When I started writing Dream or Destiny, I didn’t plan on having domestic violence as an important part of the story. However, the characters took over. David let me know that he and Barbara had been abused as children and Barbara had also been abused by her husband.
I’ve been asked if I have had personal experience with someone close to me being abused. No, I haven’t. The closest I’ve come is the incident I describe in an earlier blog post. Years ago when I was teaching Sunday School, a little boy in my class knocked over a cup of coffee. I wondered why he reacted the way he did—backing away from me, holding his hands in front of his face, and apologizing over and over again. Many years would pass before I learned enough about domestic violence to realize this child was probably abused, and I have always regretted not recognizing the signs and taking action.
In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I will donate $5 to the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) for every copy of Dream or Destiny sold during the month of October.
I will give each purchaser a copy of the e-book of Fern’s Fancies as a thank-you. Fern’s Fancies is a humorous contemporary romance that I wrote to submit to a specific line from a publisher; it wasn’t accepted. Rather than revise it to fit guidelines for other lines or other publishers, I just put it away. Now it’s a thank-you bonus for ordering Dream or Destiny.
If you purchase an autographed copy of Dream or Destiny directly from me, I will automatically e-mail your e-book and make the donation. If you order from GASLight Publishing, LLC or Amazon.com
Note: request form removed 11/1/09 as promotion is over.