The Games Newsletter ~ December, 2005

You don’t have to wait until February for the Winter Olympics to open in Turin, Italy. You can enter that dramatic, life-altering, fascinating world today by reading my new book, THE GAMES (trade paperback from Delphi Books, ISBN 0-9765185-1-1.)

Get it for yourself (you deserve a gift, too!) and as a gift for that special reader on your list. (For wisely frugal Santas, there’s a great price at www.BooksaMillion.com.)

To learn more about THE GAMES, visit http://www.TheGames2006.com. You can:

• Read a generous excerpt of THE GAMES. The latest installment has just been added.


• See what other people are saying about THE GAMES. From New York Times best-selling novelist Carla Neggers to USA Today sports columnist and TV analyst Christine Brennan to U.S. champion and Olympian skater Michael Weiss, the praise is universal. With more reviews being added all the time.


• Explore the world of the Winter Games, from their origins to looking ahead to Turin.


• Discuss the Winter Olympics with fellow fans.


• And order those copies of THE GAMES!

Covering figure skating as a fledgling reporter (including the great Scott Hamilton in regional competitions) started the germ of this story. It grew through my years as a sports journalist at the Washington Post and blossomed through interviews with dozens of Olympians. (You can see the most vital of those listed in the "About the Games" section of www.TheGames2006.com) and the acknowledgements page of the book.

I’d love to hear from you about THE GAMES!

All subscribers to Patricia McLinn’s newsletter need your help!

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What if you’ve signed up, but you’re not receiving newsletters? It’s very possible that your Internet provider has blocked the newsletter because previous people incorrectly unsubscribed. You need to make sure that Patricia@PatriciaMcLinn.com  is an approved/”friend”/”safe” (or whatever term your Internet provider uses) sender. You’ll need to check with your particular provider for how to do that.

Thank you! From Patricia, and all her newsletter subscribers.
 

HACKED, ALAS

It’s one of those rites of passage – my website was hacked in November. My web person restored the site quickly, so you might not even have noticed. However, the hackers also sent a blank e-mail titled “Trying” to some of my newsletter subscribers. I’m so sorry that that included you.

It also included my computer whiz brother-in-law, who tested and researched that e-mail, and he assures me that it did not carry a virus or worm. As far as we can determine, that message was harmless. To this point my brother-in-law has not received any additional suspect e-mail, but he is remaining on guard. If he alerts me to any problems, I will let you know immediately.

In striking my website and several others, the hackers exploited a particular combination of factors in the newsletter software. I can assure you that not only has that combination been removed, but additional safeguards have been put in place. We will continue to look for ways to safeguard the site and – especially – your e-mail address.

The only other thing I can tell you is that I have this strong urge to write a book with a low-life hacker character who suffers horribly, and then dies totally unlamented.