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Dear John: This is why you need the eBook

Dec20

Wooo, hooo! Today is official launch day for my 8th book, Dear John (The Birthday Gift—Book 2).

Here’s the book trailer (aka my shameless plug) trying to convince you that you need to buy the eBook today for only .99¢! [You will see at the end of this post it’s not a shameless plug afterall.]

I even created a video last night showing you how “flexible” the eBook is, and why it’s better than the paperback in some regards. However, of course I’d like for you to purchase the paperback too when it is released later. For now though, Christmas is in 5 days. This eBook would make the perfect gift. You can purchase it from Amazon, and they will email the recipient directly with a link to download the book to any mobile device.

So for your viewing pleasure, watch the video below to see why a handy dandy eBook is what you need. Amazon says according to the word count, the average time to read this book is about 2.5 – 3 hours. You can download and read it before Christmas or gift it to someone else. Yes, I know most people don’t have leisure time during this very busy holiday season to read a book. But I must admit, if you give me a couple of minutes, I think you’ll be hooked and may even replace watching a Hallmark Christmas Movie with my book. (LOL)

There is convenience and beauty in having an electronic book instead of the paperback, not to mention it’s only .99¢.

Click the link below to go directly to the order page on Amazon. Buy it for yourself or gift it to someone else. It really is a gripping redemption story fueled by Grace which I believe has a message we all need to hear during these challenging times.

And lastly, here’s an official book review that gives you a better idea of what the book is about.

Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers’ Favorite

Betty Collier’s novel, Dear John, is the second book in The Birthday Gift series that reveals the everlasting power of God’s love and the message so aptly shared in scripture. The plot follows John’s journey to discover himself and find his way through faith. It’s a difficult journey, but one he must take. The plot is well developed, the descriptive narrative is aptly incorporated, and the dialogue is well constructed and believable. The story itself is a tapestry evolving from the heart of a seasoned storyteller. There is heartbreak, hope, and the promise of true forgiveness and love, all through the simple act of belief. The author is well versed in scripture and the choice of the main character’s name wasn’t without profound meaning and attachments. We all know the meaning of a ‘Dear John’ letter, one that will cast away the recipient, and those with faith are more than familiar with the quote from John, one of Jesus’s disciples. This compelling story will lead readers closer to their own sense of faith and acceptance. A deeply sentimental, engaging, and powerful story.

Thank you for watching the videos and listening to my shameless plugs. To be honest, obviously it’s not about the money. I can’t get rich making .30¢ per eBook. I’m plugging Dear John because I sincerely believe it was inspired by God. It is a captivating story of grace, love, forgiveness, and redemption. If you have struggled with any of these, you will find answers embedded within the digital pages of this electronic book.

I appreciate you more than you know for taking the time to visit my blog today, especially if you read all the way to the bottom.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to one and all!

When an Email Makes You Cry

Jul17

Tears began flowing when I received an email that started out by saying “Exciting news! Your press release has been picked up by several national media outlets including FOX, NBC, ABC, and USA Today affiliates.”

Honestly I was kind of expecting it because the Book Excellence Award representative said it would happen, but to see it actually happen is another story. I am beyond thankful and grateful for all that the Lord is doing for me and through me as an author. Having my book, The Birthday Gift: Book 1 receive national media coverage as an award recipient opens doors for me to continue spreading the message inside the book. My 5-book series will not only be intriguing stories of heartbreak and hope, but more importantly, avenues to share the greatest gift ever given to mankind and the greatest story ever told. To continue sharing that message around the world and to have more control over the project, I am starting my own business, John316 Global Publishing. Details will unfold over the next few months. Visit my website here to learn more about the John 3:16 Global Placement Mission.

As for the Amazon bestselling, award-winning first book in this series, take a look at the national media coverage:

The Book Excellence Award Program sent out a press release announcing my book as a 2022 award finalist earlier this summer. It was distributed to a wide array of news outlets across the United States with millions of viewers! How many actually saw it? I’ll never know; however, I do know that the Lord has continued to open doors for the message inside the book to be shared across the nation and around the globe. Here’s the press release below recognizing The Birthday Gift: Book 1 as a top 2022 book award finalist in a competition that celebrates excellence in books around the world.

I’ve also been told repeatedly by numerous people this book should be turned into a movie. It has always felt like a movie to me ever since I used to dream about Mrs. Williams, Bill, and Bella when I was writing the manuscript. I’m going on record right here that I believe it will happen. Watch the book trailer video below. It feels like a movie trailer. (However, I’ll let the movie executives make the actual blockbuster movie trailer though.)

Also, while you’re here, I want to share a bit more information. Someone asked me to provide a 200-300 word excerpt from the book as part of an upcoming virtual book tour in August. How does an author take a book that’s about 30,000 words and pick only a glimpse of 200-300 words that will grab a reader’s attention? Well, I picked part of my first chapter because that is where Mrs. Williams’ original heartbreak began. You will have to read the book to see how that profound heartbreak was turned into surprising hope for the future… As the press release said, this book is a shining beacon of hope in a time of global uncertainty and unprecedented change.

Excerpt from Chapter 1: Black and Blue

The next thing I remember hearing is “Code Blue.” It was now pitch-black outside my ICU window at Cedars-Sinai Hospital. I don’t know what happened on that beautiful sunny morning after I opened my front door for the police officer. He was standing there in the last ray of sunshine I would see for quite some time. I guess I could look at the police report or medical records, but what’s the point. I really don’t want to be reminded of the single most horrific day in my entire life. What happened? Why was the police officer talking in slow motion?

Bill had been in Israel for thirty-three days. It was time for him to come back home. I had been expecting a phone call from him during his layover at Heathrow. Instead of Bill’s much anticipated call, I got that abominable knock at my front door!

 Then I heard it again. “Code Blue.”

Everything went black. As I reflect on that disastrous day, everything was already black. My world had gone dark and void.

From what I’ve been told, I woke up the following morning with no recollection of the previous day. Apparently, those words my ears had refused to allow my mind to process were no less true just because I refused to hear them, let alone accept them.

My heart was broken. I was broken. Life as I once knew it no longer existed. There was no reason to go to the airport. Bill never boarded his connecting flight in London. The only thing at the airport now was his luggage, and there certainly wasn’t any reason for me to go claim that. Well, no reason that I knew of at the time.

Purchase the book on Amazon

For those who have already read the book, please consider leaving a review on Amazon. Positive reviews will help other potential buyers discover this book. Help me spread the message of John 3:16 (uniquely embedded in this story) around the globe by sharing this beacon of hope with others.

It’s Time

Nov7

I blog on Facebook more often than I blog on my blog. This is another instance when I was “thinking out loud” and wrote my reflections on Facebook. Now I’ve decided to copy those thoughts to my blog. It all started like this a couple of days ago…

Most of the time, I really don’t think about my age, but I looked at the calendar today and started to think about turning 57 in a couple of weeks. Well, that sent me on a wild tangent. I started reflecting about a whole lot of things. I think I’m most reflective today simply because of the title of the book below on the left, For Such A Time As This that is coming out this month at the same time I’m turning 57. I am only a featured author in that book. There are 20 other contributing authors, so it’s most definitely not just about me.

This is the picture I posted on Facebook as I was reflecting on these 2 books.

A lot of people will make a statement and then say “for such a time as this”, but what does that really mean? At this stage in my life, I am convinced one thing it means to me personally is related to being an author…. A storyteller for such a time as this.

Not that I don’t want to be an author (now), but once upon a time, I really didn’t. NOT.AT.ALL! Like I’ve said before, this was God’s idea, not mine. I was reluctant, but after I surrendered MY will to become HIS will, I knew it was something divinely orchestrated that I was appointed to do. I am smart enough (better known as having enough faith) to know better than to try to convince God that he has given me something to do that I can’t handle.

So I started writing because that is what he gave me to do, certainly not because I felt equipped to do it. (He had to equip me too!) After all, I’m a nurse, not a writer. I used to be a computer programmer analyst too, but that’s another story.

Meanwhile in the midst of being an active “participant” in someone else’s anthology and coming along for the ride in promoting it and posting stuff all over social media and my website and blog about it, I am truly spending most of my time, every available minute that I can get a clear head, working on that other book above on the right, The Birthday Gift. If all goes as planned, I will re-launch the rebranded version on 12.01.2021, but right now my head is spinning.

As I think about what has changed in that book since I first released it in May, 2020 until what the bonus material will reveal in that same book this time around gives me justifiable reason to pause and reflect. I’m really writing The Birthday Gift for such a time as this. Now is the time, and it just so happens that I’m also part of the other book, aptly entitled For Such A Time As This.

I will be 56 when one comes out, and less than a month later, I will be 57 when the other comes out. Both really are for such a time as this, but for vastly different reasons. It just wasn’t supposed to happen until 2021…. because of the times in which we are living these days. The message in both truly are for such a time as this. So when you see me post about both books, please know this is NOT my idea, and it’s certainly NOT for me or about me. It’s something much greater for which I have no control over. The books are actually for the readers who will benefit from reading them… for such a time as this. They are for y’all, not me.

That was the gist of my Facebook post. I guess the older we get, the more reflective we become. It seems my reflections have been working overtime lately though. Perhaps you are even reflecting on some things in your life as you’re reading this.

I’ve blogged about both books before, so I hope you are excited about both of them coming out over the next 30 days. Just to give you a few more details in case you have not visited my website lately:

I’m actually rebranding The Birthday Gift, which is my first fictional work. It was originally released in May 2020 and will be relaunched in December 2021 with an upgraded cover and new features inside including a “behind the scenes” section of epic proportions. I’m the only author featured in the John 3:16 Global Placement Mission. As a storyteller, I have been commissioned to write a series of 5 fictional books for this project. The Birthday Gift is the first one.

The Birthday Gift Movie (Book)Trailer

While this appears to be an intriguing tale of heartbreak and hope, what this book as well as the 4 others that will be part of this book series all have in common is that they will deliver the gospel message found in John 3:16.

What really made me reflect is the role I’m playing in the other book though as a featured author. I only have a 1,000 word chapter in that book. There are 20 other co-authors who all have 2,500 word chapters. The author compiling all the stories asked me about being featured in the book. It’s title alone has opened up new doors and a new audience that I had not been able to reach yet. That makes it quite surreal to know this is happening at the same time I have begun working on my new 5-book series… which is truly for such a time as this, but that’s not the title of the series. The series is actually The Birthday Gift Book Series.

If you’d like more information about the anthology, you are welcome to tune in on Saturday, November 13 at 7:00 P.m. EST for our Book Launch Celebration. You will have the opportunity to hear from all 20 co-authors who will be sharing hope, wisdom, inspiration and a little about their chapters. Reserve your free virtual seat for the celebration here.

Visit my website for more information about this anthology and find out how you can order the paperback. You will get a free copy of my eBook, The Birthday Gift if you place your order by November 15th. Details are on my website here.

Now I’d like to pose a question to you. Is there anything in particular that you have been reflecting on lately that you would like to share in the comments? I’d love to hear from you and see what’s on your mind… for such a time as this.