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Adam Shepard

I found the book laugh-out-loud hilarious at some (many) points. Being a developer myself, some of the characters (or should I say caricatures?) were spot-on. When I tried to explain some of it to my girlfriend (non-technical), she said, "I don't get it...what's so funny?" The overall plot was an interesting one, although the timelines were (perhaps necessarily) compressed - a company of 5 people might not actually be able to put together a full-featured government portal like this one, and successfully pitch it as fast as they did.

Triumphantly Jenny

Basically I really liked this book. Like, I missed my stop on the subway when reading it. I thought there was some trail off at the end, and it could use another edit, but especially for something self-published it was great. It was incredibly funny and reminded me of "microserfs" by doug coupland and "Company" by Max Barry. I highly recommend it to anyone who has worked in a techie office.

I would clarify, I think, because I liked the characters so much, any ending would have sucked, you know? Because it's an ending!

Katie Richardson, Buzz Magazine

... it doesn't take a super sci-fi buff to see the potential implications of an Internet superpower and the American government operating out of people's homes hand in hand. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Imagine having a serious love jones while trying to begin a new chapter in the world of technology. With the recent Internet chatter that has been surfacing about larger, more powerful Internet companies the book's message appears to be eerily relevant.

A sampling of a few new reviews ...

Here you go:

- " ... a great writing style, and I always appreciate a dose of subtle cynicism in anything I read."

- "The book was a humorous take on the corporate world, the stress, the relocation, the robot-type of requirement to fit it."

- " ... had me laughing out loud."

There's more on the reviews page!

Mother's Day contest

Are you a working mother who is stuck in a cube all day? Do you know one who is? Sign up to win my books - yes, both Corporate Ties and The Developers - in the Mother's Day contest. Email me, "Like" the Corporate Ties Facebook page or "Like" this post on Facebook to be entered. Do this by Sunday and I'll select a winner early next week.

From the Archive

Car won't start if you're drunk

A relatively new device installed in DWI offenders' cars should contribute to fewer drunk-driving accidents, basically because the vehicle won't even start.

Authorities in New Mexico have mandated equipping first-time DWI offenders with an ignition interlock, which can require testing before and during a driving. From an Associated Press report, New Mexico has more interlocks currently installed per capita than any other state.

Does technology create or inhibit crime?

Many people are familiar with the movie "Catch Me If You Can," which describes the early life of Frank Abagnale and his ability to change identities at a moment's notice. Some know this was based on a true story, and even fewer people know that Abagnale worked with the FBI for 32 years to thwart identity theft.

Crazy survey comments

Comments

LALALALALALALALALHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHALALALALLALALALALALALAL
HAHAHAHAHAHAHALALALALALA

Hey Ben, I think you might be a little crazy, :) Did you ride the short schoolbus when you went to school? :)

I think this Bed Woods person is the one who's crazy. I mean, who would make such a survey?!

Should I really worry about the black helicopters flying over Utah?

Everyone is crazy but thee and me, and thee more than me.

'The Developers' featured in Purdue newspaper

I have seen my name plenty of times in The Exponent, the Purdue student newspaper. Although in the past, my name was in the byline area, not in the actual body of the story.

This changed when I recently had a couple of book signings in the area. The paper ran a preview for "The Developers" signing, which was definitely appreciated exposure.

One thousand books

I remember reading or hearing something a few years ago that said only 10 percent of all books published ever sell 1,000 copies or more. I cannot seem to find exact numbers anywhere, however, I found a boatload of other statistics on the Para Publishing website. The self-publishing numbers are pretty low ... only 3.4 percent of Xlibris copies have sold more than 500 copies, for example.

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