Unabomber Ted
I’ve always thought that the Unabomber had a paradoxically cute and cuddly name – ‘Ted’ is not really the name of a bomber, is it? When I’m deciding on character names for my books, I try to find names that fit the personality, and some names seem innately soft and sweet…but I guess ‘Ted’ is also the name of one of the most infamous serial killers in history, so maybe my name radar is all wrong.
Name radar aside, Kaczynski’s case was a unique one. Unabomber Ted Kaczynski died on 10 June this year while incarcerated for orchestrating a terror campaign that killed three people and injured two dozen more. Kaczynski abandoned academic success in 1969 to become a survivalist in the Montana wilderness. When he began targeting universities and airlines with homemade explosives that he sent through the mail, the FBI opened a file called UNABOM (University and Airline Bombings), which was quickly turned by the media into the moniker, ‘Unabomber’. He was caught in 1996, after one of the longest and most expensive FBI operations in history, when his manifesto was published in the Washington Post and Kaczynski’s brother, David, recognised the writing style. The Unabomber refused to plead insanity at trial, and was sentenced to eight consecutive life sentences in 1998.
Kaczynski was unique because there were a few things about him that were even more paradoxical than his name – like the fact that he was a mathematical prodigy, so smart that he skipped two grades in school to enter Harvard at sixteen. He published some ground-breaking mathematical papers and seemed destined for brilliance. But Kaczynski’s brilliance definitely had a dark side, which is how we got the classic scene in the film Good Will Hunting, where Robin Williams explains to Stellan Skarsgard that despite Matt Damon’s Will Hunting being extraordinarily intelligent, he could take an unfortunate turn without proper therapy and personal course correction:
And here’s an odd spot: Kaczynski’s wilderness retreat was a hut with no electricity or running water. The FBI took apart his Montana cabin and searched it thoroughly, then reconstructed it to hold in storage, where it sits today:
How’s SOME SHALL BREAK doing?
Thank you, it’s doing great! I’ve honestly been both delighted and shocked at the speed with which this book has taken off. Can you believe that this book has the highest percentage of 5-star reviews of any book I’ve ever published? Amazing but true 😊
Speaking of reviews…If you’ve read SOME SHALL BREAK and enjoyed it, it would be an act of great charity and kindness of you were to leave a review in any place you like to find them. Goodreads, Amazon, BookBub, or any of the sites are great (I mean, Goodreads and Amazon are probably getting the most eyeballs? But you do you). And if you’ve already reviewed the book, thank you! I’m hugely appreciative 😊
Bluesky
So…it looks like I’m on Bluesky now?
Every day is a new fresh hell on Twitter – advertising, terfs, MAGAs, blue-tick Nazis…Yeah, it’s a bin fire. I’m still there, but mainly for the nostalgia – “This used to be a place where I made friends and networked and had a laugh! Ahh, the good old days!” – and to say hi to people I don’t want to abandon. Some of us are also there because we want to be the ones standing on the deck when the Titanic goes down: Historic moment incoming, you know?
But a friend (hi, Pilgrim!) gave me an invite to Bluesky, so I’m also there now. I’m starting from the ground floor – again – and slowly building up contacts with mutuals, new arrivals, other folks. It’s exhausting to think of building up a following on another social media platform, but I only ever hung out on the bird app for cool chats with fun people and the chance to connect with amazing book friends, so hopefully Bluesky will become a new place where I can keep doing that.
The best thing about it, I’m discovering, is that everyone is starting at the ground floor, so people you never imagined connecting with will make friends – I’m following/followed by a bunch of incredible authors I’ve admired from afar for so long! That’s cool. So if you’re flying the blue skies, or will be once the app goes wide, come find me and say hi!
Preorder goodies
For those of you who entered the preorder – thank you! – your time is about to come 😊
I’ve been a bit slowed down by ill health and deadlines this month (not to mention a massive backlog of stuff I put on the backburner while SOME SHALL BREAK was releasing – oops) but July was the month that preorders were due to go out, and they’re almost ready to be mailed now. Keep an eye on your mailbox, and for the date of the preorder Q&A, along with the link to sign in.
What I’m reading
LONE WOMEN by Victor LaValle was an impressive take on the horror Western – I enjoyed it, even if it took me a while to settle into. I’ve also read RING SHOUT by P. Djeli Clarke, which is a clever and fast-paced horror novella in which the 1920s Ku Klux Klan is not only horrifying but actually demonic – I enjoyed it a lot – and DEAD SILENCE by SA Barnes (think Event Horizon meets the Titanic), because space horror is my jam. And I loved JUST LIKE HOME by Sarah Gailey, which was very twisty indeed – because what if you had to move back into your dead serial killer dad’s old house? Super creepy, that one.
Far and away my fave read on the horror roster this month was DON’T FEAR THE REAPER by Stephen Graham Jones. In this sequel to MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW, Jones bounces around in characters’ heads a little, but something about his writing is so raw and fresh and real – it feels very contemporary, and very authentic to its characters, like they’re sitting beside you at the fire, telling you this slasher story in their own words. And I’m very excited that the final book in the series, THE ANGEL OF INDIAN LAKE has a cover and a release date now!
In non-horror reads, somebody recced this book online: BEAR by Marian Engel. The cover is…something else. But apparently it won the Canadian Governor General’s Award, and is considered a Canadian classic? I don’t know, but Margaret Atwood gave it a magnificent blurb, and it looks so kooky that I just have to read it now.
What I’m watching
Speaking of bears…yeah, I’m watching that too 😂
I’m watching with my youngest son, who is really into cooking, so we’re eking it out between sessions of gaming (him) and writing a new book (me).
Signed book copies available where?
This week I’m going to be stopping at bookshops in Melbourne and Bendigo to sign copies of SOME SHALL BREAK – Thursday 6 July I’ll be at Dymocks CBD at 10.30AM, then Readings Kids, Carlton at 12noon, then on Saturday 8 July I’ll be at Bookish Bendigo at 10.30AM. I’ll be at each place for about an hour, so if you want to meet up, come say hello! I’ll also be dropping by The Little Bookroom, the Avenue bookstore at Albert Park, and the Younger Sun to sign stock there; if you’re hunting down a signed copy of the book, that’s where you can find them.
Oh, and if you’re in Castlemaine, there’s always signed copies at my local store, Stoneman’s Bookroom – or if your copy isn’t signed, they can give me a call and I can come in and sign it 😊
LoveOzYAbookclub
Our July read is WE COULD BE SOMETHING by Will Kostakis – it’s Will’s best book so far, and I can’t wait for more readers to find it. And you can find us bookclubbers at our IG page any day of the week; there’s a bunch of videos and Q&As from local authors up on the page now, so check it out.
Random giveaway
This month’s giveaway is a signed paperback copy of CIRCUS HEARTS: All Fall Down – a throwback read! It’ll be going out to a random subscriber this month, so keep an eye out for an email, the lucky winner could be you!
Cool Publishing News ™
Sorry, I’m going to be deliberately vague about this right now, but I have some Cool Publishing News ™, and I promise that as soon as I can share it, I will!
(Is that vague enough for you? 👀 Once I get the green light to announce, you’ll be the first to know!)
That’s it from me for this month. Last month was such a whirlwind with the release, and I’m still finding my feet. But it’s great to see SOME SHALL BREAK go wild, and it’s always such a huge relief when one of my books finally finds its way onto shelves and into peoples’ hands…I love it. That feeling, of sharing something new and seeing it find its family, never gets old.
Hope you’re enjoying July so far, and if you have any hot book/TV recs, let me know in the comments!
Until next month, stay well, be cool, and happy reading 😊
xxEllie
I haven't made it over to Bluesky yet but I'm here, on Insta and Mastodon, but finding Mastodon very limiting in terms of finding people and interacting with my bookish community. Maybe we shall be resorting to email and letters. (I would honestly love that!)
On my second read through of Some Shall Break right now!! I love it so much!