Walking a Thin Line

Like thousands of people, my day job is necessary to pay the bills, but it is very boring.  For our breaks, a friend and I will walk around the building to shake the numbness out of our legs, butts, and brains…

Since my friend knows that the children’s book is my current obsession, it’s during these walks that she asks for an update on our little hero and what trouble he’s gotten himself into…

Yes, she is a very good friend to open herself to the droning torture of my obsession.  It’s one thing to bore Katherine with this imaginary world of mine, because ….well, it comes with the territory of being my business partner. 

But it’s completely different to verbally bombard an innocent bystander with endless details of a reality that only exists in my head.

I keep warning her not to go down that path with me, because once that dam busts open, there’s no stopping me.  Unless she wants me to go on and on about the developing plot, the characters, and the this-and-that of it all, she better not ask me…

But she keeps asking; thus, she keeps enduring my endless chatter about my imaginary world.

To her credit, she seems entertained — either by the story or by my total commitment to these characters of the story. 

She’s amazed that I’m doing all of this without the help of drugs.  She only mentions this, because so many well-known authors enhance their creativity by taking mind-altering drugs.  It seems that my mind is altered enough without adding chemicals… 

And to clarify:  No, I am not on any medication… although many have suggested that I should be…

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A New Beginning

Well, the children’s story is writing itself.  The hero of the story is a little boy, who is just starting to learn what it takes to be a responsible and respected young man. 

This is my first attempt at a children’s story  — and it’s an awesome experience!  I get to pour all my years of knowledge into this little imaginary human being that I’ve created. 

Imagine being able to right all the wrongs in your life.  Imagine being able to take the knowledge you have today and relive your life again — knowing what you know now and applying it to your younger self…

Think about it for a moment.  What would you do differently?  What other choices would you have had?  How would those differences affect the course of your life?  Where would you be, instead of where you are today?

I get to do this for my little imaginary hero.  I get to pour my life’s blood into his little young head.  It’s an amazing feeling — to start anew...

Don’t assume that I am unhappy with where I am in my life — quite the contrary.  I make no excuses, have no regrets, and am not ashamed, embarrassed, or unhappy with how my life has turned out.  I like where I am and know I would not be in this particular place if I hadn’t gone through everything I went through — good and bad — to get to this place. 

The fact that I like where I am today gives me confidence to say that I wouldn't have changed a thing in my life.  I have no regrets.

 No.  I have no regrets.  But, it took me a heck of a long time to get here.  Would I have liked to arrive here a lot sooner?   Definitely!!!

Would I have liked to learn all this stuff much quicker?   Definitely!!!

Would I have liked someone to have come along and pour her life’s blood into my head, when I was young — to give me a head start on my journey?  Well...

Today, I would say, Definitely… but thinking back…

Would my younger “self” have accepted such a precious gift?  Probably not… since, back then, I thought I already knew it all.

Ironic, isn't it?  At a time when I would have benefited the most from this offer, I wouldn't have appreciated the wisdom of such a gift.

Ironic...isn't it?



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It Happened Overnight!

I guess I was just tired the other night, because I woke up with a FABULOUS idea for another book.  This one is a children’s book — which will be the third in our From the Inside Out series.  I’m just working on the outline now — developing the tone of the book and the first opening chapters, so I can show Katherine the idea at our next meeting. 

I’m excited about the storyline.  It’s going to be awesome… in my humble opinion.  My only concern is that it may have been done before.  I’m just not sure.  I’m thinking, although the backdrop has been used before, I doubt the approach has. 

I imagine that we’ll need an illustrator for this book, because the storyline, characters, and backdrop lend themselves to illustrations so well — and kids love pictures. 

If we have a publisher by then, we can get an illustrator through them. If not, we’ll have another hurdle to jump… maybe a college student would be interested... but I’m jumping ahead of myself. 

We’ll cross all those bridges when we get to them.  Today, I’m just excited about being excited. 

And it didn’t take long to find my fun again.  It happened overnight.

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Holiday Blues

I’m afraid the Holiday Blues are setting in early for me.  I see the end of the year quickly approaching; and our book hasn’t even been noticed — let alone picked up — by a publisher.  It’s getting more and more difficult to meet with Katherine due to her ever-changing schedule, so I’m feeling like I’m flying solo for the most part; and frankly, the fun is waning… quickly. 

I’m afraid that this bah-humbug feeling is only going to get worse with the Holiday Season closing in.  Just thinking about fitting in the preparations for Thanksgiving and Christmas and the stress and overwhelming expectations that come along with all of it — including additional choir practices for special church functions, and family members coming down to visit, etc.  Bah Humbug!!!

I think I’m just plain tired… tired… tired.

I’m tired of pushing through things on this project without any affirmation coming from anywhere.  I can’t imagine doing this year after year after year… as so many aspiring writers and artists do.

What I expected would happen hasn’t happened — at least, not yet. 

I imagined that I’d quickly pop out a book or two, and we’d be busy jet setting from one city to another, meeting our readers.  I imagined that I would be perfecting my social banter for book signings, talk shows, and radio interviews.  I imagined that we’d be meeting and interviewing with editors, publicists, and publishers — discussing and deciding what the best path to take for our projects would be.

I didn’t imagine this solitary work.

I’ve been writing entries to this blog for a number of months now, with little interaction from our readers and little input from Katherine.  I’ve been writing and re-writing and re-working sections of our second book.  I’ve been researching more and more possible publishers.  I’m doing all of this at night, after long days at work.  Add to this my various volunteer commitments and managing a home and all that’s associated with that… and you’ve got one cranky, tired woman.

Yep.  I need something to change.  I need a break from this work routine that I’ve created for myself.  I’m just tired… tired… tired… of what I’m doing… doing… doing…

Believe me when I tell you that I don’t need to add any more work to this already overflowing plate of mine, but I do need to change things up to add more variety to the meal.

I need an infusion of fun… and I need it NOW!!!

At our last project meeting, Katherine felt this tension growing within me, and we were able to discuss my burnout symptoms. 

Katherine suggested that we take a break from the research and administrative work of finding and contacting publishers until January; but I was afraid that if we stopped now, we would never start back up again. 

I needed to feel that we were still committed and moving forward — not standing still, not stalling, not giving up... 

She suggested that, to keep the project moving, we could focus on developing presentation materials and creating the videos and audio clips we’ve been talking about.  This would mix things up for me.  The fact that the presentations, videos, and audio clips fell within Katherine’s circle of expertise will also give me a needed break and add some balance to this partnership. 

We can continue to reach out to various talk show hosts and finish up Ready or Not… and we can start back on the publishers’ list in January. 

Then again, Ellen DeGeneres may call us by January, and I can burn that blasted publishers’ list!  

Wouldn’t that be just FABULOUS?!!

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Ready or Not

The recent events of teen suicide due to bullying (e.g., cyber-bullying, streaming videos of private encounters) have increased our concern and need to get our second book ready for publication.  I know we’ve probably bothered Ellen DeGeneres too much already, but I want to let her know about the second book we’re working on before she starts ignoring us completely.  

With any luck, she might want to look at this one before our first one.  If we can jump-start the process on our second book, we’d get the message out faster.  If Ellen would rather pass, that’s her choice, but we tried…

Bullying and, in particular, cyber-bullying have become a frequent practice among American youth.  Incidents are reaching such daunting results that state legislatures are rapidly adopting measures to try to control the epidemic.  For instance, Florida Legislature has adopted an anti-bullying law in April 2008.  This Florida law prohibits bullying and harassment of any public K-12 student or employee, and requires public schools to adopt measures to protect students and employees from the physical and psychological effects of bullying and harassment.   Forty-two other states have anti-bullying laws, which are constantly being updated.

Our book, Ready or Not — Life’s Coming at Ya, tackles this subject along with other serious subjects.  Life is not a fairytale; therefore, this book is not colored with fairytale endings.  Because the journey is not an easy one, the book deals with challenging issues head on.  There are no detours, no shortcuts, and no apologies.  Whether this book is read or not, each of us has to plow through the issues — ready or not.  In our opinion, Ready or Not… would give its readers some company and support along the way. 

Within this book’s pages lives a likeable, yet self-conscious, mentor.  Throughout the book, she shares her fears and insecurities, while she manages to deal with her demons — real and unreal.  In this way, we get to see what is hidden in the dark shadows that we all fear.  Our mentor openly exposes her own struggles and acknowledges that she is — and will always be — a work-in-process.  Each day presents another chance to do better.  This simple fact helps us become more accepting of our differences and more comfortable with our continuous journey.

Ready or Not — Life’s Coming at Ya begins with a short little story that tells of a young stallion’s yearnings to be free… but he learns too late that he was not as prepared as he had thought.

Part I concentrates on the transition from dependence to independence.  The book paints a realistic portrait of how one deals with the emotions of shedding the protective wrap of childhood to emerge as an independent individual.

Part 2 focuses on the importance of interdependency.  It’s an interesting paradox that, to assure our own survival and happiness, we need to focus on other people.  It reveals the fact that we need to cultivate social connections and strong social relationships.  If we don’t, we will be lost and devastated when adversity comes our way.  

Part 3 is a very intense section.  It takes on tough subjects such as bullying, rape, child abuse, sexual assault, addictions, etc.  Its mission is to show us how to deal with life’s challenges by putting into practice all that was revealed in the previous two sections. 

Ready or Not — Life’s Coming at Ya is intended to help prepare us for what lies ahead.  By the end of the book, those courageous enough to take on its challenges will be more ready than not…



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Me and My Big Mouth!

Well, Katherine really likes the idea of Ready or Not — Life’s Coming at Ya being our next book to discuss — if it’s ready by January. 

The book club will act as a focus group for the book, discussing what they like and don't like about it.

This book discussion group was a good idea when the book was authored by some stranger outside the group — but my heart and soul is in this particular book, and I’m not very good at taking criticism. 

These two facts put together… I just don’t see myself enjoying the next series of book club meetings… and I can’t get out of them because the meetings are held at my house.

I’m not exactly sure what I’m afraid will happen.  It’s just an irrational and uneasy feeling, like most fears.  Basically, I’m imagining everyone telling me everything that’s wrong with the book.  I’m afraid that the group will reject the book… and me along with it.

I know, logically, that’s not going to happen, but Fear is not logical.  Fear is Fantasized Experience Appearing Real. 

Of course, there’s no law that says I have to put the book up for discussion, but that will only make things worse.  If I withdraw the book from discussion, I would have let my fears win, and I can’t have that.

It doesn’t matter what our age is, at some point or another, we all meet up with the Fear of Rejection. Its power comes from the human need to be accepted, recognized, and affirmed by others, so we can feel good about ourselves.  It’s natural.  It’s part of life. 

But if we let Fear of Rejection control us, it can prevent us from being authentic human beings.

We are so driven by the need for acceptance of others that we can lose our own identity in the process.  We may want to be accepted so badly, that we mimic the ways in which others act, dress, talk, think, behave, and believe.  As we do this, we lose our own identity (i.e., what makes us unique and special); we lose the ability to think for ourselves; and in the process, we lose the ability to be ourselves.

It's just that if we continue to allow this fear to control us, we will soon become confused as to our true identity, perpetually wearing masks to please others.  We keep our personal feelings hidden.  We become dishonest with ourselves, so much so that this dishonesty carries over into our interactions with others.  In short, we become habitual liars — to ourselves and to others. 

We do all of this because we are afraid of being rejected.

The sad part is that Fear of Rejection is one of those self-fulfilling prophesies.  If I can’t accept “the real me,” how can I imagine anyone else wanting to accept who I am?  If I pretend to be someone I'm not, how are others to come to know me and trust me?

In short, by allowing the Fear of Rejection to step in as a barrier for me, I end up feeling rejected by the very people with whom I want to connect.

What I perceive as rejection from others is really distrust… the distrust I created in myself and presented to them.  I never gave them a chance to meet and come to know the real me. 

I didn’t trust them enough to let them in. 

I didn’t trust myself enough to let them in. 

To break this cycle, I have to take the risk, take the mask off, and put myself out there for others to see. 

So, I’ll have to have Ready or Not be the subject of our next book discussion, even though I’m uncomfortable about offering my heart and soul to the group.

I have to do it… like it or not…

Man!  Me and my BIG mouth!!!




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Book Club Hiatus

Give us a cheer!  Our book discussion group has completed discussing its first book! 

Since we’re approaching the holiday season, we decided to take a break from the book club for a while.

We plan to reconvene in January.  We haven’t decided what our next book will be.  If our Ready or Not book is ready by then, we may put that up for discussion by the group.  Then again, we may not end up discussing a book at all; it may be a series of articles; we’re not sure.  We don’t have to decide until January, so we have plenty of time to mull it over…

One thing I did think of…

I was wondering what would happen if we invited Ellen DeGeneres and her mom to our little book club discussion group.  I know they would never come, but it’s just fun to think about it. 

I can imagine Ellen picking up this latest attempt to get noticed and making a hilarious monologue out of it!  She can go on for 5 minutes about how these two crazy ladies are doing everything they can think of to get her to read their manuscript!! 

She could list all the things we’ve tried thus far — from emailing her show, then trying to get her mother involved, then trying to get her lawyers to read our blog, then eliciting our friends to bombard Ellen’s email system with fan mail (fan mail for us, not her), and now we’re inviting her to our book club…all in the attempt to get Ellen to read our book! 

It would be a riot if they did show up at my door. 

Gosh!  If they did show up, I know exactly what book we would discuss!!!




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Patience and Persistence

I am not a patient person, so this waiting game is no fun for me.  I have a hard time accepting the conventional wisdom that it will take years and hundreds of submissions before a publisher picks us up.  That just doesn’t sit well with me.

I guess that’s why self-publishing has become such big business in this industry.  It used to be called “vanity publishing” — and many traditional publishers probably still call it that, but self-publishing has become big business.

A member from one of the writers’ discussion groups outlined the difference between a self-publisher and a traditional publisher and suggested that self-publishing may be the answer for those who are willing to devote considerable time to editing, printing, graphic design, distribution, marketing, stocking and restocking stores and managing the financial aspects of the process.  You can end up paying considerable processing fees for editing, graphic design and printing, etc. 

After that, you have to have the time and motivation to try to find persuasive reviews from convincing sources and have the ability to sell thousands of books on your own.  Depending on your salesmanship and network, it may take you years to recoup your initial investment with self-publishing; and the sad truth is you might never recover what you put out.  Then again, if successful, you will not need to split the profits with a publisher.

As a writer, I’m more interested in the creative process of writing the book — not the business aspect of promoting the sale of the book.  Most, if not all of this networking, promoting, motivation, and time in getting our book in front of the public will have to fall on Katherine’s already overloaded shoulders. 

If she has at least 20 hours a week to devote to distribution, marketing, stocking and sales, etc., then I’m behind her and self-publishing 100%.   It’s definitely her decision... and one we don’t have to address at this moment.

We’re still concentrating on the traditional publishers.  All we need to do is find that one publisher that will pick us up.  Our discussion group member mentioned that as long as we truly believe that we have the writing talent, a marketable book, and the persistence to contact hundreds of publishers, keep plugging away...

Not the answer I wanted to hear… but, as a wise friend keeps telling me, “I don’t like my hair falling out either; but there's not much I can do about it.  It is what it is…” 

Basically, he’s telling me that we can’t change the natural law of things.  We just need to go with the flow…

I know he’s right… but I don’t have to like it...

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Story Blog

One of the writers’ discussion groups had a post about The Story Blog, sponsored by a writing lab group.  The blog is about challenging your imagination and creativity.  They post a picture and invite you to write a story about the picture.   Then they critique the heck out of it.  They pick a winner each month and the prize is… (drum roll, please)… a word of appreciation from the Writing Lab team.

I’m not sure who this Writers’ Lab team is or what gives them the credentials to judge others’ writings, but my curiosity got the best of me.

I clicked on the link and thought the first picture was fun, so I wrote something short.   They critiqued everyone else's post, but ignored mine.  Looking at the posts and the comments, being overlooked (in this case) was a good thing. 

Then the second picture was posted, and they mentioned that this picture was particularly challenging.  Of course, that statement was just thrown out there to dare the rest of us to come up with something. 

Well, I did come up with something.  It was quite simple really — so simple that I thought I was missing the point of the exercise.  I posted it anyway and waited to see if anyone would notice it.

Well, they noticed it and commented. 

Of course, they liked it.  If they hadn’t liked it, I wouldn’t be sharing this experience with you or giving you the link to their blog:  http://thewritinglabstory.blogspot.com/2010/09/challenge-for-writers.html

If they hadn’t liked my writing, promoting their blog would be the last thing on my mind… but they liked it, so…

If you are into writing challenges or need something to do on a rainy day, check them out. 


OH… talking about storytelling, I want to ask your opinion on something.

A friend of mine keeps badgering me about starting a separate blog of stories, because she would like to follow a blog of funny stories that recount the weird and silly situations I get myself into and out of. 

I love her dearly and appreciate her enthusiasm over all of this blogging stuff, but she’s not the one writing all of it… and this all takes time.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’d be happy to start up another blog, but want to make sure that there is enough interest from readers for me to support two blogs at once. 

I need to know that the benefits (your enjoyment) outweigh the cost (my time in keeping up with two blogs) before I invest myself in doing a second blog.

Let me know your thoughts and if you would follow both blogs.  It’s all up to you.





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Dream Weavers

You know what’s great about dreaming?
You can take it anywhere you want it to go.

You know what’s dangerous about dreaming?
Your belief in it makes you forget that
It’s only a dream.

It struck me tonight that it has never occurred to either of us that we could fail at this.  We just have such confidence in our mission and in ourselves that, in our heads, we are already published.  We are just waiting for the rest of the world to catch up to us.

So, while we wait, we start planning our next step.  Our second book, Ready or Not — Life’s Coming at Ya, is well on its way.  We need to fill in one or two spots and tweak the tone and ending a bit, but, other than that, our second book is written.  Depending on how quickly we can tie up the loose ends on it, we could, conceivably, have two books ready to go to press at the same time. 

That may either open opportunities or create a dilemma for us.   Which should we pitch first?  Which would grab the attention of publishers faster?  Which would draw a stronger audience?  It’s hard to say which book is better.  Like parents of two children, we love them both equally — differently, but equally.

We are now thinking beyond the publishing date.  We need a plan that will make the most of the limited resources the publisher will share with us.  Having our book published is only the first step.  We really want to use the momentum generated by the first book — whichever it may be — to propel speaking engagements and workshops and book signings, etc. 

We have confidence in our creativity and our daring tenacity, but we are also realists.  We can’t accomplish all of this on our own.  We will need some help from those who know what they are actually doing. 

While researching publishers and joining writers’ discussion groups, I have noticed that publishers are expecting writers to do much of their own book promoting and sales.  Publishers strongly suggest that writers hire their own personal publicist. 

Let’s face it, writers are interested in the creative process of writing the book — not the business aspect of promoting the sale of the book.  Publishers are more interested in the sale of the book—not the creative process that goes into the pages of the book.

Publicists are the people who keep both sides happy.  They let the writer create, while they work on generating promotional opportunities for book sales — which keeps the publisher happy.

It so happens that Katherine has an acquaintance who is a great publicist.  Katherine would like to bring her into the mix, once we’re published.  But we won’t be approaching her friend until we actually have a publisher because, although we are dreamers, we are also realists. 

So, we simply have to wait for the rest of the world to catch up to us before contacting Katherine’s friend…

You know what’s great about dreaming?
You can take it anywhere you want it to go.

You know what’s dangerous about dreaming?
Your belief in it makes you forget that
It’s only a dream.

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I'm Fearless When I’m Invisible

It’s really interesting exactly how bold I’m getting with these ideas.  I attribute it to the fact that no one has gotten back to us and slapped our hands over anything that we’ve tried so far. 

Silence doesn’t necessarily indicate acceptance, in this case.  Most likely, this type of silence indicates being invisible or ignored.  That’s fine.  We’ll just do what kids do to get attention.  We’ll increase our activity until we irritate someone enough that they give us some attention.  Of course, we’re looking for positive attention and not negative — but attention is attention.

We told you we contacted Ellen DeGeneres to give her Katherine's new cell number.  In that email, we also acknowledged that she may be too busy to help us out, even though she would like to help us out.  If that was the case, we asked her to forward her mom’s contact information to us.

Betty DeGeneres is a very busy woman in her own right, but we can’t help but hope that she would help us.  We know that Betty has gone through this publishing process before; and she could, possibly, help us navigate through all of this... 

Plus, we think she would really enjoy our book. 

Well, Ellen didn’t get back with us, so we wrote to Betty, using Ellen’s contact information, and asked Ellen to forward the note to her mom.  I know it’s a very long shot, but what's the worst thing that could happen?

We’re fearless when we’re invisible!

We’ve adopted the theory of trying anything at this point.  It’s like the saying… We’re throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks.  Sooner or later, something will come through for us. 

With that in mind, I emailed BayNews 9 — a 24-hour news station — and pitched our story.  I figured that they must be constantly looking for stories to fill their schedule.  I’m sure that they could use some cheap, sticky spaghetti to fill their plates.

I heard a commercial for a new cable reality show for TLC (a Discovery Company).  That channel deals with family and cooking stuff.  So, I threw some spaghetti their way, too — just to see what would come from that. 

Hey, the way I feel today, I may even write Michelle Obama or Laura Bush to see if either of them would like to help us.  I'll just sign the letters as coming from Katherine.  That's what I've been doing all along...

Yep,  I’m fearless when I’m invisible!






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Anyone Wanting to Pay It Forward?

Katherine and I had another one of our book project meetings after book club. 

As a side note, our group is almost finished with Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which means we have to come up with another book to discuss — if we want to continue to promote what we do on Monday nights as a book club discussion…

Sure, we can continue to meet and support each other as we’ve been doing and not call it a book club but, somehow, it’s more impressive to outsiders and easier to keep the meeting scheduled with each other if we call it an organized book club discussion group.  For some reason, the “book club” title gives our gatherings more prestige, more purpose, and more importance.   I’m not sure why.  I think taking a break for our everyday routines and spending time with friends to share with each other what’s going on in our lives is very important — no matter what we call it…

Anyway, after the book club, Katherine and I talked about the next couple of lucky publishers to receive our book proposal.  This is the boring part of the process.  I'd much rather discuss the new book we’re working on and get that finished than doing this tedious stuff; but we have to go through this if we want to get published.

Our book club discussion was still fresh in our minds, and we resurrected the idea of contacting Stephen Covey for his help and mentorship.  We originally thought of approaching Stephen along with Sam Keen, but we contacted Sam first.  We were afraid that the two men would fight over us, and we didn’t want that to happen.

Stephen Covey’s organization is very well thought-out, far-reaching, and impressive.  His books and teachings are motivational and practical at the same time.  His emphasis on the importance of Emotional Bank Accounts and Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood are paramount to supporting long-lasting and enriching relationships.  As with Sam Keen, Stephen’s insights have helped formed how we approach relationships.

Stephen’s online community (https://www.stephencovey.com/) allows people around the world to gather and support each other in their personal missions and goal setting.  It’s free to join his community, so check it out, if you like.

He is HUGE in the self-help arena and is a best-selling author.  It would be wonderful if he would consider taking us under his wing.  Then again, he is so HUGE and busy that he may not have the time or desire to help us. 

But it never hurts to ask…

One of these days, we’re bound to run into someone who believes in the Pay it Forward Principle and picks us as the recipients of her or his generosity.





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I know… I know… I KNOW!!!

I know you’ve heard this from me before, BUT there really is a reason for the excitement this time!

No, a publisher hasn’t picked us up yet.

No, Ellen hasn’t called yet.

No, Gayle hasn’t called yet.

BUT, while trying to promote another blog of mine — something separate from this particular project — I contacted a Catholic magazine to see if they would perhaps… maybe… be so kind as to… possibly… link my little blog to theirs.

In the process of doing that, a very kind Catholic nun sent the most encouraging letter of hope telling me that, although it was against their magazine’s policy to promote my blog, she was delighted to know it was there. 

We emailed back and forth and I told her of our friendship book project; and she did the nicest thing… again!  She responded that if she had any opportunity to let a publisher know about us and our project, she would.

Guess what?  A couple of days later, I get an email from a Catholic publisher — from their acquisitions department wanting to review our manuscript.

That was so thoughtful of Sister to go out of her way like that, on our behalf.  I was just awestruck with the genuineness in which she took up our cause.  I couldn’t thank her enough, although I tried.

This is extremely exciting for us, but Katherine — with her level-headedness — brought up a good point.  It took Katherine a while to make me understand her concerns and the “reality” of the world in which we live.  

Once a religious label is placed on something or someone, that thing or person is stereotyped and pigeonholed.  That thing or person becomes tainted in the eyes of the rest of the world.  It doesn’t matter what the thing or person has done or said.  The religious label automatically blinds and deafens others to that thing or person.

It’s very sad that organized religions have done this to their members.  They are so organized in their intent that they, inadvertently, have “organized” us against and away from each other.  Something that intended to unite us has separated and segregated us instead.  It is all very, very sad.

Accepting this fact, we needed to keep our focus on our mission.  Our overarching goal with Silhouette of a Friendship…From the Inside Out is to reach a general audience that includes people of all kinds, regardless of religious affiliation (or lack thereof).  We had to acknowledge that a Catholic publisher’s niche may restrict our reach and work against our personal mission, which is to reach as many people as possible.

With this in the forefront of our mind, we contacted the publisher, sent sample chapters, thanked them for their interest and asked for any help, recommendations, and referrals they could give us. 

Only time will tell us where this path will lead us, but still… very exciting!!!