The Kickstarter for The Fractured Mirror Is Officially Over But the Fun Has Just Begun!

At 6:00 PM EST on Friday the 29th of April the Kickstarter campaign for my ninth book, The Fractured Mirror: Nathan Rabin’s Happy Place’s Definitive Guide to American Movies About the Film Industry officially ended. 

I know that many of you pre-ordered books through the campaign and want to know what happens next. Unfortunately for you, but fortunately for me, now is time for me to pull a disappearing act. 

To quote the immortal Snagglepuss, it’s time to exit stage right. As I write this, I am already halfway to Tijuana to begin my new life. I’ll be drinking a Margarita and eating a chimichanga on the beach in no time! 

I’m not about writing no damn book about movies about movies. That shit sounds lame! Reading is for nerds, anyway. All the cool people Snapchat. 

Writing a book like The Fractured Mirror seems very difficult so I am simply not going to do it. Instead I’m going to use the money to abandon my family, my professional responsibilities and my old life and strike out for adventure South of the Border. 

Here’s my plan so far. Don’t tell law enforcement! 

  1. Fake death

  2. Abandon family

  3. Get extensive cosmetic surgery, not to obscure my identity but rather because I’ve always felt like I had a weak chin and always meant to do something about it

  4. Nearly die in a shoot out with the Federales while exiting a House of Ill Repute

  5. Cut a deal with law enforcement for a light sentence by naming names

  6. Develop a reputation in prison as a jailhouse snitch.

  7. Get shanked in the prison yard for snitching

  8. Become a ghost

It’s an ambitious plan but I worry because it involves me being arrested, imprisoned and eventually killed by a fellow prisoner. That is, to be honest, not ideal. 

I know a lot of you pre-ordered the book because you like my writing but also because you like what I represent and think that I conduct myself with honesty and integrity. I fear that becoming a greasy jailhouse snitch might affect your opinion of me negatively. 

So I think I will instead bite the bullet, remain in the United States, not abandon my family and instead work long and hard for over a year to try to create a massive book of genuine value, something that people will be able to read and enjoy decades after I am dead and in the ground and notorious for my many crimes.

I ended up raising 11,245 dollars from 304 patrons through the campaign, which is not bad. The first time I raised five figures, for The Weird Accordion to Al, through Kickstarter I delusionally thought I had it made. What a windfall! 

That did not turn out to be the case. After expenses I’m not even sure that I even broke even and the book sold thousands of copies and made a substantial positive impact. 

So while I am happy with the amount raised, I’m also very cognizant that it is a modest sum in the grand scheme of things, and one that I will need to spend and save judiciously to make The Fractured Mirror financially feasible. 

But it’s not about the money because God knows there are much more efficient and effective ways to make money than watching and writing about 200 movies in a year and turning over a hundred website pieces into capsules for the book. 

No, I’m writing The Fractured Mirror for the love and for the challenge and because I genuinely want to see EVERYTHING, no matter how bad or self-indulgent or painful. Don’t believe me? I just posted a piece on 1955’s Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops. It does not get more minor than that.

This is a gonna be a goddamn adventure. I plan to post a piece to the Happy Place Patreon and The Fractured Mirror Kickstarter page every other day or so in order to keep the momentum going strong and make a reasonable but challenging publication date in June/July 0f 2023.

The Fractured Mirror Kickstarter is over. The column has been in existence for seven years but in nearly every conceivable way, we’ve really only just begun. 

The Joy of Trash, the Happy Place’s first non-"Weird Al” Yankovic-themed book is out! And it’s only 16.50, shipping, handling and taxes included, 30 bucks for two books, domestic only at https://www.nathanrabin.com/shop

PLUS, for a limited time only, get a FREE copy of The Weird A-Coloring to Al when you buy ANY other book in the Happy Place store! 

Buy The Joy of Trash, The Weird Accordion to Al and the The Weird Accordion to Al in both paperback and hardcover and The Weird A-Coloring to Al and The Weird A-Coloring to Al: Colored-In Special Edition signed from me personally (recommended) over at https://www.nathanrabin.com/shop

Or you can buy The Joy of Trash here and The Weird A-Coloring to Al  here and The Weird Accordion to Al here

Help ensure a future for the Happy Place during an uncertain era AND get sweet merch by pledging to the site’s Patreon account at https://www.patreon.com/nathanrabinshappyplace We just added a bunch of new tiers and merchandise AND a second daily blog just for patrons! 

Alternately you can buy The Weird Accordion to Al, signed, for just 19.50, tax and shipping included, at the https://www.nathanrabin.com/shop or for more, unsigned, from Amazon here.

I make my living exclusively through book sales and Patreon so please support independent media and one man’s dream and kick in a shekel or two! 

The Big WhoopNathan Rabin