You may never have heard of Daemon author Leinad Zeraus, but get ready to hear a lot about Daemon author Daniel Suarez.
A computer systems consultant and fan of computer games, Suarez self-published his debut techno thriller in 2006 using a pseudonym he created by reversing the spellings of his first and last names.
Thanks to Daemon's growing underground popularity with techies and bloggers, followed by an April 2008 Wired magazine article about Daemon's snowballing fan base, Suarez got a two-book contract with a major New York publishing house. Dutton will publish Daemon on Thursday.
Daemon is the story of a billionaire computer game designer who plans to take over the world -- after his death. As soon as his obituary is posted online, a dormant computer program (a "daemon") sets in motion a dastardly plot involving identity theft, financial crises and murder.
The action takes place in the world of multi-player online games and incorporates existing technology including laser-beam weapons that deliver lethal electrical charges, unmanned vehicles used as killing machines, zombie computers and Web bots.
"I was really keen on using real technology," says Suarez, 46, who lives in Los Angeles. "To me, that was the whole point."
Suarez built his property where he knew there was a fan base - gamers, techno geeks, thriller-readers and futurists - and where he knew he could reach them - online.
He used real world technology readily available right off the shelf or online store. He made it all plausible, but just as important it allowed people to jump in and say, "Wow, I have that model computer, phone, etc..." thus igniting possible discussion.
He got the book into the hands of taste makers - people whose opinion the rest of the audience respects.
He branded himself as well as his book by creating a pseudonym that was distinct and searchable only to him...
And then he worked it. Now he has a movie option from producer Walter Parks and a sequel coming out from his new publisher Dutton.
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