Greg Messel is here today to talk about times and how they have changed...this is a guest post you don't want to miss! His book is being featured today and tomorrow here on the blog, check back tomorrow for my review!About the Novel:
"The Illusion of Certainty" follows two parallel storylines. Marc is a successful businessman who seems to have everything-a great job, a beautiful wife, a house in an upscale neighborhood of Portland, Oregon and two great kids who are preparing for college. But something is not right. Marc is unsettled by the sudden change in his wife, Aimee, who seems distant and unhappy. What is going on with her? The second storyline involves a successful young attorney Alexandra Mattson. Alex, as she is called by her friends, meets a handsome young cop, Sean, during an unexpected crisis in her neighborhood. Sean and Alex seem made for each other and begin to merge their futures in a world of uncertainty. The only certainty in life is that we will face uncertainty. Despite all of the technology and controls available in the modern world, sometimes the only comfort comes from the human touch. About the Author:
Greg Messel has written three novels and three unpublished memoirs. He published his premiere novel “Sunbreaks” in 2009, followed by “Expiation” in 2010 and “The Illusion of Certainty” in 2011. Greg has had a newspaper career as a columnist, sportswriter and news editor. He won a Wyoming Press Association Award as a columnist. Greg also spent many years in the corporate world as a Financial Manager. He now devotes his energies to writing at his home in Edmonds, Washington on the Puget Sound just north of Seattle, where he lives with his wife, Carol.
You can visit his website at www.gregmessel.com. Connect with Greg on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gregmessel or Facebook at www.facebook.com/greg.messel.
Author Guest Post:
By Greg Messel
I remember the days not long ago when one of my favorite pastimes was browsing the racks of music stores. I not only enjoyed the music but I loved the process of the hunt for new CDs.
Then the technology came along where I could load my CDs and burn my own CD mixes for playing in my car or on my portable CD player when I was running outside or on a treadmill. Wow, burning my own CDs–how could it get better than that?
It did.
I bought my first iPod which I could fit into the pocket of my running shorts which contained hundreds of songs. I then discovered iTunes and began downloading music. Then I reached one conclusion–I needed a bigger iPod. Now I had one small one to play music while I was working out and a bigger one to play in my car or home. All of my favorite music could fit in my shirt pocket.
I found that in the process of downloading music I discovered new bands and new types of music. The shelves were never empty at iTunes and the CD or song I was looking for was never out of stock
Then I found there was really no point to browsing the music stores. My visits to places like Tower Records or the wonderful Music Millennium store in Portland, Oregon became less and less frequent.
Soon these record stores began disappearing. I was sad when these stores began closing. Then I realized it had been a long time since I purchased anything at the stores I love.
Not only were the music stores disappearing but so were the CDs which lined several shelves in my home. Why do I need CDs? I NEVER just play a CD. If I wanted to hear an album by an artist I could just switch to the album mode on my iPod. I finally let go of the security blanket or having the CDs on the bookshelf at home. I had hoarded them like they were an endangered species that I must preserve for future generations.
Then I realized the folly of having stacks of CDs from the past that will never be played again.
A couple of years ago when my second novel “Expiation” was published I got a call from my daughter who told me “I’ve been listening to ‘Expiation’ as I drive to work and back each day.
“Really?” I didn’t remember anyone making an audio version of my novel. “How are you doing that I asked?”
She informed me that she had “Expiation” loaded on her Kindle, then uses the voice reading feature on her Kindle and listens to my book being read to her through the car stereo system.
Oh yeah? Is it a female voice or male voice? She said she switched it to a male voice since “Expiation” is written in first person and narrated by the main male character.
No way!
I noticed Kindle sales of my books starting to show up on royalty statements from my publisher.
I attended the LA Festival of Books for a book signing and there was lots of talk about e books. Suddenly, everyone was talking about e books.
Things seemed to be changing.
On Christmas morning, 2010, there were two Kindles under my Christmas tree–one for me and one for my techno-phobe wife. I was dragging her into the new world whether she wanted to go or not. I got into a frenzy of downloading on Christmas day. My Visa card company called me on December 26th checking “an unusual amount” of activity with purchases from Amazon. Well, yeah, guilty as charged.
Suddenly I started to wonder why I have all of these bookshelves in my house.
I’ve stopped browsing book stores.. On our nightstands where there used to be stacks of books are now two Kindles.
Hmmm. This is a familiar pattern.
Now I've written a third book "The Illusion of Certainty" and the focus of my marketing has been for Kindles, iBooks and Nooks. People in London, Atlanta, San Francisco, Canada and Texas have all contacted me recently telling me how much they've enjoyed reading my new book on their devices for a mere $2.99.
In just over two years, I've completely changed as a reader...and as an author.
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