Fabulous idea!

BESTSELLING AUTHOR OPENS ONLINE SHOP

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- Recently Robin Jones Gunn, best-selling and award-winning author of the Christy Miller Series and the Sisterchicks Series, gave in to overwhelming requests from her readers to open an online store.

"I am now more connected to my readers, and every single one of those relationships means a lot to me," says Gunn. "For years women have been requesting Sisterchicks® T-shirts for their ministry events or tote bags for their book clubs. Teens have asked for posters and fun things like orange surfboard key chains to remind them to pray for their future husbands. One girl begged me to sell 'I [heart]Todd' T-shirts since all the girls at her school were wearing 'My Boyfriend Is a Vampire' shirts."

Robin Jones Gunn's online shop opened June 20 at http://shop.robingunn.com with more than 680 items sold in seven weeks and a miniature surfboard keychain (the Christy Miller Series takes place in Newport Beach, Calif.) topped the list.

"It took a year to pull together the funds to do this," says the author, who has more than 4 million books in print. The store offers not only clothing and items connected to the characters and themes of her books but also most of her books. "I know that a bookstore can't carry all 70 books that I've written, so while I always encourage readers to check with their local bookstore, for the reader who can't find what she's looking for in her community, Robin's Nest Online Shop is an alternative."

Gunn reports the store has done well, and not just in terms of numbers, but also in terms of touching lives. "Today this note appeared on my Facebook page along with a photo of the T-shirt logo that says, 'Sisterchicks Forever':

My friend Kara and I met at summer camp when we were 5 and have been like sisters ever since. Another friend, Stacy, joined our trio, and as soon as your Robin's Nest Online Shop opened, Kara made sure the three of us had Sisterchicks T-shirts because we love your books. But it's more than that. After many years of battling a horrible disease, Kara passed away on the 4th of July, just two weeks after we received the shirts. She asked to be buried in her Sisterchicks T-shirt because for the 3 of us Sisterchicks, the 'forever' on the shirt really means forever. We know we'll be together for eternity."

"When relationships are affected for eternity, I know opening the shop was the right choice," Gunn says.


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Join Robin on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Robin-Jones-Gunn/110691292261?ref=ts for a special Summer Promise Party from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm PDT on Friday, August 14th.

On August 15th for ONE DAY ONLY visitors to Robin's Nest Shop http://shop.robingunn.com can receive a free MP3 download of Summer Promise, the first book in the Christy Miller Series for teens.

"I can't wait," Robin says, "to hear back from those readers who have told me their friends won't read, but they will listen to books on their Ipods."


Robin Jones Gunn is available for interview.