Blinded by Biceps

Around the time my first book was accepted by RP, I was thinking about the power of Myspace as a promotional tool and had a rather strange idea. I’m sure we’ve all seen pages set up to promote books with a blurb, the cover and a bit of news about release dates and special offers, etc.

I decided to create a page for two of my characters from The Dance. Though I created one for my hearo, I thought it would be more fun to focus on the villain, Kyle…the serial killer and arguably the true star of The Dance.

I created the page, made reference to The Dance, filled in plenty of detail that screamed of the evils in Kyle’s mind and even listed serial killer as his occupation. I added a few friend requests and sat back to see what would happen. He instantly became quite popular. It has evolved into a rather intriguing social experiment.

I think I know where the problem lies and before I go any further, I should probably explain. Kyle is big. He’s tall, muscle bound and has a smile that could melt the heart of a nun. I searched for a pic to use in the profile that would be representative of these attributes. I found something close and inserted it. It’s just a picture of a very brawny chest and arms.

Well, I believe several people have become blinded by biceps. People obviously don’t take the time to read the profiles before they initiate contact. Not only has Kyle received several friend requests he already has a mailbox full of messages from young women wanting to get to know him better. All this despite the fact that in his interests he lists among other details fear and screams, I live for the sweet song of terror realized.

It’s enough to boggle the mind. How often do we read about Cyber-predators in this day and age? The Craig’s List killer comes to mind most recently. And yet, here is someone who is clearly off his rocker getting asked for discreet rendezvous.

As a person, it freaks me out, but as a parent I am mortified, what if one of these thrill seekers were my child? It gives me the chills just thinking about it. I’ve since become even more stringent in regulating what my son does on the internet. He may think I’m being overprotective, but I venture there is no such thing when it comes to shielding him from the hunters of the net.

I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts on both the experiment and measure you take to protect your children.

Oh and here are the links to both characters pages: Kyle and Detective Tom Wiley