Join the Wildman Road Trip

I am so excited about the upcoming June 6th release of Wildman by J.C. Geiger – but perhaps not quite as excited as the author himself!

Jeff is currently one day into his 4,300-mile road trip from Eugene, OR to New York City – and he needs your help to make it. That’s because this is an interactive road trip. Here’s more from Jeff himself:

To promote the release of my debut novel, WILDMAN, and raise funds for public libraries, I am taking a 4,300-mile, 10-day interactive road trip across the United States. The entire trip will be live-streamed from the glorious, velvety interior of my ’93 Buick Century – the same car that broke down, stranded me, and inspired me to write the book. Staying true to the themes of WILDMAN, I will wind my way through remote communities, stopping at bookstores, libraries, dive bars, and creepy points of interest. Here’s the hook:

I will drive 5 miles for every copy of WILDMAN sold, and 1 mile for every $5 donated to the American Library Association.

There will be a Live Buick Tracker on my website to monitor miles earned, a GPS-enabled map to pinpoint my location, and a real-time text message system to alert me when someone makes a purchase or donation. I’ll be able to thank road trip participants in real time (“Thanks, Julie!”) and respond to messages they send. I’m playing this straight: no one donates or buys, I don’t drive.

I’ll also be doing ride-alongs on the way. People get in, take a spin in the ol’ Buick, and I put them in a cab/bus/train somewhere down the trail: artists, musicians, librarians, writers, and book lovers. For starters, I’ll be riding with the head of New Mexico’s Teen Library Department down Old Route 66, and will travel through parts of Utah with a couple of paranormal investigators. If I make it all the way to New York, I’ll get there just in time for the Book Expo, the number #1 book and author event in the country. (I’m not actually invited, but if I somehow manage to pull this off — I’m crashing the party.) And I will also donate my newer Buick (2003 — WOW!) to the ALA as a thank you.

With your help, this can be legendary.

Amazing right? Head to Jeff’s website now to pledge your books/donations/miles, watch the live stream & more!

Lance Hendricks is homeward bound, four hundred highway miles from the best night of his life. There’s an epic graduation party brewing, his girlfriend will be there, and they’ve got a private bedroom with their names on it. When his ’93 Buick breaks down in the middle of nowhere, Lance is sure he’ll be back on the road in no time. After all, he’s the high school valedictorian. First chair trumpet player. Scholarship winner. Nothing can stop Lance Hendricks.

But afternoon turns to night, and Lance ends up stranded at the Trainsong Motel. The place feels ominous, even before there’s a terrible car wreck outside his room. When Lance rushes out to help, the townies take notice. They call him Wildman, and an intriguing local girl asks him to join in their nighttime adventures. He begins to live up to his new name. As one day blurs into the next, Lance finds himself in a bar fight, jumping a train, avoiding the police. Drifting farther from home and closer to a girl who makes him feel a way he’s never felt before—like himself.

This debut novel by a remarkable new talent explores the relationship between identity and place, the power of being seen, and the speed at which a well-planned life can change forever.