Author Archives: Dennis

Blog site: Hiking Lady Reviews Three Hundred Zeroes

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If you’re a woman, and a hiker (or wanna be hiker), I highly recommend you check out the Hiking Lady’s Blog. Her blog is a wealth of information that is aimed specifically at the issues that women deal with when hiking. Their bodies have different shapes and weight distribution, and the gear, especially backpacks, and clothing really do need to accommodate those issues.

I’m proud to say that Hiking Lady gave THREE HUNDRED ZEROES a  4.5 out of 5.0 stars. Check out the review and take a look around her site.
If you’re on Twitter, Hiking Lady can be found at: http://www.twitter.com/hikinglady
Dennis “K1” Blanchard

The E-book vs. Print book debate rages on…

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There is a interesting debate posted about the E-book vs. Print book battle. It concerns pricing, availability, libraries and so on. The discussion is between Joe Konrath and Barry Eisler. It is lengthy, some 13,000 words, but very interesting. Take a look if you have some time to sit down and read something like this. If you prefer, you can read it on an e-reader, various formats are available for free on Smashwords. 
I left a comment on the blog as well at:
For my comment to make sense, you’d have to watch the Youtube video they mention in their discussion.
Dennis “K1” Blanchard

I Love The Fans!

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I try to keep up with the fan mail, which takes as much as an hour a day these days. Every now and then I get one that just jumps out at me, here’s another one from Heather:

Hi Dennis,

I just finished your book and wanted to say hello. My boyfriends dad, who is a ham radio enthusiast, loaned me the book to read. I was glued to it every chance I got! I love reading about the trail because I aspire to do it myself one day. I live in Harpers Ferry and the trail runs along the ridge at the top of my neighborhood(Shannondale) I plan on doing some trail magic again this summer because it’s so much fun. A few years ago my friend “Dirty Feet” hiked the trail by herself and I met her with pizza and beer at Bears Den and then met up with her again in Harpers Ferry. She said I was the talk of the trail from Bears Den to Harpers Ferry for bringing goodies. 

I was really surprised by all of your bear encounters. I have been hiking for about 10 years now and have only seen one bear in the wild. I thought those occurrences were rare because they run before you see them. I read your book before going to sleep one night and actually had nightmares that there was a bear trying to eat me and my daughter! I also have never seen a snake. Maybe I don’t pay enough attention while I’m wandering the woods. I’ll keep a better eye out now that I realize there are poisonous snakes everywhere.

Thanks for the great read. Your book cracked me up several times. I have also been inspired to volunteer at the ATC headquarters.

 

~Heather S.~


Heather, the secret to seeing wild life is to be quiet and alone. Many hikers that go in groups never see many of the fauna because groups are just naturally more noisy and noticeable. As for the snakes, given enough time, you’ll see more than you want to see, believe me.

I’ve heard of “Dirty Feet,” but then maybe there is more than one, so I can’t be certain. Glad to hear she is out doing “Trail Angel” work, that is so noble and giving. Thanks also for making my day, I really enjoyed your comments.

Dennis “K1” Blanchard 

St. Pats Day Birthday…

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I’m never allowed to forget my birthday…St. Patricks Day. For some reason a St. Pats birthday stands out. I can’t really complain, my favorite color is green and green was always a sign of Spring coming, so that was a comfort. The day always signified that winter was coming to an end.

This year I turn 64. For some reason, I can’t get that Beatles song out of my head, “Will you still love me…when I’m 64?” I have to admit, I still love my wonderful wife Jane as much as the day I met her, and I suspect it is mutual. Some things just get better with age.
This year I’ve had so many more people wishing me happy birthday. Many are readers of THREE HUNDRED ZEROES, total strangers, people I’ve never met. Thank you all, what a comfort to know that so many people would care that much. I hope I’ve given you as much in return with the book.
Thanks all…
Dennis “K1” Blanchard

Smashwords Ebook Special Sale This Week.

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I’m writing today to bring
you up to date on THREE HUNDRED ZEROES and how it has done in the last year. It
started in print form a year ago February and is now also available on almost
all of the popular e-book readers; Kindle, Nook, Sony, Ipad and so on.
 
The book’s reception has
been absolutely fantastic! There are thousands of copies now in circulation and
the number increases everyday. A good allotment of time is spent each day just
trying to keep up with the fan mail. I do answer it all, but sometimes that can
take a while, it can be quite overwhelming at times, but I love every minute of
it.
 
I wanted you to know about
a special offer that Smashwords.com, an e-book publisher, is running until 12 March 2011. Smashwords is offering THREE HUNDRED ZEROES at a special discount of 26% off of the
standard price of $9.99, or $7.39. Just use the coupon code:
 
RAE25
 
At checkout and the price
will be automatically adjusted. This price applies only at Smashwords.com and is not applicable to other sites that carry
the book title on their electronic distribution. Smashwords offers the book in just about every e-book
format.
 
If you were considering
getting an electronic copy of the book, this is a great
opportunity. If you’ve already read Three Hundred Zeroes, check out Smashwords, they have thousands of other interesting books on sale this week as well.
 
One other thing: A good
friend, Bill “Skywalker” Walker has just released his book about his hike of the
Pacific Crest Trail. If you’re
itching to read another good hiking adventure story, I highly recommend it. The book is: HIGHS AND LOWS ON THE PACIFIC CREST
TRAIL.
 
I want to sincerely thank
all of you that have read my book. It has been a thrill to hear all the
wonderful comments. There may be another book in the works, check this blog  or the web site for updates. Thanks again.

An absolutely wonderful review on Shelfari…

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I just noticed a wonderful review of THREE HUNDRED ZEROES on shelfari.com:

shelfari.com is a great place to find books and information about books. Check it out when you have time.
I’m thrilled you enjoyed it so much Elizabeth. With the Internet today it is so easy to support your favorite authors.
See you out there on the trail!
Dennis “K1” Blanchard

Learn knot tying skills when going out in the woods.

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A few basic skills are really necessary before going out into the woods: recognizing wild foods, building fires, staying warm in an emergency, first aid and my favorite, tying knots. I don’t have an expansive repertoire of knots that I use, just a few basic ones. My favorites are the Slip knot, the Butterfly knot and the Reef knot, also known as the Granny knot.

One web site that show really good graphics for tying knots is: http://www.iwillknot.com/
It doesn’t have the Granny knot, but you can see it here: http://www.apparent-wind.com/knots/reef-knot/
Get two shoe laces (different colors helps) or two pieces of different colored rope and have some practice. It’s fun and useful to know. 
I especially like the Butterfly knot because it can be tied anywhere in a rope and then another rope can be attached at that point and it won’t slip up or down. It will stay where it is tied. 
Have some fun with this before your next hike.
Dennis, “K1”

Part II of the RadioSRQ broadcast…

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Concerning the RadioSRQ interview posted earlier: I guess it wasn’t that obvious, but the second part of the broadcast is a link on the page for the first part of the interview. I’ve had several write to ask where it is. Here is the link:

If you missed the first part, here it is:
Enjoy…
Dennis, “K1”

Barnes and Noble Nook Version

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Barnes and Noble’s Nook now has THREE HUNDRED ZEROES  available. I just checked tonight and there is a very nice review of the book there. I don’t know who wrote, it was signed anonymous. Thanks for the enthusiasm and I’m thrilled so many are enjoying this read.

I’ve added a “badge” that B&N has supplied to link to the book via this blog. See it elsewhere on this page.

Keep those cards, letters and emails coming, I do answer them as time permits. Thank you everyone!
Dennis “K1” 

Interesting times for book publishing.

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Since the Christmas Season I’ve seen a dramatic shift in book reading. Last year THREE HUNDRED ZEROES was predominantly the print version, but now it is by and far the electronic version, especially the Kindle. As much as I love to hold a print version of a book in my hand, I have the feeling that it will soon be a minor part of the reading industry.

There are many advantages to an eBook: portability of many books at once, small size, free books and easy to read in the dark. Print books have advantages too: portable, pages can be dog-eared, pages can be ripped out, and if lost, easily replaced. 
I suspect before long however there will be free eBook readers. It will end up like the cell phone scenario where the phone company offers a free phone so you’ll use the service. Kindles are now $139 and they seem to keep dropping. Excuse the pun, but the writing is on the wall.
Add to all this the price difference, the Kindle version lists for $9.95, the print version, $17.95, that has to be a factor.
When I look at sales reports for THREE HUNDRED ZEROES, I feel a real affinity for the print version report, but I guess I’m going to have to let go of that and appreciate that the eBook is here to stay. I guess the next decision will be, which reader? Nook, Ipad, Sony or Kindle?
Dennis “K1” Blanchard