Send to KindleIf you live long enough, you will realize if you’re paying attention, that things don’t always turn out the way you thought they would. That is definitely true with my newest release, “The Easy Way Out.”
This book has literally been a 12-year Odyssey, and what the process of publication has taught me resonates in many other areas in my life.
First the story…
In 2001, I put out the first book in The Friendship Series (it wasn’t called that at the time, that’s an incarnation that’s evolved over the 12 years). The first book was called “Eternity.” At the time I was just beginning in the publishing world. I was eager and fragile. I didn’t realize there were sharks in the water and people who, though they said they were on your team, really weren’t. I had a publicist who thought her job was to run my life from New York. It wasn’t going well, and really, I should have cut that tie long before I did. But again, I was young and eager to please whoever would help me get my writing out there, so I made some very bad decisions in that pursuit.
My publicist read and RAVED about “Eternity.” She just loved it! She booked me on some TV spots and book signings and all of that stuff that makes you think you’ve finally “made it.” I was totally thrilled. I couldn’t wait to capitalize on my budding career, so I sent her the second book in the series, “The Easy Way Out.”
Then I waited. And waited. And waited. I didn’t hear back for a long time, and then I got an email. She said she had given the book to a friend of hers who was “in the industry” to read, and they “just didn’t think it was ready” because it “wasn’t up to the standards of Staci Stallings.”
I was crushed. Looking back, I wonder if her game wasn’t going to be to sell me on someone who could “edit the book professionally.” (I’m glad I didn’t!) But I didn’t give her that chance. I was sick of leaving my young children here to go out and do publicity that often turned into a nightmare. I was tired of being told the day before that I was supposed to be at such-and-such the next day and having to round up babysitters at the last possible minute only to find out the appearance was actually for a different day or hadn’t even been scheduled. So I cut ties with her.
That was 12 years ago. I guess a big part of me between here and there lost faith in that story because of what she said about it. That’s why I put out 23 other books and ebooks, not really even considering putting that one out. Then a couple of close reader friends asked about Drew’s story, and I told them about the book. They wanted to read it, and lo and behold, they fell in love with it! So I repackaged “Eternity,” and final-edited “The Easy Way Out” and here they are!
Finally! After 12 LONG years!
“The Easy Way Out” is about making tough choices in life rather than skating by and hoping it will all work out. Drew and Charity are both damaged souls. I guess you could say the book is a life lesson in what happens when “hurting meets hurt” and how making the right decision is much more important than making the easy one. It does have an inspiring ending and a great message, but the getting there, like life, is pretty messy.
So I guess the book is about what I’ve learned in this Odyssey—make good decisions for yourself, your life, and your family even if those decisions aren’t always the easy decision. See, for me, I hate confrontation, and when I started, I didn’t feel like I had any power in the situation. I thought I “had” to do what she told me I should do so I would be a “team player.”
What I didn’t realize was that 12 years later, I would still be here. She wouldn’t. So I made bad decisions for me to make her happy. BAD IDEA!
The good news is, I have learned and I am learning, just like Charity does that others don’t have to like the decisions I make for my life, but I get to make them. And I in partnership with God have to make the decisions that make the most sense for me.
So it’s been a needed Odyssey for me and for my life, my growth and my understanding.
About the Author:
Now a #1 Best Selling Christian and Inspirational Romance author, Staci Stallings, a stay-at-home mom with a husband, three kids and a writing addiction on the side, has numerous titles for readers to choose from. Not content to stay in one genre and write it to death, Staci’s stories run the gamut from young adult to adult, from motivational and inspirational to full-out Christian and back again. Every title is a new adventure! That’s what keeps Staci writing and you reading. Although she lives in Amarillo, Texas and her main career right now is her family, Staci touches the lives of people across the globe with her various Internet and writing endeavors including http://CrossReads.com, http://Graceandfaith4u.com, and http://StaciStallings.net.
