A Faith-Based Novel

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Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Published Book, Spiritual

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demonic attacks, faith-based, rebellion, reconciliation, restoration, spiritual wilderness, visions

Now without faith it is impossible to please [YeHoVaH]. For the one who comes to [YeHoVaH] must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. ~ Hebrews 11:6 (The bracketed words are my emphasis.)

My debut novel is a faith-based book. It contains spiritual visions, rebellion, demonic attacks, a spiritual wilderness journey, reconciliation, and restoration.

Although my literary fiction deals with marriage and divorce, in this novel, I focus on how divorces are like amputations – how they both always leave people missing a piece of themselves. This focus is why the narrative highlights the demonic attacks that cause marital and familial struggles and losses prior to Triston’s and Zemora’s amputation of divorce – severed souls and spirits – and highlights their heartbreaks, losses, griefs, and afflictions that happen after their divorce.

Triston’s and Zemora’s presumed faith walk is tested. They find out why their lack of faith made it impossible for them to please YeHoVaH.

This novel is a good read for believing moms. It also is a great gift for Mother’s Day, as well as a fabulous gift for any holiday or special day.

I Self-published My Debut Novel on a Wing and a Prayer

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Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Published Book

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advertisers, attract attention, award-winning, bestseller, chance, debut novel, faith, hope, impossible, limited income, marketers, on a wing and a prayer, professionals, publicists, sales, self-published, snowball in hell, success, support, target audience, trust

Is anything too difficult for [YeHoVaH]? ~ Genesis 18:14a

“Ah, my Lord [YeHoVaH]! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm—nothing is too hard for You! ~ Jeremiah 32:17

And looking, Yeshua said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with [YeHoVaH] all things are possible. ~ Matthew 19:26

I belong to several authors’ groups on Facebook and Twitter, and I am a member of these groups primarily because I want to increase the number of readers who would be interested in buying my new book. Many of the authors in the groups I’m a member of published their latest books either a few weeks before or after I published Torn Asunder: What Happens When YeHoVaH’s Will Is Ignored on January 29, 2022. Sadly, most of these authors are more concerned with promoting their own books than they are concerned about helping to support my novel, which I understand.

The same is true on Instagram, where I also follow some of the authors who are in the said Facebook and Twitter authors’ groups. Additionally, I am a member of various authors’ groups on Goodreads. Again, my reason for joining was to create a target audience.

Honestly, there is nothing I would love to do more than to support as many authors as I can who are in the groups that I joined. I wish that I could buy every author’s book(s) – especially if the genre is one I love to read. However, I am a 71-year-old author with a limited income, so I can’t afford to put money in other writers’ pockets without being sure they will return the favor.

As I mentioned in a few of my Facebook postings, I would love to sell more copies of my debut novel that I self-published on a wing and a prayer. The reason this book is unlikely to attract the attention of book buyers and, thus, unlikely to become a bestseller is that I couldn’t afford to hire a reputable book marketer, advertiser, publicist, or any other skilled professional who could have helped me successfully launch my book, helped me to increase sales, and/or helped me to eventually become a bestselling or award-winning self-published author.

Yes, I still write for the thrill of it. However, I also write to create valuable books and blog articles, as well as write to be the best author I can be – not necessarily a best-selling author. Yet, I doubt that there is a published author who would say he or she truly couldn’t care less if a book he or she published didn’t make a bestseller’s list. I know I would care, but I wouldn’t obsess about it.

Be that as it may! Since I am a self-published author, the sad truth for me is that I don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of making either The New York Times’ or the Wall Street Journal’s bestseller lists if I can’t afford to hire skillful professionals who can help me attract some much-needed attention for my book, as that attention could mean my sales might increase. Likewise, I don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of becoming a bestseller on Amazon, if I can’t increase the number of potential readers who might buy my book.

If my novel does better than I alone was able to achieve, it will be because it is YeHoVaH’s Will. Therefore, I am hoping for a miracle and trusting that YeHoVaH will perform it today.

For the Thrill of It

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Amazon KDP, financial success, full rights, global rating, kind comments, making a killing, rejection letters, royalty rate, self-published, support, thrilled

Thus says YeHoVaH God of Israel, ‘Write in a book all the words which I have spoken to you. ~ Jeremiah 30:2

Did you know that most of Amazon’s self-published authors will never get rich from their book sales?

Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) allows authors to publish their hardcover books, paperback books, and eBooks for free. Additionally, Amazon KDP allows self-published authors to own all rights to their books, which traditional publishing houses don’t usually allow.

However, although Amazon KDP doesn’t charge authors to self-publish their books, Amazon KDP does have a fixed royalty rate for authors. That rate is 60% of the authors’ list price. In addition to the 60% royalty rate, Amazon KDP charges self-published authors the printing costs for each sold paperback and hardcover copy. In other words, (royalty rate x list price) – printing costs = royalty.

I only sell paperback copies that use black ink, so the printing price for every paperback copy is based on the online Amazon marketplace my book was ordered from, the ink type (black or color), and the page count. In my case, that means Amazon KDP will keep 60% of the $17.99 list price for each book that I sell and, on top of that, will subtract an additional $6.18 from my royalty percentage every time a copy of that book is printed. So, Amazon KDP will receive about 75% of my $17.99 book price each time a paperback copy of Torn Asunder: What Happens When YeHoVaH’s Will Is Ignored (published January 29, 2022) is sold and printed.

Now, you might be asking: Why are you thrilled about that? Well, first, I am thrilled to publish something I created and thrilled because I published it without receiving any rejection letters. I am sure I would have gotten some had I taken the traditional route. Then too, I am thrilled to own all rights to my self-published books.

Secondly, because I have a few loyal friends and family members who actually believe in me as a writer, I am thrilled because several of them purchased my book almost the same day it went live on Amazon. So, even if my number of sold copies isn’t large, I am thrilled because my faithful friends and family members didn’t disappoint me.

Thirdly, I didn’t write my book because I had “making a killing” in mind. Did I hope that it would do well, financially speaking? Yes! Did I pray that YeHoVaH’s Will was for me to become a bestselling author? Yes! However, in my heart, I am prepared to remain humble no matter if I do or don’t achieve financial success with this book.

The bottom line is that I have always understood that any success I achieve with this book isn’t of my own doing. Any success would be because of YeHoVaH’s Help and His Will. That is why I am grateful for true friends who have supported me by purchasing and reading my book. Lastly, I am grateful for the following unexpected support:

**Saw This First Amazon Rating By An Unknown Person On 3-7-2022**

**Sylva’s 3-7-2022 Text To Me About My Novel**

**Larry’s 3-12-2022 Black Authors Network Comment – Facebook Group**

While I know that to some people these examples of the unexpected support I have received since Torn Asunder: What Happens When YeHoVaH’s Will Is Ignored went live on 29 January 2022 aren’t worth much, to me they are priceless. They are precious to me because I didn’t buy or beg for this support.

All the above examples of the support I have received are the reasons why I write for the thrill of it. Furthermore, because some friends and a few family members support my writing ventures in more than one way – like they have done for my newly released book – this is the reason why I also give YeHoVaH all the Glory. Shalom!

Press Release: Christlikeness Reminders in My Spirit’s Musings

02 Sunday Apr 2017

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Published Book

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authority, Christlikeness Haiku, Christlikeness in action, fullness of Christ, fullness of Godhead, God calls us to Christlikeness, Holy Spirit sanctification, image of God, My Spirit's Musings, power, press release, progressive growth, reflecting God's Image, rooted in Christ, spiritual growth

My latest book of poetry—My Spirit’s Musings—reveals why reflecting God’s Image is the best way for believers in Christ to demonstrate their genuine Christlikeness. Below is the press release for My Spirit’s Musings, which highlights the main reason why today’s followers of Christ are failing to demonstrate Christlikeness.

Some verses that point out God’s call to Christlikeness are as follows:

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. ~ Romans 12:1-2, NASB

For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. ~ 1 Corinthians 2:16, NASB

for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, ~ 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, NASB

Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; ~ Philippians 1:27, NASB

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, ~ Philippians 2:5, NASB

having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. ~ Colossians 2:7, NASB

Thank You, God, for calling us to Christlikeness. Thank You, Jesus, for showing us how we need to live so that we can reflect the Image of God.

To God Be The Glory!

26 Thursday Feb 2015

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Published Book

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5-7-5 syllabic structure, collection of haiku poetry, destiny, flashes of inspiration, limerick, Perfect Peace, publication process, published author, standalone mini-poems, support, various poetic forms

Grace and shalom to you from God our Father and from the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who gave himself for our sins, so that he might deliver us from the present evil world-system, in obedience to the will of God, our Father. To him be the glory forever and ever! Amen. ~ Galatians 1:3-5, CJB

A person whose desire rests on you
you preserve in perfect peace,
because he trusts in you. ~ Isaiah 26:3, CJB

I have been writing poetry, in various poetic forms, since I was a school-age youth. In fact, I was in 5th grade, when I composed my first poem—a funny limerick.

Over the years, many of my classmates, friends and family members often told me that I should publish a book of my poetry. However, I hadn’t always thought that I was an accomplished poet—accomplished enough to have my poems published—and that’s probably why I always was very selective about the poems I would choose to share and selective about the family members and/or friends I would allow to read them.

That behavior didn’t change much until the late 1980s. Back then, while I was in graduate school at Howard University, working on a Ph.D., one of my African-American Literature professors had made her students submit at least one of their own poems to the Howard University’s Poetry Contest (sponsored by The Academy of American Poets). I had given my professor a four line free verse poem to submit—a poem that I had not considered to be my best work. Well, lo and behold, “Pebbles,” my submitted four line free verse poem, had received Honorable Mention! From then on, I gradually had become better at sharing more of my poems with larger groups of people.

I said all that to say this: after writing poetry, on and off, over 52 years, around mid-September 2014 I finally decided to try my hand at composing the haiku’s 5-7-5 syllabic structure. Once I got started, I didn’t want to stop. While I didn’t set out to write a collection of standalone mini-poems, I am elated that one of my flashes of inspiration gave birth to Perfect Peace.

This week, Perfect Peace went live. As a result, this blogger officially joined the ranks of published book authors. Praise God!

Currently, Perfect Peace (in paperback) can be purchased on barnesandnoble.com and on Amazon.com. The e-book version can be bought on iTunes (Apple iBooks), Amazon.com-Kindle, and/or Barnes and Noble-Nook.

Perfect Peace also eventually will be in Christian bookstores. I will provide the names of the Christian bookstores, as soon as I have that information.

Lastly, but most important, much love and many thanks to everyone who already has supported me throughout this publication process. I look forward to receiving as much additional support that anyone is willing to give.

Equally important, I want everyone to know that I trust completely in Father God, who is in control of Perfect Peace’s destiny. Without doubt, I know that He will bless Perfect Peace according to His Will, while keeping me in perfect peace. Finally, the greatest desire I have for the pint-sized poems I have included in Perfect Peace, prayerfully, is that I have used my God-given haiku writing skills to His Glory. Amen!