Michelle Kemper Brownlow's Blog, page 3
July 9, 2013
IN TOO DEEP BLOG HOP!
Next week - July 15-19 is the IN TOO DEEP BLOG HOP!
Over 20 AMAZING bloggers have risen to the occasion and taken a spot on our HOP!
Check out where IN TOO DEEP is visiting each weekday next week!
http://michellekemperbrownlow.blogspo...
Sequel, ON SOLID GROUND, releasing December 2013
Over 20 AMAZING bloggers have risen to the occasion and taken a spot on our HOP!
Check out where IN TOO DEEP is visiting each weekday next week!
http://michellekemperbrownlow.blogspo...
Sequel, ON SOLID GROUND, releasing December 2013
July 1, 2013
"Gracie cries too much..."
This comment has come up a couple times since IN TOO DEEP's release June 6th.
I wrote IN TOO DEEP to bring the damaging effects of a form of abuse that is rarely talked about to the forefront. There are no broken bones to Xray, no cuts to stitch. The only way to measure the scars is by the pain and sense of loss the victim feels...and all that is happening on the INSIDE.
I have to assume that the people who make this comment have never been in or known someone in an emotionally abusive relationship. And that is AWESOME! When I see comments like this I actually sigh with relief b/c that means the person commenting does not know HELL ON EARTH like the victims of emotional abuse do. FANTASTIC for you!
I also find it interesting that if those same people were reading a book where the boyfriend hit and threatened the girlfriend, they most likely wouldn't make the "cries too much" comment.
It is documented in psychiatric reference books that emotional abuse is more damaging and has life-long emotional "wounds" that one does NOT suffer in a physically abusive relationship. I am NOT AT ALL suggesting that one is worse than the other, I am simply trying to show that both are forms of SERIOUS abuse.
If you think you wouldn't cry a lot while being systematically brainwashed into believing everything is your fault and you need to try harder to make the relationship work...then you are way stronger than 99% of the humans on the planet.
I am a survivor of a relationship like Gracie and Noah's and just let me tell you...if you have a friend in a similar relationship, telling her she cries too much and is too weak to leave the bastard only adds to her feelings of failure in just one more relationship. That is a life-threatening situation!
Honestly, it doesn't bother me in the least when people make this comment...what bothers me is the thought that there are women out there who are living the HELL that emotional abuse is and their friends turn their backs b/c they are "too weak" to walk away from the damaging relationship they are in.
They need help not judgement. I hope with every ounce of my being that those of you who feel this way, only do b/c the characters are just that, characters. I hope with everything I am that you will change your tune when someone you love is in the situation Gracie was.
"Telling someone who is emotionally abused that they cry too much is like telling someone who is physically abused that they bruise to easily. Think before you speak!"
Just something to think about...
I wrote IN TOO DEEP to bring the damaging effects of a form of abuse that is rarely talked about to the forefront. There are no broken bones to Xray, no cuts to stitch. The only way to measure the scars is by the pain and sense of loss the victim feels...and all that is happening on the INSIDE.
I have to assume that the people who make this comment have never been in or known someone in an emotionally abusive relationship. And that is AWESOME! When I see comments like this I actually sigh with relief b/c that means the person commenting does not know HELL ON EARTH like the victims of emotional abuse do. FANTASTIC for you!
I also find it interesting that if those same people were reading a book where the boyfriend hit and threatened the girlfriend, they most likely wouldn't make the "cries too much" comment.
It is documented in psychiatric reference books that emotional abuse is more damaging and has life-long emotional "wounds" that one does NOT suffer in a physically abusive relationship. I am NOT AT ALL suggesting that one is worse than the other, I am simply trying to show that both are forms of SERIOUS abuse.
If you think you wouldn't cry a lot while being systematically brainwashed into believing everything is your fault and you need to try harder to make the relationship work...then you are way stronger than 99% of the humans on the planet.
I am a survivor of a relationship like Gracie and Noah's and just let me tell you...if you have a friend in a similar relationship, telling her she cries too much and is too weak to leave the bastard only adds to her feelings of failure in just one more relationship. That is a life-threatening situation!
Honestly, it doesn't bother me in the least when people make this comment...what bothers me is the thought that there are women out there who are living the HELL that emotional abuse is and their friends turn their backs b/c they are "too weak" to walk away from the damaging relationship they are in.
They need help not judgement. I hope with every ounce of my being that those of you who feel this way, only do b/c the characters are just that, characters. I hope with everything I am that you will change your tune when someone you love is in the situation Gracie was.
"Telling someone who is emotionally abused that they cry too much is like telling someone who is physically abused that they bruise to easily. Think before you speak!"
Just something to think about...
June 28, 2013
IN TOO DEEP sequel title announcement...
The title for the sequel for IN TOO DEEP has not been revealed until now...
I love FRIDAYS so I thought that would be a great day to announce it.
The sequel for IN TOO DEEP is....
ON SOLID GROUND
...and you are going to LOVE it!
Gracie is in a different place emotionally and Jake is even HOTTER.
There's also a character from IN TOO DEEP who becomes a major part of Gracie & Jake's story!
I love FRIDAYS so I thought that would be a great day to announce it.
The sequel for IN TOO DEEP is....
ON SOLID GROUND
...and you are going to LOVE it!
Gracie is in a different place emotionally and Jake is even HOTTER.
There's also a character from IN TOO DEEP who becomes a major part of Gracie & Jake's story!
June 19, 2013
Last day of my Xpresso Blog Tour
Today marks the very last day of a whirlwind of blog stops on my blog tour for IN TOO DEEP planned by Xpresso Blog Tours!
I would love if you grabbed your own copy of IN TOO DEEP to commemorate the final few blog stops!
http://www.amazon.com/In-Too-Deep-ebo...
IN TOO DEEP received rave reviews over the last week on almost 50 blogs around the world...yep, world!
Move IN TOO DEEP up your "to-read" list to #1, grab your copy and pour yourself a yummy drink!
Cheers!
I would love if you grabbed your own copy of IN TOO DEEP to commemorate the final few blog stops!
http://www.amazon.com/In-Too-Deep-ebo...
IN TOO DEEP received rave reviews over the last week on almost 50 blogs around the world...yep, world!
Move IN TOO DEEP up your "to-read" list to #1, grab your copy and pour yourself a yummy drink!
Cheers!
June 9, 2013
The WHIRLWIND called RELEASE DAY!
WOW! I can't even begin to describe the size of the butterflies in my stomach this week. I had emotions all over the place...nervous, ecstatic, excited, worried...all over the place!
IN TOO DEEP was on THREE Amazon Best Seller Lists (genre-specific) the night BEFORE it was released. I got an email from my editors saying, "DID YOU SEE THIS?!" Being so new to the "author world" I didn't even know how to GET to the page they'd copied and pasted into my email. But it was a picture of the Best Seller List. FLOORED!
Sales have soared! I am thrilled to say that IN TOO DEEP is STILL on those three lists and its rank has been waffling between the 960s and 1000s...and that's out of 1.9 MILLION Kindle books! STUNNED!
I knew Gracie would grab people's hearts because her story took a lot out of me. You think it was hard READING her story...try LIVING IT in my MIND for the last year! CRAZY-CRAZY!
It's so interesting to me the feedback that people give me and I love it all - except for those reviews where someone admits at the beginning they didn't even finish the book before writing the review. WTH? I don't even READ their feedback b/c who does that? Who legitimately believes they can give a proper and respectful assessment of a book if they didn't even get to the end before the quit. All I have to say about that is "Only the strong survive!" And I am thrilled by those of you who stuck it out! Because now you love her like I do! :)
I also had my very first BOOK SIGNING this weekend which was so fun but also INCREDIBLY bizarre! I can't really put it into words WHY I felt it was bizarre, though. I guess the fact that I have been a ridiculous day dreamer my whole life so the bits and pieces of stories that run through my head every day are usually kept there. IN TOO DEEP ran through my head enough times...and waving a giant flag...and squeeling like an idiot that I HAD to write it to get it out. The fact that the story from my own strange brain resonates with so many women is just surreal. Then add to that the fact that they want their picture with you and want you to write in their book....FLABBERGASTED!
Major thanks go out to all the bloggers who reviewed and promo'd the hell out of IN TOO DEEP! Don't STOP! Let's keep this train going! :) I am poised and ready for you to read BOOK 2...once it's finished, of course!
Hoping the 1049 of you who have it on your TBR shelf will be reviewing as well!
I'm off to work some magic with this next manuscript...and already jotting down ideas for a book AFTER that! You will have plenty to read from me in the very near future! Hold on! This is going to be an awesome ride!
IN TOO DEEP was on THREE Amazon Best Seller Lists (genre-specific) the night BEFORE it was released. I got an email from my editors saying, "DID YOU SEE THIS?!" Being so new to the "author world" I didn't even know how to GET to the page they'd copied and pasted into my email. But it was a picture of the Best Seller List. FLOORED!
Sales have soared! I am thrilled to say that IN TOO DEEP is STILL on those three lists and its rank has been waffling between the 960s and 1000s...and that's out of 1.9 MILLION Kindle books! STUNNED!
I knew Gracie would grab people's hearts because her story took a lot out of me. You think it was hard READING her story...try LIVING IT in my MIND for the last year! CRAZY-CRAZY!
It's so interesting to me the feedback that people give me and I love it all - except for those reviews where someone admits at the beginning they didn't even finish the book before writing the review. WTH? I don't even READ their feedback b/c who does that? Who legitimately believes they can give a proper and respectful assessment of a book if they didn't even get to the end before the quit. All I have to say about that is "Only the strong survive!" And I am thrilled by those of you who stuck it out! Because now you love her like I do! :)
I also had my very first BOOK SIGNING this weekend which was so fun but also INCREDIBLY bizarre! I can't really put it into words WHY I felt it was bizarre, though. I guess the fact that I have been a ridiculous day dreamer my whole life so the bits and pieces of stories that run through my head every day are usually kept there. IN TOO DEEP ran through my head enough times...and waving a giant flag...and squeeling like an idiot that I HAD to write it to get it out. The fact that the story from my own strange brain resonates with so many women is just surreal. Then add to that the fact that they want their picture with you and want you to write in their book....FLABBERGASTED!
Major thanks go out to all the bloggers who reviewed and promo'd the hell out of IN TOO DEEP! Don't STOP! Let's keep this train going! :) I am poised and ready for you to read BOOK 2...once it's finished, of course!
Hoping the 1049 of you who have it on your TBR shelf will be reviewing as well!
I'm off to work some magic with this next manuscript...and already jotting down ideas for a book AFTER that! You will have plenty to read from me in the very near future! Hold on! This is going to be an awesome ride!
May 29, 2013
IN TOO DEEP now available for PRE-ORDER
WOW!
What an amazing thing to wake up to! You can now order your very own copy of IN TOO DEEP!
http://www.amazon.com/Too-Deep-Michel...
:)
What an amazing thing to wake up to! You can now order your very own copy of IN TOO DEEP!
http://www.amazon.com/Too-Deep-Michel...
:)
May 22, 2013
14 DAYS until RELEASE DAY!
Tomorrow will mark the TWO WEEK dot on the countdown to IN TOO DEEP's debut.
*breathe breathe*
Well, of course, I am nervous. As a debut author this whole journey has been like an out-of-body experience...it's been surreal!
My journey went kind of like this:
*Commit to writing 1500+ words/day
*Hit 90,000 words in 6 weeks
*Edit
*Enter #PitchMAS contest
*Get 3 requests for "MORE!"
*Offered and accepted a contract just weeks after typing the last word of the FIRST draft!
*FFWD 6 months and HERE I AM!
DISCLAIMER: This journey followed a SEVEN YEAR trek to every corner of the publishing world I could find. I collected over 150 rejections for picture books, non-fiction parenting books, a middle grade chapter book and numerous proposals for ideas I just KNEW would have agents knocking down my door. So, this didn't happen as "overnight" as it looks by my list above.
Now, I find myself planning the details of my VERY FIRST book signing event just two days after IN TOO DEEP's release. And, yes, like a FREAK, I am practicing what my signature will look like when someone hands me their book to sign.
I have been to plenty of author signings and authors always have some cute little saying or "tag line" they sign their books with. So, I'm jotting down those ideas, too.
I have to say that I am honored to be a member of such an amazing league of women. I have met so many amazing authors who have opened their hearts to me.
Romance is my niche. It took me a while to get here but HERE I AM! And I ain't leavin' anytime soon.
Does that mean I'm working on my next book? ABSOFRIGGINLUTELY!
Stay tuned....and drop me a line!
*breathe breathe*
Well, of course, I am nervous. As a debut author this whole journey has been like an out-of-body experience...it's been surreal!
My journey went kind of like this:
*Commit to writing 1500+ words/day
*Hit 90,000 words in 6 weeks
*Edit
*Enter #PitchMAS contest
*Get 3 requests for "MORE!"
*Offered and accepted a contract just weeks after typing the last word of the FIRST draft!
*FFWD 6 months and HERE I AM!
DISCLAIMER: This journey followed a SEVEN YEAR trek to every corner of the publishing world I could find. I collected over 150 rejections for picture books, non-fiction parenting books, a middle grade chapter book and numerous proposals for ideas I just KNEW would have agents knocking down my door. So, this didn't happen as "overnight" as it looks by my list above.
Now, I find myself planning the details of my VERY FIRST book signing event just two days after IN TOO DEEP's release. And, yes, like a FREAK, I am practicing what my signature will look like when someone hands me their book to sign.
I have been to plenty of author signings and authors always have some cute little saying or "tag line" they sign their books with. So, I'm jotting down those ideas, too.
I have to say that I am honored to be a member of such an amazing league of women. I have met so many amazing authors who have opened their hearts to me.
Romance is my niche. It took me a while to get here but HERE I AM! And I ain't leavin' anytime soon.
Does that mean I'm working on my next book? ABSOFRIGGINLUTELY!
Stay tuned....and drop me a line!
May 18, 2013
Welcome! Welcome!
I don't know who I am most excited saying that to...you or me!
I've been waiting and waiting to update my goodreads account to a REAL author account!
Thrilled to be here!
If you knew me in my Mommy Blogging days, you will remember MY SEMBLANCE OF SANITY. It was a pretty popular stop on the Mommy Blogging circuit. I hope to bring just as much fun here as I did there...well, maybe a little more mature in nature and not so much poop stories and complaints of having legos surgically removed from my feet.
Today there are 19 days until IN TOO DEEP my New Adult Contemporary Romance makes its debut. There has been a TON of hype from some pretty awesome book bloggers so I am hoping you will check it out, too. And if you have already checked it out, I hope you'll leave some stars and your thoughts.
Peace out.
I've been waiting and waiting to update my goodreads account to a REAL author account!
Thrilled to be here!
If you knew me in my Mommy Blogging days, you will remember MY SEMBLANCE OF SANITY. It was a pretty popular stop on the Mommy Blogging circuit. I hope to bring just as much fun here as I did there...well, maybe a little more mature in nature and not so much poop stories and complaints of having legos surgically removed from my feet.
Today there are 19 days until IN TOO DEEP my New Adult Contemporary Romance makes its debut. There has been a TON of hype from some pretty awesome book bloggers so I am hoping you will check it out, too. And if you have already checked it out, I hope you'll leave some stars and your thoughts.
Peace out.
