Time is quickly running out for your chance to win a $30 Amazon gift card! All you have to do is leave a comment on any post written this month (April 2008). Any comment received after 11:59pm April 30, will not be eligible. Please be sure to read my easy contest rules and, more importantly, have fun!

How do you win such a great prize? It’s easy! All you have to do is leave a comment under any post written this entire month and you will be eligible to win. Here are a few simple rules to keep in mind:

1. The winning comment will be chosen at random.

2. Comment as many times as you like, on as many posts as you like (as long as they are written this month). The more comments you make, the better chance you have at winning!

3. All comments MUST follow my simple guidelines. Please read them carefully. Spammers will not be eligible.

4. The $30 Amazon gift card will be in US dollars only. No prize substitutions will be made.

5. Have fun!

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I see this as a good sign that I must implement a formal comment policy for this blog. It means it’s getting more attention, which unfortunately also means that spammers are starting to take aim. My guidelines are pretty straightforward and there shouldn’t be any surprises.

Please feel free to leave a comment, or as many comments as you like. I love hearing what others have to say. Don’t be shy! If you do decide to comment, just keep the following in mind:

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What happens when a bunch of lawmakers decide that it’s a good idea to make booksellers register with the state government if they sell "sexually explicit material"?

I’m not sure what the answer is, but we’ll probably see a few lawsuits and some good court battles as a result. Basically, on March 13 the governor of Indiana signed into law a bill that requires booksellers to register with the state if they sell sexually explicit material. How do they define sexually explicit material, you ask? Here’s what Publishers Weekly is reporting:

"Sexually explicit material" is defined as any product that is "harmful to minors" under existing law.

I’m glad those genius lawmakers were specific enough so there’s no gray area (sarcasm!). Basically, any sexual content in a book sold at a bookstore could be seen as sexually explicit and thus is harmful to minors. This means that even classics like Shakespeare could qualify, not to mention a lot of contemporary literature, books on human sexuality, photography books with nude photos and…well… you get the idea.

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The good news is that I finished that large writing project I was working on last week! The bad news is, over the weekend, I came down with what I can only guess was the flu. I awoke Sunday morning with a fever, body aches, congestion, sore throat, and all the other fun stuff that goes along with being ill.

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You might find this week lacking in posts as I have some other writing projects with looming deadlines that I need to get finish up. But don’t worry, I’ll try to squeeze in a few posts this week and you can always count on my Friday Link Love feature – posted first thing Friday morning (here in the US) for your reading pleasure. Next week I should be back to my normal posting schedule.

Thanks for reading!

The March 2008 newsletter will be sent out on Monday March 3 (probably in the evening), so don’t forget to subscribe before then! Why should you subscribe? Because the newsletter is packed with exclusive content you won’t find anywhere else – not even on this blog! Also, I’m planning another contest, but this one will be for subscribers only! A $20 Amazon.com gift card is at stake…

How do you subscribe? It’s easy, just fill in your name and email in the box on the top right of your screen and follow the easy directions. Please you make sure you confirm your subscription as soon as possible, as unconfirmed subscribers will not get the newsletter and will not be eligible for this contest or future ones!

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Now that this blog is well over a year old, I figured it’s probably time to give a little more information about myself. Thus, I put together an About Brad page that gives a very brief bio and even features a picture of me (view at your own discretion, I take no responsibility if your monitor breaks due to my bad looks). While I don’t share my entire life story, it’ll at least give you a better idea of who I am.

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Before I announce the winner of the Brad’s Reader Comment Contest, I want to thank everyone who participated. I ended up getting more comments than I expected (13 comments were submitted in the required time frame). Because of the success of this contest, I hope to have more in the future!

Now, the winner of the $20 Amazon.com gift card is….

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This is my first post for 2008! I hope everyone out there in the blogosphere has a happy and safe new year. I’m going to celebrating  with a quiet day off from my day job, then it’s back to the salt mines on Thursday.

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