The Ugly Truth About Indie Publishing

I have 13 days to go before my Kickstarter Project will be over.  Unfortunately, unless a miracle takes place between now and then, it will have been a total flop.  And, I honestly don’t understand why?  I’ve seen people on Kickstarter with some amazing products that deserves every bit of the support they receive and then some, but I’ve also seen some of the dumbest stuff up there receiving crazy funds beyond one’s imagination…for picture books, puzzle books…painted cards…painted posters…hundreds of thousands of dollars for these items!  And, I ask myself, what am I doing wrong?  I’ve checked and rechecked my post, tweaked and re-tweaked my videos;  I deleted 1/3 of my information, thinking I was overwhelming people with too much info, etc.  I even added a second video to explain why I was asking for the funds, which I also posted on my last post here!  All to no avail!

I’m not upset or anything like that.  I’m just…confused, frazzled, thrown-off-balance a bit.  Here’s why.  You start out writing and everybody under the sun says, If you need anything, And I Mean Anything, Just Let Me Know: I’M HERE FOR YOU!  I’M SERIOUS!  JUST LET ME KNOW!  You don’t call on them personally, but you set up this project and you let them know about it and ask them to spread the word to their friends and; suddenly, people (even, your immediate FAMILY) act as though you have the chicken pox.  They now want to keep their distance from you!  Even by email!  As though they can catch whatever it is they think you’re “spreading” via Twitter and/or FB and/or Email.

You attempt to put them at ease by saying:  “No, no…I don’t want anything from you (as though $5 would break their bank!), just spread the word for me.”  Retweet this for me or email that for me to your friends and all of a sudden, you hear:  I really don’t have too many friends or I don’t have those kind of friends!  I actually stepped out on the limb on New Years Eve (at our family gathering) and asked my oldest daughter to retweet my kickstarter “spill” for me, and she said (with a straight face, I might add):  “I don’t retweet.  I only retweet things that I like, like that guy you introduced me to…what’s his name, Deitrick Haddon?  Yeah, I retweeted a couple of things he wrote, but that’s all.  No, I don’t retweet.”  This is MY DAUGHTER SAYING THIS TO ME!  Needless to say, I was totally taken back by her nonchalant attitude while making the statement.  Like she was saying, No, I don’t like chocolate ice cream.  I couldn’t believe it.  I wasn’t even angry.  I was hurt!  It’s like, you’re trying to get your book out and the whole Universe is suddenly against you!  But, these are people you’ve done FREE Resumes, Divorces, Bankruptcies–you name it–for that would have cost them Thousands of Dollars with anyone else, but I did it for them for FREE!!!  And, thought NOTHING OF IT, AND DIDN’T HESITATE TO DO IT!

Within a few weeks of joining a new church and the Pastor finding out I was writing a book (and I didn’t tell him); all of a sudden, I’m getting a dig from the pulpit:  “These people got talents and gifts that God gave them and they’re just sitting on them. They could be making money right now singing, writing music, writing books.  In fact, people taking forever to edit their books and stuff, when all they have to do this day and time is write the book and upload it to the publisher.  The publishers do all the editing and everything and you’re done.  It don’t take all that stuff that people are doing holding up the book!”  This is from a person who’s never written anything in his life; who knows NOTHING about indie publishing or any other kind of publishing, for that matter.  He reads a little article somewhere or seen something on the internet and now he’s an expert on how MY book should be published!  But, did HE donate a dime to my kickstarter project?  I don’t think so! But, he’s waiting for it to be published so he can benefit from it like everyone else!  Needless to say, I’m resigning my membership!

The Ugly side of Indie Publishing is that you (on the most part) have to go it ALONE!  And, I mean ALONE!  You spend longs hours alone trying to create, long hours alone rewriting, editing, tweaking, always alone…no one as much as drop by to bring you a cup of coffee (except, my youngest son and his wife who keeps me in Barnes & Nobles gift cards…bless their hearts!).  But, when your book is published and it begins to creep, then crawl, then move, skip, climb, jump, and dive to the top of the bestsellers list, here they come!  They always knew you would do it!  They ALWAYS had your back, they were just giving you space to work!

Now, this may not be the case for all indie writers; in fact, I’m sure it isn’t.  Many have supportive spouses, cats, dogs, pigs…maybe, even, a few horses, turtles, spiders, snakes!  Others have their gourmet coffee, lemon tea, kettle chips, ice cream sandwiches, chocolate eclairs, and the list goes on.  But, what we really need are PEOPLE!  Without people, our writing and/or publishing isn’t worth the time it took us to do it, perfect it, and put it out there for your enjoyment!  And, if we need a little help along the way, so be it!  GIVE IT, for goodness sake!

We can give help and support for the dumbest stuff:  TRUTH!  We Americans will donate Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars for the dumbest stuff on earth!  Plain Truth!  Save the Alligators!  Money by the bushels!  Save the Crabs!  Money donated by the yang yang!  Let’s study how far the Butterflies fly?  Millions of dollars come in!  CRAZY!  But, ARTISTS…ALL OF US…We have to GIVE AWAY THOUSANDS OF FREE BOOKS AND CDs JUST TO GET YOU TO BUY A FEW!  HARD TRUTH!  We have to struggle, but we do it, because we believe we have something beautiful to offer.  And, we believe in it so much that if you aren’t willing to help us to get it to you, then we’ll struggle on our own to get it to you, even to the point of having to PAY OUT OF OUR OWN POCKETS to get it TO YOU FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT.

Now that I’m one of them, I totally understand the term “struggling artist.”  You struggle against your inner demons, you struggle against self-doubt, you struggle against systematic defeat (from time to time), you struggle against hindrances, your family, society at large; you struggle to get something passionate and beautiful into the hands of society; to share a little piece of yourself, and hope in the process, you’ve touched someone in some small, significant way…enough to be rewarded in return,  if only with appreciation.  I ask you:  Am I worthy of your appreciation?  Or, am I not?  I’ve given you several lengthy excepts of my writing to give you a feel for my talent, my style…what more can I give you to get your support for my book?  Is $5 or even $10 too much to ask for your help?  I’ve done my part, the rest is up to you.

So, there you have it!  My heart on my sleeve and the plain truth as ugly as it may be.
Now, if you’re interested in supporting this Indie Author, please go to http://kck.st/1017F2v
Your Help is more than Appreciated, and I can assure you: 

I’M WORTH IT…as are ALL US INDIE AUTHORS!

Kickstarting LETTERS FROM HEAVEN off to SUCCESS!

I recently launched a Kickstarter Project to take my book further than the "Ebook" format (which I can do and am doing on my own). Until you have to do it, you have no idea what it takes to, not only get your book written and published, but to make it a Success! I have all the faith and confidence in the world that my book will be exactly that: SUCCESSFUL! But, even successful people have; oftentimes, needed a little help along the way to their success.

I come to you as my Family, Friends, and Acquaintances to ask your help in taking LETTERS FROM HEAVEN to the next level...and the NEXT! 


On a $10,000 Credit Card donation from a "Friend," The Shack (a self-published Christian Fiction Novel) went on to be on the NY Times Bestseller's List and earn the author, William P. Young, $3.5 million dollars (by now, even MORE!). It all started with a "Friend," a Donation & Determination...and the rest is history!

I can only imagine that this friend is one happy guy today, and wealthier for his Faith in his Friend.

I'm hoping that you will come on board as my Friend and help me to SUCCEED at the Kickstarter Project, and know that the success of one is the success of all...as we all believe in Paying It Forward!
 
You can check out my Letters From Heaven Kickstarter Project at: http://kck.st/1017F2v.    

(And, by the way...IT IS TAX DEDUCTIBLE)!
 
So, Please consider helping. It would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You and MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, and to all A BLESSED LIFE!

LETTERS FROM HEAVEN: In a nutshell!

The first thing a person asks you when you tell them you've written a book (or is writing a book) is...What is it about. Then when you begin to tell them--after the second sentence--you've lost their attention. You're still trying to explain your "masterpiece" to them that has taken you, sometimes, years to write. You want to give them every juicy detail, but they want the whole book in one sentence! Frustrating for sure, but this is the give-it-to-me-quick, fast and on-the-run generation. Even sex has been reduced to a "quickie!" So, I'm going to give it to you in a nutshell, what Letters From Heaven is all about (although, if you've been reading these blogs, you've been given a bit of information regarding this, already). But, for the quickie generation who's never been to this blog before and isn't about to read it from the beginning, this information is for you. So, again, in a nutshell, this should summarize it:

It's a compelling love story of the unbreakable bond between a mother and her daughter, who refuses to allow even death to keep them apart. 

Now, for those of you who really want the low-down on this book and a little more to "chew" on, this is for you. And, by the way, you are more like me...I want to know as much about a book as I can in order to make a decision as to whether or not I want to invest any real time in it. So, for you...here goes:

In a time when rape was a secret one kept to one's self; when bearing a child outside of marriage was taboo, Angelica "Geli-bean" Snowden was born to a mother whose life defied the times and whose love defied death. Ava Lorraine "Rainey" Snowden (the mother of Angelica) set out to prove that love doesn't have to end with the grave...and the power of love doesn't end at all.

Letters From Heaven is the story of a precocious little girl--born of rape and of another race into a family of wealth and prestige--whose journey through childhood into womanhood is guided by the love of her mother (via letters) who refuses to allow, even, death to keep them apart.

Upon discovering her fatal illness, Rainey (Angelica's mother) begins a series of letters that will follow her daughter throughout her life (long after Rainey's death), hoping to give Angelica the feeling of security and stability that only a parent--in her case, a mother--can give. If only she could have foreseen the future, she would have known that it would take far more than "letters" to bring stability to her daughter's life. 

Angelica's life will be everything but stable: Her conception, a crime, her birth unwanted and her race a travesty to her family's name. Angelica's life is doomed to be filled with bumps, bruises, twists, turns, pain, and unimaginable darkness. The letters may appear to come from "heaven," but her life is the stuff of...well, let's just say, the other place!

Letters From Heaven is an intriguing story of four women whose lives are interrelated and interconnected (unbeknown to them) in a complex web of secrecy, all weaved around the life of Angelica (Geli-bean). Her mother, Rainey, is a woman of strength, even in the midst of terminal illness. Myra "Grand Myra" Snowden (Angelica's grandmother) is cool, aloof, and haunted by devastating secrets that have been sheltered by old money and her family's name, much to her unspoken shame...and pain. 

Louise "Mama Louise" Cash is a self-appointed, African-American surrogate grandmother to Angelica, who harbors secrets of her own that could destroy both her and Angelica's family. And, Angelica--who possesses a supernatural bond with her mother that extends beyond the letters from the grave--discovers (at the brink of adulthood) that her entire life has been a lie!

It is the 1st in a series of *3 books (written in the form of letters and lyrical prose) that proposes to change the way on views death, challenge the way one champions loss, and encourage one to embrace all of life's possibilities. 

(*NOTE: Next 2 books in the series will include parts of diaries as well).

Now, that should be enough information for you decide whether this book is worth you checking it out or not; hopefully, it is. It's fun, it's sassy, it's painful, and it's life! 

I truly hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you like V.C. Andrews, Anne Rice style of writing (not content, but style--though their content is GREAT as well), and such books as Nathan's Run, Angela's Ashes, and the Nanny Diaries, I believe you will absolutely LOVE LETTERS FROM HEAVEN!

So, there you have it! And, if you're ready to read this book in it's totality, consider helping us to Kickstart it off by going to http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/784316705/letters-from-heaven-a-mothers-love-never-dies.  

However you choose to support this book, whether through the Kickstarter Project or by purchasing a copy once publish, know that you are so appreciated.

Remember to LIVE, LAUGHT, LOVE...and have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Oh, and remember to SPREAD THE LOVE!!  And, Be Blessed!

Kickstarting LETTERS FROM HEAVEN off to be a GREAT SUCCESS!

ALERT, ALERT:  AWESOME NEWS ALERT!!

Yesterday, I was excepted by the KICKSTARTER Team to Kickstart Letters From Heaven off to be a phenomenal success.  It's taken me almost 2 month to put my project together for acceptance! There were a lot of stages I had to go through to get it accepted. You can't begin to imagine what this means to me...to any writer!

The Kickstarter Program has helped many artists--not just writers--to take their projects, whether it be books, a new technology, fabulous fashions, or a debut album--to the NEXT level. It has helped some to achieve success at a LEVEL they would never have achieved otherwise!

✉LETTERS FROM HEAVEN ♥ A Mother's Love Never Dies! ♥   by V. V. Taylor ~ A compelling love story of the unbreakable bond between a mother and her daughter, who refuses to allow even death to keep them apart.

It is a known fact that the "surviving" Traditional Publishing Companies have all but shut their doors to debuting authors...unless they know someone who knows someone! Even literary agents have over the past 10 years become extremely picky; looking for some knew style of writing to add another genre to the already confusing list (so they can claim discovery for it); only to leave great writers (not yet known or discovered) out in the cold with little possibility of being discovered. That's half the literary agents! The other half only want authors who have already been published and/or have achieved some level of success on their own. Such authors as Amanda Hocking, who had already reached a phenomenal level of success before the agents and publishers came knocking at her door. By her own admission, no one was even remotely considering giving her a chance at traditional publishing, until she'd already accomplished a level of success--many of us can only dream of--before being offered a contract: A contract she accepted by "choice," not out of need or necessity!

The Kickstart Project (if it's SUCCESSFUL) will afford me the opportunity to spend more time writing, and less time worrying about how I'm going to get the money for a Paperback cover, or pay for the ISBN# it will need, or pay for an editor (which is why I've been editing myself), and a number of other things I simply cannot afford on my own. Even the author of The Shack (an awesome Christian book), who self-published via $10,000 given to him by a friend (who saw potential in him and his book), admits he didn't have the funds to take it past the writing of it: No money for editing, book covers, distribution...none of it, until a friend offered the necessary help (financially) to move the book forward. And forward it moved: All the way to the NY Times Bestsellers List! If I remember correctly, the last time I saw Mr. Williams P. Young on TBN (Christian Network on TV), he claimed success of $3.5 million dollars.

I know that LETTERS FROM HEAVEN has the potential for the same success! I've tested it with "readers" (outside of the family) and have been given a 5-Star go ahead. Even when I focused on poetry before writing this book, I never got less than a standing ovation at the Poetry Slams; not to mention, that the very first "article" I submitted to the Local Newspaper for publishing, garnered me a "freelance position" on the spot with that paper! Absolute, true story! I wasn't even looking for a position at that time; I was already employed as a Social Worker with the Department of Social Services. So, can I write? There's no question about it! I was born a writer!

If you enjoy this blog - along with the excerpts of Letters From Heaven that I've added for your enjoyment - then help me to Kickstart Letters From Heaven off to be a world-wide success. You can help me achieve this goal in several ways: By sending your friends to this blog, telling everyone you know about the upcoming novel, LETTERS FROM HEAVEN; by tweeting it to your friends, talking about it on your Facebook page, and by going to http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/784316705/letters-from-heaven-a-mothers-love-never-dies and assist in helping to move this book forward!

I am an independent, self-publishing author who more than believes in her work! I'm destined to succeed, but I know my limitations. You can be a huge part of my SUCCESS! So, come on board with me an assist in taking this book to the next level. I can do it alone if I have to; but I can DO SO MUCH MORE with YOUR HELP!

Help Angelica "Geli-bean" Snowden to come alive! Give her her rightful place in the hearts of the people at large (where she belongs), and get ready for her antics as a child, her complex life as a teen, and her many life-learning and life-giving lessons as an adult! Only you can take her from the pages to the hearts of the people, and help her to become a memorable "classic" for years to come.

We are depending on YOU, so lets get started--or should I say, KICKSTARTED--to help make LETTERS FROM HEAVEN a phenomenal SUCCESS, and become a PART OF SOMETHING GREAT!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays...and many, many Blessings!

LETTERS FROM HEAVEN: The Labor Pains Have Begun...

Well, here we are once again...Heck, FORGET THE FORMALITIES! Isn't this WONDERFUL...absolutely GREAT!!! It's like giving birth to your very first child and, boy, do I remember that! Those were the days when there was no epidural unless an emergency called for it; you squirmed, twisted, rocked, kicked, walked, flipped, SCREAMED (not me of course, I was too much of a lady for that, plus my mom would never have let me live it down), and CURSED (definitely, NOT me) in pain! You thought the baby was refusing to come on purpose, as though he/she had some malicious plan to make you suffer as much and as long as possible! But, as soon as the sweet little angel was born, your face would light up like the morning sun and you were, suddenly, engulfed in eternal bliss! The smile plastered on your face lingered so long that it began to look like you had gone into a coma with your eyes wide open! THAT'S THE WONDER OF CHILDBIRTH!

Now, I'm about to give birth for the eighth (8th) time; only this time, it's not to a person...but to many people. Actually, to a WHOLE CAST OF PEOPLE!! To some of the most awesome people you'll ever meet! And, a few you'll just love to hate! Oh, and the other thing is...they didn't come out...well, you know...not the normal way! It just so happens that this capriciously eclectic group of people was born from my head...well, my BRAIN, to be more specific! They are the "stuff" of my imagination, and what an imagination I have!

If you've been reading this blog, then you're already ahead of the rest of the world (and by the way, I'm going to post sort of a CONTEST in a few days JUST FOR YOU, so keep reading!). You already know the premise behind this book and a bit about the book itself! But, the time has come for you to learn more about the characters, and what make them tick...or get ticked off, or tick off each other! At any rate, the book is about to be birthed--it's been a long, torturous labor--and, hopefully, bring forth a golden child...I mean, an AWESOME BOOK!

Ooohhhh, you've been waiting for me to give you a date, haven't you? What am I thinking? Of course you need to know when to expect this "birth." Well, if you promise to come back and read the blog (and bring some friends with you), I'll promise to tell you then--in the next blog. I promise. But, in the meantime, I have a little treat for you that will hold you over until then: Another lengthy excerpt (to give you a better idea of the "tone" of the book: A lighter side of it, rather! I will be adding a few of the "letters" written in the book. I truly hope you enjoy the "Prologue" and excerpts from the book:  I do look forward to sharing the book (in it's entirety) with you in the not-so-far future.

In the meantime, merry Christmas shopping; have fun, try not to overspend, and be Safe. Until next time....Live, Love, and Laugh with a PASSION!

LFH: The COUNTDOWN is On!

Can you believe it? We're almost there...almost at the finish line! Who would have thought it could take so long to write, then edit/rewrite one book! WOW! It's been a journey to say the least! A long, hard journey!

There's been times I wasn't sure it would ever see completion. The funny thing is, the book was written over three (3) years ago. But, when it came time for me to publish it, I wanted to give it a once-over; and being the perfectionist that I am, I was no longer satisfied with it. It's like...I found every flaw under the sun in it, and couldn't rest until they were corrected. But, this is the other thing, I was now on medication (for arthritis, nothing mental lol!) that tired me out and slowed me down, considerably. It's only been a couple of months ago that I realized it was the medicine slowing me down like this. I couldn't figure out for the life of me what the problem was. Here I was working 10-12 hrs. a day on this book, sometimes longer -- just editing/rewriting -- which should have been relatively quick and easy and, yet, it felt like I was trudging through mud in slow motion. Just the thought of finishing this book was becoming exhausting! Not to mention you have to market yourself the entire time to keep people interested. You have to keep up your Facebook and Twitter and Book Blog, which I began to fail miserably in. But, all that is behind me now!

In January 2013, we will be debuting Letters From Heaven, the first (1st) in a three (3) book series in a line of Mainstream Contemporary Fiction with a Hint of the Paranormal. Many of you have asked where did I get such an idea for a book; whether or not it's fact or fiction. Well, it is indeed fiction, but the idea for the book was birth from a personal, family tragedy. The clip below will tell you more:

I hope you enjoyed the video and have a better understanding of how Letters From Heaven came into being, and I do hope you help me to kickstart it off with a BANG by telling all of your friends to come here and read the Prologue and Excerpt and hopefully, buy the book when it's released in January. I'll be giving you an actual release date for January, SOON!

Thank You for your awesome support and I truly hope you thoroughly enjoy LETTERS FROM HEAVEN and all it's wonderful characters!

Oh, in the meantime, have a Wonderful THANKSGIVING, and try not to eat the whole TURKEY!

Letters From Heaven: The Accidental Child

Angelica Angelique "Gelibean" Snowden's life was no different than any other child's. Her mother adored her, her grandmother could hardly bear the sight of her, her uncle wanted her out of the picture altogether; and a woman who didn't know her at all, was unnerved by the presence of her! You see? A normal dysfunctional family! Not only was her birth unwelcomed, her very conception was a crime! And, thus, you have the premise for LETTERS FROM HEAVEN.

But, let's examine this for a moment. Can you imagine a child being born under such complicated circumstances into such a complex family? It sounds like a book just waiting to be written, doesn't it? Well, guess what? It is a book, and I wrote it!

The fact is, children are born under such circumstances into these situations every single day! If born in Africa this way, the child and the mother may be put out to fend for themselves. Or, the child may be left by the side of the road to die! If this happened in China, the young mother would be expected to commit suicide to "save face," to avoid bringing shame on the family, though she had no control over the shame brought on her own person. Again, in Iran, the mother and the child might very well be put to death; whereas, in Malaysia, the child might very well be sold (along with her young mother) into domestic or--even worse--prostitution slavery. But, what happens to the man in all of this? He blames the woman for his crime--she came on to him, she flirted with him, she showed too much shoulder, etc.  He barely gets a slap on the wrist (if anything at all), while the young mother (and the child, if it's allowed to live) suffers lifelong rejection and/or abandonment from their family and lifelong shame, if not outright death!

Luckily for Angelica, she had a mother who loved her with her very life! In fact, she loved her beyond life! And, no, this isn't a vampire or ghost story! It is simply a love story of an unbreakable bond between a mother and her daughter that is absolutely out of this world!

Angelica was fortunate enough to have been born an extremely bright child; yet, unfortunate enough to have been born to a family who'd rather she'd not been born at all; except for her mother (who was a 15 year old Catholic without a husband), raised in an aristocratic household in the old south in the 50's. Are you getting the picture?

Now, to add pudding to the pie: Angelica was born of rape and of another race to a mother who was sent away (to get rid of her); only to return nine months later with her in her arms. Can you imagine the shock to Angelica's grandmother? And as the Old Dame would put it, "....a horse of a different color!" I mean, we're talking rape, old money, old south...I do believe you get the picture! Now, get this picture: Angelica's mother will die within a few years of her birth! WHAT IS ONE TO DO?!

Even after Angelica's mother dies, her grandmother, Grand Myra, will continue for years to come to stoically dismiss her presence as if she was a mere apparition; her young uncle would seek to rid the family of her at every turn; and a woman who was first fearful of her presence (but who learned to love her every bit as much as her mother did) became her strong tower.

In spite of all the obstacles presented because of her daughter--and because of life, itself--Ava Lorraine (Angelica's mother) would stop at nothing to give her daughter the most love and the best life that any mother could give...even if it cost her her life! And, you know what, that's the kind of love every mother should give her child! And, don't misunderstand me...I mean EVERY CHILD!

A child doesn't have a say in how he or she enters into this world; they have no say in how they are conceived...none say at all! Those of you who believe in abortions, then that's your belief. It's NOT my belief, but I'm not knocking your belief. This is what I am knocking...that women wait until the 5th and 6th month to have an abortion! You're not going to convince me that you don't have some idea of what you're putting that human being inside of you through at that point...the TORTURE, plain and simple. You might convince yourself in the earlier months that it's just a "fetus" and not a human being, but at the 5th month and on....go somewhere with that nonsense!

What I really want to talk about though, is this...The Accidental Child, if there is such a thing. On earth, yes...maybe. But, to God...their are NO ACCIDENTS...not PEOPLE accidents. If you're here, He meant for you to be here! But, I'm not going to preach to you, either. What I want to do is to encourage you to think about that child that you might consider an accident.

Mothers won't admit this, but they tend to treat these children just a little bit different than their other children (if they have other ones). Some parents are just downright abusive and cruel to these children; others just not very warm or tender to them...cool, distant. If you think these children aren't aware of how they're treated versus the other children, they are: They are very aware. And, they will become--in turn--one of two ways when they are adults: Either overly protective and giving, or very distant and aloof. The first one tends to over-compensate for what they lacked in life growing up, and the other will withdraw affection and become very selfish; possibly, even cruel and abusive to both their mate and their children.

Every child has the right to be loved: Every single one! I don't know what boils my blood more than to see someone harm, neglect, or mistreat (in any form or fashion) an innocent child who cannot fend for themselves; who's not strong enough to ward off an aggressor. And, it doesn't always have to be abuse. It can be something as simple as not assisting them with their homework, leaving them frustrated and feeling alone because no one will help them. Then, the next day in school, they don't really know what to tell the teacher when she asks why he or she doesn't have his or her homework, because children are afraid to tell on their parents, and will possibly get in trouble at home if they do. Which, of course, puts them between a rock and a hard place. Countless of children are in this predicament and, yet, the teachers act as if they don't know and blame the kids! Are you serious?

And, how about the kid that struggles so hard to get the grades on his own because the parent at home refuses to help (though he'd better not ever tell his teacher that!), and when he get an award, with all the parents taking turns going up and standing with their child; except, this one parent who decides all of a sudden, she doesn't feel like it, and the child is left standing alone! I call that passive-aggressive abuse! This child is left feeling alone and inadequate and is ALWAYS trying to win his/her parent's approval that he/she will NEVER receive!

Parents, children are fragile: We can make them or break them; mold them, shape them, and help them to be the best part of our society! But, it is up to us. We can't keep blaming them for things that are not their fault, no matter how painful that "thing" or "incident" was, even if they were a "part" of that "incident."

Can I be for real for a moment? If this is going to be the case, then give the child up for adoption so that a loving parent, someone who can't have a child but wants one, someone who's more than willing to love the one you don't want! Listen, if the child came about via rape, etc., no one is going to blame you for making an alternative choice. I'm simply saying: Don't give birth, keep the child, and then make him/her pay for what happened to you for the rest of his/her life. Do what's right for the both of you and just let him/her go!

LETTERS FROM HEAVEN is a book about an "accidental child" whose mother's love carried her through the many trials of life, long after her mother's death. It is a book that speaks to the heart of every mother who's given birth under questionable and difficult circumstances, but with a vision of triumph; to women (sisters, aunts, grandmother, etc.) who need a fresh perspective on how to love and live again--even on how to forgive; to teens searching for their identity only to find it where they began--at the heart of their family where it's always been; and to those (men and women, alike) seeking hope and faith in the midst of pain, trials, and unbelief...realizing that where there's hope, there's a future.

Though part of this title is The Accidental Child, I still stand firm that no child is truly an accident; maybe, in term of how he/she came to be in our society; but surely, not in the eyes of God. And, in all honesty, once the average mother sees that child (however the conception came about), it will not be that easy for her to let her child go, which is why most mothers in this situation chooses not to look at the child after birth. They know...they know the mother instincts are going to kick in, and they don't want that to happen, and chances are...once they see that baby, it's a done deal...baby is going home with mom.

If, by some strange chance, you're reading this and your child was conceived in a manner not of your choosing, consider the things I've said here: Children will love you with their lives; they just want to be loved back. They are innocent of any wrong doing; and if given a chance, they will more than make it up to you. Just open your heart...open your life...open your LOVE...AND LET IT FLOW! Love that little person with ALL your heart, with all your might, and with all your soul. I promise you...I PROMISE YOU, THAT LITTLE ONE WILL MATCH YOUR LOVE...

LOVE FOR LOVE!