May 2023 Newsletter
| Dear Friend, In 2016, I started a blog and announced my intention to finish the memoir I’d begun in 1999. Do you remember how long ago you joined me here? Did you wonder if I would really accomplish what I set out to do? I wondered, but I don’t think I ever doubted. (Although in the year leading up to my book deal, my prospects were feeling rather bleak.) Either way, the time for doubt has passed. Friends have been contacting me to say my preordered book has already arrived, so I guess I’ve been a published author for a few days now. But tomorrow, it becomes official! I wonder if I’ll feel different tomorrow morning than I do today. I wonder if it will be anticlimactic. No matter, I’m still bursting with excitement. A beehive of marketing. I’ve been super busy with self-marketing. Here’s a video of me opening the box of books shipped from my publisher. I posted this to social media, and on Twitter, it’s up to almost 29,000 views! Here’s the pull-up banner I’ll bring to book signings, festivals, and other events:  Here’s how I presented my book to a local radio station whose book show I hope to be featured on:  I’ve also landed some killer “companion essays”–essays related to themes in my book: “Make Yourself Heard” appeared in the digital and print editions of Brain & Life, which is distributed to thousands of neurologist’s offices in the US.  I thought my son’s benign brain tumor was harmless. I was wrong. This essay appeared in Insider digital magazine. There’s even more, but it’s too much to show you! Get in on the fun To celebrate with me, please join me on one of these virtual book launch events: Facebook live on Tuesday, May 2 at 7 pm EDT. (Just click to join anytime between 7-8 pm.) Zoom on Wednesday, May 3 at 7 pm EDT. (Just click to join anytime between 7-8 pm.) For both events, I’ll have recent or forthcoming authors ask me surprising (but hopefully not embarrassing) questions. That will give you some insight into the impetus behind my writing, the craft, the backstory, the forward story, or who knows what else? I hope you can pop in, even if just for a few minutes. Important reminders Remember that Growth is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop, or you can call your local bookstore and ask them to preorder it. Growth is also posted to Goodreads, and if you click “Want to read” on that page, it helps increase my page views! When you’ve read my book, please post a review on Amazon and cut and paste it to Goodreads. (Or vice versa). Reviews are critical to an author getting more exposure on these sites. I’ll be busy through the fall with events, so please stay tuned. I may even be coming to your area and would love to see you in person! As always, I am honored and humbled by your support. THANK YOU for being here, for opening this email, and for being with me in spirit through this arduous tunnel whose light is almost upon us! Here’s to growth! Karen |
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| Growth: A Mother, Her Son, and the Brain Tumor They Survived. When her eight-year-old son begins to exhibit increasingly bizarre behaviors, a happily married mother of two must meet the overwhelming demands of motherhood and wrestle with her fear of conflict if she and her son are to survive. Forthcoming from Apprentice House Press, May 2023. |
| Karen is a happily married, slightly frazzled working mother of two when her eight-year-old son, Matthew, develops a strange eye-rolling tic. Gradually, her high-energy kid becomes clumsy and lethargic, her “Little Einstein” a gifted program dropout. Karen knows something is wrong. But she can’t get anyone to listen and lacks the backbone to crack the resistance. After three exhausting, desperate years, finally, an MRI reveals the truth: a brain tumor, squishing Matthew’s brain into a sliver against his skull. Following a delicate surgery, doctors predict a complete recovery. But the damage from the delayed diagnosis prolongs Matthew’s recovery, challenging Karen to grow in ways she never imagined. A fast-paced page-turner told with candor, insight, and wit, Growth takes you on a rollercoaster of painful truths and hard-won transformations. |
