"Self-Promotion" by benchen71

[Dplass]

Indeed, Googling helped. Crossed the moat. Thanks for the puzzle!

[ajk]

lol got it with the last nudge. Had seen the relevant things without the nudges but didn't realize it.

[Ergcat]

Stormed the Castle! Got it with the last nudge to see things a bit differently!

[ReB]

Crossed the moat after nudges.

[whimsy]

Now that's a moat! (And a Greek flag.)

[benchen71]

By the end of the 2nd 24 hour period, 5 more solvers have joined the ranks, bringing us up to 33:

dplass
ajk
Ergcat
ReB
whimsy

[Cinny]

Crossed the moat. Got it right away after seeing nudges.
Nice puzzle. Thanks, Ben!

[DrTom]

NICE! I apparently went the way of MANY others until I finally gave up my preconceived notion and looked at the puzzle in a new light. I just have to remember that whatever I do I have to work at it with all my heart.

Great puzzle and LOL solution.

Tom

[benchen71]

Another 24 hours, and more solvers. Yay!

Laura M
Cindy Heisler
lbray53
DrTom
ChrisCross
DIS
BarbaraK
emmie
cheer
Pair O Ducks

We're up to 43 now.

[benchen71]

I was just on Crosshare and I need to add a solver to the list. They didn't have the full name of the author correct, but I think it was close enough:

Spid4567

Technically, they should be slotted in above MeloMania. And that brings us up to 44.

[benchen71]

If you are still stuck and the earlier nudges didn't help, maybe this will get you across the line. It should have come between nudges 3 and 4:

3½. You can form three book titles by combining two adjacent entries. This is where the clue similarity and grid asymmetry will come together.

[TeamDoubleTow]

Definitely needed the last nudge! Loved the answer! Thanks for the puzzle.

[benchen71]

Before I reveal the answer, here's the final update for the solver list:

CPJohnson
SeamusOL
Teamdoubletow
Abide

... which brought us up to 48.

[benchen71]

Here's the solution to "Self-Promotion":

The idea for this meta started with the title and then coming up with a completely unexpected mechanism: "Self-promotion" suggests moving I or ME forward, etc, etc. But what if I took it literally?

Given the prominence of EPHESUS, CORINTH and ROME in the grid, many of you thought the answer would be the apostle Paul. But there had to be a reason for that lack of symmetry, and so that brings SCROLL, LETTERS and GOSPEL into play. Paul certainly wrote letters, but he did not write a gospel, so that should have ruled him out of contention. Now I said it would be unlikely you would know the author: I hope you enjoyed that moment when you put in what must be book titles into Google and then up popped a familiar name!

Note that "Meeting of Minds" (sci-fi homage to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" with elements of Max Headroom) and "The Ephesus Scroll" (historical fiction novel that attempts to explain how the book of Revelation would have been understood in its first-century context) are both available as free ebooks from Smashwords. I trust you will all excuse this moment of self-promotion!