If you've read my books, you may have noticed a common theme. I'm not referring to the demented serial killers I tend to create. No, I seem to add a common theme that until now, I had not noticed.
Abuse.
It wasn't until recently the I realized how much abuse I add in my novels. Women and children suffer in my books as they often do in real life.
Not My Daughter is finally released!
If you go to my webpage
http://kimmullican.com/Books.html
you can find the format you’re looking for. It’s available in print, Kindle and Nook.
I have experimented with Amazon’s KDP Select Program. What this means for me, as an author, is that I grant Amazon exclusivity to the book in the program. It cannot be available in any other format. What this also means is that I can do free promotions.
I can only do them with Amazon. I haven’t seen any benefit to being in the Select program… but you can benefit.
From April 30 – May 4, I’m giving away Yoder’s Farm for free. So go here:
and download it for free if you don’t have it already. The only thing I ask for is an honest review. Of course, this is the honor system. I’m not going to track you down and gouge out your eyes for not posting a review…but it would be appreciated. 
Spread the word to your friends that like free books!
Thank you to everyone who has supported me through the years. Your continued support keeps me writing!
If you’ve read my books, you may have noticed a common theme. I’m not referring to the demented serial killers I tend to create. No, I seem to add a common theme that until now, I had not noticed.
Abuse.
It wasn’t until recently the I realized how much abuse I add in my novels. Women and children suffer in my books as they often do in real life. Abuse is very common and it scars deeply…sometimes the scars go unseen because sometimes they’re emotional.
While I had terrific parents who did everything in their power to protect me, I fell victim to abuse as a young teen. Later in life, I would marry an abusive prick who would change me forever.
I didn’t realize that after all these years, I’m still writing about these issues because like a tattoo, my scars are with me forever. I’m currently in a custody battle for my children. It has gotten so involved and so nasty that Child Services has stepped in. I signed a stupid confidentiality agreement so I can’t say much more than that (have to protect the EX you know….) But thankfully, it’s all about to be over and hopefully, there is some justice in this world and I can give my kids a happy remainder of what’s left of their childhood. If not, I will die trying.
Part of the services that CPS put in place was a therapist to help me deal with my scars…the ones no one will ever see. She’s a very neat lady and just when I think that I have nothing to talk about anymore, 90 minutes has past and I’ve been flapping at the gums. In talking to her, I’ve realized that I haven’t healed as much as I thought I had. And this is more than likely why I write strong female main characters that have overcome horrendous circumstances. Yoder’s Farm contained so much abuse that it’s become a bit controversial (Yes, I made the Amish the bad guys…sue me.)
But because this is an important issue to me and too many others, I’ve sat and thought about how I can give back. How can I, one broken woman, make a difference? This is how…
From now, until the end of May, I’m selling autographed copies of my books on my personal webpage (WordPress doesn’t allow me to monetize this page.) So if you go to my Author Home Page, and buy my books using the Paypal Link provided, I will donate the profits to Children of Domestic Violence (You can learn more about the organization by visiting
http://cdv.org/
)
At the end of May, I will total and post what we were able to raise for this cause. Thank you for helping me raise money and awareness.
The March issue of Book & Trailer Showcase is now available! Even more exciting (for me anyway) is my full page ad. It is on the second to the last page.
Check it out, there are lots of goodies in there from reviews to author interviews.
WANACon was a huge success, thanks to the tireless efforts of many amazing WANAs coupled with gutsy presenters and courageous attendees. Everyone was so brave trusting that WANA could really reinvent the conference experience, and I am immensely grateful for everyone's work, faith and trust.
But I am always growing, learning, and reaching to go higher. Right now, I am slap-happy tired, but I wanted to take a moment to talk about something very important (before I fall asleep and forget, LOL).
The Hearts on Fire Giveaway results are in. The winners of my books are as follows:
Lynne Blevins
Cassandra Hicks
Dee Thomas
Amber Hall
Emails have been sent to you, so be sure to check your spam folder.
The main giveaway results are:
GRAND PRIZE: Kindle Paperwhite and Black Swan COLLECTED TALES
Melissa William Brown
Celina Lundin Kuemper
20 winners of COLLECTED TALES
1. Dawn Dow
2. Shayna Snyder
3. Sammyandscottie Dinham
4. Ana Smith
5. Aprille Shadowspeak
6. Ana @ BeachbumReads
7. Kathy Neibel Scott
8. Nightstand Novels
9. Ashley Anne
10. Annah Schoonover
11. Belinda Green
12. Deanna Stacy
13. Belinda Brown Payne
14. Jennifer Mclean
15. Marlena Fein
16. Heather Baker Schrock
17. Leslie Miner
18. Bonnie Hilligoss
19. Kary Jones-Thornburg
20. Yadari Alonzo
Giftcard: Himitsume Ramsay
Writing is a solitary existence. You sit alone for hours pounding out as many well-crafted words as you can. Then you toil over plot, prose, character development and tone. If that’s not enough, there’s rounds and rounds of edits before you even send your novel out to beta readers. You will have to write and publish numerous novels to start making real dough.
As an author, I spent years online reading the blogs of those who made it work, such as Joe Konrath. The man makes a truck load of money on his books. It wasn’t overnight and it took a bunch of work, I mean a bunch. Read his blog archive if you think I’m joking. This guy hit the pavement and just did not take “no” for an answer.
I’ve followed Social Media expert, Kristen Lamb. Not only is she very real, she’s super helpful and friendly. I happen to also enjoy her sense of humor and deep affection for Star Wars.
But I digress; these are two examples of people I’ve followed. The list is long. One commonality of these folks is that they serve the reader. Another likeness that appeals to me, is their willingness to share their personal stories (at least with regards to writing) and the struggles it took for them to reach their success. Mr. Konrath doesn’t mind telling you he starved for a while. The wonderful Ms. Lamb doesn’t mind telling you her family thought she was cuckoo for leaving her professional career to dive in as a writer.
I am who I am. I drink sometimes. I smoke, though I wish I didn’t. I use foul language at times. My stories nearly always contain violence and sex. It isn’t for everyone, and that much I understand. I don’t expect those folks to purchase my books. I remember reading somewhere that authors put a bit of themselves in characters and that much I believe, I’ve done it myself, even when I didn’t realize it.
But part of being who you are, is understanding who you are. Don’t apologize for it!
I never have, nor will I ever, apologize for who I am. Several events in my life have aided in forming who I am today. I’ve always been one of those people who is very accepting. I keep it simple: as long as you’re not hurting anyone, you’re okay by me!
But there are those fanatics and nuts who will judge you. They won’t like how you represented this or that subject matter. They will say things about you that are not nice.
But this business demands thick skin. If you don’t have it, bow out gracefully. My skin is thick. It’s not that words don’t hurt me, because they do. I often times will go over something someone has said that was negative and see if I can find a positive aspect.
But I am who I am. “I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more, is none.” ~Shakespeare
I’m not advising you to run around and be a douche. Purposefully damaging others who’ve not harmed you is just plain nonsense. As an author, we must try to maintain a certain amount of professionalism. But for Christ’s sake, do not apologize. Be loud, be proud, be you.
