To celebrate the release of Book Two in the John Pilate Mystery Series, PILATE’S KEY, we’re giving you a chance to win some spiffy prizes!

GRAND PRIZE:

Paperback of PILATE’S CROSS

Autographed by the author and book cover artist/designer David Terrill

Paperback of PILATE’S KEY

Autographed by the author and book cover artist/designer David Terrill

and

One Download of the Shelf Unbound 2011 award-winning short story

OBSIDIAN

in any ebook format you prefer.

FIRST PRIZE

Paperback of PILATE’S KEY

Autographed by the author and book cover artist/designer David Terrill

SECOND PRIZE

One Download

PILATE’S CROSS or OBSIDIAN

in any ebook format you prefer.

THIRD PRIZE

One Download

PILATE’S CROSS or OBSIDIAN

in any ebook format you prefer.

How to Play:

In the new John Pilate Mystery PILATE’S KEY (see below for links to download your Kindle, Nook, iPad, Kobo or other ereader copy) there are at least five (5) lines from classic/cult movies quoted or recognizably paraphrased by characters in the book.

For your chance to win, read the book (no complaining–you have 26 days to read a 202-page book!) and be one of the first 4 persons to email three (3) correct answers to Author (at) Pilatescross.com before Noon CST on February 12, 2012.

Answers must be sent in this format:

The line spoken by the PILATE’S KEY character, which character said it, and from what film was the line paraphrased?

Example:

“My health. I came here for the waters,” Pilate said.  (Casablanca)

Grand Prize awarded to first email received with correct answers.

Other prizes will be awarded to correct answers in order of receipt.

Winners agree to allow their first name, last initial and City/State/Country be used for contest results announcements on Facebook, Goodreads, PilatesCross.com and Twitter.

Judging by J. A. Greenwood–all results announced Feb. 12, 2012 and are final.

Winners of paperbacks must provide full name and address for shipping. (U. S. Postal Service media mail shipping costs paid by J. A. Greenwood.) J. A. Greenwood is not responsible for items lost in shipping. Books will be shipped as soon as possible after the announcement of winners (subject to publisher fulfillment times and shipping conditions).

PLEASE DO NOT POST ANSWERS TO FACEBOOK, GOODREADS OR ANY OTHER WEBSITE.

If answers are posted publicly prior to contest conclusion, the contest will end with all entries ruled invalid.

Questions?  Ask ‘em right here on this page.

Get your Kindle Copy here. Get your copy formatted for Nook, iPad, Sony, Kobo, Diesel, PC, (EPUB) as well as Stanza, Smartphone, PDF, etc. here.

Thanks for reading! I hope you’ll enter!

REMINDER

If you’re in the Kansas City area Feb. 23, be sure to come to the reception and presentation about my work hosted by the Kansas City Public Library! More details and RSVP link here.

After 20 years, 7-Eleven, Inc. has opened a new store in the Kansas City area.

As part of the grand opening of the newest 7-Eleven® store for the metro area at 10701 Metcalf Ave. in Overland Park, a celebration will be held on Friday, Jan. 20, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will feature free food sampling, food specials, prizes and a special appearance by 711 Friday.

“While 7-Eleven is an international company, our outlets are neighborhood stores,” said 7-Eleven market manager John Kincaid.  “Getting involved with what’s meaningful to the community is important to us and how we do business.  Store operators are encouraged to be active members of the community.  Because most live where they operate their store, they know best how to meet local needs – whether it’s their customers’ tastes in food, a local school’s call for volunteers or the police department’s request for donations.”

The grand opening celebration kicks off with the official ribbon-cutting at 10:45 a.m. that Friday and continues until 1 p.m.

New to the Kansas City market is 7-Eleven’s hot foods program.  “We regularly introduce new products in our stores to determine the right mix for our customers, and that means everything from hot pizza to Perrier, from fresh salads to Slurpee® drinks, from buffalo wings to breakfast pastries,” Kincaid said.

Products include fresh bakery products and 7-Eleven’s line of hot foods like pizza, chicken tenders, buffalo wings and breakfast quesadillas. 7-Eleven’s newest product line is the value-priced, private-brand of 7-Select™ snacks, candy, beverages, groceries and paper goods.  Offering between 10 and 20 percent savings compared to national brands carried in stores, 7-Select items have proven extremely popular with customers since their introduction.

About 7-Eleven, Inc.
7-Eleven, Inc. is the premier name and largest chain in the convenience retailing industry. Based in Dallas, Texas,   7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses more than 9.000 7-Eleven® stores in North America. Globally, there are more than 44,700 7-Eleven stores in 16 countries. During 2010, 7-Eleven stores worldwide generated total sales close to $63 billion. 7-Eleven has been honored by a number of companies and organizations recently. Accolades include: #2 on Forbes magazine’s 2011 list of Top Franchises for the Money; #4 spot on Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 list for 2009, #3 in Forbes magazine’s Top 20 Franchises to Start, and #2 in Franchise Times Top 200 Franchise Companies. Hispanic Magazine named 7-Eleven in its Hispanic Corporate Top 100 Companies that provide the most opportunities to Hispanics.  7-Eleven received the 2010 Retailer of the Year honor from PL Buyer because of the company’s private-label brand initiative. 7-Eleven is franchising its stores in the U.S. and expanding through organic growth, acquisitions and its Business Conversion Program. Find out more online at www.7-Eleven.com.

Disclosure: 7-Eleven is a client of AlexanderG Public Relations.

Excerpted from the article by Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal Managing Editor Mark Reilly:

Best Buy Co. Inc. CEO Brian Dunn has gone public with a defense of the company’s business model — and some mea culpas — after a rough couple of weeks in the media spotlight for the electronics retailer.

The Richfield-based retailer has been the subject of several critical stories over the past month, ranging from a disappointing third-quarter earnings performance to a widely read essay at Forbes.com that argued Best Buy would be out of business within a few years.

Dunn, on Best Buy’s CEO blog “Brian’s Whiteboard,” acknowledges that some of the criticism is fair, and apologizes for the retailer’s cancellation of some online orders just before Christmas.

Too little, too late, or the now pro forma post-Netflix PR move? What’s your take? The comments section is open!

Okay, I promised before that I wouldn’t do one of those trite “end of the year” lists as a blog post, but I changed my mind when I was on Twitter yesterday. I was reminded that a lot of Twitter “newbs” come on line every day looking for good people to follow. So, in no particular order, these are some of my favorite Tweeters. Check ‘em out in 2012.

Note: This list is not comprehensive–I follow more than 3,800 tweeps–it’s just a sample of some of my favorites. They range from PR colleagues (and *clients) to writers to journalists to strategists to marketers to…well, people from all walks of life.

@kbmckinney Mom. Social Media Geek. Writer. Lawyer. And a Bunch of Other Stuff. (Kate posts consistently interesting tweets and info.)

@Brainzooming Tweets by Mike Brown featuring strategy, innovation, creativity, & social media ideas. (He’s also pretty funny.)*

@EdenBaylee Author of literary erotica and bestselling novel, FALL INTO WINTER. (Eden is a great example of a person who shares of herself and helps others in the social media space.)

@ShellyKramer Marketing/brand strategist, idea generator, digital content magician, scribbler, information junkie. Luv MilkDuds+Beer. Member of Oversharers Anonymous. (The “dean” of Twitter as far as I’m concerned–though Shelly is far more than a social media titan–check her out, you’ll see.)

@mmangen Bookworm | Horse Lover | Virtual Assistant | Single Mom | From the Land of Beer and Cheese now Living in the Sunshine State | Oldest of Seven | iTunes Addict (Michelle shares some fun stuff–with a wide variety of interests.)

@Dan_Coyle Nationally (now INTERnationally) Touring Singer Songwriter. Music Lover. Coffee Lover. Lover of Weird Things — If You’re Weird, I’ll Love You. (This guy is an excellent self-promoter who truly cares about his twitter friends and fans. He also has a quirky side and often posts links to some very interesting articles and sites.)*

@adamsconsulting Graduate of USC, Entrepreneur for over 10 yrs, Writer for BitRebels.com and InkRebels.com, Voice for the Homeless in Atlanta. I’m really into just being happy. (Diana always has something I can’t resist clicking!)

@OfRevolt I narrowly escaped the clutches of The Man to travel, write, and blog about the daily activities of being without a home. I sing, dance, and make merry! (My favorite travel blogger!)

@JohnFugelsang God got Vaclav Havel, the Devil got Kim-Jong II, and neither of them got near Christopher Hitchens. I’m an actor & comedian. Our album- http://bit.ly/un61bi (Smart, edgy comedian. Note he’s often political and Left-leaning. If you’re a Fox News fan, you probably won’t dig him.)

@Jdickerson Political correspondent Slate magazine/Political Director CBS News. (Informative, witty and incisive.)

@JeanGleason An HR Princess with attitude speaking the hard HR truths. I love to travel and the ocean! My family & friends are the most important things in my life. (Jean is a great person and a true resource for HR info.)

@JasonHarper Son of a librarian & English professor. Champion of writing, dialogue, knowledge & culture. Tweeting for @KCLibrary. (His bio says it all.)

@Harris_Barb PR chick by profession, humanitarian by passion. Writer of food blog http://ourfeedingfrenzy.com. @feedingfrnzy (Her food blog is a must-read. She needs to tweet more, though!)

@ginidietrich CEO of Arment Dietrich. Author of spinsucks.com. Vistage member. Author. Speaker. Communicator. Avid cyclist. A foodie. Loves shoes & wine. (Funny, informative and prolific, Gini has a great PR blog, too.)

@AlexisCeule Social Media Mamapreneur-Chief Engagement Officer: Making ur brand social via word o mouse! I love me some @Train and I’ll shoot u on MWII as KUfans2009. (Great fun and lots of cool info.)

@StephGreenKC Sprint B2B PR. Ask me abt M2M, connected car, smart grid, health/wellness, digital signs, security, mobility, IP. Love to chase my 3-year-old and travel! (Good telecom-related stuff and yes, she’s my wife so you’re damn right I list her here!)

I could go on…but time is running out on 2011 and I need to hop off the blog, Twitter and the internet in general to enjoy more time with my family. Remember–Twitter is a great way to connect with interesting people, but don’t let it hog all your time and prevent you from “connecting” with your loved ones and friends “in real life.”

Happy New Year.

Our recent posts about the Gigabit City ideation activities conducted in part by our client The Brainzooming Group (download the free report here) have us keeping an eye on Kansas City’s new economic thrust:

As entrepreneurs ourselves, this is a fantastic affirmation. You see, less than two years ago in the darkest depths of the Great Recession–equipped with little cash, a few connections and the tremendous knowledge and encouragement we received from graduating the Kauffman FastTrac GrowthVenture program–we started AlexanderG PR.
Since then our revenues have more than tripled and our client load (local, regional and national) is quickly approaching the point where a dedicated part-time staffer will need to be hired…not to mention the fact that our job satisfaction has never been better.
It’s great living in a city that respects and encourages entrepreneurs. Most of all, it’s exciting that with Google fiber technology, the rest of the world will know about it very soon. The possibilities are endless.

Our friends at The Brainzooming Group helped shape an intriguing project featuring two graduate level marketing communications classes at the University of Kansas. Students in Max Utsler’s “Innovations in Marketing Communications” class and Barrett Sydnor’s “Integrated Marketing Communications and Sales Strategy” class are writing blog posts during the semester on topics related to the classes, including branding, marketing, media relations, social media, experience marketing, and innovation.

Today’s author is Patrick Kerr. Patrick is pursuing his Masters degree in Marketing Communications at KU.

Patrick offers some insights and opinions about the impact of the Google Ultra-High Speed Internet technology that has been “gifted” to Kansas City. Is it just a “marketing ploy” by Google or a genuine advantage for KC–or both?

Ever since Google announced it was planning to build an ultra high-speed broadband network in Kansas City on both sides of the river, I’ve wondered what the actual impact would be on the metro area. After all, Google made it clear that the plan would do very little in terms of jobs which disappointed city leaders and laid-off workers hoping for an immediate economic windfall. Who cares if you can download the latest Youtube video faster than usual?  Is this really going to improve the quality of life in the metro area, or is this merely a marketing ploy by a company that is systematically taking over the technology world?

First, let’s take a look at what the new technology will actually do. The plan is to build a network that will deliver Internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit (or 1,000 megabits) per second using state-of-the-art-fiber technology. That’s approximately 20,000 times faster than dial-up and more than 100 times faster than a typical broadband connection.  In the animal world, that would be like a cheetah racing a turtle in a dead-on sprint.  In other words: scary fast.

According to Google, the plan will boost the area economy by allowing new innovations and cutting-edge technologies to develop in Kansas City. That’s all well and good and sounds convincing enough on paper, but how does that translate in reality? With the announcement of the Bistate Innovations Team, Kansas City leaders from both sides of the state line aren’t waiting around to find out. The team is made up of 12 key people appointed by both Kansas City mayors and will look at ways the area can take advantage of the project.

“From designers to small-business owners, health care to education, the arts to industry, these exceptional individuals will work together to explore every possibility our exciting partnership with Google may offer. I am confident this team will seize this transformational moment for both Kansas Cities,” said Kansas City, Mo. Mayor Sly James in a statement following the announcement.

So it is clear area leaders are taking a proactive approach to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. That’s the first of many steps in the right direction. But how is this news being received at the national level?  According to a recent Wall Street Journal roundup of industry hubs across country, the newspaper identified Kansas City as an emerging technology hotbed and even suggested the city’s new nickname should be “Silicon Prairie.”  The article cited the growth of area tech giants Sprint and Cerner as reasons for the choice, but also credited Google’s ultra-high-speed internet plans for solidifying the selection.  Now that’s the kind of traction that just might encourage businesses to relocate to or start up in Kansas City.

Now back to the question of how this new development will impact the daily lives of Kansas Citians. Just this past weekend, Google-owned YouTube announced it was planning to launch 100 new channels of professionally made video to the otherwise amateur content that currently dominates its website. The Wall Street Journal, British newswire Reuters and online magazine Slate are some of the many channels scheduled to debut on the new lineup. The move is seen as one more step in moving TV to the Internet. Once the city’s new high-speed Internet is in place, it will be at the forefront of this exciting new technology.

Of course, some analysts see the development as yet another way to increase viewership on the Internet – which is precisely where Google wants them. Perhaps Google’s plan to build the new high-speed connection for Kansas City is a marketing ploy after all.

-Patrick Kerr lives and works in the Kansas City area. His interests include good food, fishing and finding new hobbies to take his mind off the reeling Kansas City Chiefs and Royals.

We do a somewhat irregularly-published e-newsletter (aka eblast)–but when we do it’s usually pretty cool. Info, tips and fun stuff galore.

So if you want to sign up, go to our homepage:

Then look for this box in the lower right corner:

…and enter your email addy. We don’t send out more than one e-newsletter a month (usually less than that), but you can get some inside skinny you won’t find anywhere else plus the occasional special perk.

Another option–and this is more frequent than the eblast–you can get an email every time we publish a new blog post.  Just go to the homepage and find this box at the upper right corner:

…add your email address and you’ll be notified every time we post something on the AlexanderG Whiz blog.  You’ll note also that above that box is a convenient search box–you can look for that great post we did on Lawyers Vs. PR, for example, just by typing in the search terms. Below the subscribe box are handy links to find us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and even sign up for the RSS feed.

So, those are some easy ways to keep up with what we’re doing here. We hope you’ll sign up if you haven’t already done so. It’s a blast.

Is it smart to share your political views when you advertise your business? Ask this guy:

Excerpt:

A west Georgia business owner has been deluged with calls and emails after posting signs on his company’s trucks that say he’s not hiring anyone until President Barack Obama leaves office.

Waco-based U.S. Cranes LLC owner Bill Looman tells WXIA-TV that reaction has been so intense he’s had to disconnect his phones and temporarily shut down the company’s website.

He posted the signs on his company’s trucks for other motorists to see on roads and interstates across the South. The signs proclaim “New Company Policy: We are not hiring until Obama is gone.”

Looman says he’s not refusing to hire employees to make a political point. He told WXIA he can’t afford to hire anyone because of the economy, and he blames the people in power.

Looman isn’t the only one who has done this. Check out this link for a great (and we think bizarre) example of a small businessman advertising his social agenda on the back of his business.

PR tip: Don’t do this–especially if your business depends on customers from a wide strata of beliefs, creeds and social groups. It’s just not smart. It may feel good in the short run, but ultimately you’re probably shooting yourself in the foot.

Why intentionally say or do anything to repel potential customers?