery sampler includes a chapter from Daughter Am I, More Deaths Than One, and A Spark of Heavenly Fire. Click here to find the free samplers. (If you have any problem, let me know and I will make sure you get the sampler of your choice.)

Read the first 30% of Daughter Am I free at Smashwords or buy in any ebook format, including Kindle. Click here to find Smashwords.

Click here to buy Daughter Am I from Second Wind Publishing, LLC.

Click here to buy Daughter Am I from Amazon.

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Posted in blogging, books, fiction, internet, writing. Tags: Book Invasion, cyber party, Daughter Am I, Games, jigsaw puzzle, Memory by the Book, online book launch party, Second Wind Publishing, solitaire. 119 Comments »

What’s in a Name?

October 13, 2009 — Pat Bertram

I finally found out the name of a mountain that I see almost every day when I go out walking — Mount Lamborn. (I’d be able to see it from my house, but the view is blocked by a neighbor’s haystack and the haystack is blocked by the lilac bushes we planted to keep from having to look at the dang haystack.) I was excited to put a name to the peak until I realized that the name was bestowed by a human (probably by some guy named Lamborn) and was not at all what the mountain calls itself. Does knowing the name tell me anything about the mountain I cannot see during my daily walk? Does the name give me a clue to its origins, its character, its life?

Humans have a penchant for naming things, which I suppose is a good idea. A name is a shortcut to communication. Calling a mountain Mount Lamborn serves as a shortcut to communicate about the mountain, but it says nothing about the mountain itself.

Character names are the same. We give our characters names so that we can identify them. In fact, I have gone so far as to give some of my characters very pointed names for that reason. Bob Stark in More Deaths Than One was so named because he was supposed to seem an “everyman,” hence the common first name. He was also supposed to be stark of speech and action, and so the surname was a reminder to make sure he didn’t get too flowery. Despite his name, Bob Stark turned out to be rather wordy at times and not the silent, uncommunicative loner I had planned. Greg Pullman in A Spark of Heavenly Fire was named after Bill Pullman in While You Were Sleeping to remind me that Greg was good-looking and very nice. Did these characters become their names, or did I simply become so used to them that when the names outlived their usefulness, I found it impossible to change? I wonder what our characters call themselves. Even more, considering the hell we put the poor characters through, I wonder what they call us!

(This was supposed to be a post inviting you to my book launch party to be held on October 15 here on this blog, but finding out the name of the peak sidetracked me. With or without an invitation, you are still invited to my cyber party.)

Daughter Am I, my young woman/old gangsters coming of age adventure, will be available from Second Wind Publishing in two days!