"Be the change you wish to see in the world."
~ Gandhi
Dear Reader,
If you have found this website, it is likely because I have offered you my novel, Venus For A Day, free. Why?
Some days, I respond by speaking of my children, and how I feel that for me to leave them a beautiful world, a whole lot of us will need to experience the kind of hope and healing I offer through my writing. Other times, I speak of my long-held desire to see my writing reach all corners of the globe, especially those corners where a new book might cost an impossible sum.
When I am feeling more political, I find myself addressing the realities of todayâs competitive corporate-giant marketplace. I share how the slim profit margins publishers must work within trickle down to the author, which in turn means even the artists and dreamers of our world must view their work with an eye for the fiscal bottom line.
Yet other times I speak of Mother Theresa, who would never have dreamed of asking a dying man if he had insurance before gathering him into her arms and offering what might be the last truly soul-filled glance of his life.
Yet, in the end, the answer comes down to my passionate desire to follow Gandhi's admonition. I must be the change I wish to see in the world. So if I really want to have an alternative to the competitive corporate-giant marketplace, I'll need to create and live one out myself. If I want to speak my truth without keeping a watchful eye on the bottom line, I'll have to release my own financial expectations.
This is no more easy for me than anyone else. I'm not wealthy by a long shot. But I believe that for such dreams to have solid legs to stand on, they must be offered in a way that reaches beyond lofty sentiments and good intentions. In giving my books away for free to those who show interest and need (or, simply find this free version online somehow), it is my hope to offer an alternative model to our current system of commerce~one that gives before it receives. I also hope it shares that having enough can be just as wondrous a dream as having it all.
If, after reading, you would like to make a donation to further my novel writing, that is great! If not, accept this novel as a gift with no strings, for at heart that is what it is.
Shungo (My Heart To Yours),
Robin Rice
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