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Getting very close! (87,572 words)

Are you waiting for my new book to be available?

I promise you, I’m working hard. I’m very close to completing the draft writing process but there are so many more steps. Editing of the first chapters is underway and they are turning out so much better. Thanks for sticking with me!!!

I found this video and I’m struggling to decide what to do about publishing now. (I already have an agent/publisher I have spoken with and have a shortlist of others to query if I decide on that route, so take those warnings with that in mind).

 https://www.thecreativepenn.com/self-publishing-vs-traditi…/

I’m so ready to have a copy in my hands. I promise I’ll get one in yours as soon as it’s ready! I may offer pre-sales soon, with some bonus material on a Kickstarter or other campaign. What would you think about that?

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A Stolen Life (Jaycee Dugard)

Stolen Life Cover

If you have not read Jaycee Dugard’s Memior “A Stolen Life,” you should.

You may remember that her life was changed forever when she was kidnapped one morning on her way to the bus stop. The world watched in shock 18 years later when she walked into an FBI office with her two daughters and the kidnappers that had posed as her ‘parents’ while keeping her prisoner in a backyard full of tents and trash. She writes an unflinching account of her ordeal and how she managed to hold onto hope in the direst of circumstances. Hers is a tale of resilience and hope.

This memoir was published by Simon and Schuster (2011).

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11330361-a-stolen-life

    CW: sexual abuse and violence.

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    Have you ever wondered who the best Literary Agents are?

    I know. I can hear you saying “the agents that rep your favorite bestsellers are not going to be taking queries.”

    Is it True? Is it Helpful? Is it Needed? Is it Kind?

    My (adopted) mom always says “The answer you have is ‘No’ if you don’t ask.” So why not query even your favorite agents? Maybe you’ll be rejected, but maybe not. And, maybe a rejection could lead to a referral, or some valuable feedback.

    If you’d like help finding an agent who reps comparable works, maybe try looking here: https://querytracker.net/clients.php?g=W

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    Art for the Heart, a project

    An artist on Twitter (@MatthewTessnear) once posted that he was offering three canvases to followers that donated $25 to nami.org. I loved the idea. My bio-mother suffered from untreated mental illness, which was the primary reason for all of my childhood trauma. I fully support organizations that strive to assist people to live better and more productive lives because I know it impacts all the people who care for those individuals as well.

    I donated right away and took a screenshot to send him. Then I realized that he lived in North Carolina.

    My plan had been to gather the painting and donate it to a local protective services worker to give to a teen in foster care. You see, I know from experience that they often have very little and what resources they do have are used in trying to keep them supplied with basics. There is rarely attention paid to providing for their hearts. I thought about what joy it would have brought me to have received a beautiful canvas to hang in my room!

    So I wrote to him and asked him to contact his local workers and offer it to them, on my behalf.

    He loved the idea, THEY loved the idea, and a project was born.

    Here is my challenge: Gather artwork, create art, or ask for artwork donations (Medium/smaller sizes are likely best in case they have to move). Find your local protective services agency or children’s home and donate it. I’m calling “Art for the Heart” and I hope you’ll comment with stories and pictures as you do! Let’s get some love, beauty, and art into the lives of people who could really use it?