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Announcing ... 'The Pocket and the Pendant'

Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2004 7:56 pm
by markjeffrey
Fellow Watchers,

Danlo gave me permission to let you all know about a book I've just published called 'The Pocket and the Pendant'. It's scifi/fantasy (of course! what else IS there? :) ) and I'd like to invite you check it out -- website with more info is here:

www.pocketandpendant.com

Now. It's not Runes, but I figure what with this group being appreciators of the fine Donaldsonian turn of the phrase and all, you might like what I've tried to do. Below is the press release that describes the book.

Thank you for listening. Now back to our regularly-scheduled leper :)
- Mark

New Novel “The Pocket and the Pendant” by Mark Jeffrey Released in Paperback and E-Book Editions Online - New Book Weaves Together A ‘Delightfully Odd’ Mix of Ancient Sumeria, Quantum Physics and Time Travel

New sci fi/fantasy novel is released using print-on-demand-publisher Lulu.com . Combining the appeal of works such as Stargate, Harry Potter, Narnia, Snow Crash and ancient Sumerian legend, the novel is a fast-paced adventure sure to thrill young and old alike.

Santa Monica, CA (PRWEB) October 7, 2004 -- Mark Jeffrey announced today the publication and worldwide release of his first book, a novel entitled “The Pocket and the Pendant”.

The book weaves together a delightfully odd blend of ancient Sumerian artifacts and legends, UFO’s, a curious rogue planet in our own solar system, ‘magic’ Books which operate through consciousness and quantum mechanical principles, and a bizarre sub-time called ‘The Pocket’.

Focusing on a boy named Max Quick, who may be far older than he seems and not quite human, the story begins with Time mysteriously stopping during an eclipse – except for Max and several other children. As they resolve to discover how and why this has occurred, the novel follows their twisting and turning adventures across the landscape of a time-frozen United States. Strange UFO-like objects now riddle the skies; they discover odd Books which exhibit quantum mechanical reality-bending properties. When they finally discover the answer to the riddle of how why the Pocket has occurred, they find that their own true identities may not be what they thought they were, and they must answer an ancient blood-feud going back to the beginning of time.

“The novel is written for both adults and young adult readers alike,” said author Mark Jeffrey, 37. “I consciously wrote in a fast-paced and humorous style accessible to both audiences, yet didn’t want to create something ‘kiddie’. There is a lot of rich vocabulary, deep philosophy, science and a dense tapestry of ‘how things work’ in this book – especially focusing on the idea that thought itself is the ultimate underpinning of the universe around us, as both mystical ancient traditions and hard-boiled quantum physics maintain. Yet, if you don’t care to explore these ideas with me, that’s perfectly fine as well: you’re left with a page-turner adventure story which I’ve tried to make very surprising.”

One reviewer of the book posted to the Lulu.com site called it, “like Stargate, Harry Potter, Snow Crash and the old 'Land of the Lost' rolled into one.” Another reviewer said, “I give this a definite TWO THUMBS UP and I wait in eager anticipation for the next in series,” while a third enthused, “…Incredible. Brilliant stuff!”

The 220-page, 100,000 word book is available immediately in two formats: a high-quality glossy paperback edition for $13.95 and a downloadable e-book edition for $5.00. It is available for purchase at the book’s website, found at www.pocketandpendant.com , or directly from print-on-demand publishing company Lulu.com (www.lulu.com). After only a week of limited release on Lulu.com, the book has already become one of the site’s all-time best-sellers. The novel will also be available through Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com at the end of October, 2004, and is currently on the shelves of several leading Los Angeles bookstores, including BookSoup www.booksoup.com .

A free preview, including the first two chapters, is available in .pdf format for immediate download from both Lulu.com and www.pocketandpendant.com . The website also includes cover art, news and updates about the book, a blog, and several reviews.


About “The Pocket and the Pendant” by Mark Jeffrey - ISBN: 1-4116-1323-6
From the back cover:
Max Quick was a very strange little boy indeed... But even he didn't suspect how strange -- until Time itself stops the world over. Now, he must unravel an ancient mystery drenched in magic Books, the lost Sumerian civilization, a curious rogue planet in our own solar system, and a bizarre, slushy nether-time called 'the Pocket'.

Racing desperately now against a clock that can no longer tick, Max struggles to recover a potent artifact known only as the Pendant. Yet, the closer he and his companions come to recovering it, the more they realize that their own true identities may yet sweep them into the machinations of the very adversaries they fight against...

www.pocketandpendant.com

About Author Mark Jeffrey
Mark Jeffrey has spent most of his life as an entrepreneur. "The Pocket and the Pendant", released in 2004, is his first novel. He has co-founded three online media companies, the most recent of which was sold to Barry Diller's IAC in 2004. His first project, The Palace, was backed by Time Warner and had an audience of over 10 million users, and was selected as one of 'The Best of 1996' by Entertainment Weekly. Mark has been named as one of Hollywood's '50 Creatives To Watch' by Variety magazine. Mark loves riding his Harley, working out at the gym and writing about cool things. Although he grew up in the northern wildwoods of New Hampshire, he successfully escaped The Land of the Ice and the Snow, and now lives near the beach in sunny Santa Monica, California.

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 2:02 am
by kevinswatch
Danlo gave you permission? Heh.-jay

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 2:15 am
by hierachy
Sounds very cool!

And yeah... Danlo gave you permission?

Um yeah

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 4:58 am
by markjeffrey
Um, yeah: Danlo gave me permission -- I asked.
I didn't feel right just posting a plug in this Stephen R. Donaldson-centric arena without the moderator saying it was okay first.
Is that weird for some reason? Call me nutty, but seemed like the proper etiquette to me.

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 5:24 am
by kevinswatch
Well, it's just that, I donno, danlo's not the person who owns the Watch...I am. Heh. :D -jay

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 5:26 am
by Worm of Despite
Rrribbit! That's right, Jay!

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 5:30 am
by [Syl]
Proper etiquette? Oooh, look fellas. Mr. Jeffrey's getting all fancy-schmancy on us now. All high and mighty, like. Well, we'll show you what we do to ruffians like that, now, won't we? BURN HIM!!!

Heheheh. No, that's very good. I think they were just wondering why danlo. But, as we all know, danlo is a very respected moderator here (Kevin's Watch, if not A&S), and a good source to ask. I doubt he'd phrase it as permission, tho. :mrgreen: ;)

Congrats of the highest order, Mark. With any luck, I'll be able to read your book sometime around the time I read Tom's (*cough* hint *cough*... tapping toes).

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 5:46 am
by kevinswatch
Yeah, I'm not yelling at you or anything. I just find it odd/funny. Heh.-jay

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 3:20 pm
by Fist and Faith
I hope B&N has it. I'll pick it up when I get Runes on Thursday. Congrats Mark!!

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 3:53 pm
by dlbpharmd
I'm just curious - are you the same Mark Jeffrey that SRD refers to in the clip about favorite characters on his website?

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 4:03 pm
by Revan
heh, very interesting! :D :D :D

Danlo gave you permission?

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 4:26 pm
by markjeffrey
OH.

I thought Danlo was the ak-haru SteveAustin Ardenol Moderator honorific of this board ... I guess in that I was mistaken.

OK well I TRIED to do the right thing :) And now I get the comments. Apologies to the High Lord for my error.

And now I find myself the target of that ARC-reading menace Darth Revan's mockery (like so many others, I have noticed).

For the other comments:
- B&N does not carry Pocket on its shelves (yet) ... it IS available online on the website (pocketandpendant.com) ... and will be on Amazon and B&N.com in the next few weeks. You shoudl be able to order it from whatever bookstore using the ISBN # (in press release above).
- I haven't seen the clip yet, but yes probably that's me --- I assume it was shot at elohimfest, i was the only mark jeffrey there .. :)

- M

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 4:56 pm
by dlbpharmd
My apologies - I've discovered after listening to the clip again that SRD is saying Mark Jaffe, not Mark Jeffrey. Please forgive my confusion.

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 6:17 pm
by duchess of malfi
But this Mark WAS at Elohimfest, so I think you will porbably be able to hear his voice at some point on the video clips. :)

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 7:02 pm
by danlo
8O Hey! Wait a minute! I never gave permission on behalf of the Watch and I suggested Mark PM Jay (perhaps he didn't know who Jay was...). I endorsed the idea and suggested Mark put this in announcements as the members here seem to be excited whenever a fellow member publishes, like Tom C, or is striving to publish, like Variol Farseer...

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 10:12 pm
by markjeffrey
Well now then ... since I thought you (Danlo) ran the Watch, when you said, 'Sure you have my blessing' I though it was 'official'. And now, I know it was not and I stand here, looking as graceful as a pregnant ur-Vile (an oxymoron, as we all know).
So I grovel before High Lord Jay for forgiveness, having committed the BBS equivalent of practicing the Rede (tries to hide bleeding hand ... )
- M

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 11:57 pm
by danlo
Sorry for any misunderstanding I thought you had every right, which you do, to let the Watch know about your book. Yes I gave you my blessing, but I don't run the Watch, I've been here forever and run the Hangar, but not the Watch. It's my fault I was going to PM Jay myself after I talked to you but I failed to... :(

Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2004 1:20 am
by kevinswatch
Heh, guys, really, it's no big deal. I just thought it was kinda funny. It's cool.-jay

Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2004 3:21 am
by markjeffrey
Well all's swell that ends swell.
Group Hug!!
And --- check out www.pocketandpendant.com!! :) You can read it before Runes! I'll like, be the warm band. ;)

Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2004 3:27 am
by Fist and Faith
I went to B&N this evening, and their computer didn't have any record of it at all. :( I hadn't read your site closely enough to notice you said the end of Oct for them. Guess I'll head to the hated Borders Thursday when I go to B&N for Runes.