Author: catconnor

The launch of Cryptobyte

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Morning!

Hope everyone is having a good week so far. Cryptobyte is now live worldwide. We had the launch at Upper Hutt Central Library on Friday night – and it was fun. The launch cake was revealed for the first time. And now I can share it with you.

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I will not explain this cake though. Cryptobyte does, so, when you read the book, all will become clear. I do ask that when you understand what this cake is all about that you don’t ruin it for others. 🙂

FYI, I think this cake was the best fruitcake ever. Nana would’ve been proud.

Here are a few launch pics:

November: The Big Thrill

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Readers,

Exciting news. There is an interview with me about Cryptobyte in the Nov issue of The Big Thrill! [Click on the word Cryptobyte above to read the interview.]

In other news … the launch is less than a week away, and it’s very exciting.

Of course, since returning home from Perth I’ve broken two fingernails – I knew it would happen as they reached a ridiculous length while I was away. Had hoped they’d make it until the launch but nope. Such is life.

The banners I had made for the launch arrived and were not at all like the images I approved on the BannerBuzz website. Disappointing. Won’t be using them again. Especially as I used THEIR software online to create the banners – you’d think they’d print their own backgrounds like the bloody proof! They did not. At all. Not even close. At least my graphics turned out well … just their bit that’s a big fat fail. Live and learn.

The bookmarks I had printed in Christchurch at Print Monday, and they are nobtastically gorgeous, so that’s good.

Sitting on my bedroom floor are a lot of books! The entire series including Snakebyte and Whispers in the Water. All ready for launch day. Turns out I only have five copies of Metabyte left (in total) so once these are close to gone I’ll order more, and they’ll have the new cover etc. Exciting stuff. Metabyte has had no back cover blurb or proper back cover for too long!

cryptograph

Dear Readers,

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Seemed like a good title for a blog post … not sure if it works but hey, you be the judge.

Since I’ve been away taking very good care of #MyKnight while he recovers from a hip replacement, I’ve actually done a few things. I know, I was surprised too.

For starters, ALL the Byte Series books have been re-released for the American and European market, in paperback. Metabyte got an entirely new format, cover, and ISBN. The others just got a freshly formated guts.

That means, if you’re not a kiwi in NZ and you’re looking for a paperback, you can now buy them from Amazon and other places – but please pay attention and don’t buy anything that lists ‘Rebel ePublishers’ as the publisher because they’re sold by 3rd party sellers and have NOTHING to do with me. I get diddly-squat from those sales, so, don’t be that guy, okay? Cheers.

Also, all the Byte Series novels are back on Amazon as kindle versions, gloriously reformated for 9mm Press. You’re welcome. I listened, I acted.

Cryptobyte launches soon – I’m excited. I can’t wait to see what I say at the launch at Upper Hutt Library on Friday, Nov 8th. Not kidding. 🙂 Maybe. Perhaps. Okay, okay, I wrote a speech because Yvonne would be most disapproving if I didn’t, and Readers, I don’t want that. Come along and have cake!!! It’s a phenomenal cake. Trust me, I’m a fruitcake maker. (Crime writer, same thing, whatever)

But wait there’s more … I’m now about halfway through the first draft (no such beast really) of Vaporbyte, which is the 12th-byte novel. Hold the applause until I finish!

Meanwhile … I also learned how to make moving cover images in GIMP and can’t remember what I learned, guess it’ll come back when I go to do it again?

And yes I have red hair – it’s actually Boho copper or so the box said.

 

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What life’s all about …

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Obviously, I dunno what life is all about for you, but for me, it’s about stories. Gathering stories. And how does one gather stories? Well, by doing shit. By taking chances (risks if you will), but really it’s about doing shit.

Just do something.

Don’t sit there like my Nana did for fifty-seven years and wait to die (she began her waiting at 40 – that was a lot of freaking waiting). DO SOMETHING. Do something so you have stories to tell.  Read the book. Drink the tequila. Watch the movie. Ride that bike. Take a trip. Love life. Learn something. Put yourself out there. Do something different. Step out of your comfort zone. Laugh, a lot. Life is hilarious and exciting, embrace it. Be you. Be wild. Be crazy. Worry less and love more. (Easier to say if sales are up, so, hey, buy more books – preferably mine! haha)

If you know me, you know I’ve got a few stories. I’ve done some shit. I like to have fun. I enjoy people and experience strengthens my ability to tell the stories I want to tell and enables me to write. To be fair, I write fiction but most fiction (including mine) is based in truth at some point.

Today I could’ve stayed home instead of going to a swap meet (which was a little like being on American Pickers, to be honest), I’d never been to one before, would’ve been easy to say, “nah, I’ll hang here and write” (I mean, car parts …) BUT I went. And, I enjoyed the experience, and now I know what a swap meet is all about. I’m not saying it was fun, but, it was interesting. Really interesting and boy there were a few characters that could end up in a book! And the thing that I loved, I spent that time with #MyKnight, and that folks, is priceless.

Life is about the experience (and laughter). Don’t wait. Don’t save that china, crystal, pretty dress, jewelry, those fancy shoes, that whatever – use it, wear it, love it, and sparkle!

We’re not here for long. Make the most of it … in case no one told you, none of us get out alive, so eat that chocolate and drink that tequila and go out with a smile and a full heart. Meanwhile, I hear a Corona calling …

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Everything should sparkle

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Seriously, it should. Not just because I just saw a glitter helmet on the telly (watching American Pickers with My Knight). I’ve been a sparkle lover my whole life. And you all know the joy when my daughter told me I could have GLITTER on my book covers. 🙂

As it stands now, two of the Byte Series have glitter on the covers. I know, I’m excited too!

You knew about Cryptobyte … and the glory that is gold glitter on the cover.

But, now, Metabyte has a new cover. It had to have a new cover (shit happened with my former now defunct publisher, if you recall) and my daughter knows me rather well (imagine?), so when she re-did the cover she added the joy of green glitter. And I smiled, Readers, I smiled a lot. At some stage (probably November) the new covers will be in the bookshop. November because I need to pay for the Cryptobyte copies that have already arrived at the bookshop in prep for the launch on Nov 8. Yeah, they were early. Which is better than being late, right? And for all of you who thought me having a white cover on Qubyte caused OCD anxiety … I’m pretty sure the Metabyte cover will tweak that OCD again. Deal with it. 🙂

#SorryNotSorry

In other news: I’m in Perth with My Knight – taking care of him as he recovers from major surgery (new hip), and, I’m writing. Yes, I am.

I’m having a love hate relationship with the 12th Byte Novel at the moment, but today was a good writing day and now I know that some characters we met in Qubyte are coming back, so, that’s cool. In particular, Tahoma Whitehorse. And I really enjoyed him as a character. Did you like him and his off-sider, Karen Schneider?

It looks like I best go make us some dinner.

Take care out there. xx

Learning stuff!

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After spending almost all afternoon trying to animate a book cover and thinking it didn’t work outside of GIMP … my brain kicked back in this morning and of course it works. Doh!

So, back into GIMP I went and messed around with Cryptobyte just to see … this is a first attempt and with some practice I’ll get the animations smoother and more glittery than flashy. The important thing is, I did it. I know how to do it. And I didn’t throw my MacBook across the kitchen working it out. 🙂

Total hip replacement

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Welcome to a random post about our life right now!

This morning I was supervising exercises … looked painful and there are a lot of exercises to do.
But then if you think about it – it’s going to be painful. When you have a bone cut off and a metal shaft jammed down your femur to replace the damaged and worn out ball-joint, and they also replace the socket. It’s going to hurt, a lot, there is no way around that.
There is massive and impressive (painful) bruising on Geoff’s hip (at the back) and his foot is bruised as well. Never mind the incision site … that’s nearly a 6 inch wound down the front of his hip.


When you see stuff written down about hip replacement, it sounds kinda innocuous – “Hip replacement surgery is a procedure in which a doctor surgically removes a painful hip joint with arthritis and replaces it with an artificial ball and socket joint”
Doesn’t seem too bad as long as you don’t think about how they do it and the then the reality of the toll it takes on someone who is fit and otherwise healthy.

Luckily the healing is going well, Geoff is getting better every day. But then he’s tough, healthy, and fit. He finished off 5 months of work with a 7 day week prior to surgery. Not bad with a completely stuffed hip and the ‘good’ hip needs replacing as well! (He’s a carpenter so it’s not a desk job!)

We did have a big surprise though on our way home from the hospital – stopped in to fill his prescriptions and discovered one of them is injectable! Would’ve been nice if the hospital had mentioned that and MADE SURE I knew how to give a subcutaneous injection – but it wasn’t even mentioned! Hence, our surprise.

Luckily I do know how to administer a subcutaneous injection into the stomach. But no one checked apart from the chemist! Bit late by that stage when the patient needs the blood thinning medication and it arrived in pre-loaded syringes.

Well, I’ve given 3 so far and Geoff says it’s okay and the last one was better than the first. By the time I’ve given the next 30+ I should be amazing at it!! Maybe that’s part of my super powers?

In other news: Metabyte is now available for purchase in the USA, along with all 10 byte novels (paperback). Check out the “paperback” page on this site for details.