Author Archive for ecmyers

libraries are awesome

Posted by ecmyers on 11/06/2014 at 10:41 AM in Uncategorized.

I’m thrilled to be participating in PA Forward’s Speak Up for PA Libraries events today with some school visits in Haverford! School and local libraries made me the reader I am, because there was no way my mom could afford to buy me all the books I wanted to read. It was through libraries that I discovered William Sleator’s Interstellar Pig, which introduced me to the science fiction books that influenced me as a person, and eventually as a writer. (I know: Writers are technically people too.)

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via the-toast.net

Libraries are so vital to our communities, even in this information age of computers and internet: They offer much more than entertainment, including valuable resources and educational opportunities, and don’t underestimate the importance of a safe place outside of the home where kids can go to hang out and make new friends — if not with other kids, than with books. I still love to be in a room full of books! Kids all over the country, and especially in Philadelphia, don’t necessarily have access to high-speed internet or books; many of us take these things for granted, and today is a great day to acknowledge and celebrate how invaluable libraries and librarians are in curating their collections, reaching out to patrons and fostering a love for reading, and developing incredible, fun programs for young readers — including bringing illustrators and authors like me to schools and libraries, which is one of my favorite things about being a published author. I never met any authors when I was young; if I had, I might have pursued a writing career sooner!

Tell me about your favorite library in the comments below. Why are libraries important to you?

 

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0 Comments Tags: libraries.

the truth is out there

Posted by ecmyers on 11/05/2014 at 7:00 AM in Novels and Young Adult.

Hurray! My new novel, The Silence of Six, is out today! It’s now available in several eBook flavors and in hardcover.

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This is my third published book, and I’m really proud of it — I probably worked harder on this than any of my previous novels, including the unpublished ones (which I’m still working on). I pushed myself outside of my comfort zone and grew a lot in writing it; throughout the process I felt a strong responsibility to truth and realism, particularly in portraying hacking and the difficult choices faced by those who use their skills to effect change and uphold justice. Getting the details right became very important to me. I hope I pulled it off, but if I erred, I did so with the utmost respect and the best of intentions.

Thank you once again to everyone at my publisher, Adaptive Books, for trusting me with this story and helping to make it the best it could be. As always, I also owe so much to the JABberwocky Literary Agency, my writing group Altered Fluid, my critique partners, tech consultants, and friends and family. And finally, thanks to all those who have been helping to spread the word by recommending it, reviewing it, Tweeting, posting, and more. (Please keep it up!)

This book is yours now. I hope you enjoy it, and perhaps even look at the world around us a little differently after reading it.

If you have any questions about The Silence of Six, my writing process, my favorite books or shows or games, or whatever, drop by my Reddit Books AMA today at noon. Ask me anything, and I will answer!

Stay frosty,
Eugene

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1 Comment Tags: adaptive, book launch, launch day, reddit, the silence of six.

remember, remember, the fifth of november

Posted by ecmyers on 11/02/2014 at 3:05 PM in Novels and Young Adult.
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© Adaptive Studios

Oh wow. In just a few days, people will finally know what “the silence of six” is :P My new book, The Silence of Six, from Adaptive Studios will be released on Wednesday, November 5 in eBook and hardcover!

I’ve been seeing some heartening early reviews, and steeling myself for the less favorable ones, but I’m really excited to have this new book out there. There are a bunch of online events in the works to celebrate the book’s impending launch. Here are a couple:

Booksplosion Kindle Paperwhite Giveaway
You have until Tuesday, Nov. 4, to enter this giveaway at Booksplosion for a new Kindle Paperwhite preloaded with The Silence of Six. This event is hosted by awesome booktubers @Katytastic, @Jessethereader, and @XtineMay on Twitter (#IWantSilenceOfSix).

Reddit AMA
I’ll be participating in a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” on Wednesday, Nov. 5 at Reddit Books. Starting at 9 a.m., ask your questions here about The Silence of Six, writing, YA, Nintendo games, whatever, and I’ll do my best to answer them throughout the day.

And remember:

  • You can still join the Halloween Book Trail to win The Silence of Six and audio books of my first two novels, Fair Coin and Quantum Coin
  • Read “SOS”, a short prequel to the book at Wattpad
  • Win a free copy of The Silence of Six at Goodreads and add it to your reading list

And there’s yet more to come, so keep an eye on this space or follow me on Twitter (@ecmyers) for updates.

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0 Comments Tags: adaptive studios, giveaways, launch day, the silence of six.

halloween book trail

Posted by ecmyers on 10/27/2014 at 10:00 AM in Young Adult.

spacer Happy Halloween! Welcome to my stop on the Halloween Book Trail: the Cemetery Trail!

Although I don’t usually have the time or talent to make elaborate costumes, I love the spirit of Halloween; it’s an opportunity to become someone else for a night and collect free candy. If you go to a lot of conventions, you’re probably familiar with “cosplaying” — dressing up as a favorite character from fandom — so maybe the holiday doesn’t seem all that special. But it’s the one day in the year when almost everyone is a cosplayer, plus don’t forget the free candy. As a fan of horror and mysteries, I like the spooky, creepy focus of Halloween, and it’s always fun to see how people express their interests and creativity through their costumes.

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Hexadecimal shows Bob one of her many faces. (ReBoot)

I am an especially big fan of masks. (No wonder, since a mask is a perfect costume for a lazy/busy guy like me.) When I was a kid, I used to cut cardboard face masks out of the backs of cereal boxes. That was all it took to pretend you I was a cartoon superhero. Of course, many superheroes are big on masks, which make them particularly fun subjects for dress up. One year I put more effort in than usual for a Halloween party and recreated Spider-Man’s wrestling costume from the first Sam Raimi film — the mask, a red balaclava, was the easiest (and most expensive) part. Even a pair of glasses can amount to a mask of sorts, the only thing differentiating Clark Kent from Superman.

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Data’s mask turns him into a waking god. (ST:TNG)

Masks are fascinating to me because they can be used to disguise your identity, to assume a new identity, or perhaps to make you look more like yourself. Batman’s cowl protects Bruce Wayne’s secret, but the cowl doesn’t make him Batman: It gives him the freedom to express that part of his personality.

There’s an interactive theater performance in Manhattan called Sleep No More, a loose retelling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth in which hundreds of guests wander around the set of an old hotel wearing masks. Behind that plastic face, you are completely anonymous, and so is everyone else. It adds an eerily voyeuristic quality to the show, making you into a part of it while also providing a safe distance. If you can make it, I highly recommend you attend.

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Somebody stop him…before they make a sequel. (The Mask)

That show gave me an idea of how empowering it must be for members of the hacktivist group Anonymous to don their iconic Guy Fawkes masks and rally in public in support of justice. Hackers thrive on anonymity, but the masks also unite them in a common cause and remove individual ambitions and egos. (At least, in theory.) Because protecting your privacy on the internet is vitally important, especially for hackers and activists, identity is a strong theme in my new book, The Silence of Six. (It even comes out on Guy Fawkes Day, November 5th.)

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In the Twilight Zone, masks reveal your true face.

In The Silence of Six, hackers are my contemporary online superheroes. Masks are featured in particular, most notably at a big masquerade event that showcases my favorite part of Halloween and fan conventions: the costumes. I had fun fitting in some of my favorite masks from film and television, and I think you’ll recognize a lot of them!

If you make it to the end of the Halloween Book Trail, you’ll have a chance to win a signed advance reader’s copy of The Silence of Six and some bookmarks. But before I send you on your way to the next stop, you can also enter a contest here. All you have to do is leave a comment below and tell me either what you’re dressing up as for Halloween or what your favorite mask is. Make sure to leave a contact e-mail; I’ll randomly select one winner to receive free Audible audiobooks of my first two YA novels, Fair Coin and Quantum Coin.

Ready to move on? Your next stop on the Cemetery Trail is the blog of Dianne Salerni, author of The Eighth Day!

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Remember, remember, the fifth of November. (V for Vendetta)

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5 Comments Tags: fair coin, giveaway, guy fawkes, hacktivism, halloween, masks, quantum coin, the silence of six.

free short story prequel to the silence of six

Posted by ecmyers on 10/23/2014 at 8:00 AM in Novels, Short Stories and Young Adult.

spacer I have a new short story available for free on Wattpad: “SOS”, a prequel to my upcoming YA thriller, The Silence of Six! I hope that people who are curious about the novel will take a look at it, and if you’ve already read The Silence of Six, some cool stuff is there for you too :)

The Wattpad story also includes the entire first chapter of The Silence of Six, to introduce you to the mystery that sets the book’s events in motion. If you check it out, I hope you’ll leave some comments on the site and spread the word. I’m looking forward to hearing what readers think about the SOS books!

Also, some people have been asking me about when the hardcover will be available for pre-order. After a short delay, it’s finally up on Amazon!

And remember: You can still enter this giveaway for the book on Goodreads until November 15!

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0 Comments Tags: free, short story, SoS, the silence of six, wattpad.