Elevation by Sheilah Vance:

An Open Letter to My Readers

Dear Friends—

I can't believe that it's been almost three years since I released Chasing the 400 and, with your support, the novel and I have grown, as has The Elevator Group.

My next novel, Land Mines, will be officially released in January 2009, as will The Elevator Group's first new author's book and the first book under our new Elevator Group Faith imprint, A Christian Woman's Journal to Weight Loss, by Patricia Thomas (more on that later).

I just received my first major review and recommendation in the November 1 edition of the Library Journal, which goes to every library in the country, to many around the world, and to many major bookstores and booksellers. The Library Journal only reviews about 10% of the more than 30,000 books that are sent to it annually, so when they told me that they were going to review Land Mines, I was thrilled.

I was even more thrilled when I read the recommendation and saw that it was not just recommended, but featured, and in a way that went beyond my wildest dreams.

First, here's the review:

“Presented as a series of engrossing journal entries, this is the story of Carolyn James, a wife and mother whose husband leaves her for another woman. Carolyn’s raw, honest entries chronicle her experiences in dealing with the loss of her marriage and the stable life she had known before. Sentences like “I’m carrying two children in my arms, and my arms ache with the effort of keeping them above water. I, on the other hand, am sinking” will ring true for anyone who has ever been in similar circumstances. The protagonist’s struggles and reliance on God will appeal to most female readers and those who have had to reinvent themselves after life-altering situations. Recommended for women’s fiction and African American fiction collections. Vance’s first novel, Chasing the 400, was the first selection of the African American Museum of Philadelphia Book Club.”

The synopsis of Land Mines is: Carolyn James’ life looked great—new job teaching writing at a law school, 11 year marriage to a doctor, mother of a preteen son and daughter, living in a McMansion in suburban Boston. But she is thrown onto the mine fields of separation and divorce when her husband leaves her for his yoga instructor, taking most of their money, stability, and what’s left of her self-esteem. Always a writer, for the next three years, Carolyn keeps a “divorce journal” to cope and rebuild. From optimism to fear, and humor to sadness, Carolyn writes about her experiences with separation, divorce, and, eventually, dating again. The novel lets the reader go inside Carolyn’s journal as she turns to self-reflection, self-help books, and the grace of God to navigate the ever-exploding land mines and get herself and her children safely through to the other side.

Land Mines introduces a new genre called “therapeutic fiction” (thanks Connie!) because it shows how the main character, Carolyn James, handles separation, divorce and dating again. The novel is in the form of Carolyn’s journal, more specifically, her divorce journal, which she kept to help her make sense of the changes confronting her. Besides working out her issues as she writes them down, Carolyn writes about the various books that she read to help herself. Therapeutic fiction blurs the lines between fiction and non-fiction as here, the books that Carolyn refers to are real. Readers can turn to those books as well to help themselves.

You can click on the full review here:

www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6607292.html

My surprise came when I saw that Land Mines was reviewed and featured as Christian Fiction, and I can only see that as the hand of God at work--He has bigger and better dreams and plans for us than we have for ourselves.

I didn't write nor submit Land Mines as Christian Fiction. I wrote the novel for all. But, the main character's relationship with God is a central theme in the book. So, I am glad to be able to expand this book into a market that I never thought possible, a market that is one of the fastest growing in publishing. And, as the Library Journal review states, I'm happy to push at the boundaries of what is called "Christian fiction", because, as we all know, Christians come in all shapes and sizes, and not one of us is perfect.

Land Mines will be officially released on January 24th, and I will send you information about my book launch in the next few weeks.

But, as I did with Chasing the 400, I am offering Land Mines for sale to you all now. You can place your order on my website, www.TheElevatorGroup.com, or with the attached order form, before January 1, and I will send you out a signed copy(ies) beginning the week of December 15th. The Elevator Group has grown so much that after January 1, orders placed on our website will be sent directly from our distributor, AtlasBooks Distribution in Ohio, and will not be signed.

You can also order from www.TheElevatorGroup.com our other January 2009 release, A Christian Woman's Journal to Weight Loss by Patricia Thomas. Patricia sent her book to me after I met with a book club in Cincinnati, Ohio last year and, as soon as I read it, I knew that I wanted to publish it. Here's a description of it:

“52 weeks. 52 scriptures. 52 reflections. 52 pages for you to write your own reflections.

When you make the decision to lose weight, it can often be a struggle. As Christian women, we know that the word of God is our very present help in time of need. Patricia Thomas’s husband bought her a journal as she began her weight loss journey. She never planned to use it. However, one day she began writing down the scriptures that gave her encouragement, and she related them to her weight loss challenge of the day. Over time, she realized that the Word was very clear on how to handle this issue victoriously.

A Christian Woman’s Journal to Weight Loss: A 52-Week Guide to Losing Weight With the Word can help you, too. In a week-by-week format, this book includes the 52 scriptures that Patricia relied on and her reflections on how those scriptures helped her face her weight loss challenges. The book follows each scripture with a journaling prompt that the reader can use to help her focus that scripture on her weight loss challenges and record her own reflections. Perfect for individual or group use.

God has a plan for our lives, and as women, we have to remember that it is not to give of ourselves until we have just given out. We must make time to take care of the temple that we have been given so that we can live and live abundantly.”

You can find more information about Land Mines, its companion journal called Journaling Through the Land Mines; A Christian Woman's Journal to Weight Loss and its companion affirmation cards; Chasing the 400, and all the upcoming books from The Elevator Group at our website, www.TheElevatorGroup.com.

We are starting to schedule speaking events and author appearances for February through April 2009, primarily. Please contact Cheryl Hardy at info@TheElevatorGroup.com.

In these tough economic times, we believe that the books from The Elevator Group will uplift and support you. From the heartwarming, humorous and "never give up" spirit of Chasing the 400; to the honest, reaffirming and therapeutic fiction of Land Mines; to the inspirational mind, body and spirit support of A Christian Woman's Journal to Weight Loss--a book from The Elevator Group is better than a new tube of lipstick™ (for the ladies) or other things to try to lift our spirits.

Again, thanks for your support. It means more to me than you will ever know. As you will see in my dedication in Land Mines, your support is my constant affirmation.

Peace and Happy Holidays,

Sheilah Vance
President & CEO
The Elevator Group
PO Box 207, Paoli, PA 19301
www.TheElevatorGroup.com
info@TheElevatorGroup.com
610-296-4966 (p) 215-557-9552 (f)

Hey. It's been a while since I've posted. Everyone was so enjoying my Democratic National Convention blog, the Pennsylvania for Obama-log, that I decided to keep that front and center on my blog. Even not posting pix of other Obama events, and a blog about my fabulous trip to Buenos Aires in September to visit my daughter who is studying there this semester. (I will blog about that later, with pix and all.) But, boy, was I tempted to write throughout the fall: "everyone chill out! We are going to deliver Pennsylvania for Obama!" The media and general hysteria about McCain and Palin's encroachments on Pennsylvania voters was driving me, and everyone else crazy. While I must admit I had my wavering moments, I had extreme faith in all of the people of Pennsylvania, those heavy-hitting politicos and regular folks featured in my blog below, and the many neophytes who worked in the Obama campaign as their first foray into elected politics--besides faith in our candidate himself, and Joe Biden, who I've always loved, and even more so now that I had that wonderful conversation with and took that wonderful picture with at the convention. And, ok, I sweated it out a bit on election day, even as I saw 85% turnout at the predominantly African American precinct in Coatesville, PA where I was working as an election protection attorney for the Obama campaign. Interesting tidbit--the judge of elections there was a 102 year-old African American woman. For real. She was feisty, and we all had to laugh when she went to vote and she was voter 666 (you know what that means). But, God love her for still doing what she's doing, and wasn't she overjoyed to be able to elect an African American president?

Anyway, we did it. I know so many people who never worked in a campaign before, people in their 50s and up, let alone the young people, who worked for Obama.

And, yes, I'm off to DC for the inaugural activities. I don't know exactly what I'll be doing or where I'll be going, but I'll be blogging about its, so check this space around January 20th.

Peace.