About two and a half years ago I left my job working in youth ministry at a church to begin working full-time as a writer and speaker. It has been an exciting and crazy journey. I am so thankful for the countless MOPS groups, youth ministries, camps, and schools that have allowed me the opportunity to come and speak. In between speaking prep and connecting through this blog, I have been working on a manuscript. It has been a labor of love, although I certainly haven’t loved every minute of the process. I’ve confessed to you before- I don’t really see myself as a writer but I do believe I have a very specific message to convey.
I lived my entire high school journey in expectation of my senior prom. I had the dress, the heels, and the perfect hair but I didn’t have the date. At the last-minute, I recruited a friend to accompany me. He was to pick me up at the house, escort me to dinner, and drive me to the dance. He was supposed to bring me a corsage. Instead my date arrived to the dance after 10:30pm. (He had a good excuse!) He rushed in to find me standing at the bottom of the escalator that had already delivered my entire senior class to their “Night to Remember.” I had waited by myself for over an hour because I was convinced that I couldn’t enter the dance until I had my date and my corsage. (I did not have a good excuse!) I danced to only three songs that night and spent most of my prom thinking, “No one will ever want me.”
Since that time God has laid those words heavily upon my heart. If I truly am a daughter of the King, then I know the response to my own lament. Not only does Christ want me, but also He has given me an abundant and exciting life. His love provides the courage to live adventurously regardless of any dating status.
That’s the inspiration behind my book, Forget the Corsage.
Forget the Corsage is a reminder to stop waiting for life to happen to us, but instead to go and live life to the full right now. It can be tempting to buy into the lie that real living starts when we graduate, get the perfect body, find Mr. Right, and land our dream job. But the truth is that we are waiting for something that has already been given to us from God: life to the full.
Who is the target audience? You. I told my first readers that the book was geared toward young women, but then everyone told me that window was too narrow. Not only was the age gap to small, but so was the gender gap. Although I’m addressing women in the book, I think guys could find it interesting and helpful as well.
What kind of book is this? This book is in the form of a spiritual memoir. You will find it filed under “Non-Fiction Religion/Spirituality.” It is written in first person so that the experiences could be shared directly and straight from the heart. I wanted to connect with the reader in a very personal way. This is the story of a young woman who believed two lies:
(1.) That she was unwanted and undesired
(2.) That her life would only begin when she found “The One.”
This is also the story of a God who taught her fragile heart to trust that His good IS good.
Where can I find this book? The book is currently listed with Westbow Press, Amazon.com, and Barnes and Noble. I’m hoping to get the book into some local bookstores near my home and to some of the places I speak most often. (Hello, Texas!) The book is available in hard back, soft cover, and ebook. It is currently available for order!
What’s next? I’m hopeful that I will develop a way for you to order the ebook straight from this website. I have a webpage for my book that is almost finished. (I was holding revealing all the details about the book until EVERYTHING was done, but when is EVERYTHING ever done?) The new site will keep anyone interested with information about book signings, speaking engagements, and any new developments with the book.
I’m honored and blessed by the response that this little book has received so far. Thank you for the love you’ve shown through texts, Facebook, Twitter, and personal e-mails. You’ve made my year!
Much of the next steps are going to be grassroots efforts and require a lot of work, but I’m excited for the coming months. If you are interested in being a part of this next phase, feel free to contact me through the CONTACT GINGER tab at the top of the page! In the meantime, spread the word, snag a copy of the book, leave a review of the book on one of the websites, and know that I’m looking for opportunities to speak to groups and share this message!
More to come …
Following,
Ginger
