The Courage of Pursuing a Dream

A fellow author and friend named GB Banks needs our help and I hope everyone who sees this will hear what he has to say and lend a hand in any way they can. Here he is in his own words. 

When I first embarked on the 30-day journey of running an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for my upcoming book, Revolution Z, I don't think I fully understood how much of a personal challenge it would prove for me. I have Type III Osteogenesis Imperfecta, also known as "Brittle Bone Disease." Some of you may be familiar with the disease from the Samuel L. Jackson role in the film Unbreakable, while others might have become familiar with it from the lead character in author Dean Koontz's "Odd Thomas" series. While my personal story has never been a secret, I've just never been one to spend a lot of time talking about myself. So when I started down this crowdsourcing path, I found myself being told by people I've known for years that they had no idea about the difficulties of my life.

Revolution Z is an epic zombie war thriller about a revolution spearheaded by the resurrected President George Washington, who leads a full assault on Washington, D.C. in order to take back the government from what he feels are corrupt leaders. After seeing the current state of the President Washington is bent on restoring the US to a nation run by the people, for the people. And a brutal war ensues. I strongly believe that this story can be a huge success if I can give it the kind of exposure necessary to get the word out.

My goal in starting this campaign was to raise funds to help me to fulfill a dream. All of my life I've been dependent on others, primarily my parents, for pretty much everything due to my disability. But as both I and they grow older, I've become more conscious about the uncertainty of my future. Writing is a love and passion of mine, not only a way to travel the world I haven't been able to go out and explore for myself, but also as a way to share my own ideas, thoughts, and observations about life from my own unique perspective. My greatest dream would be to make writing my lifelong career. And the opportunities to do just that are all around us these days! But the severity of my disability has left me with the need of assistance with pretty much everything, so the funds I’m trying to raise will not only go toward promotion of the book, but in providing me with the means to pay a private nurse who can accompany me whenever I need to go out to any events that should arise, such as book signings, conventions, etc.

What I quickly learned when I started this campaign was that for the first time in my life, I would have to put myself out front and center, and not just be a faceless fellow hiding behind the anonymity of a keyboard. It took me hours alone just to make a decent video for my Indiegogo page, and I’ve found that trying to get the word out and keeping the momentum going has proven to be a full time job. But I’ve also learned just how amazingly generous and supportive people, even complete strangers, can truly be.

With just a few days left, I don’t know if I will be able to reach my campaign goals, but regardless of the final numbers, I will have learned a lot about myself, and I am truly blessed by all of the love and support I have received over this long 30 days.

My Indiegogo page: http://igg.me/at/RevolutionZ/x/5413551

My Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RevolutionZbook