Paperback: The Mammoth Book of Secret Codes and Cryptograms:

Well, I just got word from one of my fans, that at least Walmart.com has my book in stock, as my fan was able to receive it by ordering through walmart.com.

I have yet to hear of any actual brick-and-mortar store carrying it though. The stores are telling me that the book showed as "released", and that any walk-in customers can special order it for a 3-7 day delivery. The stores also say that they've ordered "shelf copies" several weeks ago, but haven't received anything yet. Their records show that hundreds of copies are just sitting in the warehouses and not shipping for some reason.

My "scam antennae" are starting to wave. On Amazon, there are now *17* "used and new" copies of the book selling through discount sellers, who are officially undercutting Amazon (and Walmart's) price by about a buck, but then of course putting on a hefty Shipping & Handling fee.

I have to wonder though -- Where are all of these "used" merchants getting their copies from, considering the book hasn't even shipped yet, and the stores are reporting *trouble* with getting their copies? What it looks like, is that the "used" sellers are people in warehouses, who are diverting the copies of my book from the bookstore sales, to their own inventories, and doing it in such numbers, that it's preventing bookstores from stocking the book.

Is this just my paranoia talking? Or has anyone else ever heard of such a problem? I'm just bewildered by how bookstores aren't carrying the book, but the quantity of "used & new" copies is going up dramatically. And, is this a good thing or a bad thing? I mean, intuitively, it would seem to me that to sell more books, it would help if the bookstores actually had them ON THE *(@*#& SHELVES. Especially since I've got major press coming up within the next few weeks -- a column in an upcoming issue of "Discover" magazine, plus an upcoming article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. As I've been trying to explain to my publisher, if the book's getting press, it might help to sell a few copies if it was actually available in stores?

(grumbling and ranting),

Elonka

Walmart.com: The Mammoth Book of Secret Codes and Cryptograms

The Mammoth Book of Secret Codes and Cryptograms: Over 600 Mystery Codes to Be Cracked! (Paperback)

It's official, my book's out. :) The Amazon listing shows it as "now delivering", though their blurb and graphic are still out of date. And I can't find any stores in St. Louis that are actually carrying it (they all say that they're supposed to have 2-4 copies on the shelves, but despite having ordered it in mid-February, haven't received a shipment yet). And, ironically enough, the Amazon listing already shows 3 used booksellers offering copies, which gives me a good laugh since they probably don't have their copies yet either!

But, it's out! I'm published, I think . . .

Elonka :)

Amazon.com: The Mammoth Book of Secret Codes and Cryptograms: Over 600 Mystery Codes to Be Cracked!: Books: Elonka Dunin

Cryptographer, gamer and NerdSalon puzzler Elonka Dunin has a cool interview on whitedust.net. She tells a great story of building an unconventional and totally absorbing career. For those of us that didn't follow the usual job path, its both familiar and amazing at the same time.

Okay, when cyberlaw goddess Jennifer Granick blogs about me, I *know* I've done something cool. :) I am amazingly flattered.

Elonka

Elonka mentioned on Granick's 'The Shout'

March 14, 2006:

The following is Dan Brown's Witness Statement to the High Court - in which the American author speaks about his inspiration and research for the bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code . . .

A (mostly) hype-free description of his side of the story, introduced at court in the UK trial.

Dan Brown witness statement in Da Vinci Code case

Among marine mammals, five species of proper seals inhabit the Antarctic - the elephant seal (Mirounga leonina), Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddelli), crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophagus), Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossi), leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) and one representative of the family Otariidae - the fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella)

Heh, I was poking around the web today looking at Antarctica pics, and found this website, "Gdynia Aquarium" that's using some of my own photos from my 1999 expedition! I had to look it up to figure out where "Gdynia" is (Poland). I'm kind of flattered -- plus it's nice that they gave me credit on the pictures, and a link back to my site. They used two of my seal pics, one lichen, and one of a chinstrap penguin (hover over the pics to see the photo credits).

Elonka :)

Gdynia Aquarium - Antarctica

Interview With Cryptographer Elonka Dunin

from the old-school-geeks dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Whitedust is running a very interesting article with the DEF CON speaker and cryptographer Elonka Dunin. The article covers her career and specifically her involvement with the CIA and other US Military agencies."

Top link on slashdot for the nanosecond...

(3/15/2006 Update): Pushed my book's Amazon ranking, too. Current high-water mark, #2,721.

(3/16/2006: #7588, #12,274)

(3/17/2006: #9,569)

Slashdot | Interview With Cryptographer Elonka Dunin

oaknet wrote:

The story of Blythe is just another piece in crappy jigsaw puzzle of publicity about a dopey book - specifically trying to enthuse the psuedo-feminisist claptrap that behind every great man is an even greater woman. That's not feminisim, that's making an excuse for yourself. Feminism is about making a name for yourself.

Actually, no, I don't think that this is part of the publicity engine. I think that Blythe has done everything possible to stay *out* of the spotlight. She's never (to my knowledge) given an interview, and there are very few pictures of her available.

My own stand on this, is that I'll admit that I'm annoyed when the public spotlight for any major accomplishment focuses on a single individual, whether it be writing a bestselling novel, negotiating a peace treaty, developing an artificial heart, or creating a critically-acclaimed movie. I have too often seen attention go to a single name, simply because that makes the story easier to understand, but it ignores or belittles all the dozens of other people who were instrumental in that accomplishment. It also bothers me when I see all the attention go to the man of a relationship, when it's clear that the success was the result of a partnership between a husband and wife team. In those cases, I say give the credit to the team, not just to the man. In the case of Brown's novels, I think it's a clear case that Blythe has been a close partner, not just personally, but professionally as well, and she should be recognized for that.

As for whether The Da Vinci Code is well-written, I'm not going to argue that. ;) I think the history is appalling, the conspiracy theories are garbage, and the frequent insistence on phrases like "all of this information is factual," or "most historians agree" is nauseating. Then again, historical accuracy aside, it *is* a fun read, and it has sparked a public debate and search for knowledge about some worthy subjects. I know that my own knowledge of the Grail legend, and the history of the Knights Templar and other elements of the Crusades has increased several hundred percent over the last year, as I've dug in to determine for myself what is fact and what is fiction. And bookstores all over the place have noticed an increase in sales of books about medieval history. I think those are good things, even if the result was unintentional. ;)

Elonka :)

RE: How Dan Brown's wife unlocked the code to bestseller success

Blythe [Brown] was the research expert behind some of the most colourful and intriguing themes in the work, which involves a search for the Holy Grail via clues hidden in Leonardo da Vinci's paintings.

Hitherto barely heralded, the older, more glamorous half of the Browns is emerging as, if not the 'real brains' behind The Da Vinci Code, then certainly a creative energy as indispensable to her husband as the Mona Lisa herself.

The reclusive and childless New Hampshire couple are a formidable literary team. Blythe, 53, the 'silent partner', has been her husband's artistic lodestar ever since they formed a relationship in Los Angeles 16 years ago. She is cited by Brown, 41, as his 'inspiration'.

As I've been doing my own research on Dan Brown for his Wikipedia biography, I'd already come to the same conclusion -- that his wife, Blythe, was one of the driving forces behind his success. After they met, she introduced him to the right people, wrote press releases, and did a lot of the books' promotion. She's not the sole reason for his success (even with her help, Brown's first CDs and books had only mediocre sales, until The Da Vinci Code went to #1 in its first week), so there's still other ingredients required in the bestseller recipe. But I'm glad that the mainstream press is catching up with this, because I think that Blythe *should* get credit, where credit is due.

Elonka :)

How Dan Brown's wife unlocked the code to bestseller success

Books with rankings over 100,000 are also recalculated every day and applied with historic sales information and projections, although in the case of these books, history takes a back seat. Sales projections and trending take an active role here, which is why a book’s ranking can leap from 900,000 to 200,000 in the span of 24 hours or less. Does this mean the book has sold 700,000 copies in 24 hours? Absolutely not! What it does mean is that recent activity (i.e. purchases) for that book is trending higher than those 700,000 books it just surpassed. But, don’t get excited just yet; since the activity of those 700,000 other books range from slow to stagnant, one or two orders are sufficient to catapult a ranking.

If anyone runs across memes that give more information on the Amazon sales ranking algorithm, please pass them along? I'm still sorting through it, myself. Today, my book (currently scheduled for a late April 2006 release) spiked up from a ranking of 1 million-plus a couple days ago, to #32,935 . I guess that means that somebody bought a copy... ;)

Elonka :)

3/17/2006 Update: The book will be released on March 28 in the U.S., and April 27 in the UK.

Navigating the Amazon Sales Ranking

The most detailed photo of the CIA campus that I've ever seen. Go to the link, zoom in, and then click on the "Birds Eye" icon on the left.

Looks like they're deleting some images of "sensitive" government buildings in other parts of the map, so this might not be around long. If you're interested, take a look now.

Elonka :)

Birds-Eye View of Kryptos