![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1239/817/200/Bracken.jpg)
I haven't read Matt's sequel, Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista. I've just started it, but admit I'm caught up in what I've read so far. Also, Jeff John at GUNS Magazine just gave me the green light to write a review for the magazine.
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1239/817/200/domesticenemies.1.jpg)
As I've said in prior announcments, Matt is going to be checking in today from time to time and answering questions from WarOnGuns visitors as time permits. If you have a question you'd like to ask him, just post a comment at the end of the interview.
That's about all the introduction we need. Let's jump right into the interview.
---------------------------------
DC: Without giving any spoilers, set the story up for me. How does Reconquista tie in with EFAD, and where do you take it from there?
MB: Reconquista begins five years after the end of EFAD, with a leading character from the first book in a detention camp for suspected terrorists. That is the only character from the first book who is carried over. The five year time period allows the reader to experience a significant deterioration of the state of freedom in America. The plot takes that character on a journey across the Southwest, which is then in the opening stages of a low-intensity civil war.
DC: Your sequel speaks to a very specific kind of subversion by a very specific demographic. What do you say to people who are concerned about xenophobic or racial implications? Can a person of Mexican ancestry enjoy this book and agree with its sentiments? How about a person with a libertarian “open borders” philosophy?
MB: I dismiss any charges of xenophobia or other racial implications out of hand. You either believe in the Constitution and the sovereign borders of the USA, or you don't. Millions of illegal aliens who have invaded the USA believe that the Southwest was "stolen" from Mexico, and that they have the right to take it back. This is totally bogus "junk history" which I would be happy to detail at any level. There are also millions of Americans of Hispanic descent who are loyal citizens who hold the Constitution and our sovereign borders dear. Many of the positive protagonists in Reconquista fit that description. The racists in this debate belong to groups like "La Raza," which are racist organizations on their face. As far as "open borders libertarians," I hope and trust that they will hate this book like the devil hates holy water. I consider them traitors and Quislings, and I despise them. I am unashamedly an American who believes in the rule of law, the Constitution, and defending America's sovereign borders.
DC: Apathy seems to be rampant among gun owners, with only a small percentage involved in basic activism—out of 80 million estimated gun owners, something like 5% are even NRA members, and harder core groups, like GOA and JPFO attract significantly fewer members. Do you believe that Americans who won’t do the easy things—petitioning, rewarding and punishing candidates, lending financial support to myriad efforts toward peaceful redress of grievances—would take extreme risks, put their lives, fortunes and sacred honor on the line, and actually take up arms to reclaim their Republic? If so, why?
MB: Most Americans will not even sign an on-line petition, much less put their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor on the line to save their Republic. Unfortunately they are too busy earning a living and paying their bills and their taxes to worry much about what will become of the nation they will hand over to their children. I believe that the USA is on the road to becoming a third world nation, and I feel great sorrow for our children. After 225 years we have finally managed to debase and squander our national legacy, and our children may well spit on our graves for our apathy and self-absorption.
DC: What has the response of gun owners been to this and your previous book? What kind of numbers do you need to get major publishing houses to set aside their prejudices and see the profit potential in introducing this book to the same mass audiences they appeal to with novelists like Tom Clancy?
MB: The 6,500 gun owners who have read EFAD love it and many of them tell me that it's the most important book they have read in many years. I hear that copies are passed from person to person and that is gratifying. It's extremely difficult for a no-name first-time-author to crack through the left-tilting PC-ridden world of mainstream New York publishing, which is why I opted to self-publish. The numbers I've sold via the internet, with no promotional budget, have finally gotten some national publishing attention. However, I don't hold out much hope for a serious publishing contract unless lightning strikes, the way it did for Tom Clancy.
A short anecdote: around 1980 or so, my father was a member of the Navy League in Baltimore, and Tom Clancy was an insurance salesman who had just written a book called The Hunt For Red October. Incidentally, Clancy graduated from the same high school in Maryland that I attended, ten years ahead of me. Clancy, who had no "real" publishing contract, was giving free lectures and selling his book off of tables. (Clancy had managed to obtain a small print run from the Naval Institute Press, which specializes in reprints of obscure naval histories.) At a Navy League function, my father bought a signed copy from the totally unknown author. Later, through a stroke of luck and some superb "guerrilla marketing," a copy of The Hunt For Red October was given to Ronald Reagan, who was photographed carrying it, and the rest is publishing history. (We still have our own signed first edition "Naval Institute Press" copy of Red October, but my dad had the habit of marking books up with underlining and marginalia, so it's probably worthless.)
However, in my case, I see no hope at all that our current President would be caught dead carrying Reconquista, which is a strong indictment against his open borders and pro-amnesty positions. In my case, I'll have to continue to grind out my own promotion via word of mouth, one reader at a time. The best promotion for my books are my books, but this type of promotion takes a long time.
DC: How about the “gun rights groups”? Did any support EFAD with reviews/recommendations, and have any shown an interest in promoting Reconquista? And same basic question—what kind of acknowledgment are you getting from talk radio programs, gun magazines, other media?
MB: Some small state-level gun rights groups have given me kudos, but the national groups such as the NRA have never indicated that they even received, much less read, the copies of EFAD that I sent to their officers with very nice letters. I'm not sure why this is, but that is their problem. I have a few theories.
A few gun magazines have carried reviews of EFAD for which I'm grateful, particularly GUNS magazine, which ran your review.
DC: Are you conducting your own publicity campaign? What about book-signing appearances at gun shows, talks at gun clubs, etc.?
MB: For Reconquista, I'm sending out books in clear poly mailers to a fairly large number of radio hosts and producers, mainly across the Southwest where the illegal alien invasion is a burning issue. I just moved from San Diego, and I can tell you that gun rights never rose above about "topic nineteen" on the list of talk radio subjects, but the alien invasion occupies more than half of every talk radio hour in the Southwest. Reconquista might get some traction on talk radio, even if I have to literally throw copies over the transom.
As far as gun shows, I've been fortunate to be invited to the SHOT Show the last few years by Kasey Beltz of Accu-Shot, who has been a big supporter ever since he read an early edition of EFAD. Just attending the SHOT Show has been a tremendous education. It is nice to be greeted at the SHOT Show by many gun-writers and shooters who are "names" in the industry. That has been very gratifying. I really haven't done book-signing appearances other than at the SHOT Show.
DC: I’ve read some comments that show you have a core of enthusiastic readers who obviously love your work. What can your fans do to help promote your book and get it before a wider audience?
MB: I have postcard-sized reproductions of the covers of both of my books, which folks can post on the bulletin boards of their local shooting clubs and so on. The cover cards are free for the asking through my website. It also wouldn't hurt if either of my books were mentioned on local talk radio, that's for sure. I've had maybe a dozen radio interviews from Tucson to Fairbanks discussing gun rights, and I'm told I'm a good guest. I think talk radio might lead to a breakout, especially concerning the topicality of Reconquista. But whether it does or not, I'm in this for the long haul. I'm a full-time writer now, and eventually I'll break through in a big way. I think my books convey important messages that need to be heard by millions of Americans, about the dangers facing our nation in the very near term.
DC: Is this a trilogy? Will we see Foreign Enemies in the next year or two?
MB: This is a trilogy, and the third book will be called Foreign Enemies. It will take place in an America that is shattered and experiencing a terrible economic depression and social disintegration. I would not put a time frame on when it will be finished. I just hope the national economy in two years is such that it will support endeavors like writing and selling novels.
Matt Bracken
Florida
---------------------------------
Please submit questions below by clicking on the "Comments" link. Mr. Bracken may not be able to get to all of them, but let's enjoy this opportunity as long as it presents itself. Also, if you haven't yet done so, please let your friends know about this interview so they can participate.
27 comments:
I'm here,
Matt
Hi Matt: Great to have the new book out. Just left a message with Fred of Fred's M14 Stocks to order and sell through his business.
My question: what are three things that awakened American gun owners can do to prevent or mitigate the bad things over the horizon?
Keep up the great work.
Hmmm...three things? Join national and local gun rights organizations, and vocally support pro-gun rights politicians. And most important? Pass the torch to the next generation. Take a kid shooting. Sure, your kids are already covered, but what about your kids' friends, your nephews and nieces and so on? There is nothing as important as teaching the rising generation to appreciate the 2nd amendment. Face it, we're only here for a limited time, it will be up to those who follow us to carry on or lose our shooting heritage.
Why do you think gun owners need to be prodded so much and most still don't get involved? Can't they see what is happening?
Hello Matt,
Have heard much about your work. Have only read excerpts of the first, and some intro's to the second. But, from what I have gathered, you are right in line with what is actually transpiring in our, once great, nation.
Trust David's judgement, so I took the liberty of building a page on GunShowOnTheNet.com to help promote your book:
http://gunshowonthenet.com/page33.html
There is a link to this interview as well. IMHO, the word must get spread as widely as possible. Hope this is acceptable with both you and David. If not, advise me.
My perception, is that we have only a couple of years, at most, to be able to turn things around peacefully.
The enemies of our country, and the intended system, have been plotting the downfall for decades, (actually a couple of centuries). But, they just about have all their 'ducks in a row', so the trap will be sprung soon. 2006-08 elections will be critical. If the wrong people get in, freedom as we (partially) know it will be finished by 2010....
Anon: Some folks think that most shooters don't consider their simple deer rifle or goose gun to be in any danger, so they are not willing to go to bat to defend targeted categories of firearms, such as semi-auto "black rifles." They just don't see the long term picture.
David: Thanks for the linking, it really helps a lot. I'm not really a conspiracy theorist, but I do think that history is running into a dangerous choke point, and the next few years will be critical to our future freedom and certainly to our national sovereignty.
BTW: I was just invited onto the Peter Boyle Show, KHOW 630 in Denver to discuss "Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista." This will air live at 0605 Mountain Time tomorrow (Wednesday) September 6th.
http://www.khow.com/pages/shows-boyles.html
Peter is really hot on the illegal alien invasion, and he's spearheaded a billboard campaign which has gotten a lot of attention. If you get a chance, give it a listen...
Matt
Matthew - " I'm not really a conspiracy theorist..."
Understand, and I was not one either a few months ago. Until I started doing some research.
The banks in Belguim, France and other countries in Europe, have been attempting to change our system for centuries now. Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, George Washington and others, all wrote about it.
We had thrown their yoke off numerous times in the 1800's. They refitted the yoke in 1913 with the banking system. And started using the spurs in 1933:
http://gunshowonthenet.com/BOOKS/TM2000-25.html
http://gunshowonthenet.com/BOOKS/MaclayJournalChap13.html
http://gunshowonthenet.com/AfterTheFact/Senate03041841.html
http://gunshowonthenet.com/AfterTheFact/InfoForThePeople.html
http://gunshowonthenet.com/BOOKS/EisenhowerMilitaryIndustrial.html
All of this is documented, and there is quite a bit more proof. America, since its inception has had powerful people attempting to bring us down into subjection....
President James K. Polk went into it, in vivid detail, here:
http://gunshowonthenet.com/AfterTheFact/Polk12051848.html
Our enemy ALWAYS has been big money and greed.....
Hello, Mr. Bracken.
I borrowed your first book from a family member and ordered a copy before I'd finished it. The second I've already received and read. Great stuff. A couple questions for you.
1. Why do you believe our government refuses to deal with the illegal invasion?
2. Do you feel organizations like The Minuteman Project will accomplish anything other than to publicize the problem?
3. Is militarizing our border part of the solution? Not the "Feel Good" steps the government has taken, but a full-fledged military presence with a free fire zone on all our borders.
4. In the past there has been an attempt at removing illegals (Operation Wetback). How feasable is this today if our government really wanted to enfore the law? And could it be done without Citizens sacrificing their liberties?
5. How hard should businesses who work illegal aliens be punished?
6. How do you feel the recent "elections" in Mexico will effect the illegal invasion?
7. What do you think is the best way to counter the socialist rhetoric by, and concerning, the invaders?
Thanks for your time and I look forward to reading the last installment. ::grinz:: And re-reading the others.
Do you get hate mail from people that want to continue to believe this nation is running along just fine and that the invasion by Mexico is no biggie?
David,
I don't discount those theories entirely, and in Domestic Enemies I obliquely refer to them with the "traitor convention" attended by sellout Senators and billionaires. Certainly, the entire push toward a borderless "North American Community by the CFR and the U.S. governments "Security and Prosperity Partnership" edges into this zone.
Civis,
1. I think that that many important RINOs are entirely sold out to large business interests who rely on dirt-cheap illegal alien labor. At the same time, important Democrats see the illegals as future welfare voters. There is nothing original to this analysis, except I would add the covert globalists who are steadily working to erase American sovereignty. Just examine the CFR's "Toward a North American Community," and how perfectly it aligns with the new SPP mentioned above.
2. Publicity may be enough, if that is all they accomplish, it was all worth it for the Minutemen. Most Americans outside of the Southwest don't realize how far this problem has gone already.
3. There is no need for a "free fire zone" on the border. A modern multiple fence system is all we need, with a plowed strip to reveal footprints. With such a barrier, the current Border Patrol could easily do their job. The BP would have a firm 2,000 mile barrier to patrol, instead of being forced to play "Keystone Kops" over millions of square miles of the Southwest. The reason the powers that be are against such a fence system, is precisely because they know it would work.
4. Sure, another "Operation Wetback" could work, exactly the way it worked under President Eisenhower. But no President will touch this option until the American people rise up and demand it. This will happen after a major terrorist attack that is shown to have come across the border, or after the next deep economic recession hits.
5. To the full extent of current law, that's all! One of the most corrosive effects of the current non-enforcement of the law is the disrespect for the rule of law overall that it engenders, both by the illegal invaders, and their employers. This is very demoralizing to middle-class Americans, who know very well that all of the laws will be enforced to the Nth degree against them. This selective enforcement of laws is the fast track to being a large "banana republic."
6. Mexico could be in the middle of a civil war in a matter of months, that is one possible outcome. In that case, there will be an even greater stampede to the borders, and there will be no way to keep a civil war in Mexico from spilling over into our Southwest.
7. Mockery. How can you take being called a racists seriously, by members of groups like "La Raza?" This is like being called a racist by a member of the KKK. Throw their overt racism back in their faces at every chance. Read the "Plan of Aztlan," which is their blueprint for reconquista. It is blatantly a racist screed, calling for the "new bronze race of Indo-hispanos" to triumph. It is Hitler's Mein Kampf wearing a sombrero. Call them on their plan for racial conquest at every opportunity.
Rob,
I just left San Diego in July, and have relocated to a nice patriotic "redneck" (I say that as a compliment) part of Florida. Hate mail? Once in a while, on my website's open email account, I get hate mail. I just delete it. On radio shows I get "Aztlaners" calling in, which is the best part of all, because I can rub their faces in history and make them look like total fools on the air.
Which ordering method is most profitable to you? Direct or through Amazon?
No reason not to profit while saving the nation!
Fodder: Good question. My best margin is on signed copies, but Amazon is also more than fair to me. Plus, Amazon sales help in an indirect way. Having a good Amazon "ranking" number gives your book credibility. So either way is fine with me. Plus, there are about a dozen other places now retailing the books, and more power (and sales) to all of them!
Matt
Finished DE:TR last week and greatly enjoyed it. Well, that may sound macabre but I don't mean it that way. Looking forward to the 3rd book if the trilogy.
Stace
Texas
PS. I posted all 5 DE:TR book cover postcards at local ranges/gun shops and noticed one was missing. Guess someone wanted a keepsake or reminder of the books title.
Most Americans will not even sign an on-line petition, much less put their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor on the line to save their Republic.
How would anyone 'save the Republic' at this point? No one's even going in the right direction, as far as I can see.
Fat lady's singing
now.
Hello,Matt. Really enjoyed your first two books,and am looking forward to reading the third one.
Hey Matt,
I hope my copy shows up today!
Thanks,
Tom Eaker
Anonymous:
I know what you mean about "enjoying" it. Maybe "gratified that somebody is finally writing this with the gloves off" is a better way to put it? And thanks for posting the cards around. The more folks see them, the better. And where better to put the image in front of shooter than at gun shops and ranges? I appreciate it your going the extra distance!
Jomama:
I often feel like we are one bend in the river from Niagara Falls. Besides getting the Escape Pod ready for your own family, one has a duty to shout a warning. Even if few are willing to listen...at this point.
Sneakypete:
Thanks, now "all" I have to do is write it. I just hope that there is still a viable market for books in a year or two.
What did you do during your service in the Navy? I know you obviously can't talk about all of that, but I am interested.
Hey Tom,
A uniformed federal agent should be at your door any day now. You know, the "men in gray."
Anonymous,
During my active duty time in the 80s, I received a lot of terrific training, and made one interesting deployment to Beirut, but there was no real combat involved. Nothing at all like what the troops are experiencing today in the middle east.
Just got in from a long day--I see the questioning has been interesting and informative--thank you to all who participated.
Thanks also to Gun Law News, Gun Show on the Net, Oscar Poppa and Blognomicon for informing their readers of this interview. Apologies if I missed anyone else.
And Matt, thank you for the generous amount of time you have given to this interview, and for providing vision and leadership to Americans who are hungry for both. One drawback of this forum is we can't give you the hearty round of applause you deserve, but judging from the sentiments expressed here, I'm sure many would join me in doing so.
Matt,
I just finished reading both books back-to-back. I absolutely could not put them down. They are real page-turners. I am eagerly anticipating the third in the series. I hope you incorporate the rightful re-arming of America's citizens. Any chance of a movie???
I take offense that we Libertarians are considered "traitors and Quislings." There isn't an "invasion" or anything like that going on. What is it? Have some people watched Red Dawn or Chuckles Norris' Invasion USA way too many times? I'm a Libertarian. I believe in gun rights, individual liberty, free markets and free and open borders. I'm not a traitor nor a "Quisling." bradsmith313@gmail.com
I would describe myself as something of a libertarian but not an "open borders" one. I hope that you are using the terms traitor and "Quisling" to describe the loony open border folks. It is 2008, when is the final book coming out?
I doubt he will see your question here so long after the interview.
Suggest going to his site and contacting him.
David, I know Matt won't see my comment here so long after the interview but I'm glad to see his work. For myself, I encourage every American who prizes his/her freedom to belong to the NRA whether they own guns or not. The group needs many more Americans to belong.
Post a Comment