Note in a bottle

[Dorien Grey]

I've been a member of Crimespace around a week now, and I still haven't figured out how to get directly to the profiles/personal information of those of you who have been kind enough to invite me to your friends' list. Life is not easy for a cyber-Neanderthal.

So, since I'm still learning the ropes, I look on this blog entry somewhat like putting a note in a bottle and tossing it into the cybersea.

And like most notes in a bottle, it's a cry for attention. Like every other writer on Crimespace, I want to attract as many new readers as possible to me and, hopefully, to my books.

I strongly believe that a reader who gets to know a writer on a personal level is far more likely to take a chance with the writer's books.

Lord knows, I've been trying every avenue I can think of to court potential readers...including, obviously, you. The challenging part lies in trying to make it as pleasurable a courting process as I can.

But rather than bringing candy or flowers, I offer potential readers (again, read "you"), an interesting and frequently-updated website (the URL for which, for some very strange reason, Crimespace will not allow me to post as part of this message) the chance to read the first chapter of any or all of my books, free, to see if any of them might appeal to you. I also invite you to register for the drawing for a free copy of any of my books...and it don't get much better than "Free."
I have several blogs through which I hope we can become virtual friends. Curious about what it was like to learn how to fly, or to be on an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean during the height of the cold war? "A World Ago" on Blogspot lets you experience it with me. Want to know the kinds of experiences that influence a writer...me...to write; where book ideas and characters and situations come from? Then try "Dorien Grey and Me" (also on Blogspot), or check out my less frequent blogs at Amazon.com and AuthorsDen.

Not being able to post the URLs here means, of course, you're really going to have to do some digging to find them, and it may well be more trouble than you're willing to go through, and I don't blame you. Still, I can hope.

Well, the point to all this is that I'm trying, and that I also would like to know a little bit more about you and your interests. I would suspect, though I have no way of knowing, that the vast majority of Crimespace members at the moment are writers, which means, if you're like me, you are so busy writing your own books that you simply don't have the time you'd like to devote to reading the work of others.

And I must say in Crimespace's favor, that I have already met some very nice people here, and found one or two new readers. But I am the greedy sort, and always want more.

Thanks for bearing with me. I hope that if you somehow come across this little note in a bottle, you might respond and let me get to know you better, too.

Best regards,

Dorien