I'm ready

I volunteered at VBS (vacation bible school) this week to help with some of our special needs children.

Last night I got to hang out with a pair of autistic twins at VBS and one of their therapists. This was the first time I'd met Elsa. It went a little like this......

We chat casually about work. She tells me she has an autistic son and that's how she got into the field she's in now (behavioral/language therapy). Then she asks what I do.

It's that moment, should I say I'm a stay-at-home-mom which I am, or do I say I'm a writer? Because technically I don't have any published books. Non-writers don't understand how much of a process it is. I am a writer, whether I'm published yet or not. I've put in two years of endless hours typing away and I've earned that title.

Deep breath. "I'm a writer and stay-at-home-mom."

"Oh? What do you write?"

"Well..... currently I'm finishing the final edits on my memoir."

"Oh yeah? What's it about?"

Oh crap.

What do I say? I barely know this lady. "Um." Crap. You have to tell her. Move your lips. She's waiting. Say something already. Deep breath. "When I was fifteen I was kidnapped and raped and it's about the struggles I faced and how being a Sunday only Christian just wouldn't cut it anymore. My youth pastor suggested I start reading The Bible. I found strength and healing through God's word and He carried me through the pain." Exhale.












Her mouth hangs open. She stares at me like I spoke Japanese. "Wow. What age group is it for?"












"I guess it's more for teenaged girls. I'm really honest in my memoir about how imperfect I am. I think teenagers will connect with it because they won't feel like they're being preached to. So many Christian books show perfect characters and in mine it's the opposite. I make tons of mistakes but God is always there to pick me up. My goal is to steer them toward Jesus and The Bible."





She smiles. "That's really great. I think you'll touch a lot of lives."





It's still terrifying talking about the subject of my memoir. It's getting easier though.

The more I talked with Elsa, the more we connected. Even though there's an age gap (she has a college aged daughter), we both know a thing or two about pain and suffering. She said she came to that point in her life, where she was so destroyed she had absolutely no place to go except to Jesus.

That is what I call being perfectly broken, when you're so shattered you can't possibly put the pieces back together on your own. There, in the midst of your broken soul, you realize you NEED God.

Talking with her last night lit a fire under my butt. I'm excited, a little petrified, but mostly excited about this journey I'm on. I'm so thankful for all the friends who have supported me along the way!

~Amber

Comic teaser: ONE by Leigh Ann Kopans

I totally dropped the ball on this. I've been so busy between my editing and all the traveling the past two weeks, I didn't realize I was scheduled to post this past Tuesday!

Everyone, you may now throw apples, pies, and anything else you want at me. Leigh Ann gets first shot! I get the LOSER AWARD. But enough about how lame I am and onto all the awesome stuff.

I know you've all heard about Leigh Ann Kopans' book ONE, right? Cause if you haven't heard about it you must be living under a rock, or not on twitter. Well, I was one of the super lucky people who got to read the ARC and let me tell you, it's a fast paced, unputdownable story. Don't worry, you'll get to read it in just A FEW DAYS, but until then here's a comic teaser that is so freakin' awesome!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About ONE(a novel by Leigh Ann Kopans:)

 

Release date: June 11, 2013

When having two powers makes you a Super and having none makes you a Normal, having only one makes you a sad half-superpowered freak.

It makes you a One.

Sixteen-year-old Merrin Grey would love to be able to fly – too bad all she can do is hover.

If she could just land an internship at the Biotech Hub, she might finally figure out how to fix herself. She busts her butt in AP Chem and salivates over the Hub’s research on the manifestation of superpowers, all in hopes of boosting her chances.

Then she meets Elias VanDyne, another One, and all her carefully crafted plans fly out the window. Literally. When the two of them touch, their Ones combine to make them fly, and when they’re not soaring over the Nebraska cornfields, they’re busy falling for each other.

Merrin's mad chemistry skills land her a spot on the Hub's internship short list, but as she gets closer to the life she always wanted, she discovers that the Hub’s purpose is more sinister than it has always seemed. Now it’s up to her to decide if it's more important to fly solo, or to save everything - and everyone - she loves.

 

Now go add it to your Goodreads list. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17251203-one And make sure to stop by and tell Leigh Ann how awesome this all is.