 For anyone too young to have a clue, sliced bread was considered such an amazing invention, people would compare any great idea to it. Sure, now it seems kind of lame. And we won’t even get into that whole gluten-free thing. But the point is - these are some great ideas.
Note: We have no interest, affiliation, relationship with either of these - we just like them. ThirdScribe. For authors who want a website, a blog, a newsletter, a sales page, a page for their books, this site lets you have them all in one place. And they make it easy for you to use and connect with readers. Pretty brilliant all around. Check it out. Search Word Pro books from Paul Krupin. They’re called books but they’re really tools or maybe call them super-links. We got the Author Marketing one. It saves you the trouble of trying to hunt down the best information on a topic by giving you links to the top content on major search engines. It's a little hard to describe but a lot of fun to use. And just to add a little balance, here are two bad ideas. Posts on LinkedIn that make you click on the article and then come back to the discussion group. Who thought of this and why is it continuing? We’ve found some great information and good contacts through LinkedIn, but honestly this clicking back and forth is getting annoying. LI now offers people the chance to publish the full article. That is a good idea. Mailing List Offers. Some of our favorite bloggers (we’re not mentioning names) who used to send us information-rich news by email have suddenly discovered they can also start trying to sell us stuff. Sometimes it’s useful stuff, other times not so much. But the point is - we didn’t sign on for offers. We subscribed to a blog. We’re busy enough trying to get rid of all those emails from Target and Shoebuy. If that’s the direction they’re going to go, then we should be given the opportunity to opt-out. istockphoto- stacey_newman
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 If you want to be sure to have a copy of this fast-paced, psychological thriller as soon as it comes out, you can pre-order the Ebook now.
Here's what advance reviewers are saying: “JP Bloch’s Identity Thief careens through a spiraling labyrinth of stolen identities reminding one of Churchill’s riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. After his identity is stolen, Dr. Jesse Falcon goes from the frying pan, into the fire, into the endless quicksand of identity theft, until you just want to ask, as they did on the old TV show, ‘Will the real Jesse Falcon please stand up?’ But like Bloch says, the real identity thief is life itself. Identity Thief is an audacious and cleverly plotted, intriguing mystery that opens up new layers of deceit at every turn, like an endless trove of Russian nesting boxes, with one surprising twist after another. Definitely looking forward to his next.” Paul D. Marks, Shamus award-winning author, White Heat “This is a fun ride. Despite featuring deeply troubled characters, Bloch treats them with a sense of humor that softens some edges but dangerously sharpens others. There are times when you'll chuckle at a name or a seeming coincidence, then be blindsided with an unexpected—sometimes unsettling—turn. As the main players lose and find identities, you'll be pulled into their fragmenting worlds where truth is temporary and few are whom they seem—to others or to themselves.” Frank Tavares, author of The Man Who Built Boxes and other stories If you like psychological thrillers, you'll really enjoy Identity Thief.  Sometimes.
Then there are the ones who've led incredibly interesting lives but when it comes to capturing that on paper, they fall flat. Or else, they tell wonderful stories. In person. Only their books bore you to tears. But sometimes it all comes together. A fascinating guy with a great knack for storytelling. Like JP Bloch. Here's a little more: JP Bloch has a PhD but hopes people won’t hold it against him. His last name is pronounced “Block,” not “Blotch,” but he’s gotten used to it. He has been called far worse. He has lived all over the country, and so far the feds have not busted him. He finally settled in Connecticut, where he is an indentured servant to his dog. JP writes on his king-size bed with the fan on. His hobbies include eating cashews while watching TV and overdosing on film noir favorites. Doc Bloch, as he affectionately calls himself, teaches criminology, gender, and other things. He has appeared on TV and radio numerous times. Having grown up in different households, he became interested at a young age in the fragility of self-identity. On his own since age 15, he also developed a lifelong interest in finding food and shelter. Thus he hopes you will buy this book. He has discarded many identities himself over the years before sticking with chocolate mint chip. JP is also a victim of identity theft, which is ironic since he has no money. He enjoys people who have gained wisdom from hardship, and ask questions more than they assume answers. His turn-offs include Brussels sprouts, bigotry, and people who think life is simple. Besides novels, he writes poetry, non-fiction and scholarly articles. JP’s paintings have been hailed as naïve folk art. Tumultuous skies are preferred over sunny ones. His new book, Identity Thief, a psychological thriller, will be out in September. It will be available for pre-order on Kindle in the next week. Stay tuned for more information. "The biggest mistake you can make is thinking you know who you are."  Like snowflakes, no two of us are alike. Each of us lives through our own private movie camera called a self. Like many people, I’ve wondered who I am, or what if I were someone else. Then I became a victim of identity theft, and I realized the self is more than just how I feel inside. It also is my name, credit cards, and computer passwords.
I am a firm believer in making lemonade out of a lemon, so I wrote a novel called Identity Thief. It is totally fictional and not at all the story of me. I am a much more ordinary person than the greedy, corrupt, sex-crazed people in the book. But I was fascinated by how identity theft can change the lives of both the victim and the thief. In fact, you may like the thief more than the victim. He is not a very nice guy. Interesting, but not nice. As the story snowballs dangerously down the hill, I learned right along with my characters about the mystery of the self. How we can lose ourselves, or turn into other people. And how this can lead to duplicity, blackmail, murder . . . well, I don’t want to spoil the surprises. But Identity Thief will keep you guessing until the last word. And next time you look in the mirror, you may want to make sure you look twice. JP Bloch Identity Thief by JP Bloch coming in September from Bacon Press Books. Cover by Al Pranke, Amp13 |