Hannah Wright's Blog, page 3

Hope in the Dark is Here!

Hi everyone! I am so excited to announce that my first novel, Hope in the Dark, is officially out on Amazon today!!

Moving into the great unknown of Featherlight, Idaho, was a huge change for Elizabeth Matthews. But while Asheville, North Carolina was comfortingly familiar, it had left her with a broken heart and a determination to never trust a man again.

Hard working Samuel Bryson is honor bound to provide for his widowed mother and siblings. Determined to live up to his own expectations of being just like his father, he will let nothing get in his way. And that includes marriage.

Serene and cozy Featherlight has taken a turn into something much darker. Newly hired school teacher Elizabeth and Samuel find themselves desperately searching for answers to the suspicious criminal activity around them. They find themselves thrown into facing their worst fears… and each other. In the midst of many unknowns, will they find the courage to do what God is calling them to?

I can’t believe that this day is finally here. 3 years ago when I started writing this book I would have never guessed what God would do through this book. I started writing this book when I was in the midst of a hard season of my OCD and eventually I had to stop writing it for a couple months because I couldn’t write without rewriting sentences.

As God brought me out of that hard season of OCD in the summer of 2018, I was able to begin working on my writing again and I worked on it on and off until March 2021 when during quarantine the Lord really laid it on my heart to finish this book and I was able to spend my extra time I had finishing up writing Hope in the Dark.

This past year the Lord brought the most amazing cover designer, Victoria Lynn, and editor, Micaiah Keough, into my life and it was so awesome getting to work with them! They are so sweet and I definitely recommend them if you are looking to self-publish a book!

God’s hands have been on this entire book process. He has blessed me so much even though I don’t deserve Him. He gets all the glory and I can’t wait to see what He does with this book! It’s all His!

I am so excited to finally be able to share Hope in the Dark with all of you! Thank all of you so much for all of y’all’s support for my book, it means so much to me and I am so grateful!

Love,

Hannah

Happy Easter!

“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words.” Luke 24:1-8.

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you all know just how loved you are by the King of kings who died for us so we could be forgiven of our sins. In Him, we have eternal life. He is our Hope, Peace, and our Joy forever. If you have any questions about salvation, I’d love to talk to you.

I hope everyone has a great Easter Sunday!

Love,

Hannah

An Interview with Livy Jarmusch!

Hi everyone! Today I am so excited to be interviewing Livy Jarmusch, the author of The Tales of Tarsurella and Regal Hearts. She is one of my favorite authors and her books are some of my favorites! Season 3 of her series, Regal Hearts, is coming out on April 1st!

Back of Book Summary: Lena Bodner has never been in such desperate circumstances. With her sister Elizabeth still captive, her nation falling apart, and her beloved childhood friend, Peter, behaving as if she’s a stranger, Lena must find strength to press forward and overcome the odds.

But how will she regain the trust of her nation, mend broken relationships, and live in such a way that honors the Crown resting upon her head? Will she live up to the expectations of her people? Or will Bella Adar begin to crumble beneath her leadership? 

Regal Hearts Season 3 is the continuation of an exciting story written in a unique TV show format. Livy has been releasing these “episodes” on a weekly basis, but now you can read Season 3 (10 Episodes) all at once!

I can’t wait to read it! I got to ask Livy some questions about Regal Hearts and her new book in the series!

1. What inspired you to write Regal Hearts?

As a young teen, I really struggled to find books that I truly enjoyed. I mean, I loved your average Princess-Hallmark-Movie story just as much as the next girl, but I was aching to read something a little more original. I’ve always enjoyed creating extremely unusual scenarios in my mind, while using familiar cliches or tropes then mixing them up and making everything super intense and slightly chaotic! Haha.
So, the idea for Regal Hearts literally came from me asking myself, “What would happen if four, long lost sisters, all grew up in completely different worlds, then had to find a way to come together in the end?” And that got the creative wheels spinning! Haha.

2. Do you have a favorite character in the series?

I do! I actually just did an Instagram post about this, haha! But yes, my favorite Regal Hearts character is definitely Arden. I mean, if I was a fifteen year old girl…um, swoon! Haha. Arden is very lively and fun-loving, and even though he’s far from perfect, he always brings an element of fun to everything he does, and he’s constantly challenging Emma to get out of her comfort zone, which I love!

3. I think it’s really cool that you decided to write the series in a TV Show format! What made you decide to do that?

I’ve dreamed of someday creating film and television shows, for as long as I can remember! When I was five years old I started dreaming of someday having my own channel or network, and have been brainstorming movie and television show ideas ever since then!

I wrote my debut novel, “The Coronation”, before starting Regal Hearts, so I was in the mood to do something a little different than another novel.
I thought it would be fun to release a story in an episodical, TV show format, where readers would have to wait week by week, and get a new installment every Friday! It really wasn’t in the plan to publish it in paperback, but there were a lot of people asking for it, so eventually I decided to offer it in the traditional “book” format, even though it’s meant to be enjoyed like a TV show playing on the big screen of your imagination!

4. I love how the sisters are all so different and yet they have similarities too! How did you come up with the backstories for all of the characters?

I honestly don’t remember the first time I started developing each character. Some of these characters have just been hanging around in the back of my head since I was like 12 or 13. I don’t really know where they came from or how they got there, haha, but it wasn’t at all abnormal for me to dream up a world full of characters as a young teen and not know what stories they should be placed in until years later. One of those classic examples would be Jonathan Napp, a middle-aged man who works for the URIA (Underground Royal Imperial Army), and gets assigned a variety of missions from his boss. I think I placed Jonathan in three or four stories ahead of this one (unfinished, of course!) and once I started developing Regal Hearts, I knew he would be perfect for it! And I think that’s the case with a lot of my characters. I’ve spent years playing around with them (or a version of them, anyway, haha!) in various stories and scenarios, so when it came time to find a “cast” for these stories, I knew just who to choose!

5. Is there anything that readers should know about going into Regal Hearts Season 3? No Spoilers, haha!

Hmm…I would say, things are about to get very action packed, so mentally prepare yourself for that! There will of course be more character growth, maybe a few new characters as well *wink wink*, and lots of traveling! Get your passport ready!

If you’re looking for a good book series to get into, I definitely recommend Regal Hearts! Here is the link to the first season:  https://www.amazon.com/Regal-Hearts-Unlikely-Princess-Popstar-ebook/dp/B06XH3XR6Q/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=regal+hearts+livy+jarmusch&qid=1616599187&sr=8-3 

And here is the link to the third season if you’ve already read the first two!  https://www.amazon.com/Regal-Hearts-Season-Livy-Jarmusch/dp/B08WYG54GB/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=regal+hearts+livy+jarmusch&qid=1616599187&sr=8-1 

I hope you all have a great day!

-Hannah

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Livy Lynn is a twenty-something author, singer, and songwriter. Her debut novel, The Coronation, came several years after establishing Crown of Beauty Magazine while connecting with teens and women all across the globe. 

She enjoy’s crafting YA Christian fiction that is pure, lovely, inspirational, and of course, entertaining! When she’s not writing, you can find her playing guitar, traveling, vlogging, laughing with friends, and planning something new and exciting.  

I’m Releasing My First Novel!

Hi everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful start to your week! I am so excited to finally let you know that my first novel, Hope in the Dark, will be releasing very soon!! It is a Christian historical fiction novel with a bit of mystery and pure romance! I was really discouraged by the lack of pure, God honoring romance novels on the market and so I decided to write one. The Lord gave me this dream and I’m so thankful for all of the characters and ideas He put on my heart.

I started writing this book when I was in the midst of a really hard season of anxiety and OCD. It got to the point where I couldn’t even type anymore without having to retype words multiple times. God brought me through that season and brought me freedom from my OCD to be able to write again. Since then, I have been working on this book on and off for about two years and finally finished the first draft last year during quarantine. This book is a huge testament of His faithfulness and I am so happy to finally be sharing it with you! God gets all the glory! All of the events that have led up to this point with this book has His fingerprints all over it. I’m so thankful for all He has done and I can’t wait to tell you more about my book over the next few weeks.  

If you are interested in posting about my book on your blog, being one of the first people to read Hope in the Dark, talking about my book on social media, and being entered into a giveaway, I would love to have you be a part of Hope in the Dark’s launch team! It’s going to be so much fun! If you’d like to join, you can just click the link to fill out the form below! I am so excited! 

https://forms.gle/HU5e8CGpAfLxHfF9A

So many people have supported me on my writing journey and I am so thankful for all of you! I hope you are having a great day! 

-Hannah 

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17.

Righteous Through Christ

“What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” Philippians 3:8-9.

I’ve been struggling lately with righteousness. I think for a while I felt like being righteous depended on me. And as broken and sinful as I am, I knew there was nothing good about me. I knew that I would never be good enough. I read this verse the other morning and God really comforted me with the truth that righteousness doesn’t come from me, it comes through Christ.

Knowing that I don’t have to do things in my own strength is so comforting because I know I can’t be anything close to righteous on my own. I’m so thankful for Christ’s sacrifice for me and the fact that I can rest in Him and His righteousness. Righteousness is by faith, not works.

“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, i through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:22-26.

When we start getting into the mindset of striving and trying to earn God’s love, let’s remember that while we will never be able to earn God’s love, He freely gives it to us. Because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for our sins, we are made righteous. We can rest in this comforting truth always. I’m so thankful for that.

-Hannah

This or That Book Tag

Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well! I saw this book tag on my friend, Hailey Hudson’s blog and thought it looked fun! Feel free to do this if you want to as well!

Read in bed or on the couch?

Definitely I would say in bed more, though sometimes I do read on the coach. I usually read a couple chapters before bed!

Read at night or in the morning?

At night! Sometimes on a Saturday I’ll read some in the mornings but usually I just read at night!

Male main character or female main character?

I would say a female main character, because I feel like I can relate to her more! Though I do like books with male main characters as well! Both can be great!

First person POV or third person POV?

I think it depends for me. I like both! Usually I feel like I can relate more with the character though if it’s in first person POV, and I also like first person POV in my writing!

Trilogies or quartets?

I think if the books are good, I want as many as possible to read, so I’d say quartets!

Libraries or bookstores?

I like both! I used to spend more time in libraries when I was younger but over the past few years I’ve been in bookstores more! I love used bookstores and thinking about how far a book may have traveled and all the people who’s lives the books have impacted.

Books that make you laugh or make you cry?

Both if the crying is happy tears! I don’t prefer super sad books.

Black book covers or white book covers?

I would say white! I like book colors that are light and bright!

Character-driven or plot-driven?

Character-driven for me! I love reading about characters that feel like could be your friends in real life if they were real!

Thanks for reading!

-Hannah

A Year In Review: 2020

Hello everyone! I cannot believe it is almost a new year! This year was definitely full of hardship. So many people were impacted by the COVID pandemic, the racial injustice in our world, and other hard things in 2020. It’s definetly been a difficult year, and I can tend to focus on the negatives. But even in this heavy year, God has given me so many blessings. I want to highlight a good moment from each month as we go into 2021!

On New Year’s Day, we had our Christmas celebration with my grandparents, uncle, aunt, and cousins. It was a great day!

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In February, my mom and I took my cousin to go paint pottery. It was a fun day!

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In March, my sister came home for Spring Break, and right before quarantine started, we got some delicious cookies!

In April during the official quarantine period, we took many walks, played board games, and came up with ideas to fill our time. Here is a picture of my sister, mom, and I on one of our walks!

April was also the month of Easter. It was so different watching church online, but it was so comforting to know that Jesus is still on the throne and He is always in control. He is risen!

One of the things I got into over quarantine was puzzles. This puzzle looks good enough to eat, haha!

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In May, we celebrated my brother’s birthday quarantine style!

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In June, I celebrated my birthday from home! My sister made me a homemade ice cream cake! It was a great day!

In July, my family and I got to travel to visit my grandparents for the first time since before quarantine. It was so much fun seeing them and their cute goats!

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In July, I got to see one of my friends from college a couple times. We got to ride horses together one day. It was so great being back in the saddle!

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In August, I got to return back to work. It was great getting to see my friends again! Also, not pictured, but we got to move my sister back into college. It was sad seeing her go but glad she had a great semester!

In September, we traveled to my uncle, aunt and cousin’s house to celebrate my sister’s birthday. It was a great day!

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In October, apple cinnamon muffins sounded so good to me so I decided to make some. I’m not a baker, haha, so thankfully they turned out pretty good!

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Our Thanksgiving was different than usual, but we still had a good day and a delicious meal just my siblings, parents, and I!

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This month we celebrated Christmas! It’s so amazing to think of our Savior coming to earth as a baby. He is Immanuel, God With Us! Also got to attend a friend’s wedding, it was such a beautiful day! And went to see a Drive In For King & Country concert, which was so awesome!

This year,

I’m grateful to have met three new friends this year, one pen pal and two online friends.

I’m thankful to have been able to work when so many were facing job loss.

I was so excited to finally finish writing my book after two and a half years!

I’m thankful for all the virtual game nights I had with my cousins!

2020 was a hard year, but also a year that God reminded me that He is enough. I’m so thankful for the Lord’s grace, mercy, and unfailing love that I will never deserve. I hope everyone is doing well and has a great start to their New Year! Never forget that the Lord is on the throne and He loves you so much!

-Hannah

What College Taught Me

Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well! Can you believe it is December? Time feels so different this year. On one hand it feels like time went by so slow, but on the other hand, it feels like I blinked and it’s almost Christmas.

I wanted to do a post on college. I graduated in December of 2019, and the Lord definitely taught me a lot of things during that time of my life. I wanted to talk about three here. If you are about to go to college or maybe you’re in college right now, I hope these things can encourage you.

1. Don’t Have Expectations.

Going into college, I feel like I had these expectations of how these four years of my life would go. I thought I would be engaged by the time I graduated and would be married soon after. I was so focused on that for so long that I think I missed what God was trying to teach me in my life. Instead of having expectations of how things will go in college, trust God. Know that His plans are perfect and for your good. Surrender to Him and let Him direct your steps. In the hard times and good times, He is constant.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6.

2. Get Involved and Stay Involved.

I can’t emphasize how important it is to surround yourself with friends who uplift you, encourage you, and point you to Christ. Find a campus ministry if your college has one and get involved in a local church. I was involved in one my freshman year, but sophomore and junior year I wasn’t. Senior year I got involved again and I am so thankful I did, but I wish I had stayed plugged in every year of college. It’s so important to do so.

“If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” Ecclesiastes 4:10.

3. Do Your Best, But Don’t Stress.

Doing well in school is important, but it isn’t your identity. I definitely placed my identity in grades at points and would often stress out if I wasn’t doing well. Work hard at all of your schoolwork, but know that your grades do not define you. Christ does. If you studied hard for a test and still failed, know that it’s going to be okay. You will get through it. Don’t stress yourself out over worrying about grades. Do your best and then trust the Lord with the results.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24.

I hope these tips encourage you no matter where you are in your college journey. Never forget how much God loves you! Thanks so much for reading!

-Hannah

What I Learned at 22

Hi everyone! Tomorrow is my 23rd birthday and I wanted to do a post talking about my 22nd year of life and some of the things that the Lord has taught me. I feel like so much happened this past year and it’s crazy to think that it all happened in one year.

July of last year was very difficult. My brother was admitted to the hospital with a stroke due to a brain aneurysm. During that time, I felt so scared. I wondered why this had to happen to my brother and what God was doing. However, the Lord was so faithful during that time. So many people prayed for us and the Lord used so many people in our lives to encourage us. I witnessed first hand one of the miracles of the Lord as my brother’s aneurysm calcified in less than a week. The doctors could not explain it. God is the only explanation. God showed me that even in the darkest moments, He is still good and I can trust Him fully. I was also shown just how powerful prayer is. One day some people had a prayer day where people each committed to a specific hour to pray for my brother. It was so amazing knowing that so many people were praying right along with us and lifting my brother up to the Lord. My brother came home within a week, which is very rare for stroke victims. He is doing so well today and I am so thankful for my Lord and how He sustained us during that time. God is so so good.

In August, I started my first official job at an after school program. I had always been a full time student, so this was new for me. I was so nervous going into this job as I only knew one person. However, the Lord was so good in bringing me new friends through this job. Everyone I met was so kind to me, even though they had never met me before. I met some kind girls who love the Lord. I also met the sweetest kids at the school where I work. Getting to be around all the children for my job really made my day.

I also started my last semester of college in August. It was my first time being a part time student and with only one class in person, I was not on campus all that much my last semester, but I was able to be involved with one of my college’s student ministries again. When you’re in the midst of papers and projects, it can sometimes feel like college will never be over. However, it seemed like before I knew it, my last semester was upon me. It was bittersweet for sure. I was looking forward to not having homework to do, but I would miss my friends and my college ministry. Also, since I had always had school to work on, I was nervous about navigating post grad life where I would just be working. However, the Lord is so good and He walked with me through it all even when I had no idea what I was doing.

In December, I graduated from my university. It was such a wonderful day and being surrounded by my family who supported me through my college years was amazing. I am so thankful for my God who walked with me through it all and saw me through. He is so amazing.

As we rang in the New Year on January 1st, I think most of us were expecting 2020 to go a totally different way than it has so far. I know I was. March 11 I got a text from my employer saying that Field Day for my school was cancelled and that teachers would instead be training for distance learning. I think that is when everything going on with the virus hit me, although I did not know how much things would change even more after me. As I went home from what ended up being my last day of work on the 12th, I had no idea that schools would be closing for the remainder of the semester across the country and even the world.

I definitely have experienced many emotions during this time of quarantine. However, during this time when everything felt like it was out of control, the Lord reminded me that He is still in control. He is on the throne and as a Christian, I can find comfort in that truth. He has reminded me that though our world is filled with so much evil and brokenness, He hates evil and He is a God of justice. One day He will come back to destroy evil once and for all. That is what I cling to. He has also showed me again just how important prayer is and has showed me that He alone is all I need. He alone satisfies me and even when I stumble and fall into sin, He is always faithful to pick me up and forgive me, even though I don’t deserve Him. I am so thankful that He is my constant.

The Lord has showed me that even during my most difficult days, He will never leave me or forsake me. I can trust in His perfect plans. Going into my 23rd year of life, I don’t know what’s to come, but I know the Lord does. I cannot wait to see what year 23 brings and what God does.

These were some of the things that I learned at 22! Let me know how old you are and what God has taught you this year.

I hope y’all have a great day!

-Hannah

My Gratitude List

In this time, it can be so easy to focus on all the negative things going on in the world. However, the Lord is so good and He has given me so many blessings during this season that I sometimes can take for granted. The Bible says that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17. I wanted to make a list of things I am grateful for. I encourage everyone to do the same! It reminds us of everything we have to be thankful for and how good the Lord is.

1. The Lord’s faithfulness.

2. Sunshiny days.

3. My family and the fact that we are all healthy.

4. My dog, Roxie.

5. New friends through my Girl Defined course.

6. Two new pen pal friends.

7. The fact that I am loved by the God of all creation.

8. The newfound blessing of Holy Yoga.

9. Being able to meditate on God’s Word and being filled with the peace of God.

10. Being able to livestream our church service from our living room!

11. Being able to have the time to learn some Spanish and French!

12. FaceTime calls with family and friends.

13. Having the time to read more books.

14. Having more time to spend working on my creative writing project.

15. The Lord showing me that He sees me and that He will never leave me or forsake me.

16. Having food to eat.

17. Clean water to drink.

18. Texting with family and friends.

19. Having a house to stay in during this time.

20. Making crafts with my Mom and cousins via Zoom.

These are some of the things I am grateful to God for! Please let me know some of the things that you are grateful for! God is so good!

-Hannah