Punishing the Purchaser: FBI Warnings and Other Follies

I hope they don't sue me for pirating this screen shot. I ripped it straight from a DVD I had laying around.

Anyway, I popped in the Knight's Tale DVD the other day and had to sit through two piracy warnings that stayed on my screen for 30 seconds each before even seeing the main menu. Then I started the movie and guess what? Another FBI warning! If I hadn't already owned the DVD for a couple of years, I would have returned it.

Instead I ask; does anyone actually think this works?

I mean, being put out of my way actually makes me lean towards just logging on to my favourite p2p (peer to peer) site and grabbing whatever I'd like. At least the piracy groups know not to inconvenience their patrons.

I remember seeing the first two minute anti-piracy commercial after paying $11.00 to see a movie in a theater, I was pretty tempted to leave. Is that kind of advertising supposed to inspire me to go on some crusade against piracy? Am I supposed to feel ashamed if I download a missed episode of television or grab a copy of a movie from the net because I haven't gotten my copy from Amazon yet? I'll tell you, it doesn't work. I know plenty of people with massive digital movie collections and they don't look guilt ridden. I also don't feel like shaking my finger at them and telling them that they're hurting the creators of that work.

Theft is wrong, that's undeniable. If everyone who read my books pirated them I would still be working in a call center cubicle and I'd be spending thousands of dollars submitting manuscripts and mail outs to agents and publishers around the world. A few science fiction fans have put their support behind me because they had access to some of my work and as a result I'm writing for them full time. I still have to work to continue getting the word out to build that following, but I don't mind.

On the other hand I'm not interested in posting big notices in the first pages of my books telling them (the readers, my supporters), that piracy is wrong, and that I'll sue them if I find out they made a copy for someone else! Imagine starting into one of my EBooks and seeing a whole page dedicated to that kind of threat? I don't think anyone would put up with it.

So, since it's not illegal, I've started ripping all my DVD's to a hard drive, skipping the FBI warnings and keeping all the digital picture and surround sound goodness. You see, what they don't tell you in those threatening announcements is that everyone who owns an intellectual product is allowed to make 1 or more copies for backup purposes. That's true in Canada, the US and the UK. My glossy DVD's will sit on the shelves getting dusty and ignored from now on.

As a final note with regards to piracy, the whole digital information industry is trying to find a new business model that lets everyone think they're getting something for free. I'd love to give my stuff away, but I don't receive enough donations or have enough cash in the bank to allow for it. That doesn't mean I'm going to wait to be rich to find a way to get my books out there cheaply or freely. In the future I'll be trying a few different strategies on my own as I discover new opportunities. No promises at this point, I'm still looking at several options. My point is that there will be ways to get content for free eventually, even though it may take another decade for companies to figure out how to stay in business and finance their productions.

RL

[Are you an advocate for piracy or a supporter of the content creators? Do you have a solution that lands somewhere in the middle? Leave a comment!]

Somacow: The Spinward Fringe Resurrection Review

Geoff took the time to review Spinward Fringe Resurrection, the first book of that series. He and the other fellows at the Somacow Radio show (J and Ross), have already reviewed the First Light Chronicles series (Freeground, Limbo and Starfree Port), and did a good, entertaining job of it.

With the Spinward Fringe series going strong, I'm glad to see that the guys are interested and that Geoff is continuing with the reviews. Apparently, Geoff is very happy to continue the reviews as well, give it a listen!

For the rest of the reviews you can check the links on the right (under Reviews and Interviews) and for more SomaCow as well as other radio shows on the network visit www.somacow.net

RL

Annoucing: Spinward Fringe Triton

This is the third volume in the Spinward Fringe series. I'll tell you a few things about this book while sparing the spoilers.

Triton is a longer book with more attention paid to a few characters you've seen but have remained out of the spotlight until now. As the third book in this new series it ties up a lot of loose ends from all the other books, including the First Light Chronicles.

Here there be answers! The First Light Chronicles and especially the Spinward Fringe series are written as a serialized television show in prose. The very nature of that kind of writing demands loose ends but that doesn't mean that I don't get to give you a set of satisfying endings. I'm happy with how these plotlines wrap up, and I'm working to make the entire book as entertaining and gripping as possible so when you're finished you want more. Not because there are a half dozen unanswered questions, but because the universe between the covers is so enjoyable you need more.

Here's the really important bit, the information I want everyone to carry away once you're finished reading this post: - Spinward Fringe is an unlimited series. - There will be more, in fact as I'm writing Triton I'm writing notes on Spinward Fringe Book IV and Spinward Fringe Book V. Like I said, think of this like a television series and the only people who can cancel it are the readers.

Every day more people are buying the First Light Chronicles Omnibus (That includes the Freeground, Limbo and Starfree Port books). A lot of those same people are buying Spinward Fringe Resurrection and Awakening. That tells me that people need the third book, that they're entertained and that's where I get my buzz. There's nothing like knowing that someone's glued to your pages, especially when the story you're writing is such a pleasure to pen.

I'm enjoying writing Triton, I can't write the scenes fast enough and I've never been so invested in a story or the characters who are playing it out.

More on Triton coming soon. In the meantime, enjoy what's already available!

RL

Spinward Fringe Awakening: Released!

That's right, the second book in the Spinward Fringe series is now available through a few eBook retailers (Mobipocket and Amazon Kindle shortly thereafter), and Lulu.com in print as well as in non-DRM PDF.
Here's the synopsis:

The crew of the Samson are caught up in the problems of their Captain as his past starts to catch up with him. Just as new allies start to fall in line old enemies come creeping out of the shadows, putting everyone at risk.

While the crew struggles to deal with their own problems, Regent Galactic begins putting a plan in motion that could bring about the fourth fall of man and position their Corporation as the sole savior of the civilized outer fringe of space. Their ambition and greed spell disaster for the bulk of mankind.

The threads of Jake Valance's past start to come together in this, the second part of the Spinward Fringe series. He's at the same time to be the benefactor and victim of a personal history he knows nothing about.
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I try my damndest to top myself with every novel and novella. I believe that if my latest isn't better than the one before it it's either not finished or not worth releasing to the public. I'm fiercely proud of how Spinward Fringe is coming together and of this book in particular. I think the characters really start speaking, you start learning where some of them come from and the plot gets bigger. The momentum will carry you right to the end, and I promise you won't be disappointed when you get there.

I'm working on the next book in this series right now, but I'm so happy to tell you that Awakening takes you somewhere. It's somewhere (plot wise), that I don't think anyone's ever taken you before on television, in movies, or in a book. Enjoy this, I know I did.

RL

Spinward Fringe: The Next Science Fiction Series

A few people have read the entire First Light Chronicles series, and a lot of people are downloading the first book, Freeground for the first time. I couldn't be happier, well, maybe I could be.

I'm positively beaming here as I announce a new series of science fiction novels just on the horizon. The working title for the first is Spinward Fringe.

I can't reveal much about it, only that some of the same characters from the First Light Chronicles series appear in the new books, and that it's going to be a very different story, style and setting. Other than that it's too early to say anything, I'm only 103 pages into my first draft, after all.

As far as the First Light Chronicles are concerned, I'm submitting them to Amazon.com this week under Lulu.com's label. Let's face it, the more copies I sell the better the chances are that I'll be able to do this full time, so wider distribution is a very good thing.

Science Fiction is alive and well here, I'm glad to say, so sit back and wait for the new book to come along then enjoy the show.

RL

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