#1 - IT'S TRUE
This is a true story. Much of what we see and hear these days is bullshit. This book is not. It's true.
Of course, nobody tells everything, and I don't either. Some things can only be known by the people who were there. I was there. And even if I don't tell everything, everything I've written really happened. I don't lie or exaggerate. I don't have to. This story is unique and stands on its own.
And there's no one else who can tell it. So, if I don't tell it, with your help, who will?
#2 - THERE'S A LESSON IN IT
This is a book about how I gave up a safe and easy life to come halfway around the world to help people I'd never met fight against genuine fascism in the 21st Century. We were out-manned and out-gunned, but we are winning, which was by no means a certainty in 2014 and the early days of 2015. It was the hardest thing I have ever done, and the best thing too. Courage truly is the key to happiness, and you only really own what you give away. I learned that firsthand. THAT is the lesson of this story.
#3 - IT'S WELL WRITTEN
My writing has been compared to Hemingway and London. Not by me, by professional writers and editors. This is a good story, and I'm a good story-teller. No brag, just fact. I'm a poet and a songwriter, and have been writing about politics, history and justice for decades. This story is a combination and culmination of that work, of my skill. My Magnum Opus. So far...
But even a good writer needs a good editor, good translation and proper, professional formatting. That's exactly what this fundraiser is for. To make sure it's done right and a success.
#4 - IT'S INFORMATION WARFARE
For every true story coming out of Donbass, there are a hundred false stories from professional liars and pro-nazi ukrop trolls who are financed by billion dollar propaganda enterprises. Help level the playing field and get the truth out. A few dollars worth of truth are more powerful than a million dollars worth of lies. The info war is as hard and as important as the military war, and we are winning. But we all need to pitch in and do our part. Take a stand for real truth, right now, today, and help this story get told. The world needs to know what really happened and why. Together, we can tell them.
In the Information War, my computer is my weapon, and my words are my bullets. Your support and contributions buy my bullets which can reach around the world. And they have. Let's keep going bigger and stronger, until this war is over and victory is ours.
#5 - IT'S HUMAN AID
The proceeds from this book will go toward continuing my work as a journalist as well as my human aid work. For over 2 years, people have been supporting my human aid work here in Donbass with their kindness, generosity and cold hard cash. I'd like to pitch in some more of my own (and I have.) This book has real potential - as a historical document, a work of art, and a commercial basis for continuing to finance human aid projects here in Donbass. Your donation now will produce a cash flow for many future humanitarian projects. It is a wise investment in the future, and will bring a manyfold return. You've seen and been part of my work here over the past 2 years. Together, let's continue it, and take it to the next level. Your contribution of $25 today can produce $100 worth of human aid down the road. But only if you make your contribution now.
#6 - IT'S REAL HISTORY
This book is unique. There is not another one like it, and there won't be. I was at the Donetsk Airport, together with Vostok, Sparta and Somali Battalions when we took the New Terminal from the "undefeatable" ukrop "cyborgs". I was there, only a few hundred meters away when we cut down the control tower, the ukrop observation post known as "The Crowned Serpent". I was at the Front in the days of the very first Minsk ceasefire, and I saw who adhered to it and how long it lasted. Those hard days in 2014 and 2015 are the foundation of where we find ourselves today. You cannot see the future if you don't understand the past. This is the real story, by someone who was there. This will be the first, and probably only, personal account of what happened from a Western perspective. Givi and Motorola never got the chance to give their accounts of what those days were like. I want to share mine while I still can.
#7 - YOU ARE PART OF THE STORY
A lot of people will buy and read this book. Literally millions of people have heard of "Texac" and know why I'm here. Millions in Russia, and in the West. They will be able to say they read it, but those who contribute now can say "Yeah, I helped publish it. I was part of that mission, and it was a success." So, Davai, cast your fate, (or at least a few bucks) to the wind, and see what happens. It will come back, bigger and better. For real. You will too. You'll see.
#8 - IT DOESN'T COST MUCH, & YOU GET THE BOOK!
Everybody who pitches in at least $25 gets an electronic copy of the book. So you get a piece of history and a rollicking good tale for the price of lunch at TGIFridays. That sounds like a pretty good deal to me. For a few bucks, you get a piece of history and become a part of it.
#9 - I WON'T SPEND THE MONEY ON A CRIMEAN VACATION
The money raised goes towards publishing the book, nothing else. I could have sold my story to commercial publishers, and gotten money upfront, but by publishing myself, I retain the rights and artistic control. This story will be bigger than just the book, and I don't want to have some capitalist corporate publisher calling the shots, now or down the road. This book is some of the most important work I have done here, and every penny raised will go to seeing it published. Everyone who knows me knows when I get a mission, I see it through, and this book is another example. It is my main focus until it is done. But there is plenty of other work to do here, and I will continue to do it. Help me complete this mission so I can move on to the next. There will be plenty of work to do, for years to come. This war is not over yet, but everyday, we are closer to victory.
#10 - IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!
Today is my 57th birthday. I'm not over the hill just yet, but I'm not getting any younger, either. This story needs to be told soon, while it is still relevant historically (which it is) and also because I do dangerous work here, and I want to be sure this story gets told while I am still here to tell it. Don't forget, I do live in a war zone, with a price on my head. I have many thousands of "friends" on FB, VK, Instagram, G+, etc, and if each of them pitched in $1, I'd have what's needed to publish. But many "friends" never go beyond words, so I need the real friends to do their part now. The price of a restaurant lunch, a bottle of Irish whiskey, half a carton of smokes. A respectable present from a real friend.
THANKS to all who have contributed so far. They say the first $1,000 is the hardest, but we've still got a ways to go. So, if you support me, if you support the DPR and Donbass, what we are doing here, our struggle to protect ourselves and the world against 21st Century fascism, put your money where your mouth is, and stand with us in more than just words. You'll be a part of the struggle and part of the winning team. And you'll be glad you did. Davai!
If you would like more info about the book Lucky Man, or would like to help get it published, please check out my IndieGoGo Fundraising site.
