#SaturdaySpotlight is on The Winter Series by Alex Callister AudioBook!

Good Morning,

Well Old Man Winter has gripped us in his icy claws. I'm sure you've heard me say this before....

I Am NOT a Winter Person....UGH. 

The ONLY thing good about today is that I'm going see the movie Redeeming Love based on Francine Rivers' wonderful novel! 

It's been a while since I hosted an audiobook tour here on our blog so please welcome, Alex Callister with her Winter Series brought to us from ....

About Audiobook #1

Author: Alex Callister

Narrator: Ell Potter

Length: 11 hours 31 minutes

Publisher: Audible Originals⎮2019

Genre: Thriller

Series: The Winter Series, Book 1

Release date: Mar. 21, 2019

Synopsis: When you buy murder online, who is there to stop you?

GCHQ agent Winter has just 14 days to bring down the website of a formidable criminal organisation before a teenager is tortured to death in front of an online audience of millions. Going deep under cover disguised as the paid assassin Snow White, Winter must infiltrate the inner circle of the extraordinarily powerful man at the heart of the dark web. This is a gripping, fast-paced ride through a disturbingly plausible technological future in which Callister’s protagonist must battle to bring down the terrifying crimes tearing through society.

About Winter

Master hacker, highly intelligent, combat trained: Winter is a very modern spy. Worlds apart from the straitlaced characters created in the minds of Ian Fleming and John le Carré , Alex Callister's lead protagonist wouldn't dream of playing the part of the impeccable agent. However, despite her intimidating skillset, Winter is delightfully human and often prone to prioritizing her libido over her employer. Undeniably sexy and exceptionally accomplished, Winter is a true 21st-century heroine.

Listen to an excerpt or Buy Winter Dark on Audible

About Audiobook #2

Author: Alex Callister

Narrator: Ell Potter

Length: 10 hours 33 minutes

Publisher: Audible Originals⎮2019

Genre: Thriller

Series: The Winter Series, Book 2

Release date: Oct. 1, 2019 

Synopsis: Winter returns to face the most feared hitman of all time, the Guardsman. 

Winter has put the world of organised crime into crisis by unmasking its boss, Alek Konstantin. Hunted and permanently on the run, he has been caught on camera in Mexico, Virginia and Marseille. Retracing his steps, Winter attempts to uncover his motives and bring the world's most wanted man out of hiding using the tracker he embedded in her wrist. But things aren't quite that simple. After finding Lucy and watching her die a sickening death, Winter's desire to bring down the legendary Guardsman overrides her orders. Knowing Firestorm’s top contract killer is experimenting on victims, she takes a contract out on herself to catch him.  

Once again disguised as her alter ego, Snow White, Winter follows the Guardsman to Moscow expecting to spring the trap. However, things aren't quite what they seem. Who is the Guardsman and why does he know everything about Winter? With the reality of the situation unravelling as the world’s leaders assemble in London, just how much has Winter underestimated her opponent and is the realisation all too late? 

Winter faces her biggest challenge yet in this dark commentary on our surveillance society.

Listen to an excerpt or Buy Winter Rising on Audible

About the Author: Alex Callister

Alex is an action movie fan and her books are full of cult references and movie one-liners. Her kick-ass heroine, Winter, was inspired by Bond, Bourne, John Wick, Vin Diesel, Jack Reacher and many others. She has a history degree, a certificate in creative writing and a murderous imagination. She writes when she gets a chance, which is mainly at night between 10pm and 2am at home in London, with her three Bengal tigers. Her debut WINTER DARK was the Audible UK Thriller of the Year and was a finalist at the Audies in 2020.

About the Narrator: Ell Potter

Ell Potter is an actor, writer, and award-winning narrator. While training at LAMDA, she was named Audible’s ‘Breakout Star’ and her debut audiobook was subsequently nominated for an Audie. She has since recorded extensively with numerous publishers, winning multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards in the process. 

Her narrator credits include Hamnet, the Winter series, Dark, Salt, Clear (BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week), In At The Deep End , and little scratch .

Click here to view the full tour schedule!

Well, friends, hope you enjoyed today's spotlight and that you'll check back weekly for another edition of Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT

#WednesdayWordsWithFriends: I Need Your Help!

Good Morning Friends,

As I mentioned in Saturday's post, I'm pretty pumped up about the headway I'm making with my new book/series Women of the 9th Circle. I started joining a group of people who meet in a zoom room for writing sprints from 6-8 a.m. with the goal to write at least three or four days each week. We don't talk or share during that time, which is a lot different from some of the other sprints I've participated in, but just knowing others are there writing too helps me to focus and I'm averaging 500-800 words per session. Not a lot considering I used to write that in a half-hour but hey, it's a start! I'm sure my word count will increase as I continue to apply butt to chair and write LOL! 

If you've followed me for long, you know I'm a seat-of-the-pants writer so what pours out onto the screen is totally up to the characters and therefore, a surprise to me. This way of producing may not be conducive to completing a huge number of books, but I hope to publish at least one or two this year. I'm still waiting on edits of Kyleigh's story and will keep you informed on that as things progress. 

Meanwhile, as a member of Author Ad School, I took advantage of the experts' knowledge and got a new blurb for Circles of Fate. Here it is....

When two souls are torn apart by duty, can the hand of God bring them back to a happily ever after?

Late Vietnam War era. Strapped for cash, Todd Jameson flirts with disaster. Caught robbing a liquor store to pay for his dad’s funeral and given the choice of jail or signing up for the military, he picks the best of two bad options and joins the army. But just as his fresh start reconnects him with a sense of honor and the friendship of a gracious woman, he’s deployed overseas into an unknown destiny.

Sixteen-year-old Shaunna Chatman devotes every breath to caring for her sick mother. Working in a diner to make ends meet, the last thing on her agenda is to fall for a young soldier about to be sent into battle. But when he encourages her not to wait, she reluctantly moves on to wed another who’s there to pick up the pieces after she buries her beloved mom.

Thrown into a whirlwind of circumstance, Todd flows in and out of the courageous girl's narrative wondering if their stories will ever fully entwine. And though Shaunna’s journey grants her a child even as personal tragedy strikes, her thoughts often turn to the boy who still fills her heart.

Will their paths merge once more to bask in the glory of His love?

Circles of Fate is a deeply woven inspirational women’s fiction novel. If you like believable heroes, roads to enlightenment, and tales of inner strength, then you’ll adore Pamela S Thibodeaux’s romantic saga.

Buy Circles of Fate to walk in the light today!

Now I'm struggling with an appropriate cover.

This is where you come in.

Please take a moment and look at Amazon's Top 100 Women's Fiction Best Sellers and let me know which of these covers you think fits the genre best.

        

                              Option 1                         Option 2                        Option 3

Thank you!

Not much else going on in my world today. I'm spread a little thin this week so I won't take up more of your time. Please know, I appreciate your continued love and support.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on L.R. Trovillion @lrtrovillion & Horse Gods

Good Morning!

The month is half over and words cannot express how excited I am about this new year. I've been writing pretty steadily on my new book/series, Women of the 9th Circle but I'll update you more on that later. Today's guest is brand new to our blog so please give LR Trovillion a huge SW LA W-E-L-C-O-M-E as she shares a peek into her YA Maryland Equestrian novel, Horse Gods The Dressage Rider's Betrayal!

Take it away LR....

Horse Gods: The Dressage Rider’s Betrayal is a young adult suspense novel that appeals to all ages. The theme of trust central to the story resonates with anyone who has felt vulnerable due to disappointment and betrayal. 

An abandoned horse. A threatening secret. A teen fleeing for her life.

Regina Hamilton has a big problem. Her abusive mom is getting out of prison...and Regina is the one who helped put her there.

With only three months to prove to the courts that she can support herself and avoid being forced back home with mom, Regina lands a job at an exclusive dressage barn. With only her riding skills to rely on, the stakes are high: prove she can pull her weight or get out. But when a worker mysteriously disappears, she becomes ensnared in a web of lies and deceit. 

With time running out and unsure who to trust, she turns to an unlikely trio: a reclusive boy who roams the woods training hawks, his dad, a professor of Celtic Mythology, and an abandoned half-wild red mare with mysterious powers. But when Regina threatens to expose a long-held deadly secret, her friend is hurt and the is horse attacked. A clear warning. A ruthless figure stalks her every move, bent on keeping her silent forever. In the end, Regina must decide if she can trust an enemy in order to save a friend.  

Horse Gods is a thrilling mystery for all ages. If you like bold but flawed heroines, brave and quirky boyfriends, and stories about the magical power of horses, you’ll love Horse Gods. It is the second stand-alone book in the Maryland Equestrian novel series. 

EXCERPT: We’re going to prison. I expect it to look awful, but when we turn the corner and the brick building comes into view, a little furry thing with scrabbling claws starts doing laps inside my stomach. Maybe the breakfast burrito I scarfed down a few hours ago was not a good choice.

Brenda, the social worker assigned to my case, has been talking to me all morning about good choices in life. She drives and steals glances at me. I think she’s checking to see if I’m listening. I’m not.

We turn in a long driveway. My God. The fence is about a hundred feet tall with rolls of razor wire coiled all through and over it. It looks like it could keep an army of stampeding elephants in there. On second thought, considering who’s inside, that’s not a bad thing.

Brenda pulls in the parking lot not far from a squat building in front with the name Maryland Correctional Facility for Women on a big sign over the doorway like it’s some kind of college or something. She undoes her seatbelt and reaches into the backseat.  I get out. I’m tired of smelling the strawberry air freshener fighting with the lingering scent of menthol cigarettes. Rather smell the cigs.

It’s warm for late October. The sun is just coming over the guard tower, but for some reason my hands are really cold. Brenda calls out something like “Wait for me,” from the other side of the car. Sure, like I’d go in there alone.

“Regina.” She walks around to my side of the car, breathless from digging that huge tote bag out from the backseat. “I want you to know that you do not have to go in. If you decide not to see her, I can meet with her alone.” She squeezes my arm above the elbow and smiles. I hate that.

“Nah, I’m okay,” I tell her and smile back. She’s only doing her social worker job. Give her a break, I figure. I step toward the entrance.

Inside, a blast of refrigerated air hits my face. A guard right by the door stops us. The black butt end of a pistol is sticking out of its holster. I’ve never seen a gun, a real one, up close before. Brenda fishes around in that Mary Poppins bag of hers and pulls out her ID and some letter. The guard waves her over to the metal detectors.

“Put your items on the belt,” he says in a way that tells me he’s repeated that line a million times this week already. “All items on the belt, empty your pockets of any change and loose items, and step through, please.”

I pull my phone out of a back pocket and drop it in the plastic tray. Brenda’s purse vomits its contents all over the bottom of its bin. On the other side of the metal detector, a lady in the same guard uniform waves us over to the desk. Her face sags like a bulldog. No one here smiles, that’s for sure.

We get visitor badges. Good, because I sure wouldn’t want them mistaking me for someone who needs to stay here. Then another lady guard walks us to the back door. She holds it open for us to walk through first and announces, “This way to the visitation block,” like she’s giving a tour. I was really hoping something would be wrong—improper ID or not a visitors’ day after all—and they’d turn us back and I could go home. Instead, this lady is taking us to the big building. The real prison.

Where she is.

I look up at the sun like maybe I’ll never see it again.

We walk through another set of doors and inside. Man, there are a lot of doors in this place. The visitor area is pretty much like I imagined—cinderblocks painted in baby poo green and furniture that makes the stuff at school look chic and modern. More guards. The lady guard keys in some numbers, and a heavy door opens with just a click and a whoosh. No clanging bars or jangling locks. The door closes with a whisper behind us, and we’re led down a long corridor.

“In here.” She holds the door. “Have a seat. The matron will bring the prisoner.”

The prisoner. That’s what she’s called now. Funny, most of my life I felt like her prisoner.

The room has some inspirational posters with glowing sunrises and smiling family members holding hands in a meadow or some stupid crap. There’s a water cooler against the far wall behind two rows of chairs. I think they’re bolted to the ground. No one else is here. The weird thing is there is another room, much smaller, on the other side of a Plexiglas wall. Inside the little room there’s a table with a few chairs. A door in the back opens and she walks into the little room.

I haven’t seen her for more than a year now. Under the fluorescent lights she looks even more fake-tan orange than before. Maybe it’s the jumpsuit that’s just about the color of mud. There’s an inch of dark roots where her hair has grown out. Must not be able to get a hairdresser appointment in prison as often as she’s used to. She turns to a uniformed woman behind her, waves her hand like a queen, and the other woman sits in a chair in the far corner. I pull my eyes away to see our escort push some button and open a door to a portal that connects the waiting area with the fishbowl room. She leads us in and announces, “Your visitors are here.”

She turns her orangey face to me. Smiles. But only for a second before she pulls her lips down into a clowny frown. “Regina, your hair!”

My hand floats up to run fingers through my shorn-off curls, but I stop it in mid-air.

“I don’t like short hair on girls.” She has no problem expressing her opinion. “It makes you look like a thug or…”

She struggles to find more insults to hurl at me. Maybe prisoner, I think, but keep the thought to myself.

“Hi, Angela,” are the only words I allow past my lips. I know that will piss her off even more.

“Angela! What happened to Mom?” 

Inspired by everyday miracles, L.R. Trovillion weaves magical stories of hurting people who find hope through horses in her Maryland Equestrian Novel series. Although she earned a degree in Russian and spent a career in government service, her real love has been caring for and working with horses. That love shines through in her series, focusing on the healing power of horses in the lives of teens facing complex and sometimes dangerous family situations. 

Believing there is more to this world than meets the eye, she adds a dash of the supernatural to each story. L. R. Trovillion lives on a small horse farm in Maryland with her husband, daughter, and several animals that really run the place. Her other works have appeared in Baltimore magazine and the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. 

LR is another of my Author Ad School peeps and she loves to chat with readers about horses, books, travel adventures, cat and dog stories, or anything else they’re passionate about so connect with her through her Website, Amazon Author Page, FaceBook, Instagram and Twitter @lrtrovillion

Get your copy of Horse Gods on Amazon.

Wow, LR, I LOVE horses. In fact, Heartland is one of my favorite TV series of all times. I own 13 out of the 14 seasons already LOL! Certainly wishing you the best of luck and God's blessings on your books!

Hope you enjoyed today's post friends and that you'll check back weekly for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time take care and God Bless.

PamT

Wednesday Words with Friends Welcomes Maryann McMahon

Good Morning,

I'm excited to introduce you to another Author Ad School chum this morning. Please give Maryann McMahon a great, big W-E-L-C-O-M-E!

Maryann McMahon is an Author and has recently retired from a career as a lifelong, passionate Educator.  She had been in the Academic Realm for many years as a Pre-K, Kindergarten, First, Fifth-and-Sixth Grade Teacher, Assistant Principal and Pre-K For All Director.  During the years instructing her young students in Elmhurst, New York, one of the most multicultural neighborhoods in the United States, Maryann authored multiple  stories to spark imaginations, stimulate creativity and enhance knowledge in those entrusted to her care.

Maryann is absolutely thrilled upon the official release of her four children's books, "Vinnie and Vicki - The Vibrant Viruses!" "Tooty the Tenderhearted Tooth!" "A Special Present From Puddles!" and "The Little Leftovers Have a Magical Christmas!" as well as a soon-to-be-launched Easter Tale.  Stay tuned for details!  

Maryann has appeared on betweenthecoverstv.com and was a Guest Author on Triangle Spotlight Radio (WQBQ 1410) in FL to promote her stories.  

Her long-held vision is that youngsters in all corners of the globe are provided with access to quality children's publications which will motivate, uplift and inspire them to reach their highest potentials and realize their greatest dreams!  You may Follow Maryann at teach_to_read_and_write on Instagram.  Her beloved Books are Available on Amazon and in Bookstores Around the World.  

Thank you so much Maryann for sharing your passion and books with us! We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings on your writing career.

Hope you enjoyed Maryann's visit as much as I did, friends and that you'll check back weekly for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT

Saturday Spotlight is on Carolyn & Robert Gold and their YA Dystopianbook series!

Good Morning,

Today's guests are brand new to our blog. I met Carolyn and Robert through Author Ad School (formerly Amazon Author Ad School) and were thrilled when they signed up to visit with us. So, please give them a warm (although it's not warm enough for me outside) SWLA WELCOME as they share two of their YA series with us. 

Take it away Carolyn & Robert....

Teens fighting a revolution. A totalitarian regime hellbent on repression. Can one troubled girl defeat an ironfisted ruler?

Jessica’s certain she’s broken. The nefarious threat to silence her voice is now a cold reality. At the behest of a technical mystic, she must lead a secret movement, but her emotional health is in question now that nano-tech enhancements are permanently disabled. The silver-tongued heroine fears she’s lost everything. Will she still be able to outsmart The World Chancellor and save her entire generation?

If you like bold visions, deep characters, and vividly imagined futures, then you’ll love Carolyn & Robert Gold’s take on a political dystopia.

A young prodigy who struggles with a tempestuous personality is learning to navigate adolescence by using implanted nano technology. The World Chancellor is threatening to disable the advanced capabilities, reversing progress and destroying hope for humanity. Pressure builds for Jessica when myriads of adoring followers expect her to block what promises to ruin kids’ lives. Panic sets in. But will the  discovery that ancient Spanish mystics foresaw this very scenario, offer a glimmer of hope? Perhaps, but only if a select few, courageous teens, discard their fears and enter a multi-dimensional realm where what seems impossible— is possible. 

Can a plan be developed in time or will healing their ailing world, fail?

Summary: Fascinating and complex characters, some possibly neurodiverse, though not labeled as such, experience the power of emotions, sensations and colors as they work towards repairing 

their own lives as well as their planet.

Objective: Respect for children and teens. Looking forward instead of dwelling on the past. Balance and unity, with ethics and morals at the forefront. Introspection, awareness, embracing differences and similarities. Communication and connection, where spirituality and mysticism await for when one is willing to see beyond the obvious.

Topics: Empathy, self-awareness, self-confidence and self-expression through the arts. Naiveté, humor, imagination, trust, loyalty, friendship, innovation, are linked to develop intuitive technology. Inclusivity, interracial adoption, marriage and sibling dynamics, play vital roles 

as lives touch, so everyone’s mission can be fulfilled.

Included: Nature’s majesty. 

Excluded: Sexual content, foul language, gore, fantastical creatures.

THREAT OF DARKNESS - LIBERTY 2041/EPISODE 1 EXCERPT:

How did we get ourselves into this, Maar? I’m still in a bit of daze and don’t know what to think.” 

“You think— we got ourselves into this?” Maarlee sounds surprised. 

“Well, that’s what I’m trying to sort out. We were conceived to be the generation that would right all the wrongs of the world,” I state. 

“... And the concept sounded so impressive that it made our parents hopeful,” Maarlee adds. 

“Well, yeah! Imagine the deal they were about to get. Those of us born after 2025 were going to do their dirty work by cleaning up the gigantic mess previous generations have left behind. Who wouldn’t accept and sign on the dotted line? Install the best technology available in our children; in fact, the more, the better,” I say with a hefty dose of sarcasm. 

“I never thought of it quite that way before….” Maarlee sighs. 

“Think of it— once we started implementing our knowledge and strengths, everything shifted,” I explain. 

“What do you mean by shifted?”

“Well, we went from being pampered and revered to becoming an international threat to society— pretty much overnight.” 

Maarlee’s silence puts me in full mock trial mode, “So, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I ask you ... Are kids responsible in any way for allowing things to reach this level of discord? Can kids under the age of eighteen override public opinion and change how adults perceive them, despite the heavy propaganda against them?” 

About the Authors:

Carolyn and Robert Gold met in late 2017, clicked immediately and married soon after. Blending gifts and talents, they’ve established a much-needed, family-oriented coaching and consulting firm, addressing health for mind, body and soul for people of all ages. 

To find out how the Gold’s repair the world, visit: www.thegoldtouch.net

To check out all of their books and stories, visit their Amazon Author Page:   https://www.amazon.com/Carolyn-Gold/e/B093FZ9GX5

Wow, thanks for sharing Carolyn & Robert! I'm sure fans of YA Dystopian books will love these series!

Hope you enjoyed the spotlight today, friends and that you'll check back weekly for more great authors and their books on Saturday Spotlight and Wednesday Words with Friends.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends Welcomes Anne Greene @TheAnneGreene

Good Morning and Welcome to our First Wednesday Words with Friends post of 2022!

Today, my friend and fellow PBG author, Anne Greene shares some more information on her book, Trail of Tears.

Take it away, Anne....

TRAIL OF TEARS BY ANNE GREENE

Many readers ask me why I wrote Trail of Tears? Most people in the deep South are acquainted with the history of the Trail of Tears. But I was raised in the Midwest and first heard about the Trail of Tears in Church one morning when I lived in Wheaton, Illinois. Being a history buff and unaware of such a momentous event surprised me. The history fascinated me, and my first thought was – that’s a book that needs to be written. 

Then, to make history exciting for my readers, I wrote the novel depicting what likely happened to one college-bound young man forced to travel the Trail. My book, Trail of Tears, The Story of John Ross, is the result and released February of this year.

 Most of the events in Trail of Tears actually happened to the Cherokee people. I brought to life the hardship, suffering, and overcoming victory of the people as they spent seven months travelling from what is now Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Indian-controlled Oklahoma Territory.

A brave Moravian missionary accompanied this thousand-member wagon train of captives, and hundreds of Cherokees turned to Christ as they overcame the difficult, treacherous journey. 

The story sounds as if it might be sad … and there are tragic events portrayed, but my book, Trail of Tears, is about hope, overcoming, and finding a new way of life. I think from the first page to the last, you will find Trail of Tears difficult to put down. It’s one of my favorite books!

I’m working on the second book in The Ross Family Saga. For Such A Time As This, The Story of Jarrett Ross takes the reader into the life of John’s younger son born in the wild Oklahoma territory. My book opens with Jarrett’s adventures with the Osage Indians, continues to his time spent as a Pony Express rider, and includes Jarrett’s being conscripted into the Union army while his older brother fights for the Confederate side. All this time Jarrett attempts to win the love of the daughter of his family’s sworn worst enemy. 

I’m always happy to interact with my readers. I’d love for you to join my newsletter.

Here’s a bit more about my book: 

What if you are a twenty-year-old, about to attend college, and your whole world collapses? Your mother and sister are missing, and soldiers murder your father, burn your mansion, and take you prisoner.

Trail of Tears relives one of the most heartrending chapters in American history as the US Government transports the self-governing, wealthy Cherokee nation from their ancestral homeland to relocate in hostile Indian Territory. 

The Georgia militia force John Ross, with only a trickle of Indian blood flowing in his veins, to walk the thousand-mile Trail of Tears.

After John protects a full-blood Indian girl from the lustful wagon master, the cruel soldier targets John for retribution—until John’s shoved too far. 

Bitter animosity explodes from a jealous Army Captain as John pushes and pulls his Conestoga wagon over mountain roads made muddy by rain and slippery by snow.  

Yet the persuasive voices of the preacher and his daughter have an impact.

A new destiny awaits John at the end of the trail—if he survives. Four thousand Cherokee do not.

Multi-award winning author, Anne Greene, loves writing about alpha heroes who aren’t afraid to fall on their knees in prayer and about gutsy heroines. Her latest full-length book is Trail of Tears, The Story of John Ross. 

Her first novel in her CIA Operatives series opens with Shadow of the Dagger. Her Women of Courage series spotlights heroic women of World War II. Blast off with Angel With Steel Wings. Her Holly Garden, Private Investigator series opens with Red Is For Rookie. Enjoy her award winning Scottish historical romances, Masquerade Marriage and Marriage by Arrangement. 

For shorter read, enjoy her twenty novellas.

Anne lives with her husband, Colonel Larry Greene, and her buff and white Shih Tzu, Lily Valentine.

Anne hopes her stories transport you to awesome new worlds and touch your heart. Discover more about Anne at:

https://www.AnneGreeneAuthor.com

https://www.amazon.com/Anne-Greene/e/B004ECUWMG

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/anne-greene

https://www.facebook.com/AnneWGreeneAuthor

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1873472.Anne_Greene

https://twitter.com/TheAnneGreene

Check out Annie's previous visits HERE.

Thank you so much, Anne for sharing with us the story behind Trail of Tears! Here's wishing you a blessed and prosperous 2022.

Well friends, I hope you're not the least bit disappointed in our first post of the year-I know I'm not-and I hope you'll drop by weekly for more Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Jessi Beyer & How to Heal

Good Morning and Happy New Year!

I hope your holidays have been blessed and 2022 is most prosperous for you and yours.

Please welcome my new friend, Jessi Beyer as she shares with us a peek into her book, How to Heal which gives us practical, natural therapies to use to heal from trauma.

The National Council for Behavioral Health estimates that seven out of every ten people you know will experience a trauma during their lifetime – perhaps even you. When that happens, though, what do you do? For speaker and mental health advocate Jessi Beyer, it meant doing nothing and avoiding therapy like the plague. What she did not know, though, is that there were alternatives to talk therapy. You could spend time with horses, go on a walk through the woods, or dance your way through healing. If you are moving through your trauma healing journey and are looking for an alternative to talk therapy, then you have landed in the right place. 

How To Heal details nine natural and integrative therapy methods that can be a powerful addition to your healing journey: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Craniosacral Therapy, Mindfulness and Meditation, Dance-Movement Therapy, Trauma-Sensitive Yoga, Equine-Assisted Therapy, Canine-Assisted Therapy, Ecotherapy and Nature-Based Therapies, and Flower Essence Therapy. 

Written by a fellow trauma survivor, How To Heal includes information beyond the therapies to help you understand what trauma is, how it affects your life, and how you can help someone who struggles with a past traumatic experience.

Excerpt: My Experience with Trauma can remember the exact place I was standing when I noticed the scars on my friend’s inner forearm. It’s a moment that’s burned into my memory, and it probably always will be. When I asked him if he had a cat, I was desperate nothing more than playful scratches. Unfortunately, my intuition was correct. This is where my story begins. 

It took a few weeks for him to open up to me about his personal struggles. I was a teenager at the time, and from that point onward, I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. In actuality, it was the weight of his world that I placed on my shoulders. Over the next year and a half, I became his confidante. Every time he struggled, he called me. Every time he hurt himself, he called me. Every time he got stuck in his head, he called me. I believed I was responsible for protecting his 2 privacy and honoring his trust in me, which meant I was lying to my mom, lying to his mom, and lying to my school’s counselor. At the time, I was so thankful. I felt important, and I felt like I was making an impact. I felt like I was responsible for his happiness and mental health, and I felt like a success because I believed I was maintaining it. I believed I was the reason he was staying alive. 

It turned out I wasn’t bringing him up, he was dragging me down. I remember the first time I cut myself. It was August 12, the day before soccer season. I remember the second time I drew blood when I cut. I called him because I freaked out, and I remember he told me that it would become easier each time I did it. I remember being calmed down by him saying that. I also remember all of the times I gave him my body to kiss, to feel, and to be on top of because I misguidedly believed that if I kept him happy, he would stay alive. I remember being proud of the fact that I would do literally whatever it took for him to stay alive. 

I made him promise me that he would give me a hug before he took his own life. It was my way of having some control over the situation so I could stop it, but I told him it was so that I could hold him while he left this earth. I remember the exact moment that he texted me and told me to come give him a hug and say goodbye. I was eating some chicken in my kitchen, and I was the only one home. My parents were still at work. I vividly remember dropping the chicken on the counter and falling to the floor when I received that text, but the drive to his house is a complete blur. I know I was speeding. I know I majorly cut someone off getting off the highway....

Jessi Beyer is an award-nominated international speaker and the #1 best-selling author of How To Heal: A Practical Guide To Nine Natural Therapies You Can Use To Release Your Trauma. Named a 2020 “Young Entrepreneur to Watch” by IdeaMensch, she has been featured in over 160 media outlets, including Thrive Global, Refinery29, and Elite Daily, and has spoken to thousands of people around the world through groups like Penn State University, Leadercast NOW, and the Institute on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma’s international summit. Outside of her professional life, Jessi is an MA candidate in critical psychology and human services at Prescott College and a K9 search and rescue handler with her dog, Phoebe.

Find out more about Jessi and this incredible book by visiting her website. Download a free copy of How to Heal HERE.

Oh my Jessi, what an intriguing excerpt! Your book sounds amazing and is sure to help millions of people! We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings in this new year.

Hope you'll grab a copy of Jessi's book and that you'll drop by each week as we bring you new authors and books as well as reconnect with some old friends here on Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time take care and God bless.

PamT