This is long overdue. In fact, I almost feel like it’s gonna be a recap of last January’s writing update. But that’s okay! Life happens. So, today, I’m gonna share about a few of my writing projects and what I have going on in each one!

This is the first book in my series called Natty’s Warriors. I am currently editing this book and hope to have it prepared for publication by the end of the month. That is the goal. We shall see what the Lord has in store!

This book will be a duel timeline story with To Save a Life, though from a different POV. Many who read early versions of TSAL begged for Cammie’s story, which is not resolved in book one. In fact, now, it’s barely touched on. But her story needs to be heard. So this year, I hope to draft this story and prepare it for publication, Lord willing next year.

This is book five in my Battle for Heritage Series (click here for details on previous books). I have been struggling with rewrites on this story and it needs a lot of work. But my goal is to have it ready for publication this fall. Will it happen? I don’t know, but all I can do is give it my best and leave the rest in God’s hands.

I have a handful of side projects to work on in various stages of outlining, drafting and revising, but none of them are top priority at the moment. If that changes during the course of the year as other projects move off my plate, I will update you on the new ones! Until then, stay tuned!
 
What is your current work in progress? What book are you most excited for in 2022? Share them with us below!
 
Have a Blessed Day and God Bless America!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

Hello All! I have a fun surprise for you today! My subscribers sent in interview questions for one of my classic background characters from The Battle for Heritage Series, Mrs. Ida Armistead! I hope you enjoy this post “Written” by Mrs. Armistead! With that said, I’ll turn the computer over to her!

Wait, Miss Ryana Lynn, do come back, I’ve no idea…or perhaps I do have a small idea…no I’ve not an idea at all! What am I doing? I wish Hubert were here, he could tell me what to do… Oh, hello there. Dear, there are so many of you, I shan’t ever get all your names right.

Miss Ryana Lynn told me I was to answer some questions a few young ladies sent to me, and I have them right…oh, dear! I’ve lost them again! Perhaps they are in my apron pocket…or did I leave them in my handbag? No, it was in the breadbasket I set by the back door. That’s not right at all… *goes to search her house*

*returns three hours later*

I don’t know what I shall ever do with all those preserves, too much that’s just the problem. Now, what was I doing…? Oh, the questions! I found them tucked by my Bible. Let’s take a look at these from Ms. Natalie C.

“How do you like to spend your day?”

Well, there is so much to do and never the time enough to do it! I get up around 4:30 and do my morning devotions. That is always first. Then my day falls into general disorder. I can never quite decide if it is best to feed the chickens first or prepare breakfast for Hubert and me, and whichever I do, it’s never entirely done right, but he says he appreciates the efforts…or was it that he wouldn’t trade me for a prize heifer? Oh, I can’t remember, but I do know that he loves me. I never have to doubt that. Now that the children are grown, I have time to myself. I tend to work on a quilt or an afghan for the grandchildren or a new mother in town. But it is so hard to decide what exactly one wants to work on! When I get too overwhelmed, I sit in my rocker and read my Bible. That always brings me peace.

“What is your favorite Hymn?”

There are far too many! I could never pick a favorite. Amazing Grace, How Firm A Foundation, Oh How Happy Are They…I love so many. I sing several every day!

“How are Your Kittens? Well, I suppose they’re cats by now.”

Kittens…oh yes! Biscuit and Butter are our barn cats. It was so hard to name them. There were Cream and Sugar, Sun and Storm, Salt and Pepper, North and South…Far too many. I think my grandson finally picked the name they have now. But regardless, they are doing quite well! Fat, sassy, and keeping on top of the mice.

And now there are a few from Ms. Katja.

“What do you think of the Mason Kids, particularly Richard?”

Kids…I didn’t know the Masons had goats…wait, what was that, Ms. Ryana Lynn? Oh! Children! People in 2020 call children baby goats? It has more meanings, you say? How odd! Well, I must say, I am quite partial to the Mason children, though they probably don’t know it. It makes me so happy when they were all still home, sitting in church together. Now, Richard and I, we have a bit of a friendship. Up until he left for the war, he would help me down from our wagon, as my husband is also advanced in years. And he always assisted me back in. And of course, he was my favorite attendant at the general store. Such a good young man. I hope he gets him a good wife because I shall be sorely disappointed if he doesn’t.

“What’s your favorite book of the Bible?”

Too many favorites! I do so enjoy John, but then, Mark is good also. Then there are all the minor prophets and the history books and poetry…Psalms is divine. Well, all scripture is… Malachi. I’ll just say Malachi and be done with it!

“Were you born here?”

Me? Born in Four Tree Springs? Oh, dear, no! I wasn’t even born in North Carolina! I am from Saltville, Virginia. I am the third born of fifteen children and married Hubert when I was sixteen. Had to make room for number eleven, don’t you know, or was it thirteen…? Regardless, he was driving through town, my father liked him, and so we were married that weekend. He was such a good man, and his mother was a dear and just took me right in. I never could keep his eight sisters straight, though…

“What’s a Favorite childhood memory?”

That’s been so long ago! I might say the birth of my ninth sibling…or the seventh? Never mind, he was born on my birthday, and father said I might choose his middle name. I decided, after much deliberation, that his name should be August. We were born in March. But that was his name, and I call him my dear Auggie to this day.

Well, I survived this reasonably well, I think…or perhaps I just confused everyone, even more, …*sigh* I believe I shall leave and make me a cup of tea, or maybe some fresh water…

 
And that my friends, was an interview with Mrs. Armistead! I hope you enjoyed it!
Until Next Time,
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

The other day, I got to meet one of my subscribers! It was a wonderful experience and we really hit it off. And it reminded me that she sent me some fan art pictures! And I never shared them with you! So today, I’m going to share them with you! And as a bonus, you also get an excerpt from A Song of Home! I hope you enjoy!

Hope G. and her brother Noah have just started reading my books this year. Noah loves Legos so he and Hope decided to do a few scenes from my books!

Didn't they do such a good job?! All the attention to detail is just so amazing to me! Straight down to the hope chest and the hair colors! Thank you, Noah and Hope!

And now for a book excerpt!

January 28th, 1864
The Rains Family Estate
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 
“My life is meaningless.”

You’ve got that right, Jennifer Rains thought as her cousin Constance Angelica Tinderman threw herself down onto the sofa. You have no goals in life other than fault finding.

“You can change that,” Jenny replied, eyes remaining on her book of poetry.

“Of course I can,” Constance pouted. “But how? That is the problem. What can I do?”
“Read a book,” Jenny replied, only half interested in aiding her spoiled cousin in bettering herself. She was far more interested in The Midnight Ride[1].

Constance scowled. “Reading a book is no way to do something with my life.”

“Of course it is.” Irene Rains entered the room with much effort. Jennifer’s sister-in-law was great with child, and all the full skirts in the world couldn’t hide that; her walk was more of a waddle at this point. “Reading takes you places you’d never know about otherwise. Books help men become preachers, doctors, lawyers, even better farmers!” She paused, staring off towards the window. “Books can teach you everything there is to know, pretty much.”

Constance was not impressed. “I am not interested in any of those professions, Irene. I am a lady. How can I make something of myself when the only people allowed to do so are men?”

“You don’t have to be known to make something of yourself,” Irene drawled in her soft Tennessee accent. “Behind every good gentleman, there is a good lady. You can be the rock your husband leans on that pushes him to succeed. His achievements are yours. You can raise children who will shape history!”

“You should be a writer,” Jenny added, waving her book in the air. “Harriet Beecher Stowe[2] is and look at the results.”

Yes, a deepened rift between the North and South, Irene mused. Although married to a Union soldier, she didn’t appreciate Mrs. Stowe’s writings. “I don’t think Constance would want to be that kind of a writer. Maybe…maybe you could compose music. You’re already good at that.”

Jenny glanced at Constance and frowned. This compliment was what Constance wanted. She was good at composition; she had over a dozen magnificent pieces to her credit. All she wanted was for someone else praise her for the genius she knew she possessed. Constance was like that; she needed to be appreciated and petted sometimes…nearly all the time.

The smug smile on her face was not lost on Irene. Frankly, she was sick of being played with to soothe Constance. “You know what? You shouldn’t be a composer. You need something that gratifies you with no applause from others. I know! You should be a teacher. They shape lives and help change the world, but for the most part, they are ignored by the public. That would be better for someone with your rare abilities!”

With that, Irene left the room.

Constance narrowed her eyes. “What was that supposed to mean?”

Jenny, a smile playing at her lips, replied, “That, my dear, was a brave woman.”

[1] A Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, chronicling (though not accurately) the midnight ride of Paul Revere. Published January, 1861.

[2] Author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Pink and White Tyranny.

And that's all I have for you today!
Until Next Time,
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

Hello again! This week should hopefully make up for me not posting all month ? Today I have a few new things to share about A Song of Home!

So what do I mean by a few new things? Well, these are things I have never done in published work before. There are three new things total for us to discuss, so let’s dive in!

When writing A Song of Home, I realized that part of my story needed to dip back into 1863. I had no idea how to pull this off until I remembered a lovely little technique called a Prologue. For those who don’t know, this is a “chapter before chapter 1”, which generally shares information that is important, but that takes place before your actual story starts. For me, I used it to transport the reader into the end of December 1863 and the very beginning of January 1864. The information is important, so don’t skip reading it before you jump into Chapter 1!

I’ve mentioned here before that I have many Confederate ancestors. One of them makes an appearance in A Song of Home! His name is Joshua Bowman. He served in the 37th, N.C. Regiment under Gen. A.P. Hill and had quite the exhausting career in the military in his three years of service. But you’ll have to read the book to learn about that!

It’s no secret that in general I do not like people tampering with history to accommodate their stories. You should never sacrifice historical fact for a good plot twist. You make your story fit history, or you’ve deceived your readers. (You can read more about this here.) My opinion has not changed. However, I got an amazing and unique opportunity to tweak my story to accommodate a sad, but little known bit of history by inserting one of my characters into the shoes of a real person. The catch? No one knows the rank or identity of this historical hero. His name is lost to history. All we know is that he was a Confederate officer. Nothing more. I consulted others who shared my view to make sure I wasn’t taking too much liberty in having one of my characters represent him and they all encouraged me to go for it. A note about this is included in the back of the book.
 
Today’s Blog Stops
Laura Guenot@ beautifulthingsbylaura.com
Natalie Claire@ kenmorepines.wordpress.com
 
And don’t forget to enter for a chance to win 4 eBooks!

And feel free to pre-order your copy of A Song of Home today! $14.00 + $3.00 S/H. Upon receiving your payment, a copy will be reserved for you! And if you would like to begin reading as soon as your payment is processed, I will gladly send you an eCopy of the story for you to enjoy until I receive my print copies!

That’s all for now! See you tomorrow!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

Hello and welcome back to Life of Heritage Corner. I hope each of you is having a blessed Memorial Day. It’s definitely gonna be different, not going to the parade, but my family is amazing, making sure I have an awesome Memorial Day Birthday!

And as you can see from the title…A SONG OF HOME IS HERE!!!

*cough*

Well, not exactly.

Let me explain.

So, the original plan was to release A Song of Home on Memorial Day. My timeline was perfect. Everything was falling into place. Then I got sick for three days with allergies. Three days that would have ensured that this book was already at the press by now. So, yeah, my timetable was upset.

I also got the opportunity to visit with my sister’s family over the past week. I was able to get progress done on my final polishing edits while there, thank God, but who wants to stay on a laptop all day when you have adorable little people asking you to play with them, hold them and randomly telling you they love you? Not me! I had a blast, loving on my littles and helping my sister and just getting an overall change of pace. It’s actually helped my editing.

So, one of the things I got finished while there was the cover for A Song of Home. The little tweaks to the back cover and all. Would you like to see it?

While I know a lot of authors have more glamorous covers, I have to admit, I really like the look of this cover. My sister was a huge help and my mom helped me settle on the right plantation house picture. Thanks, y’all!

Above, I mentioned something about a blog tour…

Yes, I decided to do one. And yes, I realize this is in the middle of a series…actually past the middle, but who’s counting? Anyway, some lovely friends of mine talked me into going ahead with it, so over the next five days, I will be posting their links here along with some something about A Song of Home here on the blog. Oh and did I mention there is a giveaway? One recipient will be gifted a set of all four of the books in The Battle for Heritage Series in eBook format! International friends are welcome! You can enter here!

So that wraps it up for the day!
Have a lovely day in the Lord!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

PS. In Honor of this Most Blessed Holiday (that came about because of Southern Ladies following the War Between the States) I have linked my previous Memorial Day post below! Don’t forget to thank a Veteran!

Happy Memorial Day! (2018)