Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Thanks and Gratitude on To Speak Launch Day

 The Kickstarter for To Speak is now live!

Before I shout links and reward tiers, I need to say thank-you.


First Spark

In tenth grade, Ms. Evans encouraged me to try poetry. 
She thought I might love it.
She was right. One small nudge, and a lifelong voice woke up.


Circles of Courage

  • Creative Colloquy handed me a mic and let a shaky poem fly.

  • The Insecure Writer's Support Group cheered on so many of my fiction and poetry efforts.

  • My in-person writing crew passed pages, pens, and conversations over our projects.

  • My Thursday accountability author group encourages me every week online to keep chasing down my dreams and putting foundations under them.

  • Years ago, an editor took a chance on one of my poems.

Each yes, each gentle bit of feedback and encouragement, pushed To Speak one page further.


Cover-Art Vote

Last month I posted several draft covers on Instagram and Facebook.
You voted. You argued colors. You encouraged me to consider different images.
Now the book wears a shared vision. 


Editors, Acceptances, Rejections

Editors who published me: thank you for the green lights.
Editors who rejected me: thank you for the hard turns.
Both routes brought the poems home sharper and braver.


Today’s Invitation

Because of every teacher, reader, voter, and friend,
To Speak launches with a chorus, not a solo.

  1. Back the project if the poems call to you.

  2. Share the link with someone who needs courage to speak.

👉 Kickstarter link: To Speak: Poems of Courage, Grace & the Sacred Ordinary

Thank you for giving these words their wings.



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