Matthew Wayne Selznick

Recently, following a Google rabbit-hole search on “Brave Men Run — A Novel of the Sovereign Era,” I discovered that the book was part of the Denver, Colorado public library system. I tweeted about it, and twitter pal @ClaudiaC went and asked her own local library to order it… and they did!

That’s when my wheels started turning, my friends.

Let’s try something together that will help boost sales and raise awareness of the book. I’d like each of you to visit your local public library and ask if they have “Brave Men Run — A Novel of the Sovereign Era” in their inventory.

If they do, awesome — check it out and take a picture of yourself at the library with the book and send the picture to me.

If they don’t, ask them if they’ll order it for the library and hold it for you once it arrives… then check it out and take a picture of yourself at the library with the book, as above, and send the picture to me.

The goal, of course, is to get “Brave Men Run — A Novel of the Sovereign Era” on the shelves of every library in America and the world (school libraries count!), and to check it out so that it has a history of being read at that library, since they will “discard” books that don’t have circulation. Think you can help with that?

Here’s what I’ll do to make it fun:

• For every ten pictures I receive proving that a library has stocked “Brave Men Run — A Novel of the Sovereign Era,” I will randomly select one person to receive a free one-year subscription to my serial fiction webzine, “Hazy Days and Cloudy Nights.”
• For every fifty pictures received, I’ll randomly select one person to get a free one-year subscription to “Hazy Days and Cloudy Nights” and an autographed copy of “Brave Men Run — A Novel of the Sovereign Era.”

Some Rules

Because the goal is to get the book in as many library systems as possible, you can do this more than once… but keep in mind we’re not counting individual library branches but library systems. For example, the Denver Public Library system services many different library branches.

Also note that your picture must show proof that the book is part of the library system and that you checked it out… no fair just taking your own copy of “Brave Men Run — A Novel of the Sovereign Era” into the library and taking a picture, you scamp.

This campaign will run at least until I receive ten pictures… if there’s lots of success, we’ll keep it up! Please spread the word about this campaign, any way you can.

Get to it! Go visit your local library and get “Brave Men Run,” or get ‘em to get it for you!

Announcing one of my rare public appearances! Okay, it’s not like I’m a hermit or anything, and I’ve never turned down an invitation to lunch, dinner, coffee or a beer… but I don’t do too many book signings, so this is a pretty special occasion!

Here’s the where and when:

• Eclectic Books
  39520 Murrieta Hot Springs Road
  Murrieta, CA 92563
  +1 (951) 445-4320
  Map
• Saturday, July 11, 2009
• 2:00 PM Pacific Time
• Facebook Event Page

This is a new independent bookstore selling both new and used books plus items from local creators. There’s lots of seating and they even have free wifi! They’re making a leap of faith with little ol’ me, so if you plan to attend, please give them a call at 1-951-445-4320 and let them know, the sooner the better!

What I’ll Be Doing

I’ll be reading selections from “Brave Men Run — A Novel of the Sovereign Era,” “Hazy Days and Cloudy Nights,” and my latest short story, a Sovereign Era tale called “The World Revolves Around You” that will debut at this event.

I’ll also talk about how authors and other creative types can build world-wide audiences to promote and sell their creative endeavors, taking questions from the audience and of course signing books!

Spread the Word!

If you’re in the Southern California area or know someone who is and who might be interested, download the flyer, print it up and pass it around! I appreciate it!

After the Signing

There will absolutely be an “after-something.” I’ll find out from the proprietors what’s around there, and anyone who wants to is welcome to join me for some food and whatnot. How often do I get to see you guys? Let’s make a day of it and have some fun.

See you there!

Today my first book, “Brave Men Run — A Novel of the Sovereign Era,” was featured at the site eBooks Just Published. eBooks Just Published features a different DRM-free e-book offering every day.

eBooks Just Published is run by Mark Gladding of Tumbywood Software, a small Australian start-up responsible for the Text2Go text-to-speech application. Check it out!

Over on the book-centric social network Goodreads, they’re taking a vote on the best free audiobooks… and the free podcast edition of “Brave Men Run — A Novel of the Sovereign Era” is on the list!

If you think the free podcast edition of “Brave Men Run” deserves to be high on the list of free audiobooks, please pop over to Goodreads, log in, and vote it up! Like most social networks, Goodreads is free to join, so if you’re not already a member, please consider it. You can find great recommendations on what folks like you are reading and even trade books!

Be sure to become my friend on Goodreads while you’re there!

Thanks!

At the beginning of October, I offered to ship autographed, personalized copies of my first book, “Brave Men Run — A Novel of the Sovereign Era” anywhere in the world in time to give as a holiday gift. Several people took advantage of the offer… but if you want to, too, you have to order quickly!

$18.00 gets you a signed copy of “Brave Men Run,” personalized if you like to whomever you like, shipped to you or to the recipient if it’s a gift. That’s a 20% discount on the retail price of the book, with shipping and handling to anywhere in the world included to boot!

See the original post for all the details, but know this: you must get your payment to me before 5:00 PM Pacific Time on October 31, 2008 to take advantage of this deal.

Thanks very much!