Birthdays, AARP & Virtual Reality!

Today I am 41 years old! And for the record, I have absolutely no problem being 41. Honestly, I wouldn't be 21 again for anything. At 41 I think I finally have some things figured out and I am pretty happy in my own skin. But I wish someone would tell AARP that I'm only 41 because they keep sending me membership cards! I got another one last week. I got one around this time last year, too. Seriously, I look forward to every age related discount I have coming to me down the road. But all in due time. I'm in no big hurry. I just know that there is another Angela Henry out there somewhere who is turning 50 this year and is probably waiting with bated breath for her AARP card to arrive and she's not going to get it because they've sent it to me!

Yesterday, I got an email about author Donna Hill's guest appearence on a cyber TV show on Second Life. For those of you who aren't familiar with Second Life, it's a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by a total of 8,360,141 Residents from around the globe.

A friend of mine introduced me to Second Life last year. Basically you create an avatar that represents you and you interact in this 3-D world. You can work, play, meet people, network, even attend classes and own property. It is not a video game. Authors and publishers are discovering the possiblities of promoting books on Second Life. Back in April there was the first cyber book fair. There are authors who own cyber bookstores and give regular readings of new work or host virtual book club discussions.

Donna Hill was a guest on the Second Life Cable Network show Authors In Your Pocket, which is hosted by publicist L. Peggy Hicks. Bestselling author Dean Koontz has also taken advantage of book promotion in Second Life by giving a reading of his latest book, The Good Guy, in Bantam Dell's virtual book cafe in Second Life. Okay, can you tell how cool I think this is, especially for someone as shy as me who's never been real big on face-to-face book events? It's been a while since I visited Second Life. But I plan to get back real soon. I think this is a fascinating approach to book promotion and could potentially open up a whole new audience for books.

Enjoy!

Angela