Sovereign Summer Sunday, July 13, 2008
Folks, for weeks now, I’ve been talking about “Brave Men Run — A Novel of the Sovereign Era” being released in a brand new paperback edition from hero-books&Itemid=59" target="_blank">Swarm Press on Sunday, July 13, 2008.
I’ve urged you — if you want to own a copy of the book, please wait to purchase it from Amazon.com on that day, so that together, everyone can push “Brave Men Run” as far up the Amazon bestseller charts as possible.
I’ve talked about how I’ll be live via streaming video all day long in a “web-a-thon” as a way to show solidarity for everyone who buys the book from Amazon.com on that day. I’ll give you updates on the progress of “Brave Men Run” as you help it climb the Amazon charts, and we’ll hang out together in the embedded chat room.
And… I’ve talked about the special content I’ll have for you on that Sovereign Summer Sunday… but I’ve never told you what that content will be.
Until now.
Another Podcasting First
Ladies and gentlemen, on Sunday, July 13, 2008, every hour on the hour for eight hours beginning at 10:00 AM Eastern / 7:00 AM Pacific time, I will present a brand new, original short story set in the first year of the Sovereign Era universe. These stories — official Sovereign Era canon — are from some of the most respected authors of podcast fiction:
- J.C. Hutchins (The “7th Son” trilogy)
- Mur Lafferty (“Playing For Keeps”)
- Nathan Lowell (The “Golden Age of the Solar Clipper” novels)
- Matt Wallace (“The Next Fix”)
- J.R. Blackwell (Voices of Tomorrow)
- P.G. Holyfield (“Murder at Avedon Hill”)
- Jared Axelrod (The Voice of Free Planet X)
I’ll be reading each story aloud, on camera, absolutely live, in random order — so be sure to check in every hour so you don’t miss your favorite author!
I can’t tell you how excited I am about this. I know each author worked very hard on their stories, and I’m honored and humbled by how willing and eager they were to play in the Sovereign Era sandbox. My universe is richer for it.
Spread the Word
If you’ve followed the history of this book for a while, you know my number one directive for the fans: tell everyone you know about “Brave Men Run.”. That’s never been more important than in these days leading up to Sunday, July 13, 2008. I need your help to get the word out about this one-of-a-kind event.
- If you have a blog, please write a post about it.
- If you have a podcast — audio or video — please mention it in your next episode, or play the promo.
- If you have a web site of any kind, please put up the “I Will Be There” badge.
- If you participate in any of the social bookmarking sites like Digg or Propeller, please share this story:
- Paper the news all over the virtual walls of Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Second Life, FriendFeed, and anywhere else you hang your social media hat — and make this your avatar!
- ???? Use your imagination, your connections, your online voice. I have faith in you.
Together, We Can Make New Media History
My goal on Sunday, July 13, 2008 is to reach the top of the Amazon.com charts. Sure, it’s been tried before, and folks got pretty high up there.
Together, I want us to hit number one.
I want us to wake up Eckhart Tolle. I want us to shake the hand of David Sedaris… as we pass him by. I want Brad Thor to shed a tear. I want Stephenie Meyer — whose book hasn’t even been released yet — to take a day off from sitting in that number one seat.
Why?
Not to get a big publishing deal. I’ve already got a deal, with the great indie hero-books&Itemid=59" target="_blank">Swarm Press. I want to raise attention. Attention for Swarm. Attention for “Brave Men Run.”
Most of all, attention for you: you are the ones who decide what sells, what gets heard, what gets seen. Near-exclusive control of media distribution is slipping out of the grasp of traditional publishers. Let’s make them tremble so fierce, they lose it once and for all.
You can do it.
I’ll see you here on Sunday, July 13, 2008, at 10:00 AM Eastern / 7:00 AM Pacific and on through the day. You will love the stories I have to tell… and together, we’ll write a new one.
Thank you.
Oh man, this is HUGE. I don’t think we’ve heard other authors play in the sandbox since the days of Sovereign Serials. What a line-up! Matt, you’ve outdone yourself again…kudos! I can’t wait until the 13th now to hear what these other great authors have come up with. And to buy the book of course. I might just buy 2, or 3, or 4, or……….
I hope those will be recorded for download later, because I will be working at Polaris 22, Toronto’s biggest Sci-Fi/Fantasy convention. I will have my laptop with me to place my order, but I won’t be able to watch the stories.
Looking forward to the 13th!
Oh…and I reprinted your post in its entirety on my site, put up the banner and am getting ready to ‘spam’ the world with Brave Men Run…I feel like a giddy schoolgirl.
James! Thank you so much for re-posting the blog post, putting up a banner, and for even considering buying more than one copy of “Brave Men Run — A Novel of the Sovereign Era!” You’re a star!
Drew! The web-a-thon will not be recorded… it’s all live, baby! However, that doesn’t mean the stories I read on July 13 won’t be available at some point in the future, in some form. Stay tuned… nothing is out of the realm of possibility!
Matt,
It is going to be a huge day with some great ideas thrown into the mix. It is good to see a few familiar faces adding their stories to the world. These talented authors are showing their support for the ‘world that Selznick built’. You have a knack for making friends and getting people on board.