Or, how about your friend or loved one?

The next Detective Shakespeare Mystery is almost here, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have supported me by giving you a chance at having a character named after you. All you need to do is join the Facebook Fan Page (link on the right), and then I will randomly pick names. There are several characters available, ranging from victims to police, bystanders to innocent roommates.

Be immortalized in indestructible print and eInk like previous contest winners Brent Richards, Tracy Oswald and Steve Scaramell. Their lives were forever changed (since that’s what lives tend to do from one day to the next) after being featured in Depraved Difference.

Here’s how it works. I’m going to pick a name each week until I’ve filled the list. If your name is chosen, I’ll let you know via Facebook, and you can tell me whether or not you want the honor (and it is an honor!), and how you’d like your name to appear. I will, if possible, give you a choice of characters I think you might like being. As well, if you were asked to join by another friend for this contest, I will ask for their name, and they too will get a character named after them.

So what does that mean? It means the more friends you get to join in the fun by joining my Facebook Fan Page, the more chances you have of winning.

Please remember: this is all in good fun. If I use your name, and you don’t like the character being portrayed, remember it isn’t you, so don’t take it personally. And don’t worry, none of these characters are people you’d be embarrassed to have your name associated with. Again, this is just for fun. As well, if I pick a name out of the proverbial hat that doesn’t fit the remaining characters, I reserve the right to pick another. For example, if all I have left is an eighty year old grandfather, and your name is Moonunit Zappa, sorry, I will have to pick another name, because everybody knows Moonunit is a girl’s name.

So, if you haven’t already, join, then invite your friends. You never know, you could become a recurring character like Officer Brent Richards.

Regards,

Rob

The goal had been to reach 100 fans and that has been done, thanks everyone who joined!  To wrap up the last contest, the winner is:

Steve Scaramell

So NYPD Officer William Danby is now NYPD Officer Steve Scaramell.  The scene has already been edited with the new name.  Thanks Steve for entering!

Next Contest

Currently there are 111 fans on my Facebook fan page and I’m looking for 250. As in previous contests, I will be picking a random name from the current 111 fans.   Since I haven’t been able to reach that person yet, I will announce their name at the end of this contest.

The Rules (or lack thereof)

All you need to do is encourage your friends to become a fan. I will randomly select from the entire bunch, and then ask who referred them. Both of you will get characters renamed after you. So like any draw, the more friends you refer, the better your chance of winning is. With all that said, here is the one rule:

Visit the fan page and join if you haven’t already.

If you win, you can choose who you want the character named after, if you don’t want to name it after yourself. You must get the person to join so I can contact them to confirm they agree, and, yes, they can join after you win.

I’m going to let this one go until the 250 fans have joined, so considering I have nearly 500 friends on FB, this should be over this week!  Or not, we’ll see how rabid you all are. 

Warning: There is nothing negative about these characters; all that is being done here is giving them a name. Any traits they may or may not actually share with you are completely coincidental, as they are already written. By entering, you agree to not be offended, take exception to, cry about, etc, how you may feel you are being portrayed, since, after all, it is just a name and has nothing to do with you. This is for fun, so let’s keep it that way.

Thanks again for your support. And join now!

And don’t forget The Protocol, coming this fall, makes a great Christmas gift for everyone you know! View the first trailer on YouTube.

As previously promised, albeit a little late, the next contest is now underway.  There currently are 59 fans on my Facebook fan page (thanks to those who’ve already joined!), and I’m looking for 100.  I stated last time I would pick a random name from the existing group before even starting, and I have.  <drumroll>And the winner is:</drumroll>

Tracy Oswald!

So, the unnamed receptionist in my second novel becomes, Miss Tracy Oswald (I’ll work it in there somehow).  Thanks, Tracy, for your support!

No More Rules! Now last time I had some rules.  You had to join then send me an email so I knew who referred you.  Not this time, since nobody sent an email last time!  All you need to do is encourage your friends to join.  I will then randomly select from the entire bunch, and then ask who referred them.  Both of you will get characters renamed after you.  So like any draw, the more friends you refer, the better your chance of winning is.

With all that said, here is the one rule:

Visit the fan page and join if you haven’t already.

One final new “feature”: you can choose who you want the character named after, if you don’t want to name it after yourself.  You must get the person to join (that way I know they agreed!).  They can join after you win.

I’m going to let this one go to September 30th, or when 100 fans have joined.  So if everyone who’s reading this who hasn’t already joined, joins (you know who you are!), this should be done tomorrow.  But….

Warning: There is nothing negative about these characters; all that is being done here is giving them a name.  Any traits they may or may not actually share with you are completely coincidental, as they are already written.  By entering, you agree to not be offended, take exception to, cry about, etc, how you may feel you are being portrayed, since, after all, it is just a name and has nothing to do with you.  This is for fun, so let’s keep it that way.

Thanks again for your support.  And join now!

And don’t forget The Protocol, coming this fall, makes a great Christmas gift for everyone you know! View the first trailer on YouTube.

The first “Character Renaming Contest” was a success and an education.  Nobody, nada, not a single person, sent the “required” email which I guess tells me that Facebook is a coccoon within which people like to restrict their communications.

The fact I wasn’t receiving emails made me think that this was a complete and utter failure.  Then I logged into the fan page and was pleasantly surprised to see people were joining.  As a matter of fact, the site went from just 13 fans to more than tripple the number.  It now sits at 42 fans with it seems at least one or two joining a day.  No, not a huge number, but at least getting into the numbers where no one should be shy to join (subtle hint to my 55 Facebook friends, only a dozen or so who have joined!).

So how was I able to determine the winner?  By just clicking on each name I was able to see who the clear winner was since most who joined seemed to have one friend in common.  I think he won because he’s a renowned international small arms expert, so when he “asks” you to join, you know it’s not a request.

So who is this international man of mystery?  Brent Richards!  Congrats Brent and thanks for all your efforts.  I think you singlehandedly got over 20 people to join!  So NYPD Officer Danby now becomes NYPD Officer Brent Richards in my second novel.

Thanks again to all those who participated.  I will be doing another contest shortly, but will be simplifying it to reflect the realities of Facebook.  Just a tip: if you haven’t joined the fan site yet, do so soon.  All those who are members BEFORE the next contest, will be entered in a draw for one character to be named after them, so at the moment, there is a one in 42 chance of winning.  Early membership has it’s privileges!

TTFN

Rob

In a shameless attempt to get more people to register for my Facebook Fan Page, which currently sits at a dismal 13 fans, I am holding a contest to rename one of two characters in my second book that is currently undergoing editing:

Character #1: A male rookie cop, racially neutral, mid twenties, who discovers the body of a serial killer victim.

Character #2: A female receptionist at a computer servicing firm, racially neutral, mid to late twenties.

I will rename one of these characters after whoever signs up as a fan and then gets the most people from their friends list to join.  Obviously if a guy wins, the male character gets renamed and so on…!

Warning: Although there is nothing negative about these characters, all that is being done here is giving them a name.  Any traits they may or may not actually share with you are completely coincidental, as they are already written.  By entering you agree to not be offended, take exception to, cry about, etc, how you may feel you are being portrayed, since, after all, it is just a name and has nothing to do with you.  This is for fun, so let’s keep it that way.

Special note for Justin Shakespeare: Dude, you’re not eligible! One of the main characters is already named after you!  But please do get your friends to participate!

Here’s what to do for your chance to be immortalized:

1. Visit the fan page and join if you haven’t already.
2. Send an email to contest@jrobertkennedy.com.  It should include:
   • The Facebook name of who asked you to join (no, I’m not eligible to win since I already made the cover of the book, so put me if you weren’t asked by anybody);
   • How you want your name to appear (no joke names please);
   • Your Facebook name if different;
   •  Anything else including messages of support, bank account information, etc.
3. Send a link to this post (http://wp.jrobertkennedy.com/2009/04/13/character-naming-contest/) to all your friends to do the same.

Note that the uber-dork that I can be when it comes to computers will, if necessary, create a little program to pro-rate the sign-ups.  That means if you get a friend to sign up, it is credited as one entry.  If they get a friend to sign up, it is credited as one entry for them, and half an entry for you.  The next layer is a quarter, then an eighth and so on.

Whoever has the most people join the fan page and send me the requisite email before June 1st will have a character named after them.  In the case of a tie, whoever had the most people sign up FIRST will win.

I’ve never done this before, so hopefully it doesn’t turn into a dismal failure of just a few people joining, or worse, one person named John Smith!  Please help support this poor, struggling author in his effort for fame, glory and all that stuff that usually happens after we writers die!

Thanks in advance!

Rob