Groomed looks at the unfortunate narrative of childhood sexual assault that is a reality for countless American children. The emotional book challenges readers to learn from the stories of survivors to create safer, more loving communities.
My name is Samantha Leonard and I am the author of Groomed. I wrote this book to connect with other sexual assault survivors and advocates for survivors and shed light on the issue of childhood sexual assault.
My hope is that by reading this book you will gain a new understanding of what childhood sexual assault means, the grooming process and how it effects survivors. In this book, I hope to instill in you the same sort of passion that I have for changing the culture around sexual violence. Then ultimately, I want you to see this book as a tool to educate readers on tangible ways to support themselves, our children and the survivors among our communities.
In this book, you'll learn about the sexual grooming process and ways to:
You will love this book if you or someone you love has been effected by sexual violence or if you are interested in healing survivors and communities.
Groomed is a fictional book based on real stories that speaks to those effected by sexual violence and the #metoo movement who are interested in learning more about the status quo of childhood sexual assault and ways to be a catalyst for change.
The Book - Groomed
The book is written in 6 main parts that break down the grooming process used to manipulate children....
-
Part 1 describes how sexual groomers select victims. Here, I begin to tell a fictional story based on real experiences of survivors and point out ways to minimize children's vulnerability to abuse.
-
Part 2 explains how sexual groomers gain victims' trust. This section continues to detail a fictional account that illustrate ways survivors trust is gained and concludes with red flags to look for in the adults that children interact with.
-
Part 3 looks at how sexual groomers fill need(s) for their victim(s) and shares how that process played a role in the fictional story of abuse shared. Here, I also list warning signs often seen in children who are already being abused.
-
Part 4 describes how sexual groomer's isolate victims in a fictional story. The section sums up with some valuable lessons communities can learn from these stories.
-
Part 5 details how sexual groomers sexualize the relationship they have formed. It then offers a fictional narration of how survivors have experienced that progression. Part five also lists reasons why survivors do not come forward and how law enforcement can better respond to survivors.
-
Part 6 depicts how sexual groomers maintain control over their victims. Then, a story of how that control plays out for victims are introduced. Finally, I discuss empathetic ways to respond to survivors that disclose their assault to you.
What I Need & What You'll Get
This book will be published with New Degree Press. I set up the pre-order tiers to help cover the costs for publishing my book. Money raised will go towards the following:
- The Editor I will work with to revise and publish my manuscript in July, 2019
- The Cover Design of my Book - the mockups you see currently are a placeholder!
- The Layout Design for the interior of my book (Physical Copy, Ebook Formats)
- The Copyediting for My Book - to make help polish the grammar and spelling prior to publication
- The Launch & Promotion Efforts for my book - when I ultimately publish this Summer
When I pre-sell 100 copies of my book, I will also publish an audiobook. When I pre-sell 200 copies of my book, I will publish a hardcover edition.
I am also offering some exclusive rewards for people who pre-order my book now:
- You will receive a personally signed copy of my book when I publish
- A Personal, handwritten thank you note for pre-ordering my book
- Your Name will appear in a Special, Acknowledgements Section of my book (“with Special Thanks to”)
- Early access to the Introduction of my Book and my entire manuscript, with the opportunity to review it and give me early feedback
- The opportunity to help give me feedback and be involved in selecting my cover
- I will do a book topic/workshop seminar where I will share the experiences of writing my book
- And more...
About the Author
Samantha Leonard is a first time author and a student at University of Delaware.
She decided to write Groomed because of her passion for justice and the impact she hopes to make on the culture around sexual violence.
Outside of publishing, Samantha is also a Sexual Assault Advocate on University of Delaware's campus and is beginning a Master's of Social Work program this summer.
For more information you can connect with Samantha at leonards@udel.edu
Risks & Challenges
The biggest challenge with publishing a book is delivering the finished book to the backer, specifically my mailing of the book to you. I have eliminated this risk by building into the campaign the mailing and shipping costs of your signed copies to you within each pre-order tier.
The risk of delivering the pre-sale copies of my book is contingent on the publisher we use. I will be working closely with New Degree Press to make sure we get the earliest possible ship date of the signed book copy to you. We will keep all pre-sale backers up-to-date as my book hits each key milestone and publishes. You will know when the copies of my book you pre-ordered are expected to ship.
Other Ways You Can Help
Some people just can't contribute, but that doesn't mean they can't help:
Please Share my Pre-sale Campaign on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn with your friends, family and network. Please use #Groomed and tag me as well as my publisher, New Degree Press so we can help amplify your efforts.
You can easily share my Pre-Sale Campaign Page via Indiegogo at the top of the page
Please share my book to 5 friends, family members, or co-workers who you think would enjoy it. Please do this as a text message or Direct Message on social media.
Thank you so much of all of your love and support!
Thanks again,
Samantha Leonard