Story of My Book - Mirror Mania
This book explores the intersection of body image insecurities and personal identity. It highlights just how much people tend to define their personal worth, and thus, the way they live their lives by a mere number on the scale. It explores how much media, specifically social media, has an influence on what we perceive as healthy.
My name is Roveena Jassal and I am the author of Mirror Mania. For almost my entire life, I have spent my days thinking about food, my weight, and what I looked like. I wanted to be skinnier, I wanted to disappear, because I couldn’t stand my own company. When I finally broke free and started to fill my life with love and passion, I knew I had to share my story with the rest of the world.
I wrote this book because I wanted to creatively construct a society that was based off of all of the mental anxieties that I endured. This book hones in on the injustice and discrimination that different sized people go through. I wrote this book because I wanted to highlight this prevalent issue that both men and women struggle with and the extent to which they do.
My hope is that, in reading this book, you will discover just how much the constant pursuit for aesthetic perfection can consume you, and ultimately, become your primary life purpose. I want you to see this book as an opportunity to engage with how media affects our identities and versions of what it means to be healthy. Reading this book is an opportunity to understand the minds of individuals who have struggled or continue to struggle with the way they look in their daily lives. However, it is also an escape from the pressures of modern society into a world filled with scientific fantasy. You will be able to learn alongside main characters Ropashna, Deslin, and Influencer Jeenz about the importance of compassion and moderation.
The story: Tech buttons that are injected as soon as you are born and monitor your vitals, chemically perfected macro friendly Cheetos, Greek god-like figures who are known as Influencers, and the all-knowing Facegram app that monitors all of society. This is Speculo City, a society that runs off of you hating yourself.
Mirror Mania is where the magic happens; it is the law, government, police, everything. Here, Influencers use their media expertise, not biology, to determine all of society’s body weights. You’re scrap if you’re below your lowest assigned weight, and you’re undesirable if you’re above your highest assigned weight in Speculo. Maybe, if Mirror Mania sees potential in you, they’ll ask you to donate yourself to extract your cartilage and fat that can be used for booty enhancement experiments. You’re not allowed in certain places and it is against the law to wear body flattering skinsuits or transformative bodyshorts. If you’re not perfect, why should you deserve the same privileges as someone who works hard to maintain their perfect midpoint weight?
However, like most destructive lifestyles, there comes a time when change is necessary; it is inevitable, in fact. From the land of Sezolu, Ropashna comes from a background of aromatic foods and colorful dress. Ropashna, a fearless and independent girl, seeks to completely destroy Mirror Mania by deceiving the Influencers as she becomes an undercover Influencer Intern. After spending her life being in the perfect midpoint weight, but then losing her closest friends and her self worth after reaching beyond her highest weight point, she has nothing more to lose.
But her motivation is questioned with a charming yet confused fellow named Deslin. From the land of Telotulu, with vibrant music and cheery people, Deslin was a plump child filled with love from his Mother’s traditionally cooked meals, like handmade cassava rolls and sautéed poken. After moving to Speculo City, he was inevitably bullied, but right before going to university, his rock hard abs make an appearance for the first time. Like Ropashna, he wants to intern at Mirror Mania, but does he want to destroy it? Or does he want to change it?
Influencer Jeenz comes in and changes the story. She introduces Deslin to how much power he can have, but also reminds him of how destructive Mirror Mania’s promoting lifestyle choices can truly be. Ropashna’s fearlessness inspires him, but maybe her approach is too radical. Maybe, it’s not about changing the mirror, but how you choose to see the mirror instead.
You will love this book if you love a creative story that is applicable to real life. It is filled with references to pop culture, but also new inventions in a near futuristic world. Along with all of the sci-fi and body image talk, the story is frosted with love, deceit, humor, and friendship. The main characters are also from minority backgrounds too!
My book Mirror Mania speaks to young adults and adults who grapple with insecurities on what they look like and are struggling to define themselves in a new way.
Ultimately, I hope that Mirror Mania inspires reflection and fruitful dialogue, pressing into engaging questions like:
What does it really mean to be healthy?
How much does the media influence your sense of personal identity?
What do you let define you?
I really look forward to exploring these questions and beyond with my readers. Coming together and discussing health, interpersonal relationships, media, and personal identity will change us all for the better.
The Book - Mirror Mania
The book is written in 3 Parts....
Part 1 contains the introduction + Chapters 1-7. This section focuses on building the world of Speculo and establishing the relationships and humanizing Ropashna and Deslin. You will experience the scientific fantasy of how Mirror Mania runs Speculo City and become immersed in the minds of the characters. Scenes of how the internship selection works with constant scanning for meeting perfect midpoint weight requirements, to the annual Sacrifice Masquerade Ball, a gaudy party for Mirror Mania members only will keep you captivated and curious.
Part 2 contains Chapters 8-13. These chapters flesh out the main conflicts of the story for Ropashna, Deslin, and Influencer Jeenz. More juicy interactions explain the interesting romance between the characters, as Deslin begins working closer with Ropashna and Influencer Jeenz. Other minor characters are introduced, cellulite cream experiments take place, and a secret society develops because Ropashna can’t wait any longer to destroy Mirror Mania. You will feel shocked, intrigued, and empathetic all at once.
Part 3 contains Chapters 14-19. This section focuses on bringing all of the motivations of the characters together. A scandal breaks out and intoxication is involved. You will not be able to stop reading or trying to think about what will happen next. The questions of what happens to Ropashna’s goal, Deslin’s personal issues, and Influencer Jeenz involvement are all answered in this part.
What I Need & What You'll Get
This book will be published with New Degree Press. I set up the pre-order tiers to help cover the costs for publishing my book. Money raised will go towards the following:
The Editor I will work with to revise and publish my manuscript in December 2020
The Cover Design of my Book - the mockups you see currently are a placeholder!
The Layout Design for the interior of my book (Physical Copy, Ebook Formats)
The Copyediting for My Book - to make help polish the grammar and spelling prior to publication
The Launch & Promotion Efforts for my book - when I ultimately publish this December
When I pre-sell 100 copies of my book, I will publish. When I pre-sell 150 copies of my book, I will also publish a hardcover edition. When I pre-sell 200 copies of my book, I will publish a hardcover edition and an audio version.
I am also offering some exclusive rewards for people who pre-order my book now:
You will receive a personally signed copy of my book when I publish,
A Personal, handwritten thank you note for pre-ordering my book
Your Name will appear in a Special, Acknowledgements Section of my book (“with Special Thanks to”)
Early access to the Introduction of my Book and some additional sections of my manuscript, with the opportunity to review it and give me early feedback
The opportunity to help give me feedback and be involved in selecting my cover
I will do a book topic/workshop seminar where I will share experience the experiences of writing my book
And more...
About the Author
I, Roveena Chand Jassal, am part of the MIT (Media, Information, Technology) program with a secondary major in Spanish at the University of Western Ontario. I am a passionate, strong-minded young woman who loves all things creative, laughing my heart out with friends and family, and trying new ice cream flavors!
I wrote this book because I wanted to write something that was very meaningful and applicable to real life, but also creative and explored the craftsmanship of writing. I love helping others, I love making others feel good, and words are one of the most effective ways to go about that.
Outside of this book, I am involved with more writing endeavors at Sun and Moon, my own page that discusses relationships and struggles of men and women in their 20s, Her Campus, and my school University of Western Ontario. Aside from writing, I enjoy all types of Bollywood and Caribbean dance, improvising on the piano, making song lyrics, sketching fashion models, and cooking traditional recipes.
For more information, you can connect with Roveena at roveenajassal@gmail.com and @roveena.inc on Instagram.
Risks & Challenges
The biggest challenge with publishing a book is delivering the finished book to the backer, specifically, my mailing of the book to you. I have eliminated this risk by building into the campaign, the mailing and shipping costs of your signed copies to you, within each pre-order tier.
The risk of delivering the pre-sale copies of my book is contingent on the publisher we use. I will be working closely with New Degree Press to make sure we get the earliest possible ship date of the signed book copy to you. We will keep all pre-sale backers up-to-date as my book hits each key milestone and publishes. You will know when the copies of my book you pre-ordered are expected to ship.
Other Ways You Can Help
Some people just can't contribute, but that doesn't mean they can't help:
Please Share my Pre-sale Campaign on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn with your friends, family and network. Please use #MirrorMania and tag me, as well as my publisher, New Degree Press, so we can help amplify your efforts.
You can easily share my Pre-Sale Campaign Page via Indiegogo at the top of the page
Please share my book to 5 friends, family members, or co-workers who you think would enjoy it. Please do this as a text message or Direct Message on social media.
Thank you so much for of all of your love and support!
Thanks again,
Roveena Jassal
