Celebrating the Second Anniversary of a Book That "Becomes More Relevant by the Hour"

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Yes, writers kill to stay relevant, so when a reader contacted me recently with the “by the hour” phrase about my nearly two-year-old book, I was happy to hear it. If it brings additional readers to my story of young people making fateful choices of conscience in a world that no longer made sense, I’m all for it. That’s why I wrote it. But I am conflicted that the story increasingly reads more like current than historical fiction.

I also want to mark the anniversary by celebrating this toddler of mine, thank you for all your support, and tell you what’s new—from the surprising career choice of the Coming of Conscience scholarship winner to new ways to get and share the book.

Relevance or Repetition?

Over the past two years, I’ve talked a lot about the parallels and déjà vu between the Vietnam era time frame of The Fourteenth of September and today, so I’ll stick to the broad strokes.

There wasn’t a pandemic, but there was a war—both overwhelmingly destructive events that were poorly handled. We did have an impeachable president with a loose relationship with the truth and the rule of law, a polarized country, and massive inequality. Let’s just say the situation was so bad that when we saw our peers murdered on television at Kent State, we didn’t think it could get worse.

We were sure there would be a revolution. It’s impossible not to be reminded of it when watching the real-time assaults on George Floyd, Jacob Blake, and others. I hear “complicit,” “revolution,” and the phrase “it won’t be quiet,” and my lips remember how to yell those words. I still feel the rage, but also such sadness that after all this time problems we thought were so close to being solved are here before us, all over again, and far worse for having been swept under the rug for so many years. Similarly, the effects of the Vietnam War didn’t go away because we refused to talk about it—but the lessons did: the fatiguing, draining hamster wheel of history.

And let’s admit the remedy has always been hard. Activism is and has always been complicated. When you hit the streets it’s because you’ve tried all the proper channels to no avail and found yourself powerless, and rage and reason need to balance. There are always differences about how to turn message into action to where the point can get lost, and the only thing that’s heard is the sound of breaking glass.

Recently, the interviews I’ve given have been all about how The Fourteenth of September resonates with what is happening today. Check out the Storey Time Interview (adjust to 11:06-13:48) and the recent guest post on the San Miguel Writers’ Conference site, which is about how being caught in a BLM protest brought up vivid and insanely parallel memories of a key event in the novel.

I hope readers will continue to come to the book for relevance and stay for the rest—a coming of age story of college life, feminism, first love, bad boys, best friends, teacher worship, mother/daughter conflict, generation gaps—the Sturm und Drang of growing up under the umbrella of a terrifying world situation while lacking the experience or maturity to understand how to navigate: in short, young people who represented the generation whose parents so worried they were about to leave their children a world they had messed up. Yup, kind of like today.

I always knew the story was and would be relevant; I just didn’t realize it would be so on the nose this very second-anniversary minute.

A New Career Path for Our Coming of Conscience Scholarship Winner

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The tag line for The Fourteenth of September is A Coming of Conscience Novel. I define a Coming of Conscience decision as one where integrity trumps consequences. You do the right thing even if it costs you. The world is currently in a massive Coming of Conscience time as we decide who we are, moving forward as Americans. It’s full of people making bold Coming of Conscience decisions, whether it’s Mitt Romney voting for impeachment; Brett Crozier, commanding officer of the Theodore Roosevelt, making a career-ending move to protect his men from COVID exposure; the thousands of health care workers putting their lives on the line to save others sickened by the virus; or the many people crossing party lines in the next election. It couldn’t be more relevant.

In the spirit of Judy’s journey in the novel, as part of the initial book launch, a scholarship was funded through your efforts—donations were made in response to your enthusiastic posting of photos and videos of you with your copy of the book.

As a result, a record number of over 200 college students engaged in an essay contest to describe a Coming of Conscience moment in their own lives and how this scholarship would allow them to choose a path that would help change the world through meaningful activism and bold personal responsibility.

Our winner, Isabel Odom-Flores, had a compelling story giving up the athletic scholarship that funded her education because the coach was a predator—a #METOO moment at eighteen. I was pleased to learn that Isabel graduated this past December from Northern Illinois University with a BS in Rehabilitation Services. She was accepted in a graduate program to earn her MS Ed., specializing in learning behavior. What a choice at a time when it’s so clear that all voices need to be heard and valued. I’m so proud of her and all of you who participated in this program.

With efforts like this, we can still change the world.

Celebrating with a Sale

At the two-year point, I’m pleased The Fourteenth of September has “legs” and continues to be of interest to a wider and broader range of readers. Parents (mostly mothers, but a few dads) are passing it on to their daughters, and interesting conversations leading to new understanding are taking place. Teachers are sharing it with students who have heard little about the Vietnam era and are curious. Book clubs are finding the book’s multiple themes offer fodder for intriguing discussions (from its distinctive female POV to the attraction of the activist leader/bad boy, David). Many readers who previously bought the book are just getting around to reading it now because of the world situation, the awards it continues to secure, or simply because it’s risen to the top of their TBR file or they’re tired of seeing my face in their social media feeds and want to get to it already. I’m hearing from all of them and am pretty tickled.

In honor of the anniversary, I’ve made a few moves to make the novel easier to read in any form and to share:

· The audiobook is now being distributed through Findaway Voices, the world’s largest audiobook distributor, which will make it available through most retail and library sources that offer audiobooks at a range of prices. It will still be offered through Amazon Audible but also through Apple, Google, Audiobooks, Kobo, and more.

· The paperback is going into its third printing with She Writes Press, the 2019 Indie Publisher of the Year. It remains available through your local bookstore (they’ll be happy to order if it’s not in stock). And, on online through Bookshop (support our independent bookstores!), as well as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indie Bound and others.

Happy Anniversary

The Fourteenth of September is and hopefully will always be for readers who want to understand the historical roots of some of what we’re still facing today, step into the shoes of a character who has to make choices of an earlier time and wonder what they’d have done, and think about how those choices aren’t so different today. We still have the power for change . . . maybe this time it will last.

And, of course, we also enjoy a rollicking tale of sex, drugs, and rock and roll . . . the novel even has its own soundtrack.

Thanks for being along on the journey, and here’s to a saner, safer, and more equitable world by the third anniversary: September 14, 2021.