"The Year We Finally Solved Everything" only 99 cents

rudykerkhoven · 10-23-2010, 01:42 PM

ONLY 99 CENTS FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER!

In the summer I released "The Adventures of Whatley Tupper," a silly choose your own adventure style ebook with my friend, Daniel Pitts, which garnered some good reviews--mostly from readers I found via this board--which you can view here:

http://kerkhoven.wordpress.com/test/

On November 1st, I'm releasing "The Year We Finally Solved Everything," which is a NOT a choose your own adventure. Fancy that. I'm not giving the reader a choice in what happens.

Here's the blurb:

The global economy is in tatters not because of humanity’s faults but because of its accomplishment. The country of Shan Won, a small island state off the coast of China, has cured all of our ills, and like a black hole, a piercing singularity of perfection, it’s sucking the world dry of its stability and leadership and power.

Human traffickers become overwhelmed with smuggling hordes of North Americans across to Asia for a better life. And for Richard, for whom growing up seems to have solved nothing at all, escape seems to be his only option. But when he become reacquainted with Mia, the girlfriend of his twenties, he’s no longer certain about just what’s the problem and what’s the solution. He only knows that he’s running out of time.

Anyhow, while I put some finishing touches on the final version, I do have a 'pre-release' version already available on Smashwords.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/27680

And so, if anyone is still reading this far down my post and is interested in receiving this pre-release version for FREE, go ahead and use the following coupon code: NH73Y. It's good until November 1st. This my small 'thank you' to the people on this forum who have been helpful to me in the last few months since I've learned about e-publishing.

Or, it's only 99 cents for the time being at Amazon, so if you feel so inclined...

http://www.amazon.com/Year-Finally-S.../dp/B0048EL3IC

speedtouch · 10-23-2010, 05:54 PM

Thanks very much. I'll give it a try.

rudykerkhoven · 10-23-2010, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedtouch

Thanks very much. I'll give it a try.

Thanks, I'm glad to see that already several people have used the coupon. What can I say? People like free stuff.

I decided to release "The Adventures of Whatley Tupper" first because it seemed like a good book to experiment with epublishing. And, because it's a comedy, it wasn't something I had a real emotional attachment to. "The Year We Finally Solved Everything" is much more near and dear to my heart, so I'm a little bit nervous releasing it. I think it's a lot less daunting to put forth a gimmicky comedy to the world than something dramatic.

rudykerkhoven · 10-26-2010, 02:52 PM

Only free for 5 more days at Smashwords...

rudykerkhoven · 10-31-2010, 11:13 AM

Today (Sunday, Oct. 31st) is the last day to use the smashwords coupon NH73Y for a free copy of "The Year We Finally Solved Everything."

The smashwords page is here:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/27680

rudykerkhoven · 11-06-2010, 10:01 PM

Now only 99 cents for the month of November. Really, what else can you buy for 99 cents? A bottle of generic pop?

rudykerkhoven · 11-12-2010, 11:19 AM

A new review for The Year We Finally Solved Everything at Susan Wells Bennett's blog, Writing, Reading and Everything in Between:

http://swellsbennett.blogspot.com/20...verything.html

What if there were one perfect place on the planet: a place without sickness, hunger, work, or worry? How would the rest of the world respond to that perfection? In The Year We Finally Solved Everything, author Rudolf Kerkhoven attempts to answer these questions – and I think he comes pretty close to the truth.

Richard, the narrator of the novel, lives in Canada, but he could really be in any city across North America. Perfection has been discovered in the form of Shan Won, a small island nation off the coast of China. Shan Won’s perfection is simultaneously attracting people from all over the world and destroying the lives of those who don’t want to go. As the world around him swirls into destruction, Richard seeks to become one of the Disappeared – the world’s name for those who leave everything behind for Shan Won.

The sparseness of Mr. Kerkhoven’s dialogue struck me as uniquely effective, with simple spoken sentences frequently followed by long but readable passages describing the speaker or the setting. His descriptions are so vivid that I had no problem seeing through Richard’s eyes. My one complaint is the apparently random use of commas throughout the novel – sometimes they are there when they shouldn’t be, and vice-versa.

In the end, this reader was left saddened but not surprised by the world’s reaction to Shan Won. But what is life when we have nothing left to strive for? The Year We Finally Solved Everything will make you ask that question and many more.

GraceKrispy · 11-14-2010, 03:14 AM

Very engaging and difficult to put down! Check out my review here!

rudykerkhoven · 11-21-2010, 01:42 PM

Only 99 cents for 9 more days...

rudykerkhoven · 11-28-2010, 01:07 PM

Only a few days left to pick up "The Year We Finally Solved Everything" for 99 cents. Here is an excerpt of the first page:

At first I don’t know if he’s talking about a person, the name of a band, the title of a period-piece epic, or what. He immediately continues, ‘Shan Won, it’s a country, a small island off the coast of China. I won’t think less of you if you’ve never heard of it—to be perfectly honest, I hadn’t myself.’ Spencer gives me a moment to recollect all that I might know about this country. Maybe it was part of the grade 7 socials curriculum? How would he know? He holds his pint above the table, acknowledges my ignorance, takes a quick sip, carries on. ‘That was until a few days back, when I got this in the post. It’s from an old schoolmate, Leon. He’s one of those types who can never sit still in one country, a twenty-first century vagabond. You know the one: gets a job picking indigenous berries in country x for a year, scrapes by just enough money to purchase a ticket to country y where he scavenges a new job in a hostel pub and does it all over again, country after country after country, x after y after z.’ Spencer is rummaging through the inside of his satchel, ‘Or should that be z after y after x?’ He finds what he needs and pauses, his hands hidden away from me. ‘We were best mates long before Anna and I left England but I haven’t seen him in a good few years now. And then I got this letter,’ he displays the envelope. ‘Take a look.’

I notice the small, ornate postage stamp in the corner, a stylized portrait of a strange sailboat with a disproportionally tall mast holding three long, spearhead sails. The embossed metallic colouring is striking, highlights of gold, copper, chrome and pewter—I swear these are the actual metals that I run my fingertips and nails over, the intricacies seemingly impossible to discern with the naked eye. Imprinted in a small and vaguely Gothic font at the bottom of the stamp is the country, Shan Won. I open the letter:

Dear Spencer,
It’s perfect here.
Leon

That’s it. I flip the page over. That’s it. The paper itself is worn and soft and almost velvet, as if it had been handled incessantly, day after day, perhaps for weeks, trying to get the succinct wording absolutely perfect. ‘This is it?’ I query, holding it up to the light as if there might be something written in invisible ink. Spencer nods and I ask if Leon’s letters are usually this short.

Spencer laughs before throwing back the rest of his pint in such a quick and effortless motion that it signals either we best get going or we best be ordering another. I suspect the latter. ‘Who the [expletive] writes letters? He might as well have sent me a telegraph.’

rudykerkhoven · 12-07-2010, 10:34 AM

"The Year We Finally Solved Everything" is today's sponsor at Kindle Nation Daily...

http://bit.ly/hLRXhc

rudykerkhoven · 02-12-2011, 02:48 PM

It's been a long time since I've promoted this here...

The Year We Finally Solved Everything is a dark, fast-paced novel about one man's desperate desire to find perfection. A quote from Grace Krispy's Motherlode review:

“I was hooked from the very first page. There was just something about the story and the direction it took that made me eager to continue. I wouldn’t be satisfied until I had read every page. Although not at all what I anticipated, the ending was satisfying in its own way. My questions were answered, but not in the manner I was expecting. Instead, my questions were answered in a way that forced me to think about my own life choices…

The Lowdown: I would recommend this book. It’s one of those books that stays with you even after you’ve clicked past your last page. I finished the book Thursday night, and I’m still thinking about it on Saturday. What would my Shan Won look like? Would it be worth leaving everything in my current life? Which character’s actions most closely resemble the actions I would likely take? Most importantly, what choices do I need to make to put myself on the path to my own personal Shan Won?”

Only 99 cents!

10-23-2010, 01:42 PM	#1
rudykerkhoven keeps getting older Posts: 56 Karma: 75000 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Vancouver, BC Device: Kindle	"The Year We Finally Solved Everything" only 99 cents ONLY 99 CENTS FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER! In the summer I released "The Adventures of Whatley Tupper," a silly choose your own adventure style ebook with my friend, Daniel Pitts, which garnered some good reviews--mostly from readers I found via this board--which you can view here: http://kerkhoven.wordpress.com/test/ On November 1st, I'm releasing "The Year We Finally Solved Everything," which is a NOT a choose your own adventure. Fancy that. I'm not giving the reader a choice in what happens. Here's the blurb: The global economy is in tatters not because of humanity’s faults but because of its accomplishment. The country of Shan Won, a small island state off the coast of China, has cured all of our ills, and like a black hole, a piercing singularity of perfection, it’s sucking the world dry of its stability and leadership and power. Human traffickers become overwhelmed with smuggling hordes of North Americans across to Asia for a better life. And for Richard, for whom growing up seems to have solved nothing at all, escape seems to be his only option. But when he become reacquainted with Mia, the girlfriend of his twenties, he’s no longer certain about just what’s the problem and what’s the solution. He only knows that he’s running out of time. Anyhow, while I put some finishing touches on the final version, I do have a 'pre-release' version already available on Smashwords. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/27680 And so, if anyone is still reading this far down my post and is interested in receiving this pre-release version for FREE, go ahead and use the following coupon code: NH73Y. It's good until November 1st. This my small 'thank you' to the people on this forum who have been helpful to me in the last few months since I've learned about e-publishing. Or, it's only 99 cents for the time being at Amazon, so if you feel so inclined... http://www.amazon.com/Year-Finally-S.../dp/B0048EL3IC Last edited by Dr. Drib; 02-12-2011 at 04:53 PM.

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10-23-2010, 05:54 PM	#2
speedtouch eBook Newbie Posts: 373 Karma: 1724 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kobo Clara HD	Thanks very much. I'll give it a try.

10-26-2010, 02:52 PM	#4
rudykerkhoven keeps getting older Posts: 56 Karma: 75000 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Vancouver, BC Device: Kindle	Only free for 5 more days at Smashwords...

10-31-2010, 11:13 AM	#5
rudykerkhoven keeps getting older Posts: 56 Karma: 75000 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Vancouver, BC Device: Kindle	Today (Sunday, Oct. 31st) is the last day to use the smashwords coupon NH73Y for a free copy of "The Year We Finally Solved Everything." The smashwords page is here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/27680

11-06-2010, 10:01 PM	#6
rudykerkhoven keeps getting older Posts: 56 Karma: 75000 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Vancouver, BC Device: Kindle	Now only 99 cents for the month of November. Really, what else can you buy for 99 cents? A bottle of generic pop?

11-12-2010, 11:19 AM	#7
rudykerkhoven keeps getting older Posts: 56 Karma: 75000 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Vancouver, BC Device: Kindle	A new review for The Year We Finally Solved Everything at Susan Wells Bennett's blog, Writing, Reading and Everything in Between: http://swellsbennett.blogspot.com/20...verything.html What if there were one perfect place on the planet: a place without sickness, hunger, work, or worry? How would the rest of the world respond to that perfection? In The Year We Finally Solved Everything, author Rudolf Kerkhoven attempts to answer these questions – and I think he comes pretty close to the truth. Richard, the narrator of the novel, lives in Canada, but he could really be in any city across North America. Perfection has been discovered in the form of Shan Won, a small island nation off the coast of China. Shan Won’s perfection is simultaneously attracting people from all over the world and destroying the lives of those who don’t want to go. As the world around him swirls into destruction, Richard seeks to become one of the Disappeared – the world’s name for those who leave everything behind for Shan Won. The sparseness of Mr. Kerkhoven’s dialogue struck me as uniquely effective, with simple spoken sentences frequently followed by long but readable passages describing the speaker or the setting. His descriptions are so vivid that I had no problem seeing through Richard’s eyes. My one complaint is the apparently random use of commas throughout the novel – sometimes they are there when they shouldn’t be, and vice-versa. In the end, this reader was left saddened but not surprised by the world’s reaction to Shan Won. But what is life when we have nothing left to strive for? The Year We Finally Solved Everything will make you ask that question and many more.

11-14-2010, 03:14 AM	#8
GraceKrispy It's Dr. Penguin now! Posts: 3,909 Karma: 4705733 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: (USA) Device: iPad mini, Samsung Note 3, Sony PRS-650 (rarely used now)	Very engaging and difficult to put down! Check out my review here!

11-21-2010, 01:42 PM	#9
rudykerkhoven keeps getting older Posts: 56 Karma: 75000 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Vancouver, BC Device: Kindle	Only 99 cents for 9 more days...

11-28-2010, 01:07 PM	#10
rudykerkhoven keeps getting older Posts: 56 Karma: 75000 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Vancouver, BC Device: Kindle	Only a few days left to pick up "The Year We Finally Solved Everything" for 99 cents. Here is an excerpt of the first page: At first I don’t know if he’s talking about a person, the name of a band, the title of a period-piece epic, or what. He immediately continues, ‘Shan Won, it’s a country, a small island off the coast of China. I won’t think less of you if you’ve never heard of it—to be perfectly honest, I hadn’t myself.’ Spencer gives me a moment to recollect all that I might know about this country. Maybe it was part of the grade 7 socials curriculum? How would he know? He holds his pint above the table, acknowledges my ignorance, takes a quick sip, carries on. ‘That was until a few days back, when I got this in the post. It’s from an old schoolmate, Leon. He’s one of those types who can never sit still in one country, a twenty-first century vagabond. You know the one: gets a job picking indigenous berries in country x for a year, scrapes by just enough money to purchase a ticket to country y where he scavenges a new job in a hostel pub and does it all over again, country after country after country, x after y after z.’ Spencer is rummaging through the inside of his satchel, ‘Or should that be z after y after x?’ He finds what he needs and pauses, his hands hidden away from me. ‘We were best mates long before Anna and I left England but I haven’t seen him in a good few years now. And then I got this letter,’ he displays the envelope. ‘Take a look.’ I notice the small, ornate postage stamp in the corner, a stylized portrait of a strange sailboat with a disproportionally tall mast holding three long, spearhead sails. The embossed metallic colouring is striking, highlights of gold, copper, chrome and pewter—I swear these are the actual metals that I run my fingertips and nails over, the intricacies seemingly impossible to discern with the naked eye. Imprinted in a small and vaguely Gothic font at the bottom of the stamp is the country, Shan Won. I open the letter: Dear Spencer, It’s perfect here. Leon That’s it. I flip the page over. That’s it. The paper itself is worn and soft and almost velvet, as if it had been handled incessantly, day after day, perhaps for weeks, trying to get the succinct wording absolutely perfect. ‘This is it?’ I query, holding it up to the light as if there might be something written in invisible ink. Spencer nods and I ask if Leon’s letters are usually this short. Spencer laughs before throwing back the rest of his pint in such a quick and effortless motion that it signals either we best get going or we best be ordering another. I suspect the latter. ‘Who the [expletive] writes letters? He might as well have sent me a telegraph.’

12-07-2010, 10:34 AM	#11
rudykerkhoven keeps getting older Posts: 56 Karma: 75000 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Vancouver, BC Device: Kindle	"The Year We Finally Solved Everything" is today's sponsor at Kindle Nation Daily... http://bit.ly/hLRXhc

02-12-2011, 02:48 PM	#12
rudykerkhoven keeps getting older Posts: 56 Karma: 75000 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Vancouver, BC Device: Kindle	It's been a long time since I've promoted this here... The Year We Finally Solved Everything is a dark, fast-paced novel about one man's desperate desire to find perfection. A quote from Grace Krispy's Motherlode review: “I was hooked from the very first page. There was just something about the story and the direction it took that made me eager to continue. I wouldn’t be satisfied until I had read every page. Although not at all what I anticipated, the ending was satisfying in its own way. My questions were answered, but not in the manner I was expecting. Instead, my questions were answered in a way that forced me to think about my own life choices… The Lowdown: I would recommend this book. It’s one of those books that stays with you even after you’ve clicked past your last page. I finished the book Thursday night, and I’m still thinking about it on Saturday. What would my Shan Won look like? Would it be worth leaving everything in my current life? Which character’s actions most closely resemble the actions I would likely take? Most importantly, what choices do I need to make to put myself on the path to my own personal Shan Won?” Only 99 cents!