New Books and New Challenges for The Unknown Authors Club
With a bevy of books being released, we are shifting our focus to the things that matter most
We can’t believe it’s been six months since we last posted an update on all the happenings at The Unknown Authors Club!
Between half a dozen new book projects and some personal challenges, the last few months have found us head down and deep in the publishing trenches. During our weekly meet-ups, we’ve often felt like Dory, encouraging each other to, “Just keep swimming,” and stay focused on the finish line (and that recovery banana waiting for us).
We’ll get to the personal challenges in a minute, but first, let us update you on all the book projects.
Books should always come first, in our opinion.
Heaven and Nature Sing: An Advent Devotional
Released last fall, this Advent devotional was a project near and dear to our hearts. We each wrote pieces for it and invited a few author friends to do the same. Featuring four weeks of daily devotionals plus a weekly family devotional, it is a wonderful book designed to quiet your mind and connect your heart to Christ throughout the Christmas season. The book is designed to be “evergreen,” meaning you can do it year after year. It also makes a great gift for family and friends. It’s available from Amazon in paperback and Kindle.
Brothers of the Wind Trilogy by Philip Marks
At the beginning of 2024, we were honored to work with author Philip Marks to publish the second and third books of his Brothers of the Wind Trilogy and design a new look for the series. These books are set in the rugged landscape of the windswept prairie surrounding Central Washington. The stories are built around a group of college friends, each with a different background, and how their paths intertwine to tell a deeper story of friendship, loyalty, and acceptance. This bond of friendship is tested as they grow up and face life’s biggest moments together. Will their connection made as rowdy young men continue into adulthood or will life’s challenges cause their unique bond to be lost with the wind? The titles are available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle.
Oliver Love: A Short Story of a Long Dog
In February we were thrilled to publish our first children’s book! Oliver Love tells the short story of a long and well-loved wiener dog who was born on a farm but moves to the city. Oliver Love soon discovers a happy dog life with a new family who adores him, takes good care of him, and promises to always give him ALL of their love. It is the perfect book for any dog-loving kid in your life and it’s available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle.
Coming May 1 - Becoming Brave Together
Our next book, releasing on May 1, is Becoming Brave Together: Heroic, extraordinary, caregiving stories from mothers hidden in plain sight. This is a beautiful anthology from We Are Brave Together, a non-profit community for moms of children with disabilities and all unique needs.
Becoming Brave Together gives a glimpse into what it’s like to care for a child with disabilities or unique needs. The book is full of stories from mothers who refuse to give up. Heart-wrenching, vulnerable, and joy-producing, their invisible journeys come into focus and the vision of their collective experiences shines brightly so ALL can see and be seen.
Released in time for Mother’s Day, it makes a beautiful gift for a mother in your life. Available from Amazon in paperback and Kindle.
New Challenges for The UAC
So what’s next for The Unknown Authors Club? That’s the question we’ve been asking ourselves a lot lately. While we were working on publishing the above titles, we were also navigating some hurdles in our personal lives — from an unexpected health diagnosis to launching a new business to an increased demand for our time at home.
We are passionate and proud of all we’ve done at The UAC, but the truth is, our work here is only part-time. We’ve built a tiny publishing empire in the nooks and crannies of our week, stealing moments here and there to edit, design, correspond, and advise authors who’ve entrusted their work to us. While we are honored and humbled to have been a small part of bringing their books to life, we recognize that our full-time lives are now asking more of us than we’ve been able to give them of late.
Because of this, we have decided to press pause on The UAC and not take on any new publishing projects for the remainder of 2024. We want to give our team the time and space needed to attend to the most important things in life, like home and health. We aren’t sure if publishing more books will be in our future, but we are giving ourselves the grace and time to figure it out at a pace that works for us.
Even though The UAC isn’t publishing right now, we do have friends in the industry who are. If you have a manuscript ready to be published, we recommend reaching out to these trusted contacts:
Blue Hat Publishing - Jodi and Rachael recently launched a new publishing venture with friends Brandon and Tim. Their publishing motto is: We wear all the hats so you don’t have to. Blue Hat offers full-service, independent publishing for authors of all genres.
Punchline Publishers - Joy and Amelia are the amazing duo behind Punchline Publishers. We have known and worked with them since 2021 and can attest to their creative energy, personalized approach, and ability to help authors bring their book dreams to life.
Thank you for all the encouragement and support you’ve shown us over the last year and a half. We couldn’t have made it this far without you. More than anything, we want to encourage those of you who are authors (or want-to-be-authors) to keep writing. There is space in this world for your words and the world needs to hear your story.
Write on,
Jodi, Rachael & Leslee