This dude is why the 299 Days series was written:

I was prepping in secret when I wrote the book.  My wife was extremely hostile to the whole idea of prepping.  I had stuff hidden in a storage unit.  When the Collapse hit, I had to have an explanation for why all the food, guns, and ammo that I had been hiding suddenly materialized in the garage.

I had two choices: (1) I could say, “I told you this would happen and I’m way smarter than you and figured out we would need this stuff,” or (2) “The Easter Bunny brought this stuff.”  Choice one would alienate her at the very time that I needed her on my side the most.  Choice two would let her keep her pride and let us get onto the task at: protecting our family and making it through a very dangerous time.  The choice was easy.

So I started working on my explanation, which I called the “Easter Bunny speech.”  I would describe why I started prepping, what I did to prepare, and how we  would get through the coming difficulties.  This was the most important speech I’d ever give – my family staying intact during a life-or-death time was at stake – so I decided to work hard at getting this speech right.

I started a little outline of the key points of the Easter Bunny speech on a Post-it note.  I kept adding items to it until it was a sheet of paper.  Then two.  Then more.

The outline was the perfect explanation of how the Collapse developed, what signs there were of it coming, what a person could do to prepare, and how the preps would be used.  I looked at the outline and realized it would be very helpful for other people who were prepping or thinking about starting to prep.

I decided to turn the Easter Bunny speech into a short story and put it on my favorite forum, the Survival Podcast Forum.  Then the story got longer and longer.  After two and half years of getting up at 3:30 a.m., the Easter Bunny speech was a 3,200-page story.  That’s how long it took to fully explain what’s coming and why, and what people would do in the situations I foresee coming.

Then I contacted a publisher out of the blue.  They signed me for a ten-book deal.  It was the only publisher I ever called.  And I’d never written fiction before.  The odds of this happening are astronomical.

Now, tell me this whole thing – a speech to my wife turning into a very popular published ten-book series – is normal.  It ain’t.  A higher power wants this Easter Bunny speech to get out to as many people as possible.  And I’m humbled to be a part of the process.