Matthew Wayne Selznick

It’s a school day for Nate… here’s a look behind the scenes of these chapters…

Chapter Twenty-One:

– “The framed prints of Scotland on the walls always reminded me of a travel agent’s office.”

The Discipline Advisor at my high school had a Scotland theme to her office. I spent a lot more time in there than Nate ever did…!

Based on a real person:
– Ms. Elp
– Terrance Felder

Chapter Twenty-Two:

– “My third period Civics teacher, Mr. Pfalger, actually made us watch a video of the whole deal, like we hadn’t seen it fifty million times already.”

This whole chapter can be considered a tribute to my senior year Contemporary World Problems teacher. It was great fun to write… all of Pfalger’s mannerisms, and I hope his speech patterns and teaching methods, were taken from fond memories.

Based on a real person:
– Mr. Pfalger
– Vinnie Helfinger
– Sandra Banuelos

Chapter Twenty-Three:

This is your basic set-up for things to come. The gun on the mantelpiece, if you will.

Stay tuned!

So it’s almost the end of 2005 — is it necessary to do one of these retrospective / looking forward thingies?

Sure, why not.

Should I simply reflect, or do a top-foo list?

Well. In no particular order:

• Podcast Expo. I sometimes need to be dragged kicking and screaming to social events, and I had a false start, but… wow. What a great time. I was literally part of history. Small scale, geek and nerd history, but still. Next year’s going to be even bigger.
• Brave Men Run. Hey, dig me, I wrote a book. And I typeset it, and laid it out, and recorded it, and released it in print, e-book, and podcast. And it’s getting rave reviews. Some people are even buying it. Now you… do so.
• I quit my Cursed Day Job. After ten years with the same company. And for the first time since I was eighteen, work is not my top priority. Creating is. I am very, very grateful to my wife for taking on the majority of the income-producing burden around the Lush and Lavish Studios of MWS Media. I am also thankful for the skyrocketing property values in San Bernardino County, without which I could not have flipped from working and creating to creating and working. Let’s see how long it lasts…!

Based on the amount of typing dedicated to it, I’d say that quitting the CDJ was the biggest thing that happened to me this year. It’s big, all right. Scary big. I now have no excuse not to create.

And I am. Even as I promote “Brave Men Run - A Novel of the Sovereign Era” and work on new avenues of distribution for it, I’m working on my next novel. Tentative title: “Light of the Outsider.” Think of it as a gritty fantasy… if James Ellroy teamed with Fritz Leiber, perhaps. This will be my first novel set in my Shaper’s World millieu.

Which only makes sense, since I’ve only written one other novel, and it wasn’t set there. Duh.

So what’s up for 2006?

Stay focused on MWS Media, diyendeavors.org, DIY advocacy, and writing.

Finish “Light of the Outsider,” take the same path as “Brave Men Run.”

Go to some conventions. Do some talks and signings.

Continue to do one of things I’ve started doing since leaving the CDJ… cultivate new relationships, both friendships and business, that feed into my interests and passions.

Find a way to maybe make a little scratch from it all.

Also on the agenda: lose a little weight, get new eyeglasses, go to a wedding, celebrate an anniversary, get organized (hah!), unload unused and unnecessary possessions.

That, and continue to follow my bliss.

If you’d like to help, dear reader, the best thing you can do is buy a copy of “Brave Men Run.” It’s worth three bucks to me every time you do… so buy a copy for your best friend, too!

If you were concerned this was going to turn into one of those sappy “what have we learned” end-of-year posts, that last paragraph hopefully put the kibosh on that.

Happy New Year! Stay well.

Well, I had a post prepared that was a diatribe on how much I resent the state-sanctioned promotion of Christianity from November through December every year, but it’s been a few days and I’ve more or less mellowed out.

The X-Mas season is passed, and that is a good thing, for me.

It’s hard to be a secular-humanist singularitarian in a United States of America where the President is a born-again anti-science buffoon. Whine, whine.

I’m looking forward to the new year. Yes I am.

PS: Religious and conservative readers, aim your cross-hairs here. Comments welcome as always.

I’m in one of those states where I can barely keep my eyes open, but I know I have to do things, but I can’t keep a thought straight in my head, and I want to nap but I resent the concept because naps take away from the time in the day.

I’m also in one of those states where run-on-sentences are just expected.

I should be writing, to coin a phrase. I should be adding features to the bravemenrun.com site. I should be working on any of the “B” priority items in my list for the month (all the “A”s are done!) but all I can do is sit and blankly stare at blogs and sluggishly write my own.

With w.bloggar, just for fun. But I like to do a lot of linking in my blog entries, and that defeats the purpose of using a desktop blogging tool. I’m going to have to open a browser anyway, to find the URLs I’m interested in.

After I take my nap.

Crap.

Once again, your author takes you under the ink of “Brave Men Run - A Novel of the Sovereign Era” as we explore episode six of the podcast edition!

First, as I did in the podcast itself, I’d like to ask everyone to help promote “Brave Men Run” by visiting the following sites:

Podcast Alley — Votes for the Brave Men Run Podcast are practically guaranteed to equal more listeners, which helps sell books!

Podcast Pickle — Adding the Brave Men Run podcast to your favorites on this site tells other folks it’s worth listening to!

Vox Monitor — This site provides honest, no-holds barred reviews of podcasts… and gives listeners a place to express their own opinions. Tell the world what you think of the Brave Men Run podcast!

Thanks for that. I’ll ask again in a few episodes, just to keep the idea fresh in your mind.

Now…

Chapter Eighteen:

– “We called it Anarchy Burger because of the twenty foot red “A” on the roof.”

This is based on an actual place called A’s Burgers in San Juan Capistrano, California. Imagine my surprise to discover that this little dive has some hits on the Web! Hardcore fans of “Brave Men Run” will want to head over there and re-create this scene. Remember, Nate had a triple cheeseburger!

– “Oh, like, Roger Moore, or Maxwell Smart.” Mel spoke through his nose: “Missed me by that much, Chief.” He popped a French fry in his mouth. “You’d be Maxwell Smart, my friend. It’s the hair.”

Roger Moore is the actor kids like Mel, Nate, and Lina would be most familiar with as James Bond.

Maxwell Smart, the goofball super-agent from Mel Brooks and Buck Henry’s sixties television series “Get Smart,” was played by Don Adams. Mel’s quoting one of the character’s signature lines.

Chapter Nineteen:

– “My mother was at the dining room table, working out of her briefcase.”

Lucille Charters is a realtor.

– “Mom. Why are you lying?”

One of the physiological symptoms of lying is increased perspiration, which Nate can smell.

– “He would spend weeks out at Rachel, in the desert…”

Lucy’s talking about Rachel, Lincoln County, Nevada, USA. Does this mean something?

– “It’s not unheard of for an infant to be born with a little tail, or hair on its body.”

Here’s an example of the tail. I couldn’t find a reference for infants born with a coat of fur… can anyone else help out there?

Chapter Twenty:

No real nifty behind-the-scenes stuff in this chapter… except to say that I’ve been in a fight circle like that, and I didn’t have anything near Nate’s composure!

Ah, sweet memories of youth!