“Guns up y’all!”
In case you don’t know what that slogan means — it’s the Texas Tech University student and alumni greeting.
Today it’s my greeting to you. Why? Because Texas Tech is my publisher and they’ve sent my book At Close Range to a team of expert book reviewers. I got good reviews about a bad subject: gun safety and what the lack of it did to my family.
It doesn’t mean that every review was glowing throughout. When I read these notices, the first reviewer had some issues. Book bloggers rarely use their names, I learned. They write under the name of their blog, like Hall Ways Blog Review. That first reviewer said, “I not only want to know about getting to a point where Lock Arms for Life was born — I also need a little more time to come out of the fog of despair, to absorb that Leesa is finding her purpose.”
That reviewer wants to feel hopeful that my organization can affect change. That quote is a roadmap for my next book. What I loved hearing was her comment that her 23- and 31-year-old kids will now have to tolerate a memo from mom about gun practices and storage. Plus, those grandkids will be getting teaching and preaching, too.
Hall Ways wasn’t the only one wanting more. Tangled In Text said
Every story she told was a step closer to finding her voice. She made a rainbow from the rain. Her journey in her advocacy was not brought in until the last chapter or two and I wish it held a bigger presence. Leesa is in such a unique situation, being pro-gun but also advocating safety and awareness.
It’s great that the second reviewer could see that I’m working from the gun-owning community. That’s a unique place to advocate for gun safety. I wouldn’t say that I’m pro-gun, but I am pro-responsible ownership.
When I read more of the reviews, I realized I motivated these reviewers to think deeper about the topic. Many of them flat out said they learned things. The great thing about getting a book published is that it can start conversations. One reviewer, Missus Gonzo, said she made a point of not reading the book summary before she read the book, so she could address the assumptions she made about the book.
I assumed that this book was written by a mother who lost a small child in one of the terrible school shootings that have happened in our country. It is not; but that does not make the story any less tragic.
That reviewer was right on target about where I aimed the book. “I recommend this book to people who have children or young people in their lives,” she said. “I like the idea of having The New Talk about gun safety.”
This reviewer added that she wished there was a resource page within the book. “To be fair, it is easy enough to simply look for Lock Arms for Life and Texas Gun Sense online.” That’s what this website is for — and the FAQ here is a good start on important resources.
I especially liked that reviewer’s endorsement. “I think that this book would be a good gift to someone you care about who does not take gun safety seriously.” That’s my work on the Lock Arms mission: helping people who own guns take safety seriously.
