Hi, I’m Stephen Carter, a writer and stay-at-home dad raising two teenage sons and a four-year-old daughter. I like to read stories to my little girl, and I’m constantly on the lookout for books with strong female protagonists so that she can explore the many kinds of lives a spirited, intelligent girl like she is can pursue.
Recently I noticed that there are almost no books about Book of Mormon women.
This bothers me. I want it to be the most natural thing in the world for my daughter to imagine females as a part the Book of Mormon. I want to her to think of those women as intelligent, strong, and motivated. I want her to nurture those qualities in herself and eventually grow up to help make the world a more nourishing, expansive place for women to be.
So artist Jeanette Atwood and I have created a new kind of Book of Mormon comic book. We call it iPlates. (Kind of a riff on the Golden Plates and an iPad. You can see our first volume here.) The story starts as Alma escapes from King Noah into the wilderness where he meets Gideon. But they are soon joined by Zerin and Sybil.
Zerin is a physically strong, practical woman who is taking care of her aged mother. By the middle of the story, she will find herself in charge of city full of women and children who have been left behind by King Noah.
Sybil starts as a servant in King Noah’s court. But after Alma escapes she seeks him out and soon becomes a vital leader among the converts he is gathering.
I promise you that Zerin and Sybil will not spend the book vying for Alma or Gideon’s attention. I promise you that they will not be submissive or well-behaved. I promise you that they’ll be the kind of strong, dynamic women that you and your daughter will love.
In order to make iPlates happen, though, Jeanette and I need your help. We need to raise $16,000 to print a full-color edition of iPlates, so we are running a Kickstarter campaign through December 6 to reach this goal.
If this project is successful, Jeanette and I are ready to launch into our next project: a full-length graphic novel about Abish. It’s going to be amazing.
Please visit our Kickstarter. Pledge for a book. And join me in the effort to raise powerful daughters.
(Oh, by the way, I haven’t forgotten about the boys. Your sons will love this book, too. Alma and Gideon rock.)