First I want to thank all of you who took the time to write back to me after I shared my last email. Going through a difficult time and being open about it puts me in a vulnerable situation and I appreciate the heartfelt emails I received. Thank you.
There's a long road ahead and I expect there will be ups and downs. But that's life, isn't it? I guess I'm trying to figure out if it's easier now that I can see the path forward, knowing that it'll be challenging, or was it better to be in the dark? My instinct is that shining a light on problems is better because it leads to healing, clarity and resolution.
A fellow author, who I look to as a mentor, recently shared with her readership some of the struggles that she's going through and it was nice to see that. Not to know that she's going through a rough time, but that she trusted her readers enough to let them know that is struggling and has also had to upend her whole life and move to another state due to her health. That openness is not something I had seen much from when I was young and reading about my favorite authors. I didn't know what they were doing or up to because I had no access to them. Modern technology has allowed me to see not only what authors choose to share with readers, but we even have Instagram and Twitter now. For some authors, I get to see where they go on vacation, their family and the things that they love and fight for.
I've started to do the same. I'm active on Instagram and Twitter, posting different types of content on those platforms. I share photos of my travels on Instagram, what I find beautiful and sometimes some odd and unusual pictures of things that I see on my long runs. Follow me on Instagram if you like that sort of thing. On Twitter, I've decided to shine a light on the injustices that I see and causes that I believe in. I made a decision that I cannot sit by and be quiet any longer. When my kids come to me and they ask about gun violence and are afraid that something like what happened in Parkland could happen to them, I want to tell them that I just didn't turn the other way. I've become politically active in the last 18 months. I've been at both Women's marches in Philadelphia and most recently my son and I attended the March for Our Lives in our city as well.
But a funny thing has happened to me over the last 18 months: I'm volunteering in my local community to make a difference on the causes that I believe. I don't expect all of you to agree with my political beliefs, but I hope that we can agree that freedom of speech is important and that our children deserve to be safe--no matter party affiliation, color of their skin, religion or sexual orientation or identification.
When growing up, my family would say to me: "That's just politics. You can't change the way things are." I beg to disagree. Instead, I've joined hundreds in my own town and we are making a difference.
What does all this have to do with a cover reveal? Why aren't I just talking about that? What is up with me anyway? :) I'm an author and love to write. Not just fantasy and science fiction, but I have also written about causes I believe in. And I've decided to take a risk and share more about my personal life so that you can understand some of the influences on why I write about the things I do. I don't work in a vacuum, but I'm influenced by what I experience in life. My next book is about Cinderella and the relationships she has with her family. She's going through a rough time and has to make a really difficult choice. She's sacrificed everything for her daughter and she's come up against a desire that she can't quite shake. I've wondered what would happen if someone needed to partner and work with someone that they hated (and considered an enemy). And if someone had a chance to win a victory but would need to cheat to do so, would they take that path?
I'm honored that I have the opportunity to write books and to share them with you. Redemption is a particularly engaging book for me because I not only get to write about Cinderella again, but I explore a much more complex path for her. I've loved writing Redemption and do hope you will enjoy it as well. The book is currently with my proofreader and it looks like I'm on target for a mid-May launch. I'll share more with you once I get the edited book back.
In the meantime, I'm sharing with you the cover and the description to the book again. I hope you enjoy it and will look forward to reading it!
Redemption's book description:
Cinderella, having lost her magical powers after she defeated Napoleon, is now asked to do the unimaginable—free him from his exile on the island of Elba. When she resists the call to help, Jeremiah, her husband and former witch hunter, convinces her that the fate of the world rests on Napoleon’s escaping, and she grudgingly goes along.
Yet unknown to Cinderella, Phoebe, her teenage daughter, has been flung far into the future and is at the center of a conspiracy that will lead to the destruction of the world. Torn between her grief of losing her magical powers and anger at what she has lost, Cinderella embarks on a desperate journey that takes her through the darkest and hardest challenge she has yet faced.
Without her magic, can Cinderella find a way to save the world or will the evil forces from the future be too much and overcome her?
Thank you again and I can't wait to share more with you about the book!