Main fundraiser photo

Publish The Lemay Leveller Book

From the banks of the Mississippi to the streets of St. Louis, finally coming to rest in Colchester. The Lemay Leveller is a the story of one woman’s adventure from a troubled childhood, nihilistic youth and finally, triumphant middle age, weaving a thousand diary entries into a narrative that explores life, war, abuse, suicide, homelessness, religion, childhood, duty, patriotism, police violence, sexuality and yet more.

This is a book full of richly sketched characters, not the least of which is Lemay itself. A beautifully rundown area of a divided city “made for the John Waters films that circulated like guide books”. The Lemay Leveller examines society one person at a time, calling on us all to recognise our part in the greater story.

While harrowing at times, The Lemay Leveller never loses its sense of humour, bringing the reader along on a journey full of music, passion, and wry amusement over the absurdities of life.

-------


Hello! Thank you for taking the time to look at my gofundme page. 

I find it a little hard to ask for help to pay for the costs of publishing my book.  I know there are a million worthy causes all asking for your help, and I don't believe mine is particularly any more important than the others.  But I do believe it is worthy nonetheless, so I will ask you for your help and let you decide what you would like to do. 

I wrote the first draft of this book when I was seventeen.  I'm 36 now, and I've finally finished it.  It's in the hands of a lovely Editor.  I need help to cover my Editing costs, self publishing costs, building a website, and sending copies of the book to reviewers upon its publication (i.e. marketing costs).  

This is my book - I wrote it for myself, no doubt.  But I also wrote it for my son, for his generation, and for mine.  In fact it's a book that many people from my generation will recognise very well.  The book is essentially social philosophy wound around a complicated ongoing story.  It takes place where I grew up, in an underprivleged area of St. Louis called Lemay, hence the title.  It forshadowed the riots of Ferguson, it demonstrates a little bit of the city that was on its way to that infamy, and it tells the stories of all those people who fell through the cracks in its modern American society.  

It isn't a book meant to make you have a bleeding heart.  If anything it's a battle cry. It's a book that speaks of the violence and culture that bred it, and it asks the reader to make some hard choices about what they think is right and wrong.  It is a book that revolves around mcuh that has gone wrong in our society, examines the threads that hold it together and explores how to strengthen them.  

Publishing this book has been my dream for almost my entire life.  It is memorial, justice and manifesto all in one.  It's funny, it's sad, it's crazy and it doesn't fit fully into any one genre of literature that I can name.  It's a great book and it deserves the chance to impress you, perhaps also to make a small difference in the world.  For my family personally, it means almost everything.  

Please help me get this book from a completed and polished manuscript to the reading public.  I believe in this book.  Other people who are cleverer than me also believe in this book.  We have all benefited from literature, whether because the books have enriched our lives or the ideas that they fostered gave us our freedoms.  That is how I want to use literature and that is what I want this book to do.  Getting good literature off the ground these days requires the help of those who want to read it, unless  you are already an established, published author.  

Thank you for any contributions made.  If you'd like to let me know your name I'd be very happy to include you in my thanks and dedication.  If you have any questions about what writing I have already done, or anything else I would be happy to answer them.  Please consider giving a little to help me bring The Lemay Leveller into 2016!  

Thank you, 
Erin Summers Norman

Organizer

Lemay Leveller
Organizer

Your easy, powerful, and trusted home for help

  • Easy

    Donate quickly and easily.

  • Powerful

    Send help right to the people and causes you care about.

  • Trusted

    Your donation is protected by the  GoFundMe Giving Guarantee.