The hobbit's guide to saving the Earth, living sustainably, and rebuilding our Scoured Shire, one 'hole' and community at a time.
Watch the Video above!
In Be a Hobbit, Save the Earth: the Guide to Sustainable Shire Living. I look at the problems facing mankind and our planet today, through the lens of Tolkien’s Middle Earth and the War of the Ring. Both Middle Earth, and our Earth face destruction at the hands of dark forces, Sauron and his One Ring on one hand, and the forces of corporate greed and materialism on the other. In both cases, civilization faces overwhelming odds.
We have lost our 'Shire-ness.' Be a Hobbit, Save the Earth is about bringing it back to the world, from the bottom up: one hobbit and one Shire at a time.
I believe there are positive lessons we can learn from the courage and resourcefulness of the hobbits, elves, wizards and men of Middle Earth who faced nasty orcses, dragons and trolls, by comparing their situations and responses to the issues that face us modern hobbits today (we have our share of orcses, dragons, and trolls too).
While our modern challenges seem complicated to the extreme, I believe the solution is actually quite simple. In essence it is merely a change of ‘mind,’ a shift in the way we view the world. I said the solution is simple; it is not, however, EASY. Changing one mind is an easy task (maybe) but changing enough minds to affect the course of the planet, is another matter altogether.
Even if we achieve a new mindset, and worldview, the issue of cleaning up all of modern society’s messes, the damage done to our environment and our political systems, will take an enormous degree of cooperation and effort. After all, realizing that the One Ring must be destroyed, was a simple concept, one that even a rustic hobbit like Frodo could understand. Carrying it all the way to Mordor to accomplish the mission, was another matter, so was cleaning up the Shire when he and his companions returned home.
Such it is for us. The situation for our planet is dire; Mordor is at the door, and the Black Riders crossed the River Isen on Midsummer's Eve. What will YOU do? Will you destroy the Ring? Or will you hang on to your ‘precioussss’?
More Doom & Gloom?
“Aren’t there already enough books predicting Doom & Gloom?” you ask. There most certainly are. Trust me, I know there are. I’ve read a heap of them lately, and they're depressing as hell. But this is not a book about feeling guilty because you haven’t hugged enough trees, or because your car is too big. The last thing I want to do is to depress you to the point that you curl up in a corner of your hobbit hole and miss out on the adventure that life as a hobbit has in store for you. And quite frankly, Mother Earth NEEDS YOU. She has no use for despairing Denethors.
I deal with the negative issues as briefly as possible in the book. I then explain their root cause (our modern 'ring'), but the majority of the book is about the good and beautiful things we hobbits can do to change our planet, And we can do a LOT! All of us, from grandparents down to even the smallest hobbit child have the power to bring about huge changes in our communities, and nations. Along with advice, I'll give you the inspiring stories of modern hobbits who are already saving the Earth.
Be a Hobbit, Save the Earth, is about the bond that we modern hobbits feel for our planet, and how if we work together, like Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippen, we can clean up our Shire. If Frodo and his friends managed to bring down the evils of Sauron and Saruman, then we modern hobbits, together, can bring an end to greed, corruption and violence. Trust me, we really can.
Will it happen? I don’t know. The odds are certainly stacked against us. But were the odds any better for that little hobbit and his faithful companion, who walked into Mordor and shook the foundations of evil? I think not. Let’s destroy that Ring and get to work cleaning up our Shire! Replant the Party Tree and bring back Shire-ness to the world, and spring to the trees. Be a hero! Be a hobbit! Save the Earth!
The Origin of the Idea
How did I come up with the idea for this book? Otherwise known as, 'how I decided to 'save the Earth.'' Here's another video where I talk about that. Enjoy!
Previews and More Info on Be a Hobbit, Save the Earth:
For more information, and a sneak preview of the introduction to the book, go to Steve's website.
- Preview of the Introduction to the Book!
- Why I decided to write this book.
SPECIAL REWARDS!
Hasty Hobbit Specials!!!! For those early birds!
Be the First to Bree! The first 30 purchasers of Frodo’s Backpack level ($50), get it for $35! (look for this in the rewards!)
Be the First to Rivendell! The first 30 to grab the Fellowship of the Ring level ($80), get it for only $60! (the option is in the rewards section)
Party Tree Level: Hobbit "There and Back" Road Sign! Get your own, hobbit road sign, hand-made/painted by the author! Welcome fellow hobbits to your home or garden!
Be a Hobbit, Save the Earth T-Shirts! Help save the Earth, and get an organic cotton T-shirt! Perfect for an evening at the Prancing Pony Inn!
Special Dragon Walking Stick! For the generous hobbits who contribute at the Smaug the Magnificent and There and Back Again, levels, I will personally carve you a 'one of a kind,' dragon-headed walking stick, much like the one here that I carved for a friend many years ago:
Stretch goals:
If we exceed our original goal of $5000, there are more hobbity things that we could add to the book to make it even more Shire-like!:
$7000: I will add b/w illustrations/photos for each section and chapter.
$9000: I'll turn those black and whites into COLOR illustrations/photos. There's nothing like 'looking' at green, to make you feel, well, 'greener.' What's more hobbity than full color?
$10,000: Hardback version offered. Hardbacks cost more to produce, but it would be nice to have them available. I know I'd like to have one on my shelf, next to my copy of The Hobbit!
If we can TRIPLE the original goal, that is if we reach $15,000: I want to write and publish a children's version of the book! I already have an outline for it! Most of the negative stuff will be pared down. We don't want to scare the little hobbits away! The center section about the Ring, and why things are so bad will also be very short, and written so that the young ones can understand it. The last section, on 'how to be a hobbit' will be full of fun things that kids can do to make their home a hole, and help their parents (you) to create a Shire in their neighborhood!
If we exceed $15,000? Who knows? But I promise that I’ll keep adding new hobbity things if more hobbits join the Fellowship! Maybe YOU have some ideas! Let your fellow hobbits know and let's make this happen! Let's bring Spring again, to the Trees!
Thag you very buch, again, for your support!
Risks and challengesLearn about accountability on Kickstarter
There really are no risks. This book is going to happen. I've written the bulk of it, but need your help to finish it.
So why am I on Kickstarter?
I’m looking for you, a hobbit like me.
I’m looking for those who would join the Fellowship to destroy the Ring, and more importantly, to make our world more Shire-like.
I have a great first draft, and with your assistance, I can polish it and publish it much faster. I plan to have it released in September of this year!
I would like to spend all of August and half of September, polishing it up. I’m a teacher, so usually I have to find summer work to pay the bills. So any dragon gold you can spare will give me time to finish the book.
A professional editor and proofreader would be nice. This will make sure that the final draft is as good as it can be.
Professional artwork, especially for the cover would be awesome. Trust me, I'm NOT an artiste!
Spare dragon coins will be used to promote the book on social media, and through Amazon, Goodreads, etc.
Help me write this book! Be a hero! Be a hobbit! Save the Earth!
