I've been meaning to do a post about mental health awareness all month. Between back to back releases and trying to finish Taming J, it's moved like the speed of light. I briefly touched on it when I released Finding Our Someday, but wanted to take a moment here to remind people how important it is to discuss. We're still so far away from where we need to be when it comes to having a better understanding on the struggles people go with when it comes to mental health. For so long, we were trained not to talk about those kind of problems or to be ashamed of them, which is a travesty.
As someone who has anxiety and a touch of OCD, it's very personal to me, which is a big reason I wrote the Someday Series in the first place. That book really dives into mental health for teenagers and young adults. Although I don't have the degree of anxiety Bri does in the series, I know a lot of people who do and how difficult it is to cope with at times. I wanted to shed light on that and why it's so important people talk about their mental health issues and seek help when needed.
Throughout Fighting for Someday, Waiting for Someday, and Finding Our Someday, I do my best to show readers the depths of Bri's anxiety and how it affects her life in varying ways. Finding Our Someday dives into it the most and you really get to see how devastating anxiety attacks can be and what can happen to you if you don't get proper help to deal with them, especially when PTSD is a factor in causing them. My heart broke so many times for Bri while writing those scenes, but it was something I really wanted to show the reader, so people who do struggle with any form of mental health issues find the strength to seek help. If you live in Minnesota, you can seek assistance with Mental Health Minnesota 800.862.1799. All it takes is a phone call or Goggle search to find the best resource near you. If you're struggling on your own, I urge you to take action now and seek out support. The biggest thing to remember is you're not alone!
To help raise mental health awareness as much as I can, I have two giveaways going on Facebook right now. One is in my reading group MMK's Rockin' Divas (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1551613128496611). I have a signed copy of Little Lies and a lot of Helena swag up for grabs along with a $15 Amazon gift card. On my author page (https://www.facebook.com/authormmkoenig), I have a signed set of the Someday series along with a $25 Amazon gift card. I encourage you to enter both giveaways. If you do join the Divas, you won't be disappointed. We're a fun group that loves talking books, funny memes, and celebrating whatever we can when we can, so come join us!
As stated in a prior blog post, Conflicted and Fighting for Someday are FREE! I will keep them free for the entire month of June. Complicated and Concealed will remain at 0.99 for June as well. I've also reduced the price of Waiting for Someday to 0.99 for the month of June. Once June is over, all books will go back to their normal prices, so I encourage you to grab both series now while they're incredibly affordable! Links to all books can be found here on the home page or sections dedicated to each book. They're also available on all my social media platforms, so don't miss you chance to get all six books now!
To end on a personal note, this beast is now 10 months old. I honestly don't know where the time has gone. I feel like it was just yesterday he was that tiny little guy sprawled out as much as he could to try and be bigger than Marley on our kitchen floor. Now, he's bigger than Marley and forgets that he can actually hurt both of us if he jumps on us when we're not ready for it. Having Max is an adventure that keeps me on my toes and I love every second of it. I'm so lucky to have two incredibly awesome dogs that bring me more joy and smiles I could ever ask for. As Memorial Day approaches, it's so important to count your blessings and I'm so grateful for these guys along with so much more. I have my health, a great job, a roof over my head, amazing family and friends, and incredible readers. Life is good, but I get to enjoy that freedom because other people chose to fight for it—even if it took their last breath. Please be sure to take a moment to honor all of those soldiers and their families that made the ultimate sacrifice for us! Have a safe and Happy Memorial Day!
All My Love,
MMK