Please Help!

It's that time! Please help us pick the cover for the next book. It's our first illustrated children's book, coming in January. Please vote which you like best for I AM AMELIA EARHART. A or B? (And yes, I always lose the vote).

Need your help

We've narrowed it to these two attached covers for the new novel, and as always, would love your help picking the winner. So please vote and tell us which one you like best (one on the right or one on the left?).

No, you don't need to know what it's about. For once, judge a book by its cover.

Much love and thanks.

b

SUBMIT YOUR HERO Contest Winner

Here's the winner of our SUBMIT YOUR HERO contest -- and the writeup I did that'll go in their personalized copy of Heroes For My Daughter. Tough to be grandma firefighter. Loved every single one that was submitted.

Maryann Frankson
Lifesaver
Born in 1949, Maryann was the first female Emergency Medical Services squad captain in her hometown.
And the first woman who was properly trained as Advanced Life Support personnel in her fire company.
Along the way, she encouraged others, like her firefighting chief and her squad captain, to be trained in Advanced Life Support as well.

As a result, lives were saved.
Many, Maryann saved herself.
In fact, to this day, she helped create many of the laws that emergency medical services in New York State still adhere to.

But of all the lives she touched, the most vital were the ones in her family.
She raised her grandson and granddaughter.
She listened to their problems.
And taught them to give back to their community.

By the time her grandkids were sixteen, she helped them study -- and pass -- their own state certification exams.
Indeed, by encouraging them to join the fire company themselves, she gave the world more heroes and more lifesavers.

No question, they would be Maryann's greatest legacy:
Twin reminders of the power of kindness,
and the true power of a grandmother.


"Don't forget to put on an extra pair of socks so your feet don't get wet when you drain the hoses after your next call."
- Maryann Frankson
"My grandmother is my hero."
- Marie Frankson

Deep Throat

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Ordinary Heroes

I get fun mail. And hate mail. And sad mail. But this is the best mail -- and the entire reason I wrote Heroes For My Son. Never forget the heroes you see every day.

Dear Mr. Meltzer,

Two months ago, this past week, my thirty-six year old sister, Renee, was diagnosed with GlioBlastoma Stage 4 brain cancer. It has taken its toll, not only on my sister, as I'm sure you could imagine, but on my entire family; my parents, my sisters two children 6 and 7, and her husband, Scott, my wife, Megan and me. Throughout the course of these two horrific months, my sister has undergone and finished her radiation treatments and continues to receive chemo. She has been in and out of Stony Brook University Hospital as well as Sloan in NYC. She initially went to a local hospital, because she had headaches. Who would have thought this? In the course of Renee’s first four weeks with this illness, the two tumors that were found doubled in size. The tumors are lying on a part of the brain that effects her emotions, personality and short term memory. Because of this, they were and still are unoperable. When asked about her prognosis, the doctors said she would have two to four weeks without treatments. My mom, dad and I, have aged, so it seems, ten years in these two months.

Only three months ago, my sister was planning to go back to teaching for her 14th year, driving her boys to their baseball and swimming events and doing everything a parent could do with their children. All of this was taken away that Sunday when she went into the hospital. Prior to her diagnosis – two weeks before, the eight of us, and my one year old son, Matthew, were fortunate enough to take a family trip to Aruba. Will this be the last family trip? Who knows? We are hoping, no, praying for a miracle. Renee recently met with her doctor from Sloan and he was amazed at how well she looked and sounded since he last saw her a few weeks back. After so many negative outcomes, could this be the break we are looking for? (As if there is such a thing.)

On September 11th, just two weeks after my sister Renee’s diagnosis, my sister-in-law, Kaitlin, went into Stony Brook University Hospital after feeling numbness in her tongue, legs and feet. Within one day, she lost the use of her lower half of her body, and within two days, she was paralyzed from the neck down. After the third day, she was put on a respirator and sent to ICU. She was diagnosed with Guillain Barre Syndrome, a rare disease where the immune system attacks the nervous system. Basically, your blood turns bad. With this disease, 90% of patients diagnosed will recover. However, once the first symptoms appear, it gets worse for three weeks before it gets better. I am happy to say that Kaitlin is on the slow road to recovery, and is able to walk, with crutches and a walker. She still needs intense occupational and physical therapy, as she cannot open a soda bottle by herself. The one thing that never strayed, was Kaitlin’s mind. She did question her will to live, and go on.

Through these two separate experiences within my own family, I have learned a ton – especially about everyday heroes, and more importantly,who I am. I can talk about my brother-in-law, Scott- Renee’s husband, and how he has found an inner strength to take care of my sister and his two children. I have learned to be a better dad and husband because of him. I look at my parents, my mom and dad, and how they offer their help, guidance and support to their daughter and her family. I feel as if I have become a better son because of them. I look at their neighbors who have cooked food on a regular basis for the past two months. They even held a fall festival on my sister’s driveway so she could celebrate Halloween with her children and their friends. Perhaps one day, I’ll be that neighbor that can lend that hand. I commend my colleagues and the community that I work for, and where my sister lives, that created fundraisers on my sister’s behalf, sent and continue to send gift cards. I look at my wife, who has been the strength for me, despite what she is going through. I look at her family and see what they have done for Kaitlin. Then I look at Matthew, my son, perhaps the true hero at age 17 months. He is the one who can get me to smile at any moments notice. Sure, he probably senses what going on, but he makes us laugh regardless.

Then there is Renee. My sister. A teacher. A friend. The person who helped me find my way in this world. It’s pretty basic quite honestly. At some point in time we have to face reality and have to make simple decisions that will effect us tomorrow. Fifteen years ago, my sister invited me into her classroom to help her set it up. I was hanging up a bulletin board behind her desk. At that moment, I turned around and had an epiphany. I saw a classroom of students looking at me, instead of empty desks waiting anxiously for those children. I knew then that teaching was for me. I had found my tomorrow, because of my sister. Besides her classroom ways, she taught me to love my child more than anything, and to appreciate my parents. She taught me to set time aside to watch your children play and live. My sister, my hero. Now I look at her, and I see that she is in the fight for her life. I have told her many times how she inspired and continues to inspire me. I can only hope she gets through this, not only for me, but for her own children and family, for my son too, and my mom and dad.

I don't know why, but I feel compelled to write you. You wrote about heroes; those that defied the odds and did things that noone could think possible, especially when others turned their backs. I truly appreciated what you wrote and how simple you made these heroes sound. I cannot wait to share these stories with my son when he is old enough. I have been sharing these stories with the 5th grade students whom I teach, since I bought this books less than two weeks ago. My fifth graders are now turning my questions about what you wrote into writing assignments – if that’s okay with you. Through all of these experiences that you write, it seems like you hit upon- story after story- of what you learned. For that I am grateful and perhaps that’s why I write.

Thank you for allowing me to write my story to you. Everyone of us has a hero within us. At times we lose that sense, especially with all the negativity in the world. Perhaps that’s why you wrote this book too. It’s these trying moments that define who we are as people. Please continue to show and talk to your children about these heroes, yet continue to show them that there are heroes within all of us, and you don’t have to look to far to see that. Besides, I’m sure they already look at you that way!

Respectfully,

Mark Yashowitz

Vook 2: The Wraith of Vook

As promised, here's the second Vook video, this one for Harry Houdini.

b

Vook

I know it looks like a typo, but a vook is a video book, and the nice people who made the vook for Heroes For My Son gave me three free videos to share. So let's share. I must say, when I first heard of the concept, I was, like...why? (kinda like when I predicted that email would never catch on.) But then I saw the real video and imagined showing my kids that. Seeing the real thing. So enjoy...

Here's the Vook for Jesse Owens. And I'll post two more in the next few days...

b

Why I Love Kodak

Okay, now that the tour has calmed and my family recognizes me again, I finally got a chance to upload all the photos from the Heroes For My Son book tour to our regular Brad Meltzer Facebook page.

The gallery contains pics of tons of readers, my very first girlfriend, my first best friend ...in Florida, and even the family of a high school friend who died too young. It just reminds me how lucky we are every day. And how many beautiful readers and friends I'm so lucky to be surrounded by. You are the real heroes.

Anyway, special thanks to Kodak for the use of the amazing M530 Easy Share camera. Gave me my true Kodak moments.

Bestseller List

I'm breaking one of my rules. I never go out there and yell from the rooftops when we get on the bestseller list. And y'know why? Because being on a stupid list doesn't mean anything. It doesn't make me a smarter, nicer, or better person. It just means my family bought a lot of books.

But.

Sometimes you need to say thank you. And I need to say thank you for this: When Heroes For My Son launched, it was seen as a small idealistic book. It didn't have crazy orders. It was always the underdog. And the entire advertising budget for the book was...zero.

Zero dollars.

Not a single ad was bought. Not a single TV or radio or print ad ran. In fact, in the weeks before the launch, the entire imprint that bought the book was shut down. It was an orphan book.

But, as it was launched, it had one thing going for it: you. Yes, you -- our family and friends and beloved readers who supported this little dream of a book. You came out, and supported it, and bought copies for Dads and Grandparents, and kids and new babies. And Kodak came in and believed in that dream. And so did all our friends in the media and in publishing, who have looked out for us since page one. And so did the people at Harper, who took it over.

And that was how the book with zero advertising dollars just made the number two spot on the New York Times bestseller list (which I just got the call about).

So as I finish the tour tonight in Michigan, thank you for believing in this little book -- and in me. It is your love and support of the thrillers that let me do this book for my boys. And it's why it was launched with so much love. And that love is the only damn way to explain anything in this world.

Love on all of you.

b

PS - Right after we got the news, look what we passed. No kidding.

Heroes For My Son - Dallas Signing

This is how you welcome someone to Dallas. Never have I seen a bigger balder head on a stadium.

I'll be at Borders tonight at 7:00 PM

View Larger Map

All Things Considered, NPR Interview

From All Things Considered (NPR) -- me talking about Heroes For My Son.

One More Day

This post is also on Heroes For My Son.

It's now less than twenty-four hours until Heroes For My Son is released into our wild cruel world. So in this quiet little moment, let me tell you the most important thing of all: thank you. Thank you for what you've always done for all of us. If it weren't for you buying the other stuff, I don't get to do this one. And this one is just so personal to me.

As I've said before and will say again, this isn't a book to me. It's a dream. More important, it's my dream for my son -- and it's something I thought up on the very first night Jonas was born eight years ago. Is that schmaltzy? You better believe it is. But I want my son to learn that too. And I hope that whoever you give it to -- Dad, Grandparents, Mom, teacher, or child -- I hope they get the joy that I had building it.

In fact, to show you what I'm talking about, take a look at this, which answers the real question my son asked me (and also gives you the first peek at some of the heroes inside).

Link to YouTube

My Mom

With less than a week to go until the release of Heroes For My Son, things are getting crazy here. But even with all that's going on, nothing in my professional life has hit me as hard as putting together this video. Anyone with a mother will understand.

We usually go through a few drafts when we do a video. Here, we went through dozens of edits, tweaks, etc. This one had to be perfect. It's for my Mom.

So yes, she's in the book along with Jim Henson, Rosa Parks and Mr. Rogers.

Of course, feel free to forward to your own Mom. And happy Mother's Day to all.

Call Your Mother - Brad Meltzer's Mom (YouTube)

Calling All Members!

Okay, we're officially 3 weeks away from the launch of Heroes For My Son.

As we do with every book, just want to know who wants to help by being part of our oh-so-glamorous Invisible Army (who every book saves our tushies like nobody's business). If you're up for it, please email me here or at bradmeltzer44 AT gmail.com with the message: "I'm in." We'll do the rest.

Love you like Milano cookies.

-b

April Fool

Holy jeez. Never, in all my years of having an April first birthday, have I ever had a prank this good played on me (though when I used to sell classified ads and all my clients canceled their ads on the same day, leaving me broke, that was close).

So thanks to my wife Cori -- and all my fellow creative pals -- and all the sites that helped post it. Every damn one of them is a place (and person) I love to read. My wife knows me well -- and it was nice to know that if she wanted to cheat on me, I clearly would have no idea.

Also, best part? My film agent who called and said, "I believed it.". Thanks for the faith. To see the full prank:

• From my pal Whitney's Pop Candy USA Today blog.
  
• From Publishers Weekly.
  
• From ComicBookResources.
  
• From IGN.
  
• From Newsarama.
  
• From ComicAlliance.
  
• And from the beautiful Geoff Boucher and the LA Times Hero Complex.
  

But most of all, thanks to all the family and friends who sent love. You know I don't have "readers." I have family and friends. Always have. That's the ONLY reason I get to still do this and on a day like my birthday -- when I usually get all sappy and sad -- thanks for making me feel so blessed. I never ever forget you're there. Ever.

If I could buy each of you something expensive -- like a first-class Bar Mitzvah -- I would.

xoxo

B

We Want To See Your Child!

Did you videotape your child being born (I don't mean the gorey parts, or parts with nudity -- I mean the part where the baby is handed to Mom/Dad for the very first time. The nice for TV part)? You did? Great. Can you...er...send it to us for free? I mean it. With Heroes For My Son approaching, we're again looking for help from the Invisible Army (read: all of you amazing people out there who over and over again help us). Thusly, as we make the first video for the book, we're looking for the following footage (especially that delivery room moment):

1. any hospital footage of newborn babies and fathers/mothers being handed/holding the baby for the first time
   
2. a boy (elementary or kindergarten) playing with an airplane toy
   
3. a boy with a video camera
   
4. a boy performing a magic trick
   
5. a boy playing with toy doctor’s tools
   
6. a boy writing letters or doing “writing” school work
   
7. an elementary school boy playing a musical instrument or a toddler banging on or playing with one, or singing with a real or toy microphone, or at a concert/pageant
   
8. a boy in a grade school play
   
9. a boy in cap and gown at elementary or high school graduation
   
10. a junior high or high school boy giving a speech
    

If you have such footage, please shoot me an email and I'll tell you where to send it. As always, I'm at bradmeltzer27 [at] gmail.com. Or through facebook or twitter or anywhere else we pimp.

Much love and thanks for doing this. And yes, we're gonna try and make your little one a star. But in a good way.

b

Title Of The New Book!

Here it is. The winner for the title of the new non-fiction book, out this May. And, the very first look at the cover.

Heroes For My Son.

And yes, it was the biggest blowout vote we ever had. Just staggering. Special sorry to my wife, who lost.

Hugs and thanks to all who voted.

Vote On The New Title!

Oh, yes, it's that time again -- Fall approaches, pumpkins appear, and my wife revels in the fact that I'm physically incapable of picking my own title for the next book. In my defense, this is a different kind of title, since it's the first non-fiction book I've ever done.

So first, please help us vote (pick one of these titles only -- and the description of the book is below, but don't read that until you vote). Which title do you like better:

Heroes For My Son

or

50 Heroes For My Son

Yes, I know they're similar. Just vote (you can vote below, or send an email to bradmeltzer44 at gmail.com, or at @bradmeltzer on twitter). You vote? Okay, then here's what the book's about:

Since the day my son was born, I've been writing a book for him. It's a collection of heroes throughout history. Some are famous (like Jim Henson, Mr. Rogers, and Rosa Parks). Some are totally unknown. (In fact, if you have someone you're thinking of, send them my way). But the result is this book -- a gift to my son.

Yes, I know I'm mushy. It's for my boys. I'm allowed. (I'll be even more mushy in the book I did for my daughter, which comes out the following year.)

So there you go. Whatever it's called, it won't be out until May 2010 (yes, for Father's Day), so please vote now. And as always, thanks for putting up with this.

Love,

B

Indiana Visit!

I'm coming to Indiana this Saturday (October 3rd, 7:30 pm) for a reading, signing, talk -- all the good stuff at the Michigan City Public Library, 100 E. Fourth Street, Michigan City (Google Map).

Call 219-873-3049 for more information and here's a link to the event.

And as always, will sign whatever you want to bring.

Be In The Next Novel

Wanna get your name (or a loved one's name) in my next novel and help a good cause?

Comix4Sight Auction