Newsletter: One week down...
The book is doing well. I'll be releasing three lightly edited, recorded chapters of the audiobook each week as we head toward publication...
Table of Contents
How to publish a review
News about the upcoming audiobook
What I’ve been reading
You’ve read the book — how do you publish a review?
If you are still a subscriber, I assume that you are interested in the memoir I’ve just published.
Thank you for your support — we had a good first week. The book retained the orange banner for the Top New Release in its category for almost a week.
If you’ve purchased and read the book…
… and you’d like to help other readers find the book, the best way to do this is by writing a simple, honest review sharing your feelings about the book, and rating it between one and five stars.
Special shout-out to Peter Serko, the wonderful writer of Hattie’s War, who was the first to post a review on Amazon. (If you haven’t read his book yet, please consider it. You can get it in e-book form, paperback, audiobook, or hardcover.)
Special shout-out to those of you who have posted on Goodreads, as well. Erin McGibbon Smith was the first in the door, followed by Paul Smith, Peter Serko, Luke Lindon, Amanda Chartrand, and Shirley Dobry.
Posting a review can seem intimidating. So I’m going to give step-by-step instructions for readers who purchased on Amazon. I’m giving you the same step-by-step instructions I would want.
Go to the website where you purchased the book. For example, Amazon, click below:
Once you see the book, scroll down to where you see a series of ratings:
Look to the bottom left-hand side, where you’ll see "Review this product,” and below that, you’ll see “Write a customer review.”
Click on that, and you can write your review.
You can also post here on Goodreads.
In fact, as I noted before, you can write it in Goodreads, and then copy and paste it to the other bookseller sites.
Thanks for continuing to read and support this book. It means a great deal to me.
An audiobook of the memoir is on the way
Next week, I will begin releasing two to three chapters of the audiobook each week in an mp3 format to my paid subscribers. The goal is to publish the audiobook by no later than Valentine’s Day, and if the stars align, by New Year’s Day.
What I’ve been reading
Mark Twain, Ron Chernow
This is a very long listen but it’s worth the slog. I’ve taken my time. I even stopped, listened to Huck Finn, and then returned to the book. If you are interested in the life of one of America’s greatest writers, this is the book.
History Matters, David McCullough
I listened to this and wanted more. It’s a collection of short pieces by our greatest historian (in my opinion) and gives the listener a thorough grounding in how McCullough perceives history.
Listening to the Law, Amy Coney Barrett
If you’d like to read a lite version of constitutional law, this is the book. Barrett is a teacher at heart — she spent years at Notre Dame — and she gives a clear explanation of the originalist approach to law. I was impressed.
John Adams, HBO
For comfort food, I’ve been watching this HBO series with great interest. Since I first watched this series in 2008 when it came out, I’ve read at least one biography on every president, and this time, the decisions Adams made as our second president — as well as his work in leading the Continental Congress when they were creating the Declaration of Independence — make a lot more sense. McCullough found Adams far more fascinating than most presidents, and watching this or reading the original book will show you why.
The Gilded Age, HBO
This show rocks. I can’t get enough of it. If you are aware of the original Gilded Age, and aware that we are now in a second Gilded Age, you’ll find this show thought-provoking, as well as just plain gorgeous. I can’t wait for the next season.
Thanks for supporting this Substack.
Join my private Facebook Group
If you believe in the mission of the book — that it provides a blueprint for someone who wishes to leave a high-control religious community and find their way toward a more supportive faith — please feel free to join my new Facebook Group.
Launch captains will help set up signings and readings, reshare posts, give me advice, or just to interact with me. I’ll also be looking for photos, so if you’ve been a major part of my life, you might have photos that can go in the hardback edition, which will hopefully come out on Valentine’s Day.
If you would like to become one of these launch captains, please feel free to click below.
Thanks for being part of my journey.
Much love,
Steven
P.S. Oh, and just in case you missed it, here’s the link again to buy the book.
Follow Steven on Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube and Instagram. He can be reached at StevenDenlinger@substack.com