Updates on The Book Project

I've been working on an official crowdfunding campaign. We'll see how it goes when it launches. I know some people will feel more comfortable offering support through that channel. Personally, I like managing things through Ghost. It's much less fuss. As you can see above, Cassandra is back. Enough people expressed support. There will still be a plain version, and a version with her. I get why people would want either. Me? I'm going to have both on my shelf. If I'm consulting a book during a longterm emergency, I just want a plain version with no distractions at all.

I'm going to share the updated preview pages and a budget. Some people have requested it, so that's why I did it. Before that, though...

We're going to talk about feminism.

Look at this:

That's Rumi, Mira, and Zoey from the Netflix movie K-Pop Demon Hunters, the most successful animated project in the platforms's history and one of their most popular films ever. This summer, it went viral. It won immense amounts of praise for storytelling and character development. My kid has watched it three times.

The movie has also won praise from feminists. It's widely regarded as a feminist film with strong, interesting, funny, relatable female characters who demonstrate that someone can be feminine while also kicking ass. Few if any are getting bent out of shape over their hair, their style, or their body shapes. I get it. They don't scream 2nd wave feminism, and that's kind of the point. They're extremely "girly."

When I was done making the first pages for this guide, I sat looking at the images and feeling like something was missing. So I decided to add a character from another project I'd been working on, a Jessica Jones-type character who gets into a lot of trouble. That project was mostly for me, and she's been with me for the last two years as I toiled (and swore) while learning to do 3D design. If I hadn't spent the last two years understanding 3D design software, this project wouldn't be happening.

This movie was very much on my mind...

So...

I'm focused on making a guide that goes deep into the details of survival and urban/suburban homesteading. I'm doing the research and making quality illustrations. I'm making a version with a little levity, for myself, but also because I think it could reach a wider audience. That's the point.

People who want to judge me and fixate on my character's "toxic" qualities don't really understand what's going on with feminism. If she were sitting on top of an IBC tote in a bikini, we'd have a problem. But she's more like this:

As the guide comes into its own, she's going to be more like that.

As some of you have said, this really seems to be about a few disgruntled people looking for a reason to withdraw their support. People have withdrawn their support and canceled memberships because I wrote too much about Covid. They canceled memberships because I was too critical of Joe Biden. They canceled memberships because I wrote too much or too little about a certain topic, said one thing that irritated them, or focused too much on "doom." The list goes on and on. All of them cited some ideology or ism for throwing a tantrum at me and accusing me of fraud. Ironically, many of them also said they really appreciated my work "until" that moment...

Every now and then, my character will do something funny and feminine. Most of the time, she's going to be planting seeds and connecting pipes.

Thank you to everyone who has stood by and expressed support. I'm not going to keep cramming this down everyone's throat, but I'm not going to be shamed and humiliated and told I'm contributing to misogyny when the most popular, celebrated project of the year has characters that (gasp) look like toy dolls. If someone personally can't stand it, then they can focus on the 90 percent of my content that's just illustrated instructions and then buy the standard edition when it's ready. Otherwise, they can get off my back.

Coming next week: An illustrated guide to bug-out (and bug-in) bags. 😸

Now, here's the updated preview pages, with a budget!