On September 10th Rowan
is publishing her novella Woman Walks
into a Bar as an ebook for the first time. And 100% of her
proceeds will be donated to Refuge.
Her goal is to
raise £10,000 and you can help. All you have to do is buy a book, or two, and
get your friends to buy one too. You’ll get a funny, romantic and touching
summer read and you’ll be helping women you’ve never even met
at the same time and all for the price of £1.59!
The story behind the story
Every book
Rowan have ever written has meant a lot to her, but with her latest book ‘Dearest Rose,’ something really special happened when the real
world and the fiction she loves to write collided. It changed her as
a person and a writer, forever.
She was getting
ready to research her tenth novel, which with the help of her Facebook readers
she decided should pivot around the theme of domestic abuse. It was a subject
she’d touched on briefly once before, when she wrote a short novella as one of
the first Quick Reads called Woman Walks into a Bar, which to this
day remains one of the pieces of work of which she is most proud.
So she
posted on her Facebook page asking if anyone had any personal experiences of
domestic abuse, and any stories they might share with her in confidence.
She was shocked
and amazed by the response; there were more than 200 emails waiting in her
inbox the next day. Each story she read was horrific and frightening in its own
way, giving her an insight into the secret lives of many women; lives that all
too often remain hidden. Domestic abuse can happen to anyone - well educated
wealthy women are just as likely to suffer as women from a working class
background - but the one thing all those women had in common was that they were
survivors. After years of being mentally and physically beaten down, they had
managed to find the emotional strength, somehow, to break free and start
again.
Now Rowan wants
to do something that will help other women find that inner courage, and change
their lives.
‘Woman
Walks into a Bar’ is the story of 28-year-old single mother Sam spends her
days working in the local supermarket and her Friday nights out with her friends
letting her hair down at the White Horse. Life hasn’t been easy for
Sam and her daughter, Beth (who always looks on the bright side) but
she’s always hoped that one day she’ll break free from her past and meet The
One.
But after a
series of terrible dates with men she’s met through an internet dating site,
that have all been as awful as her daughter’s terrible jokes, she’s
starting to lose heart - until her friends tell her they’ve set her up on a
blind date. Sam’s horrified but finally she agrees to go. After all you never
know when you might meet the man of your dreams; maybe Sam’s happy ending
is just about to begin….
So, come on and
join Rowan, and help to #supportafriend on September 10th. Every
time you buy or pre-order ‘Woman Walks into a Bar’ you’ll be entered into a
prize draw for fabulous prizes every week, while the #supportafriend
#womanwalks campaign is running. On 10th September, tweet Rowan photos of you and your friends, tell
her your ideas to support a friend, and why your friends mean so much to you.
You can be a
best friend to someone you have never even met. You can help someone out there
find the support they need to change their lives.
If you are a
blogger or tweeter, spread the word using #supportafriend #womawalks. If you
are a company who could offer a prize to drive book sales and thereby money for
Refuge, please get in touch. If you are a woman in an abusive relationship, or
if you have a friend about whom you are worried, please get in touch with Refuge and ask
for help today.
About Rowan
Rowan Coleman grew up in Hertfordshire
secretly longing to be a writer despite battling with dyslexia. After
graduating from university she worked in bookselling and publishing for seven
years before winning Company Magazine Young Writer of the Year in 2001.
Her first novel ‘Growing Up Twice’ was published in 2002.
Rowan has gone on to write eight novels for women including the
bestseller ‘The Accidental Mother, The
Baby Group’ and ‘The Accidental Wife‘ and eight novels for children and teens including the
paranormal adventure novels Nearly Departed and Immortal Remains under the name
Rook Hasting. Her books are published around the world. She now lives in
Hertfordshire with her family.
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