"If you want something done right ... do it yourself" is a pesky old adage. While it's true to some extent in some cases, ultimately it proves a lack of faith in anyone else. But I have to admit it is also at least part of my line in thinking when I turned my back on writing for the screen to concentrate on prose. In writing and publishing a book, I couldn't complain about producers who have purchased my scripts re-writing my work or directors missing the point of the "blue-print" I delivered as a "work-for-hire." Such is life.

When I put my first book, "A Rose by any Other Name: An Alphabet of Tales About a Man and a Woman" out last April, I was able to do do warts 'n all. And sure, there are warts -- there are a bunch of warts (as I have started reading for audiences I notice them more and more and get to revise some of them in the new edition for next month) but they are MY warts.

But the past ten months of trying to get the book out into the world has definitely proven to me that I truly cannot do it all myself. Writing the book was a great exploration and a pleasurable one at that; getting to read some of the tales on the radio, at bookstores and other personal appearances has been a wonderful learning experience especially for someone far more comfortable being "behind the camera," but now I want to turn to "others" for help getting a leg up and the book out.

Today marks the "final fortnight" of the Indiegogo campaign I began for the book a month ago. My desire is to be able to finally send copies of the book out for review, to make personal appearances in the cities where most of the tales take place, to expand that into other cities where I should find friendly faces and to be able to support those appearances with a little ground-support and publicity -- and I can't do myself. Can you assist in making the Rock 'n Rose Spring Book Tour a reality? Read on for details of the campaign and thank you very much.

The Rock 'n Rose Book Tour Spring 2013 IndieGoGo Campaign

click HERE to go directly to the page

Short Summary

I woke up one crisp October morning with a story in my head. This isn't terribly out of the ordinary, but the form that it was in was totally different. With a film background (grad of NYU Film School) all the works of fiction that I created were for the screen.

But this was a short story and it flowed out onto the page and I thought little about it until another story burst free, nearly fully formed, and demanded space on a page. Before none too long, a theme had developed and I wrote the twenty-six tales that became my first book, "A Rose by any Other Name" although it took me a number of years to finally push this puppy out of the nest.

The book was released in April 2012, but immediately after that my time was demanded toward a greater goal of assisting a dear friend who had been diagnosed with a terrible disease and while I have been able through direct sales, Amazon and Kindle to put my stories in front of some sets of eyes, I hadn't had the opportunity to really present the book to the world.

With your help, I would like very much to be able to begin to do that this Spring.

What We Need & What You Get

I am looking to raise $3500.00 to help with the above stated goal. What I would like to do is to be able to afford to send copies of the book in to publications and websites for review in an attempt to spread the book beyond my own wingspan.

Additionally and perhaps even more importantly, I would like to be able to take the book and myself on the road and present it to the public in personal appearance and readings/signings in some of the cities in which the tales take place: Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York first and foremost.

The advantages of first bringing "Rose" to those cities in which I have lived is that hopefully I have something of a built-in audience of friendly faces. But from a practical stand point, I will be able to keep the costs of the mini book tour minimal as I will have places to stay and venues at which I can perform.

But hopefully visits to those cities will permit me to be able to add more: Boise, Austin, Seattle, Tel Aviv? You're all on the list. 

The funds would go to airfare but also for publicity to make those appearances worth while. The money would also permit me finally to purchase and submit copies of the book for review and PR purposes.

Perks of contribution will include:

* grateful acknowledgement in future print and electronic editions of "Rose"

* inscribed copies of "Rose"

* original, hand-written versions of the tales in "Rose"

* original, signed art-work by Meital from the publication of the tales in the Jerusalem Post Lite

* your name as a character in my upcoming work

* the grand prize: a lifelong promise that I will never use your name in any of my upcoming work.

The Impact

The world of self-publishing really is fantastic. Unlike my experiences in the world of film where there are so many cooks are in the kitchen, I was able to put "Rose" out into the world - warts 'n all - as I saw fit and in the manner of my own choosing. That said, getting the book into the hands of other people has been the ongoing challenge.

Other Ways You Can Help

I know we get asked to contribute to campaigns such as this all the time and I am fully conscious of that fact. If you can help - great! I really appreciate it. If you cannot - great! I understand that fully as well, but if you could share this with friends who may wish to assist, I would really appreciate your help. 

If you would like to read some of the tales for free, go here: http://www.wattpad.com/user/BrianMazo

You can purchase a copy here: https://www.createspace.com/3527985

Thanks for either "coughing" or "squealing" ... or just scroll on to the next campaign. I sure do appreciate your help.

Brian