Sean C. Morgan
After the kids go to bed, it’s a good time to write a book – especially for a night owl.
From Corinna M. Dominy’s mind has sprung a tale of two families at the dawn of a new religious movement in the 1830s.
Dominy, of Lebanon and formerly of Sweet Home, is publishing her first book, “Matters of the Heart,” through an Amazon program to help new authors.
Dominy, 31, is a 1999 graduate of Sweet Home High School. She has four children, Titus, Jude, Hosanna and Eden.
The 327-page book tells the story of the Matthews and Tyler families, which have been friends so long that the children call each other “cousins” and adults “aunts” and “uncles.” They deal with difficult decisions, trials, heartbreak and tragedies in this Christian romance.
One of the characters had been questioning her faith,” Dominy said. She begins exploring a new religion, which was growing in the 1830s. The woman severs ties with her family and her church. The book largely deals with the fallout of her decision and its impact on the two families.
You can read it now if you have a Kindle,” Dominy said.
A Kindle is an e-book reader sold through amazon.com. After a brief period, the book may be available in other e-book formats.
She has just finished her final editing, she said, and it has already sold more than 1,000 copies to Kindle users. Most of those were downloaded when it was free. Amazon is now charging $2.99 for the e-book.
Dominy has a bound softcover proof of the book, recently edited by her grandmother, Joan Scofield of Sweet Home, a former The New Era typesetter who helps proof The New Era each week.
Hard copies of the book may be purchased on order from Amazon.
Dominy learned about the Amazon program from April Elder of Albany, a co-worker of her husband, David Dominy. Elder publishes “The Ocean” series as A.L. Elder. She walked Dominy through the process.
I’ve always liked writing,” Dominy said. She said she loved putting words on blank paper in the first and second grade. By the fourth, she had stories bouncing around her head. She started outlining story ideas in junior high. On career day in high school, writing was on her mind.
She always wanted to be a wife and mom, Dominy said, but when her children got older, she planned to write.
I’d have story ideas,” she said. “I’d file them away on paper.
I like being creative and thinking of stories outside the box.”
She often worked out characters and fleshed out story ideas on paper, she said. “Usually I’d file it away and get back to it some day. This story kept coming back and wouldn’t leave me alone, so I actually just started writing it.”
The story was inspired by a story she heard in church, she said. The particulars were different, but she needed to find a mechanism to lure the wife and mother away from her home. She found that in the idea of a new, growing religion, and that dictated the setting.
It took her about five years, she said, writing after her children were asleep. She didn’t mind staying up late because she’s a night owl anyway.
After she finished it, she wondered what to do with it, Dominy said. That was in 2009. She thought about self-publishing but found the cost prohibitive. She looked for and plans to continue looking for Christian publishers, ultimately reaching major publishers if possible.
Elder helped her out, and she had the proof on Amazon by August. Proofing uncovered a few errors and formatting problems, she said, but there weren’t too many problems. Meanwhile, she continues to write and is hoping to visit area libraries with her book.
People tell me it’s not what they expected,” Dominy said. Some have told her they expected something like Janette Oke.
She gets kind of preachy,” Dominy said, and she was afraid her book might be too.
It does talk about God,” she said. “It is a Christian book.”
The theme is redemption and forgiveness and “relying more on God and not just taking care of things on your own,” she said.
It has a good ending, she said. “It’s a happy ending, and forgiveness is given.”
She will sign books at 1 p.m. on May 18 at the Lebanon Public Library. Hard copies will be for sale for $12.