Category Archives: Tribes of Eden

Life In The Shire

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One of the most interesting things about fiction is that, for the most part, it is really just life— artfully arranged. Almost all of the scenes, incidents and characters we read about in novels can also be found in real life, in fact most of them are based on living people and actual situations. It is the same for “Tribes of Eden.” When I was writing the book I drew heavily from my own life experiences.

The Shire, for example, is really just a compound of the place I lived when I was growing up and the years Jude and I spent on the farm at Summer Hill. Sure some of the features were changed, exaggerated or diminished but the novelist has a right to do that to make the story flow more smoothly. It is true that Jude and I lived “off the GRID” and it is also true that when I was a child I lived close by my older relatives and had close relationships with them.

There is nothing simple about living the simple life and I think the greatest shortcoming we experienced on the farm was the struggle to do without all the modern conveniences and also do without a close network of friends and family to support and be supported by.

The Hobbits of the “Lord of the Rings” had a pretty good handle on things– they understood that living simply requires ample access to the gifts of community.

This video includes some further thoughts on the Shire and the GRID and the conflict that develops between them.

An “F” In Penmanship

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I recently did an email interview where I was asked “What do you wish people in their 20′s and 30′s knew about life?” The answer was pretty clear to me. The younger we are, the less likely we are to understand what our strengths are, to know matters and what doesn’t matter. There are so many things that we excel in when we are young, and that we think will be important for the rest of our lives, that turn out to have very little to do with the lives we were meant to live. One example, drawn from my own experience has to do with memorization. For no particular reason, I happen to have a talent for memorizing words and numbers. It can now be revealed (for the first time) that my high school locker combination was 07-17-26. That skills was pretty darn helpful to me as a premed and then medical student but, in recent years, hasn’t really done me much good.

As good as I was with memorization, I was terrible— TERRIBLE— with handwriting. I am left-handed and my handwriting was and is, pretty messy. In second grade, that was a very big deal. Check out the video for the whole story. I still have “poor penmanship” but it doesnnnnnnn’t really matter. I sign my name and I write notes in notebooks that only I will ever read. That’s it.

So this is a learning for me. Things that seem to matter a great deal, might actually mattering very little and things that seem not to matter just might become a very big deal. What matters is the willingness to figure that stuff out– to refuse to allow settled preferences and opinions to govern our lives.

Living Off the GRID

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For about 18 years Jude and I lived off the GRID on a horse/wind/sun powered farm we called Summer Hill. Living off the GRID for that long teaches you lessons that are hard to forget. We used as little power as we could, we watched the weather and we enjoyed the feeling that came with a windy day (lots of power from the wind generator) and a sunny day (lots of power from the solar panels). The worst were the dark February days when there seemed to be no sun or wind.

I mention this because these experiences helped form the backbone of the “Tribes of Eden” plot line. The Shire, as it is called in the book, is rich in common sense off-the-GRID living and in the letters and emails that have already started coming in from readers, the consensus of which seems to be, “I want to live there!”

Here is another of our continuing series of videos highlighting some “inside” information about the book and the world it envisions.

Hope you like it…

Strawberry Pop Tarts

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At a recent meeting of our local county legislature a report was given on disaster preparedness.

Very nice.

The presenter concluded with the observation that, whenever, disaster threatened to strike our area, the number one selling item at the local Wal-Mart was…

Readers of Tribes of Eden will no doubt guess this right away.

Yep, that’s right.

Strawberry Pop Tarts.

Life and Fiction are hardly strangers.

Get Your Tribes of Eden Questions Answered

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What Tribes of Eden questions do you have for author William H. Thomas? Wondering what’s it all about? What causes “the Fall”? What is “The GRID”? How can trust be more powerful than fear in a post-apocalyptic world? What is the Eden Underground and how do I join?

Submit your question now to be answered during the exclusive live stream video Virtual Book Launch Party, Wednesday, April 4 at 3 p.m. EST. You can post questions in the comments section below, on the Tribes of Eden Facebook Page or Tweet them to @TribesofEden. In addition, the first 100 registered Virtual Book Launch participants will have the opportunity to talk to Dr. Bill in person via webinar uplink during the party. Please have your questions ready and we’ll call on you during the event.

Broadcast live at www.TribesofEden.com from the author’s home in Ithaca, N.Y., the Tribes of Eden virtual book launch party will by joined by participants from the global Eden Alternative nonprofit network, from adopters of The Green House Project across the U.S. and fans, bloggers and readers of the ChangingAging.org Blogstream multi-blog network.

Continue reading →

EXCLUSIVE: Watch The New Tribes of Eden Book Trailer

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When the future of humanity hangs in the balance…
a peacemaker must rise to meet her destiny.

On the run after America’s sudden and utter collapse, a family finds sanctuary in the heart of a community thriving “off the grid.” But when the lure of a virtual new world order divides the family, the elders of the community recognize that humanity’s fate rests with a chosen girl and a surprising alliance between the least powerful — the young and old.

Tribes of Eden Is Here

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Today is the day — Tribes of Eden is going out into the world. Order your copy at Amazon.com.

Have you ever wonder what would happen if the economy actually did collapse? If the grocery shelves went bare for good and the pumps dried up, how long before society unraveled?

In his gripping debut novel Tribes of Eden, published April 2, William H. Thomas envisions a world ravished not by zombie pandemics or nuclear holocaust but by the total collapse of an unsustainable culture.

A crossover novel targeting teens-to-elders, Tribes of Eden uses a post-apocalyptic scenario to show how trust, community, and wisdom can overcome even the most tyrannical power and repair a broken world.

On the run after America’s sudden and utter collapse, Tribes of Eden follows a mother and her two children as they find refuge in a singular, self-sufficient community. But when the lure of a totalitarian virtual new world order divides the family, the elders of the community recognize that humanity’s fate rests with a chosen girl and a unlikely alliance between the least powerful – the young and old.

The Tribes of Eden Virtual Book Launch Celebration

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The official paperback release of my newest novel Tribes of Eden is coming down the track like a freight train. April 2, 2012 is the big day. I have happily devoted nearly eight years to the making of this book. It is inspired by and dedicated to the REAL tribes of eden — the thousands and thousands of people around the globe who make up The Eden Alternative and broader culture change community. This is your book.

Accordingly, Jude and I have dedicated 100 percent of the proceeds from sales of the Tribes of Eden to The Eden Alternative. Now I get to celebrate the book’s entry into the world on Wednesday, April 4 at 3 p.m. EST with a live video broadcast of the Tribes of Eden Virtual Book Launch Party at www.TribesofEden.com.

Be there or be Square.

We are making the book launch into a public event because events and celebrations support and sustain communities. We are all in this together.

This is our story.

I’ve found storytelling to be one of the most powerful tools in changing the culture of long term care. It has long been my goal to tap into that power to change the broader culture of aging in our society. We think that this novel has a shot at reaching and influencing the wider world. It is stories that change the world and we invite all of you to join us in celebrating the Tribes of Eden, its stories and characters.

Let’s ride!

Advance Praise for TRIBES of EDEN

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Advance praise for TRIBES of EDEN by Ronni Bennett, author of Time Goes By:

“With Tribes of Eden Bill has written classic tale of good and evil built on a solid, substantial world where elders are woven into the everyday fabric of life, valued for their experience, knowledge and wisdom – a story that needs to be repeated far and wide.

Most of all, the book is a load of fun, a page turner that will leave you thinking about it long after you have finished.”

 

Read the full review here.

Amazon Top Reviewer Gives TRIBES of EDEN Four Stars

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Amazon’s Number 6 Top Reviewer gives Tribes of Eden four out of five stars!

4.0 out of 5 stars A Cautionary Tale – Recommended, January 13, 2012
This review is from: Tribes of Eden (Kindle Edition)

“Tribes of Eden” is a cautionary tale set in the near future. I enjoy Sci-Fi novels so was pleased to be offered a review copy of this book by the publisher.

No plot spoilers from me: This is an interesting story that tracks the collapse of American society (“The Fall”) and the emergence of a new order known as the GRID. While the GRID offers order and stability through it’s walled enclosed towns and on-line, virtual social structure, it is authoritarian and repressive and supports revisionist history. Add to this a collective of back to basics villages that were established before “The Fall”, populated by a freedom and truth loving community that resists absorption into the GRID, and there is plenty of room for a serious clash of cultures.

Strong themes of family values and the importance of honoring elders for the contributions they have made and the knowledge and wisdom they possess run through the story line. These tie in directly to the message the author wants to convey and it works fairly well.

I enjoyed the writing style and the flow of the story that moved along at reasonable pace. Like all Sci-Fi, there is the required suspension of disbelief and acceptance of the author’s portrayal of character’s reactions and motives. In a few places I found certain situations and reactions hard to accept, but nothing that took away overmuch from the story.

Recommended!

CFH