Behold! I Am… Dr. Syphilis!

I have been keeping something from you.

This blog, as well as the other mundane trappings of my life, have served me well in masking my true identity. But now, the time has come to reveal myself to the world. For I am of the Third Wave of super-powered humans! I am… Dr. Syphilis.

Dr. Syphilis

I am grateful to Mur Lafferty and J. C. Hutchins for my excellent (and amusing) super-identity above, bestowed on me due to my help as part of the Third Wave Street Team, helping to promote Mur’s brilliant novel, Playing for Keeps. Would you like to discover your Third Wave power as well? Head over to the website, contact Mur to join, and get active in promoting the Playing for Keeps phenomenon!

So how has Playing for Keeps been doing since I last mentioned it in this space? Well, I’ll let Mur tell her yourself, from a recent press release:

Superheroes Lend Voices To Audio Novel

Celebrities from the SciFi Channel hit Who Wants To Be A Superhero? cameo on popular podcast novel.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(PRLog.Org)Jan 14, 2008 – As one of the most popular audiobooks on the Internet, Mur Lafferty’s “Playing For Keeps,” comes to a close, superheroes are flocking to lend their voices to the final episode.

“Playing For Keeps” is Lafferty’s celebrated superhero novel. It tells the story of people with minor superpower who fall directly in the middle of a battle between bullying superheroes and manipulative, charming villains.

It has been released via audio and PDF audio download weekly to over 13,000 listeners worldwide since November. While available for free in digital formats, it was also recently released in hard and softcover print version.

The novel has had coverage in the world’s most popular blog, BoingBoing.net. Locus and Campbell award-winning author Cory Doctorow had a sneak peek at the novel, blogging, “I was really impressed with it and I’m so excited to see that she’s releasing it! Can’t wait to (re)read it.”

Doctorow also loaned his voice to cameo for an episode recap.

“Playing For Keeps” has five episodes left, and will feature stars of the SciFi Channel show, “Who Wants to be a Superhero?” as cameo voices in the audiobook. They will read episode recaps, filling the audience in on the previous chapters’ action.

“Superhero” season 2 finalist Hygena appeared as the episode recap reader on episode 10, and future episodes will feature Feedback and The Defuser, winners of “Superhero” seasons 1 and 2, respectively.

“I have been building a community of superhero fans during the release of this book,” author Mur Lafferty said. “What bigger superhero fans can I find than the contestants from the show ‘Who Wants to be a Superhero?’ I’m thrilled that these fantastic superheroes will be appearing in my audiobook.”

“Playing For Keeps” can be found for free at www.playingforkeepsnovel.com and at www.podiobooks.com, or for purchase at www. playingforkeepsnovel.com.

# # #

About the author:
Mur Lafferty is a writer and podcast producer living in Durham, NC. She is the author of the award-nominated “Heaven” novellas, one of the most popular audiobook serials in podcasting. She has been published in Hub magazine and Escape Pod, and is an open and new media enthusiast.

MurVerse
Durham, NC
919 210 7630
mur.lafferty@gmail.com

Two weeks have passed since the above statement, and we are down to three episodes remaining! I’ve really enjoyed listening along, as Mur and the rest of the First Wave Volunteers have been doing a stunning job presenting this excellent story. Don’t take my word for it, though… Laura has finished the print novel, and has her rave review here.

If you haven’t done so yet (and if not, seriously, why haven’t you?), check out the official site. There you will find the novel as both free podcasts of audio and pdf episodes, as well as for purchase in both hardcover and softcover formats. Additionally, there numerous extra goodies to be had, including the fan companion podcast Stories of the Third Wave, t-shirts and other merchandise, fan art, and much more!