- F
- M
GoFundMe is generally associated with desperate cases – medical emergencies, life threatening diseases, natural disasters and mounting bills. So how do I have the audacity to set up a campaign, CHAMPIONS FOR HOPE, to ask you to help me raise $6,500 to fulfill my lifelong wish of publishing a book? Blame it on my good friend Carol who suggested that she, and others, would take great joy in helping me achieve this dream.
In my many years living and growing on this planet, I have come to believe that it is our dreams that sustain us, support us through difficult times and encourage us to keep moving forward. The greatest gift that we can give ourselves, and one another, is the gift of Hope, the belief that all things are possible. When I am hopeful, my enthusiasm spills over into my relationships, my work, the world. I am a happier person when I have a dream to hope for, and my hope makes the universe a happier place.
What is my dream and why do I need GoFundMe? As many of you already know, I am a writer. I have been a writer all my life, even when I was being a wife, a mother, a teacher and most recently, a caregiver. Long ago, I published stories, poems, even had a play produced at a prestigious theatre in Boston. I have written screenplays, book and theatre reviews, and ghostwritten texts. But life intruded and my vocation became an avocation. A lost dream.
In 2015, my husband Thom was diagnosed with liver cancer and almost died. Suddenly. I was faced with the stark reality that I, too, was mortal. I heard the poet Mary Oliver ask, “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” I decided then that I would follow my dream and dedicate myself to my writing. Now, two years later, I have written two novels with a third one on the way. My second novel, THE BOOK SISTERS, is a family saga following the lives of six sisters who grew up in a dysfunctional family in the ‘60s. It is THE BOOK SISTERS that I have been trying so hard to place with an agent, but to no avail. I have suffered the blows of countless rejections from agents who call me “a talented writer,” tell me my work is “riveting,” and advise me that publishing is a most subjective business, but they just can’t see a place for my book in this competitive market.
My dream as a writer is not to get rich and famous. It is to see my books in print and online, where what I have created can be shared with friends, new and old. I have thought of self-publishing before. But, honestly, I wanted the ego strokes of being signed on by someone in the business. Besides, given all the medical bills in the wake of Thom’s transplant, we don’t have the money it would take to turn THE BOOK SISTERS into a polished, published, marketed text.
Which is where my friend Carol comes in. She suggested that I ask you all to pitch in and help this seasoned woman (who, at 61, is making a stab at a new life) achieve her dream. It wouldn’t take much, only as much as you are able to give, and I would appreciate your generosity more than I can say. Every artist needs patrons, and you would be mine.
In the publishing world, agents are always saying they hope I find someone who will champion my work. I am inviting you now to hop on board and be a CHAMPION FOR HOPE. Who knows? Maybe your $5/25/50) will be the gift that makes it possible for word of my book to catch fire. At the very least, you’ll have your name in the credits!
In my many years living and growing on this planet, I have come to believe that it is our dreams that sustain us, support us through difficult times and encourage us to keep moving forward. The greatest gift that we can give ourselves, and one another, is the gift of Hope, the belief that all things are possible. When I am hopeful, my enthusiasm spills over into my relationships, my work, the world. I am a happier person when I have a dream to hope for, and my hope makes the universe a happier place.
What is my dream and why do I need GoFundMe? As many of you already know, I am a writer. I have been a writer all my life, even when I was being a wife, a mother, a teacher and most recently, a caregiver. Long ago, I published stories, poems, even had a play produced at a prestigious theatre in Boston. I have written screenplays, book and theatre reviews, and ghostwritten texts. But life intruded and my vocation became an avocation. A lost dream.
In 2015, my husband Thom was diagnosed with liver cancer and almost died. Suddenly. I was faced with the stark reality that I, too, was mortal. I heard the poet Mary Oliver ask, “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” I decided then that I would follow my dream and dedicate myself to my writing. Now, two years later, I have written two novels with a third one on the way. My second novel, THE BOOK SISTERS, is a family saga following the lives of six sisters who grew up in a dysfunctional family in the ‘60s. It is THE BOOK SISTERS that I have been trying so hard to place with an agent, but to no avail. I have suffered the blows of countless rejections from agents who call me “a talented writer,” tell me my work is “riveting,” and advise me that publishing is a most subjective business, but they just can’t see a place for my book in this competitive market.
My dream as a writer is not to get rich and famous. It is to see my books in print and online, where what I have created can be shared with friends, new and old. I have thought of self-publishing before. But, honestly, I wanted the ego strokes of being signed on by someone in the business. Besides, given all the medical bills in the wake of Thom’s transplant, we don’t have the money it would take to turn THE BOOK SISTERS into a polished, published, marketed text.
Which is where my friend Carol comes in. She suggested that I ask you all to pitch in and help this seasoned woman (who, at 61, is making a stab at a new life) achieve her dream. It wouldn’t take much, only as much as you are able to give, and I would appreciate your generosity more than I can say. Every artist needs patrons, and you would be mine.
In the publishing world, agents are always saying they hope I find someone who will champion my work. I am inviting you now to hop on board and be a CHAMPION FOR HOPE. Who knows? Maybe your $5/25/50) will be the gift that makes it possible for word of my book to catch fire. At the very least, you’ll have your name in the credits!