Super Jake, continued
More about Super Jake and an exciting opportunity
If you read last week’s newsletter, then you know the story of how I came up with the nickname and subsequent story universe of Super Jake.
But I wanted to tell you more about what I hope to accomplish with the Super Jake series. As you know from this newsletter, I’m primarily an informative writer tackling topics about faith, church, and identity. So how does my fiction play into all this?
In my fiction, I get to explore the same things but it much more creative, and often less direct, ways. History proves time and time again that stories change us more than a list of facts (one reason I tell humorous stories in my newsletter). So why not use the medium of storytelling for truthtelling? Thus, I write fiction too.
That’s why I’m funding the first Super Jake Book on Kickstarter—because it’s a message the world needs to hear. But novels are considerably harder to market than non-fiction, so I need a bit of capital.
The mission of the Super Jake series
Whatever crazy villain Super Jake is fighting in future novels, you'll find the same basic theme:
The struggle to be cool vs. the struggle to find meaning.
I designed the Super Jake series first and foremost because it's a fun story. But I am also filling what I see as a need in the market. Middle school comedy novels are often filled with crude humor and tasteless jokes. I wanted to see books that celebrate true and honorable heroics—people who LIVED like Christians more than they talked about being Christian.
And though I grew up loving books where the kid heroes were super geniuses and miles above average, I also wanted to feature very regular kids who weren't A+++++++ students who have been trained in Krav Maga since birth. Super Jake's alter ego Jake Williams isn't very remarkable, but he manages to save the day (spoilers). Yup, average people can make an impact too. Powers or no powers.
More than all that, though, I believe it's high time kids realize that they are instinctively worthy even though society hands them 100 crazy steps to "be cool." As a middle school teacher, I am often devastated that my students will give up so much of themselves just to fit in and look cool. Super Jake is at its core a reminder to embrace our differences, stand out from the crowd, and question the assumptions of culture. I show regular people being themselves, pushing against the destructive patterns of the world, and making a difference. I hope to offer a new model for living.
In Super Jake, God and prayer are briefly mentioned. But it’s not “Christian fiction.” In this middle-grade series, I’ve chosen to teach Christian morals over Christian theology. But kids will still get a good dose of reality!
If you are able, please consider supporting Super Jake on Kickstarter. Even just $5 will do wonders. The more donations, the more Kickstarter’s internal machine will kick in and help get more eyeballs—so whatever you donate is a HUGE help. Also, please, please share this with friends, family, guys you meet on the bus, and even your milkman.
The plot of Super Jake
Super Jake is an over-confident 12-year-old superhero with a tendency to make jokes in the wrong circumstances. After eating radioactive ice cream, he receives the ability to produce ice cream from his hands and also to fly. Emboldened by powers, he and his brother Kenny make the crazy decision to take on a new, growing enemy in North Westville Middle School: the Fashion Police, an upstart kid villain who wants everyone to dress according to his arbitrary fashion standards.
The book answers the question that has been keeping you up at night: how will ice cream and bad jokes defeat a sinister supervillain bent on mind-controlling the entire city?
Click here to read the first chapter.
The campaign
Thank you so much for joining this campaign! Because of my unique vision, desire to get the book out quickly, and borderline control issues, I have chosen to self-publish the whole Super Jake series. Yes, this is Book 1 of... many. But I need some capital to, well, kickstart things.
Your gift to the campaign helps fund more marketing efforts and provides free copies of the book for schools and libraries. I've already paid for all the expenses, yet now I need help with advertising and marketing, which I plan to do mostly through local events and free copies to key influencers.
I can make a ripple with my own financial investment, but only with your help can I make a wave.
In fact, if you help the cause, you are worthy to be called a superhero yourself.