Tonya VanWinkle's Blog, page 3

A Whole Heap

When the devil dumps a whole heap of a mess in your lap,

you need a whole heap of faith to help ya untangle it.

Otherwise, I’m not real sure how one gets through it. As most of you know I’ve personally been going through some things over the last year. My diagnosis reads: Anxiety disorder, Major Depressive Disorder and PTSD. I’ve had a difficult time admitting that I am struggling with depression. Anxiety has always been there and for seventeen years I managed it, perhaps poorly at times, but I did it.[image error]

Then came the day that I couldn’t do it anymore. I’m blaming the depression for that, but truthfully I don’t know if that’s the cause. I think…perhaps I just got tired. I’m not even sure how any of this happened. I don’t feel like I have any reason to be depressed, so why am I in a fight with this particular illness! I want to scream. I want to cry. I want an explanation. I want to sleep. I want to be left alone. I want it to just go away! I want my life back. I feel like someone took over and is calling all the shots here and it’s not fair. This is my body, my mind, my life – ya know?

I was in the process of coming to terms with this. I started writing again. Then I went home to see Momma. I’d purchased a girls weekend for us for her birthday back in February. The conference wasn’t until October, so we had to wait to celebrate. I thought I should fly home on the 9th, because that is one of the hardest days of the year for Momma. That’s the day Grandpa got his angel wings.

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I arrived at the Springfield Airport a few minutes before six that evening. Tim picked me up as Momma was with Halen at the ranch for her horseback riding lessons. By they time we got home, they were home too. While cooking dinner, Momma turned to Tim and I and said she needed to discuss something with us. She had been to see Dr. Kim that day. Unknown to many people, Momma has also been going through some things. She’s been sick more often than not. She’s had really weird illnesses too, not the simple everybody gets this type of stuff either.

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Six years ago she was diagnosed with a hiatal hernia. Most people have those. Most people get those. Most people don’t even realize they have it, but Momma, well she had to take it one step further or maybe ten. Momma now has a paraesophageal hiatal hernia. To put this in layman’s terms, her stomach is no longer where it ought to be. It is sitting in her chest, her thoracic cavity and the lower lobes of her lungs.

When she first started getting sick we thought it was her heart, she had every symptom of a heart attack, but all her cardiac work came back normal. They said it was stress and Momma continued to decline and now she needs a major surgery to put her stomach back where it belongs. Dr. Kim wants her to go to St. Louis to the Barnes to have it done. On the 29th, she meets with a surgeon and we begin the process forward.

I believe Momma had just come to peace with this when Cayenne called. She called me first. She didn’t really wanna call Momma and add anything to her plate, but she desperately needed to hear Momma’s voice. Cayenne had been having some testing done to see if there was a problem as to why she wasn’t getting pregnant. I received the call early Wednesday morning and that damn devil dumped a whole heap of hurt on my baby sister. She was crying hysterically and trying to tell me what happened, what she learned…

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She’s heartbroken. She’s shattered. I never knew how badly she wanted to be a Mom until I heard her cries that morning.

It was gut wrenching.

She’d been pinning things on Pinterest like:

Things you need for a baby
Pregnancy information
Baby girl stuff
Baby boy stuff
Baby rooms

And she’s been dreaming of putting a crib together, waking up for two a.m. feedings and would the baby have blonde hair or brown. Would he or she be blessed with her eyes, would her baby be cute? Would she swell up or glow? Would she have morning sickness or be one of the lucky ones? What weird things would she crave…

Unknown to many she even had names picked out. Rowan Paul for a boy – Paul after our Grandpa. Momma’s daddy. Elliana Renea, after a little girl she once cared for and myself. She told me earlier,

We may not have always gotten along, but I have never had a bad thought about you. I have always looked up to you. You might be my older sister and half like a mom, but you’re even more than that. I’ve always thought very highly of you and I have always admired how you handle … well … everything and how strong you are. Man, I wish I could have that strength. I wanted my daughter named after the strongest, wisest and the most bossy girl I know… you.

That girl got all up in my feelings telling me things like that! My heart hurts so much for her as the news is that … that little boy or that little girl she’s been dreaming of … will not be. One of her tubes appears to be missing and the other is completely blocked. They’re going to have to remove it.

Something I do believe most everyone who knows me is fully aware of and many have even experienced is how well I handle it when someone or something starts screwing with my family. I don’t take too kindly to it – at ALL.

Call me a Momma Bear, call me a Mother Hen – I DON’T CARE! Messing with my family is off limits. I will go to the mattresses for them EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!

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And ya know what? I’ve about had it! I’m mad. I’m mad that I’m dealing with something I can’t control. I’m mad that my Momma has to go through this scary painful journey. I’m mad that Cayenne is hurting. And ya know, Holly has her own set of illnesses and I’m sure Jeff has a heap of something for me to be be mad about too. I am sick to death of that devil creeping up in here where he is NOT WELCOME!

This is MY family and he needs to back off!

So, in the words of Tom Hanks as Joe Fox in You’ve Got Mail, “Go to the Mattresses“.

How does one fight the devil? With the word of God. 

Dear Devil,

This is your eviction notice. You have wreaked enough havoc and chaos upon my family. And I happen to serve a GOOD, GOOD GOD and I KNOW THAT I KNOW THAT I KNOW that FAITH can move mountains. So you best be steppin’.

 

Dear Friends,

PRAY. Pray for my family. That devil ain’t gonna like what we’re about to do. Pray for our endurance and strength. Pray for healing and recovery. Pray for finances. Pray to ease the sense of being overwhelmed. Just pray, please. As we go forward I will be documenting this journey, per Momma’s request. It will be real and raw and I won’t spend a lot of time editing or making it pretty, because I ain’t got time for that nonsense. So please, be kind. Please don’t bring hate or negativity to our already heavy plates. Before you add your thoughts or opinions please stop and ask yourself,

Is it helpful? Is it kind? Is it necessary?

I know, we will all appreciate that and I can’t thank you enough for your friendship, love and support. If you feel led to leave your prayer for my family in the comments, I will pray each prayer over them.

 

Dear Family,

BUCKLE UP! It’s gonna be a bumpy ride, cause you know that nasty old devil isn’t gonna take to kindly to me calling him out or us slapping him upside the head with the word of God. It may even feel like the death crawl from time to time, but we need to give God our best and let him do the rest. So don’t you quit on me, you keep moving, you keep driving until you’ve got nothing left, even when it hurts! And I promise I won’t quit on you.

Let’s align our hearts with the word of God and build that stonewall. Dig in and get comfortable cause when we look up from this fight, it’s gonna be an unbelievable sight.

For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. (Matthew 18:20)

With God all things are possible.

Matthew 19:26

Love,

Tonya

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Everybody Falls Sometimes

…but it doesn’t mean they’ve failed. You haven’t failed. I haven’t failed.

Set backs are not meant to make you fail, nor do they mean you are incapable of accomplishments or success. Nor are you lacking in worth. Not you. Not I. We may have to fight a little harder but in time we will get back up; stronger. Stronger so that we have the strength to overcome the life’s next hurdle. Life is full of them. Sadly, we can’t avoid them. And sometimes it feels as if they’ve slammed into us with the full weight of the world.

It takes time to recover from a hit like that. Sometimes you don’t even know where it came from, only that it knocked you down. It takes time to reevaluate goals, dreams and self. Time. We need time. Time to untangle life’s latest mess. We may have fell down yesterday and maybe we didn’t get up today. But guess what? That is completely okay.

Breathe. Regroup. Refocus and when you and you alone are ready – try again. Don’t allow yourself to be poked, prodded, or pushed into rushing when your soul is dry and crying out for rest. Falling into that pressure will not build the strength you need. Instead it will chip away at every remaining ounce until you are completely empty and with nothing left to give. You simply exist. For one can not pour from an empty cup. I’m living proof of that.

I’ve spent the majority of 2019 coloring and at Doctor appointments. It seems to bother my family that I sit up here in my office watching whatever interests me on T.V. and coloring. The truth is I’ve enjoyed it, but I haven’t done much else. Somedays my biggest accomplishment is that I did the dishes or took a shower.

These two little things, coloring and watching T.V., do not require me to do any further thinking then, “What am I going to watch and what color should this be?” Simple. No Stress. No hanging out inside my head where for the better part of the year has felt completely crazy. FACT: I’m not crazy. Doctor told me so.

I question, how is this any different from them sitting downstairs watching T.V., reading or playing video games? They enjoy that and it doesn’t bother me. I’ve come to believe that since they know what I’m battling they may think it’s not helping. That my hiding out is making it worse. However, if that were true, I don’t believe my fingers would now be flying across this keyboard. It may have taken me nearly an entire year to get here, but I am here, nonetheless.

Little flickers of life have begun to emerge again. Little thoughts of stories unfolding. Little whispers from God letting me know He’s still here. That I can count on Him to get me through this too. He’s got this. He’s fighting for me. Every. Single. Day.

All I have to do is lean in and hold tightly to my Faith and accept the Grace He continually offers me Every. Single. Time. I fall.

Recently I purchased, My Brilliant Writing Planner, by Susan May Warren. I bought it last year too, sadly, it went to waste. I was so excited about it and then it fell by the wayside, along with many other things in my life. I had great plans and intentions for 2019, but something happened and to put it mildly I fell apart. I stopped writing.

I knew something was wrong, really wrong because I have never stopped writing. I may have been the only one that knew it or saw the words, but they were always there. I couldn’t have stopped them flowing from my heart anymore than I could have stopped the world from turning. This wrong – this thing consuming me was/is more than not putting words down. A lot more.

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I’ve wanted to explain what happened, felt that I owed it to my readers. I didn’t know how. I still don’t. But I’m trying. My fingers are moving across this keyboard and Cambridge has resumed his Writing Assistant position.

That’s something, right?

In the planner for 2020, there are a lot of in depth questions meant to help me grow nearer to my goals and learn more about myself. It can be a bit overwhelming, so I’m thankful that I got it early – because overwhelmed is not something I need more of. I’ve started working through it and preparing for the year ahead. It’s a wonderful planner for a writer and this year there are some new additions that make it even better than before. It is my prayer that I put it to good use this year. I’d actually appreciate it, if you joined me in that little prayer.

At the top of one of the pages it says:

“We find joy when our actions align with our values.”

I feel like I lost who I was/who I am, by trying to be something I am not. I know I have been very quiet over the last nine months – that’s required for serious soul searching. A yearning to understand who I am as a writer. Something I never longed to know before. I just wrote. It’s what I did. It made me happy. It made others happy. It filled me with joy. It was my escape. It was my way of saying the things I felt I needed or wanted to say, to share my ideas and wisdom with others. As an introvert and an empath, it was my way to reach out. Writing was/is my voice and depression among other things silenced it.

I’d like to share with you what I am and what I am not. It will help you make a decision as to whether or not I’m someone you want to follow; an author you’d be willing to read. I will not be hiding my thoughts or feelings about things that matter to me, from this day forward.

 

I am NOT.

I am NOT a failure.

I am NOT worthless.

I am NOT the writer who forces a story out for someone else.

I am NOT a writer who says no to God.

I am NOT an extrovert.

I am NOT alone.

I am NOT going to post or blast social media EVERY SINGLE DAY in a feeble attempt at friendship.

Either you like me or you don’t.

I am NOT giving my hard work away for free.

I am NOT trend driven.

I am NOT rapidly releasing books.

I am NOT anyone but who God created me to be and her name is TONYA!

No matter what she writes.

 

I AM…

WORTHY.

VALUED.

AN EMOTIONAL WRITER.

I write from my heart, that takes time, time to feel.

To allow God to breathe life into the words.

LOVER OF JESUS.

INTROVERTED.

OVERWHELMED.

AN EMPATH.

SUFFERING WITH but not defined by anxiety and multiple types of depression.

A FIGHTER.

I AM TONYA.

 

Psalm 61 NLT

O God, listen to my cry!

    Hear my prayer!

 From the ends of the earth,

    I cry to you for help

    when my heart is overwhelmed.

Lead me to the towering rock of safety,

     for you are my safe refuge,

    a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.

 Let me live forever in your sanctuary,

    safe beneath the shelter of your wings!

“The enemy can put the wrong thought in your mind, but it doesn’t become your thought until you take it and meditate on it.” ~Joyce Meyer

VERY recently I read KNOX by Susan May Warren. I LOVED it. It spoke to me on many levels and here are some important take-aways I got from it as well as my review.

REVIEW: SO WORTH IT! I absolutely loved this book! There are so many twist and turns, reading it is like watching a bull rider at the Rodeo. It has the excitement, the thrills and the prayers of “Oh, please let them hang on and not get hurt.” I know many people who won’t spend $10 on a book these days and I’m sorry to say it but they’re seriously missing out because some books are totally worth it. This being one of them! I dare you to give it a chance.

“Stop. Look up and truly see Jesus. Believe Him at His word, that He loves us. That we shouldn’t assign how we feel about ourselves to Jesus.“~Susan May Warren (From her book Knox)

“You’ll never find your path by looking at yourself.”~Susan May Warren (From her book Knox)

“Lord, help me to see You. To put my focus not on myself, and not on my brothers, but on You. On Your love. Be my vision, Lord.” ~Susan May Warren (From her book Knox)

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“There is no peace, no healing without the secure knowledge of God’s love. But when our lives are shaken, it can be nearly impossible to reach out and hold onto the truth that we are loved. Even when life and people betray us. Even when the unthinkable happens. God’s love is not dependent on our actions. He loves us because He is Love. He. Is. Enough.” ~Susan May Warren

 

I hope something I said or shared spoke to you today. Have a blessed Sunday.

Love,

Tonya

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I’m Still Here!

Happy Love Month!

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I promise I did not disappear! January was simply a hard month for me and just as I feel like I’m getting my groove back a bit, guess what? I’m sick. All this up and down weather of hot and cold and hot and cold has caused my sinuses to seek revenge. Which means I’m snuggled up on the couch in my pjs, drinking hot coffee – it feels so good on my throat, and writing this blog post.

First off, what have I read lately?

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Only 3 have been read in 2019. Umm, I might be slacking a bit on the New Year. However, I will say this I started reading, A Discovery of Witches, and it is nearly 600 pages, longer than all the others here. It is also so chalk full of information that while there is a lot of description and detail you cannot skim over any of it or the next part doesn’t make any sense. It’s well written. I want to know what happens to Matthew and Diana but I’ve been reading book 2 in that series for a least 2 weeks now, because it just drags on and on in my opinion and I still don’t know if Matthew and Diana are going to make it back okay or not. So frustrating. I even took a break and read Kirsten’s new book, Always in Albuquerque, which you should read. I love the At the Alter series, especially the purple haired lady and her boobie bumps (aka hugs).

I’ve got to get past this All Souls Trilogy and back to business. I’d probably give up but I did buy the second book, therefore I must finish it. I don’t know if I’ll be able to commit to the third one or not though. Have you ever started reading something that you don’t hate but you don’t love and you just keep pushing through? What was it and was it worth it in the end?

I guess since I’ve not read a lot of books so far for 2019 you might be wondering just what I’ve been up to…

Plotting out Lily Jo’s story to kick off my Grace Landing series coming late Spring/early Summer.
Decluttering my home! I have a mountain in my basement, it is ALL for a yard sale! I cleared out my entire kitchen. 3 bags of garbage and 4 big boxes added to the basement mountain.
I binge watched the Marie Kondo show… #doesitsparkjoy
I’ve cleaned carpets over and over – old dog, bad bladder = death of carpet.
Been hanging out in my Reader group a lot and having a blast.
Done a few book giveaways, like today, I’m hanging out in Amelia Adam’s reader group for her Author Takeover event.
Planning a couple events.
And keeping a secret from my Momma

That’s about all. I guess you could say I had the January blues and took the month off, but in that month I have been focusing a lot on my house. I want to minimize clutter and find a way to keep the house cleaner so that I’m not so worried about it when I sit down to write!

My son had a friend over earlier this morning and he happened to be standing by when my son opened the pantry to get out a snack. His friend said, “Wow, you are really organized!” Brier said, “I had nothing to do with that!” To which is friend says, “Well the Queen of you is REALLY organized!” haha I may have organized and labeled everything in there, it’s so easy to find! Everything has a home, to the point when my son bought some sub rolls he was like, “Mom, I’m just gonna lay this here, because I don’t wanna mess with that.”

I think I’ve frightened my family just a bit with my mad decluttering skills. If you scroll through my Instagram photos you’ll see my pantry. You can find them at the bottom of this post or heck visit my on IG and give me a follow. I’ll follow ya back and we can be friends! Amazing book loving, coffee drinking friends, unless of course you are one of my tea drinking friends.

My husband took me on a surprise trip in January to New York City and the best part he took me to see Anastasia on Broadway! It was amazing. I had a great time. I’d go back just to watch it again and again. Anastasia is the movie we saw on our first date in 1997! Gosh, I’m getting old! Don’t tell anyone.

Today is my best friend Jenny’s birthday and Tuesday is my Momma’s birthday! I’ve a secret I’ve been keeping from her. I’ll be announcing it LIVE on Facebook on Tuesday but until then I’m having fun torturing her. I love having secret surprises. I surprised Jenny once, it was the best! I wish I had a video of that one. If I did, I’d share it with you.

Anyway, it’s just been a kinda of “chilled out” month or so. I’ve been making sure to take my Vitamin D and trying to keep myself motivated and moving. It’s hard sometimes. Rumor is January and February are the worst for it, what do you think?

I’m signing off for now, but I’ll be back with a promised little snippet of a story on February 14th. Have a wonderful weekend!

~Renea

The post I’m Still Here! appeared first on Renea Westlyn.

Western Facebook Hop

I’m just popping on for a brief moment to let you know about something…

Now in order to go hopping and have a chance at winning some free books, I’d recommend you pop over to my Facebook page and hop your way through. I did so this morning and it was a lot of fun. I also found myself a few new books to read, you might as well, who knows!

Alright, I gotta run. Christmas is in SEVEN days y’all! It’s time to go, go, go!

Love ya!

Renea

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Christmas Box Contest

I absolutely LOVE Christmas! It is my most favorite of holiday’s. I love the sights, the smells, the glitter and sparkles, the lights, and even the cheesy Hallmark movies. I love it all. To me it’s just a happy time of year, though for some I know it is very stressful and that makes me sad.

One of my favorite things about Christmas if giving. I love to give. I love to go shopping for that perfect little something. I enjoy watching the other shoppers,  listening to the Christmas music fill the air, and not rushing through the season grabbing whatever might work for Sally, Susan or Bill. I want that item that stands out and says, “Oh she’d love this!”

This is my first Christmas as an author and I find myself needing to give something to say, “Thank you for supporting me this year.” Sadly, I cannot give to everyone or afford international shipping (yet). So, I decided to host my first Christmas Contest. Now, it is optional to enter. It is optional to follow me, like me, leave reviews, say hi, or whatever. I put at least 12 options on the list and there are points for each. Some of the options you can do each day. It is completely up to you, to enter.

What is the Prize? Well, it says: A CHRISTMAS BASKET but in truth it is a CHRISTMAS BOX as I could not find a basket I liked. Remember, I like looking for the perfect item. I suppose you want to know what is in the box uh? Well, in order to know that, you will have to follow me on Facebook as I’m not going to blog each day to share it. But as the season carries on I will find little things here and there, some will even be handmade and I will add them to the box. As I add items I will take a picture and post it on Instagram and Facebook. There will also be a few surprises included.

I hope this is something that you will enjoy participating in. I’m new to this hosting contest stuff. We do a fun little Top Ten monthly contest in my reader group, but that’s easy. This… is a whole new ball game. I would also love your feedback, it will help me prepare for next year. So, leave me a comment or send me a note and let me know what kind of things you think would make the Christmas Box worth it.

Thank you so much. I pray you enjoy the season and are blessed with many wonderful memories.

Love,

Renea

Click the image to enter.

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Renea’s Weekly News

 

Every week I send out a newsletter and as I was deciding what I should write over here today, I released I said everything I needed to in my newsletter or at least I think I did. Therefore, I made a management decision – on Tuesday’s I will post the news. Now, on to the news!

HAPPY RELEASE DAY!

Book number twelve of the Silverpines series is LIVE! Even more exciting news is the author Barbara Goss is having her first ever release party! If you click the image it should take you to the event page. The party starts at 7 p.m. EST. I believe there will be some prizes, games, and contests. Hopefully, you’ll have some time to stop by and say Hi this evening. I’ll be popping in for just a moment to say HI as well. I won’t get to stay long as I have a date this evening with my daughter and I’m spending every little moment I can with her before she leaves for college. I’m going to miss her so much, but I’m so excited for her!

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Wanted: A Trusting Heart

A Chinook Indian by heritage, Dawn was orphaned and given to a white family as a slave. They raised her like one of their own, alongside their daughter Laura.

Dawn soon finds herself falling for Jake, who recently moved to Silverpines, following his brother from Texas. Jake gets to know Dawn well and soon realizes that he has fallen in love with her. The catch? Though society had come a long way, it still held prejudices against Native Americans and the whites who married them. Through prejudice and calamities, the two will have to fight for their love and trust in one another with all their hearts.

Are Dawn and Jake willing to take the risk for love? Can they face the prejudices together? This is part of a series but a stand-alone read.

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Okay, so not really. BUT I’m tired of the boring, “I invite you to join blah, blah, blah.” Ya know? So here’s the scoop. I have a reader’s group. I’d love for you to join if you haven’t. Why? Because I like you and you like me and we love books and coffee and most likely cookies, why else? We’re friends, man! So come on in, pull up a chair, drink some coffee and have a cookie.

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Notifications for NEW books or from my readers are my absolute FAVORITE type of notifications! I get REALLY excited when Jana DeLeon has a new book out! Especially a Miss Fortune Mystery! Even my husband reads these, though he lets me read them first. Isn’t he sweet? He knows though when that notification comes through for one of her books I am out of commission, mia, not to be disturbed or whatever you wanna call it for at least the next three hours. I adore these books! They make me laugh so hard. The antics these women get up to are just so hilarious and the fact that I could see half of it happening to my redneck family in Missouri is the highlight! Anyway, I finished reading Reel of Fortune last night and it did not disappoint! If you are looking for books to make you laugh – the Miss Fortune series will accomplish it.

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Currently, I am reading Rachel Wesson’s Orphan Train Escape. Rachel is another of my favorite authors. A great series of hers is the Clover Springs series. Trails of the Heart is also really good. Orphan Train Escape is the beginning of a new series but I believe it has some very familiar characters in it. I’m not too far into it yet, so I can’t give you a review, but honestly, you can’t go wrong with one of Rachel’s heartwarming stories.

 

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I am part of a Facebook group called, Book Brigade. I haven’t been a very good member of the group. Just kinda lurking, liking a few things and such. However, I’ve made it my goal this month to be an active participant. After all, it’s like a book club! Each month there is a theme and two books to read and discuss. The book this month is A Lady by Midnight by Tessa Dare. I am not familiar with this author or her books. So I’m in for a surprise. Sadly, A Lady by Midnight is book three and I have to read things in order, so I’ve got two books to read before I get to the correct one! I don’t know what the second book for the month is as it has not yet been posted by the theme is Lost & Found. What books would you recommend for a theme like that?

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I recently finished both of these books. Kit Morgan is yet another favorite author of mine, whom I will actually be meeting in a few days at an author/reader luncheon in Pennsylvania. So excited & slightly nervous. However, it’s time I put myself out there and made connections with these other authors, ya know? Sarah & the Doctor is also the beginning of a new series with a few familiar characters from I believe her Cutter’s Creek series. Which is my favorite series of her’s, just sayin’.

Kara Isaac is a new author to me and this book was recommended to me when I asked for books that made you laugh out loud. Now, it was a good book, however, there was really no major laugh out loud moments. Sure, I chuckled a couple times and a few times felt tears prick at my eyes but the feeling of tears was not from laughter. It was a good book, you would probably enjoy it, but for me, it did not fit the “what book had you rolling in the floor laughing” bill. Ya know?

I’ve been looking for some books that make you laugh out loud, hold your stomach from laughing, and tears pouring down your face from laughing kinda books – so if you gotta a suggestion, hit me up man.

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Friendly reminder: Don’t forget to leave reviews. It really helps the author out.

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…but be honest!

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Are you on Goodreads? It’s a great place to connect with other readers as well as authors. You can participate in a reading challenge, leave reviews, and all kinds of fun stuff. I love that Goodreads keeps track of the books I’ve read because honestly, I forget sometimes and I’m like, “Did I read that? Umm.. go ask Goodreads.” It’s great!

 

 

 

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Do readers and authors really play on SnapChat? I don’t know! All I know is it’s a lot of fun and my Momma is always chatting with me on SnapChat. She loves those funny voice-overs and I’ve learned that if I do a video clip via SnapChat it cuts me off if I get to talking too much. So it’s a great way to make a short video and pop it into my reader’s group. You just never know what’s gonna happen up in there. Some days are boring, some days are informative, some days are WHOA MOMMAshe’s had too much coffee! Slow your roll woman! Know what I’m sayin’? So, if you are a snapchatty person and wanna connect there, feel free!

 

 

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Have you been to Silverpines

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So have you been reading the Silverpines Series? Or maybe the better question is did you even know about it? I’m horrible about keeping up with my website, as you might have noticed. I’m so sorry. I hope most of you keep up with me on Facebook, although that’s slim pickings these days. I swear Facebook hides our posts. There was a photo I saw recently that and I shared it on my own profile as a test. [image error]

On day one, I got only 23 hello’s. On day two, I got 8. It took two days to get 31 people on my friend’s list to say hello. You should try it on your own profiles and see what happens. I had one friend say it took 8 hours for her to even see my posts. Isn’t that ridiculous? Facebook was once a place to share and connect and now you hardly see anything new. Kinda of a bummer.

Anyway, Silverpines is a multi-author series and there are now eleven books out with plenty more to come. We have our own reader group on Facebook, though all of the authors have their own personal reading groups too. Silverpine’s was struck by a double tragedy that nearly wiped out all the eligible men in town. The women had to band together and find a way to survive, so they each order a husband. Here is the order in which the books were written but they can each be read as a stand-alone.

Mail Order Marshal by George McVey
Wanted: Horse Breeder by Barb Goss
Wanted: Gunsmith by Lynn Donovan
Wanted: ShopKeeper by Sophie Dawson
Wanted: Medicine Man by Christine Sterling
Wanted: Innkeeper by Marianne Spritzer
Wanted: Man of Honor by Parker J. Cole
Wanted: Lawyer by Josephine Blake
Wanted: Preacher by your’s truly, Renea Westlyn
Wanted: Miller by George McVey
Wanted: Engineer by George McVey

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Book number twelve, Wanted: A Trusting Heart by Barb Goss

If you’d like to join the Silverpines Reader group, you are more than welcome! We’ll keep you up to date on each new release and chat about the books as well. We have a great time there.

Anyway – hope you are enjoying my updated website and are enjoying reading the Silverpines series.

            Love,

                      ~Renea

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Welcome!

I’ve spent most the day and yesterday revamping my website. It still needs a few tweaks but I think it’s looking a lot better. I believe I’ve made it easier to find where to sign up for my newsletter as well as where to connect with me on social media. I’ve also included a “shop” button which will take readers directly to my Amazon page where they may view my books. Hopefully, this will be helpful to everyone. However, if you see a few changes being made over the next few days – not to worry – just fixing those little tweaks – like photo sizes and such. [image error]Now then, in other news! First, I’ve created a Facebook group with the goal in mind of making it like a little online bookstore. I’m hoping over time and as it grows authors and readers will share books they’ve read, what’s on sale, perhaps free and so forth. Sorta like a one-stop shop for books. If you’re interested in joining I’d love to have you! I will say the group is listed as Public until September 1st in my attempt to grow it. Feel free to share it too.

Second, who needs the next Silverpine’s book? Well, Wanted Engineer went LIVE today! It is FREE on Kindle Unlimited or just $2.99 for those who do not have Kindle Unlimited.

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Also, if you are not yet a member of our Silverpine’s readers group I invite you to join us where you can chat with the authors and stay up to date on the newest releases.

Lastly, I’m a tad late on sending out my newsletter, but it will go out sometime tomorrow afternoon. I know this is short and sweet, but it’s way past my bedtime and I just wanted to take a moment to update you, let you know what’s going on with the site and so forth.

We’ll chat again soon. I promise! I’ve so much to tell you.

~Renea

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Updates & Upgrades

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The post Updates & Upgrades appeared first on Renea Westlyn.

Support Team Building

I have come to the realization that I need a little help in becoming the author I want to be. I need supporters, reliable and trustworthy supporters. I have put together a small application of sorts for anyone possibly interested to fill out. I will be in touch with those who respond shortly.

Thank you for your time! Also, my new book Wanted Preacher is available for preorder and goes live Tuesday, July 3rd! I’m so excited!!! Sure could use some help spreading the word (wink, wink).

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https://goo.gl/forms/6AoZGQNBQ608sbOc2

#indieprideday2018 #supportindieauthors #readindie

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