Well, this is it. Today is the day that The Illuminated Heart officially goes live.
I was going to talk about how I wrote it (short story: In a very intense two weeks during Camp NaNo and after finals), how awesome my editor was, and how long it took me to finally make the paperback (months. Literal months). I was going to tell you some of the great reviews the ebook’s gotten and show off what the paperback has that the ebook doesn’t (illustrations and a new short story). I was going to say a lot of things. But, after yesterday’s post, I realized that would be wrong, somehow.
When I was eleven, I decided that I would win the Newberry Medal by the time I was twenty-five. I don’t know if that’s going to happen, but I do know this:
If eleven-year-old me had given into depression, The Illuminated Heart wouldn’t be launching today.
Since the first news articles went up about Robin William’s death, I’ve been thinking a lot about my own experience with depression and suicidal thoughts. People argue about how to word his death. Is it more accurate to say he committed suicide, that he killed himself, or that he lost his battle with depression? I think all of them are accurate in their own way, but I also think that that isn’t the most important question his death leaves with us. The question that people have really been grappling with is this:
If a skilled, successful comedian and a good man died like that, then what does that mean for those of us who still live?
Robin William’s death was a tragedy, no doubt about it. But, just because that’s how his life ended, doesn’t mean that there is no hope for the rest of us who struggle.
I want to share something I found the other day with you. If you’re dealing with hard stuff in your life right now, so hard that you don’t know if you can stand through it, so hard you don’t know if you should stand through it, this is for you:
Take it from us who have survived (and there’s a lot more of us than you might think):
Things really will get better. And it doesn’t even take a fairy tale adventure with a polar bear for that to happen, either.
Much as I wrote The Illuminated Heart for myself, I’m beginning to realize that I didn’t just write it for me. I wrote it for you, too. I wrote it because I wanted to show you the hope I believe in with all my heart. Because I wanted you to know that, no matter how black the darkness is, you can believe in that hope, too.
Happy launch day. :)
How to Celebrate the Day of Launching
- Go to The Illuminated Heart‘s Amazon page.
- Order yourself a copy. Order a copy for a friend. Order all the copies. Because books.
- Discover that ordering a paperback gets you the ebook through Amazon Matchbook, gratis.
- Proceed with celebrations.
Also, For a Limited Time:
When you order your copy, copy-paste the receipt and send it to me via the contact page. I will then send you an email with a link to bonus material, including:
- Files of all the illustrations in the paperback.
- An exclusive interview with me about The Illuminated Heart.
- The ebook in three different formats, not just the one Amazon will give you, so you can read it on a device other than a Kindle, if you don’t have a Kindle.
- …and one other fun little thing.
This offer will only last until September 23rd, at 11:59pm (MST). After that, this bonus material will only be available through the codes in limited edition copies (50 in total) that will only be for sale at conventions I attend.
So, if you want this bonus material today, go to Amazon now and order your copy, then send me your receipt before the deadline. Trust me, you don’t want to miss out on this.
