Spotlight & Excerpt: Choosing Survival + Giveaway

CHOOSING SURVIVAL

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the CHOOSING SURVIVAL by Lynn F Forney Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: CHOOSING SURVIVAL

Author: Lynn F Forney

Pub. Date: May 12, 2022

Publisher: Flying Feet Publishing

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 130

Find it: Goodreadshttps://books2read.com/CHOOSING-SURVIVAL 

This story, my story, was not an easy
one to tell. It has not been an easy one to live.

By 21, I had already had my fair share of struggles. Clinical depression often hid behind my smile, but, deep down, I never lost hope. Not really. As I began to heal and find my place in the world, something unthinkable happened.

I awoke with a man, a stranger, in my bed. Then he stabbed me. Seven times. I lost 21 pints of blood. Statistically, I should not have survived.

Yet here I am. Telling my story. Candidly, honestly, courageously. Hoping that I may help others do the same.

To heal. To hope. And above all else, to love.

If you enjoy TRUE stories about regular people who survive extraordinary circumstances, this is a must-read!


Excerpt:

Poetry excerpt from Choosing Survival: How I Endured a Brutal Attack and a Lifetime of Trauma Through the Power of Action, Choice and Self-Expression by Lynn Forney. Reprinted with permission from Flying Feet Publishing

Betty

Lynn Forney

A tiny spark lay in the distance,
One so fragile and new,
Lay dormant like a seedling,
Just bursting to break through.

It sends out a signal,
Searching the globe,
Wondering which special person,
Can decipher its code.

Wondering, waiting,
“I can’t wait to be found”
But as the time ticks away,
The spark sinks deeper in the ground.

The joy drains away,
“I’ll never find my mate,
The one I am meant for,
The one to change my fate”.

Its hope fades away,
Its light grows dim,
“I may as well succumb,
I have no choice but to give in.”

As the spark descends,
With sorrow and grief,
Its course rapidly changes,
And is left in disbelief.

“Who just rescued me?
I thought for sure I was dead!”
And the spark gazes upwards,
To find you instead.

“It is you, my mate,
We were meant to be,
I am an idea,
And it is you who’ll set me free.”

Joy floods your body,
As you embrace your new friend,
For you, too, had felt empty,
Your heart needing to mend.

“This is it”, you exclaim,
“This will make me whole,
I will proceed forth, with glee,
It will be something to behold.”

As you and your spark
Form this new partnership,
Your mind races with wonder,
It even does a backflip.

You smile and you skip
Your heart dances with delight,
You can’t wait to bring this idea
Out into the light.

As your mind opens up
To what’s possible and new
You notice another voice,
That’s now here with you.

It is quiet at first,
But quickly explains
“I will be heard,
I will stake my claim.”

Your chest grows heavy,
You let out a sigh,
For this is no stranger,
Whose come in the night.

This voice has been with you,
For many years it seems,
It always shows up,
And ruins your dreams.

It makes you feel small,
Worthless, and dumb,
This voice, you know,
Is difficult to overcome.

It tells you “you’ll fail,
Why bother, just quit,
You know you’ll lose,
You are an idiot.”

“Not again, not again
Why do you do this to me?
Why are you so hellbent
On making me unhappy”?

“Every time I try
To achieve something new,
You come smash my dreams,
Make me feel so blue”.

You turn to your spark,
“I’m sorry my friend,
I’m no good, I’m defeated,
I won’t win in the end.”

The spark looks at you,
And sees your pain,
But it vibrates and states,
“A new perspective you’ll gain”.

“Give this voice a name,
And a personality, too,
Ask it some questions,
Why is it part of your crew”?

You ponder this request,
Wondering what this will do,
But you shrug, “why not,
I’ll try something new”.

This, my friends,
May seem weird, untrue,
But if I can do it,
Well, so can you.

I’ll explain to you now,
How it happened for me,
So that perhaps one day,
You can try it and see.

Eyes closed, I breathed,
Asked this voice it’s name,
“Betty” she replied,
With a hint of disdain.

I allowed this voice, Betty,
to come into view,
Leather catsuit, red lips,
And a whip to boot.

She stared me down,
Harsh look on her face,
Ready to berate me again,
And do so with haste.

I mustered the courage,
Looked her straight in the eye,
“Dominatrix Betty,
You’re so terrible. Why”?

“It’s so blatantly obvious,”
She strongly replied,
“You’re safe with me,
I keep you alive.”

“Remember the first time,
You felt embarrassed and shamed?
Well I showed up after,
Swore we’d never feel that again.”

I was shocked at first,
I couldn’t believe my ears,
But I softened as I realized,
She tried to keep me safe all these years.

I looked at her,
My view fresh and new,
And said, “I thank you, Betty,
I really do.”

“But from now on,
I’ve got it from here,
I can keep us all safe,
Please trust me dear.”

I sensed her reluctance,
To completely let go,
But she had to take a back seat,
Though we needn’t be foes.

I told my new spark,
“Come here, sit by me,
The road may be bumpy,
But I’ll finally be free.”

“Free to explore,
seek, and discover,
New roads ahead,
All full with wonder”.

I turn to you now,
Inviting you, too,
Discover the voice,
Deep inside of you.

The one that’s mean,
Degrading, and cruel,
Ask them their name,
Why they do what they do.

You all have your own Betty,
I know that you do,
Face them now,
And speak to them true.

Politely, with love,
tell them to step back,
Explain “I’ve got this,
And that’s a fact”.

“I need you to trust me,
I really do,
Cause plain and simple,
we’ve got some shit to do”.


About Lynn F Forney:

Lynn Forney loves bold bright colors, being silly, hugs, and honey mustard. She feels most at home performing on stage and loves delving into anything that allows her to express her creativity.

She currently lives in Austin, TX with her husband and their two rescue dogs.

You can reach Lynn at

Website |  Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon


Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of CHOOSING SURVIVAL, US Only.

Ends January 28th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/9/2023

Mythical Books

Excerpt/IG Post

1/10/2023

#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog

Excerpt/IG Post

1/11/2023

Lady Hawkeye

Excerpt/IG Post

1/12/2023

Writer of Wrongs

Excerpt

1/13/2023

Two Chicks on Books

Excerpt/IG Post

1/14/2023

the book near me

Review/IG Post

Week Two:

1/15/2023

Rajiv’s Reviews

Review/IG Post

1/16/2023

OneMoreExclamation

Review/IG Post

1/17/2023

@froggyreadteach

IG Review

1/18/2023

Brandi Danielle Davis

IG Review/TikTok Post

1/19/2023

Pick a good book

Review/IG Post

1/20/2023

Review Thick And Thin

Review/IG Post

1/21/2023

The Momma Spot

Review/IG Post

Week Three:

1/22/2023

A Blue Box Full of Books

IG Review/LFL Drop Pic

1/23/2023

Sadie’s Spotlight

Excerpt/IG Post

 

Spotlight: Book Promotion Directory 2022, by Deena Rae Schoenfeldt

2022 book promotion directory

BBDebookFront

The Book Promotion Directory lists blogs and book promotion providers to help Indie Authors promote and market their books. Listing blog addresses, contact information, what types of posts they allow authors to share on their sites if they review, and if so where reviews are posted, standard turnaround time, and book formats accepted. Indexes list bloggers by accepted genre so you can easily find sites amenable to your subject matter.

  • Web address
  • Contact information
  • Post types
  • Pricing range for on-blog promotion
  • Reviews offered
  • Turnaround time for reviews
  • And more….

Book Promotion companies show contact information, what genres they are equipped to promote, services offered, and pricing range.

With blogs, book promotion companies, and podcasts, complete with live links to facilitate easy contact, this is a must-have for authors looking to promote their new releases and backlist titles.

Bonus material of almost 200 other book promotion avenues as a starting point to help authors start building their own promotion blueprint.

Availability

eBook Widely Available:

Amazon, iTunes, B&N, Kobo, etc.

Print Book Available on Amazon

Links

About the Author

DeenRaeDeena Rae was born and raised in Texas — home of bluebonnets, boots, beef and big hair — into a family that was in the printing and publishing industries. Her father was a computer programmer for major newspapers when the equipment took up whole rooms and her mother has been a publisher for almost 30 years — trying, unsuccessfully, to bring her into the family business.

She was happily living her life, but then through a series of events (unfortunate and fortunate), she officially joined The Book Connection — her mother’s publishing and packaging company — as the Digital Director, to create the e-publishing division in 2011. Her computer skills, willingness to help authors, love of literature, no-nonsense attitude and quick wit has helped shepherd many authors through the maze of digital publishing.

Quickly deciding she wanted to offer her services to more authors than just the ones her mother represented, she branched out on her own, opening E-BookBuilders January of 2012. The rest is history.

In 2021, Deena Rae along with two other dynamic women opened Masterclass Summits (MCS). MCS is an event management hosting entity, bring events, especially book, author and reader-centric events, to the virtual world.

Contact the Author

 

 

Spotlight: Keeping it Under Wraps

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This is my post during the blog tour for Keeping it Under Wraps. In Keeping it Under Wraps: Sex, real people from around the world share their experiences, humour and heartache about sex and sexuality.

This blog tour is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours and the tour runs from 1 till 14 November. You can see the tour schedule here.

Keeping it Under Wraps

Keeping it Under Wraps: Sex
Genre: Non-fiction/ Personal Essay Anthology
Release Date: 4 May, 2021

Blurb:
Society tells us what is right and what is wrong based on unrealistic expectations. In the end, though, no matter how unique our experiences seem, they aren’t wrong: they simply are.

The Keeping It Under Wraps anthology series provides a safe space to change the narrative, to speak openly about individual experiences, and in the end to understand that while each experience is different, we are not so different from each other.

Let’s start the conversation.

What better place to start than with sex?

Sexual health, sexual preferences, and sexual experiences: no stigma, no shame, no more keeping it under wraps.

Links:
Goodreads
Amazon
Booktopia
Bookdepository
All links

About the Authors:
You can read more about this book and the contributing authors here on the website.

Links:
Website
Facebook
Twitter

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