LIKE A RIVER: Launch Week

This week (April 5-11) is Launch Week for my novel LIKE A RIVER. I am excited! It is a fitting week to launch this Civil War story. This week, 150 years ago, saw the end of the US Civil War, the bloodiest war in our nation’s history. With dead numbering nearly ¾ of a million, it would be impossible to find a family from that time who was untouched by this conflict between two halves of one country.

Yet, this marks a week of celebration those many years ago, that the war was finally over. It also marked a beginning. The two halves had to come together, try to put the past behind them, and find a way to move forward. Together. As one nation.

Civil War statistics compelled me to write a story that did justice to the human suffering of 150 years ago. Yet, I am a sucker for a happy ending (or at least a hopeful one). Finding the balance to do both was my challenge in writing the novel. And now it is time to put the story into readers’ hands, and let them judge for themselves whether I accomplished my goal.

Getting to the point of a launch was a long journey for me as a writer. I could tell you about the decades (yes, decades!) of rejected novels that led up to this published one. I went through my own personal struggle to improve my writing skills, decide just the right story to tell and the way to tell it, and find the right publisher who wanted it to happen as much as I did. I am glad that LIKE A RIVER is my debut. I am incredibly proud of the book, and eager to take readers on the journey with my characters.

And so this is a week to celebrate, celebrate the launch of LIKE A RIVER, celebrate the beginning of the book’s journey.

It is also the beginning of a new journey for me. New projects. New novels to write. Meeting readers. I am truly excited!