1/22/2012 - The Lord's Day - Evening. – Greetings y’all.  Here is a picture of future son-in-law Mark in costume as a Ghost Militia fighter for a short sequence that will be used in the new book trailer for The Last Pilgrims.

Don't forget the radio show tonight at 7 p.m.  http://blogtalkradio.com/michaelbunker


Also, don't forget to read up on my very serious Hunger Strike which is to start on February 1.


Peace,


Michael Bunker

My Hunger Strike and Blackout!

1/20/2012 - 6th Day - Morning. Preparation of the Sabbath – Greetings y’all.  I've been reading where people all over the world are protesting everything.  A good part of the Internet went black this past Wednesday to protest SOPA or some such thing, Buddhists are burning themselves up in fires, and there are Hunger strikes everywhere.

I'm not very political, but I was starting to feel left out.  Surely there is something I can protest.  But then I thought, well... my life is already a rejection of just about everything, and I am already a separatist, and what can I protest?  Then it came to me... I can protest that we are barely over half-way in fundraising for The Last Pilgrims, and we have to launch this thing on 2/24/2012.  So now I have my cause!  Hunger Strike and blackout, here I come.

***What follows is very involved, educational, and surreptitious irony.  It is best if you have a highly attuned ironic taste.  If you don't get it, then you just don't get it***

So here is the deal...

From February 1st through February 10th (the last day of the IndieGoGo Last Pilgrims financing campaign) I am going to be on a Hunger Strike/Grid Blackout!  I am going to call it "The Last Pilgrims Hunger Games".  This will be my way to convince people that I am dead serious about the need for these advertising funds for The Last Pilgrims.

I looked up "Hunger Strike" and I found out that most of these are really just scams.  When Jesse Jackson or some other clown says they are going on a "Hunger Strike", they usually mean that they will be ingesting copious amounts of liquid food like whey protein drinks, frosties, and such.  They don't really mean "Hunger Strike", they mean "I'm not going to eat food I have to chew".  So, in the spirit of that, here are the details of my Hunger Strike.  For ten (TEN) full days, I will only eat food that is made or grown right here on our ranch.  Could you do that?  Could you survive for ten days on only food you grow or raise?  I think not.  I'm not talking about the 300 boxes of Mac and Cheese you have in your pantry.  That doesn't count.  If we didn't raise it, grow it, etc. then I can't eat it.  Don't you get it?  I could actually STARVE to death to make a point.  That is admirable.  Now, during the Hunger Strike, every day I will be putting up videos on this very blog to show you how much I am suffering. You will actually get to SEE me emaciate and begin to perish... all so you will support the launch of the book.  I'm NOT kidding. Starting February 1st, I will go on an absolute Hunger Strike right here in front of you!  No joke.

Also, in the spirit of the Blackout, I will also refuse to use ANY grid power or water or utilities... AT ALL!  Not one drop.  Not one shred.  Not one particle beam thinggy.  For ten (TEN) full days, I will not partake for one second in ANY grid stuff.

So in addition to starving right in front of you, I will deprive myself of what to most people are the most needful things in the world.  The things that, without them, they will die in THREE DAYS.  Whole Prepper and Survival classes, groups, and websites are based on getting you to be able to survive for three (THREE) days without the grid.  While I, your host and friend, will go ten (TEN) days without any grid participation whatsoever!

Ok, so you know what to do.  Forward this EVERYWHERE!  Let everyone know that I am willing to risk my life, health, sanity, and donuts for the cause!

Then, mark your calendar and tune in EVERY DAY from February 1st to February 10th to watch me almost die right in front of your eyes.

And for those of you who are laughing... could YOU do it?  Will you join me to make a statement to the whole world and also Florida?

I have to go prepare myself and get my mind right.  I only have 11 (eleventy) days to get ready.

Pray for me,

Michael Bunker

The Last Pilgrims... always an uphill fight.

1/19/2012 - 5th Day - Morning. – Greetings y’all.  I've finished the first full book edit of The Last Pilgrims, and today (DV) we will be sending off for printed proofs.  That means we are so very close to having the book out there!  We've started some preliminary marketing and advertising, but we won't have the money to really hit it hard until the IndieGoGo.com campaign is over...

Well, with 24 days left in the campaign, we are a bit more than 1/2 of the way there. We’ve a long way to go.

Have you ever been an underdog?  I have, and usually by choice. Why would someone choose not to take advantage of opportunities when they come? Because sometimes you have to sell out to do that, and I won’t sell out. I’ve not sought a publisher or an agent for The Last Pilgrims, because I like to write and not spend endless hours standing in line to beg to people who don’t really want quality stuff anyway!  Have you seen the stuff that Hollywood puts out?  Have you seen the books available in Wal-Mart?

So when my last book – Surviving Off Off-Grid – was launched, we decided to self-publish.  Everyone in the "business" said it wouldn’t work.  Everyone said no one would buy it.  But we did it with footwork and a lot of help from our friends.  The book went to #24 on the Amazon.com bestsellers list, and to #2 on the “Hot New Releases” list.

Then I said I wanted to write a fiction novel series.  On the writers forums, everyone said, “Fiction is harder than non-fiction. It is almost impossible to succeed without the big bucks of a publisher and a professional agent.” Other writers told me that my success with SOOG was one thing, but making it with a fiction book was a whole different deal.

So what do you think?

With the $6,000 we are asking for in our IndieGoGo campaign, I am positive that we can let enough people know about TLP to make it a success... and we are halfway there! After that, the quality of the book, the story, the writing will do the rest. I am convinced that this book has the weight and power to continue rolling if we can just get it started. We’re well on our way.

But we will need all of the help we can get. Please donate if you are able. Please link to this campaign.  Please join us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/thelastpilgrims. Please join me on Twitter: @thelastpilgrims.

On book bomb date, 2/24/2012, we are asking all of our friends and supporters to buy 5 (FIVE!) copies of the book on Amazon.com. Why 5? Because we are going to drive the book up the bestsellers list, which will get it noticed. It will cause a momentum that will guarantee the success of the book.

Once the book bomb is a success, the whole saga will really take off.  On February 24th we will know whether we are going to succeed or fail.  I've spent so many hours writing and crafting this book, that they cannot be counted.  A whole year of my life went into the writing, and I've been planning the story line for over 5 years.  Now, I need your help to prove the naysayers wrong.  I believe we can do it.

Donate today

Thank you!

Michael Bunker

The Last Pilgrims in Edit Mode

1/18/2012 - 4th Day - Morning. – Greetings y’all.  I'm editing and editing and editing today.  Trying to get the first run through finished by this evening.  The Last Pilgrims is an emotional roller-coaster, so reading it over and over again is interesting.  Hopefully by next week we'll have our first proof in hand, then about two more edit passes before we finally get to send it up for publishing.  We're now in full marketing mode too, so please do help us as much as you can in getting the word out.  The book bomb date (2/24/2012) is coming fast.


As for the financing campaign for publication, we officially passed 1/2 way (in dollars), which means that with only 24 days left, we have raised 1/2 of the money we will need to kick the book out there properly.  Please go to the IndieGoGo campaign, watch the book trailer, and donate.  Every little bit counts!





I found a great website this morning with tons of good info.  Y'all check it out:


http://prepperwebsite.com

I don't know whose site it is or who runs it, but there are some great links over there.

I need some of you popular bloggers, twitterers, and facebookers to contact me so I can beg you to help me publicize the book.  Send me an email:  editor (at) lazarusunbound (dot) com

Check out the Surviving Off Off-Grid theatrical length documentary page on Kickstarter.com.  This is a documentary that is going to be made of my book, hopefully this spring - coming out in the summer: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/offoffgridmovie/surviving-off-off-grid-decolonizing-the-industrial?ref=live 

Y'all be praying for our brother Stewart.  He is trying to get over being sick, put together a new book trailer, publish the book, handle the marketing and advertising, start his homestead, and his wife is due in a few weeks.  Pray hard for Stewart!  It would help Stewart if you would click on the IndieGoGo campaign and throw us a bone!

Your servant in Christ Jesus,

Michael Bunker

What Stuff Do You Need to Survive?

1/17/2012 - 3rd Day - Morning. – Greetings y’all.  If you listen to most modern survivalist and preppers, you'd think fritos, lighters, and gravy mix were absolutely necessary for survival.  In the spirit of The Last Pilgrims (book bomb date - 2/24/2012), here is a list of a must-have survival list for the male Pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower.  This list was put together by Captain John Smith and given to all of the Pilgrims headed to the New World:


Clothing (for a man):
Monmouth Cap (a knit cap)
3 falling bands (flat, usually white laced collar)
3 shirts, 1 waistcoat
1 canvas suit, 1 cloth suit, 1 frieze suit
3 pairs of Irish stockings
4 pairs of shoes
1 pair of garters (ribbons used to tie up the Irish stockings just below the knee)


Bedding and extra fabric:
1 pair of canvas sheets
About 26 feet of canvas to make a bed and bolster for two
About 18 feet of canvas to make a bed for the sea voyage
1 rug
12 sewing needles


Food (for one man, intended to last one year):
Beer (the primary drink for everyone, water was often considered unsafe)
About 2 barrels of wheat (a barrel held 36 gallons)
About 1/2 barrel of peas, and 1/2 barrel of oats
2 gallons of vinegar
1 gallon aqua-vitae (a strong liquor made from distilling beer or wine)
1 gallon salad oil
Bacon
Cheese
Sugar, Spice and Fruit


Weapons and Hunting:
Complete (but light) body armor
Long-barreled musket (Captain Smith recommends 5 feet 6 inches long)
1 sword and belt
1 bandolier (a leather belt that was worn from the right shoulder across the breast and under the left arm, to support the musket).
20 pounds of gunpowder
60 pounds of shot

The primary "must-haves" were knowledge, an aversion to being spoiled by creature comforts, a tendency not to rationalize for worldliness and weakness, and a well packed brain full of experience in living closer to nature and producing the things needed to sustain life.  All others need not apply.

Your servant in Christ Jesus,

Michael Bunker

Links for tonight's Radio Show

1/15/2012 - 1st Day - Evening. – Greetings y’all.  Here are links for tonight's radio program.  The Michael Bunker Radio Show is on at 7 p.m. Central Time:

Info on The Last Pilgrims:

http://lastpilgrims.com

Info on the Surviving Off Off-Grid full-length theatrical documentary:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/offoffgridmovie/surviving-off-off-grid-decolonizing-the-industrial

Join the SOOG Movie Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/OffOffGridMovie/163779647057954

Follow the Movie progress on Twitter:

@offoffgridmovie


Why Christians Should Not Vote by Michael Bunker


Why I do not Support Ron Paul by Michael Bunker

Advertisers:

GNOWFGLINS.com

OliveTreeHost.com

Possum Creek Knifeworks

TIJO Knits

Friends,

As you know, there is an independent movie being made of my book Surviving Off Off-Grid.  Here is a full disclosure of the details:

I support the making of the movie, but I am NOT involved in it. I will be interviewed for the movie, and they will ask me my opinions, but I am not directing or producing the movie. I have every confidence that they know what they are doing and will do a good job, but I am NOT at all involved with the making of the movie.

I am, however, likely to get paid for the movie if it gets financed and gets made.  I am very hopeful and excited that these people know what they are doing and are going to make a good movie.

They just started their "kickstarter" campaign.  You should go check it out, and they have a pretty good trailer there as well.

Please help if you can, and spread the word.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/offoffgridmovie/surviving-off-off-grid-decolonizing-the-industrial 

I'm Done! Well...

1/13/2012 - 6th Day - Morning - Preparation of the Sabbath. – Greetings y’all.  As of yesterday at about 4 p.m., I have finished principle writing of the The Last Pilgrims novel!  Today, Lord willing, I will write the epilogue, and then we will start editing, editing, editing over the next couple of weeks.


I let Tracy and Danielle read the book and they have announced that it is officially "...better than The Hunger Games!"  According to Tracy, it is wayyyy better.  I let Stewart read it.  His response?  "This is the best fiction book I've ever read!"  I do not think you will be disappointed at all.

BOOK BOMB DATE IS SCHEDULED FOR 2/24/2012!!!!

What is a “Book Bomb”?

For the most part, a book bomb is simply us asking interested folks to buy the book on a certain day – in this case February 24th.  The book may be available on Amazon.com before that date, but we are asking people to be patient and wait until February 24th to buy the book.

Why?

Because the more book purchases are made on that day on Amazon.com the higher we can push the book up both the regular rankings and the “movers and shakers” page. We learned a little about how the Amazon rankings worked during our launch of Surviving Off Off-Grid a year ago.  With over 800 books sold in one day, we reached to #24 on the Bestsellers list, and #2 on the Hot New Releases list.  This gained us attention from all over the world, and even resulted in inquiries from publishers, etc.  We know we can do better with a book as good and as fascinating as The Last PIlgrims.

What this means

Most book ranking or bestselling sites and services are “gamed” by the big publishing houses, and folks selling books about vampires, zombies, and politics (three peas in a pod).  Book publishers arrange to have their books released on certain dates and they spend tens of thousands of dollars to make sure that book stores and other retailers push Why you should Vote for Zombie Vampires in order to get those books a higher ranking.  It’s hard for a book that is as good as The Last Pilgrims, but that is not pushed by a mainstream publisher with deep pockets, to get noticed.

While those rankings really mean nothing in the real world, the exposure for a book like ours could well help get the book some notice from people who might otherwise have no idea that the book even exists.  Bookstores may choose to carry the book, which is doubly hard for any book not pimped by a major book publisher.

So this is our quest.  Our original very conservative goal was to sell 500 books on that date, but now – with the enormous amount of attention the book is getting pre-release – we believe that 2000 or more sales is reachable.  Who knows?  What we do know is this… YOU CAN HELP (and we really need you to!)

What YOU can do

First of all, and most simply, you can buy 5 (FIVE!) copies of the book on Amazon.com on February 24th.  Five copies... 1 for you, and 4 to give away.  We want to flood the known world with copies of the book, and yes, in this case, 80% of the people might get free copies... but we are so sure that this book is a bestseller on its own right, that we believe that every book out there will cause more people to want to buy the book.  Start saving today so that you can buy 5 copies on February 24th.

But February 24th is still over a month away!

Here are the other things we need you to do, starting today:

1. Please “Like” us on Facebook, and “Share” the page with your Facebook friends.  If you will, give us a plug and encourage other like-minded people to help.
2. Please go to our IndieGoGo campaign and donate so that we can have the money to advertise properly for February 24th.  There are only 28 days left, and we are less than half of the way to our goal.
3. Share our Book Trailer with your friends, family, and anyone else you know.  Post the trailer on your blog, or on your Facebook page.  Please tell folks that the goal is for them to buy the book on February 24th on Amazon.com, and if you are really good friends, get them to help out too.
4. Put as much energy into pushing the Book Bomb as your friends do spamming you with Josh Groban, Zombie Vampire Politicians, and Farmville!  Make them pay!  (just kidding… a little)  Post info about the book bomb on blogs, comment sections, discussion forums, etc.
5. The absolute best thing you can do to help us between now and February 24th is to get the buzz going.  Buzz is what we need.  We need people being driven like cattle to the book trailer, the web page, and our Facebook page.
6. Do you know any popular bloggers, fiction lovers, post-apocalyptic literature lovers, Twitter superstars?  Will YOU ask them to do a review of TLP?  If they are truly popular, and have an audience, we will send them a pre-release proof copy so that they can read the book and do a review of it on their website or blog.
7. Are YOU a popular blogger or do you have a large audience?  If so, contact me and we'll talk about it!  (editor (at) lazarusunbound (dot) com)
8. On Book Bomb day – February 24th – let us work together and get this thing over the top!  Talk it up, print out flyers or notices and post them around, or take them to the local coffee shop.  And don’t forget to buy your copies of The Last Pilgrims!

So, that is what a Book Bomb is, and we really need your help.  In this commercial society, the big boys usually game the system and make the rules.  This is ONE way we can get a book some notice, that really needs it in these troubled times.

Please help us, starting today.  Not everyone can do everything, but everyone can do something.

So go down this list today.  It's Friday, what else have you to do?  Help a brother out!

I do thank you, and I'm so excited to get this book out!

Your servant in Christ Jesus,

Michael Bunker

TERRIFIC!  IndieGoGo just emailed me to tell me that they have featured The Last Pilgrims on their "Featured Campaigns" list.  This is a very great honor, since there are literally tens of thousands of campaigns at any one time, and "Writing" campaigns are very, very rarely so honored.  Please celebrate this by checking out the campaign... and why not donate while you are there?

If Not, Why Not?

1/6/2012 - 6th Day - Morning - Preparation of the Sabbath. – Greetings y’all.  Yes, it is still the December Project.  But I have about 6 weeks to get The Last Pilgrims launched right, and that takes some selective and focused communications.  We had a great question and on The Michael Bunker Radio show on Wednesday night, where I was given the opportunity to explain why I was spending the whole show that night (or the whole months of January and February) promoting The Last Pilgrims.  I hope you will listen to it, because I really appreciated the opportunity to talk about why I chose to write a fiction series, why I take the time and effort to try to let more people know about the book, etc.


It all boils down to this... I owe it to myself, my family, my community, and all of you to do all that I can to make the time and effort and work that went into writing The Last Pilgrims bear fruit.  If I didn't think the book series was going to help people, then I wouldn't have spent the hundreds of hours studying, praying about, and writing it.  At the same time, I understand that when you are "contra-mundum" (against the world) and when you don't have an agent or a publisher or any of the benefits that the world has, then you have to do all of that work another way.  Surviving Off Off-Grid became so successful and has helped so many thousands of people because of the work done in the 6 weeks before we launched it.  Now, I get letters every week, and emails almost daily from people who tell me that their lives have been changed forever because of SOOG.  I have letters stacked on my desk from families who have had their lives and worldviews fundamentally overturned by SOOG, and that knowledge means more to me than anything, and I am so grateful that God has used the work to change lives.  But, you need to know that during the 6 weeks leading up to the book launch last year, I had people constantly harping and complaining about me spending time promoting the book.  Also, even though I asked everyone who supported or appreciated my ministry and work to help me out in getting SOOG out there, in reality only a small percentage of people did help.  But look what we were able to accomplish with God's help!  SOOG still sells significant numbers of books EVERY DAY.  That means every single day that there are a percentage of those readers who are being converted and having their minds changed by the book.  Now, I learned yesterday that a full-length theatrical documentary is in the works and is due out in Summer of 2012 based on Surviving Off Off-Grid.  I'm not talking about a camcorder YouTube documentary.  I'm talking about a professional "Ken Burns" type of documentary based fully on SOOG.  How many lives will that affect?  Can we know?


So now you see the value of the 6 weeks I spent pre-launch last year telling you how important SOOG was going to be.  Now you see why it was important to get as many people as possible on board to help launch the book.  Now you see why I was begging bloggers and other folks to review SOOG and to talk about.  This is why I asked you to share the information and to post it everywhere, and to talk about it online, and to buy multiple copies of the book on launch date.  Not because I needed you to buy 5 copies of the book, but because the momentum of a successful launch will continue to carry the book forward and will make more people aware of its existence.


Now is the time for you to help me to do the same thing, only on a larger scale.  It is easy to be a big fish in a small pond.  Non-fiction is what it is.  If you can write moderately well, have some ideas, and can communicate those ideas, you can interest a small number of people... even if you are writing about belly button lint.  Fiction, however, is a whole new ball game.  I need your help like never before.


Here is what we know... One of the most popular stories that will come out in film in 2012 will be The Hunger Games.  The Last Pilgrims is better than The Hunger Games.  Better morally.  Better informationally.  And it has a better and more exciting story.  The reviews from those who have read the book are unanimous in saying that it is one of the best stories they have ever read.  It has unlimited potential to teach, entertain, educate, and truly affect people on a new and higher level.  Here is what one of my editors - someone I have never met - said about TLP:

"Fantastic writing… excellent, well-crafted and imaginative...
It is rare that someone has such aptitude to interweave so many elements into their work, that it not only conveys a very important message, but it is also a true pleasure to read. Your well-developed characters, the really well considered plot, timing and flow of narrative have really helped in creating a true masterpiece. You really made me stop and think about a life that is possibly lurking not far in the future, when having almost instant access to people, places and material possessions would be impossible.

- Natasha

This book makes people think... And the story is just getting started... I haven't even begun to get where I want to be with this story.  But how to get other people excited about it?  We had our first big fundraiser push on the IndieGoGo Last Pilgrims campaign site the other day (Wednesday) and we did well.  So far we have raised $2,230 of the minimum $6,000 that we need to launch TLP with some good advertising and marketing.  But you know what?  That was with donations from only 18 people, and $1,000 of that came in one donation from one person.  16 of those 18 donors are people I already know, who are already regular supporters.  That means that literally thousands of people who have been helped by the ministry, and thousands more who regularly make use of the free materials we offer, and hundreds of people who think of themselves as "friends" and supporters, did nothing.  This will not do.  We need YOUR help.  Donations as low as $10 will help, but as you can evidently see, without some large donations - this job will not get done.


Why am I hammering hard to get TLP launched and out there and successful?  Because I want to redeem the hundreds and hundreds of hours spent writing it, and crafting it.  I want to be sitting here next year telling you how many people have been affected positively by the story.  I want people to read the book, get excited, then read SOOG, then read the sermons on Lazarusunbound.com, then decide to change their lives for the better.


We now have a professional documentary team planning a documentary about SOOG.  A year from now why can't we expect a professional film making team to want to make a movie from TLP?  Do we just complain about the state of culture today and not ever support something that might do someone somewhere some good?


I need your help.  It is frustrating to not have the resources to do things right so that we can get this book the attention it deserves.  Here is what you can do today.  Do these 5 things today and, if the Lord wills, we can look back a year from now and know we did a good thing...


1.)  Go to the IndieGoGo page and donate.  However much you can.  Even if you've already donated.  The more the better, but every little bit counts.  Then pray that others will do the same.


2.)  Comment on that page.  There are 5 blue tabs above the video on the first page there at IndieGoGo... the middle one says COMMENTS.  Click on it and comment.  Also, under the video there are several ways to SHARE the page.


3.)  Post a link to the website (http://lastpilgrims.com), to the book trailer found there, the IndieGoGo campaign page, etc. somewhere on the web.  In the comments section of your favorite blog, on Facebook, on Twitter, etc.  But just post ONE LINK somewhere today.


4.)  Tell someone about the book.  Send them a link to the free novella download.  Post it on your blog.  Mention it to a friend.  Be excited about it.


5.)  Make plans starting today to buy 5 copies of TLP to give away on the launch date.  I'll be getting you more information on the Book Bomb as time goes by, but you will need to save the money now to be able to buy 5 (FIVE) copies of the book on Book Bomb date.


These are five things you can do today to help.  It is hard to see the future, but we can tell the future from the past.  If we do our job now and give it all we have to help give this book a fighting opportunity to succeed and be read, then a year from now we can look back and KNOW that we did a good thing.  If the Lord sustains us and preserves us, I pray we will look back on TODAY a year from now and know that lives were changed by HIM through our obedience.


I hope this help you understand why I'm doing it, and why I won't stop until I've done all that I am able to do.


Your servant and friend in Christ Jesus,


Michael Bunker