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Kyuboria was written in nine months--about the same time that it takes to make a human. I have been asked by many people if Kyuboria is a true story. The answer is emphatically: not really.

Kyuboria is fiction. However, the human brain is a wonderful and mysteriously complex organism. It stores, hides, processes, correlates, amalgamates, and regurgitates a ceaseless stream of plethorae that cannot easily be categorized as "fiction" or "non-fiction". Since I am not an expert on neurological processing of superfluous minutia, my qualifications to answer this lingering question is limited.

I hope this clears things up.

How do you pronounce "Kyuboria"?

Pretty simple: Kyu sounds like the cu in cubicle.

bor sounds like bore.

ia is like the end of "diarrhea"

(and we all appreciate the end of diarrhea)

Put it all together:

cu-bore-ee-ya,  with the emphasis on the bore.

OR

Q - Boria

Where does this word come from?

It's a cubicle. It's boring. Cuboria. Alternate spelling: Kyuboria.

Kyuboria is defined as the internal space of my cubicle, and as the collective of all internal cubicle space.

It is also a metahpor for a box. People get themselves into all kinds of boxes, some of them physical, some emotional, some situational. The thing to remember is that if you want to get out of the box, you have to learn to think inside the box.

That's what Kyuboria is about. Getting out of the box.

Clint Palmer, the central figure of "Kyuboria", has spent far too much time in the box. His weariness has been honed to razor sharp indifference, tempered by a total lack of interest.

He realizes all too well that he must get out, if only to preserve his sanity, but his will to achieve has atrophied to the point of immobility. This is what makes him a cubicle hero, of sorts. No one expects much from Kyuboria, and yet Clint realizes that to escape he will have to put forth the effort of a lifetime.

He will have to strive. Struggle. Achieve.

He will have to accomplish the unthinkable. He will have to get fired by the State.

You'll never look at four walls the same again.

Check this out-

Kyuboria poster designed by Dorota Swies

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Talking Points: About the Book: Primarily for Other Authors.

It's easy to imagine that once your book is in production, you are finished. But this is just one phase of a prolonged  process. Writing is a process, itself made up of various sub-processes. From the original idea, to outlining, to actual writing, to re-writing, and re-writing, and re-writing...

Selling the book is part of the process, too. Marketing requires the same creative energy that went into writing the book, and in some ways is harder because it involves skill sets that the author may not possess in abundance. Although the author is the world's leading expert on his or her book, promotion doesn't always come easy, and mistakes will be made. Talking about your book in front of groups is a key part of a book marketing effort, but it sometimes takes a while to smooth things out.

I remember my first book event. It was held at the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Bookstore, and for the most part went quite well. I had just published Palm Sunday, my first book, and was delighted to sell over thirty copies, mostly to coworkers. At the end of the signing I was to give a presentation, and a crowd of about twenty people had assembled.

Palm Sunday is a technological thriller about a stolen palm computer and the organized violation of our online privacy. The book has a big picture of a palm computer on the cover, as this is a central object in the story. For this reason I thought it would be great if I used a palm computer in my presentation.

So far, so good.

But I took this a bit too far. I suppose  because this was my first event I was very nervous about what I was going to say, or more accurately, about forgetting what I intended to say. Thus, I wrote down everything, and the end result was a detailed speech. In itself this was not a problem, as it forced me to organize my thoughts and facts.

The problem developed when I decided to put the speech into a palm computer, and  to actually read from it during my presentation. I thought this would be a nice touch, as it would tie in with the theme of the book. However, two issues quickly emerged.

First, the text on a palm computer is very, very small, and is only displayed a few lines at a time. I could hardly see what I was supposed to say next, and things were constantly scrolling on or off the screen. My head bobbed up and down like one of those rear window doggies. (You don't see them much anymore.)

Second, it's almost always a bad idea to use a verbatim speech when talking about your book. People want to hear from YOU, about your experiences, feelings, techniques, and so forth in a human, natural way. Reading a speech presents information, but usually leaves out the interactive and interesting dialogue that audiences crave.

Talking points are fine, or reminders of facts and figures that are easy to forget in the course of a presentation, but don't depend on a completely pre-written speech. It doesn't play well. When you are doing a book signing or other book-related event, the key word is fun, both for you and your audience. Sure, you want to present factual information, and your fans will be interested in how you went about writing, how you got published, and all the ups and downs that you experienced along the way. Just make sure you don't put them to sleep by reading instead of talking.

If you have the creative wherewithal to write a book, you certainly should be able to speak intelligently about it off the cuff. This can be scary, but if people come to hear you speak about your book it's because they are interested. Give them what they want, be confident in your ability to present, and have a great time!