The Authorized Version

My children raised me right. Our sons grew up playing Dungeons and Dragons with their friends in our basement and our second son and his wife are enthusiastic members of The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) so I get it about roleplaying. But I really had no idea what I was getting into when I responded to a note on one of my mystery-reading loops offering author interviews on Second Life.

I had read about the latest virtual phenomenon in The Wall Street Journal, about how companies like IBM and Sony are establishing spaces on Second Life for business meetings, and universities have created classrooms where they hold actual classes teaching their students who show up in the persona of their avatars. And, yes, I saw the movie, so I knew what an Avatar was. But I really had no idea what a fun experience it can be to enter Second Life. (No, that’s not to say I’m in my second childhood— yet.) And I had no idea how much book promotion is being done there.

I owe it all to the lady I know best as Netera (her SL name) who is Denise Fleisher in real life, a journalist, novelist and book publicist of many years’ experience whose passion is now promoting authors on Second Life. Netera very patiently walked me through the process of signing up and downloading Second Life and creating an Avatar— which is free and took less than 5 minutes. In SL I’m Felicity Colinsgrove, a little blond in a kilt who was born in London. Then Netera, a stately, sexy brunette with masses of hair and lots of cool outfits, took me into her "sim" (simulated world) of Terric where she has a gorgeous Victorian tea shop, a coffee house, and a bookstore where she now promotes her books, my books and several other authors. Our book covers are on the walls and customers can click to receive a notecard telling them all about the book, then, hopefully, go to Amazon or my website to buy them.

My first interview was a delightful discussion in Netera’s coffee house with Netera and Felicity sitting in comfy chairs and about 15 of Netera’s SL friends dropping by to introduce themselves, ask questions and take notecards about my books. Netera had advertised the event on SL and I had announced it on my social media, although none of my friends were bold enough to enter this Brave New World.

On another day Netera took me to Book Island, another sim where I had a blast hanging out in their coffee house. Most of the people I met there were from the UK and most of them writers who also have bookstores on Book Island.

Now we’ve scheduled a Reading and Book signing for THE SHADOW OF REALITY on Tuesday, June 29 at 3:30 PDT (SL time is always Pacific Time) which will make it 11:30 p.m. for our UK readers. This date is set to coordinate with the Ebook push my publisher is holding for The Shadow of Reality on the next day— but that’s another story.

If you are interested in learning more of the science and background go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life

If you want a personalized tour Netera would be delighted to help you get started, show you around, and even help you promote your own book. And, of course, I would be thrilled if some of my readers showed up for my reading on Tuesday 29th! Just send Netera a note at Netera@aol.com

I am told that it’s the wave of the future. That may be right. It’s certainly a lot of fun and a great way to amaze your family and friends. My computer engineer son said, "My mom’s geekier than I am." I considered it a compliment.