It’s been awhile since I posted here and I wanted to make you aware of a couple of events that I have coming up.  The first is the Springfield Writes Local Author Fair at the Clark County Public Library on April 28th from 11-2 p.m.  I’ll be there with the Rona Shively Stories!  I’d love for you to stop by!  Then in August, I’ll be at the Springfield, OH Book Fair at Mother Stewart’s Brewing Co. in Springfield, OH.  The addresses for both events are listed in the events section on this page…I think. 🙂 I’ve been extremely busy writing and helping publish some other great authors through Higher Ground Books & Media, but you’ll be seeing a bit more from me here this year.  Hope you’ll stop by one or both of the events.  I’d love to see you.

Visit Higher Ground Books & Media to purchase your copies of The Rona Shively Stories.  All ten books are available through HGBM!

You might know more than I do.

Over ten years ago, I started writing a mystery series called The Rona Shively Stories.  Ten books later, I am still trying to figure out this character.  In the most recent book, we see Rona trying to figure out why she still bothers.  Often, we ask ourselves this same question.  Why do I still bother when it seems like I’m making absolutely no progress?  My answer is always, because I am curious as to what will happen next?  Could tomorrow bring the next big victory?  Or the next big defeat?  I’ll never know if I give up now.

Sometimes, however, we just need to step away from it all and take inventory.  Sometimes, we cannot continue traveling down the same road that we’ve been on for most of our journey.  Sometimes, we absolutely must stop doing what we’ve been doing so we can figure out whether or not we are getting the desired results.  Rona does this.  And though we may not understand why at the time, it makes sense to her.  That’s all that matters.  When and if she’s ready, she’ll come back around.  When and if she’s ready, she’ll explain it all.  That’s real life.  That’s the real story.

Until next time…God bless.

Last year, books 9 & 10 in the Rona Shively series were released.  Send Me An Angel & I Was Here could be the last two books in the series, however, you never know with Rona.  Sometimes, she comes up with something new out of nowhere.

Life is like that.  Just when we think we’re all done with something, we get a brilliant idea that makes us pick it up again.  Rona is resting for now, but she may be back sooner than you think.  So, read the books and send us your reviews.  We’d love to hear which of the Rona books you enjoyed the most and what you’d like to see happen in future stories.

Thanks for following Rona all these years!  Have a blessed day!

This year, I had the pleasure of writing books nine and ten in the Rona Shively Stories series.  I’ve been writing this series since 2006 and as I reflect on what this character has meant to me, I’m almost overwhelmed.  When it all started, I was struggling with grief.  My now ex-husband and I had gone through a rough time.  I’d had one miscarriage and then I’d given birth to our daughter.  From there, I’d been plagued by post partum depression and although I’d wanted more children, it soon became obvious that I would not be able to have more.  I suffered another miscarriage and then another, and another.  By the fifth loss, I decided that I couldn’t try anymore.  Throughout all of this, I wrote Rona.  The pain and suffering that I felt during those years was so intense that I channeled it into this character and through sarcasm and a jacked up sense of humor, I managed to cope with all the loss.

Ultimately, my husband and I divorced.  Throughout the years that followed, I poured my grief over the loss of my marriage into the books.  I threw in a few other losses as well as I watched several dear members of my family pass away.  As I wrote, I also tried to show the struggle that I was having with my own relationship with God.  The last ten years has been difficult, to say the least.  But I’m thankful that God has allowed me to use my writing to process what were the hardest years of my life.  I’m also thankful that this character has made a few people laugh or at least feel a little better about their own challenges.  I hope that she illustrates what it’s like to live in this world and want to be so much better than we are capable of being at a given time in our lives.  Sometimes, we just can’t.  Sometimes, we have to go through the things that devastate us in order to learn what we need to learn to be better.  And we always come out stronger on the other side.

The struggle is real and it is a necessary evil.  No matter how hard things are, there is always meaning and there is always a way out that will not entail total self-destruction.  Rona is a strong character, but she hurts like everyone else.  She has felt pain and sorrow.  She has been broken.  But she has also allowed herself to be put back together.  And she lives to fight another day.  If you get nothing else out of these books, I hope you will see that even when life is at its dumbest, you can turn and head in a completely new direction.  That’s what she’s done and who knows where it will take her.  I’m positive that wherever that may be, she’ll be all the better for it.

Happiest of New Year’s to all of you!  I pray that you’ll be everything you dreamed you could be and that you’ll let God give you beauty for your ashes this year.  Many blessings!

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…well, it’s probably a duck.  So why is it that sometimes, even when we are looking that duck right in its bill, we refuse to believe that we’re dealing with a real quack?  My character, Rona Shively, often second-guesses herself and has been known to mentally smack herself in the head from time to time in true, “I should have had a V-8” fashion.  She, like myself, gets a feeling about someone or something and even though she is pretty sure the feeling is right on target, she ignores it and often finds herself in a world of hurt.  With that said, I’ve decided to make only one, big resolution for this new year.  I WILL NOT IGNORE that little voice inside that tells me something is going on.  All too often, I err on the side of forgiveness and try to give people the benefit of the doubt.  Instead of putting my foot down and demanding to be treated with some respect, I have been content to simply say, “I knew it,” later on.  But those days are gone.  There won’t be any more fifth or tenth chances.  Sure, I’ll stick to forgiving and not holding a grudge because I refuse to be overtaken by hate, but I’ll also be guarding my heart more closely than ever from now on.  I think it will save me a lot of time and energy.  And with the book I’m currently writing, it seems I’m going to need every ounce of strength I have to get my character through the things she’s about to face.

If I’ve learned nothing else this year, I’ve finally figured out that there really are some people out there who must certainly be on the devil’s payroll.  They have no desire to treat people fairly or even with a sliver of respect.  So when it becomes obvious that your only role in their life is to serve their purposes at the expense of your values, beliefs and wishes, well, then it’s time to do as they say in the Bible and shake the dust off your feet and move on.  Maybe if enough people refuse to give them the attention they are seeking with this behavior, they might eventually learn how to treat people.  But this gal right here is done being an emotional crash test dummy.

This year, all of my projects will be working together to help empower women.  In addition to writing, I am also a publisher and a women’s advocate.  Higher Ground Ministries and Books from Higher Ground are working together to create some exciting new resources for women of all ages.  Proceeds from the sale of any of The Rona Shively Stories go to support the ministry and all donations are greatly appreciated as well as tax deductible.  If you haven’t read Rona yet…you can start with In the Wash: The Rona Shively Stories for the Happy New Year price of just $5 per copy!!!  This special is good until January 15, 2015.  To get your copy at this very special price, just go to our bookstore.

I’m through playing around.  Get ready to make some progress in 2015, ladies.  Onward and forward…to Higher Ground!!!

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to reading your other favorite mystery series, Rona Shively is at it again.  When we left her, she was just beginning to understand that there really is No Rest for the Wicked…now, she’s barreling down the road at full speed once again and she’s finding that the only thing she can always be certain of is the fact that when offered two choices, she’ll inexplicably choose the wrong path.  Why does God let us make these stupid mistakes time after time?  Will her entire life be just one big test?  Is there any end in sight to the chaos that surrounds her?  You’ll have to read the latest installment in Rona’s story to find out…look for it in February of 2015 from Books from Higher Ground.

Books from Higher Ground is now seeking authors!  For more information on submission guidelines, please visit our page. 

What a way to start 2014!  The latest book in the Rona Shively Stories series is now available through Books from Higher Ground!  You can order your copy here.  We’ve got some interesting projects planned for this year, so stay tuned for more details!

May your year be blessed!

All six of the Rona Shively stories have now been re-released through Books from Higher Ground! And all are available for Kindle! I’ll be making some changes to my websites this weekend so that you can order your copies of our newly released editions! All proceeds from the sale of these books go to benefit Higher Ground Ministries, a women’s empowerment ministry. Soon, I’ll have new book trailers and all ready for you to view. As if that weren’t enough (in my TV infomercial voice), I’m almost finished with the seventh book in the series. I’m hoping to release this one in time for Christmas! What a wonderful gift for the mystery lover in your life! I’ll keep you posted here as more information on these exciting developments becomes available!

Thanks and have a blessed weekend!

My publishing company, Books from Higher Ground is a semi-finalist for a grant from Idea Cafe.  Winning this grant will allow us to launch our campaign to help people from all walks of life tell their stories to empower others.  This benefit-of-my-experience approach to supporting one another will not only be helpful and encouraging to those hearing the story, but it will be therapeutic and liberating  for those telling the stories!  Please visit our page at Idea Cafe to read about what we will do with the grant money if we are fortunate enough to win.  Your vote is needed!  Tell your friends, post comments to our page there, show us your support in every way you possibly can.  We appreciate your help!

You can also click on the box in the upper right hand corner of this page to see our entry for this grant!