Welcome to the second of two Personal Effects: Dark Art audio excerpt episodes. It is my supreme pleasure to present Chapters 3 and 4.
SYNOPSIS: Zach Taylor meets Martin Grace, a blind serial killer.
I recently had the great pleasure to appear on Victor Cajiao's terrific program, the Typical Mac User Podcast, to chat about Personal Effects: Dark Art, new media, creativity, and how Apple products and software play mission-critical roles in my creative endeavors. Victor, TMUP contributor George Starcher and I had a blast.
Victor has generously provided me the audio from that interview, and I'm delighted to share it with you. I also heartily endorse Victor's world-class show, and hope that you -- regardless of if you're an Apple fanboy or a hard-core PC user -- check it out. And for the photographers in my audience, check out Victor's stellar Typical Shutterbug Podcast, too!
--J.C.
J.C. Hutchins and award-winning horror/thriller writer Matt Wallace have teamed up to unleash the coolest promotion in the history of the mothereffin' multiverse. By evangelizing J.C.'s new novel Personal Effects: Dark Art, you have a shot at winning a unique, priceless sword ... THE Sword of Blood.
This is a BATTLE READY, real-deal, no-messing-around REAL sword, from Matt Wallace's private collection. It is a replica of the sword wielded by Charles V of Spain. In 1519, Charles V was crowned "Roman Emperor"; at that time, no other leader had ruled such an inmense kingdom in human history. The sword's blade is forged in high carbon stainless steel, and is 40 inches long. It was crafted by Marto, the same company that created swords for the Highlander television series.
But it gets so much cooler. J.C. and Matt will write a flash fiction story, focused on the Sword of Blood ... and that story will be written on the blade of the weapon. This story will not appear anywhere else on the planet; it is written for an audience of one -- the person who wins the Sword of Blood. And to make this a true Sword of Blood, both J.C. and Matt will sign their names upon the sword in their own blood.
This sword originally cost hundreds of dollars, and is now truly priceless. Only one will be worthy to wield it.
How can you win THE Sword of Blood? Simple.
One worthy participant will be selected at random, and will receive THE Sword of Blood, featuring a flash fiction story written upon its blade and signed by its authors in their blood. This sword ruled the Roman Empire. It is more than worthy of your effort. In fact, the real question is: Are you worthy to possess it?
The contest ends July 31, 2009, so there's no time to waste. Print out the Order Form PDF for your peeps (found below), and get showing and telling. Be sure to document your efforts, and send at least one photo to J.C. at 7thSonNovel@gmail.com.
It's another terrific interview this week, featuring brilliant storyteller and musician Phil Rossi. The man chats with J.C. about the upcoming print release of his novel Crescent, his new transmedia podcast novel Harvey, the craft of writing, and much more. It's a red-hot episode!
The anthem for Hey, Everybody! is "Chip Away" by Jane's Addition, distributed freely via BitTorrent and the Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction tour site, Ninja2009.com.
Like what you hear? Please leave a comment, and tell a friend about the show, and about Personal Effects: Dark Art!
Hot damn! Personal Effects: Dark Art continues to chug along most mightily as J.C. serves up another State of the Book address. Highlights also include: J.C. going off on a 1980s G.I. Joe cartoon tangent, J.C. nearly choking to death on-air, the return of the invisible toasting glass, J.C. chatting about the Sword of Blood giveaway, and the new goal we have as Personal Effects fans -- the 4 for 400 for 4,000 campaign. Download this sonuvagun, like, now.
The anthem for Hey, Everybody! is "Chip Away" by Jane's Addition, distributed freely via BitTorrent and the Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction tour site, Ninja2009.com.
Like what you hear? Please leave a comment, and tell a friend about the show, and about Personal Effects: Dark Art!
J.C. interviews writer/podcaster/vidcaster/dark god Matt Wallace in this epically-awesome conversation. You will not only be introduced to the badassery that is Mr. Wallace -- you will bear witness to history in the making as J.C. and Matt announce the most compelling, amazing and jaw-droppingly cool giveaway ever conceived, like, EVER. Get ready to say, "Oh, shit."
The anthem for Hey, Everybody! is "Chip Away" by Jane's Addition, distributed freely via BitTorrent and the Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction tour site, Ninja2009.com.
Like what you hear? Please leave a comment, and tell a friend about the show, and about Personal Effects: Dark Art!
Welcome to the first of at least two Personal Effects: Dark Art audio excerpt episodes. It is my supreme pleasure to present Chapters 1 and 2 in this episode.
SYNOPSIS: Zach Taylor strides into Brinkvale Psychiatric Hospital, and is presented with his strangest case to date: Martin Grace, a blind serial killer.
In which J.C. briefs you on Week Two sales of Personal Effects: Dark Art, tells you about his ambitious Phase Two project, and educates you on the importance of Getting Your Ass To Mars.
The anthem for Hey, Everybody! is "Chip Away" by Jane's Addition, distributed freely via BitTorrent and the Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction tour site, Ninja2009.com.
Like what you hear? Please leave a comment, and tell a friend about the show, and about Personal Effects: Dark Art!
You are in a position to make a positive impact on the fate of Personal Effects: Dark Art. It's time to shout the news from the rooftops ... and I'm giving you some tips and tools to help. Here's one; find more at the PHASE TWO: Madness In The Streets page.
Here's a crazy cool idea: Host a quick "show and tell" event at your workplace or home, in which you show off Personal Effects and its awesome transmedia items. Tell your pals about the book, some of the plot, whatever you like ... and then get me on the phone to talk about it!
I'll spend some time with you and your friends/colleagues, chatting about the novel, or whatever they'd like to talk about. This could be particularly useful for businesses, as we can discuss topics well beyond Personal Effects, such as internet marketing, building communities, social media tools, the works! It's free advice and insight, and helps you show off the book to peeps. And if you do this at work, you'll be on the clock, which means you're getting paid to evangelize the book! Everybody wins!
Use the contact form below to give me a shout, and we'll get the ball rolling. I'm looking forward to personally chatting with you and your friends/colleagues!
This episode, J.C. interviews supremely talented novelist Jeremy Robinson, author of Antarktos Rising, Kronos and the new horror/technothriller Pulse. Despite J.C. being such a big fan, he keeps his geekout moments to a minimum. Cool links/mentions in the episode:
The anthem for Hey, Everybody! is "Chip Away" by Jane's Addition, distributed freely via BitTorrent and the Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction tour site, Ninja2009.com.
Like what you hear? Please leave a comment, and tell a friend about the show, and about Personal Effects: Dark Art!
You are in a position to make a positive impact on the fate of Personal Effects: Dark Art. It's time to shout the news from the rooftops ... and I'm giving you some tips and tools to help. Here's one; find more at the PHASE TWO: Madness In The Streets page.
What's this? Five gorgeous, full-color 8.5" x 11" posters that you can print and post on community bulletin boards, at your school, workplace, favorite local business, or comic book shop? Damn, Hutch, you're thinking, you make it so easy for me to spread the word about Personal Effects: Dark Art's awesomeness! It's what I do, champ. Click, print, post. Boom goes the dynamite.
Document your poster evangelism, send me email ( 7thSonNovel@gmail.com ), and you'll be in the running for a signed copy of the book, or other PE:DA swag.
You are in a position to make a positive impact on the fate of Personal Effects: Dark Art. It's time to shout the news from the rooftops ... and I'm giving you some tips and tools to help. Here's one; find more at the PHASE TWO: Madness In The Streets page.
Wanna give your pals a sneak peek of Personal Effects: Dark Art? I'm here with the hookup. The first taste is free, and it's a doozy. Your friends will be drooling for more.
Download the PDF below. Email it to peeps. The file is less than 2MB, so it won't choke their email service. CC me on your email ( 7thSonNovel@gmail.com ), and you'll be in the running for a signed copy of the book, or other PE:DA swag. Spread the insanity.
You are in a position to make a positive impact on the fate of Personal Effects: Dark Art. It's time to shout the news from the rooftops ... and I'm giving you some tips and tools to help. Here's one; find more at the PHASE TWO: Madness In The Streets page.
If you haven't acquired a copy of Personal Effects: Dark Art, I (predictably) urge you to do so. While you can order online, I encourage you to visit your local bookstore and buy it there. This sends a strong transmission to booksellers to stock the book, and illustrates demand for this bad puppy.
Be sure to print out the smokin' hot PDF found below, fill it out and take it to the bookstore, in case the store doesn't have Personal Effects in stock. Your special order is another way to showcase demand for the book.
Fellow new media novelist Mark Jeffrey (who's also the CTO of Mahalo; check out his cool UltraCreatives interview here) recently invited me to appear on his new Internet video program Bibliotech, which covers emerging trends in publishing. The show is fresh from the idea factory; I appear in episode two. But based on past interviews, and Mark's presence and expertise in storytelling and the social media space, I imagine Bibliotech will have long legs indeed. It was an honor to appear on the show. Learn more about Bibliotech here.
J.C. drops some hints about cool Personal Effects: Dark Art "Phase Two" announcements that are coming up, and then dives right into his interview with Earl Newton, the creator and executive producer of Stranger Things. It's an awesome interview, packed with lots of chatter about storytelling, filmmaking, and creative philosophies.
The anthem for Hey, Everybody! is "Chip Away" by Jane's Addition, distributed freely via BitTorrent and the Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction tour site, Ninja2009.com.
Like what you hear? Please leave a comment, and tell a friend about the show, and about Personal Effects: Dark Art!
I woke up to this astoundingly cool Personal Effects video book review by Joanna Penn, an incredibly talented writer and new media evangelist. Joanna preaches the power of innovative publishing and promotion techniques at her blog The Creative Penn, a must-read for authors. I'm flattered Joanna enjoyed the book so much, and shared it with her viewers!
--J.C.
It's another stellar video blurb, this one from Nicole Powers, managing editor at alternative lifestyle and pin-up site SuicideGirls.com. This is a woman who's as tough as she is talented ... and yet watch what she has to say about Personal Effects: Dark Art. This book can cause sleep deprivation.
Order the novel. Visit Suicide Girls, become a member, and check out the adults-only Personal Effects-themed pin-up photo set. (PG-13 PDF of the set can be found here.) You'll thank me later.
As always, co-producer/editor Michael Bekemeyer gets a big salute for his editing skills. Find other trailers here.
Word of mouth is the key to Personal Effects: Dark Art's success. Spread the word about this awesome video promotion by embedding the video on your blog. Email this page to friends. Tweet it. Facebook it. If you think this video is worthy of sharing, please do what you can to spread the word.
Personal Effects: Dark Art is in bookstores everywhere NOW. Purchase a copy at your local store, or online now.
--J.C.
In which J.C. tells you how Personal Effects: Dark Art performed in sales during Week 1, declares the debut of Phase Two, and explains the need to Fuck Shit Up.
The anthem for Hey, Everybody! is "Chip Away" by Jane's Addition, distributed freely via BitTorrent and the Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction tour site, Ninja2009.com.
Like what you hear? Please leave a comment, and tell a friend about the show, and about Personal Effects: Dark Art!
Behold the truly epic, very fun Personal Effects Party Pack PDF! It's 50 PAGES of full-color awesome, delivering a comprehensive soup-to-nuts blueprint to host your very own Personal Effects: Dark Art house party. Using this Party Pack PDF, you can proudly show off your new copy of Personal Effects (and the awesome transmedia ID cards and documents that come with the book), and introduce your friends to the mad world of Brinkvale Psychiatric Hospital with themed party games, music playlists and cocktail recipes. There's even printable party favors!
Better still, if you host and document a Personal Effects party, you'll be put in the running to win one of 20 signed copies of the book. You'll truly be the host with the most! Some highlights:
If you're like me, you're strapped for cash. So I made certain that -- excluding any booze or music you might purchase -- the activities in the Party Pack PDF can be executed on a total budget of $10 or less. Hell, if you've got paper, crayons and playing cards on-hand, you won't spend a dime! How's that for easy?
This is a delightful way to introduce Personal Effects to your pals, and evangelize the book. And your evangelism is critical. It's been a week since Personal Effects: Dark Art debuted in bookstores, and became available for immediate purchase online. Pre-orders and Week One sales were solid ... but it's time to take the message beyond the ones and zeros of the blog- and podospheres, and into the all-important world of Real Life.
Download the Personal Effects Party Pack PDF by clicking the link below.
Take it to The Brink ... and host a helluva party in the process. I'm looking forward to seeing photos and video from your party, and putting you in the running for a signed copy of the book!
--J.C.
When brilliant, ultra-creative Social Media mover-and-shaker Dave Delaney sends you an email, you read it. I mean, you frickin' read it, because you know the man's up to something cool. So when he recently sent me a proclamation that I was was one of the 18 "Hottest Men" on Twitter, I perked right up. (Dave is obviously a maestro when it comes to wooing.)
The gig: A very tongue-in-cheek calendar titled "Twitter's Hottest Men" -- the sales of which benefit the awesome charty DonorsChoose.org, which assists needy schools in obtaining equipment for their classrooms. A stellarly worthy cause. I was in.
And now I'm Mr. March 2010.
Check out some of the other awesome Twitterfolk who've participated for this truly worthwhile cause. Photos are below.
PLEASE purchase a copy of the calendar, so that kids in need can receive the education they deserve. The calendar is on sale until the end of July ... and then it's gone. Buy now, and make a difference in the classroom.
--J.C. (aka Mr. March)
J.C.'s photo by J.R. Blackwell
