Dear Amazing Backers!

I hope life is treating you well wherever you are in the world. 

Here in Pittsburgh, the gloomy days of winter seems to never end (heck, we're in the middle of April) and my tulips try standing on their own against the wind, rain, sleek and snow. It's pretty pathetic if you ask me. 

So I'll be quick about it and let you know that Mascot Books (a US based publisher) will be publishing Sand and Steel. Out of the 17 publishers that expressed interest during this second crowdfunding campaign, they were the ones who really fell in love with the book's premise, vision, and journey. 

I've been having extremely helpful and productive monthly sessions with the senior marketing manager and we've been pushing for a late 2018 print run. However, I want to write the best book I possibly can and being that book writing not my full-time job and I have to squeeze it in with other responsibilities, the writing process is just taking its good ol' sweet time. I do wake up at 5 am almost every morning to write though!

Currently I'm finishing up chapter 11 and there are about 3 more to go. If I don't go according to schedule, we'll have to push out for a 2019 book release date which buys me a bit more time to write and market the book. 

Please note! If you didn't get your paperback version of Accidental Soldier, my first award-winning memoir as my gift to you for backing this project,  I deeply apologize. I am so grateful to you all for your faith in this project and for your support. I've been a bit behind! I'll be getting those out in the next few days.

Visit Me On Instagram! #AmWriting

I've been hanging out on Instagram hashtaging the book as #amwriting. I've been documenting the book as I've been writing it. I guess you can call Instagram my "new writing hub."

Every day I post  a "selfie" along with a writing tip or a "behind the scene" moment from the book. Let's follow each other! 

Here's what I posted earlier today:

Good Morning! 

After sharing this post, I am going on a #socialmedia detox to gain #clarity and tap into my inner wisdom thanks to #melrobbinslive. But I just HAD to jump on here and share some golden nuggets on #longing. 

In my #memoir, longing means the clarity to stay present in the NOW moment even though your #heart feels elsewhere. So in chapter 11 of Sand and Steel: The #Spiritual Journey Home I show how longing for #Israel has given me the the tools to figure out how to straddle two #culturallydiverse worlds like #Israel and #America and specially #Pittsburgh. 

The only way I could find clarity in this scene and really have it speak to the reader was to relive #memories and allow myself to just be with the feelings of #discomfort while shutting off my inner #editor. Not easy! No matter how intense those feelings of longing get, you can always find your way #home. This is a process of #self-discovery and varies for each individual? Have you ever been in this situation of longing? How did you cope? 

#amwriting#wrotetoday #nonfiction #nonfictionbooks#writing #writingtips #writingcommunity#innervoice #writersofInstagram#writersofPittsburgh #immigrants

That's all for now. I'm pretty excited with the way things are progressing and as my amazing backers, you'll get first notifications of monthly writing and publishing progress with Sand and Steel from here on out. That's a promise!

Let me know how you're doing and how I can support you in your (writing) endeavors.

All my best and all heart,

Dorit