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Ⓒ Stephanie Harper

Wesley Yorstead Goes Outside is coming soon! is relaunching June 5, 2023!

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Sermon Series

In Sermon Series, her first full-length collection of poetry, writer Stephanie Harper focuses on moments that are explorations of the self and relationships with the exterior world, both known and unknown, through concrete and tangible expressions of language. Drawing direct inspiration from sermons and the worship experience, the writer has crafted a universally spiritual collection of poems that transcends religious tradition and instead focuses on the greater mysteries of living and experiencing the world around us, offering a new avenue for contemplative poetry.

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❤️❤️COVER REVEAL!❤️❤️ Today is th ❤️❤️COVER REVEAL!❤️❤️

Today is the day! I am so excited to share with you all this beautiful cover for the relaunch of Wesley Yorstead Goes Outside, created by Danny Meoño @dancbr. I am absolutely in love and I hope you love it too. To me, it captures the essence of Wesley’s art and the chaos introduced into his life with the introduction of Happy Lafferty (plus a little Kandinsky) and I couldn’t have asked for anything better. 

And, now for the next big announcement: the new edition of Wesley Yorstead Goes Outside will be available MAY 1, 2023! And, you’ll actually be able to purchase it through all major distributors from publication day onward. 

In the coming weeks, I’ll be talking about some ways you can support the new edition, even if you already have a copy (remember I didn’t get any royalties from my previous publisher). Plus, who wouldn’t want this beautiful cover sitting on their bookshelves anyway? 

But for today, I just want to sit back and celebrate beauty, and art, and books, and the spirit of making the best of best of difficult situations, with the help of my friends at Writing Brave Press @wearewritingbrave. 

As Glennon Doyle often says, “We can do hard things.” And sometimes, the results are better than we could have ever hoped for. 

With love and gratitude,
SH 

P.S. If you feel like sharing, please do! 

#authorsofinstagram #coverreveal #bookstagram #writing #fiction #wesleyorsteadgoesoutside #WYGO
I’m excited to share that one of my more ridicul I’m excited to share that one of my more ridiculous and outrageously personal essays entitled “Dating My Doctors” has been published in the Winter/Spring Issue of Kaleidoscope Magazine. 

I hope you’ll check out the whole journal but my essay is on page 37.

“It turns out, in medicine, as in dating, there is often no such thing as ‘the one.’”

Hope you enjoy. Link in stories! 

#authorsofinstagram #personalessay #chronicillness
Here's a picture of me with Wassily Kandinsky's "P Here's a picture of me with Wassily Kandinsky's "Painting with Green Center," taken at the Art institute of Chicago in 2014. 

Another Kandisnky fan happens to be Wesley Yorstead, the main character in my novel Wesley Yorstead Goes Outside. In fact, those who've read the book know Kandinksy's "Composition 7" is a major thread throughout the story (I couldn't get a photo with Composition 7 as it's locked away in a gallery in Kandinsky's native Russia). 

The reason I am telling you all of this is to point the way to my big, beautiful cover reveal for the new edition which I will share this Wednesday, January 18th. When you see it, you'll get it, trust me. Watch for some other exciting news to be shared as well!

#authorsofinstagram #wesleyyorsteadgoesoutside #kandinsky
A little writing real talk. I pitched 77 pubs in 2 A little writing real talk. I pitched 77 pubs in 2022. I had 3 pieces published and I have 2 set to be published in 2023. I also did some daily devotionals but was approached by the publisher directly. I would argue this was a fairly low pitch year for me as I didn't produce a lot of new work. This doesn’t even include my novel debacle.

My point is this. The business of writing is really hard and the rejection is endless. Even the very best writers (not referring to myself here) will face more rejections than acceptances. We put words to the page because we have to, because the stories inside us must be told.

Writer friends, you are the most fierce and determined people I know. Keep at it in 2023. The world needs us (and all artists) now more than ever. Keep going.

#writerscommunity #authorsofinstagram #2023
Since my 2022 in review would involve mostly medic Since my 2022 in review would involve mostly medical traumas, surgeries, canceled trips, Covid, the fallout of a bad book deal, and a lot of naps, I decided to create a year of Cher in review instead.

Also, so many beautiful things like new babies and good friends and loving family and an overall inclination toward making the best of it and trying to love and be loved while living life on the daily are mixed in there too. 

I don’t do resolutions, but every new year has a feeling of a fresh start and I am going to do my best to enter 2023 in the spirit of new life blooming all around us, if only we open our eyes to see. 

Wishing everyone their own sense of peace, joy, and wonder in the New Year. 

#happynewyear #dogsofinstagram
Family tasting night trying Jeni’s ice cream for Family tasting night trying Jeni’s ice cream for the first time. Thanks Lynch fam for sending us a little taste of Columbus goodness. All flavors were an overwhelming success. 

#familyfun #bffs
These were my five favorite books in 2022! 1. The These were my five favorite books in 2022!

1. The Invisible Kingdom by Meghan O’Rourke 

Read if you struggle with chronic illness, know someone with chronic illness, or treat patients with chronic illness.

Quote: “The more I talked to sick people, the more I found that what is most disturbing for many of us is that grace has become a kind of moral requirement in sickness: If you must be ill, at least be improved by your illness. And yet conditions under which grace can emerge may not be present.”

2. Fierce Love by Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis

Read for an honest and an inspiring memoir and guidebook on trauma, compassion, forgiveness, activism, and empathy. 

Quote: “Fierce love breaks through tribalism to help humans realize an inextricable and irrevocable connection, and understand that liberation, livelihood, and thriving of people and planet are tied together. 

3. Body Work by Melissa Febos

Read this part-memoir, part-craft book on why we write about our most intimate experiences and why this writing matters. 

Quote: “Writing is a form of freedom more accessible than many and there are forces at work that would like to withhold it from those whose stories most threaten the regimes that govern this society. Fuck them. Write your life. Let this book be a totem of permission, encouragement, proof, whatever you need it to be.”

4. Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo

Read for a truly revelatory journey into how a former United States Poet Laureate found her voice through difficult life experiences, as well as tribal wisdom and artistry of many kinds. 

Quote: “A story matrix connects all of us.
There are rules, processes, and circles of responsibility in this world. And the story begins exactly where it is supposed to begin. We cannot skip any part.”

5. The Maid by Nita Prose

Read for a fun murder mystery that is far more about the growth and transformation of it’s quirky and endlessly charming protagonist, Molly. 

Quote: “The longer you live, the more you learn. People are a mystery that can never be solved. Life has a way of sorting itself out. Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.”

#favoritebooks2022 #amreading
It was a merry Harper/Williams/Robichaud Christmas It was a merry Harper/Williams/Robichaud Christmas indeed. 

Also, one dog loved her present and the other did not. 

#merrychristmas #familylove
We sang carols and we sang them joyfully and with We sang carols and we sang them joyfully and with extra sparkle. Now for the lasagna and Chianti please. Happy Christmas Eve! 

#christmaseve #choirlife
Our girls are 18 years old today! What an amazing Our girls are 18 years old today! What an amazing thing. We are so proud of Hope and Faith, these vibrant young women who, more than anything, are well on their way to being good humans full of light and love. 

We decided to semi-recreate an iconic photo of the girls and their Uncle John from their third birthday, this time with scratch tickets (woo hoo 18!) and since it’s -10 today, we got some nice sweater weather looks (and an epic photo bomb).

#happybirthday #familylove
Friends, as I shared a few weeks ago, I will be re Friends, as I shared a few weeks ago, I will be relaunching my novel, Wesley Yorstead Goes Outside in the spring of 2023 with the wonderful team at Writing Brave Press. I’m so happy to have my book in such capable and knowledgeable hands and I can’t wait for you to see it.

Writing Brave Press is an ethical hybrid press owned by my fellow Fairfield MFA alum and incredibly talented writer and entrepreneur, Brooke Adams Law. While the lines between traditional, hybrid, vanity, and self-publishing continue to blur, I chose Writing Brave for a couple of reasons. 

My book was published with a traditional small press through all the proper channels, including with agent representation. However, I was never paid any royalties from my publisher in the two+ years we maintained a professional relationship. This means I have not received a single penny (including an advance) for the sales of Wesley Yorstead to date (except for the audiobook published through a different company). This is exploitation. 

After I terminated my contract and got the rights back, I had a choice to make. There was no way a traditional publisher would be interested at this time. I could wait and try to sell another book, and then try to get Wesley Yorstead picked up later. Or I could self-publish. I didn’t like either of these options. I didn’t want my book to disappear from the world. At the same time, I knew nothing about the ins and outs of self-publishing a quality product on my own. 

That’s where Writing Brave Press comes in. For a flat service fee, Writing Brave is taking care of the entire publication process to create a new version of my book. Everything from filing for ISBNS, to contracting with designers, and helping me with Amazon and Goodreads. It’s been a wonderful experience so far. Finally, while I’m paying Writing Brave to put the book together and do all the things I wouldn’t know how to do, once the book is published, I own the rights and will receive 100% of the profits. 

I never imagined going any route other than a traditional press, but after everything I’ve been through, the team at Writing Brave Press has been my own holiday miracle! 

#authorsofinstagram #wygo
Dear friends and faithful readers, First the bad Dear friends and faithful readers, 

First the bad news. You may have noticed that it has been quiet on the Wesley Yorstead Goes Outside front these past months. The reason for this is that I have been in a months’ long struggle with my former publisher over the non-payment of my royalties and other contractual issues. After much careful consideration and great frustration, I made the difficult decision to terminate my contract with the publisher, which allowed the rights of my novel to revert to me. This also means that, for now, Wesley Yorstead is effectively out of print. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster and I did not come to this decision lightly, as I have put years of work into bringing Wesley Yorstead into the world and the thought of losing that has been very painful. Still, I have done what I thought was best and most fair for me and the future of my book. 

Now for the good news. I will be relaunching a second edition of Wesley Yorstead Goes Outside in the Spring of 2023 with the help of the wonderful team at Writing Brave Press. It will be exactly the same book that so many of you have already supported but will have a fresh look and I will have much more control over the production and also the financial aspects of the publication. 

Expect more information about the publication process, my journey from traditional to hybrid publishing, a cover reveal, and more in the coming weeks. It’s an exciting time! I hope you’ll come alongside Wesley as he takes his first steps outside once more. 

Much Love, 

SH

#wygo #authorsofinstagram #bookstagram
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