MARY SARACINO is a novelist, memoir writer, and poet. Her book of poetry, Motherlines, was published by Pearlsong Press in 2026. Her most recent novel, Heretics: A Love Story (2014) was published by Pearlsong Press. Her novel, The Singing of Swans (Pearlsong Press 2006) was named a 2007 Lambda Literary Awards finalist in the Spirituality category. She is also the author of the novels, No Matter What (Spinsters Ink 1993) and Finding Grace (Spinsters Ink 1999) and the memoir, Voices of the Soft-bellied Warrior (Spinsters Ink 2001). She co-edited (with Mary Beth Moser) She Is Everywhere! Volume 3: An anthology of writings in womanist/feminist spirituality (iUniverse 2012), which earned the 2013 Enheduanna Award for Excellence in Women-Centered Literature from Sofia University. Her short fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry have been published in a variety of literary and cultural journals, in print and online. For more information about Mary, visit http://www.marysaracino.com and https://pearlsong.com/authors/mary-saracino/
marysar1004 
Dear Mary,
I hope this message finds you well.
My name is Britt Lee, and I serve as the Organizer of the Next Chapter Energy Literary-Focused Reading Initiative, a growing literary community dedicated to connecting authors with engaged readers through meaningful book-centered discussions and author-focused events.
Our initiative was established to promote literature, encourage reading culture, and create opportunities for authors and readers to interact in an engaging and supportive environment. Through our virtual literary events, we introduce outstanding books to our audience while providing authors with a platform to share their stories, inspirations, and creative journeys.
Our community consists of passionate readers, educators, writers, literary enthusiasts, bloggers, content creators, reviewers, editors, and book advocates who actively participate in discussions and support authors through genuine engagement and feedback.
We would be honored to feature your work in one of our upcoming literary events. A feature with our initiative provides authors with opportunities to:
• Introduce their book to an active and engaged reading community.
• Participate in an interactive author discussion and Q&A session.
• Build meaningful connections with readers and fellow literary enthusiasts.
• Increase visibility and awareness for their book and author brand.
• Receive reader feedback and audience engagement.
• Benefit from pre-event and post-event promotional activities designed to expand reach and exposure.
Our events are conducted virtually, making participation convenient regardless of location. We believe your work would be a valuable addition to our literary community, and we would be delighted to discuss the possibility of featuring your book in an upcoming session.
Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to the opportunity to learn more about your work and potentially welcome you as one of our featured authors.
Warm regards,
Britt Lee
Organizer
Next Chapter Energy Literary-Focused Reading Initiative.
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Brit,
I am not familiar with your organization. Can you tell me more about how you found my website? Which of my books are you referring to in terms of wanting to focus on for the online event? Can you tell me more about your organization? Also, would I have to pay a fee to participate in the online event you mentioned?
Mary
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Dear Mary,Thank you for your interest in learning more about our literary initiative.We are a volunteer-driven literary initiative organized by members of the Rotaract community. Our mission is to support authors, writers, poets, and thought leaders by providing them with a platform to introduce their work to an engaged audience of readers from different parts of the world.Our community consists of Bloggers,content creators,professionals, students, educators, entrepreneurs, book enthusiasts, and avid readers who are passionate about personal development, leadership, education, and literature. Members regularly participate in literary discussions, author features, book reviews, and knowledge-sharing sessions. The author feature sessions are conducted online, making participation convenient regardless of location. Sessions are typically scheduled based on mutual availability and are designed to accommodate authors from different time zones.As a featured author, you would have the opportunity to:• Present your book and share the inspiration behind your work.• Discuss your writing journey and experiences.• Engage directly with readers through questions and discussions.• Increase awareness of your book among our growing community.• Build meaningful connections with potential readers and supporters.• Gain additional visibility through our promotional activities before and after the event.To ensure that each author receives adequate exposure, our team dedicates significant time and effort to planning and executing every feature. This includes coordinating schedules, designing promotional materials, creating book mockups and marketing graphics where applicable, promoting the event across our networks, managing registrations, preparing interview questions, hosting the session, and conducting post-event follow-up activities.Because we are a volunteer organization, we do not provide appearance fees or honorariums to guest authors. Instead, authors make a modest contribution toward the promotional and administrative expenses associated with organizing and marketing their feature. This contribution helps us cover the costs of design work, promotional campaigns, event management, digital tools, and other resources required to provide a professional experience for both the author and our audience.Our goal is to create a mutually beneficial experience where authors receive meaningful exposure and engagement while our community gains access to valuable literary conversations and insights.We would be delighted to learn more about your work and discuss how we can feature your book with our community. If you are interested, we would be happy to provide further details regarding scheduling, the feature format, and the contribution amount.We look forward to hearing from you.Warm regards,Britt Lee Organizer, Next Chapter Energy Literary-Focused Initiative Team.
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Brit,
Can you tell me more about how much authors have to pay to participate in this program? Also, how did you find out about my work? And, which of my books are you interested in promoting?
Thank you,
Mary Saracino
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Dear Mary,Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply and for your interest in learning more about our initiative.I truly appreciate your questions, and I’m happy to clarify.We would be delighted to feature any of your books that you feel would benefit from increased visibility and meaningful reader engagement. Our community enjoys exploring books across a wide range of genres, and our goal is to connect authors with enthusiastic readers through engaging discussions, live interaction, and lasting exposure.By participating in one of our Author Feature Sessions, you can enjoy benefits such as:- A live virtual author feature with our reading community.- Interactive reader discussions and Q&A.- Increased visibility for your chosen book.- Dedicated promotional graphics highlighting you and your work.- Social media promotion before and after the event.- Opportunities to build genuine connections with readers and receive valuable feedback.- Access to the event recording after the session.If you’re interested in moving forward, kindly send us the following materials:- Your preferred book for the feature.- High-resolution front cover of the book.- Author photo.- Short author biography.- Book description or synopsis.- Purchase links for the book.- Any discussion guide or key talking points you’d like us to include (optional).To help us coordinate and promote the event professionally, we currently offer two contribution packages:Premium Author Feature Package – $150- 45–60 minute live Google Meet session.- Professional event banner.- Book and author spotlight.- Interactive reader discussion and Q&A.- Social media promotion.- Event recording.- Post-event reader feedback summary.Elite Author Visibility Package – $300Includes everything in the Premium Package, plus:- Enhanced promotional campaign.- Professional banner suite.- Cinematic book trailer/video.- 3D book mock-ups.- Featured author article.- Extended visibility campaign and additional reader engagement initiatives.Once you let us know which package you would like to participate in and send the required materials, we’ll provide the appropriate payment details based on your preferred payment method. We accept both PayPal and direct bank transfer, and we’ll gladly send the option that is most convenient for you.Regarding your question about how I found your work, I regularly explore and discover books through author websites, online bookstores, literary platforms, and reader communities while looking for titles that would resonate with our members. Your work stood out as a wonderful fit for the thoughtful discussions we enjoy hosting.Thank you again for your time, Mary. I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully welcoming you as one of our featured authors.Warm regards,Britt LeeOrganizerNextChapterEnergy Literary-Focused Reading Initiative
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Let me think about it. Don’t know if I can afford the required payment. Also, my work is decidedly feminist and female/woman-oriented. My novels have female protagonists, and my recent book of poems is decidedly about the lives of women. Don’t know if your audiences would be interested in those themes.
Mary
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Dear Mary,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply and for sharing more about your work. Please don’t worry about the themes of your books. We welcome and celebrate authors from a wide range of genres and perspectives, and we have no problem featuring works that focus on women’s experiences, feminism, or female protagonists. In fact, if you would prefer, we can organise a session with a strong representation of our female readers so that your work can be discussed in an environment especially suited to those themes. That said, our community as a whole is very respectful and open-minded. Our readers enjoy engaging with diverse voices, and we consistently have insightful, meaningful discussions with the authors we feature. I truly hope you will consider joining us, as I believe your work would encourage thoughtful conversation and resonate with many of our readers.
Some of the benefits of participating include: – A dedicated live author feature where readers can interact with you directly. – Meaningful discussions about your books, writing journey, and inspirations. – Increased visibility for both you and your published works. – Promotion of your event and books across our literary community and social media platforms. – Opportunities to connect with passionate readers and receive thoughtful feedback. – A lasting relationship with a growing literary community that values meaningful conversations and supports authors.
To participate, we would be grateful if you could send the following materials at your convenience: – Your author biography. – A professional author photograph. – High-resolution images of your book cover(s). – A short synopsis or blurb for each featured book. – Purchase links for your books. – Your website and social media links, if applicable.
Regarding your concern about affordability, we do not charge authors to be featured. As a growing literary-focused reading initiative, however, we invite featured authors to provide literary support to help us organise and deliver a successful event. Our support packages range from $150 to $500, depending on the level of promotional activities and event resources involved. These contributions help us cover expenses such as event planning and coordination, promotional campaigns, professionally designed digital materials, reader engagement activities, certificates of participation, post-event features, and the continued growth of our literary community. Our team contributes the majority of the resources required to organise these events, while the authors’ support enables us to maintain a high-quality experience for everyone involved. If the full amount is difficult at the moment, please let me know. We’re always happy to discuss a level of support that works within your circumstances while still allowing us to create a rewarding event for both you and our readers. I sincerely hope you’ll consider joining us. It would be a privilege to introduce your work to our community, and I believe our readers would greatly appreciate the opportunity to engage with you and your writing.
Warm regards, Britt Lee Organizer Next Chapter Energy Literary-Focused Reading Initiative.
*NEXT CHAPTER ENERG**Y BOOK CLUB* *LOCATION*:* DEARBORN,M.I USA* 2000 ACTIVE MEMBERS ORGANIZED BY Britt Lee club website https://www.meetup.com/next-chapter-energy-book-club/ https://www.meetup.com/next-chapter-energy-book-club/
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Thanks for the information about the costs, etc. I am not able to participate as the cost is too high for me. If that changes, I will let you know.
All the best, Mary
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Dear Mary,Thank you for your honest response. I completely understand that financial circumstances can sometimes make it difficult to commit to opportunities like this.Our primary goal is to see authors receive meaningful visibility and connect with enthusiastic readers. While contributions help us coordinate the event and prepare promotional materials, we don’t want finances to prevent deserving authors from being featured.If you’re still interested, would you mind letting me know what amount you would be comfortable contributing? Please feel free to suggest an amount that works for your current situation, and we’ll do our best to accommodate it. We would be delighted to schedule your featured event during the early days of August.To help us begin our preparations, you can also send the following materials at your convenience:- Your author photo- A short author bio- Your book cover (front and back, if available)- Purchase links for your book- Any additional information or discussion points you’d like us to highlight during the eventWe’re looking forward to celebrating your work and introducing it to our community of engaged readers. I hope we can find an arrangement that works well for you, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.Warm regards,Britt LeeOrganizerThe Next Chapter Energy Literary-Focused Reading Initiative
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Dear Mary,
Thank you for your honest response. I completely understand that financial circumstances can sometimes make it difficult to commit to opportunities like this.
Our primary goal is to see authors receive meaningful visibility and connect with enthusiastic readers. While contributions help us coordinate the event and prepare promotional materials, we don’t want finances to prevent deserving authors from being featured. If you’re still interested, would you mind letting me know what amount you would be comfortable contributing? Please feel free to suggest an amount that works for your current situation, and we’ll do our best to accommodate it. We would be delighted to schedule your featured event during the early days of August.
To help us begin our preparations, you can also send the following materials at your convenience: – Your author photo – A short author bio – Your book cover (front and back, if available) – Purchase links for your book – Any additional information or discussion points you’d like us to highlight during the event
We’re looking forward to celebrating your work and introducing it to our community of engaged readers. I hope we can find an arrangement that works well for you, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Warm regards, Britt Lee Organizer The Next Chapter Energy Literary-Focused Reading Initiative.
*NEXT CHAPTER ENERG**Y BOOK CLUB* *LOCATION*:* DEARBORN,M.I USA* 2000 ACTIVE MEMBERS ORGANIZED BY Britt Lee club website https://www.meetup.com/next-chapter-energy-book-club/ https://www.meetup.com/next-chapter-energy-book-club/
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I am not able to contribute any money to this effort, so I will have to pass on your offer to participate.
All the best,
Mary
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Dear Mary,Thank you very much for your honest reply. We completely understand that financial considerations can sometimes make it difficult to take advantage of opportunities, and we truly respect your decision.Before you make your final choice, however, we would be grateful if you could give it one more thought. Our initiative is designed to help authors increase their book’s visibility, connect directly with engaged readers, and encourage meaningful discussions around their work. In addition to the live reader engagement, participating authors also receive promotional materials that they can continue to use in their own marketing efforts long after the event. We genuinely believe this could be a valuable opportunity to introduce your work to new readers and strengthen your author platform. If contributing at this time is difficult, we’re also happy to discuss whether arrangements can be made after your feature if that would make participation more feasible for you.Of course, if you decide that this is not the right time, we will completely respect your decision and will not contact you again regarding this invitation.Thank you again for considering our invitation. We wish you every success with your writing journey and look forward to hearing from you, whatever you decide.Warm regards,Brittney. Literary-Focused Reading Initiative.
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