Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Fun Surprise in Book Publishing




It may have started when my sister posted a photo of herself holding my book soon after it arrived in her mailbox. She was so happy and excited for me that she just wanted to share the joy. 

Then more and more pictures started to pop up all over my Facebook feed. I can not tell you how fun it is to open up your account and see so many smiling faces holding your first ever published book! 




 It is a thrill and a half, that's what it is! I am overwhelmed at the beautiful support of my friends and family as they help spread the word about my new book, WALKING BUTTERFLY. 




The last pic is me enjoying an author's high as I hold my book in my hands and realize a dream come true at last.




Why not hop on over to Amazon now and see for yourself? WALKING BUTTERFLY is full of personal stories about my slow transition from fearful, legalistic church lady to a free flying believer who knows without a doubt that she is loved by God. What a difference it makes when you truly grasp that you are cherished by the God of the universe! 

You can know this for yourself. This little book will walk you through the process of moving from doubt to belief in a gentle and practical way. You will be more loved on the last page than the first. 

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Come and Get It! My Book is Published!!


Walking Butterfly is now available on Amazon!!
 
I know, weird chapter title huh? I promise it's a great true story.

I love how my designer made the inside as pretty as the outside!

Just a little excited!
 Susie

Thursday, January 28, 2016

My Book Journey Continues...



Oh my goodness, you guys!!! I am one humming and grinning lady around here lately. I can hardly believe what has been happening. 

It was just a few months ago that I began tentatively mentioning on my personal blog that I was getting serious about publishing a book that I'd been working on for years. Even then, it felt like I was kinda being careful to just quietly whisper it at the end of a post...because who knows if I would really stick with it? I certainly didn't know. 

And now, now I am anxiously watching the mailbox in front of my house, expecting the PROOF COPY of my book within the next 8 days or so! 

I did it. I completed my christian nonfiction book, and uploaded it to Create Space, Amazon twice to get it right. It passed their review and now a print paperback is in the mail on it's way to my house so I can make sure it is good enough for you guys. Once I am happy with it, I will hit PUBLISH and it will be available for purchase on Amazon. Sometime in the first 2 weeks of February hopefully. :) It will only be available in paperback for now, not digital at this point.

So today.....DRUM ROLL PLEASE......

I'm ready to do my COVER REVEAL right here and now for my friends!!!! Lucky you! The first to get a peak at my gorgeous book cover, created by my gifted friend Lorraine Box. I could not be more pleased!! I am doing the cover reveal inside my blog, not as the top pic so that it only shows up for the ones who came to my blog. Aren't you that special? SO....time to scroll down.....So excited!!!





Isn't it a beauty? I wanted the book cover to be super simple because my message is very simple and I am a pretty simple lady. Hubs may disagree, but whatever. 

So I am now stalking my mail box waiting anxiously for my proof copy to arrive. very soon after it's arrival I will let you know how to buy a copy..or two or three! 

Susie



- See more at: http://www.recoveringchurchlady.com/#sthash.4aDPsTft.dpuf

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Never Wanted to Write a Book


I am a writer who never wanted to write a book. Yes, I swooned as I watched Jo March (Gone With the Wind) run her hand gently over her name on the cover of her first book, and I filled pages and pages of my journal, but for the first 58 years of my life I had no desire to see a book with my name on it.

When I was much younger I spent the night at the home of a friend. On the night stand next to the bed in the guest room was a book written by a member of that family. As I picked it up, dust floated into the air. The book had never been opened and there were more copies on a high shelf. I knew that I did not want my hard won words to end up like this.

My desire for my writing was something more alive and fresh. Here today and gone tomorrow, like my hero Erma Bombeck, the newspaper columnist. I loved the idea of getting to know my readers and they getting to know me.

As the pastor's wife of a small church in a small town I found an equally small way to fill this desire of my heart. I wrote a weekly unpaid newspaper column for the Religion Page of the local paper. I loved it and found time for several years to fit it in, between school car pools and church committee meetings. I wrote about my life with God and family. My little column was upbeat and always encouraging and sometimes a little bit funny. When I began to hear that others enjoyed it and that some even cut it out and posted it on their refrigerators, I was in Heaven! (Our refrigerators were the original FaceBook walls.)

Then along came the wonderful world of blogging! This was the perfect venue for my style of writing. The updated version of an interactive newspaper column at its best. Recovering Church Lady is my second blog. I created my first one in 2008 and it was called Walking Butterfly. I told no one in my real life about it and loved making new friends online that were in totally different walks of life and from all over the world. Many of them followed me over to Recovering Church Lady when I started this blog in 2010. (This post was originally published on my personal blog, Recovering Church Lady.)

I have written for devotional magazines, ministry newsletters, several online magazines and businesses. My rambling words are scattered all over the place. And now I come back to a desire that hit me between the eyes in 2011...to write a book.

At the time I thought that I was going to write a book for pastor's wives who were struggling. The outline came to me smoothly and easily one day in my journal and I believed that God had given me an assignment. I excitedly told everyone! That shocked me and made me even more convinced that I was on a mission from God. :)

It took many months and tons of research to get myself so confused and overwhelmed with the writing and publishing process that I found myself frozen and the project stopped for months at a time. I lost the message and purpose for such a book. I felt embarrassed for my bold declarations to my friends and family and feared that I had become that old cliche` of the wannabe writer who is enamored with the writing life more than the actual work of creating a book. (I still worry about that today.)

The first book idea was set aside as I discovered that the main message it carried was really for a much broader audience than just ministry wives. When I tore it apart and brought it back to the core, I found my life message about the love of God. The huge, simple and complicated love of God.

So this year I have been working on book idea number two. Each chapter begins with a true and intimate experience between God and me. Then I do my best to expand on it and help the reader apply it to their own life. I believe that this is the book God meant for me to write and I am so excited to see it take shape beneath my fingers. Recently Hubs asked to read it for the first time and his response made it suddenly feel very real. He is a bit of a sarcastic and cynical soul and his words after reading it are the best thing a faith writer would ever want to hear about her book. I am keeping them to myself...too precious to me.

Ack, cannot believe I am spilling all of this to you! But writing a book involves a good amount of sticking one's neck out, doesn't it? Mine feels kind of chilly right now. An editor friend took a quick look at what I have written and gave me the encouragement to go for it and so I am. I plan to self-publish because my research has shown that it is a smart way to go in recent years. The deadline may change but I am hoping to have my book of love release in time for Valentines Day 2016.

I would love your good thoughts and prayers for me as I figure out how to navigate this new world of publishing. I cannot afford an editor or cover designer etc, so I am working hard to get it in the best shape possible on my own..... ( UPDATE: One day after posting this on my personal blog, God provided me with a fantastic COVER DESIGNER free of charge! I honestly did not expect this, but a sweet reward from my community after being vulnerable. Thanks LB!)....  It is a daunting task, but I am loving the process because I love helping people see God in a whole new way. So many of you have encouraged me through your comments on my blog posts over the years. Thank you for reading me! It means everything to me.

Susie



- See more at: http://www.recoveringchurchlady.com/p/the-book.html#sthash.100vws1N.dpuf

Monday, January 18, 2016

Symptoms of a New book Arriving


My heart is racing, my stomach is flippity flopping and I cannot concentrate. But a doctor visit is unnecessary. These are symptoms of a new book being born. My first is nearly here. I am days away from self-publishing WALKING BUTTERFLY at last.

An early reader described it like this....“Reading Susie Klein’s ‘Walking Butterfly’ is the equivalent of standing with arms outstretched, face upturned and heart wide open under a God shower as the inescapable reality of His love saturates every molecule of your being, suffusing your soul with restored identity." R.G. Ryan, author

Do I keep reading those lovely words over and over again to myself? Yes, yes I do!

Walking Butterfly is a love message from start to finish. In this short non-fiction book I share intimate encounters between God and me. It is a book about how much God loves me and the ridiculous lengths He went to convince me of His love.

At the end of each chapter you and I will explore together what His love means for you in your daily life. Because His big love for me is not mine alone. If God can love me as thoroughly and as well as He does, then He certainly loves you just as much.

This book has been a labor of love, hitting many obstacles and seasons of silence along the way. But any day now it will be ready to emerge from the cocoon and show off it's gorgeous wings!

I will be keeping you posted as we near the publication date.

More info about my book and the lady behind the book can be found at my personal blog, RECOVERING CHURCH LADY.