In the previous five blogs where I share my journey toward publishing Of Little Faith, I left out some personal details that I didn't think merited attention, but when I look back to those years I cannot help but consider some of the other aspects going on in my life during that trying time. Besides being rejected -- pardon me, I wasn't being rejected, but my novel was; anyway, besides those heartbreaking rejections, I was going through a divorce, waiting to hear if the tumor in my breast was cancerous, forced to sell my home due to the divorce, and living in an apartment where the downstairs neighbor constantly threatened violence against my daughters and me just because she didn't like our existence. I persevered because it was the only choice I saw and tried to remain optimistic. Well, I survived the divorce, the tumor was benign and I ended up having an opportunity to get out of that apartment by buying my aunt's house, even though it would need to be gutted. There was light at the end of the tunnel and I felt I was finally able to breathe when I moved into my newly refurbished house -- even though it still didn't feel like "home" to me. But then only a few short months later, I lost my job with Borders Books, as I wrote about in my previous blogs. Still, I plowed on while working on other writing projects and my business as a publishing consultant started to grow. Unfortunately, though, I began to consider Of Little Faith a first novel that would never be given a chance, and the fire in me to see it get published began to diminish.
I started working on a memoir titled Getting Back Home since I had the unexpected opportunity to buy back the home I had to sell in my divorce. I kept wondering if I was foolish to do so since I went through the trouble and expense of gutting and buying my aunt's house. So, I started writing about that experience and wondered if perhaps there would be an audience for this particular memoir, as opposed to the one I'd attempted so many years earlier. Yet, I soon hit a brick wall with that one, as well. Sure, I did buy back my house, and I did feel like I was indeed back home, but I just didn't see the book going anywhere. So I put it away and went back to working on my third novel.
But then I received an email from Booktango, a new eBook publisher, wondering if I'd be willing to be one of their beta users to test it out. After considering it, I decided what the hell, let me throw Of Little Faith out there and see what happens. Booktango then designed a cover for it, which I approved, and then made it available on their site, as well as on Amazon. As far as the test went, it was fine. Booktango was relatively easy to use, but what I struggled with was not having a physical copy to promote. I know this makes me sound less than contemporary, but I still like physical books. I tried to promote the eBook, but without copies on my desk inspiring me, it didn't go very far, even though it did get some nice early reviews.
But then, Mary Walker Baron, publisher for Steel Cut Press, contacted me and said she'd read the eBook version of Of Little Faith and liked it very much. Could she publish it? Besides being a publisher, Mary is the author of But This Is Different, a book I absolutely loved -- the kind of book I appreciate since the writing is amazing. I was honored that Mary considered Of Little Faith worthy of publishing. So, I said yes and signed a contract. Now with a publication date of October 22nd, the review copies have been sent out, dates and venues being considered for the book launch and subsequent events, and I am hopeful that this novel, one that began as a memoir, will garner some interest, not to mention readers. I'm not naïve, though. I realize how tough it is to get any sort of attention for most authors, but, in reality, all I wanted all those years ago when I first began this journey was to give Of Little Faith a chance. Now, the rest is up to me.