New York Waste calls Rumored to Exist by Jon Konrath "An instant classic of experimental fiction"

A dark, experimental, cutting-edge, and humorous satire on modern society (ISBN 0-595-23476-3, iUniverse, publisher; 272 pages, $15.95).

After seven years in the making, New York writer Jon Konrath has announced publication of his second novel, Rumored to Exist, with IUniverse, Inc. (ISBN 0-595-23476-3, 272 pages, $15.95).

Konrath's latest epic, a nonlinear tale told in 200 short segments, follows the story of John Conner, a UFO enthusiast, militant screenwriter, explosives expert, and extreme sports fan. He works for an insane scientist who collects human corpses and made millions on an impossible-to-solve children's puzzle that shoots poisonous spikes when it isn't completed. On his days off, Conner steals genetic material for blackmail purposes with his Columbian bodyguard Tito, and

hangs out with his Lego-obsessed friend Nick. His Texan lawyer, preoccupied with his own earwax, has vanished to Vietnam; a guy named

Ivan has started selling sheep for sexual urposes; a famous filmmaker is working on a cinematic trilogy based on vomit. Plus he and Nick found a way to talk to the dead via a library's electronic card catalog terminal. But even in this strange world, the meaning of life

eludes him, and he needs to know the answers, or at least find a way to pay his six-digit phone bill.

The nonlinear, experimental fiction of Rumored to Exist blasts through a hyperdimensional landscape of the near-future, mutated fact, and impossible science. A combination of pop-fiction references, heavy metal speed, and hilarious parody mix the half-dozen different stories together into a nightmarish tale of post-apocalyptic America.

Rumored to Exist is available from the publisher at www.iuniverse.com, as well as Barnes and Noble at www.bn.com, and will be available from all

major online booksellers. For more information including excerpts, visit the author's website at www.rumored.com.

About the author: In addition to Rumored to Exist, Jon Konrath is also the author of the novel Summer Rain. The former zine editor

maintains rumored.com and is a technical writer by trade. He currently resides in New York City.

To schedule an interview with Jon Konrath, contact him by email at jkonrath@rumored.com or by phone at 718.726.3515