Well, I am doing a terrible job of getting back into blogging but I won’t apologize, because life happens and my girly needs more attention with her teething! Two pearlies are working their way to the surface, my husband’s work schedule is a mess at the moment and we are camping out at my in-laws half the time, lol!

But today, I am here and I am posting a fun tag with Katja @ Little Blossoms for Jesus, sharing about my current WIPs! I hope you enjoy reading about them!

1| Has your WIP a working title? If so, tell us! If not, have you any idea of what it might be?

Yes! My current WIP is The Battlefield is Silent, book 5 in The Battle for Heritage Series. It’s bittersweet working on the final book in this series…it’s exciting and heartbreaking for me, reaching this milestone.

I’m also doing work on Book 2 in the Natty’s Warrior’s Series, To Save a Marriage. And I’m going to mention here, there is no special publishing schedule for the series. Each book can be read on it’s own, so I’m not panicking trying to get them out rapid fire.

2| Have you a synopsis for your WIP? If so, give it to us! If not, can you give us a blurb on what your WIP is about?

I don’t have a proper one for either of them, but here’s what I’m working with!

The Battlefield is Silent: They don’t know it, but the war will end this year. At least, that’s what the history books try to tell us. But we all know better…the war will never be over. Final clashes of arms, betrayed trusts, nightmares, unjust taxes, murder and mental breakdowns threaten to pull the Mason family down deep into a whirlpool of despair. When the good guys lose, how can the possibly see God’s hand in it all and keep their heads above the water?

To Save a Marriage: Before there was a survivor, there was an abortion. Cammie Carter-Tate has fought for her position as director of her prestigious clinic. Unlike many clinics around her, she has a sanitary building, has a hotline to a hospital should something go wrong and has a 98% success rate. Life is good. But the few failures they’ve had and one negative review threatens to bring it all crashing down around her. What’s worse, her own nephew is a survivor. Her husband wants kids; she refuses. A rainy night reveals her darkest secrets and spirals her married life out of control. Is there anyway to bring it all to a halt and rebuild the life she has so carefully curated…without turning into the one woman she despises with all her heart?

3| Have you a working/mock cover for your WIP? If so, show us! If not, have you an idea in mind?

I don’t have covers for my books, but I definitely have some ideas! I can’t talk about them much, but I will share my base colors. The Battlefield is Silent is Gray and To Save a Marriage is Blue.

4| How did you get the idea for this story?

Nothing super special for books 5, it just follows in line with the rest of the series, lol!

But To Save a Marriage wasn’t supposed to happen. But everyone fell in love with my hurting abortion clinic director and begged for a book just about her story and hopefully a redemption arc. Y’all know I hate those, lol! But for her story, it actually worked. So, Cammie’s story in is progress!

5| How long do you think it will be? Is it longer or shorter than you thought it would be?

I have no idea! TBIS will probably be over 400 pages. There’s so much to wrap up, I honestly might have to turn it into two books.

I figure this one will be about 250 pages or so, close to the first one. Maybe 300, but I’m not sure yet.

6| Who’s your favourite character so far?

Michael and Jeremy. Hands down. But Burdy is being adorable as usual.

Cammie, even though she stands for everything I am against. She just needs to let God’s love take over… And Chris, her husband. I feel. so. bad. for him…

7| What’s your favourite memory related to this WIP?

N/A

8| Any special person(s) who helped create it?

Not TBIS, but TSAM was created with Katja, Kassie, Rebekah, Lissa, Jenna, Hannah and Angie (did I miss anyone? 0.0)

9| What’s your favourite scene so far (if you can tell about it without spoilers!)?

Sorry, no can reveal XP

10| Can you give us a snippet? 

Nope *halo*

11| Is the story still what you thought it would be or has it thrown you a couple curve-balls?

Both books are throwing curve-balls faster than I can dodge them. As you can see, they don’t know this is baseball and are aiming their throws at my head and heart XD

12| Is there a Bible verse, poem, hymn, picture, or quote that helped shape this story?

Not really, for either of them yet. But I know they are coming, because I always get verses and quotes and songs…

Well, this isn’t a hymn, but The Southern Girl’s Reply and Your Mission both influence TBIS.

13| When and where have you done most of the writing so far?

In bed or on the couch XD

14| Where do you get inspiration for this story?

Watching movies about the Wars Between the States, Pinterest and picture books on the war.

Pinterest, Instagram and rereading To Save a Life.

15| Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I am a plotser (I HATE the term plantser.) I have to have an idea of where the story is going, but if I get too detailed I lose motivation.

16| Do you have a little ritual before you start writing?

Not really, but I’m trying to make one. I do try to get something to drink and something to listen to. Also, a sleeping baby is preferable, lol!

17| Are you thinking of publishing this story?

Absolutely! I think people would riot if I didn’t XD

18| What things have you learned while writing this story?

1865 is depressing and pro-choice people still need to know God’s love.

So, what are you working on today? Are you doing NANOWRIMO? (I’m doing an alternate, The King’s Daughters Writing Camp and The Glory Writers {Disclaimer: neither are KJV only} which I am enjoying very much!) Share about your WIP in the comments below, or write your own post! Be sure and come back here and leave the link to your post in the comments below! And don’t forget to check out Katja’s post!
 
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers…”—Anne Shirley
Ryana Lynn+Dixie Cross
Jude 22

So hard to believe January is over! Two more months to my little Southern Belle will make her appearance! Can’t get here soon enough for me, lol! I never thought I would see the day when simply yawning or sneezing would have me panting for air and totally exhausted. Don’t ask 😊

I didn’t get as much done this month as I anticipated, but you know what? That’s okay! I did what I could and am moving on to the next set of goals! Share your recaps from January in the comments section below!

Haha… well, we finally got snow, so I guess that counts, lol! In all honesty, this month was pretty rough on my health. I’m exhausted most of the time and acid reflux is a near daily occurrence, making me pretty nauseous. Which means I didn’t get much writing or reading done, because pregnancy fog/mental fog left over from my run in with the virus that shall not be named nearly two years ago prevents me from being able to focus much. But audiobooks help!

I did get to visit with my in-laws a lot which was a blessing! I even got to visit with my side of the family for a couple days, so that definitely counts as a highlight! And I got to have a sushi and boba tea date with a friend from church. So, I did have some good days sprinkled in amongst the fatigue XD

Definitely Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I have a full review coming soon, but y’all, this book was both hilarious and heartbreaking in all the best ways. I loved the societal satire and the bits of wisdom sprinkled throughout. I found the balls annoying, just saying. Also, I still hate the Enemies to Lovers trope, but this is the best example of it I’ve ever seen! And I was pleased that while this book was all about marriage and such, it really wasn't a romance novel. Love this book!

Five. Quite shy of my goal, but progress none the less! Only two books were on my reading list, but I’m just adding the remaining three I shared to my February list. Three of my books are audiobooks, so hopefully, I can catch back up!

Here’s a round up of this month’s posts, just in case you missed any!

Hello, 2022 || Goodbye, 2021
Reading List: January/February 2022 || Plus 5 Winter Reading Recommendations!
Writing Update || A Note From My Desk
Thoughts on Writing || A Collaboration with Katja L.

In the future I will try to post a friend's posts round up, but I am way behind this month, haha!

Romans 5:1-5— “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."

Ha. I intended to have TSAL fully edited this month. But as you saw in my intro, there was not much writing going on XD But I did manage to get six chapters edited and only lack about four now! Hopefully they will be finished next month and I can get this book finished before Little Missy makes her appearance, lol! She seems intent on trying to kick her way out of my stomach some days and I’m just grateful she hasn’t sent me into pre-term labor! But I’m thankful for her movements, letting me know all is well! It’s rough, but I know the end results will be worth it *heart emoji* (Missing my emoji add-on from my last computer! Gonna have to find it again!)

*Wince* Let’s see how this went!

Writing||
          Complete edits on To Save A Life-- Nope. Did not happen. But I still got work do on it, so I’m glad of that! *Hears Pollyanna in my head and smiles*
          Batch Posts for February--Also didn’t happen. My devotional got me hung up and my brain forgot to remind me I could just skip it and write the other posts and come back to it later, *eye roll emoji* I feel like the devil has really been fighting me on this devotional so please pray I can complete it for next week!

Reading||
            Read 10 books minimum--Ha! Nope! But it’s okay, because I really enjoyed most of the books I read (one was a two star ☹)! Pride and Prejudice was worth the low read count *halo*
            Complete one of my devotional books from last year 😉--Also didn’t complete this, but I did make great headway on a Joshua study! Hoping to finish it this week and return it to my dad next time I see him, lol!

Life||
            Stay on top of grading for school (A huge struggle!)--For the most part, yes! I have a little bit to catch up on, but I am very pleased with how it’s been going!
            Make our baby registry (Yeah, I’m way behind!)--YES! I DID THIS 😉 I have a list of things to add, but Lord Willing, I will be finishing that up tonight!
            Eat more veggies (gotta keep me, hubby and baby healthy!)--Also did this! I love carrots and sugar snap peas, so being able to eat more of them and more salads has been a huge boost!
            Journal daily (Something I’ve been wanting to get back to!)--Umm… I didn’t even touch my journal… so fail. But I’m not giving up! I want to journal more and I really want to make it a priority!

Writing||
          Complete edits on To Save A Life
          Batch Posts for February and March

Reading||
            Read 10 books minimum
            Complete one of my devotional books from last year 😉

Life||
            Work towards coming home (Nesting time!)
            Get everything set up for Baby Peterson! (I’ve got some organizing to do!)
            Drink More Water! (Why is this so hard??)
            Journal (Gotta do it!)
 
How was your January? What are your goals for February? Share the scoop below!
 
Have a Blessed Day and God Bless America!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

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 and welcome to my June Writing Update! I have some exciting news for y’all as far as my writing projects are concerned! If you are subscribed to my blog, then you may know some of this stuff all ready! But there’s some new stuff to mention here too, so let’s dive in!

The Battlefield is Silent ||

This project has been on the back burner for the past few weeks. I’ve made some good progress, but there is still much to do. But I felt God urging me to take a step with a different project so… I plan to work more on it this summer!
 

Secret Project ||

This has been on the back burner, but I’m planning on picking it back up in July!
 

Secret Project #2  ||

This is the main project I am working on right now. After much prayer and talking it over with my husband, I have taken the step to hire an editor! I have finished revisions and am currently working on a color-coded edit. After that, it goes to my editor for review and correction *halo* She’s already given me sample chapters and I am so excited to work with her!

Lord willing, this book will release in October! Details to follow!

And the title? That’s coming June 30th, so mark your calendar! (Wanna help spread the word? Email me and I’ll make you a part of the title reveal team!)

 
Are you writing a book? Share your update in the comments! Reading any good books lately? Feel free to share as well! What books are you most looking forward to for 2021??
 
God Bless and God Bless America!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

Hello and welcome to my Spring Writing Update! I’m happy to report I have made some progress even if I have been terrible at keeping my updates page up to date *facepalm* sorry! But anywho! Today, I’m here with an update! And I’m actually excited! So let’s hop in!

The Battlefield is Silent ||

Things do always go as we’d like. I’d hoped to be in the final editing stage by now and announcing that it’s ready to go to press next month. But that’s not how things worked out.

As some of you know, I’ve been suffering from acute mental block 😉 I finally broke out y’all! I’m writing again and it feels so good! Yesterday, I got in over 6K in the draft! I’m now in August of 1865, closing in on September! The story is coming to a couple of climaxes and I’m so excited to share this book with y’all!

Here’s a snippet for your patience!
 
“With Malice toward None, with Charity to All…”

“I wish,” Timothy whispered. He elbowed Jordan as the crowd applauded President Lincoln’s inaugural speech. “I’ve half a mind to wave at him and say, ‘Hey! I’m a Confederate!’ and see how far that goes.”

Jordan snorted and shook his head. “I wouldn’t. Everybody knows it’s just politicking.”

“True.”

Jordan listened to the endless chatter of the ceremony as it droned on, and took in the faces surrounding him. Most were enraptured, though to be sure, not everyone was happy with the winner of the 2nd term president and warmonger. Those dissenting frowned in disapproval, but applauded politely and occasionally nodded when something was said that they agreed with.

Except for a gentleman close to the stage. He scowled fiercely at Lincoln, quite obvious that he didn’t agree with a single word the Neanderthal said. His eyes flashed and he gritted his teeth. Now there was a person that hated Lincoln.

Jordan studied his face. He had seen the fellow before, middling height, dark hair, thick mustache and sharp, piercing black eyes that snapped like a blade when aroused. Jordan couldn’t place him though.

He wasn’t sure why or what it was that made the fellow stand out, but he did know one thing; that fellow was not to be trusted. And he certainly bore watching. Perhaps their feelings of contempt for the evil man addressing the crowd were mutual, but there was no reason in flaunting it and drawing attention. No, this fellow was a rash sort. Best to keep a distance.
 
Do you know how hard it is to find a snippet that doesn’t have spoilers??

As far as stats go, I’m at 93.5K and 333 pages O.0 Yep, gonna have to edit 😉
 
Secret Project ||

It’s plotted and I’m working on chapter 2. And that’s all I’m saying *halo*

You’re welcome!
 
As for my other projects, they are still under wraps, but I have hired an editor for one project and am looking into a cover designer. And that wraps things up!
 
Are you writing a book? Share your update in the comments! Reading any good books lately? Feel free to share as well! What books are you most looking forward to for 2021??
 
God Bless and God Bless America!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22