Blake Schwendiman's Blog and Blook

I received this message from a new reader today:

Hi, I got to your site from digg. And then I saw the blue box about a novel. The link about why I should read intrigued me. And the page was funny. But didn't answer the question - why should I read the book? Not why do you want me to read the book - why should *I* read the book? Being part of a social phenomenon holds no interest for me. I am not a lemming. I don't even know if it's fiction or non-fiction. What would the cover look like? Who are the characters? Why should I care about the characters?

First of all, let me say that I'm not exactly sure what a lemming is. For some reason I think of them as furry and cute, like tribbles, but that's just speculation. I don't think of any of my readers as lemmings if that's a bad thing, but if it means you're cute (and possibly furry) and that's a good thing, then I welcome all lemmings.

Now, for the details.

The Agency Delta is fiction. Specifically it is a book that I categorize as a science-fiction suspense novel. It's not really hardcore sci-fi and I don't want to characterize it that way because I really wrote a book about people, not technology. There is no cover (yet) as it is not published. If you want to design a cover, feel free. When I get the book published, I might be able to use your artwork. Just a thought.

The main characters are:

• Quinn Sorensen: The central character whose Internet-related discovery has created enormous wealth and power.
• Laura Sorensen: Quinn's wife, a lawyer, a US Senate hopeful and the anchor of Quinn's life.
• Valerie Decker: Quinn's Executive Assistant. Valerie plays a much larger role in Quinn's company than that of a traditional EA and is one of the few employees who understands the true nature of the business.
• Ramesh Kapoor: A South African-born Indian engineer cum ethicist whose personal tragedies have made him reclusive and distant.
• Sireesha Naidu: Native Indian, Sireesha helped Quinn launch his discovery into a business. Her political views eventually created a wedge between her and Quinn. She returned to India to launch her own technological empire.
• Daniel van der Merwe: South African software developer. Daniel worked closely with Sireesha both before and after her return to India.

The storyline:

The Agency Delta is set primarily in Tempe, Arizona and the Phoenix metropolitan area in the year 2022, but much of the story occurs in Durban, South Africa and Bangalore, India. Quinn has just recruited Ramesh to help him protect a mutual friend and discover a potential business and political threat from Sireesha. Reluctant to leave his reclusive life and reluctant to aid Quinn's cause for personal and ethical reasons, Ramesh struggles with his decision to help. When the requests become personal, Ramesh joins Quinn and is rushed into a world of technological deception that he could not have imagined.

While Quinn is the central character to the plot, the story is at least as much about the personal growth and change in Ramesh's life, so the story focuses on him a great deal. As an ethicist, Ramesh provides the moral spine of the story and effects much of the interpersonal conflict between the primary characters. Sireesha's political and personal perspective drives the storyline as she tries to drive the future Asia into world economic dominance.

There are many readers out there. I welcome your comments. Perhaps you can give your perspectives on the plot, the characters, etc.