"The Book Of Obsidian Fundraisers" Campaign: Apr 2020 Update

10:35 AM 4/20/2020 Mon

What's up fellas,

I thought to give you guys regular updates as to what I'm doing now that it appears that we're going to be settling in for the long haul with the Coronavirus pandemic.

As you all know, I've put all live in-person events connected to my upcoming "The Book of Obsidian" until further notice last month. Since that time though, more developments have come down the pike that have given me great pause:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/18/health/coronavi...

https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Nat...

https://www.phillytrib.com/news/health/coronavirus...

The above links repay very close study and I strongly urge all of you to take the time out to do so. They form the basis of my update today.

As the third link indicates, the Essence music festival - a major event on the Black American social calendar - has been canceled and instead be held next summer (hopefully!). It was on my stop for the book tour, and since the other stops on the tour were in predominantly Black cities around the country - cities that were hit particularly hard during the first wave of the Coronavirus pandemic - I strongly suspect that major book-related events will be canceled there as well.

Therefore, in light of these developments, I am officially putting off the entire book tour for this year. This will also include any other in-person, live events.

According to the best information I've been able to find, the soonest a vaccine will be developed, safely tested and ready for widespread use, will be the fall of 2021. Until then, there's the hope that successful treatments to the disease will be found and available in a broad-based way. However, as the above links attest to, this is a daunting task on either front; there are questions of capacity, resources and of course, time that all have to be considered and contended with.

What all of this amounts to for me, is that I have two major considerations of my own: one, my own health and safety; and two, that of the health and safety of all of you. I simply cannot risk the possibility of any of us getting sick and very possibly dying as a result of an event I hosted or was a part of. Aside from obvious liability concerns, I would never be able to forgive myself if something like that were to happen.

So, until I am satisfied that the Coronavirus matter has been meaningfully addressed - again, either by means of successful treatments or a vaccine, whichever comes first - I am canceling everything in terms of live events for the rest of the year and into next year.

As a prepper, I am well-stocked with all the supplies that I need to remain "sheltered in place" for the duration and I am hoping that all of you have been able to do the same. I've done many prepping podcasts over the years for precisely times like these; and I am hopeful that many of you have found them useful.

With that being said, my plans for the rest of the year are as follows:

1. Go back and tighten up "The Book of Obsidian", which I'm doing as we speak. The extra time these days has given me a chance to have a second look at my work. In fact, I'm tightening up the glossary section as I type this.

2. Start writing "The Book of Obsidian, Vol. 2" which is already underway, beginning last month. I've projected the principal writing of the book to run until the end of Sep, 2020, and my members only columns will resume in earnest next month, which will also be included in the book. Thus the format will be just like "Vol. 1" of "The Book of Obsidian", just with more and updated material and meant to act as a continuation in that regard.

3. I've also got plans to begin writing a third book, the specifics of which I won't go into here but will be an extension of the first two books just in a different direction, and I'm due to begin writing in earnest this coming Jun, 2020. My plan is to knockout the principal writing for this book in Jun-Jul 2020 and be ready for copy editing, etc. a month later.

Thus, whereas originally I was planning only to write one book this year, I will now be writing three! And I just may drop all three in 2021 - we'll see!

That brings us to the funding aspect. The fundraising will continue for the original book, but now in light of the current and foreseeable future circumstances, it will be expanded to include the other two books as well. As I've said on the air before, as I have secured facilities to host the book tour, not only in my hometown of Philly but around the country as well at minimal cost, I can now focus the fundraising efforts at getting the books out in all three formats (print, ebook and audiobook), as well as the creation of a personal website that will serve as the point of sale for all three books and their formats. Because of the deal I've struck with the book publisher, I can do all of this at a greatly reduced cost.

So, by all means, please continue to support the fundraiser - no amount is too small or too big (emphasis on the latter!) - and you can contribute as often as you like!

As to when I'll release the books, be that later this year or sometime in 2021: I cannot say. I'm considering all my options, such as they are. Of course, I can release the books and then hold virtual book events via my Zoomcast. And while that certainly can be a viable option, you gotta admit that you're losing something crucial in the "live" events. So I'm still on the fence about all of that. My main goals right now are to finish all three books and secure the funding for all three books and then go from there. So again, please feel free to contribute and support the fundraising campaign!

EVERYONE WHO CONTRIBUTES TO "THE BOOK OF OBSIDIAN FUNDRAISERS" WILL GET FREE AUTOGRAPHED COPIES OF THE BOOKS. Just be sure to email me with a screenshot of your contribution to: [email protected] so I can add you to the list.

So, that's the plan for yours truly over the course of the rest of this year. I'll be back with more updates between now and then, pending changing developments on the ground, so please bear that in mind. Remember, we're due for a second wave of the Coronavirus this coming fall, the start of the traditional cold and flu season, so be especially careful at that time. Thank you and please be safe!

PLEASE SUPPORT "THE BOOK OF OBSIDIAN" FUNDRASING CAMPAIGN! #GoGetFunding

https://assets.gogetfunding.com/the-book-of-obsidian-fund...

Introduction To "The Book Of Obsidian": Why Not Me? #Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/posts/introduction-to-3385...

She'll Have The Salad The Book Of Obsidian Interview With Bro Xavier #BATV

https://fsavenger.com/module.php?s=audios&p=list&b...

Forward,

MOA