Quote from the inventor of a new (patent-pending) literary search engine: "I got up one morning and realized it was pretty difficult to find new authors I liked...I noticed that unless a book was a "top 20" book, it wasn't browsable on Amazon.com et al...New authors had trouble getting discovered, and even established authors had trouble expanding their reach." --Steve Gordon at AllReaders.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A few weeks ago, I opened an e-mail from an unknown sender. Risky behaviour? Yes, but with wonderful results. Mr. Steve Gordon, graduate of Yale University and from Harvard Law School, had troubled himself to solicit my help. In his search for writers, he had found me. :) Within minutes, I had not only visited his website, but become intrigued enough to volunteer... I now am a Scholar at AllReaders.com. Serendipity? With two print-on-demand novels to promote, I had been wondering: how on earth are readers going to select books to buy when so many new ways of publishing allow so many new authors to market their work? How is anyone going to find my books when neither their titles nor my name are well known? As the author of ten novels - mostly Science Fiction - Mr. Gordon also wondered. To him, the problem begged for a solution. He knew what to do: he invented a search engine driven by 2,000 literary criteria...volunteers helped to provide the data about books they had read in three categories...a fourth in the making. I seized the opportunity. Within ten minutes I had filled out a Romance questionnaire about my Regency novel, Lord Eaglebeak. Mr. Gordon even provided me with a chance to link to the spot where my book can be bought. I had so much fun, I submitted several reviews of some of my favorite books...including, naturally, my own, Theo's Ghost. (You'll find it under the Literature Category.) Readers will be able to specify their preferences about plot, theme, protagonist, setting, violence, romance...and many more details they'd like to find in a book. Mr. Gordon launched his website AllReaders.com in July, 2000. The patent for his invention -- The Gordonator Precision Search Engine -- is pending. On behalf of readers and writers alike, my thanks go out to Mr. Gordon. I am happy to invite everyone to check out his terrific new site. copyright 2000 Regina Pounds