Sunday, December 13, 2015

KISSED BY AN ANGEL

Today Robyn Campbell, the host of Robyn Campbell's Blog is here today to talk about Kissed by an Angel and what this anthology means to her. Thank you Robyn, please, the floor is yours.





First of all, thank you from the bottom of my heart for asking me to do a guest post about the Kissed by an Angel anthology, Yolanda. For those who don’t know about the anthology, my son Christopher was born with a rare brain disorder called Sturge-Weber Syndrome. The money from sales goes to the Sturge-Weber Foundation, which aids in research, supports families, educates, is a physician referral service, supports medical education programs and more. In 2013 the gene that causes Sturge-Weber was discovered. GNAQ! Now we have the opportunity for better treatment options. And maybe even a cure.
Yolanda gave me some ideas about what I should write about, and I chose to talk about my inspiration for the anthology. My son Christopher has had a lot of problems due to this disorder. Seizures, Glaucoma, learning disabilities, and a host of other ugliness. But one thing remains. His outlook. All through his life, people (adults and kids alike) have stared and mentioned to us they had makeup to hide the port-wine mark, or asked me if I was embarrassed to have him out and about. So when he was little, I told him he was kissed by an angel. I said the angel wanted to make sure people could see the specialness that was him. His life is an inspiration to me. I have observed his reactions to people. He has such a gentle spirit. I cannot be mad or sad and look in his eyes because I know I will smile and laugh and feel warm inside. He’s my light.
His sweet face inspired the other authors in the anthology. They added that to the blurb about Christopher being their inspiration.
Sturge-Weber causes seizures, stroke, blindness, paralysis, glaucoma, and blindness. Christopher’s case is rare in that the port-wine mark covers 90 percent of his body. So it’s over his major organs, heart, kidneys, lungs and liver. Anywhere that mark is can be affected. I  used to worry constantly about all of this, but now I take it one day at a time, one foot in front of the other. I came to realize some things are out of my control. I had to let God have this, or I would have never made it through the tough times. This past summer and fall we went through some scary testing with Christopher. They thought he had an aneurysm in his brain. It was a mistake. You cannot believe the relief we felt after they told us the great news.
Christopher’s  sister has an illustration for my story. So that was a family affair. My story is true. It’s about when Christopher was going for his black belt and having a lot of seizures. He used to have many, many in a day’s time. Sometimes, close to 80. This did damage his brain.
I hope everyone will buy the anthology. It will be in print and ebook. It launches this coming week. The other authors are (in alphabetical order) Yvette Carol, Catherine Johnson, Lynn Kelley, Vivian Kirkfield, Ellen Leventhal, Suzy Levinson, Hope Lim, Theresa Milstein, Cheryl Secomb and my buddy (13-year-old) Erik Weibel. Erik is a fabulous writer. I love him dearly. Of course, ALL these authors are dear to mine and my family’s heart. Christopher and Erik are buddies. J Yvette Carol did the cover art, Lynn Kelley the graphic design and Mikey Brooks the interior design.
Thank you, my friend, for inviting me over. You are beautiful. Inside and out.
*****
Thank you, Robyn, Christopher is a beautiful soul, an angel sent to earth with a heavenly purpose. How blessed we all are by his presence.

Wander with us onto a magical island ship, uncover an amazing secret, and solve a very fishy mystery. Discover a World War II codebreaker, captivating garden, time machine, undercover agents, bug master, plus more. And meet a special boy who was kissed by an angel.


Buy Links:
AMAZON
     Robyn Campbell is a children's author, poet and Sturge-Weber mom to Christopher. She enjoys working in a mishmash of genres for children. Picture books are her great love, and she hopes to find a home for them soon. Some of her poetry can be read in The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations, Spiritual Writers Network Anthology and Glimpses of Light Anthology. She has short stories published in numerous anthologies.
     Her latest projects are a middle-grade adventure novel and a children’s writing book. Robyn is a member of SCBWI, The Writers Workshop, and the North Carolina Writers Network.


     Robyn lives in North Carolina on a horse farm where she has plenty of fodder for her stories. She is married to Gene, and together they homeschool their family.
Kissed By An Angel
Buy Links:
AMAZON


28 comments:

Pat Hatt said...

That is great that the gene was discovered, maybe now they'll finally cure something. Congrats on the release!

Shannon Lawrence said...

Thank you for educating us on this. I love that the book was a family thing. Good luck with the release!

Christine Rains said...

Congratulations on the new release! Thank you for sharing with us.

Chrys Fey said...

Congrats on your new release, Robyn! Your son is lovely inspiration. Thank you for telling us about him and educating us about Sturge-Weber. This anthology sounds special.

Chrys Fey said...

Congrats on your new release, Robyn! Your son is lovely inspiration. Thank you for telling us about him and educating us about Sturge-Weber. This anthology sounds special.

Robyn Campbell said...

Pat, I remember the day the news was released about the gene discovery. I was ecstatic. Thanks for your congrats. I pray we make loads of money for research.

Robyn Campbell said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Robyn Campbell said...

Thanks Christine. I am beyond excited. I tried to put the Amazon link, and all I did was make a mess hence the deleted comment. ;-)

Robyn Campbell said...

Thank you, Shannon. I am super excited.

Robyn Campbell said...

Hey Chrys, yes! He is a lovely inspiration. I'm so glad you got that from this post. He's such a blessing. Thanks for the hearty congrats. The anthology is a labor of love but so is the woman who owns this blog. Yolanda is now a part of our family. xoxo

Robyn Campbell said...

Yolanda, I love you woman!!!!!!!!! You're the best. Thank you for inviting me to post. You are a beautiful soul, dear friend. XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Vivian Kirkfield said...

Thank you so much, Yolanda, for featuring Robyn and the Kissed by an Angel anthology. It's a great book and filled with exciting and uplifting stories that parents and kids will love!

Robyn Campbell said...

And the beautiful Vivian Kirkfield has a fabulous story in the anthology. What a writer. So thankful for you. She's your sister, Yolanda. Love you, Vivian.

LynNerdKelley said...

What a beautiful, inspiring post.

Thank you, Yolanda, for featuring the amazing Robyn Campbelland letting her share her story about our adorable Christopher.

Theresa Milstein said...

I'm so excited about this anthology.

Unknown said...

This is wonderful. I hope we can raise a lot of money for this incredible organization. Wishing all our angels a wonderful new year and to our special angel, Robyn, an especially good year with her Christopher and her whole family!

Yolanda Renée said...

So glad to see the Amazon link is live. Just added it. Going over for my copy. I love you too, Robyn, you and your son are an inspiration!

klahanie said...

Hi Yolanda and Robyn,

Your son was indeed kissed by an angel, Robyn A story of resilience in the face of adversity. Wishing you much success and more importantly, fulfilment from creating such an anthology.

Of course, I will take the liberty of sharing this important post. I'm such a nice guy! :)

Gary

Robyn Campbell said...

Gary, you are such a nice guy. Thank you, thank you. And thank you for your comment on my Christopher. He is amazing. As you are. :-)

Robyn Campbell said...

And I'm so excited about your story in the anthology. Love you, T!

Robyn Campbell said...

Lynn, shall I tell Yolanda about the hours and hours of formatting that you did for this little book? Thank you for all you did. Not to mention writing a story and critiquing everyones stories. Could NOT have done it without ya. XOXOXOXO

Robyn Campbell said...

From your lips to God's ears, Ellen. Thank you for your wonderful story and for all the love you spread. XOXOXOXOXO

Robyn Campbell said...

Yippee. Thank you, Yolanda. Christopher says to tell you he loves you with his whole heart. :-)

Robyn Campbell said...

Er, I meant everyone's. :-)

N. R. Williams said...

Hello Robyn and Yolanda
What a wonderful way to describe a birthmark. I think Christopher is lucky to have you. Is this book available as an ebook too?
Nancy

Denise Covey said...

Hi Yolanda! Hi Robyn! Robyn I can only imagine your joy when the gene was discovered. A shame anything in the medical world moves so slowly. Your son sounds delightful. It seems your family is very together. I will definitely be buying the anthology. :-)

Denise Covey said...

And Robyn forgot to say Kissed by an Angel is so apt. <3

Susan Oloier said...

Robyn, Both you and Christopher are both inspirations to me. You are an amazing mom, and he is an amazing son. I am a better person for knowing you both.