The Summer 2014 Backdoor Survival Book Festival continues. This time, A. American is back for another interview plus, he is giving away his complete four book Survivalist Series to one lucky Backdoor Survival reader.
For those of you that are not familiar with A. American, his Survivalist series is an action packed series of books that follow the trials and tribulations of Morgan Carter. In book #1, Going Home, Morgan’s vehicle breaks down 250 miles from his home. Coincidentally, the nation’s power grid has collapsed and there is no electricity, no running water, no Internet, and no way to know when normalcy will be restored.
An avid survivalist, Morgan takes to the road with his bug-out-bag on his back. In book 4, Forsaking Home
Sounds like our worse nightmare, right? Enjoy the interview and be sure to check out the details of this week’s four-book giveaway below.
An Interview with A. American, author of Forsaking Home
Given your background, knowledge and experience, what do you feel are the three most important survival or prepping skills?
I would say fire making in a primary skill, with it many others naturally come. It amazes me to see people today that cannot even light a grill without lighter fluid.
Another is the proper use and care of cutting tools. We take them for granted. To most folks, knives are something in the kitchen drawer, a set they bought at Wal-Mart or somewhere similar. They buy them, toss them in a drawer and never think about them again. They probably will never see a sharpening stone in their lives.
The last one is harder to pin down but I’d say they adaptability and being able to adapt to your situation and not lose your head. Realizing you’re in a potentially bad situation and keeping your head about you to be able to make the proper decision the situation dictates.
What would you purchase if you only had $500 to spend on preparedness supplies?
A quality water filter would be number one. In our modern world we have the luxury of clean running water, when it’s gone people will have a hard time. These can be expensive or done fairly affordably.
The other items depends on the individual location, different regions require different equipment. For me, a quality blade is a must, the Mora series of knives are a great entry level tool, very affordable and great quality. Next would be a quality fire steel, they always work and with some practice the user can become very proficient.
One thing a number of people don’t think about is a quality pair of shoes, hikers or the like. Something that you can walk a long distance in comfortably. These should be kept with you whenever you travel away from home. How many people simply slip on a pair of flip flops to leave home? I’ve even seen people that will get on a plane in them. If the worst occurred could you imagine trying to walk out of a burning plane in flip flops?
Another couple of inexpensive items would be a couple of heavy duty contractor grade drum liners, these aren’t typical trash bags and have an unlimited number of possible uses.
To what extent does your family participate in your personal preparedness efforts?
I do bushcrafting with my kids, though as my girls get older they seem to lose interest in it. But they all still enjoy it and participate. My wife is fully on board and we work together for things like food storage and the like.
What is your favorite survival or pepping book? It can be fiction or non-fiction.
Well, mine of course! LOL, seriously though, my favorite novel is Alas, Babylon , one of the first and in my opinion one of the best. Pat Frank did a fabulous job.
Do you have anything else (announcement, message, personal experience) that you would like to share with the readers on Backdoor Survival?
Book five of the series will hopefully be out by the end of the year. I’m also currently in talks with a major cable network about a reality survival show, think Survivorman on steroids.
The Book Giveaway
This is a biggie. A. American is giving away the complete, four book set of the survivialist series. That includes, Going Home, Surviving Home, Escaping Home, and of course, Forsaking Home.
To enter the giveaway, you need to utilize the Rafflecopter form below. There are a number of options including a “free for everyone” option that requires just a single click. Note that this giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada.
The deadline is 6:00 PM Pacific next Thursday with the winner notified by email and announced in the Sunday Survival Buzz. Please note that the winner must claim their book within 48 hours or an alternate will be selected.
The “Rafflecopter”
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Final Word
Without question, Backdoor Survival readers are planning to hunker down rather than bug-out. But if caught away from home, or caught in an area where the chaos, looters, and thugs make life unbearable, bug-out we will. In books such as Forsaking Home and the rest of the survivalist series, we can role play with the characters, formulating our own plan of action if and when we have to make unthinkable decisions.
As always, I encourage you to enter the giveaway. Good luck, everyone!
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye
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Related Articles:
Preparing to Hunker Down in Place
BDS Book Festival: Going Home, Surviving Home + Interview with A. American
16 Items To Help You Hunker Down in Comfort
Spotlight Item: Forsaking Home
They survived the collapse, but can they survive the aftermath?
Morgan Carter has weathered the weeks after the collapse of the nation’s power grid, reuniting with his family and ensuring their safety but his struggle isn’t over yet. Carter must focus on survival in an increasingly unstable society—but the challenges he faces are beyond his wildest imagination.
Meanwhile, the enclosed quarters of the nearby government-run refugee camp make for an environment where injury, assault, and murder are the norm. As Jess creates trouble within the camp, Sarge and his crew plot to take down the entire establishment.
From the author of the hit Survivalist Series books, Forsaking Home is an action-packed adventure that depicts the harrowing possibilities of a world gone awry, and the courage it takes to protect what matters most.
Bargain Bin: Today is all about books. Listed below are all of the books in the current Backdoor Survival Book Festival. There are both fiction and non-fiction titles and a bit of something for everyone.
Note: If you covet an e-Book reader, consider the Kindle. Prices start at $119 although a basic kindle is only $69. And if not, at the very least pick up the free Kindle app so that you can read Kindle books on your PC or favorite electronic device.
Summer 2014 Book Festival #6 – Fiction
Day After Disaster
Jingling Our Change (Liberty Dying Series Book 1)
Nanny State Nightmare (Liberty Dying Book 2)
The Shadow Patriots
Survivor Max: Too Smart to Die
Collective Retribution
Event Horizon (The Perseid Collapse Post Apocalyptic Series Book 2)
Forsaking Home
Sanctuary: A Postapocalyptic Novel
299 Days: The War
Bishop’s Song (Holding Their Own Book 6)
Summer 2014 Book Festival #6 – Non-Fiction
The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World from Scratch
Food Storage for Self-Sufficiency and Survival: The Essential Guide for Family Preparedness
The Practical Prepper: A Common-Sense Guide to Preparing for Emergencies
Prepper’s Long-Term Survival Guide: Food, Shelter, Security, Off-the-Grid Power and More Life-Saving Strategies for Self-Sufficient Living
Duct Tape 911: The Many Amazing Medical Things You Can Do to Tape Yourself Together
The Prepper’s Blueprint: The Step-By-Step Guide To Help You Through Any Disaster
Countdown to Preparedness: The Prepper’s 52 Week Course to Total Disaster Readiness
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Shop the Emergency Essentials Monthly Specials: The monthly specials at Emergency Essentials feature discounts of up to 35% off sometimes a bit more.
One of the sale items this month is the Freeze Dried Meat Staples Combo which is 45% off at $188.99. Included are 3 cans each of Ground Beef and Chicken Crumbles. Both are ideally suited for emergency use in soups, stews, chilis and all sorts of other dishes.
Mountain House and Emergency Essentials – The Best of the Best!
This is just one of the items on sale this month at Emergency Essentials. Click on the link below for more great deals from Emergency Essentials.
Shop the Emergency Essentials Monthly Specials
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The Amazon Top Ten Most Wanted Survival and Outdoor Items
Emergency Preparedness Items from Amazon.com
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Get the E-Book for Only 99 cents. Also Available in Print!
No list of books would be complete without my own book, The Prepper’s Guide to Food Storage.
The Prepper’s Guide to Food Storage is a book about food: What to store, how to store it and best practices. It is a roadmap for showing ordinary citizens that long-term food storage is not something that will overwhelm or burden the family budget. It is based on my own tried and true experience as someone who has learned to live the preparedness lifestyle by approaching emergency preparedness and planning in a systematic, step-by-step manner.
Whether you simply want to prepare for natural disasters or whether you believe the world is headed toward a major food crisis, this book is for you. It covers basic tips and techniques you can use to stock your food storage pantry so that you can be assured that your family will have food to eat, no matter what.
Summer 2014 Book Festival: Forsaking Home by A. American + Giveaway by Gaye Levy first appeared on Backdoor Survival.