#TuesdayTreasures Guest Post by Cynthia Ruchti

Hello Again!

I pray your weekend was blessed.

Today's guest has shared treasures with us before so please welcome author Cynthi Ruchti back to our blog....

Little Treasures

When I watch HGTV renovations, I’m drawn to the minimalist décor ideas—crisp, clean, open shelves with lots of white space. What I live with—on the other hand—is a mix of minimalist and collector.

The little treasures I collect are either related to sweet memories with family, or they relate to the books I write. I try to find at least one iconic item to remind me of the process my heart went through when writing each book, some heart connection to the story or the research trip or the setting.

On a narrow wall between the front door and the largest window in my office, I’ve hung sketches and photos and artwork representing books already written or still in progress. A stone stagecoach inn from Cedarburg, WI, the setting for the novella collection, Cedar Creek Seasons. Next to it, a photograph-turned-notecard of the woolen mill along Cedar Creek. Above it, a page from a calendar, representing one of my early novels—When the Morning Glory Blooms. In the middle, a gift from a friend—an image of Door County cherries after an ice storm (from the novella collection, A Door County Christmas). The sketch above the cherries is of a stone cottage on historic Shake Rag street in Mineral Point, WI, the setting of a book yet to be birthed. Tucked above that is a notecard made from a friend’s photograph of the area around Madeline Island, WI—the setting of As Waters Gone By.

Along the low window ledge next to my desk is a collection of small treasures that either remind me of friends or of other books. Because I write stories-hemmed-in-hope, readers or friends will often send me hope reminders, like the bookmark in this image. Tucked behind the rock (it’s as close to granite countertops as I’ll ever get) is a small wooden canoe, a reminder of my debut novel—They Almost Always Come Home.

The Sea Glass Hunter’s book was a gift from my sister after we’d spent a week beachcombing and came home without a single discovery. In front of the book are two pieces of sea glass I found on a subsequent trip—both of them white, and poignant reminders of a book proposal now under consideration. The little ceramic building is a yarn shop, part of my lit Christmas village collection and a reminder of “Maybe Us,” my story in the Cedar Creek Seasons novella.

On the ledge just beneath the etched glass in that same window is another collection, which includes morning glory seeds reminiscent of

When the Morning Glory Blooms, a notecard with a watercolor image of the Oceanside, California waterfront which was the setting for All My Belongings, a photo of my Marine dad holding a Korean orphan during the Korean conflict which helped inform my writing in When the Morning Glory Blooms.

The “Hope lives here” chalkboard showed up in a meaningful scene in As Waters Gone By. I’m getting ready to add a photo of the stunning boardwalk along the shore in Algoma, WI—the setting for Restoring Christmas, and a picture of the ancient walking bridge in Stillwater, MN—the setting for An Endless Christmas. The musical note ribbon is a reminder of the book Song of Silence.

And the hearts of handmade paper embedded with flower seeds reminds me of my newest release—A Fragile Hope.

A Fragile Hope

Hope grows when seeds are planted—even in the muddy middle of life.

Josiah Chamberlain’s life’s work revolves around repairing other people’s marriages. When his own is threatened by his wife’s unexplained distance, and then threatened further when she’s unexpectedly plunged into an unending fog, Josiah finds his expertise, quick wit and clever quips are no match for a relationship that is clearly broken.

Feeling betrayed, confused, and ill-equipped for a crisis this crippling, he reexamines everything he knows about the fragility of hope and the strength of his faith and love. Love seems to have failed him. Will what’s left of his faith fail him, too? Or will it be the one thing that holds him together and sears through the impenetrable wall that separates them?

Learn more and purchase a copy.

Cynthia Ruchti tells stories hemmed in hope through her novels, novellas, nonfiction books, articles and devotionals.

Her latest release is the novel A Fragile Hope. One of Ruchti’s greatest joys is helping other writers grow in their craft. To that end, she has with the Write-to-Publish conference and American Christian Fiction Writers. She and her husband live in the heart of Wisconsin. Learn more at www.cynthiaruchti.com.

Thank you so much, Cynthia for sharing your treasures with us!

I certainly hope you, friends, enjoyed today's post as much as I did and that you'll join me each week for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time take care and God bless.

PamT