Heather Dawn Robin's Blog, page 4

Your Voice

Because I so enjoy all of the feedback I get from my readers and don’t want to be the only one experiencing it, I’m dedicating this page to your comments, thoughts, and book reviews. I’m listening––with my eyes, of course.

First Book Signing A Success

How exciting it was on Saturday to walk into Zahra's Bookstore and set up for my first book signing! I truly had no idea what the outcome would be, and I was totally amazed at the love that showed up. Family, friends, and total strangers came out to get their autographed copy of Imbroglio. We talked about the book, its inception, its title, and much more. I even had to tag one individual with a spoiler alert. It was a great time, and saying that I am eternally grateful for the support is inadequate. I think I'll still be wearing the same smile from this event a year from now. Check out a few of the moments below, captured beautifully, courtesy of Photography by Elijah. You'll see what I mean.

 

Unusual Marketing

I received a message this past Thursday on my Facebook Page that I just have to share. It made my mouth gape open.

The sender asked that I share it anonymously.

“Hello, my name is UNDISCLOSED and I just wanted to share with you about how I heard of your name and your debut book.

Thursday night, I received a text message that read: “HEATHER’s Book is out!! BUY IT, READ IT! It’s GOOD! HeatherDawnRobin.com”. After looking at the text and asking who it was from, (they called themselves Aunt Cheryl) I concluded that it was sent to me by accident. I politely let them know that they had the wrong number but, I told them I wished your book well.

I love reading, love to write and I’m always adding new books to my “To Read List” when I got home, I decided to Google the book and your name. I went to your website, read the synopsis and read a teaser. With the teaser alone, I found myself chuckling at where it left off and wondering what happened next. So, your book is now on my “To Read List”.

Long story short, a text that was accidentally sent to me helped me find a new book that I want to read, inspired me to keep working on my story and getting it published one day… I believe that all of this is God nudging me; reminding me not to forget my dream.”

God is amazing! What I learned? Even in mistakes, there is success and purpose.

Behind the scenes––The Writer’s Imbroglio

An intricate and perplexing state of affairs. That is the definition of the title of my book, but the irony with its regard is that it is exactly what I went through while writing the story.

Imbroglio weaves the beginning tale of a woman traveling along an emotional, moral, spiritual, and political journey among a crowd of others in need of deliverance. I wrote as I was lead, not eschewing sinful aspects of the characters in the story, but taking the reader through their human choices and the consequences of those choices as it relates to God’s design and moral standards. However, as I was trying to write the story the Lord was unfolding before me, the reality is I grappled with doing so.

I was conflicted about the concerns that certain Christians might have about the content. You know, the ones who may not see the vision God had given me or understand the book’s purpose. I was concerned about inciting the reader to sin. I kept questioning, should I include the sinful elements of the world? What about showing the struggles with such? Should I tell this romantic suspense? Now, don’t get me wrong. Imbroglio is not erotica, nor is it a gory war chronicle, but it does contain real life experiences, and even with the knowledge that no novel—regardless of the premise—will ever please everyone, I still shied away from wanting to tell the story.

It was truly an interpersonal battle, until the day the Lord reminded me that in His Word, inside the greatest love story ever created, where the beauty of romance and sensuality is nestled within, are all sorts of sinful conditions––violence, immorality, and immense wickedness. So, I revisited such passages, paying close attention to the seemingly unnecessary mentions in scripture that for me incited the question of why God saw fit to include them, like Onan spilling his seed on the ground (Gen. 38:9), Rahab’s mere mention as a prostitute (Josh 2:1), the story of the two prostitute sisters in Ezekiel 23, the Song of Solomon, and numerous accounts of rape and depravity. Admittedly, I’d reread those passages countless times, but the question remained until finally, I got it––the “why” of why He included it. I understood that the lucid descriptions of people’s sin the Bible are there to show us, the readers, ourselves—what we look, behave, and desire to be like. I saw they were never to glorify the acts, but rather to show how far we are from righteousness and in need of his mercy.

God turned my focus back to intention. I then asked myself, “Is my intention to glorify those elements or to send a message?” In resounding fashion, my answer was the latter. It was then God confirmed for me what I had known all along: I cannot tell a complete story without the good and the bad, and the only way we as people change is if we can see ourselves. If I was going to stay true to who my target audience is—those who need or desire something different, meaningful and thought–provoking—then I would have to stay the course.

How good it felt to gain peace! I could finally move forward through the labor pains. The result is this book, with thoughtfully selected content and carefully chosen words. Through my own imbroglio, Imbroglio was born. So, when you open the book and turn the pages, get ready.

Heather Dawn’s Book Corner Coming

Today is my birthday! The Lord has blessed me to see another year of life, and on top of that, He timed it with the arrival of a debut publication that took so very long to manifest––something I couldn’t have planned if I tried. This speaks volumes to me!

So, I want to do something different by giving everyone who’s interested a gift. To celebrate the official release of my new novel, Imbroglio, I will be reading the first chapter live on Periscope! If you don’t have the app, get it, follow me (HeatherDawnRobn) and meet me at Heather Dawn’s Book Corner on Saturday, October 10th at 1:15pm.

This will be my first Scope and out of the box for me, but I’m happily following the plans that the Lord is laying before me. I hope you can join me!

Imbroglio is Here!

So, my debut novel, Imbroglio, has arrived––right before my birthday! What an incredible birthday gift of new beginnings and adventure, by the grace of God. I was so excited to get home and open my packages, I didn’t even fix myself up. I just grabbed the scissors and went for it! I posted a video of it on my Facebook page. If you want a laugh, please take a look.

It is an amazing experience to have something I’ve worked so hard and long on to finally materialize in my hands, and I couldn’t have done it without the help and encouragement of my closest family, friends, and a few new people the Lord sent me along the way. Now, I’m anxious to hear back from you, the reader, after you’ve held the book in your hands and read it from cover to cover!

If you haven’t already, get your copy today––before the sale of 25% off AND free shipping is gone! Hmmm, it’s just the right size for Christmas stocking stuffers…

Greetings!

Welcome to My Mind! I thought you might want a romantic story filled with suspense where the spice is written in such a way that if you know what it is, you’ll know what it is, and if you don’t, well… you won’t. When you open the pages, be prepared to walk through the characters’ lives and experience the realistic juxtaposition of sin and righteousness. Do you dare to proceed?