Benjamin Sobieck's Blog – March 2009 Archive (4)

Competition Win

Allow me to, for a moment, toot my horn. I have finally won a competition. It's not a writing competition, though. It's a competition hosted by an author. Does that still count?

Accomplished author and Crime Space member Shirley Wells recently asked people for their best tidbits of advice. The best would win a copy of her new novel, "Where Petals Fall." My entry, along with two other bits, won. Yee… Continue

Added by Benjamin Sobieck on March 30, 2009 at 1:30pm — No Comments

Match Pseudonym to the Genre

For many a year I was convinced I wanted a pseudonym. It felt like it added another layer to what I was doing, somehow upgrading the importance of what I wrote as this other entity. Atlas Soloman and Maynard Soloman were my two picks. I dreamed of exploding onto the scene as this anonymous writer.

"Who is this Atlas Soloman guy?" the people asked in my dreams. "I don't know, but I like his writing. He's like the Batman of fiction. What is his true identity? The mystery makes me… Continue

Added by Benjamin Sobieck on March 20, 2009 at 12:23pm — 1 Comment

European Book Market Booming

I stumbled on this interesting article from the New York Times. Book sales in Europe, despite terrible economic conditions, are actually on the rise. It's a bit of good news in an otherwise murky era. Click here to read "Book Sales in Europe Are Gaining in Tough… Continue

Added by Benjamin Sobieck on March 16, 2009 at 12:30pm — 1 Comment

Published (sort of)

No, it's not a publishing contract. It got me pretty excited, though. The AV Club did my "Taste Test."

If you are not familiar with the AV Club (avclub.com), you will probably be scratching your head. The AV Club is an off-shoot of the popular satirical magazine, "The Onion." The AV Club differs, however, because it is based on actual events. Think the A&E section of your newspaper twisted into a sardonic tornado.

Back in November 2008, I stumbled upon a bag of… Continue

Added by Benjamin Sobieck on March 11, 2009 at 1:00pm — 4 Comments