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"Be the change you wish to see in the world."
~ Gandhi
Dear Reader,
When people ask me why I give my novels away online for free, I find myself with a variety of answers.
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, it is my hope to offer an alternative model to our current system of commerce~one that gives before it receives (I do receive through my private shamanic sessions, workshops and optional donations). Perhaps this model will show that there are other ways to make a living (not a killing) in the world, and that having enough can be just as wondrous a dream as having it all.
This is not to say that my model is better than any other. It is simply an alternative. But I believe we need alternatives to address a wide variety of our current world problems.
I am neither a Mother Theresa nor a Gandhi. But the words and the deeds of these and other great ones live on in me. Offering my books online for free is my way of both giving back to those who have inspired me and giving forward to the next generations.
Shungo (My Heart To Yours),
Robin Rice
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