Launch days are always happy days for me. I am proud and
pleased to have been asked to participate in an anthology of personal stories
called Indie Chicks, 25 Independent Women, 25 Personal Stories. The
best part about this project is that all proceeds will go to the Susan G. Komen
Foundation to fight breast cancer. The stories in this book are inspiring and
powerful, but you don't have to take my word for it. Here's a review that was just
posted on Amazon:
5-star review by Echo75 – "These ladies are
unflinchingly honest, laying bare their personal lives and their own hopes and
aspirations to encourage others. Every cent made off this book is going to
charity, but with their personal stories these ladies have demonstrated they
not only have big hearts, they have guts. It takes real courage to leave an
abusive relationship. It takes real courage to stare down depression and come
out the victor. It takes real courage to be a single Mom. And it takes courage
to write -- and especially to go it alone and put your writing before the world
as an indie author. These brave ladies have done all that and more. Above all,
it takes a heck of a lot of courage to overcome a battle with breast cancer.
This book is an inspiring, illuminating read, but every book sold also helps
make the life of breast cancer sufferers -- those courageous women who could be
our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, ourselves -- just a little easier. Buy
it today. If not for yourself, for a woman you love."
Barnes & Noble Nook Book Store
A few words from the mastermind behind this project:
And then there’s the second moment, when you have to make a choice. You can dismiss the crazy notion, and probably even come up with a dozen reasons why it’s a bad idea. You don’t have the time, the money, or the resources. Besides, who are you to do such a thing? What in the world were you thinking? So, you dismiss the idea. We always have that option – to say No.
Such a notion came to me a couple of months ago. I began to think of an anthology composed of women writers. An anthology that would be published before the rapidly approaching holiday season. The title came to me almost immediately – Indie Chicks. It was a crazy notion. I was working with an editor who was editing my first two novels, and was also in the middle of writing a third novel. Working on three books seemed to be a pretty full plate. Adding a fourth was insane.
As I shared that story with Heather, another crazy notion whispered in my ear – Ask Karen McQuestion to write the foreword for Indie Chicks. Of course, I dismissed it. We had exchanged a couple of tweets on Twitter, but other than that, I had never corresponded with McQuestion. It was nonsense to think she would write the foreword. I was embarrassed to even ask her. Surely, she would think I was some sort of nut. But, the idea kept whispering to me and, with great trepidation, I emailed her. She said yes! Kindly, enthusiastically, and whole-heartedly, she said yes. Karen McQuestion had inspired me to try indie publishing. I had inspired Heather Adkins. And now the three of us were participating in Indie Chicks, that crazy whisper I had been unable to dismiss.
Fast forward to just a few days before publication. Heather was almost done with the enormous task of formatting a book with twenty-five authors. We were very close to publishing and were on the homestretch. That’s when I received an email. An unlikely email from someone I didn’t really know. Beth Elisa Harris and I were involved in another indie project and Beth sent an email to all of the authors in that project, including me. She attached a journal to that email. For whatever reason, Beth had been inspired to share a journal she wrote a few years ago. She cautioned us to keep her confidence and not share the journal with anyone else. I tend toward privacy and don’t tend to trust easily. This is a HUGE step for me. I’ve only read it once since I wrote it. Intrigued, I opened the journal and began reading. It dealt with her diagnosis, a few years back, with breast cancer! Before I was even one third of the way through the journal, I felt I should ask Beth to include this journal in the Indie Chicks anthology. It was a crazy notion, especially when considering her words about privacy and trust. We didn’t even know each other, how could I ask her to go public with something so personal? I tried to dismiss the notion (are you noticing a pattern here?), but could not. I wrote the email, took a deep breath, and hit send. She answered immediately. Yes. Most definitely, yes.
Indie Chicks: 25 Women 25 Personal Stories , with foreword by Karen McQuestion and afterword by Beth Elise Harris, is now available through Barnes and Noble and Amazon. The book includes personal stories from each of the women, as well as excerpts from our novels. And it began as a whisper. A whisper I did my best to ignore.
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A few words from the mastermind behind this project:
What is your life whispering to you?
by Cheryl Shireman
I
believe life whispers to you and provides direction. I call that life
force God. You can call it whatever you want, but there is no escaping
it. If we are open, and brave enough to say yes, life will take us in
directions we never expected, and you will live a life beyond your
wildest dreams.
Those
whisperings often come in the form of a “crazy” idea or a nudge to move
into a certain direction that seems odd or silly or daring. Then there
is that moment when you think, Well, that’s weird. Where in the world
did that come from?
And then there’s the second moment, when you have to make a choice. You can dismiss the crazy notion, and probably even come up with a dozen reasons why it’s a bad idea. You don’t have the time, the money, or the resources. Besides, who are you to do such a thing? What in the world were you thinking? So, you dismiss the idea. We always have that option – to say No.
But
it comes back – that whisper. Sometimes again and again. But if we are
practical, and safe, we can squash the notion until it is almost
forgotten. Almost.
Such a notion came to me a couple of months ago. I began to think of an anthology composed of women writers. An anthology that would be published before the rapidly approaching holiday season. The title came to me almost immediately – Indie Chicks. It was a crazy notion. I was working with an editor who was editing my first two novels, and was also in the middle of writing a third novel. Working on three books seemed to be a pretty full plate. Adding a fourth was insane.
But
the crazy notion kept coming back to me. It simply refused to be
dismissed. So I sent out a “feeler” email to another writer, Michelle
Muto. She loved the idea. I sent out another email to my writing buddy,
J. Carson Black. She loved the idea, too, but couldn’t make the time
commitment. She had just signed with Thomas & Mercer and was knee
deep in writing. I took it as a sign. I didn’t have the time for the
project either. Perhaps after the first of the year, when final edits
were done on my own novels. I dismissed it, at least for the present
time. I’d think about it again in another couple of months, when the
timing made more sense.
A
week later I surrendered, started developing a marketing plan for Indie
Chicks, and began sending out emails to various indie writers – some I
knew, but most were strangers. I contacted a little over thirty women.
Every one of them responded with enthusiasm. Most said yes immediately,
and those who could not, due to time commitments, wished us well and
asked me to let them know when the book when the book was published so
they could be part of promoting it.
One
of the first writers I contacted was Heather Marie Adkins. Earlier this
year, while I was browsing the internet, I came across an interview
with Heather. The interviewer (oddly enough, Michelle Muto) asked
Heather, When did you decide to become an indie author? Heather’s answer
was: About a month ago. My dad had been trying to talk me into
self-publishing for some time, but I was hesitant. One night, I sat down
and ran a Google search. I discovered Amanda Hocking, JA Konrath,
Victorine Lieski; but it was Cheryl Shireman that convinced me. This is
the field to be in. I was shocked (Astonished! Flabbergasted!). I had no
idea that I had ever inspired anyone! To be honest, it was a bit
humbling. And,okay, yes – it made me cry. So, of course, I had to invite
Heather to be a part of the anthology. Heather not only said yes, but
she also volunteered to format the project – a task I was dreading.
As
Heather and I exchanged emails, I told her about how I had been
similarly inspired to become an indie writer by Karen McQuestion. My
husband bought me a Kindle for Christmas of 2010. Honestly, the present
angered me. I didn’t want a Kindle. I wanted nothing to do with reading a
book on an electronic device! I love books; the feel of them, the smell
of them. But, very quickly, I started filling up that Kindle with
novels.
One
day, while looking for a new book on Amazon, I came across a title by
Karen McQuestion. I learned that McQuestion had published her novels
through Amazon straight to Kindle. Immediately, I began doing research
on her and how to publish through Kindle. I had just completed a novel
and was ready to submit it through traditional routes. Within 48 hours
of first reading about McQuestion, I submitted my novel, Life Is But A
Dream: On The Lake. Twenty four hours later, it was published as an
eBook on Amazon. Within another couple of weeks it was available as a
paperback and through Nook. Did I jump into this venture fearlessly? No!
I was scared to death, and I almost talked myself out of it. Almost.
The novel went on to sell over 10,000 copies within the first seven
months of release.
As I shared that story with Heather, another crazy notion whispered in my ear – Ask Karen McQuestion to write the foreword for Indie Chicks. Of course, I dismissed it. We had exchanged a couple of tweets on Twitter, but other than that, I had never corresponded with McQuestion. It was nonsense to think she would write the foreword. I was embarrassed to even ask her. Surely, she would think I was some sort of nut. But, the idea kept whispering to me and, with great trepidation, I emailed her. She said yes! Kindly, enthusiastically, and whole-heartedly, she said yes. Karen McQuestion had inspired me to try indie publishing. I had inspired Heather Adkins. And now the three of us were participating in Indie Chicks, that crazy whisper I had been unable to dismiss.
The
book began to develop, and as it did, a theme began to form. This was
to be a book full of personal stories from women. As women, one of our
most powerful gifts is our ability to encourage one another. This book
became our effort to encourage women across the world. Twenty-five women
sharing stories that will make you laugh, inspire you, and maybe even
make you cry. We began to dream that these stories would inspire other
women to live the life they were meant to live.
From
the beginning, I knew I wanted the proceeds of this charity to go to
some sort of charity that would benefit other women. While we were in
the process of compiling the anthology, the mother of one of the women
was diagnosed with breast cancer. Almost immediately upon learning that,
Michelle Muto sent me an email. Hey, in light of *****’s mother having
an aggressive form of breast cancer, can I nominate The Susan G. Komen
foundation for breast cancer? I mean, one of our own is affected here,
and other than heart disease (which took my own mother’s life), I can’t
think of anything more worthy than to honor our sister in words and what
she’s going through. A daughter’s love knows no bounds for her mother.
Trust me. I know it’s a charity that already gets attention on its own.
But, that’s not the point, is it? The point is there are 25 ‘sisters’
sticking together and supporting each other for this anthology. I say we
put the money where the heart is. We had our inspiration. All proceeds
would go to the Susan G. Komen foundation for breast cancer research.
The
stories started coming in. Some were light hearted and fun to read. But
others were gut-wrenching and inspiring – stories of how women dealt
with physical abuse, overwhelming grief, and a host of bad choices. It
was clear; these women were not just sharing a story, but a piece of
their heart. I felt as if I were no longer “organizing” this anthology,
but just getting out of the way so that it could morph and evolve into
its truest form.
Fast forward to just a few days before publication. Heather was almost done with the enormous task of formatting a book with twenty-five authors. We were very close to publishing and were on the homestretch. That’s when I received an email. An unlikely email from someone I didn’t really know. Beth Elisa Harris and I were involved in another indie project and Beth sent an email to all of the authors in that project, including me. She attached a journal to that email. For whatever reason, Beth had been inspired to share a journal she wrote a few years ago. She cautioned us to keep her confidence and not share the journal with anyone else. I tend toward privacy and don’t tend to trust easily. This is a HUGE step for me. I’ve only read it once since I wrote it. Intrigued, I opened the journal and began reading. It dealt with her diagnosis, a few years back, with breast cancer! Before I was even one third of the way through the journal, I felt I should ask Beth to include this journal in the Indie Chicks anthology. It was a crazy notion, especially when considering her words about privacy and trust. We didn’t even know each other, how could I ask her to go public with something so personal? I tried to dismiss the notion (are you noticing a pattern here?), but could not. I wrote the email, took a deep breath, and hit send. She answered immediately. Yes. Most definitely, yes.
Indie Chicks: 25 Women 25 Personal Stories , with foreword by Karen McQuestion and afterword by Beth Elise Harris, is now available through Barnes and Noble and Amazon. The book includes personal stories from each of the women, as well as excerpts from our novels. And it began as a whisper. A whisper I did my best to ignore.
What
whisper are you ignoring? What crazy notion haunts you? What dream
merely awaits your response? I urge you, say Yes. Live the life you were
meant to live. Say yes today.
Stories included in Indie Chicks:
Foreword by Karen McQuestion
Knight in Shining Armor by Shea MacLeod
Latchkey Kid by Heather Marie Adkins
Write or Die by Danielle Blanchard
The Phoenix and The Darkness by Lizzy Ford
Never Too Late by Linda Welch
Stepping Into the Light by Donna Fasano
One Fictionista’s Literary Bliss by Katherine Owen
I Burned My Bra For This? by Cheryl Shireman
Mrs. So Got It Wrong Agent by Prue Battten
Holes by Suzanne Tyrpak
Turning Medieval by Sarah Woodbury
A Kinky Adventure in Anglophilia by Anne R. Allen
Writing From a Flour Sack by Dani Amore
Just Me and James Dean by Cheryl Bradshaw
How a Big Yellow Truck Changed My Life by Christine DeMaio-Rice
From 200 Rejections to Amazon Top 200! by Sibel Hodge
Have You Ever Lost a Hat? by Barbara Silkstone
French Fancies! by Mel Comley
Life’s Little Gifts by Melissa Foster
Never Give Up On Your Dream by Christine Kersey
Self-taught Late Bloomer by Carol Davis Luce
Moving to The Middle East by Julia Crane
Paper, Pen, and Chocolate by Talia Jager
The Magic Within and The Little Book That Could by Michelle Muto
Write Out of Grief by Melissa Smith
Afterword by Beth Elisa Harris
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