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Faith

Pre-order Happening Now and New Book Release Coming by Author, Tony Roberts Called “When Despair Meets Delight”…

Catherine Lyon - Literary Marketing Expert A Writer's Thoughts, Author News, Featured Guest, My Mental Illness Writings, New Book & Author Press Release, News Around The Web, Posts, Updates and More , , , , , , , , , , ,

New Book Releasing Soon By My Dear Friend and fellow author Tony Roberts! It is his second book to release and I can’t wait to give it read! He has been a tireless advocate for those of us who have Mental Health challenges in life.

There is more to learn and the ordering details are at the bottom of this post and shared from his amazing website of Delight in Disorder! 

When Despair Meets Delight Goes to Press

The time is at hand. After five years of gestation, and over a year of hard labor (with a week of major complications), I have been assured that When Despair Meets Delight will go to the printers today. From there, it should take two weeks to prepare a review copy. When I am satisfied that all looks good, I will bring boxes of books home. Then comes the delightfully arduous task of mailing out advance orders — now over 100. On September 3, the print and e-book will be released on Amazon and the audio version on Audible.

This has been an incredibly busy week. I contracted with a man from Uganda to design memes for social media. I hired a sound engineer to create a commercial for iHeart radio. I have been reaching out to podcasters, blog authors, pastors, and others to get the message out. I am both incredibly enthused and emotionally exhausted.

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FreshHope - God's Second Chances

 

I know I can’t maintain this pace and I’m happy to say I have much help. Not only from God, but from God’s people. Over 100 people have joined #TeamDelight, praying for me and our shared mission to spread hope for troubled minds, the hope that shines light in the darkness and turns despair into delight.


Many of you know (some more than others) that I am taking a big risk. With my illness, such a frenetic schedule can do me in. One of the only ways to promote a memoir is to promote the author.

For someone with bipolar, this can lead to grandiosity. I can begin to believe my own press clippings. Please pray with me that I maintain a humble heart, even if it means I am humiliated. I’m willing to play the fool, as long as I am a fool for Christ and give God the glory.

Finally, it is essential that I show integrity; that my actions are consistent with my words. One piece of pastoral advice I’ve given people is — “Receive God’s care, so you can care for yourselves to care for others.” Like the flight instructions often ignored, before we can help children with their oxygen masks, we have to put on our own.

If I deplete my spiritual strength in an effort to manage more than I can bear, I won’t do anyone any good. To avoid this, I’m going to plan each day a schedule that promotes good health — physical, psychological, spiritual.

My primary aim in life is not just to glorify God, but to enjoy him forever. One of the best ways to enjoy God is to appreciate creation. Each day I’m going to do something that better connects me with nature. Whether it is watching the joy of my wife as she plants flowers, taking my dog Briley for a refreshing walk through the park, or going on a retreat at a cabin in the woods. I am committing myself to live more in harmony with what God made and called good.

One thing I know I will continue to do is writing. Writing is not only my vocation, but it is also my primary form of prayer. It is my life’s blood. There is a direct vein going from my heart to my hand that pumps who I am and whose I am onto the page.

When I write, the voices inside and around me are shushed and I can better hear God’s voice. When I read Scripture and reflect on it, I embrace the truth God speaks out of love for us.

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Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. (Psalm 119:105)

 

Order your copy in advance at When Despair Meets Delight.
You receive an autographed copy before the public release, with free shipping.

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Please visit Tony today and pre-order your copy on his special new book website of When Despair Meets Delight…

How Do Authors Handle Publicity In a Spiritual Way and Not Sound Like Bragging? Tony Gives Us a Sample.

Catherine Lyon - Literary Marketing Expert A Writer's Thoughts, Author News, Book Promotion Tips For Authors, Featured Guest, News Around The Web, Posts, Updates and More , , , , , , , ,

Revealing Voices

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Sharing Some Delight in Disorder

Since my book was published, I’ve not done much to get the word out. As a result, I haven’t sold many copies. People who have read it tell me what a difference it has made in their lives, but I have not followed up on this and reached out to others.

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“I have a hard time walking the fine line between bragging about myself and celebrating what God is doing in my life.”

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Lately, I have come to accept the importance of the mission God has called me to carry out. There are so many people impacted by mental illness who are in desperate need of saving faith. As the body of Christ, it’s our delightful duty to show compassion for hurting souls.

The emotional anguish caused by brain diseases like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression, is as real and agonizing as any bodily pain caused by a physical illness. I know this. First hand. I also know the grace of God that provides a measure of healing in this life and the hope of healing in the next.

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“It’s time to take my bushel off God’s light in me, even if I reveal the flaws I so want to hide.”

So this weekend, I posted this message on Facebook:

For almost twenty years, I served as a pastor with bipolar disorder. I have journeyed with this illness from manic (even psychotic) peaks to dark valleys of despair. At both extremes, I have flirted with death—coming very close to ending my life and doing great damage to those around me. .

Countless times, when I have been driven to the edge of a cliff, God has rescued me and set me on level ground. Why would God do this? Because God delights in me even in disorder. Delight is first an expression of God’s love for us. Since God delights in us, we have a “delightful duty” to share in God’s joy.

The media often portray the terrible extremes where untreated mental illness leads to horrific homicide or shameful suicide. What is missing is a compassionate portrayal of all the rest of us who struggle to survive and be faithful. Delight in Disorder reveals the beautiful grace of God that flows into grateful living if you have a mental illness and greater understanding if you want to love another who does.

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60 people have shared the message. I’ve sold more books in 24 hours than Amazon has sold for me in 48 months.

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Image result for free images of author tony roberts of delight in disorder

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“But the most powerful response was from one who didn’t buy a book or share the post. It was a desperate plea.”

 

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Me:   D., thank you for reaching out and being open about you suicidal thoughts. It’s important that you get help. Please message me.
D:   I am a daily survivor I do it for my kids I’ve tried suicide and failed. My sister has committed suicide it runs in my family my mother attempted when I was a kid
Me:  D., do you have a plan to kill yourself?  When you say you have suicidal thoughts, Denny, what do you mean? I’m praying for you, brother.
D:  No. I’ve planned but never went thru with is. I got two biological and one step son. I work daily sometimes I feel like I’m better off dead but my kids bring me back from reality
Me:  Well, I’m very glad you’ve found a reason to live. Your kids love and need you, for sure.
D:  I’m reminded every day I’m needed if not for anyone else then my two biological kids.
Me:  Amen to that!
D: Thanks man I need someone to talk to sometime. Thanks for even taking the time out to talk with me
Me: Message me anytime, D.. I can’t promise I will always be available. But when I am, I’ll respond.
D:  Ty really means a lot. I deal with it everyday. So I’m sure if I need someone to talk to I’ll reach out. No-one in my life understands. So it’s hard when no one understand and it makes me feel a lot different
Me:  I get that, brother.

 

Maybe you have a D. in your life. Maybe you are D. If so, get professional psychiatric and therapeutic help. And, consider Delight in Disorder to find spiritual support you will need to face difficult days ahead.

 

Get an autographed copy of Delight in Disorder for just $12.

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Delight in Disorder: Ministry, Madness, Mission

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I highly recommend Delight In Disorder. Tony has a way of humanizing mental illness and explaining things in a profound, yet simple way that resonates with his readers. Whether you have a diagnosed mental health disorder, some other kind of disability, know someone who does, or simply struggle with faith and believing that God delights in you, this book is for you. ~ Veronica J.

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Please make sure you stop and visit Author, Tony Roberts as he has so much help and information on his blog “Sharing Delight In Disorder” about life, living with Mental health, being an author and more as well as checking out his Podcast Called: Revealing Voices on iTunes! 

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Update on our Co-writing Journey. What Personal Info is Too Much Sharing When Writing Your Life Story in a Memoir and Legacy?

Catherine Lyon - Literary Marketing Expert A Writer's Thoughts, Author News, Just A Blog Post, Posts, Updates and More , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hello and Welcome Readers, Friends, and Bronco Fans!

“Writing a Memoir is different than an autobiography”

A Memoir is a collection of memories that an individual writes about moments or events, both public or private, that took place in the subject’s life. The assertions made in the work are understood to be factual.

But it is also a personal essay about a significant memory in the author’s life that uses narrative devices like setting, character, and dialogue. Molding your “chosen memory” and in our case, ‘ How Addictions, Money, and a Shift from God and The Loss of a Son,’  that I am writing for Vance and bringing his story to an appropriate structure, using vivid detail and examining the memory’s significance will help us write a strong memoir…


So our writing journey has begun and is moving along. Now I want to be transparent as possible as Vance and I continue to write together. I spoke with Vance yesterday and he is moving forward with working with a marketer and making choices on what type of book cover to go with. Do we do that now? Or do we wait to read the full manuscript first? Your thoughts readers? I also want to share a little about the process of writing and how at times one can be unsure of themselves of what to share about one’s life. We would love feedback from all who visits this post as a ‘Wee Bit of Encouragement’ to my writing partner. We’re exploring the topic and feelings of writing about others in the memoir, but is there a line we just don’t cross?

THE DILEMMA:

When I wrote my book/memoir, and it turned into a book manuscript (all by GOD Intervention), I too was riddled with reservations about some of the personal family drama and dysfunctional episodes that went on in my home I grew up in. I was raised at a time when you never bring “shame” to the family and never talk about what goes on in our homes out in public. Well, needless to say, I felt I needed to share of the topics as those events were a direct link to some of the roots of why I had turned to addiction later in life. NO, I didn’t share to hurt my family or those I spoke of, I did it to give an in-depth look inside one’s life and share how all of the events, abuse, chaos, and trauma in my home had an effect on me. Especially into adulthood. Not all children are raised in a perfect home environment the “Brady Bunch or The Cleavers.”

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Now? Vance is struggling a little with some of these decisions as we write. What does he expose or not about his family, events or old memories about growing up as to NOT hurt or offend his parents, sister, or others?

I explained to Vance that his book and the journey are not about them or others, it is about him and looking at the past pain and events that had an effect on his life and had carried that into his adult life and how he made it through to the man “Standing In Grace and Saving Lives from Addiction today.  Am I Wrong?  How do you feel about that? GOD never promised us a Perfect Life without trials and lessons to overcome.  Vance has come through many storms and trauma from addictions.  My own side of the family and I had been estranged for about six years before my book was released. But Vance’s family are in his life, but just not aboard with this book project.

So, do we share the good, the bad and the UGLY? Or do we change direction or not write his memoir chronological and start in a different place? Isn’t this part of Vance’s healing process of taking stock, process and then turn it over to GOD? Or is there a fine thin blue line between the paper your not to cross?

Any feedback, advice, and comments would be helpful and appreciated. It is why we chose to invite everyone to follow our journey. Your voice and advice is important for our project.

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