Not A Fire Exit - A Novel

I originally planned to do a different blog post today, but I felt this one was too important to delay.

I first heard of Steve Churchill when I was 14 - I was a painfully awkward freshman at Great Valley High School, and Steve was a senior.  My friend Scott had a class with him, and swore up and down he was the funniest guy he'd ever met.  I didn't know anything else about him - I'd see him in the smoking lounge now and again (yes, we had a smoking lounge back then), and eventually ended up in a health (CPR?) class with him.  Scott's observation proved to be accurate - he was a riot, although I'm sure the teacher he was giving grief too all semester surely disagreed.

Regardless, I didn't hear or think of him again until late last year, when we met shortly after the launch of this book.  I learned that Steve was doing extremely well for himself, having a trio of successful businesses he ran, along with having a wonderful wife and two young children. 

We first chatted at length after he ordered several copies of my book and hand delivered one of his wonderful Stove Top Covers right to my house.  For twenty minutes, I listened as Steve covered a myriad of topics, from how he started his own business with literally nothing more than a small loan and an idea, to how he first thought of the Stove Top Cover product, and how he couldn't imagine having to deal with SMA as a father of two small children, and would do whatever it took to make that disease history.

Over the past several months, Steve has done just that, and his financial contributions and generosity are well-known among the SMA community.  And seeing how passionately he spoke about his commitment to that goal in December, I never doubted that'd he do anything less.  But what I didn't know is how much of a positive influence he would have on me, both personally and professionally. 

This man, who I barely knew 6 months ago, has shown me how it's okay to try many ideas that fail, because you only need one that doesn't.  To make time for my family, for they should always be my number one priority.  To never pass up an opportunity to give of yourself and make others feel important.  And that if being successful in life was easy, everyone would be.  Almost every day, he'll send an e-mail that range from stock tips to wondering about different folks he sees me connecting with on Facebook in the SMA community, just looking at ways he can help as many people as possible in anyway he can think of.

One of the best things this book has allowed me to do is meet and reconnect with so many wonderful people.  It's never too late to make new friends, and I'm honored to call him one of them. 

Thanks, Steve.  You've made a difference in many people's lives, including mine, with your generosity, thoughtfulness, and inspiring all of us to always think of new ways to help someone in need.

Chris

Hello all,

I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures from those who participated in the last book giveaway, and I hope you all enjoy it and pass it along per the contest rules after you're done reading it.

What the last few weeks have shown me is you can't put a price on making someone smile.  The kind notes and supportive statements I've gotten from many of you have been humbling and appreciated beyond words.  My wife and I are very blessed and thankful for each one you've sent, and we've come to a decision that I wanted to share with you all.

From this day forward, I've decided to make the book available for free for any SMA family that wants a copy or copies of it.  There's no catch, no strings attached, nothing - you can send me an e-mail at notafireexit@verizon.net at any time, for whatever reason, with your request and they'll be on their way. 

I'm not keeping a running tally of who asks and who doesn't - and honestly, I hope families come back multiple times asking for copies to give to friends, family, and anyone else they think it might be enjoyed by, or find useful at any fundraisers they may do.  Got a bake sale coming up and you want 10 copies to sell to raise additional funds?  No problem.  Got a new co-worker who's never heard of SMA?  Give them a copy.  Never read it yourself?  Done and done. 

In addition, I'm setting up a recurring donation of a dollar a day for both GSF and FSMA that I'll be doing every day until this disease is cured, and that's on top of any other donations or funds raised by book sales and I do personally and Milverstead Publishing does separately for every author.  I can't let a day go by any longer where I feel like I haven't done something to try and help.  I wish it was more, and if you can think of anything you'd like my help with to make even more of a difference, I will do whatever it takes.

And make sure you check in at the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation and Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy websites to see how you can help make a difference too.

Have a great weekend!

Chris

P.S - You should be hearing more about the movie adaptation of Not A Fire Exit in the coming weeks as there's more exciting news around that on the horizon!  :)

I had some folks ask me why I'd taken this off the site when I moved it over.  So, it's back again, same as it was when I first posted it on November 9th of last year.

Hello all,

When I first thought about doing this several months ago, I had no idea where it would lead and still don't.  While I'm confident it will be enjoyed and well received, I'm not naive enough to think that everyone will feel the same way when they read it, or that suddenly I'll be the next Dan Brown.  That being said, this entire project, from the first moment I started typing, has only been possible because of one woman - my wife, Bridget.  Every step of the way, as I've missed meals, stayed up til five in the morning, needed to find some detail around setting up a sales tax ID, whatever, my wife's support has been unyielding.  And as the costs and hours of work on this project have mounted, she'll just keep telling me, "You do whatever you have to and make sure this is something that has a chance to make a difference for those kids.  Oh and we need milk." 

She's done this with two small children, one of whom was only a few months old when I started, nipping at her heels and wondering where daddy had gone off to.  How she's been able to do this so successfully on top of working full time is something I'll never know.  I've told her how much this means to so many, but I'll never be able to thank her enough.  So if you see something that makes you smile in the book or on the website or about this project, and you happen to think of it, send a note to thanksbea@verizon.net that says "Thanks Bridget" (her nickname is Bea).  If you want to say more, great, but this isn't meant to be a gimmick or joke or publicity stunt.  It's just meant to do what it says - help thank her for me.

I'll keep saying thank you and telling how incredible she is, but if she gets just one note from someone who might have enjoyed it, well, it'll make her day, and make her smile.  And that's all she's ever asked for throughout our ten years together.  

So thank you, Bridget.  I love you.

Chris

P.S - She'll be mortified when she sees this and probably ask me to take it down, which I won't.

P.P.S - I'm sure she'd also enjoy hearing bald jokes about her sappy husband.  Everyone loves bald jokes.