October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Hello Readers,

Thank you for your patience as I continue to work on my other projects.

Today, however, I would like to share with you that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.  Because Hope for Joy deals with this very topic, I would like to announce that the proceeds from the sale of my book for the month of October will be donated to a local charity to support domestic violence victims.  I will name this charity at a later date.

Below is a link to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.  They have a lot of valuable resources for those who may be victims or know someone who is.  In addition, there are many resources available locally that are just a quick search online or through a phonebook.

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

I'm also including a link to Focus Ministries, which provides Christian support to victims of domestic violence.

Focus Ministries

I would like to share your stories on my blog throughout October.  If you have a story of survival, or perhaps some encouraging words, scripture or prayers for victims, please feel free to email me at RebekahBurtonsWords@gmail.com.  You can remain anonymous if you prefer, and no identifying details will be used.

I am also doing a free giveaway of the paperback copy of Hope for Joy.  Anyone can enter.  To enter, simply email me at RebekahBurtonsWords at gmail.com with the word "Giveaway" in the subject.  The deadline to enter is October 31, 2012 and winner will be chosen the following week.  If you win, I will notify you by email to request a mailing address.

My prayer is that those suffering will receive help and find their way to safety.

Thank You,
Rebekah

Writing Through Experience

I talked with a friend the other day about my book Hope for Joy.  She asked how much of it reflected personal experiences I had.  This is something that every writer faces: how much of their own experience do they draw on for their writing?

I will start by saying this:  many of the experiences I have had or those I have heard of firsthand have made it, in disguised form, into my writing.  For me, I couldn't write if I didn't have a frame of personal reference for my fiction.  Other writers may feel differently, but the idea of "write what you know" has always helped me get started.

My experience as a teaching assistant gave me a good story for the opening of my book.  I will say that the specific experience in the Hope for Joy opener did not happen to me, but I did experience a similar incident where a student was reading a  magazine in my classroom and it fell to the floor.  In my experience, the magazine's cover had a celebrity that looked *just like* my student. I made a few comments, held the magazine up for all to see, and I never *saw* a magazine open in class again. (Of course I am well aware that they may have found a better way to conceal them).

There's more to share, but I'll save it for another post.    See you next time!

What to Write Now?

Just a few weeks ago, I took the plunge and published my first full-length novel, Hope for Joy.  I now have the dilemma of looking through my other un-published works and deciding what comes next.  Hope for Joy, while fiction, is a look into the challenges people face in domestic violence situations.  My main focus as a writer is to showcase different struggles that people go through and how they triumph with God's help.  In fact, at least one or two characters from Hope for Joy will resurface with completely different life-issues to deal with in future works.  However, I am not only a writer but a reader and as such, I enjoy reading "light reads" or "beach reads" too.  I need a break sometimes from the heavier topics...and I think that is what my next project for readers will be.  I have a partially completed novel, The Inheritance Inn, that looks promising as my next offering.  Stay tuned for more updates!

Free for April 25th

I just wanted to share that the Kindle edition of Hope for Joy is free for Wednesday, April 25th.  Thanks!

Hope for Joy on Amazon

Hope for Joy: Available in Paperback!

Buy Paperback on Amazon

Buy Paperback on CreateSpace

Hope for Joy is now available as a paperback!  I'm making every effort to have my first novel available in as many formats as possible.  Readers have two choices available for this edition:  buy on Amazon or on CreateSpace.  As always, you continue to have the choice to also buy the eBook for Kindle or Kindle reader app here:  Buy Kindle Version on Amazon

Thank You, Readers for your continued support and I look forward to sharing more with you soon!

New Cover!

Hope for Joy can now be found with a new cover!

When I originally created the sunflower cover, I loved the image  but the cover didn't connect with the story as much as I'd like.  I had toyed with the idea of using a royalty free image of a young woman to include in the cover, but was nervous.  However, after feeling disappointed in the appearance of my books versus the more professional looking self-published books, I changed my mind.  I contacted the photographer and told her I was using the image in my book, and how did she wish to be attributed.  Her name is Anita Peppers.  

Here's the new cover for the eBook edition.  What do you think?

A Learning Process

Self-publishing is a learning process.  My first step in distributing Hope for Joy was to prepare it for the eBook market, specifically for Amazon Kindle.  Working through the formatting was tedious, but now that I have done it once, it should be easier in the future.  Should be.  Today I am working on getting my book formatted for print at CreateSpace, which is a completely different set of requirements.  Unlike the digital edition which I was able to instantly check along the way, I will need a bit more patience with print.  I am going to order a proof, make any changes and then it will be time to hit send.  However, all of this work is worth it to me so that I can make my book available in as many formats as possible.  Even though many people prefer to read digitally these days, there are still quite a few who want to hold a tangible book in their hands.  I can understand that.  No matter the format, I'm appreciative for all of my readers.