Please Stand By...

I thought it was strange when my latest novel came out and a couple of weeks went by and there wasn't a single note from a fan. Not that I get a constant flood but for some years now it has been at least a constant trickle. Then, I had an article published in the NY Times (of all places) and again, not a single note except to a few people I sent links to directly. Now, I've never before been published in the Times, so I had no idea whether I'd get anything or not, but I figured on at least a note or two.


And I also had a short story published in an anthology, BRONX NOIR. I've had people talk to me in bookstores about liking my story, and, again, a few private emails, but nothing at all through my website. And my website was also posted when my story came out in Demolition, too.

Then I ran a contest on my website. All you had to do was send me an email through my website (just to show you'd been there, pretty much) and I'd enter you to win one of six copies of my latest novel. I advertised the contest on this blog but, more importantly, through a couple of mystery related places including DorothyL. No response. Not a single one.

So it dawned on me. Maybe the website isn't running, but it is. Maybe the email form isn't coming up, but it does. Maybe if you actually send an email, it sends you to an error page or something. It doesn't. Maybe if you send an email, it just disappears into a black hole never to be seen again and without the courtesy of an error message or a bounce back to let the email sender know something has gone wrong. BINGO!!!

If you have emailed me through my website in the past three or four weeks, I have not gotten it. Sorry. I am trying to figure out if I can retrieve those old messages, but that may take some time. If not, I will certainly re-run the contest for those interested.