Publish Ginny's Novel

At the time of her death in 2013, our mother, Virginia (Ginny) Cross, left one remaining life goal unrealized—the publication of her novel, Benediction.

Those of us who knew and loved her can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t working on some draft of her historical novel depicting the life of King Richard III of England, the last king to die in battle during the conflict known as the War of the Roses. What is unique about Ginny’s take on this often-examined period and its people is the depth of understanding she brings to the humanity of those involved.

As the book took shape over the decades, friends, family and members of several writing groups shared in its progress, reading reams of paper distributed among 3-ring binders, offering feedback and encouragement to keep going. The book was good and the story was captivating. In 2004, she entered Benediction in the Paul Gillette Memorial Writing Contest at the Pikes Peak Writing Conference and won First Place in the Historical Fiction category. She obtained an agent and made a few attempts to shop the book with publishers, but Benediction never took its final form and made its way to print, largely, we think, because Ginny could always perceive ways she might make it even better.

We immortalized her words on her grave marker after her death, and made the promise to get the book published. Now, thanks to the tireless efforts of her long-time friend, Deb Robson, the book has been brought to a point where it can be shared. This involved collating drafts to come up with a complete manuscript that coincides with Ginny’s vision (she left myriad clues), fact-checked in the way that Ginny would have done prior to publication, copyedited, designed and typeset, proofread, and prepared for publication.

The funds raised in this campaign will go towards the costs associated with a print run of 100–250 books (depending on the amount raised), establishing a website to accommodate additional print-on-demand requests, making a PDF version available, and other incidental costs.

A book release party is tentatively scheduled for the weekend of February 18, 2017. A $20 donation will ensure one book to the donor, $50 will ensure three books, and additional books will be distributed commensurate with the level of giving. We are so excited to get this book into the hands of all of those who knew and loved Ginny, and to those who didn’t know her but can’t resist the pull of a good story.

It has been an honor to bring Benediction to this point. It’s a stellar work. Please join us in celebrating its completion.