Friday, April 14, 2006

PJ Tracy. Great Author, Great Books


PJ Tracy - Want to Play
Have you ever asked a barber who cuts their hair? How about asking a dentist who looks after their teeth? Right now, if I was an author and I wanted a thriller writer to write a book, I'd turn to PJ Tracy.

If the truth be known, I'm not much of reader. Granted I will read on a relaxing beach holiday, but there needs to be more hours in the day if I am to get through a tree-worth of books in my lifetime.
PJ Tracy - Live Bait
PJ Tracy however are books I cannot put down. For those not in the know, PJ Tracy is a pseudonym for a mum and daughter writing team - one based in Minnesota and one in Colorado.

I was hooked by their debut hit 'Want to Play?' (read on Fort Lauderdale beach) and was equally as enthralled by 'Live Bait' (read on a beach in Cornwall). The books are simply slick and engaging.

Now I'm onto PJ Tracy's third offering - Dead Run (being read in cold Edinburgh,PJ Tracy - Dead Run Scotland). A thriller about a little fictional town in Hicksville where an accident leads to bloodshed, and the usual characters are intertwined in an ever thickening plot. For those who have never read any of the PJ Tracy books, I will not elaborate on any of the stories but strongly urge you to pick up one of their books and give it a try.....you won't be disappointed!

The best part is it's winter (ish) and there is no beach in site, so if this blog post isn't enough of a testimonial to the talents of PJ Tracy, I'm not sure what is!

Their latest offering, Snow Blind, will be available from September 2006.

Friday, April 07, 2006

Lessons in Choosing Domain Names


For the average internet user, it's not difficult to choose a URL or domain name. Heck if I can be creative enough to think of good blog name, anyone can do it.

The great thing about my job is that I get to look at about 20 new websites per day, ranging from large Blue Chips through to start-up companies. Pandora for instance is a superb site that is quickly becoming bookmarked in the online community.

So I thought I'd share with you some sites with deplorable domain names. If Whoopee Goldberg married a chap called Tim Cushion, do you think she'd keep her maiden name? I'd put my house on it.

So here's a small collection to convey just how simple domain names could be construed as something completely different...

www.expertsexchange.com
That's right. Experts Exchange is a knowledge base where programmers
can exchange advice and views, not for those looking for a different direction in life.

www.whorepresents.com

This is a database for agencies to the rich and famous, not a specialist Christmas shopping site.

www.penisland.net
Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island....

www.powergenitalia.com
There is the Italian power company. Bodybuilders need not get excited by this site.

I think it's safe to say be careful what you choose as your domain name. And from a search engine perspective, you don't want to found under a unexpected keyword....

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