Permaculture/ Anarchist Novel

Hey Permies,

I wanted to let everyone know that I'm running a .99 cent promotion from 4-11 through 4-18-2016 for my novel, Against the Grain. I think permies that lean libertarian or anarchist, will enjoy this novel. Below is the book trailer, a few Amazon reviews, and the description. Thanks Destiny and Paul for allowing my shameless promotion!


"As a Permaculturist with Anarchist leanings, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Fast story line with enough twists to keep you thinking."

"I picked up Against the Grain a couple days ago, and decided that I would start reading late last night, about 10:45PM, well at 6:30AM this morning, I finished, all I can say is wow, not only was it a page turner, full of intrigue and insight, but I really identified with the main character, and his world-view. This story is well written."

"Very interesting read. I'm normally a slow reader but finished this one in two sittings! Hard to put down."

"The intensity and emotion jammed between the pages of Against the Grain had my mind spinning, thinking outside the normal comfort zone. Never before have I been transported from that of mere sheep to independent thinker so easily. I take some serious influencing. But, this story swallowed me whole, and I didn't put my kindle down until I finished. Late night!!"

"If you are into homesteading, home-schooling, permaculture and anarchism, you will really enjoy this book. Inspiring ending."

Description
A tyrannical high school principal.
A young anarchist with nothing left to lose.
One way or another, this place is goin’ down.

Matt Moyer is an orphaned teen growing up on a primitive farm in the Pennsylvania coal region. He’s homeschooled by his eccentric and philosophical great-uncle, who’s a stickler for logic, reason, and intellectual honesty. Despite his uncle’s reverence for veracity, inconsistencies arise regarding the old man’s shady past and the teen’s parents.

Through a harrowing sequence of events, Matt is forced to attend a public school. The feral teen finds it difficult to cope with the hypocrisy, propaganda, and misinformation that adults and children so readily accept. Faced with the possibility of expulsion, arrest, and ostracism, he must make a choice. Will he choose the easy lie or the hard truth?

Adult language and content.

Amazon Link To The Book
Click here for free upcoming releases!
My Book Trailers (Two Permaculture Books Here)

Just took advantage of this deal and got my copy - thank you again Phil for offering this great discount to our members!

Just 4 days left to snag a digital copy of this book before it goes back to regular price!

Hey Destiny,

Thank you so much for picking up a copy. I appreciate it! I hope you enjoy the book.

Phil

Thanks for this offer. Purchased it for the Kindle. I will absolutely read and review on Amazon. I am moving through Libertarian in to Anarchist myself.

Hi,

It seems the deal is only available to Amazon users in the US, not Australia. Is there any chance of letting people outside the US take advantage of the deal?

Cheers,
Johan

Mark Lipscomb wrote:
Thanks for this offer. Purchased it for the Kindle. I will absolutely read and review on Amazon. I am moving through Libertarian in to Anarchist myself.

Hey Mark,

You're welcome! I hope you enjoy the novel. By the way, reviews are HUGE for exposure, so thank you in advance.

Phil

Johan Swinnen wrote:Hi,

It seems the deal is only available to Amazon users in the US, not Australia. Is there any chance of letting people outside the US take advantage of the deal?

Cheers,
Johan

Johan,

That stinks. I had no idea it was restricted to the US. Unfortunately, when I set up the Countdown Deal, it does not let me choose geography. I assumed it was .99 cents in all stores. Sorry.

Phil

Huh, Here we are on a permaculture forum and a book title "Against the Grain" comes up. I thought for sure it was another book like Dr. Doug Graham's Grain Damage, or Dr. Perlmutter's Grain Brain or Dr. Davis's Wheat Belly, yet it's a novel. Doesn't it say anything against grain or gluten consumption? Like do the characters at least eat quinoa, millet, buckwheat and eschew (wont eat) rice and bread etc?

Gawd, then the term Libertarianism came up, which means Anarcho-capitalism. Any anarchist such as picture would revile the oxymoronic putting together of these don't-belong-together terms. The US Libertarian movement is just a PR ploy to harness anti-government sentiment, being antiwar and anti drug war, but keeping it within the corporate cause of deregulation of industry. Hmmm...

Well, I ordered the book thinking I just made it under the deadline, since it is supposed to run thru the 18th. Amazon charged me $2.99 instead of $.99

Nick Dimitri wrote:Huh, Here we are on a permaculture forum and a book title "Against the Grain" comes up. I thought for sure it was another book like Dr. Doug Graham's Grain Damage, or Dr. Perlmutter's Grain Brain or Dr. Davis's Wheat Belly, yet it's a novel. Doesn't it say anything against grain or gluten consumption? Like do the characters at least eat quinoa, millet, buckwheat and eschew (wont eat) rice and bread etc?

Gawd, then the term Libertarianism came up, which means Anarcho-capitalism. Any anarchist such as picture would revile the oxymoronic putting together of these don't-belong-together terms. The US Libertarian movement is just a PR ploy to harness anti-government sentiment, being antiwar and anti drug war, but keeping it within the corporate cause of deregulation of industry. Hmmm...

Nick,

Thanks for your comments. I'm assuming the "Against the Grain" comments are a joke? It's hard to tell tone on a forum, so please forgive my uncertainty. If not, here is the definition from the idiom dictionary.

Against the Grain: to do something that is the opposite of what is usually done.
I mention that for anyone who is curious about the title. I did purposely consider the agrarian side to the term, because the main character does grow up on a farm, and does practice permaculture. The confusion is not surprising to me though. If you type in "Against the Grain" in the Amazon search box you get a bazillion books on exactly what Nick is talking about. I knew this going in, but the title fit too well in my opinion, provided you put it together with the cover figuratively, and not literally.

My quote to permies was the following: "I think permies that lean libertarian or anarchist, will enjoy this novel."
There are some similarities in the anarchist and libertarian perspectives. Because I think libertarians would enjoy the book doesn't necessarily mean that the book is hypocritical to anarchists as Nick suggested. Their virtues are not entirely dissimilar. Nick did not specifically say that, but I am inferring that by this comment:
Nick wrote, "Gawd, then the term Libertarianism came up, which means Anarcho-capitalism. Any anarchist such as picture would revile the oxymoronic putting together of these don't-belong-together terms."

In regard to terms, I think it is important to define the terms.
Libertarianism- is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as its principal objective. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and freedom of choice, emphasizing political freedom, voluntary association, and the primacy of individual judgment.

Anarcho-capitalism- Anarcho-capitalism is a political philosophy that advocates the elimination of the state in favor of individual sovereignty, private property, and open markets.

Anarchism- a political theory holding all forms of governmental authority to be unnecessary and undesirable and advocating a society based on voluntary cooperation and free association of individuals and groups.

Nick said, "Gawd, then the term Libertarianism came up, which means Anarcho-capitalism."
I would have to respectfully disagree that they are one in the same. There is a huge difference in that libertarians are not advocating the elimination of the State. At the same time, the virtues advocated by libertarians in the definition above are very similar to the virtues advocated by anarchists.

Nick also said, "The US Libertarian movement is just a PR ploy to harness anti-government sentiment, being antiwar and anti drug war, but keeping it within the corporate cause of deregulation of industry. Hmmm..."
I have no idea if the US Libertarian movement is a PR ploy or not. It wouldn't shock me. It would be cool to see some evidence.

Thanks
Phil

Todd Parr wrote:Well, I ordered the book thinking I just made it under the deadline, since it is supposed to run thru the 18th. Amazon charged me $2.99 instead of $.99

Hey Todd,

Amazon KDP lists the promotion as 4-11-4-18. I guess the 4-18 is the stop date. I'm sorry, I've never run a countdown deal before. Two options:

1. Cancel the order and e-mail me, and I'll e-mail you a free copy.

2. Keep the order and I'll e-mail you a free copy of Fire the Landscaper and Farmer Phil's Permaculture

Sorry about that. My e-mail is Phil at PhilWbooks.com

Phil

Johan Swinnen wrote:Hi,

It seems the deal is only available to Amazon users in the US, not Australia. Is there any chance of letting people outside the US take advantage of the deal?

Cheers,
Johan

Hey Johan,

I would be happy to e-mail you a free copy. Send me an e-mail to Phil at PhilWBooks.com and I'll send you a copy. I researched a little more and Amazon does countdown deals in UK and US only.

Phil

Phil, I have a counter-offer: I'll read the book and let you know how I like it

Todd Parr wrote:Phil, I have a counter-offer: I'll read the book and let you know how I like it

Sounds great Todd. I hope you like it!

Hey I just wanted to remind everyone that even though the promotion is over, there are two ways to receive my current and future books for free and or discounted.

1. Join my reader group: http://www.philwbooks.com/ Please excuse the ugly landing page. It is still under construction, but you can sign up here. My reader group receives all my new releases for free and I also let them know when I run specials on the older stuff like Against the Grain.

2. For those of you willing to write reviews on Amazon, I provide E-books for free. Send me an e-mail with the book you would like to read/ review and the device type you use, and I will e-mail you a digital copy. If you place the review as agreed upon, you can have a different title to review. Anybody that wants to do this, just e-mail me Phil at PhilWbooks.com

Thanks everyone at Permies for the support!

Phil

I forgot to mention that Fire the Landscaper is available for .99 cents right now.

4-18 through 4-24. I believe it ends on 4-24.

What a GREAT story!
Glad I accidentally found this thread while at a conference, bored, and reading up on alternative currencies.
Read most of it yesterday... could hardly wait to find time to finish it today.
I will be keeping my eye open to get a hardcopy to add to our library. It definitely deserves a spot on the wall.

I hope Phil considers doing more fiction in this genre. (Is this a genre yet? )

Terry Bytes wrote:What a GREAT story!
Glad I accidentally found this thread while at a conference, bored, and reading up on alternative currencies.
Read most of it yesterday... could hardly wait to find time to finish it today.
I will be keeping my eye open to get a hardcopy to add to our library. It definitely deserves a spot on the wall.

I hope Phil considers doing more fiction in this genre. (Is this a genre yet? )

Hey Terry,

Thank you for the kind words! I really appreciate it. It's a thrill for me to hear about readers enjoying the book. I would love it if you would consider writing a quick review on Amazon. They are super helpful for book sales. The link is here: Against the Grain Review Link

It's funny that you say, "Is this a genre yet?" I've asked myself the same question. It makes it difficult to categorize and market. And yes, I do have more fiction coming and some nonfiction. I have a novel entitled Cesspool coming in a couple of months, that is more of a thriller, but in a similar vein to Against the Grain. I have a nonfiction book that I'm working on now entitled, The Permaculture Project that also might interest people that enjoyed Against the Grain.

I will be releasing all of my books for free for a short time for people that subscribe to my site. I send one e-mail a month to people, letting them know when and where they can pick up the free books. Anyone who wants to be notified, go here http://www.philwbooks.com/

Thanks Again,
Phil

Finished it in 3 days while traveling. Had I not been traveling I would have finished it in one sitting. Sorry I could not write a review sooner. Here is my 5 star amazon review:

This book was more than a "read" it was a journey. Loved it. It's the first time I have seen Permaculture and Voluntary Association (Anarchy) rendered in fiction and it was wonderful. I have been planning and working towards a road side produce stand for a year now and this story was wind in my sails. I hope more fiction from Mr. Williams is in the works!

Keep up the good work!

Mark Lipscomb wrote:Finished it in 3 days while traveling. Had I not been traveling I would have finished it in one sitting. Sorry I could not write a review sooner. Here is my 5 star amazon review:

This book was more than a "read" it was a journey. Loved it. It's the first time I have seen Permaculture and Voluntary Association (Anarchy) rendered in fiction and it was wonderful. I have been planning and working towards a road side produce stand for a year now and this story was wind in my sails. I hope more fiction from Mr. Williams is in the works!

Keep up the good work!

Hey Mark,

Thank you so much! I'm really glad you enjoyed the book.

Phil