Last month, the Greater Starkville Development Partnership held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Christian publishing company, God Restores Publishing LLC.
Owned by Veronica Outlaw, God Restores Publishing’s mission, as stated by their website, is to “help represent unrepresented voices, help with promoting missions and causes, and help share pain to purpose experiences.”
According to Outlaw, the company started unofficially last year with the publication of its first book, “God Restores Anthology Vol 1 – ‘I’m Not Afraid Anymore!'”
“It officially started last year about October when I put out a call for an anthology for people to discuss their traumatic experiences in life,” Outlaw said. “I ended up with 12 authors. By the time December 23 came the book was published.”
As stated on the company website, Outlaw was inspired to write and put together her first anthology, “God Restores,” after overcoming struggles with abuse, divorce, single parenting and financial problems.
The book is a collection of stories and anecdotes told by survivors of various traumas, illnesses, and abuses. The goal of the book is to explain how they overcame their hardships and to provide readers with hope to overcome their own.
Outlaw hosted the project, guiding the other contributors and helping them tell the their stories, while also helping them become writers themselves. She hopes this project provides catharsis to both authors and readers.
A review posted on the site by Montresyal Warren, one of the authors of “God Restores Anthology Vol 1 – ‘I’m Not Afraid Anymore!'”, described the experience as a chance to renew her faith and rebuild herself after the hardships she has experienced.
“This experience has been exciting, emotional, and eye-opening,” Warren said.”As I prepared to write I found myself crying tears of sadness, then tears of relief. Writing this chapter had me reliving past events and I began to praise God immediately. I have been through so much in my life but God never leaves me alone. Just like when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in the fiery furnace, God was in the fire with them. He’s in every storm with me. This experience has rebuilt my confidence and given me hope to keep pushing”
Dominique Lewis is another author for the book. In her review, Lewis praised Outlaw for her professional talent and for publishing the book so quickly and effectively.
“Having self-published three books in the past, this is the fastest experience that I have had from start to finish,” Lewis said. “Experts would say it’s impossible, but Veronica showed us, with God all things are possible. She was readily available and provided great insight. She has impeccable project and time management skills. She significantly reduced the amount of stress writers typically face to get a book published.”
After the successful book launch in February, God Restores Publishing was made official.
Outlaw mentioned that the business is still in the early stages of establishment.
“So, right now my challenges are startup money,” Outlaw said. “To do different things I need to do like purchase equipment prayerfully at some point, get a building where I can host book signings, have an office, book readings and different events to support authors.”
Hunter Harrington, director of membership development and manager of the Starkville Area Chamber of Commerce, expressed her excitement at having a new publishing company in town.
“We are thrilled to have her as a member and provide her wonderful services in Starkville,” Harrington said. “She is a light to all of those around her and will make an impact in our community.”
Outlaw said that, at the end of the day, she wants to help people overcome their past demons and pave a way for others facing the same challenges.
“I’m hoping to help underrepresented individuals who want to share their traumatic experiences and become authors,” Outlaw said. “In doing so they released their story, they heal from what happened to them, and they have an impact on themselves and individuals in the community.”
