Step Out Onto My Balcony!

I’m a checklist person through and through. Sometime late last year I began drafting a project plan for launching The Presence of Absence to capture all the little details I needed to tend to before releasing my baby out into the world. I have been tweaking it, making adjustments, and getting things done but I finally admitted to myself last week that this launch isn’t going to look the way I envisioned it when the world was chugging along as per normal.

So, with the world feeling upside down I decided to turn my carefully crafted plan upside down by releasing the book earlier than I originally intended. The Presence of Absence: A Story About Busyness, Brokenness, and Being Beloved releases on May 26. That’s just four weeks away!

I pray this book will encourage you. It’s my story, but it’s also your story.

We’ve all been plagued by the lure of busyness and, while our world has shifted in recent months and showed us the folly of using it to find our significance, its siren lure will tempt us back when we begin to open up again.

There is something in each of us that is a little bit broken: hurt we carry, insecurities we feel, fears that drive us to dark places. Naming them is the first step toward confronting these things so we can heal the hurt pieces of ourselves.

And finally, it is in coming to understand the truth about our belovedness that changes the way we are in this world. Grasping this single truth enables us to see ourselves and those around us in a different light—a light that has the power to change our world.

I’m excited to share this story with you—a little terrified, but excited nonetheless.

One of the things many authors do when preparing to release a book is to create a launch team. I’m doing something a bit different.

I came across the phrase “balcony people” some time ago and it stuck with me. Have you heard it?  Imagine a group of people cheering you on as you make your way through life. They’re the encouragers, the helpers, the ones willing to lend a hand and pick you up when you stumble. They’re your balcony people.

Normally they just show up. No invitation needed. But today, I’m extending an invitation for you to step onto my balcony and help me launch this book. Every Friday, for the next four weeks, I’m going to give away a copy of The Presence of Absence to someone in my balcony.

So how do you become a balcony person for me for this book launch?

Easy! Just tell people about the book. I’m not asking you to pre-order my book (but I’m delighted if you do) or read a pre-release copy and post a review when it launches (but reviews are very much welcome after you’ve had an opportunity to read the book).  I’m simply inviting a group of friends to step onto my balcony and help me spread the word to potential readers.

Connect with me on Facebook by “liking” my writer page at https://www.facebook.com/LindaHoyeWriter/.

Every Monday I’ll pin a post to the top of my FB page about the book. Just share it (or a post of your own) on your social media platforms to let people about the book! Talk about it! Use the hashtag #ThePresenceOfAbsenceBook and leave a comment on my FB page so I know you’re in my balcony for the week.

Every Friday between now and May 26, I’ll draw a name from the comments on the week’s pinned post and send that person a copy of The Presence of Absence (US and Canada only please).

That’s it.

So, what do you say? Will you be one of my balcony people and help me launch this book?

We wear busyness as a badge of accomplishment and personal success. But when we use it to fill a void, being busy can become an addiction. Busyness helps us feel better—or feel nothing—but the benefit doesn’t come without cost.

Adoptee Linda Hoye used it to ease the ache she felt over the loss of her first mother’s love. She retired from the corporate world, looking forward to the opportunity to slow down and turn her attention to creative pursuits like photography, writing, and gardening, but found herself stuck. So accustomed to being busy, she had forgotten how to be anything else.

This is a spiritual memoir about a longing many of us have for something we struggle to articulate. It’s about fear, brokenness, and the mystery of stillness, solitude, and silence. It is the story of a sacred journey to a lost mother, a found family, and an encounter with divine love.

TRIM SIZE – 5.5 X 8.5
ISBN   (print) 978-0-9937303-0-6
            (ebook) 978-0-9937303-1-3

Preorder The Presence of Absence now at:

Amazon.com
Amazon.ca
Rakuten Kobo
Barnes and Noble

Available May 26 at a variety of online and bricks and mortar bookstores, or get a personalized autographed copy by emailing me at linda@lindahoye.com.