My Publishing Journey l Karen Arnpriester @karenarnprieste #writing #publishing

My Publishing Journey

Writing is a treasure I never expected to find. I was a story-teller for my children and grandchildren, and they loved my attempts. I also must admit that I was a good liar when I thought I had to be. Very believable. Even with these reinforcements, I never considered writing a book, let alone seven. It was a fluke really that got the whole thing started.

My women’s group at church was putting together a fund-raising book and asked us to submit testimonials for consideration. I had experienced incredible miracles in my life and decided to share. All of my submittals were accepted for content. After the book was completed and printed, multiple people asked me if I was a writer. I was flattered but said no. They said I should be. It’s interesting how encouraging comments can inspire someone. These brief comments planted a seed that truly began to grow.

I asked myself what I would even write about and came up with a beginning and an end, nothing in between.  So often, people complain about their lives, their family, and their trials. I’ve always wondered how we could react if we found out at the end, that we had known, that we had agreed, seeing the bigger picture. This was my beginning and end.

I just started writing, whatever came to me. I wasn’t taking it seriously, so I picked it up and set it down many times. I do have a spiritual element to my writing, since it’s part of who I am, and I truly felt led in certain parts of the story. As if a scene was downloaded. I have to admit, I struggled with self-doubt, who did I think I was, writing a novel? Luckily, I had dear friends that pressed me for the next chapter. They had to know what happened next. Within six months, I had a finished book, not the final version, but the story was complete.

I didn’t know what to do next. Everything I read about agents was discouraging. Many publishers wanted a huge amount of money to print my book and supposedly market it for me. I did my research and decided that was not within my budget or a direction I wanted to go. The sales needed to recapture four thousand dollars through royalties would be incredibly difficult to accomplish. I figured I’d run off a few copies and share with friends and family. My daughter, Jenn, called one day asking me if I had heard about Amazon’s self-publishing plan through CreateSpace. I hadn’t and checked in to it. It was perfect for me. My book would get on Amazon and I could purchase reasonably priced copies of my book to give away or sell at events.

With the help of brutally honest test readers and assistance from an editor, the book was finished. I remember crying when I received the first proof copy in the mail. I worked hard at marketing and acquiring reviews for my book, Anessia’s Quest. I am so proud to have received sixty reviews at a 4.4 star rating.

I cried as I read the reviews as they came in. Lives were profoundly touched in ways I hadn’t even considered. I received calls, emails and conversations that confirmed my destiny as an author. I encourage you to write that book that lurks in your brain, or whatever else your creative mind teases you with. You never know who’s life you will touch and how it will enrich your own.

 About the Author

Karen Slimick Arnpriester (October 1953) was born in Alton, Illinois and moved to California when she was eight. Karen has owned her own graphic art business for thirty years. Anessia’s Quest is her first book. Her second book is titled Raider’s Vendetta. Slimy and Miraculous Relationship are non-fiction books that share Karen's years as a bullied child and real-life miracles. The first two books of the Dream Realm trilogy, her newest endeavor, are now available. Awakening: Dream Realm One and Deception: Dream Realm Two are available as paperback and e-books through Amazon.

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Title: AWAKENING: DREAMERS’ REALM ONE
Author: Karen Arnpriester
Publisher: Createspace
Pages: 344
Genre: Christian Fantasy

BOOK BLURB:

The horror of her sister's abduction and Lucinda’s guilt manifest into years of acute insomnia. She appears to be miraculously healed when she participates in a test program that provides restful sleep but awakens a new dream realm … an alternative existence where Lucinda can create and manipulate any fantasy inspired by her imagination. Lucinda’s new realm is shattered by a dark evil that lurks there. Evil that is not confined to nightmares, but a sinister foe that also hunts for victims in the real world. Lucinda's discarded spiritual beliefs resurface and prompt her to begin a perilous journey against this very real threat; a heartless creature that destroys innocent lives. The dream realm, spiritual domain and Lucinda’s physical reality integrate and twist together as Lucinda rediscovers her faith and confronts the monster that threatens her very life and those she loves.

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