Nick Hahn’s debut novel is a riveting exploration of friendship, race, and courage, told through the intersecting stories of two fascinating women caught in a storm of politics, intrigue, and spiritual struggle. Skillfully written and tight as a drum, Under the Skin will leave you breathless.
Mark Matousek
Author of Ethical Wisdom: The Search for a Moral Life, Mark is a multi-book published author, reviewer, and writing coach.
The book will launch Friday, August 2, 2013. Available on Amazon, Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Nook, Kobo, Apple iBook, and coming soon to your favorite bookstore.
Q: I have a fantastic idea for a book. I’m unclear on copyright rules and I want to protect my idea from someone else copying it. What steps should a person take in order to protect an idea until it comes into print? -Brian
A: I hate to break the bad news, but you can’t copyright an idea. Nobody can. Section 102(b) of the Copyright Act specifically states: “In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated or embodied in such work.
“So if copyright law doesn’t protect an idea, what exactly does it protect?
Copyrights cover “original works of authorship” that the author fixes in a tangible form (written on paper, typed on computer, scribbled by crayon on a napkin, etc.). In other words, it protects the specifics of your book after it’s written. No one can steal, reprint or profit from your work without your consent. Though, no matter how hard you try, you can’t safeguard the idea behind your story.
Think about it like this: No one directly copied William Shakespeare’sRomeo and Juliet word-for-word and slapped their name on it, but they have used his idea-a love story about two young people from rival families- over and over again. West Side Story fits the bill (two lovers from rival gangs). Even Disney’s High School Musical has the same plot (rival high school cliques).
Now before all you overachievers point out that Shakespeare’s work has out-lived its copyright protection and is now part of the public domain, remember this: both West Side Story and High School Musical are copyrighted, so no one can steal significant details from them. But, much like your idea, they can’t stop others from using the basic concept.
This topic (and more) can be found in one of my favorite On-Demand webinars. It’s called Legal Issues and Contract Basics: All Your Writing Questions Answered and it’s presented by the amazing Amy Cook, an attorney who specializes in intellectual property and publishing law issues. The information in this 90-minute webinar is worth its weight in gold. And, right now, it’s 30% OFF (as is our entire collection of On-Demand webinars). Check it out.
It was halftime when I saw him. He was walking one of his ponies around the cool down track and talking to a striking blonde in skintight jodhpurs. They were fawn colored with brown suede inserts that accentuated her inner thighs. She wore tall black riding boots and a clingy white blouse unbuttoned to mid-chest, showing a hint of perspiration just above her small, perfectly shaped breasts. She didn’t wear a bra.
If ever a girl could intimidate me, this blonde could. She was stunning. I immediately smoothed out my dress and pushed back my tawny red hair. Why, I wondered, was I giving this man or his blonde friend a moment’s notice?
New York, Kampala and St Andrews form a bicultural triangle for international intrigue and suspense as two unlikely friends confront a mounting political crises.
In Under the Skin, a brutal African dictator is challenged by two young women from different worlds: Maggie Kincaid, born to wealth and privilege in New York, and Nabby Kibugu, born to poverty and obscurity in the African bush. Their unlikely friendship sparks a fiery political drama with the potential to upend the leadership of a country and change the lives of millions.
Maggie is working as an intern for an American company in Uganda when she meets longtime pen pal Nabby. She becomes ensnarled in a clandestine political campaign to elect Nabby as the first female president of Uganda. The women risk everything as they take on a corrupt, abusive government. In a startling move, they decide to enlist the improbable help of a notorious warlord, and it’s anyone’s guess as to whether their dangerous gamble will pay off.
(BIO)
Nick Hahn started writing while a student at the University of Notre Dame. His travel diaries reflect fourteen years of working among indigenous peoples from Africa to Latin America, where he witnessed social and political unrest. He makes his home in rural eastern Connecticut near Long Island Sound, where he writes and narrates audiobooks. Under the Skin is his first novel.
Joseph Kony is a notorious warlord and fugitive. He’s a kidnapper, a murderer and a human trafficker. He’s the sadistic leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and continues to evade capture while he terrorizes villagers along the Ugandan borders with Sudan and the Congo Republic. Kony’s role in my novel, Under The Skin, is fiction but his legacy is very real.
This fear was different, not like being lost in the bush or confronted by a Lion. This was a deep and visceral fear that only a woman can understand knowing her body was about to be violated. It was terrifying.
This photo was taken by me when ourToyota Land Cruise pulled over for pictures and unknowingly invaded this big boy’s space. He was a fully developed Cape Buffalo who could have upended our vehicle with a single thrust of those massive horns. We very gently backed out of there and went luckily on our way, that photo was taken no more than 20 feet away. This is Uganda, East Africa the site of my new novel and one of the most mysterious, dangerous and exciting places left on earth. Experience it with me through the pages of Under The Skin.
“I'D BEEN REJECTED, BUT I WAS STILL IN LOVE, SO I DECIDED TO START OVER” Nick Hahn, Writer, Narrator, Traveler
Nick Hahn’s debut novel is a riveting exploration of friendship, race, and courage, told through the intersecting stories of two fascinating women caught in a storm of politics, intrigue, and spiritual struggle. Skillfully written and tight as a drum, Under the Skin will leave you breathless.
