August 29 turned out to be a memorable day: the fiction novel The YouTube Candidate was released in the U.S. and Great Britain. For those on the mailing lists, please excuse the brief repetition that follows. Some readers reach the site without being members of the address groups that provide notification when a new monthly update is posted. So … please indulge me for a few paragraphs while I share that information with them also.
The blurb on the back cover of the book describes the story pretty well. “The YouTube Candidate is a political thriller set in the divisive atmosphere of the present day. When Matt Anderson stands behind the family’s kitchen table and makes a speech that a president might deliver to the American people, his intention is to help his daughter with her class project. Instead, his presentation captivates the nation and elicits calls for him to enter the on-going campaign. Replete with warmth, humor, and unexpected moments of high drama, the story traces the formation of an advisory “Dream Team” whose “outside the box” campaign innovations and dynamic ideas seek to overcome the new party’s late start and underfunding. Results on election night lead to employment of a little-known constitutional process and the nail-biting suspense of determining the next President of the United States.”
The book is available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Waterstones – or, it can be ordered directly from the publisher at 1-800-223-2336. (The publisher is Pegasus, a British company, but Simon & Schuster handle distribution of the book in the U.S. and Canada.) Their email address is [email protected] Snail mail address is 100 Front Street, Riverside, NJ 08075. The international book distributor is IngramSpark.
As also mentioned on the note to the address groups, as a result of COVID, many book companies remain short staffed in areas such as editing, publicity, and marketing. Thus, they are asking those readers who enjoy the book to kindly assist by telling others about it via Twitter (X), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or other social media networks they are part of. I hope that you will like the story and, if you do, that you will pass that news on to others.
Okay, time to move on to other things.
The other book that is in the works – the military history book titled Taking Command (followed a subtitle) – seems to be progressing on schedule. (The schedule is a long one, though.) The initial draft manuscript, pictures, and maps, have been provided to the publisher (Rowman & Littlefield). The projected release date is June, 2025.
One of my daughters loaned me a fascinating book that was of interest for several reasons. The book is titled Conspiracy: A History of Bullocks Theories, and How Not to Fall for Them. It dissects conspiracy theories of all kinds from antiquity to the present day: assassinations, UFOs, political intrigue, COVID and other immunization controversies, and numerous others. Original sources are identified and the cross-currents of information and misinformation associated with the theory are discussed. There are some nice discussions of ways to determine the validity of specific theories and theories in general – sources of information, validity checks, etc.
The other thing that was of interest to me was one of the names on the cover of the book. It was a familiar name: Tom Phillips. Full disclosure: it is not me. It was written by one of at least two other authors who share the name. As I’ve said before, who’d have thought that the name would be that common. It is probably too late to change mine to avoid confusion. The Tom Phillips that wrote the Conspiracy book is British. He previously ran a highly regarded fact checking organization in the U.K. The other Tom – or Thomas – Phillips is a historian who has also written some military history works. One of those is titled Black Regulars. It is about the African-American soldiers and units – such as the “Buffalo Soldiers” – who have served in the U.S. Army. It is a very good, well written book. The interesting circumstance is that when you google up my name and ask for a list of my books, that one is often erroneously credited to me. I have tried on two or three occasions – so far to no avail – to correct that entry so the other Thomas Phillips gets proper recognition for it. If anyone has had a similar problem or ideas on how to resolve it, please let me know.
And, finally, some puns to tide us over until next time.
Not to brag, but I just went into another room and actually remembered why went there. It was the bathroom, but still …
What disease did cured ham actually have?
You’d be surprised how quickly employees at Lowe’s assist you after ignoring you for 20 minutes when you try to start a chainsaw.
/////
Best wishes, always
Tom
The blurb on the back cover of the book describes the story pretty well. “The YouTube Candidate is a political thriller set in the divisive atmosphere of the present day. When Matt Anderson stands behind the family’s kitchen table and makes a speech that a president might deliver to the American people, his intention is to help his daughter with her class project. Instead, his presentation captivates the nation and elicits calls for him to enter the on-going campaign. Replete with warmth, humor, and unexpected moments of high drama, the story traces the formation of an advisory “Dream Team” whose “outside the box” campaign innovations and dynamic ideas seek to overcome the new party’s late start and underfunding. Results on election night lead to employment of a little-known constitutional process and the nail-biting suspense of determining the next President of the United States.”
The book is available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Waterstones – or, it can be ordered directly from the publisher at 1-800-223-2336. (The publisher is Pegasus, a British company, but Simon & Schuster handle distribution of the book in the U.S. and Canada.) Their email address is [email protected] Snail mail address is 100 Front Street, Riverside, NJ 08075. The international book distributor is IngramSpark.
As also mentioned on the note to the address groups, as a result of COVID, many book companies remain short staffed in areas such as editing, publicity, and marketing. Thus, they are asking those readers who enjoy the book to kindly assist by telling others about it via Twitter (X), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or other social media networks they are part of. I hope that you will like the story and, if you do, that you will pass that news on to others.
Okay, time to move on to other things.
The other book that is in the works – the military history book titled Taking Command (followed a subtitle) – seems to be progressing on schedule. (The schedule is a long one, though.) The initial draft manuscript, pictures, and maps, have been provided to the publisher (Rowman & Littlefield). The projected release date is June, 2025.
One of my daughters loaned me a fascinating book that was of interest for several reasons. The book is titled Conspiracy: A History of Bullocks Theories, and How Not to Fall for Them. It dissects conspiracy theories of all kinds from antiquity to the present day: assassinations, UFOs, political intrigue, COVID and other immunization controversies, and numerous others. Original sources are identified and the cross-currents of information and misinformation associated with the theory are discussed. There are some nice discussions of ways to determine the validity of specific theories and theories in general – sources of information, validity checks, etc.
The other thing that was of interest to me was one of the names on the cover of the book. It was a familiar name: Tom Phillips. Full disclosure: it is not me. It was written by one of at least two other authors who share the name. As I’ve said before, who’d have thought that the name would be that common. It is probably too late to change mine to avoid confusion. The Tom Phillips that wrote the Conspiracy book is British. He previously ran a highly regarded fact checking organization in the U.K. The other Tom – or Thomas – Phillips is a historian who has also written some military history works. One of those is titled Black Regulars. It is about the African-American soldiers and units – such as the “Buffalo Soldiers” – who have served in the U.S. Army. It is a very good, well written book. The interesting circumstance is that when you google up my name and ask for a list of my books, that one is often erroneously credited to me. I have tried on two or three occasions – so far to no avail – to correct that entry so the other Thomas Phillips gets proper recognition for it. If anyone has had a similar problem or ideas on how to resolve it, please let me know.
And, finally, some puns to tide us over until next time.
Not to brag, but I just went into another room and actually remembered why went there. It was the bathroom, but still …
What disease did cured ham actually have?
You’d be surprised how quickly employees at Lowe’s assist you after ignoring you for 20 minutes when you try to start a chainsaw.
/////
Best wishes, always
Tom
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