November 15, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Alchemy of Love and Joy wins book deal,
$50,000 marketing package
Ottawa, ON – Cindy Teevens, author of The Alchemy of Love and Joy has won first prize out of 2,800 books in the “Next Top Spiritual Author” contest. The prize is a book publishing deal with Hampton Roads (USA) plus a $50,000 marketing package.
The contest began last spring with over 2,800 entries from around the world and ended November 15th when Teevens got that call that her book won.
The Alchemy of Love and Joy is a story of suffering transcended into joy, and a powerful yet simple life-altering practice. It is how to feel good no matter what is going on around you, an ability that is invaluable in relationships, business, and challenging economies.
Teevens’ quest for an end to suffering and for truth began after her father suffered so severely that he attempted violent suicide and later passed-away. But it was while directly studying her own experience of suffering when a breakthrough was made, and the energy of pain flipped-over into amazing joy, in an instant. “I felt like a kid who just discovered she was in a candy store, and that all of the candy was free,” she continues, “At first I thought it was not real, yet there it was. And then I thought it would not last, but here it is. And then I thought it was just me.”
After about six weeks of wordlessly enjoying this new discovery, the words came through her to help someone else, and she learned it was not just her. She could no longer contain the message or the gratitude that grew within her and she was compelled to write the book. “Within four days I had the first book written, designed and printed, and I had a website up,” she says.
Readers gave raving reviews, with reports of life-altering and sometimes life-saving experiences of the book. Her life changed dramatically as she dropped what she was doing and began to give talks, workshops, and private sessions.
She had been self-publishing when the contest launched and entered it with the hopes of getting a traditional book publishing deal in order make the book available to more people, faster.
Since the author is the one expected to market and promote a book, in the first two phases of the contest the authors were required to get public support in the form of votes for the book. The books that got the most votes made the first cut into the top 250. Another vote whittled that down to the top 25 books. In the next round, the book proposals of the top 25 were reviewed by a panel of expert judges to select the top four books. The final round books were reviewed by Publisher and Hampton Roads CEO Randy Davila, who made the final selection.
Before entering the contest, the book was receiving support from people around the world, including a $4,000 investment from a stranger in Singapore, who had an experience of the practice which was so profound that he wanted to donate, and ended-up investing.
Since winning the top four she was required to remove the book from the market, “But it will be back even better than before,” Teevens says. Over the winter she will re-work and polish the book, and it will be re-launched in the fall of 2011.
In the meantime, the messages and the practice of Alchemy are being shared on the website, in workshops and retreats, and through audio clips and videos.
When asked what the main message of the book is, Teevens begins with a question: “If you didn’t feel bad, would there be a problem? There may be things to do, but no problems. I learned that we don’t want things, people, or events. We want the feeling we mistake them for. You can give it to yourself any time.” Alchemy is how to detach from needing anything outside you in order to feel good. It is how to become so self-fulfilling—so full of love—that you cannot be hurt, and cannot hurt.
The contest collaborators were James Twyman (author of thirteen spiritual books including Emissary of Light, The Moses Code, and The Kabbalah Code) Robert Evans (The Messenger Network), and Randy Davila (Hampton Roads Publishing Company).
You can see the winning announcement and hear an interview with Teevens on the contest website: www.NextTopAuthor.com.
You can learn more about Cindy Teevens and The Alchemy of Love and Joy at: www.AlchemyLoveJoy.com.
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For further information or for an interview contact Cindy.