I was divinely inspired to write “Sunny’s Secrets” to delve into the complexities of life and death and, in the process, write a story that was ultimately life-affirming. The characters are immersed in philosophies about the purpose of life, the afterlife, and the concept of lessons that souls must learn. It deals with spiritual elements and Eastern philosophy and offers a touch of the supernatural.
In “Sunny’s Secrets,” I present the concept of “switchers.” These are specially trained experts who are able to transfer Life Force Energy (LFE) between two people—those who no longer wish to live and those who are desperately clinging to life. I thought, What if there was a way to capture someone’s Life Force Energy moments before they ended their life, taking their precious LFE with them? What if you could actually take it from them and use it to save someone who is dying? I love showing the contrast between the characters that get switched and how differently they each see their gift of life.
The “donors,” as I refer to them in the book, are people who have just made some very bad decisions. They see ending their lives as their only way out. I’ve lost a few friends who ended their lives, and I felt overwhelming frustration as well as anger, wishing they’d sought alternative solutions before acting. My friends had been struggling with different situations, but their actions devastated everyone around them, especially those who loved them. The finality of death is striking; there’s no going back. I wanted to write a story that would contrast the differences between those who want to end their lives and others who would give anything to live another day.
To facilitate the switches, I knew I would need at least two very special people who understood the gravity of what they were doing. I created two characters who had each suffered tremendous loss, and because of their work in life-saving medicine, they appreciated the profound value of life and how easily it can slip away. They would not casually dismiss the ethics of switching or the consequences of tampering with the energy that keeps us alive.
This story is deeply thought-provoking and will have readers wondering what they would do if they were in Sunny’s position.
I’d originally wanted a traditional publishing deal, but because “Sunny’s Secrets” deals with one aspect of suicide, some of the agents I spoke with did not want to take on the book. I would mention “The Long Way Down” and “Thirteen Reasons Why,” as well as other books that dealt with suicide and were hugely popular. I shared that Penguin Publishing had even published a list of “suicide books for empathy reading” and that the magical element in my story added a realistic fantasy to it. Even though my novel is a psychological/medical thriller, my comps are more in line with books like Golden Girl and The Midnight Library because of the speculative aspects of those books.
I finally pitched to several agents who were very excited about the unique storyline. But, as anyone who’s worked to get a publishing deal can tell you, your book must fit in with exactly what an agent is looking for at the time. Two of the agents wanted to take it on but felt they couldn’t do it justice based on what they already had on their list of books they were representing.
It took me two years to write “Sunny’s Secrets,” and then I had it edited, which took another few months. I was beyond anxious to share it with readers. One day, driving home from an appointment, it came to me: “Publish it on KDP!” I have a few non-fiction books on Kindle Direct Publishing, but I had never thought of putting my novel on Amazon myself. Once I made that decision, I had it formatted, a cover designed, and had it “LIVE” on Amazon in just two weeks! It’s been a great experience.
One of the best aspects of publishing it digitally with KDP is that I can go in and make changes. I’ve been writing and publishing for twenty years and have often had boxes of books in my garage that I’ve since updated. It’s such a waste. With KDP, I don’t have that. When I wanted to add a tagline to the cover, “How far would you go to save a life?” I just had my artist update the artwork. Then, I uploaded the new covers on Kindle, paperback, and hardcover. The entire process took me about ten minutes. Done! While it would have been nice to have one of the big publishers take on my novel, I love the immediacy of digital publishing.
Title: Sunny’s Secrets
Author: Robin Jay
Publisher: ROBINJAY LLC
Publication Date: July 6, 2023
Pages: 378
Genre: Genre Fiction/Psychological Suspense/Medical
A suicide bomber changed Sunny’s life forever. A nurse from a military family, she finds herself devastated and alone. At her husband’s funeral, she’s approached by a mysterious Indian doctor, Rohan Ray, who shows her how to switch Life Force Energy between two people – those who are about to end their lives and patients who would give anything to live another day. Playing with fate is not for the faint of heart. Will the crushing responsibility be too much for Sunny to bear?
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Her clients tagged her “The Queen of the Business Lunch™”. Robin personally hosted more than 3,000 client lunches and saw her sales increase by more than 2,000%! Her sense of humor and candid approach to sharing the principles that helped her to achieve such tremendous success as an Advertising Account Executive in Las Vegas, Nevada, helped to make her first book an international success. Robin’s award-winning business book is “The Art of the Business Lunch ~ Building Relationships Between 12 and 2” (Career Press.) It has been published in twelve languages worldwide. She’s also a contributor to “Chicken Soup for the Wine Lover’s Soul.” She’s been featured internationally on MSNBC-TV, Newsweek Magazine, CNN, the BBC, the New York Times, The London Financial Times, Forbes.com, and other international and national media outlets.
In 2006, Robin founded the Las Vegas Convention Speakers Bureau. As president, she manages the bureau and coaches speakers to success in person and online. She especially enjoys the cache the bureau lends to create and publish intellectual properties. She edited and published “The Power of the Platform,” a series of three anthologies that feature messages from today’s top motivational speakers, including Jack Canfield, Brian Tracy, and Les Brown.
Robin’s passion for storytelling has evolved to presenting messages of empowerment and inspiration in films as writer, producer, and costar of the first funny personal development movies. Her films are collectively known as “The Key Movies.” (see TheKeyMovies.com.) The films star many of today’s top personal development experts, including Jack Canfield, Brian Tracy, don Miguel Ruiz, Rev. Michael Beckwith, John Assaraf, and John Gray. Robin’s writer/producer awards include Best Independent Film, Best Documentary, Best Concept, and Best Original Song for the soundtrack song, “Stronger than Ever.”
Robin took advantage of the recent lockdown to pivot and write her first novel, “Sunny’s Secrets,” a Psychological Suspense story. It follows the life of Sunny Sullivan, a nurse with a special, unorthodox method of healing people.
Most recently, Robin coauthored a memoir with reality TV star Tana Goertz. Robin’s expanded social media reach, including book and movie experts, speakers, and colleagues, has well over 100,000 followers.
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