Well, the good news is that The Moroni Deception was sent off to BookBaby yesterday.  The bad news is that because of whatever they have to do for their conversion process into an e-pub file, it's going to take another couple of weeks before they'll send it off to their various e-Book partners and distributors.  Then after that, Amazon will have it up in just a couple of days--the others (Nook, Kobo, Sony, IPad, etc) however, will take several weeks (will keep you posted).  I've also recently learned if you don't have an e-reading device (and this makes perfect sense), there are a number of free aps (Kobo comes to mind, along with quite a few of them that work with Amazon) that can be downloaded to convert your desktop, laptop, or smartphone in to your own e-reader.  Despite this information which I passed on to a relative the other day who was Kindle-less, she still insisted that she much preferred books, and would probably not take my advice (and, I guess, would therefore not read my book until it came out in hardcopy).  Now, I'm just about as old school (or Luddite-like) as it gets when it comes to electronic gizmos and gadgets (I barely make use of my cell phone which mostly just sits in my car for emergencies), but when you can store up an entire library in the palm of your hand for a fraction of the cost (not to mention all the free Classics and older titles), I'm not quite sure what the cons are.  Now I've heard some people, like my 70-year-old father, say they're tactile and just have to have something to hold in their hands so they can turn actual pages (which I guess for some is part of the reading experience), but she actually said that she preferred books because she wanted "something for verification" of what she had read.  That I don't get, and I'm also pretty sure most libraries (or friends) don't let you keep their books after you've read them for your reading trophies.  That said, I do keep my copies of A Confederacy of Dunces, Ishmael, The Sirens of Titan, The Impressionist, Catch-22, Catcher in the Rye, Candide, MacDonald's Travis McGee series, the complete works of Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe, and Roald Dahl's short stories by my bedside to reread whenever the spirit moves me--books or stories that were important to me at some time in my life and which remind me of simpler times.  Until next time.  Jack

Just got the final outside edit to go over and then it's off to the (figurative) presses (Amazon's Kindle, B&N's Nook, Sony's Reader Store, Kobo, Apple's iBookstore, Copia, Gardners, Baker & Taylor, and eBookPie).  Also, the website http://www.themoronideception.com/  is just about complete, and you should be able to read the first 10 relatively short, quick-moving chapters for free in the next few days to see if THE MORONI DECEPTION is your cup of tea.  Then after that, if you like it--less than the price of a movie ticket to read the complete novel (which also includes the historical prologue not included on the website).   Also, please feel free to forward on to any of your friends whom you think might be interested by clicking one of the tabs (Twitter, FB G+1, or email) on the upper righthand side of the homepage.  And just as a reminder if you haven't read some of the earlier entries, quite a few people who've already read THE MORONI DECEPTION have described it as a sort of Mormon DaVinci Code with similar elements (although, I won't say which ones) from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (which I actually didn't read until just a few years ago, long after my story was pretty much complete--I've just been rewriting for the last couple of years).   However, I will say the story is wholly unique and I only throw out those other two titles so you won't be expecting The Help or some Jonathan Franzen opus.   Until next time,  Jack

The other day I mentioned something about the program I had heard Amazon ran, which would have allowed me to get THE MORONI DECEPTION into the hands of new readers for free for the first five days.  Guess I should have checked the details first, because while they do, in fact, have that program, I would've had to have given them an exclusive on the novel for the first 90 days.  While Amazon is definitely the 800 pound gorilla in the e-Book room, quite a few people do have Nooks, Kobos, and IPads and the like, and I want it to be available to everybody.  So, as a consolation, I'll run a little contest.  For the first 5 people who read this and email me at Jack.L.Brody@gmail.com, I'll send you an Amazon coupon or gift card (or for whatever e-reader you have, just let me know) to purchase THE MORONI DECEPTION.  The next 5 winners, however, will have to "decode" the writing below the angel on the book cover (if you click on the blog's book cover entry, it will enlarge it).   For the first five correct entries, I 'll send out a coupon or gift card as well.  I'd give you a hint, but what fun is there in that?  Until next time.  Jack

For those of you who appear to have stumbled across my blog, maybe you've checked out my still under construction website and seen this, but if not, here's the inside jacket synopsis to whet your appetite for what's to come.

Michael Chenault, award-winning investigative journalist with The New York Times, is rousted in the middle of the night by NYPD detectives and accused of the bizarre murder of a complete stranger.  After clearing himself, Chenault finds that Martin Koplanski, the retired history professor he'd been accused of murdering, was likely killed for a mysterious Mormon relic long thought to be just a myth.

Twenty-four hours later, Chenault receives an email with a photo of the recently murdered wife of Presidential candidate, Brockston Ratchford. She too appears to have been ritually killed in the exact manner as Koplanski, right down to having the same cryptic character scrawled in blood across her forehead. With way more than just a hunch to now go on, Chenault heads out to Salt Lake City, the site of the Ratchford murder investigation, to find out what, if any, connection there is between the murders.

With the help of a beautiful young reporter he meets along the way, Chenault comes to learn the dark family secrets of a rising political star, along with the rather strange but true history of the Mormon church.  As he pieces the story together of what appears to be an ever-growing conspiracy, Chenault is pursued by The Brothers, two murderous zealots who will stop at nothing to retrieve the Mormon relic Chenault is also trying to find. What Chenault eventually discovers is that what he's uncovered may not only affect the outcome of the next Presidential election, but decide the fate of an entire religion--if he can manage to stay alive.

In the tradition of Raymond Khoury, Brad Meltzer, Dan Brown and Steve Berry, The Moroni Deception is a cleverly conceived, twisting tale of deceit and political and religious intrigue by a new master of the conspiracy thriller.

(I don't know about that very last part yet, but it sure does sound good :)  Until next time.  Jack

　
　

Well, it only took five and a half years, but THE MORONI DECEPTION is finally frick'n finished.  Just have to reformat for the e-book conversion, to check the proofs, and then have it out to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Sony, and several others.  Remember, if you go to the website, which should be completed soon, you get to read a good number of chapters for free to see if it's your cup of tea, and then after that--less than the price of a movie ticket.  I'm also thinking about letting it go for free for the first 5 days on Amazon (they apparently have a program where you can do that), so stay tuned.  And don't forget to tell, FB, Twitter, G+1, and share with your friends.  All I would ask is, if you like it, please put a favorable blurb or review up on Amazon or Goodreads, and if you don't, well, just remember what your mother taught you,  "If you can't say anything nice. . ."   Just kidding.  It's a free country, and I'm all about freedom of speech.  Just be gentle :)   Until next time.  Jack

I can't be sure, but I'm pretty sure Walter Kronkite, Harry Reasoner, David Brinkley, Chet Huntly, Eric Sevareid, Howard K. Smith, Peter Jennings, John Chancellor, and Edward R. Murrow, all just rolled over in their graves tonight as NBC Nightly News closed with a piece on the quick and amicable settement between "TomKat."  (I think I actually vomited a little bit in the back of my mouth) I actually felt bad for poor Brian Williams who then had to close the segment and sign off, and who's shame-faced expression truly conveyed "This cannot be my life."  I guess once the network geniuses decided that news could actually be a moneymaking commodity, instead of treating it like the respectable, even prestigious loss-leader that it was for years, that was one of the early steps down a very wrong path. If anybody can share with me how yet even more information (like there's not enough already on the internet, in the tabloids, and the "Entertainment Tonight"-type shows) on Tom and Katie's failed nuptials help to contribute to the networks duty of keeping the public well informed (they have to agree to stuff like that when they get a broadcasting license), I would love to hear it.  (And I'm not normally this snarky, but had a rough last couple of days).  Until next time.   Jack.

      It just occurred to me, as I look up from what feels like the one hundredth rewrite of the last paragraph, that it’s been a while since my last entry. Along with all the rewriting I‘ve been doing, as the Chinese saying (or curse) goes, my life of late has been quite “interesting” (which partially explains at least one month of my delay in getting this thing finished). I really had planned to be finished by late May, but as July comes up around the corner, I’m pretty sure that’s not going to be happening. I’m also still trying to decide what the focus of this blog should be. I’m pretty sure most people don’t want to hear about the writing process, and how difficult and lonely it can sometimes be--that’s just depressing (and not entirely true, because I find that when I sometimes get into a “Matrix”-like groove--where everything that needs corrected or rewritten just leaps out at me-- I can write for several hours and barely notice that any time has passed).
     Maybe every once in a while I’ll toss out my two cents about the writing life, but for now, with a Presidential election coming up (which is one of the focus’s of the novel), and all the shenanigans, mudslinging, and negative advertisements coming up, that seems like about as good a subject as any to occasionally comment upon. That, along with another aspect of the book, which is also fairly relevant-- the slow drawn-out death of traditional news reporting, much to the detriment of our country and our democracy. The Fourth Estate was once one of the unwritten “checks and balances“ of government, but both "sides" now seem to have gotten so partisan, that half of what they report can probably be tossed aside (the unnerving question, though, is, which half?). Then perhaps almost as unsettling--the alarmingly heavy reliance on info-tainment. But then it seems if certain news organizations don’t adapt in the changing news landscape (going partisan or into the quasi-entertainment business with their news) they either go completely under, or flounder until they eventually adapt or die. It really is actually pretty scary. Would, of course, be curious to hear your thoughts as well?   Until next time.   Jack