Escape Adulthood

Live with Less Stress & More Fun

Penguins Can't Fly

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#Notarule Tour Stop at NEW Zoo in Green Bay

On Wednesday, Kim and I packed up the animals that live with us and headed up to NEW Zoo in Green Bay for the third #Notarule Tour stop. Fortunately, they all took naps on the way up. Upon our arrival, we were excited to be stationed directly across from the penguin exhibit. Fitting. It was a beautiful evening, and we had a steady stream of folks stop by to say hi. We even sold a nice stack of books! As advertised, we had a bunch of fun rule-breaking activity stations for people to enjoy. Ben used the special coloring pages I made to demonstrate that contrary to popular belief, you don't have to color inside the lines. We also have a jar of free scrunchies next to a sign with the rule, "Only children shalt wear pigtails." Definitely #notarule. …

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To Be Continued

Today I wanted to start by sharing something that has the potential to scare off half my readers who aren’t already aware of this little fact: I am Catholic. I can promise you that am not interested in converting anyone to anything, and there will not be a sales pitch for cleaning products at the end. I just wanted to share where I’m coming from and relay a neat story. However, please be advised that the Internet is a big place and you're free to surf elsewhere if you are uncomfortable hearing viewpoints that may be different from your own. Whether it be good, bad, or ugly, it is impossible to not have a opinion of the Catholic Church. I certainly have had my share over the years, with many being in the bad or ugly category. Most of the issues I have (and I suspect I am not alone) are with the actual PEOPLE in the Church. They can be idiots. Stubborn, misguided, hypocritical idiots. Then again, so can I. And so too were all twelve of Jesus’ best friends, at times. But I …

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What This Author Is Doing on Launch Day

Well, today is the day! My book, Penguins Can’t Fly, officially launches into the world! Perhaps you’re wondering, “What does an author do on launch day?" More on that in a sec, but first, a little housekeeping. Thank you for putting up with all the onslaught about this book. Many people have praised us for our effort, but I am sure there are others who have been driven away. So...if you’re still here, I am grateful! Sometimes, when you really believe in something, it’s worth putting everything you have into it. I’d rather have a few unsubscribes than a sackful of regret that I didn’t do enough. So, if you have not already bought the book, today is the BEST day to do it. Get it here. Or here. Or here. It’s also a great day to tell the world about it on your favorite social media platform. Or, you know, in real life. Amazon reviews matter, so I appreciate if you could share a few honest thoughts about the book here. So...what DOES an author do on launch day? It’s a …

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#Notarule Tour Kicks Off in Ottawa

The #Notarule Tour officially kicked off this past Saturday in Kim's hometown of Ottawa, Illinois. A steady stream of people stopped by the Book Mouse, the adorable little independent bookstore that hosted us. It was great to see so many friendly faces and meet some new people, too! One highlight was that there were representatives from each of the first three Escape Adulthood Summits on hand, including these three (and a few others who didn't make this photo): Besides the opportunity to buy Penguins Can't Fly before its official release date, attendees were also encouraged to engage in a variety of rule-breaking activities, including decorating ugly cookies (notice the penguin shape!): We think the caterers did a great job of mixing up some of the ugliest frosting we've ever seen. And the sprinkles reminded us of kitty litter - perfect! We added Cheese Balls and Bugles to help take the ugliness to new levels. The first "Find Marty Art Drop" also happened on …

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A Public Declaration

The picture above is from 2002, eight months after 9/11. I was focused on my comic strip back then and was three years away from the start of my speaking career. We were in New York City for the first time to walk the National Stationery Show. While there, we met a licensing agent who agreed to represent my Kim & Jason artwork. It was so exciting, and it felt like such a big break. It amounted to a handful of small deals, mostly overseas (I think they made some sort of photo album in Japan), but it didn’t really make the dent we’d hoped for. That was thirteen years ago. Since then, there have been many little breaks that felt like they might have been bigger. For several years, we flirted with bankruptcy as we scraped and clawed our way to a business model that could sustain itself. There were many tear-filled nights when we wondered if we were crazy. And there was that two-day craft show in which we sold a grand total of four greeting cards for a whopping sum of $7.92 (after …

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Rattling Cages: Behind the Scenes of Our Latest Battle Against Adultitis

Writing, designing and illustrating Penguins Can’t Fly was easy and fun, at least compared to the marketing, promoting, and selling part of the process. Since the beginning, I knew that the bulk of the latter was on us, not the publisher. This is something that few authors grasp. You see, with all the books that they publish, there are only so many resources a publisher can put behind a first-time author. (Technically, I am not a first-time author, with four books and several thousands of copies sold, but I AM a rookie when it comes to the traditional publishing game.) St. Martin’s has invested a considerable amount of money in making this a full-color, hardcover book, and for that I’m super grateful. Since the day we signed the contract, Kim and I have known that creativity is our number one asset when it comes to promoting this book. Especially since we don’t have a ton of A-List blogger friends or a boatload of money to invest in marketing. A few months ago, one of the …

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Why You’ll Want to Pre-Order Extra Copies of Penguins Can’t Fly

Have you heard? If you pre-order 5 or more copies of Penguins Can't Fly +39 Other Rules That Don't Exist, you can score some pretty neat bonuses. First of all, anyone who orders at least one book from anywhere can email their receipt to penguins@escapeadulthood.com and get a special e-Book containing five bonus rules that didn't make the original cut, a Permission to Break The Rules Coupon book, access to the video of one of my 70-minute speaking programs, and a cache of digital wallpaper. (Details here.) If you’re interested in buying a bunch of books to share with friends, family, and sworn enemies, you are a committed Adultitis fighter and deserve to be rewarded as such! Of course, you are eligible to receive all of the digital candy mentioned above, as well as some other exclusive prizes. First of all, I will personally sign each copy, and depending on whether you order 5, 10, 25, or 100 books, you can also get: Rules That Don't Exist" postcards Marty the Penguin …

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Thou Shalt Always Wear Clean Underpants Upon Leaving Thy House

[ This is an excerpt from Penguins Can’t Fly +39 Other Rules That Don’t Exist, a beautiful and inspiring book that will help you uncover and break the so-called rules that could be holding you back from a life of awesome. Get it here! ] Moms everywhere seem to be united in their desire to make sure that if we leave the house, we do so with clean underpants. In case we get into an accident. Naturally. Because if you get into an accident, and you are rushed to the hospital, and the emergency workers are required to remove your underwear, and they discover that your tighty-whiteys are not as white as they should be, your mother will be notified immediately about her automatic induction into the Bad Mom Hall of Shame. Or so I gather. …

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Thou Shalt Be Realistic

[ This is an excerpt from Penguins Can't Fly +39 Other Rules That Don't Exist, a beautiful and inspiring book that will help you uncover and break the so-called rules that could be holding you back from a life of awesome. Get it here! ] “I do have dreams, but I try to keep them realistic.” No one likes to admit they don’t have dreams. But no one likes to be called a fool, either. Or worse yet, a failure. After all, the bigger you dream, the more likely you are to fail. Claiming to have realistic dreams makes you sound smart. It gives the impression that you’re going places, likely to succeed, and are not to be sidetracked chasing any childish, crackpot schemes. But one of those words is terribly problematic. The word "realistic." Who’s to say what’s realistic or not? Do we really believe that Orville and Wilbur Wright were deemed “realistic” by their fellow townsfolk while they used their bicycle repair shop profits to try and build the world’s first “flying machine”? …

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Read the First Three Chapters of Penguins Can’t Fly for Free

The book doesn't officially come out until June 23rd, but you can read the first few chapters of Penguins Can't Fly +39 Other Rules That Don't Exist right now. For free. When we were kids, we were winning at life. But as we got older, Adultitis began to set in, and we got inundated with a bunch of rules that don't exist. Things like "act your age," "hide your wrinkles," and "hate Mondays." Following these so-called rules is a terrific way to stress you out, sap your energy, and ensure a boring life. But there’s a better way. This book, which is packed with pages of my full-color art, uncovers some of the most useless rules so you can shift perspective and start seeing the world with wonder once again. Download the fun-sized version now. It's time to stop living by someone else's rules. …

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