Years ago, I wrote my first book, In the Wash: The Rona Shively Stories. At the time, I was married, and my daughter was about two years old. I was experiencing severe depression and I just didn’t know where my life was headed. The only positive things I had going for me were my daughter and having published my first book. I remember studying everything I could find about author promotion and then embarking on what I called a Book Tour. It wasn’t your traditional kind of book tour, but it was a book tour the only kind I could pull off at the time.

For the first couple of years, I was able to book several book signings and even started to do these nifty presentations called “Tea & Mystery” at local libraries and for book clubs who were interested in hosting them. I wrote a few more books and before I knew it, I was getting used to calling myself an author. My marriage, which hadn’t been on solid ground in the first place, crumbled completely over the next five years. Not necessarily because of the books, but just because my life was simply taking a different shape than his. After we parted ways, I wrote more and eventually, was given an opportunity to do something that I had never dreamed I would do. I became an independent publisher.

My writing continued for a bit, but as the publishing business grew, I noticed that my free time was dwindling and with it, my inclination to do any real writing for my own projects had all but disappeared. I had to work full-time to make sure the bills were paid and in order to keep up with the publishing, I had to sacrifice what had once been my writing time. It was a little sad at first, but as I dove head-first into my calling, I found that I was just as excited to publish books that had been written by other people as I had been to see my own work published. And the books just kept on coming.

Now, eight years later, I am fortunate enough to have published over sixty authors and around 115 books for other authors. Amazing!!!! I have met so many cool people and I’ve been blessed by their willingness to share their stories with me. To be trusted with someone’s manuscript is much like being trusted with their babies. So much goes into writing a book that it’s hard to imagine handing all of the blood, sweat, and tears over to just anyone to manage. But these awesome writers of mine have done just that. And I’m grateful.

Lately, I’ve been a little fried, however. I’ve come to a place in my life where I really feel the need to jump back into my writing with a bit more dedication. I want to keep publishing others, but I also want to finish some of the books I started before everything became a bit complicated. So, I’ve taken a break this year from taking on new authors (except in a few instances) and I’m working on several different WIPs in hopes of getting these books published before the end of the year. This is my gift to myself as I approach my fiftieth birthday.

So, we are about 63 days or so away from my big day. I want to ask for your help in meeting the goals I have set for myself. If you feel compelled to do so, please take a moment and visit our shop page. Pick a couple of books and support our authors by buying a copy or two. You can also help by visiting Kindle Vella and reading the chapters of the three stories I have posted there. They are: A Great Work of Fiction, Redemption, and The End of Eternity (which is under the pen name, R.J. Dodds). Your support would be a real blessing to me, and it will help motivate me to keep on writing and to get these stories out within the next six months. Thank you in advance for your help!

Don’t be afraid to re-embark on a journey, even if you’ve set it aside for a while as you took time to tackle other priorities. There is a time for everything, as it says in Ecclesiastes 3. God cycles things around when we aren’t quite up to a challenge and if it really is something we’re meant to do, He will give us time to prepare and then jump back in. So, if there is something you’ve been meaning to pick back up, by all means jump in there!

Rebecca Benston is the owner of Higher Ground Books & Media and the author of over twenty titles currently available through Amazon and other outlets. Her books include a mystery series (The Rona Shively Stories), empowerment resources such as Wise Up to Rise Up, Don’t Be Stupid (And I Mean That in the Nicest Way), and From Judgment to Jubilee, children’s books including Grumble D. Grumble Learns to Smile, All the Scary Things, and See How Strong You Are. Benston lives in Springfield, Ohio with her awesome daughter, Mya and enjoys traveling, reading, writing, and telling it like it is. She enjoys being able to help other authors get their stories out there through Higher Ground and has recently expanded her freelance services to offer more extensive guidance as a writing coach and social media manager. For more information, you can contact Benston at highergroundbooksandmedia@gmail.com.

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