For those of you who read my review of Jeannie Ralston's book The Unlikely Lavender Queen (http://www.storycirclebookreviews.org/reviews/lavender.shtml), and are curious about what she has been up to since, here is the latest news:
“THE UNLIKELY LAVENDER QUEEN” LAUNCHES A GIVE-BACK PROGRAM THROUGH AMAZON BOOK SALES
How often can you get and give at the same time?
Through a new book released by Doubleday Publishing, readers can get inspiration for their own lives and give inspiration to others.
A percentage of each copy of The Unlikely Lavender Queen: A Memoir of Unexpected Blossoming sold through author Jeannie Ralston’s website will be donated to an organization that helps change lives—with a different cause chosen every month.
Ralston will implement what she calls The Seed Campaign on her website through the Amazon Affiliate program. For every book sold Amazon will return 4 to 8 percent (percentage increases with sales volume) to The Seed Campaign fund. Ralston hopes to raise $60,000 for various causes in the coming year.
“My book is about making the most of the twist and turns life takes,” says Ralston. “When I realized that the Amazon account was collecting money, I saw it was a great opportunity to reinforce the message of the book—by actually helping other people make the most of their lives.”
The Unlikely Lavender Queen follows Ralston as she reluctantly goes from a journalist in Manhattan to a lavender farmer in rural Texas. Eventually, Ralston turns the lavender farm into a thriving business and her small town into the Lavender Capital of Texas. She comes to embrace the change as the most rewarding adventure of her life, demonstrating how to “bloom where you’re planted.”
Good Morning America has recommended The Unlikely Lavender Queen as a great read, as have publications as diverse as the Dallas Morning News and Fortune Small Business magazine.
For the month of September, Ralston’s Seed Campaign funds will go to St. Anthony’s Alliance, a U.S. based non-profit that started and continues to oversee a project to help a pueblo in rural Mexico to become self-sufficient growing lavender as a cash crop. Ralston, who now lives in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, has volunteered as an adviser to the lavender project for more than two years and feels especially close to the effort since lavender is being grown not just for its scent and beauty but also as a real lifeline for a whole community.
“I’ve seen a lot of stories talking about these poor pueblos barely getting by because all the men have gone to the States to work,” she says. “I love this lavender project because it’s actually offering a solution to the problem. Women are making beautiful soaps, sachets, lavender wands and pillows, and the hope is that one day the men won’t need to leave for jobs in the States and families can stay together.”
In October, Ralston will be donating to the John Dau Sudan Foundation. John Dau is a Lost Boy of Sudan and the subject of the film, God Grew Tired of Us. Ralston will speak at a benefit for the foundation in New York in late October.
Ralston hopes that other authors will use the Amazon Affiliate program (or similar programs on Barnes and Nobles on-line or Powell’s on-line) to give back to causes that dovetail with the subject or themes of their books. “Our words can have great power—even beyond what’s on the printed page,” she says.
For more information on The Unlikely Lavender Queen and The Seed Campaign, visit HYPERLINK "http://www.jeannieralston.com" www.jeannieralston.com.
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