Canada - Lucas Fowler, Chynna Deese, and Leonard Dyck, all murdered, Alaska Hwy, BC, Jul 2019 #20

[MistyWaters]

I honestly even doubt it was going to be released July 23rd. You know how sometimes <modsnip> people have all these grand plans, like "next week I'm going to do X and Y and get my life together!" I feel like it could have been one of those. Maybe he was taking some steps to get it published and maybe he thought it would be ready by then, but that doesn't mean it actually would be.

Are you saying you think AS isn’t always truthful in what he says to the media?

If so, how are we to know what to believe and what not to?

 

[Zella]

Depending on the service it could be print on demand.

That's true and might be more practical for his situation, too!

 

[NJSleuth91]

No, I don't think so. He would have known. Every self-published author I worked with knew exactly what day it was coming out. Printers have tight schedules and any delay in getting something to them as agreed-upon can lead to weeks of delay for them filling orders. MOO

But does that mean it would be released or the copies would just be finished and sent to him? Also was it going to be released as hard copies or like, an e-book on Amazon? Anyone know?

Are you saying you think AS isn’t always truthful in what he says to the media?

If so, how are we to know what to believe and what not to?

I think what he says is definitely what he believes to be the truth. That doesn't mean it is. I don't get the sense that he's ever knowingly lied about anything, but maybe he has a different perception of reality sometimes. I mean technically that could be said of any one of us -- everyone on earth is an unreliable narrator. But I think all of us have been saying that the whole time. For example we're not automatically believing what he wrote in his book, or that he was "the only person who loved Bryer."

 

[Lalalacasbah]

But in those cases, were a burned-out vehicle and/or another murder victim found nearby? Or did they just go missing without a trace?

Without going off topic too much, a brief lowdown... with Ben Kilmer it was abandoned running work vehicle (his own business) at the side of the road rumored that vehicle had blood in it, another rumor it was blood from bleeding nose, point being - the speculations were rampant and all kinds. From foul play, left to start a new life, was having an affair, suicide, etc. He was an attractive family man, seemed to have it all so the communities were involved. Posters all over Victoria and the island.

The other two guys it was an abandoned boat just coming back from sailing trip to Panama, so again rumour mill went crazy. But again, both young, attractive, fun, adventurous, seemed well liked so lots of support to try to find them as it was out of character for one guy especially not to check in with his wife as they have a child too IIRC.

So abandoned transport vessels, both seemingly suspicious and they seemed to just disappear with no contact. Not the same type of disappearances, but I find depending on "the mystery" and circumstances people can really jump on the missing people on social media. Of course, there's a flip side - lots are ignored as well but I won't go there.

 

[LoisLane]

Lots of people on the island do it. There are lots of artistic people that live here and on the gulf islands. Lots of indie type folks who don't want to go "corporate" lol

I avoid self published books now. Too many people/friends doing this and they give me hard copies which I feel obliged to take. They

It was supposed to be published July 22nd? Wouldn’t AS have wondered by B suddenly took off without telling him in advance, just prior to what AS thought would get money rolling in from the release of the supposed hot-selling book he wrote in 12 days while drunk? I hadn’t noticed the anticipated publication date before. I find this disturbing.

“The father's book is laced with vicious criticism of Bryer's mother Deborah Sweeney, his ex-wife who he calls 'hex', detailing the custody battle over their son.....

.....Speaking to DailyMail.com, the 53-year-old said the memoir was meant to be published last week, the same day Bryer and McLeod are suspected of killing three people.”.....

.....”I put the release on hold, it was supposed to be released on Monday,' he said.

'I wrote my book so Bryer and I could buy a home,' he said. 'That was our plan.' ..”
Father of teen Canadian murder fugitive tries to hijack media frenzy to publicize his new book | Daily Mail Online

Yup. I would be humiliated and would be far far away.

I wonder who else knew about this book and had access to it.

 

[Zella]

But does that mean it would be released or the copies would just be finished and sent to him? Also was it going to be released as hard copies or like, an e-book on Amazon? Anyone know?



I think what he says is definitely what he believes to be the truth. That doesn't mean it is. I don't get the sense that he's ever knowingly lied about anything, but maybe he has a different perception of reality sometimes. I mean technically that could be said of any one of us -- everyone on earth is an unreliable narrator. But I think all of us have been saying that the whole time. For example we're not automatically believing what he wrote in his book, or that he was "the only person who loved Bryer."

It depends on his distribution agreement, but it sounds like he had hard copies to spare that he mailed to news outlets. Unless he has a print-on-demand agreement, which I am less familiar with, the author isn't getting a hard copy until they are ready.

Some of the printers I have worked with even mail the author copies directly to them, so they get it on release day, just as it would go out to stores/distributors.

One thing I can't figure out is what his marketing plan was. I know he mentioned in an interview wanting to sell the books, so he could buy a house. I have no idea if he was intended to direct market them to people or do a print-on-demand thing and print as people ordered. Online sales would have made more sense, but like I said, I never saw a reference to that. Sometimes those are delayed, so maybe there would have been online versions eventually.

 

[NJSleuth91]

Without going off topic too much, a brief lowdown... with Ben Kilmer it was abandoned running work vehicle (his own business) at the side of the road rumored that vehicle had blood in it, another rumor it was blood from bleeding nose, point being - the speculations were rampant and all kinds. From foul play, left to start a new life, was having an affair, suicide, etc. He was an attractive family man, seemed to have it all so the communities were involved. Posters all over Victoria and the island.

The other two guys it was an abandoned boat just coming back from sailing trip to Panama, so again rumour mill went crazy. But again, both young, attractive, fun, adventurous, seemed well liked so lots of support to try to find them as it was out of character for one guy especially not to check in with his wife as they have a child too.

So abandoned transport vessels, both seemingly suspicious and they seemed to just disappear with no contact. Not the same type of disappearances, but I find depending on "the mystery" and circumstances people can really jump on the missing people on social media. Of course, there's a flip side - lots are ignored as well but I won't go there.

I see. Well, ultimately we don't know if there were posts and they were not widely shared and then later taken down, or if law enforcement told people not to publicize it, or what. Or maybe people did suspect they did it from the beginning, even if it seemed out of character. After all, it is the most logical explanation of the scenario that was described. I mean even when I first remember seeing it on the news I was like "yeah right they're 'missing'...clearly they did it." It's possible people were also just confused by all the weird and incomplete information and not sure what to do. Either way I'm not sure what the relevance is to the overall discussion.

 

[LoisLane]

Lots of people on the island do it. There are lots of artistic people that live here and on the gulf islands. Lots of indie type folks who don't want to go "corporate" lol

I avoid self published books now. Too many people/friends doing this and they give me hard copies which I feel obliged to take.

ETA.. oops! Wasn’t going to post this but oh well!

He's using a self-publisher, so depending on the package he paid for, this would all be included in his costs. But he would still have to approve the design, etc.

All very real details he could share with BS as it progressed.

 

[LoisLane]

Depending on the service it could be print on demand.

Yes, the site offers that as well.

 

[LoisLane]

Well, that depends on the situation. He can choose to not make it available, but he likely didn't pick the original date of publication. It seems like he had hard copies done--I never heard references to online copies. That means Friesen Press sent it to a printer and had to work out a schedule with them. Sounds like Alan still got his copies, as an author will. I wonder what happened to the rest of his print run.

I mean release as in send it to the publisher with all final details worked out not the actual release/publish in his control.. I’m not speaking the lingo very well!

 

[Zella]

All very real details he could share with BS as it progressed.

SBM

Yes, in my experience, most authors talk about this stuff a lot with their family, regardless of whether they are traditionally or self-published. It can be so time-consuming (and important) for them that it's almost inevitable it is a major percentage of any conversation the person has!

 

[Zella]

I mean release as in send it to the publisher with all final details worked out not the actual release/publish in his control.. I’m not speaking the lingo very well!

Ah I see--no worries! Yes, the publisher, once all details are final, definitely would be the one setting a final release date because they'd be the ones working that out with the printer.

 

[MistyWaters]

It depends on his distribution agreement, but it sounds like he had hard copies to spare that he mailed to news outlets. Unless he has a print-on-demand agreement, which I am less familiar with, the author isn't getting a hard copy until they are ready.

Some of the printers I have worked with even mail the author copies directly to them, so they get it on release day, just as it would go out to stores/distributors.

One thing I can't figure out is what his marketing plan was. I know he mentioned in an interview wanting to sell the books, so he could buy a house. I have no idea if he was intended to direct market them to people or do a print-on-demand thing and print as people ordered. Online sales would have made more sense, but like I said, I never saw a reference to that. Sometimes those are delayed, so maybe there would have been online versions eventually.

But if it’s true AS believed the book was going to be released Monday, July 22nd and the profits were going to buy a house for him and B to move into, isn’t it likely he told B that date as well?

Because if so, that B suddenly took off from PA while AS was enroute to visit him, $100 cologne and all, without telling AS in advance - that’s a valid reason to send any young person into a gigantic tailspin in my opinion. B is already classed as a little weird by his peers and his dad is about to spill a semi-fictionalized book also encompassing Bs life written while on a 12 day bender, into the public realm. And which supposedly is going to finance a house for the two of them? That’s absolutely ridiculous....if not totally delusional IMO.

 

[Zella]

But if it’s true AS believed the book was going to be released Monday, July 22nd and the profits were going to buy a house for him and B to move into, isn’t it likely he told B that date as well?

Because if so, that B suddenly took off from PA while AS was enroute to visit him, $100 cologne and all, without telling AS in advance - that’s a valid reason in my opinion. B is already classed as a little weird by his peers and his dad is about to spill a semi-fictionalized book written while on a bender into the public realm, that’s going to finance a house for the two of them? That’s absolutely ridiculous.

I'm not in a position to the know the answer to that question, but I suspect Bryer did know. Like I said, in my experience as an editor, authors, self-published or not, tend to talk a lot about their books. It occupies a considerable amount of their time and energy and is usually something they are excited about.

 

[LoisLane]

SBM

Yes, in my experience, most authors talk about this stuff a lot with their family, regardless of whether they are traditionally or self-published. It can be so time-consuming (and important) for them that it's almost inevitable it is a major percentage of any conversation the person has!

Recently a friend released “a best seller” on Amazon and the lead up to the release day she would have timed emails go out to her network about what we had to do for launch day. Read the book and write a glowing review on Amazon as soon as it launched. All timed to the minute with links and instructions.

Somehow I can’t see AS being this savvy.

 

[NJSleuth91]

SBM

Yes, in my experience, most authors talk about this stuff a lot with their family, regardless of whether they are traditionally or self-published. It can be so time-consuming (and important) for them that it's almost inevitable it is a major percentage of any conversation the person has!

Yeah but would Bryer have taken it seriously, is the question, or just seen it as one more plan that wasn't going to work out? Would he even have bothered to read it? And how far away from the release date would he have read it? Did he even remember what the release date was?

If he read it, would it have dredged up a bunch of stuff from the past that he avoided thinking about, and worsened his rage and depression? Bryer's M.O. seemed to be to run away from problems and put emotional walls up -- would reading an account of his childhood traumas have forced him to face that stuff head-on in a way he couldn't handle? Even if he didn't think anyone else was actually going to read this book? And if so, would he have said anything to his dad about it?

Then we know he had quit working on the GED shortly before starting at Walmart. And he had quit school sometime before that and not graduated, and it's possible that being bullied contributed to his quitting school. And maybe there are other factors that we don't know about. So maybe we are getting a sense that things were collapsing in a way. Is it possible the book could have been one more factor?

It's possible the RCMP has investigated this, but right now we really can't say for sure one way or the other. I really want to know when the gun in mouth photo was posted relative to the trip, though.

I can't really see a scenario where Bryer was uncomfortable with the book being published and told his dad, and his dad wouldn't have respected his wishes though. It sounds like from their interactions that his dad tried not to step on his toes. For example although he was concerned and baffled, he didn't go helicopter parent when Bryer abruptly left.

 

[Zella]

Recently a friend released “a best seller” on Amazon and the lead up to the release day she would have timed emails go out to her network about what we had to do for launch day. Read the book and write a glowing review on Amazon as soon as it launched. All timed to the minute with links and instructions.

Somehow I can’t see AS being this savvy.

No, I don't either. In my experience, folks like your friend tend to have better luck with self-publishing because they know how to play the game. Most self-publishing authors I've dealt with are probably more like Alan in not understanding the best way to handle those things. MOO

 

[Zella]

Yeah but would Bryer have taken it seriously, is the question, or just seen it as one more plan that wasn't going to work out? Would he even have bothered to read it? And how far away from the release date would he have read it? Did he even remember what the release date was?

If he read it, would it have dredged up a bunch of stuff from the past that he avoided thinking about, and worsened his rage and depression? Bryer's M.O. seemed to be to run away from problems and put emotional walls up -- would reading an account of his childhood traumas have forced him to face that stuff head-on in a way he couldn't handle? Even if he didn't think anyone else was actually going to read this book? And if so, would he have said anything to his dad about it?

Then we know he had quit working on the GED shortly before starting at Walmart. And he had quit school sometime before that and not graduated, and it's possible that being bullied contributed to his quitting school. And maybe there are other factors that we don't know about. So maybe we are getting a sense that things were collapsing in a way. Is it possible the book could have been one more factor?

It's possible the RCMP has investigated this, but right now we really can't say for sure one way or the other. I really want to know when the gun in mouth photo was posted relative to the trip, though.

I can't really see a scenario where Bryer was uncomfortable with the book being published and told his dad, and his dad wouldn't have respected his wishes though. It sounds like from their interactions that his dad tried not to step on his toes. For example although he was concerned and baffled, he didn't go helicopter parent when Bryer abruptly left.

Oh I also doubt Bryer had any high hopes for this book selling enough copies to buy his dad a house. And I could easily see him not wanting to read it or not really caring about the details.

But I do think his dad probably kept him apprised of what was going on with it, partially because it would be a big deal for Alan and partially because Alan thought this was how he was going to buy a house for him and Bryer. Whether Bryer retained any of that, I don't know, but I can easily see him humoring his father about it and pretending that he thought it would be a great success or even pretending to have read it. MOO

 

[NJSleuth91]

Oh I also doubt Bryer had any high hopes for this book selling enough copies to buy his dad a house. And I could easily see him not wanting to read it or not really caring about the details.

But I do think his dad probably kept him apprised of what was going on with it, partially because it would be a big deal for Alan and partially because Alan thought this was how he was going to buy a house for him and Bryer. Whether Bryer retained any of that, I don't know, but I can easily see him humoring his father about it. MOO

Yeah I can't imagine Bryer actually thinking it would be a bestseller or that it would lead to a house, or that anyone would read it. I can imagine him humoring his dad about it so as not to hurt his feelings though. If the book was a contributing factor to his downward spiral, I doubt it was because he thought anyone would read it. Because as I've said, I can't really imagine a scenario where he told his dad he didn't want it to be published, and his dad insisted on it anyway (or wouldn't just publish it under a pseudonym). That's not the sense I get of their relationship.

Anyway if the book did contribute, my guess is that it would be because he read it and it dredged up a bunch of stuff from the past that he had avoided thinking about, and worsened his existing rage at the world and depression. But the sense I've always gotten is that he probably never even read it.

 

[MistyWaters]

I'm not in a position to the know the answer to that question, but I suspect Bryer did know. Like I said, in my experience as an editor, authors, self-published or not, tend to talk a lot about their books. It occupies a considerable amount of their time and energy and is usually something they are excited about.

I think B knew too. According to AS, B had “no hope” so he definitely wasn’t exited about the anticipated release IMO.