How has your summer been? And where has it gone? Why does summer fly so quickly by like the wings of a gull over the lake? I truly hope your summer been everything you dreamed. I must say, mine has been a whirlwind of writing and travel, highlighted by the completion of my 2027 novel (due out next June), behind-the-scenes work for my upcoming novel, The Bluff (set on Mackinac Island) on October 13 (you can preorder it now and enter our mega giveaway … details below) as well as a dream cruise to Alaska to celebrate Gary’s 60th birthday and our 30th anniversary.

I’ll be honest: I wasn’t keen on a trip to Alaska in August. I imagined being cold and wet, when I could be warm and dry. I also had an image of Alaska that was not accurate. It turned out to be the best trip of our lives! Why? Well — besides the fact we had perfect weather (literally sunny and 70s most days except when we were next to a glacier), the scenery was stunning, pristine, untouched, breathtakingly beautiful. The cruise was sublime: Every meal was memorable, the service impeccable, we felt like kings. We saw sea otters, whales and bears, OH, MY! Our excursions were life-changing: We saw grand glaciers that are sadly disappearing right before our very eyes; we helicoptered to walk on a glacier and go dog sledding with a pack that will race in this year’s Iditarod; and we traveled for an hour by boat to visit the Anan Wildlife Observatory, a premier bear-viewing area in Alaska's Tongass National Forest 30 miles south of Wrangell. Moreover, we met so many incredible people from across the world. Travel changes us. We not only travel to new destinations, we travel to new places in our souls. We get out of our comfort zones. We see the world through new eyes. We met strangers who have now become lifelong friends. And travel inspires my writing. I know that you will see this Alaskan adventure take root in a new book in the near future. For now, here are a few photos from our travels:

The Bluff Publishes October 13!

Preorder Now to Enter our Mega Giveaway Contest to Win A $1,000 Holiday Shopping Card + So Much More!

I’m thrilled to reveal the cover of my brand new Christmas novel, The Bluff, which publishes October 13 and is available for preorder now (see links below)! This is my first Christmas novel in a few years, and I believe it’s most ambitious book to date.

And, if you preorder now, you will be eligible to win HUGE prizes, including a $1,000 holiday shopping card (see details & prizes below). Email gary@violashipman.com with your name, address and receipt to enter (only purchases of the paperback edition, e-book or audiobook count; the more copies you – or your book club – purchase, the more times you are entered to win). Why such big giveaways? The heart of this novel is that time is short, the people we love mean everything, and the best gifts are those that come from the heart and show how much someone loves you. This is my holiday gift to you, and my thank-you for all the love and support over the years! PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!

Here’s the scoop:
• The Bluff is set on Mackinac Island! I’ve promised you for YEARS that I would set a novel on Mackinac when the time and story was right, and Mackinac is the perfect place for The Bluff! So much history of the Island … and it takes place in the winter. And the Island is a featured character!

• Grand Hotel is also a featured character in the novel. So much history of the Grand!

• The Bluff incorporates a character (and romance) from Somewhere in Time, the 1980 movie set on Mackinac Island and at the Grand Hotel starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, considered one of the most romantic films of all time! I think you will love this story!

• The Bluff was partially inspired by The Family Stone, one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies that I watched with my mom before she passed away of cancer in 2009; The Family Stone recently celebrated its 20th anniversary and a sequel, The Families Stone, movie is coming soon. A piece of my mother and grandmother’s love of the holidays lives on in this novel.

• Eleven points of view, from grandchildren to grandparents, taking place over three days at Christmas at a historic cottage on Mackinac Island. (PS: The audiobook will be getting all the bells and whistles as a featured title this fall, including multicast narration with 11 different narrators!)

• Why did I write The Bluff? This is the one and only Christmas story I wanted to write, an intergenerational family novel that captured all the love and loss, all the traditions, all the beauty and chaos, that comes with a family holiday … in real time. How do the things we say, the ways we show love – and don’t – impact those we love, and then – in turn – impact us?

As Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author so beautifully says in her endorsement: “A heartfelt dive into the complexities of family and tradition. The Bluff captures the perfect storm that occurs when two different worlds collide during the holidays. An evocative must-read for anyone who has ever attempted the delicate dance of a family Christmas.”

• What’s it about?

Succession meets The Family Stone in bestselling author Wade Rouse’s humorous and sharply observant look at a family teetering on the edge of merry mayhem. The Chapmans do Christmas the way they do everything: impeccably, expensively, and with the unshakable belief that good lighting can conceal bad blood. Their annual Christmas card may look picture-perfect, but behind the polite smiles there’s a storm brewing. This year, at their grand lakefront cottage on Mackinac Island, a snowstorm traps generations of Chapmans—and their schemes—under one roof. Chris Chapman is on the verge of losing everything: his father’s trust, his role at the helm of the family business, and his wife’s respect. Kat Chapman is already fed up with hosting her critical, stuck-up in-laws and their impossibly inflexible holiday traditions. Her solution? Invite her working-class parents – born and bred Islanders – for Christmas, much to the horror of the Chapmans, whose rule that “We do not share Christmas with other people” is about to be broken. As the snow piles up, so do the grievances: their children—fiercely independent Leah and golden-boy Chip—are locked in a battle of wits, Chris’s vaguely corrupt brother Cormac and his calculating trophy wife are stirring the pot, and Kat’s mother is holding onto a secret that could upend the entire game. Deliciously messy and surprisingly tender, The Bluff is a feisty festive family drama about money, marriage, power, and all the things we bring to the holiday table besides the turkey.

• Will there be a tour? Yes, a BIG one! And it’s still growing! (See full tour dates below). For a preview, visit www.violashipman.com or www.waderouse.com

THE BLUFF BONANZA PREORDER GIVEAWAY DETAILS!

• 1 grand prize winner of a $1,000 holiday shopping gift card!

• 5 winners of a $100 gift card to Fenton’s Open Book (courtesy of our friends at the store)!

• 5 winners of a 10-minute Christmas Day Zoom call from me & Gary!

• 1 winner will have their name featured in one of my upcoming novels!

RULES: You must preorder by October 10! The more you order, the more chances to win (each copy is a separate entry) Only preorders of the paperback edition (this book is coming out in PAPERBACK, a decision to keep the cost lower for you), e-book and audiobook are eligible to win!

TO ENTER: Email gary@violashipman.com with your name, address & copy of your receipt. All three must be included to enter. Winners will be announced during my launch week!

Good luck, spread the word & I hope you love THE BLUFF!

Watch A Video About the Giveaway!

How Do I Preorder The Bluff?

Following are buy links to your favorite bookstores as well as all the bookstores I will be visiting on tour! Preorder the paperback, audiobook or e-book now and email gary@violashipman.com with your name, address and receipt to enter!

PAPERBACK
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Books-A-Million
Bookshop
Target
Walmart

Bookstores I’m Visiting on Tour! You Can Also RSVP for Events Now at Tour Links Below!
The Island Bookstore on Mackinac Island

McLean & Eakin Booksellers, Petoskey, Michigan

Forever Books, St. Joseph, Michigan
Schuler Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Fenton’s Open Book, Fenton, Michigan
Page 158 Books, Wake Forest, NC
Litchfield Books, Pawleys Island, SC

Pelican Books, Sunset Beach, NC—Call 910-579-8770
Park Road Books, Sykesville, MD
The Bookman, Grand Haven, Michigan

Find An Indie Bookseller Near You!

EBOOK
Apple Books
Google Play
Kobo
Nook

AUDIOBOOK (Multicast Narration!)
Audible
Apple Books
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Libro.fm

The Bluff Book Tour!

I’m beyond THRILLED to announce The Bluff book tour!

Launch event on Mackinac Island where the novel is set + lots of stops in Michigan & I'm heading south for the first time in a while! I'll be adding more events, especially on the West Coast as the holidays near!

If I'm close to you, PLEASE come see me!
For more, visit WadeRouse.com or ViolaShipman.com

Remember! Preorders from & tickets that include books to any of the events/bookstores listed below count in our BLUFF BONANZA mega preorder giveaway ! Email gary@violashipman.com with your name, address & copy of your order/ticket.

Thursday, September 17, 6:30 pm, Saugatuck, Michigan
An Evening with Jen Hatmaker + Wade Rouse
Selling fast! Only select tickets remain! Preorders for The Bluff will be taken at event!
GET YOUR JEN/WADE TICKETS HERE!

Saturday, October 10, 2:00 pm, Mackinac Island, Michigan
Special Prelaunch Party at the Mackinac Island Public Library (books sold by Island Books); Free! Click here for more info!

Sunday, October 11, Noon, Petoskey, Michigan
Special Prelaunch Luncheon with McLean & Eakin Booksellers at the elegant Terrace Inn’s 1911 Restaurant; Limited to 100 guests (likely to fill quickly)
RSVP HERE!

Monday, October 12, 7:00pm, St. Joseph, Michigan
Special Prelaunch Event at Forever Books
Event link coming soon!
Free! To RSVP now, please call 269-982-1110, or email foreverbooks@att.net

Tuesday, October 13, 6:30pm, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Launch Day with Schuler Books!
Event link coming soon here!
To RSVP now, please call 616-942-2561

Wednesday, October 14, 7:00pm, Fenton, Michigan
Special Event at the Fenton Community & Cultural Center with Fenton's Open Book! $25 ticket includes autographed copy of the book + refreshments & goodies!
GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Thursday October 15, 6:00pm, Wake Forest, NC
Page 158 Books
FREE! RSVP HERE!

Friday, October 16, 11:00 a.m., Myrtle Beach, SC
Luncheon with Litchfield Books in Pawleys Island at The Pines Lakes Country Club
$52 ticket includes personally autographed book, multi-course lunch, dessert & beverages + author talk & meet & greet
RSVP NOW!

Friday, October 16, 5:30pm, Ocean Isle Beach, NC
Special Event with Pelican Bookstore at Silver Coast Winery
$35 ticket includes glass of wine, snacks + personally autographed copy of THE BLUFF & meet and greet
GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Saturday, October 17, 3:00 pm, Westminster/Baltimore, MD
To Be Read: Event at the Carroll County Public Library in conjunction with Park Books at Exploration Commons
Event link coming soon!
FREE! To RSVP now, please call 410-386-4488

Saturday, October 24, 6:30 pm, Grand Haven, Michigan
The Bookman
For more info, click here!, or call 616-846-3520
(Bookstore RSVP link coming soon)

Saturday, November 14, 10:00 am, Palm Springs, CA
5th Annual Pride on the Page
Palm Springs Cultural Center
The Personal Behind the Novel: Wade Rouse in conversation with Rasheed Newson
First 30 attendees receive a copy of The Bluff!
For more info, click here!

SEE YOU ON TOUR! XOXO!

An Evening with Jen Hatmaker + Wade Rouse on Thursday, September 17, in Saugatuck, Michigan! Only A Select Few Tickets Remain—Get Yours Now!

I will be in conversation with NYT bestselling author, podcaster and influencer Jen Hatmaker this fall for an unforgettable, redefine-your-life, one-night-only evening at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts! The evening will kick off the start of an annual literary event that will bring the world’s most celebrated and beloved authors to my hometown to highlight the literary arts in our arts community!

For more info about the event & to order tickets, CLICK HERE!

We’ll dive into our latest books (Jen’s Awake was named a best book of the year by the New York Times and Oprah Daily while That’s What Friends Are For was a Today Show pick … Watch the TV segment about it HERE!), pull back the curtain on our creative lives, and Jen will share the ideas and convictions that shape her life and writing. Have you read AWAKE? It WILL change your life! So will she!

ORDER YOUR TICKETS HERE! SELLING FAST!

I'M TEACHING THREE - YES, 3! - WORKSHOPS THIS FALL/WINTER, INCLUDING ONE AT OUR COTTAGE IN SEPTEMBER! SPACE IS LIMITED! SIGN UP TODAY!

1. An Intimate Writing Retreat & Garden Tour at our Saugatuck Cottage on Saturday, September 19 • 9 am-4 pm ET! • $325/person (limited to 12 writers) & includes all-day workshop, coffee, lunch/dessert by Gary + peaceful garden stroll.

Workshop includes full-day session on facing your fear, finding your voice & getting your work published, with a focus on your work in progress (Where are you stuck? I'll listen to a piece of your work & offer assistance!) and how to find a literary agent/navigate the publishing world. I haven't done a workshop at our home in years, so now is the time!

For Details & To Sign Up Today, CLICK HERE!

2. Relationship Workshop with Wade & Gary (online) Sunday, November 15 • 1-4 PM ET! • $30 per household • Includes a printable workbook PDF, 30-Day Relationship Challenge, 30-day replay access and live Q&A.

Join us for a live, 3-hour online workshop focused on The Relationships We Choose about creating richer, more meaningful relationships as adults. For years, Gary & I have offered advice to readers and souls every Thursday on Wine & Words with Wade, and we will use this to explore all the questions we get from you every week, from making and nurturing adult friendships, navigating change and loss, getting unstuck, resolving conflict, and keeping long-term love equal, engaging and growing.

For More & To Sign Up Today, CLICK HERE!

3. Can't make it in person to my fall workshop? I'm holding a Zoom/online class for beginning writers to help them find their way on Sunday, January 10 • 1:30-4:30 pm ET • $75/person

For More Details & To Sign Up Now, CLICK HERE!

Be My Friend! Follow me on social media at a link below!

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XOXO,

Wade

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Happy Summer & Happy Father’s Day!

First — to celebrate Father’s Day — I wanted to share a few photos of the men who helped shape my life: My father and grandfather. On the left is a photo of me and my dad from a New Year’s when I was still a boy, and the other two are of my Grampa Rouse and my dad at their favorite place in the world, our log cabin on Sugar Creek in the Missouri Ozarks. Wishing you and the father figures in your life — whether they are dads, grandfathers, brothers, uncles, friends, neighbors, pastors, whether they are still here or no longer with you, whether you are playing golf, fishing or watching a ballgame together — a very Happy Father’s Day!

Happy June!

It’s finally summer (although it certainly hasn’t felt like it the last week or so in Michigan!), and I hope your summer is off to a great start!

We’re back home in our beloved Saugatuck-Douglas, where we jumped fully back into Michigan resort town living, summer vibes and lots of writing! In record time:

• We set up our cottage for summer.

• We got our pool up and running.

• We lovingly brought our gardens back to life after a very hard winter.

• We planted window boxes, sawed trees, cleaned our walking trails.

• We got our boat in the water, cleaned it & already have four trips under our captains’ hats with dear friends.

• I am nearing completion on my 2027 novel (June release) while finalizing my book tour (coming soon!) and PR/marketing plans for my upcoming Christmas novel, THE BLUFF, which publishes October 13 and is set on Mackinac Island. And, yes, you can preorder it now RIGHT HERE!

• I promoted THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR, which continues to touch readers in ways that humble me (see below). The novel was just named one of the Most Uplifting Books of Spring by BookBub, a lovely bookend to the novel being named a TODAY show Best Feel Good Book. You can order the hardcover HERE or the fabulous audiobook HERE!

Happy Summer and happy reading from our little piece of paradise to yours!

THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR Fills Me with PRIDE!

Although my novel, THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR, published in March, I have been thrilled to see the book receive so much attention this June in celebration of Pride Month. The novel — inspired by The Golden Girls about four men over the age of sixty who live communally in Zsa Zsa Gabor’s former mid-century mansion in Palm Springs and perform episodes of the beloved sitcom as a troupe known as The Golden Gays — is about friendship and found family, and it has been named a Must Read for Pride by Goodreads, Scary Mommy, Pridesource and many other media outlets.

One more time, you can order it HERE!

On a personal note, I was so proud to be the PRIDE speaker at this year's Community Pride celebration in our beautiful hometown of Saugatuck-Douglas, Michigan! Our incredible community showed up and showed out: Standing room only at the Saugatuck-Douglas District Library, with folks standing in the library's lawn and parking lot, sitting on the wall ... it just sums up the heart of THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR, which is the perfect PRIDE read for June.

Look at the crowd that showed up!

Why are PRIDE celebrations important? Why is THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR so important right now? Because each and every week, I receive an email from a reader 14-90, gay and straight, men and women, all across the country, all of whom are hurting, filled with shame and self-hatred, seeking acceptance, advice and unconditional love, and, most of all, hope. PRIDE isn't simply about parades, it's about unity, love, safety, being proud of who we are, and knowing that - as I write in THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR:

"I want you to survive. We need you to make this dramedy called life a spectacular one. Here is the thing about those of us who are different in this world: You can hate us, beat us, spit on us, laugh at us, demean us, take our rights away, but we will never disappear. Our light is too bright to diminish. We are what the world needs to be just a bit more beautiful."

ORDER THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR IN HARDCOVER (20% off)!

ORDER THE FABULOUS, AWARD-WINNING AUDIOBOOK OF THAT’S FRIENDS ARE FOR NOW!

ORDER MY FIRST MEMOIR, AMERICA’S BOY, NOW IN PAPERBACK!

WANT A POIGNANT FATHER’S DAY STORY? ORDER MY MEMOIR, MAGIC SEASON, A MICHIGAN NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR, B&N & USA TODAY FATHER’S DAY PICK!!

My new Christmas novel, The Bluff, is coming October 13! And … It’s set on Mackinac Island!!!

Yes, I have a new Christmas novel coming, and I’m beyond excited about it. In fact, it’s one of the most ambitious novels I’ve ever written, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it … but I’m waiting until next month for a CHRISTMAS IN JULY party to officially announce all the details.

But … We have a beautiful cover. We have a tour. And we have — which I will share today — two beautiful blurbs, including this from one of my favorite authors, #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs:

“A heartfelt dive into the complexities of family and tradition. The Bluff captures the perfect storm that occurs when two different worlds collide during the holidays. An evocative must-read for anyone who has ever attempted the delicate dance of a family Christmas.” –Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author

And a beautiful endorsement from the QUEEN OF CHRISTMAS, New York Times bestselling author Jenny Colgan, who writes:

“The Bluff is delicious, funny, warm and goes down like the best glass of Christmas mulled wine!”

PREORDER THE BLUFF NOW!

SAVE THE DATE! An Evening with Jen Hatmaker + Wade Rouse on Thursday, September 17, in Saugatuck, Michigan! TICKETS GO ON SALE JUNE 25!

What? YES! I will be in conversation with NYT bestselling author, podcaster and influencer Jen Hatmaker this fall for an unforgettable, redefine-your-life, one-night-only evening at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts!

For more info about the event & to order tickets, CLICK HERE!

We'll dive into our latest books (Jen's Awake was named a best book of the year by the New York Times and Oprah Daily while That’s What Friends Are For was a Today Show pick … Watch the TV segment about it HERE!), pull back the curtain on our creative lives, and Jen will share the ideas and convictions that shape her life and writing. Have you read AWAKE? It WILL change your life! So will she!

Tickets go on sale June 25!

ORDER YOUR TICKETS HERE! THEY WILL GO FAST!

Sooo excited! Spread the word & join us September 17!

YOUR SUMMER IS BOOKED! Our New Summer Gift Line Is Now Available!

We just launched our new gift line for summer, and each item celebrates the joy, beauty and nostalgia of summer and reading! We have mugs, candles, totes, tees, beach towels and more! Remember: You customize everything … the size, the scent, the color, the type of clothing (V-neck, regular tee, long sleeve, sweatshirt, hoodie)! Also remember: Every item features a custom design from Viola Creations by TomKat, a small, woman-owned, Michigan business. When you order a gift, it keeps a small business alive and thriving!

SHOP FOR SUMMER NOW!

PS: Want to support a local Michigan indie with a book purchase?

Order from one of my favorite booksellers below! Each has autographed copies of my books in stock, including THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR, THE SUMMER COTTAGE, THE HEIRLOOM GARDEN, THE CLOVER GIRLS & MORE!

Our local indie, The Book Nook of Saugatuck! Call (269) 888-3576 or email booknooksaugatuck@gmail.com

Fenton’s Open Book! Call (810) 629-8000 or email fentonsopenbook@yahoo.com

Or order via Bookshop!

The Heirloom Garden Is A Beautiful Perennial in My Life!

In April of 2020, my novel, THE HEIRLOOM GARDEN, published. Remember that time in our history? It was the height of Covid, and the world shut down. We were worried about our health, our parents, grandparents, children, family and friends, our safety. We were not concerned about books. My novel came … and went … very quickly.

But, over time, something magical happened: THE HEIRLOOM GARDEN grew by word of mouth, spread like seeds amongst book clubs, and it began to flower, year after year. I call THE HEIRLOOM GARDEN the perennial of my books: It just keeps blooming and sharing its beauty with readers. Why? I think it’s because we need hope more than ever these days, and that’s the foundational message of The Heirloom Garden, which explores the relationship between two women a generation apart equally scarred by the pain and loss of war and life who find hope, purpose and friendship through a garden of flowers. It centers on Iris, an accomplished botanist now in her eighties, who has lost all those she loves in her life. Unable to deal with the pain, she walls herself off from the world in her grand garden where her flowers become her friends and family, and she propagates flowers that have the characteristics of those she has lost. When a young family moves in next door to her — in need of as much nurturing as her garden — Iris begins to bloom again.

It is the perfect summer read: Each chapter is centered around a beautiful perennial, heirloom flower with so much history about the flowers and how they came to be. Readers and gardeners so love this story, and so do I. The late, great Dorothea Benton Frank wrote of the novel, “Every now and then a new voice in fiction arrives to completely charm, entertain and remind us what matters. Viola Shipman is that voice.” BookPage said the novel “is a beautifully understated story about the loss and discovery of family and ourselves ... Shipman patiently and gently unearths the deeply flawed characters’ sorrows and reveals the delicate buds of happiness that eventually blossom ... At once heart-rending and hopeful, this story is a bouquet of sorrow and joy, perseverance and patience.”

THE HEIRLOOM GARDEN is inspired by my grandma’s grand gardens, and many of her original flowers (like her perfumed peonies!) now live in mine. Each has a memory that reminds me of family. Moreover, the novel explores Victory Gardens in America during WWII. Thousands of gardens were started – women leading the charge – and they helped feed much of the country. Today’s resurgence of Victory Gardens is a legacy of those. Our elders survived depression, war, poverty, disease and managed to come through it all with strength, grace and resilience. I write in THE HEIRLOOM GARDEN of a little girl who presents Iris with a bouquet of dandelions gone to seed. “Close your eyes and make a wish,” the little girl says. As the puffs of white float toward heaven, she asks Iris, “What did you wish for?” “The only thing that matters,” Iris says. “Hope.”

That is how we make this world more beautiful. Hope. And flowers.

I’m honored to write multigenerational family sagas that serve as a universal tribute to family and our elders. In these turbulent times, my novels are meant to remind us what matters most in life. And that is each other.

Order Your Copy of The Heirloom Garden Now!

BONUS! Gary did all the illustrations in the book!

Check out all of my Viola novels here!

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XOXO,

Wade

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Happy May & Mother’s Day!

Much like spring, I’ve been a whirlwind since March! Since we last hugged here on this space, I launched and went on a nearly month-long, 11-state book tour for THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR (see all the exciting news surrounding my latest book below, and if you have yet to order your copy, please do so HERE!); we drove from coast to coast, Pacific to Atlantic, and back TWICE; upon returning to Palm Springs, I immediately launched into edits for my upcoming Christmas novel, THE BLUFF (coming October 13 … MUCH more about this family drama — SET ON MACKINAC ISLAND!!! — coming soon!), then dove directly into writing my 2027 novel. Soon, we return to our beloved Saugatuck-Douglas, Michigan, for the summer, where I will be the featured author for PRIDE, speaking on Wednesday, June 3, as well as just enjoying our beautiful beach town, boating, seeing friends, eating ice cream, drinking some wine and loving all that summer has to offer in Michigan. At the end of this post, you will find a special essay about my mother as a tribute to Mother’s Day. Though my mom is no longer with me, she is with me every single day: The unconditional love she provided, her sense of humor, her gift for storytelling, her faith, passion for reading, kindness for others, drive and independence … she made me the soul I am today. I had the best mom, and — whether you are the mother of children, pets, friends, neighbors, or your community — know I see you, love you and wish you a wonderful Mother’s Day! XOXO!

That’s What Friends Are For Was A TODAY Show Pick, A National Bestseller & SO Much More! Thank you!

It was a fever dream to see my novel featured on the TODAY Show as a March Must-Read (The Feel Good Book of the Month!) New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander RAVED about the novel with Al Roker & Co. saying:

“Fans of The Golden Girls will love this book inspired by the show, about friendship and aging in style. It's hilarious, I laughed out loud, and it made me call all my best friends and tell them that I love them. It's a great book!”

Watch the clip HERE! (Starts at about the 1:40 mark)

Read about it here on TODAY!

In addition, That’s What Friends Are For was:

• A USA Today Bestseller

• A BookBub Best New Fiction and Most Uplifting Book of the Year

• A Most Anticipated Book of 2026 by Zibby Media

• An US Weekly Best Romance

• Featured in People

• Featured in Newsweek

Featured on CBS-NY/Club Calvi Book Club (You can watch that segment HERE!

• And SQUEEE! I was interviewed by Annaliese Judge (the gorgeous, talented actress who portrays Annie Sullivan on the Netflix hit series, Sweet Magnolias) for her book club, WHO TO JUDGE! You can watch a clip from our interview HERE!

To order your copy (and maybe one for your BFF), just click a link below:

• Amazon (currently 20% off)

• Kindle (currently 50% off)

• Audiobook (which is fabulous! 4 incredible narrators!)

• Barnes & Noble

• Books-A-Million

• Bookshop

• Librofm

• Target

• Walmart

• WadeRouse.com

• ViolaShipman.com

SAVE THE DATE FOR A VERY SPECIAL EVENING! ANNOUNCING AN EVENING WITH JEN HATMAKER + WADE ROUSE ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 IN SAUGATUCK, MICHIGAN!

Join us for an unforgettable, redefine-your-life, one-night-only evening with New York Times bestselling author, podcaster and icon Jen Hatmaker, in conversation with me, USA Today bestselling author—and Saugatuck’s own—Wade Rouse on Thursday, September 17, at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts.

Heads up! Tickets don’t go on sale until June, but if you are interested in this or the VIP event (see below), email Gary at gary@violashipman.com ASAP!

In this intimate and engaging event, Jen and Wade dive into their latest books (Hatmaker’s Awake was named a best book of the year by the New York Times and Oprah Daily while Rouse’s That’s What Friends Are For was a Today Show pick) – pulling back the curtain on their creative lives—exploring the ideas, questions, and convictions that shape their writing and storytelling as well as how to overcome fear, loss and the narratives that no longer serve us in order to redefine your life no matter your age.

What began as a chance meeting quickly revealed a shared wavelength and deep mutual respect. That spark has grown into both a professional camaraderie and a genuine friendship—one that infuses this evening with humor, honesty, and heart.

Expect lively conversation filled with insight, laughter, reflection, and a look ahead at what’s next from these two compelling voices. You will leave this special evening feeling seen, heard, loved and inspired to be your best self.

YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS our VIP opportunity: Attend a private VIP cocktail party with Jen and Wade before the program! Enjoy sips and nibbles poolside, and connect with the authors and other fans at Wade and his husband Gary’s historic summer cottage (screen porch and first floor will be open and acres of stunning gardens will be on display), where he writes his books and which was featured on last year’s Saugatuck-Douglas Garden Tour. Limited to 30 VIP ticket holders. $150.00 (includes ticket to event)

***Email gary@violashipman.com to secure your spot now before tickets go on sale!***

Our New Book Club: Providing Connection in A World of Disconnection … JOIN US, READERS!

Dear Reader: We started our new book, Chapter Chat with Wade, Gary & Kat, as a way to provide connection in a world filled with disconnection. This is not your “normal” book club, where we meet once a month to talk about our book picks in a dry, dull way. We are a FUN (oh, honey are we fun!), highly interactive community of readers AND community of kindness. And we’d love to have YOU join us! Truly, you can join at any time throughout the year ... It’s never too late. We prorate the annual subscription based on when you join!

JOIN US FOR FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR! PRORATED!

LOOK AT THE AUTHORS COMING UP IN MAY & JUNE:
• Susan Mallery! (Tuesday, May 12! The book doesn’t have to be read to join us!)
• Steven Rowley!
• Grant Ginder!

What we offer:

📖 We host two authors a month! This quarter alone, we have hosted Sadeqa Johnson, Annabelle Gurwitch, Jen Hatmaker, Victoria Benton Frank & Heather Webber!

📖 My new Christmas novel, The Bluff, will be featured in October (it’s set on Mackinac Island)!

📖 You meet each author via online interview led by your hosts!

📖 A Zoom book club chat is held for every book with Kat leading readers through a thoughtful discussion & analysis of the book. We discuss the book together but readers also discuss the book in intimate break-out sessions with other readers.

📖 Me, Gary & Kat host pop-ups throughout the month that focus on the themes of the books with cooking, cocktails, playlists, baking, crafts (for instance, Gary made a “Church of Mary” Sunday brunch for my latest novel, That’s What Friends Are For).

📖 Members receive a 20% discount on the books they purchase from our great indie bookstore partner, Fenton’s Open Book

📖 Members receive 10% off our merchandise/gift line throughout the year (we update our line for each season/holiday). See our gorgeous gift line here!

📖 “Book buddies” are being formed each and every day

📖 We are discussing expanding our book club to have travel excursions to the settings I write about & other fun meet-ups!

I’m so deeply proud of what we started (we love our “Chatters”), and it’s growing beyond our wildest dreams into what we believe we need more than ever right now: Books and each other.

I HOPE YOU WILL JOIN US FOR FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR!

XOXO,
Wade

Introducing Our New Mid-Century, Golden Girls-Inspired That’s What Friends Are For gift line! Hold onto your caftans!

Our spring gift line is now featuring all new Palm Springs, mid-century modern & Golden Girls-themed merchandise inspired by THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR! We have T-shirt, sweatshirts, coasters, mugs, wine/shot glasses, totes, tumblers, wine chillers & more! Remember: YOU customize the size and color! And YOU are supporting a wonderful, woman-owned small business in Michigan!

SHOP LIKE BLANCHE FROM THE GOLDEN GIRLS NOW!

A Deeply Personal Essay Celebrating My Mom on Mother’s Day!

I wrote a beautiful essay a number of years back for The Gay & Lesbian Review as part of the magazine’s “Here’s My Story” department that publishes personal essays. The magazine is now publishing a book of essays featuring the best one of the past decade, and they are including “The Day My Mother Ran Away from Home” in it. I thought it would be a perfect time to share this essay in advance of Mother’s Day and Pride that show the incredible woman and mother that Geraldine Rouse was and how her love, strength and courage saved my life. Happy Mother’s Day!

“I’m on a Greyhound bus, I’m callin’ from a pay phone in Rolla, Missouri, and I’m comin’ to see you.”

The accent was as thick as Ozarks molasses.

I knew immediately it was my mother.

“I want to see you,” she said. “I want to meet Gary.”

This was decades ago, just before Mother’s Day and Pride, when I lived in St. Louis. Hearing my mother utter this was the shocking equivalent of picking up the phone to hear Meryl Streep say, “I want to star in the movie based on your book.”

I had come out to my parents months earlier, and my rural father had disowned me. After we spoke, he sent me a letter that essentially ended our relationship. I had spoken to my mom only a couple of times the past few months, in her clandestine calls from work, in which she had told me my father was forcing her to choose between me and him. I was anticipating a motherless Mother’s Day, which was excruciating for me.

“What about dad?” I asked.

“He was not willin’ or able to come with me at this point in time,” my mom said in only the way she could. “I cannot live another second of my life without my only son in it. I cannot live another second of my life with regret. Life is as short as one blink of God’s eye. It will be over before I know it.”

I started to cry. My mother was running away from home.

As we drove to the bus station, my mind wandered to my childhood.

It was not easy growing up a gay boy in rural America in the 1970s and 1980s. I preferred ascots over overalls, reading over hunting. And yet my mother taught me to embrace being different, to use the voice and gifts I’d been given, to relish my uniqueness. Her fierce love likely saved my life, especially after my brother was killed in a tragic accident at the age of 17, when I was only 13. I believe God had made a mistake; I could never give my parents what they dreamed: A wife and grandchildren.

“You must live,” she told me when she left me at college, “so I can live.”

My mother was a nurse and, later in her career, a hospice nurse. She was the Florence Nightingale of our rural town, caring for the wounded and the weak, the lost and hopeless. I accompanied her all over the Ozarks – across creek beds and railroad tracks – to care for those at the end of their lives.

She taught me that those at the end of their lives were filled with regrets, things they should have done and said.

“Don’t ever live your life with regret, Wade,” she used to tell me.

When Gary and I picked her up, I was petrified. Would she like Gary? Would she still love me?

In the first few seconds of her high-stepping it off the bus (my mother walked at the same speed and with the same gait as a turkey), Gary, a hugger, reached out and grabbed her, holding her body tightly.

“I thought he would be older?” my mother said, looking at me. “Your father said Gary would be a much older, wily gentleman, perhaps in his late fifties.”

“No, he’s younger than me,” I replied. “Despite what dad believes, I was not coerced into being gay. I wasn’t seduced in a back alley. I’ve known forever.”

“Well,” my mother started. “It is nice to meet you finally. Yes, yes, that is correct. Nice to meet you, sir.”

I warned Gary about my mother’s nervous talk, filled with tics and odd tales, but he was charmed. “I love your voice,” he said. “Very Steel Magnolias.”

I clutched my breath, but my Ozarks mom smiled at Gary, finally embracing him back.

For the next hour, my mother – whose stories always walked a fine line between fact and fiction – told Gary a fictionalized tale of Shirley MacLaine’s life, who, I know for sure, didn’t star in Funny Girl. She also proceeded to tell Gary about how she believed that, in previous lives, she was Clara Barton, a lioness and a blind cobbler, not necessarily in that order. Gary told my mother he believed he was an Egyptian goddess, Russian dancer and close relative to Suzanne Somers, definitely in that order.

I told both of them that I was in hell, but neither laughed because they were already bonded, talking and laughing, like long-lost friends who had reconnected. Despite all our family drama, there would be no fights, no anger, no personal drama. That’s the thing when you stop judging and start loving, accepting and understanding: You are more aware, you live in a place of light, you move forward, not back.

That’s the thing about unconditional love: You love without conditions.

No, my mother immediately adored Gary, and he adored her. Gary and Geri were, in short, a match made in heaven.

By jumping on a Greyhound, my mother made a stand that changed my life, Gary’s life, and the life of my father, who came around not only to accept – but deeply love me and Gary – largely because of my mother’s strength. Over the last 30 years Gary and I have been together, his parents have given me wonderful gifts my parents could not, and my parents gave Gary things his parents could not.

As we approach Mother’s Day and Pride, we all must continue to make a stand for what matters in life, no matter the consequences. When we do, lives are changed, dramatically, for the better; when we don’t, things remain the same, or get even worse. My mom’s love for and pride in me – and herself – and her show of strength, when all could be lost for her, changed countless lives and continues to have a ripple effect.

She lived without regret. I do as well.

My mother passed away in 2009, but when I am down, and need a sign of strength and pride – especially in light of all the vitriol in today’s world – or I need a reminder to take a stand, I think of my mother buying a bus ticket, jumping on a Greyhound and running away from home.

Happy Mother’s Day!

BE MY FRIEND! PLEASE FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA AT A LINE BELOW!

• FACEBOOK (Viola)

• FACEBOOK (Wade)

• INSTAGRAM (Viola)

• INSTAGRAM (Wade)

• GOODREADS (Viola)

• GOODREADS (Wade)

• BOOKBUB (Viola)

• BOOKBUB (Wade)

• AMAZON (Viola)

• AMAZON (Wade)

XOXO,

Wade

PREORDER YOUR COPY NOW HERE!!!

Dear Reader:

As Sophia Petrillo would say: PICTURE IT! SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI! 1985!

I was in college when The Golden Girls first premiered on TV. That show was not meant for a 19-year-old fraternity boy. I mean, four old women living together in a pink house in Florida versus twenty guys living together in a frat house filled with kegs. C’mon.

I was – on the surface – your stereotypical, ’80s college kid: I could chug a beer with the best of them, I was addicted to MTV and sports, I feathered my hair, I pulled all-nighters, I timed Domino’s Pizza drivers with a stopwatch to ensure that if they were one second late, I got a free pizza.

But I was also hiding a big secret: I was gay. And I hated myself for that. So much so that I adopted a secret persona in college that made me the life of the party when I was actually dying inside. I buried my secret, much like I had buried my older brother, Todd, who had died a few years earlier in a tragic accident, in order to spare my parents and grandparents another second of pain in their lives. I truly believed God had made a mistake when He took my brother; He should have taken my life instead. I believed my brother – a true country boy – would have given my parents what I believed they wanted: A family, a daughter-in-law, grandchildren.

And I believed the rest of my life should be dedicated to making everyone around me happy, so I lived a lie to make that happen. And I died a little every single day until I tried to end my life.

I had not wanted to go to college and leave my mother and grandmother alone. I was their best friend, and they were mine, but they both pushed me out of the nest and our small town telling me a bigger world was waiting for me and my gifts.

“We can only go on with our lives if you do,” my mom told me as she drove me to college.

The only time I saw my mother cry during this time was when I watched her car pull away from my window after moving into the freshman dorm. She thought she was out of eyesight, stopped the car, put her head on the steering wheel and wept.

My mother and grandmother used to write me letters (remember those?) every month. I would talk to them every Sunday after dinner on the pay phone (remember those?) at the end of dorm hallway. And then, well, here’s where my story gets kookily ironic:

One of the ways I also bonded with my mother and grandmother in college was by watching – as I write about in That’s What Friends Are For – The Golden Girls long distance with them. I remember some sorority friends and little sisters in my fraternity talking about the show, and one day I asked my mother and grandmother if they were watching it. They were. Of course. Like the rest of America … so I gave it a shot one weekend before one of our never-ending weekend parties. I laughed. And so a tradition began: On select Saturday evenings before my fraternity parties started, I’d stretch that cord of the rotary phone (remember those?) on the wall in the fraternity house until it snaked into my room, and I would watch The Golden Girls long distance with the two women I loved most in the world, our laughter crossing the miles.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but that connection would change my life.

For one, The Golden Girls bridged a cavernous divide between generations. It allowed me to see my mother and grandmother in a new light, and it allowed them – eventually – to not only understand and accept me but also to see me in a new light.

What was it about The Golden Girls? I mean, what could four old women say that would resonate with a 19-year-old boy struggling to find his place in the world?

Plenty, it turns out. Because we were the same in so many ways. Ostracized and overlooked. Diminished by society. Our voices and worth dismissed. Unlovable … due to age, shame, sexuality.

And yet, somehow, we found our friends and community, we bonded together, and our individual strengths made each other stronger.

Me and those four older women, it turned out, were the same in so many ways.

That’s What Friends Are For is all about community, be it the family you’re born into or the one you create. It’s about friends you’ve known for a lifetime and those you meet who feel as if you’ve known them forever.

That’s What Friends Are For is all about friendship and community, the importance of connection, especially today, with all the DISconnection and hatred in the world.

This is a novel about the beauty, history and diversity of Palm Springs. So many of us are drawn to places we live for a reason: Not just the sunshine, the ocean or lake, the mountains, the vibrancy of a city, but the ability to be our authentic selves, the chance to have a second, third or fourth act, the chance to be accepted as we are, without judgement, and to find a found family of friends.

And that’s mostly what THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS IS ALL ABOUT … friendship. Those who love and accept us just as we are. Those who make us laugh, call us out, and are there when we need them, no matter what.

Life, as a I write in the novel, is a lot like a 1980s sitcom: Three short acts - with a hell of a lot of commercial interruptions - to enjoy the precious little time we have with those we love most.

This is my 18th novel, the first under my own name, and I believe it's the best damn piece of fiction I've ever written. I hope you buy a copy or ten to share with your friends. XOXO!

PREORDER FROM THE FOLLOWING LINKS (just click & it will take you to the bookseller!)… OR YOUR FAV BOOKSELLER! HOPE YOU LOVE & THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!

• Amazon

• Kindle

• Audiobook (which is fabulous! 4 incredible narrators!)

• Barnes & Noble

• Books-A-Million

• Bookshop

• Librofm

• Target

• Walmart

• WadeRouse.com

• ViolaShipman.com

What’s The Novel About?

I’m so deeply proud of this novel (the first work of fiction under my own name, Wade Rouse), which follows four gay men – Teddy, Barry, Sid and Ron – all over the age of sixty who live communally in Zsa Zsa Gabor’s former pink mid-century mansion in Palm Springs. Each is similar in personality to one of The Golden Girls, and – as a way to connect and make money in their golden years – they bring episodes of the classic sitcom to life in the desert by performing as “The Golden Gays” in a fabulous drag show. Their lives seem to be a never-ending happy hour, however, each is harboring a deep secret they do not want to burden the others with in their golden years until Teddy’s estranged sister shows up on their doorstep with her teenage granddaughter in tow, and their secrets unravel faster than a hastily stitched hemline on one of Dorothy’s caftans.

This is a story about what so many of us have endured in this life to find friendship, love and respect. It’s about community. It’s a story about aging in America and how those of a certain age begin to become invisible despite their histories and the gifts they still have to share. It’s about caregiving, healthcare and family. Mostly, this is a story about finding a way to laugh through the hardest of times with friends who love you no matter what.

Early Accolades! That’s What Friends Are For Has Been Named …

• An AARP Must-Read!

• A Zibby Most Anticipated Book of 2026!

• A New York Post Best Book to Gift in 2026!

• An US WEEKLY Must-Read Romance of 2026!

• Plus, sooo much more exciting news to come! I can’t say just yet …

COME SEE ME ON TOUR! 11 STATES IN 2 WEEKS!

Yes, you heard me: 11 states. 2 weeks. If you have the chance, PLEASE make plans to see me, or share tour stops that are close to your friends and fav readers so they can come! Lots of stops will be caftan parties & Golden Girls-themed!

ALL MY EVENTS ARE LISTED HERE … and below!

Monday, March 2, St. Joseph, MI! 7:00 p.m. ET
Forever Books • MORE INFO HERE! • To RSVP, call (269) 982-1110 or email foreverbooks@att.net

Tuesday, March 3, Grand Rapids, MI! 6:30 p.m. ET
Schuler Books • GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!
CAFTAN PARTY! Wear your favorite (or Golden Girls) caftan!

Wednesday, March 4, Fenton, MI! 6:30 p.m. ET
Fenton’s Open Book • GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!
Fenton Community & Cultural Center

Thursday, March 5, Tampa, FL! 6:30 p.m. ET
Oxford Exchange • GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Friday, March 6, Fernandina Beach, FL! 3:00 p.m. ET
Story & Song Bookstore Bistro • GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!
“Wine & Words” Happy Hour • In conversation with Ron Kurtz
$30 per person, includes program and high tea menu

Saturday, March 7, Severna Park, MD! 2:00 p.m. ET
Park Books & the Carroll County Public Library at Exploration Commons
FREE! GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Sunday, March 8, Spring Lake, NJ! 4:00 p.m. ET
Thunder Road Books at Spring Lake Theatre • GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!
$35.00 ticket includes signed hardcover copy

Monday, March 9, Brooklyn, NY! 7:00 p.m ET
The BookMark Shoppe • PEOPLE & Prosecco Party (Totes will be given to those who buy the book!)! In conversation with PEOPLE Magazine Books Editor Lizz Schumer
GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Tuesday, March 10, St. Louis, MO! 7:00 p.m. CT
St. Louis County Library/Clark Family Branch
FREE! MORE INFO HERE!

Wednesday, March 11, Cleveland, OH! 7:00 p.m. ET
Cuyahoga County Public Library/Brooklyn Branch • FREE! MORE INFO HERE!

Thursday, March 12, Kenosha, WI! 6:00 p.m. CT
Blue House Books • GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Friday, March 13, Chicago, IL! 7:00 p.m. CT
The Book Cellar • FREE! RSVP HERE!

Sunday, March 15, Baltimore, MD! 2 p.m. ET
Baltimore County Public Library (Owings Mills) • FREE! MORE INFO HERE!
8th Annual “Book Lovers Bash” (with Jennifer Armentrout & Vanessa Riley)

Introducing Our New Mid-Century, Golden Girls-Inspired That’s What Friends Are For gift line! Hold onto your caftans!

Our gift line is now featuring all new Palm Springs, mid-century modern & Golden Girls-themed merchandise inspired by THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR! We have T-shirt, sweatshirts, coasters, mugs, wine/shot glasses, totes, tumblers, wine chillers & more! Remember: YOU customize the size and color!

SHOP LIKE BLANCHE FROM THE GOLDEN GIRLS NOW!

OUR NEW BOOK CLUB IS A HIT! MY NEW NOVEL IS FEATURED IN MARCH ! STILL TIME TO JOIN!

Sign up now for March-December and receive our prorated rate!

Our new book, CHAPTER CHAT WITH WADE, GARY & KAT, is more than your average book club! We’re already up to 150 members, and we have created a community of kindness as well as a highly interactive group of book buddies from all over the United States and Canada! We have hosted authors Jen Hatmaker, Victoria Benton Frank and Heather Webber, made playlists, cocktails, cakes and appetizers that pair with each book, hosted SO MANY zooms plus plenty of pop-ups, and and are gearing up for a year unlike any other for a book club! Upcoming authors include Sadeqa Johnson, Susan Mallery and Steven Rowley, who will all join us LIVE!

Sign up now for March-December and receive our prorated rate for the rest of the year!

BONUS: My two new novels are being featured in March & October, and we will be having special surprises for book club members!!! ❤️📕

Here’s what members receive (in addition to TWO author chats + 2 book club discussions with members only):

* In-Depth Discussion Guides
* Recipes and signature drinks to match the book!
* Playlists to match the book’s characters, mood & themes!
* Private interactive Facebook Group (just for members)
* Pop up live videos (cooking, crafting that fit the book)
* 20% off all book club picks through Fenton’s Open Book
* Variety of digital goodies & gifts each month, from printables, phone & desktop wallpaper & more
*Members receive a 10% discount on TomKat Designs Studio & Viola Creations * Books & authors (along with book club meeting times) will be announced quarterly to give you time to read the books (but we also want to surprise you as we go!)

SIGN UP NOW!

PLEASE FOLLOW ME (& check out my “Blue Robe Confessions” on social) below:

• FACEBOOK (Viola)

• FACEBOOK (Wade)

• INSTAGRAM (Viola)

• INSTAGRAM (Wade)

• GOODREADS (Viola)

• GOODREADS (Wade)

• BOOKBUB (Viola)

• BOOKBUB (Wade)

• AMAZON (Viola)

• AMAZON (Wade)

XOXO,

Wade

I love love.

Don’t we all? And this issue is filled with heart: A special essay. Our Valentine gift line. My love of writing. And news about my new novel, THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR, which is filled with my entire heart. Wishing you and your sweetheart a Happy Valentine’s Day!

ONE MONTH ALERT! THAT’S WHAT FRIEND ARE FOR PUBLISHES MARCH 3!

Can you believe it? One month from today, my new novel — and the first under my own name — will be in the world. This novel is an ode to many things: The Golden Girls, found family, finding home, aging with grit and grace, ageism, laughter, fighting the inhumanity and insanity in the world with humor and resilience, Palm Springs, the Rat Pack, and friends ... like you. I hope you will:

• Preorder now from your favorite bookseller, or at a link below!

• Share news and links about the book with your friends, book club & fav readers!

• Leave a review on Goodreads or Bookbub!

• Come see me on tour! (see below)

The rave reviews are rolling in:

Booklist says: “A humorous and heartfelt novel that tackles serious issues such as grief, guilt, love (self-love and love for others), and family (those we are born with and those we find on our own) with a deliciously acerbic wit and sharp insights that Dorothy Zbornak, as played by Bea Arthur, would admire.”

Publisher’s Weekly writes: “Rouse's affectionate homage to The Golden Girls delivers both humor and heart as he emphasizes that 'being a friend is the role of a lifetime.'" The result reads like the great sitcom!”

PREORDER TODAY!

• Amazon

• Kindle

• Audiobook (which is fabulous! 4 incredible narrators!)

• Barnes & Noble

• Books-A-Million

• Bookshop

• Target

• Walmart

• WadeRouse.com

• ViolaShipman.com

I’M TEACHING A WRITING WORKSHOP THIS SATURDAY, FEB. 7! ASPIRING WRITERS, IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO RSVP

Are you writing and feel stuck? Need a best friend to snuggle up beside you for the day and help get you through those "ruff" spots? Let me be your book buddy for the day! I'm teaching a writing workshop THIS Saturday, February 7, at 1:30 p.m. ET that focuses solely on YOUR work in progress, be it a novel, memoir, essay collection, or just pages you don't know what to do with or how to pull together!

Space is limited! $150 for the day!

RSVP NOW!

Here’s the rundown for the day:

The group and I will listen to the elevator pitch of your work in progress (1-minute max) plus a 5-7 minute excerpt of your work in progress (this can be the opening, middle, end, or two short pieces from different places in your work), but this reading should give a clear picture of the work and/or where you need help. I will give my thoughts on the shared work (and pitch), and then ask where you are stuck, concerned, thrilled, need help, etc. The group will also have a chance to share constructive feedback that is grounded in kindness. Participation is limited, so each writer will have roughly 20+ minutes of time. Time at the end will be open for questions from participants that may have been missed or arose during the workshop. Have your work heard in this amazing session. Questions: Email gary@violashipman.com

FALL IN LOVE WITH OUR VALENTINE’S GIFT LINE! ORDER NOW & IT WILL ARRIVE IN TIME FOR YOU & YOUR SWEETHEART!

Our new Valentine’s line is filled with heart & the perfect gifts for the book lover in your life. Put some love & lit in your life this Valentine’s Day with our handmade designs & Viola/Wade quotes on tees, sweatshirts, hoodies, aprons, coasters, mugs, candles, totes, tumblers, wine chillers, ceramic ornaments & more! Remember: YOU customize the size and color!

SHOP NOW WITH ALL YOUR HEART!

COME SEE ME ON TOUR! 11 STATES IN 2 WEEKS!

Yes, you heard me: 11 states. 2 weeks. If you have the chance, PLEASE make plans to see me, or share tour stops that are close to your friends and fav readers so they can come! Lots of stops will be caftan parties & Golden Girls-themed!

Tuesday, February 24, Palm Springs, CA! 7:30 p.m. PT
Special Prelaunch Event! Palm Springs Speaks at the Plaza Theatre • In conversation with Steven Rowley • TICKET INFO HERE!

Monday, March 2, St. Joseph, MI! 7:00 p.m. ET
Forever Books • MORE INFO HERE! • To RSVP, call (269) 982-1110 or email foreverbooks@att.net

Tuesday, March 3, Grand Rapids, MI! 6:30 p.m. ET
Schuler Books • GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!
CAFTAN PARTY! Wear your favorite (or Golden Girls) caftan!

Wednesday, March 4, Fenton, MI! 6:30 p.m. ET
Fenton's Open Book • GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!
Fenton Community & Cultural Center

Thursday, March 5, Tampa, FL! 6:30 p.m. ET
Oxford Exchange • GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Friday, March 6, Fernandina Beach, FL! 3:00 p.m. ET
Story & Song Bookstore Bistro • GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!
“Wine & Words” Happy Hour • In conversation with Ron Kurtz
$30 per person, includes program and high tea menu

Saturday, March 7, Severna Park, MD! 2:00 p.m. ET
Park Books & the Carroll County Public Library at Exploration Commons
GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Sunday, March 8, Spring Lake, NJ! 4:00 p.m. ET
Thunder Road Books at Spring Lake Theatre • GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!
$35.00 ticket includes signed hardcover copy

Monday, March 9, Brooklyn, NY!
The BookMark Shoppe • Dinner & Dessert! In conversation with PEOPLE Books Editor Lizz Schumer
GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Tuesday, March 10, St. Louis, MO! 7:00 p.m. CT
St. Louis County Library/Clark Family Branch
FREE! MORE INFO HERE!

Wednesday, March 11, Cleveland, OH! 7:00 p.m. ET
Cuyahoga County Public Library/Brooklyn Branch • FREE! MORE INFO HERE!

Thursday, March 12, Kenosha, WI! 6:00 p.m. CT
Blue House Books • GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Friday, March 13, Chicago, IL! 7:00 p.m. CT
The Book Cellar • FREE! RSVP HERE!

Sunday, March 15, Baltimore, MD! 2 p.m. ET
Baltimore County Public Library (Owings Mills) • FREE! MORE INFO HERE!
8th Annual “Book Lovers Bash” (with Jennifer Armentrout & Vanessa Riley)

OUR NEW BOOK CLUB IS A HIT! STILL TIME TO JOIN!

Sign up now for February-December and receive our prorated rate!

Our new book, CHAPTER CHAT WITH WADE, GARY & KAT, is already up to 150 members in just a month, and we have created a community of kindness as well as a highly interactive group of book buddies from all over the United States and Canada! We have hosted authors Jen Hatmaker and Heather Webber, made playlists, cocktails, cakes and appetizers that pair with each book, hosted FOUR zooms plus plenty of pop-ups, and and are gearing up for a year unlike any other for a book club!

Sign up now for February-December and receive our prorated rate for the rest of the year!

BONUS: My two new novels are being featured in March & October, and we will be having special surprises for book club members!!! ❤️📕

Here’s what members receive (in addition to TWO author chats + 2 book club discussions with members only):

* In-Depth Discussion Guides
* Recipes and signature drinks to match the book!
* Playlists to match the book’s characters, mood & themes!
* Private interactive Facebook Group (just for members)
* Pop up live videos (cooking, crafting that fit the book)
* 20% off all book club picks through Fenton's Open Book
* Variety of digital goodies & gifts each month, from printables, phone & desktop wallpaper & more
*Members receive a 10% discount on TomKat Designs Studio & Viola Creations * Books & authors (along with book club meeting times) will be announced quarterly to give you time to read the books (but we also want to surprise you as we go!)

SIGN UP NOW!

LOVE, WADE: A Special Valentine’s Essay from Me to You

In my grade school, it was tradition for each student to create a Valentine’s Day mailbox and then walk around the classroom, personally delivering cards to each of our classmates. I took this business quite seriously, as it was one of the few creative outlets I had in the Ozarks. These over-the-top creations probably made me look like the love child of Charles Eames and Edith Head: an aesthetic not greatly appreciated in my rural classroom.

My great undoing came the year I created a Barbie-themed mailbox. It featured shocking pink gauze and Barbie body parts as the foundational decor. At the time, I did not have a Barbie (though I had always wanted one); so, I “borrowed” one from a girl in school, and then I proceeded to take it apart. Then I fitted her torso with pink wings and a little pink quiver filled with tiny pink arrows — à la Cupid.

The pièce de résistance was the mailbox flag that I crafted from Barbie’s disembodied legs. I positioned them sideways so that one of her long, glam gams could be lifted into vertical position to show when I had received a card or lowered to show when my box had been emptied.

My masterpiece received quite a reaction from the girl who had lent me the Barbie. When she saw her beloved doll dismembered and hanging from my mailbox, she produced a scream that still reverberates in my head. This in turn prompted our class bully (who, it’s worth noting, was using an empty cigarette carton as his mailbox) to open my work of art and rifle through my valentines.

That’s how the bully discovered a lovely vintage card that had — scandalously — been given to me by a male classmate, a boy who loved Garanimals, books and (apparently) me. It featured two cupids kissing, with my name written in above one cupid’s head and my classmate’s over the other.

Thus, the bully tortured us all winter: He called us names. He tripped us when we’d go for milk. Sometimes he took our coats and interlocked the sleeves on the rack in the back of the room, as though they were about to take off on a romantic stroll through a snowy wood.

To spare myself similar embarrassment in future years, I stuck to more boyish themes (like Speed Racer) for my subsequent valentine mailboxes.

Many years later and many miles away, I opened my actual mailbox to discover an invitation to my high school reunion. My first reaction: No way. I’d worked too hard to escape those early years and build a happy life with Gary. Why would I go back? So I wadded up the invite and tossed it in the trash.

But, over the course of the next few months, the invitation did make me wonder what had happened to all those people with whom I’d been stuck for so many years. I was particularly interested to know what had become of the sweetheart who had given me those valentines and the bully who had tried so hard to make us miserable for it.

So I started with some basic Facebook research, and by the time of my next trip to see my father (who still lived in the small town where I’d grown up), I was in full Angela Lansbury–Murder, She Wrote mode.

Ultimately, I learned that the sweetheart had moved away and ended up married, happy and successful. Meanwhile the bully — who had continued to taunt me well into high school — ended up running into quite a bit of trouble and endured a very hard life.

That year, when Valentine’s Day rolled around, I went out and bought two cute cards featuring kissing cupids: one for each of them.

I thought long and hard about what I’d write to these men — the one who’d been brave enough to risk expressing love for another boy, and one who’d seemed to take so much pleasure in making us suffer for it.

Finally, I decided to wish them what I’d been lucky enough to find and signed each card: “Love, Wade.”

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I will be back in a couple of weeks with LOTS of exciting book news!

XOXO,

Wade

Happy 2026!

I’ve always been a New Year’s kind of a guy. Even as a kid, I’d sneak out of bed, throw on a party hat, grab a horn and ring in the new year with all the adults at my parents’ annual New Year’s Eve Party. My parents knew how to have a good time (and I continue that tradition), but they also knew it was important to stop and celebrate the too few moments we get with family and friends. New Year’s is not only about looking back, it’s about looking forward, being grateful for what was and excited for what is to come. I am not a New Year’s Resolution type of guy, but I am — and always have been — a New Year’s kind of kid as it allows us one moment a year to assess, be grateful, be empowered, to stand on that precipice of what was and what is to be, to rest before running forward. I still throw on a party hat, grab a horn and ring in the new year (now with a glass of good champagne), and I always will, grateful for another year.

FIVE THINGS I WAS MOST GRATEFUL FOR IN 2025!

1. The Page Turner — my book about publishing and how books and reading save us — was a national bestseller.

2. #2 is a two-fer: First, our Michigan cottage was part of the Saugatuck-Douglas Garden Tour this summer, and hundreds of flower lovers got to witness the glory of Gary’s gifts and hard work. Second, we took a dream trip to Italy in September to celebrate my 60th birthday. We visited Milan, Lake Como (the highlight for me, sooo stunningly beautiful in real life, think White Lotus!), Tuscany, Pisa, Cinque Terre and Florence (another highlight)! This year, we are headed to Alaska for Gary’s 60th birthday.

3. Though we lost our beloved dog, Doris, to heart disease, she will forever remain the bright light she was in our lives. Our rescue, Gerti, has big paws to fill, but is filling the holes in our hearts with BIG love.

4. My first book (my baby!), America’s Boy: A Memoir, was republished and is now again available to readers!

5. Connecting with authors I’ve loved but never met (from Debbie Macomber and Jenny Colgan to Jen Hatmaker) … and connecting with YOU, readers from all over the U.S. I visited some 20 states this year.

FIVE THINGS I’M MOST EXCITED ABOUT IN 2026!

1. That’s What Friends Are For, the first novel under my own name (don’t worry, I will continue to write Viola Shipman novels as well, but this is a huge honor for me!) is publishing March 3. This story — inspired by The Golden Girls — centers on friendship, on those who believe in us and our dreams more than we do, even when the world, family, aging, health turns against us. It’s hilarious, it’s heartbreaking, it’s life-affirming, and it's already received rave reviews and landed on many Most Anticipated Books of 2026 lists. This is a story that called to my soul and I had to write it, and I hope you love it and preorder now as those early sales are so important to authors and their books. PREORDER NOW!

2. I will be visiting 10+ states on my upcoming book tour, which will be announced very soon and kicks off at a special prelaunch event at the historic Plaza Theatre in Palm Springs, California, on Tuesday, February 24, in conversation with author Steven Rowley. (GET TICKETS HERE!). Other March stops include a March 1 New York City podcast and luncheon with Zibby Owens, with subsequent stops in St. Joseph, Grand Haven, Grand Rapids and Fenton/Detroit (Get tickets here!) Michigan, Tampa (GET TICKETS HERE!) and Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island, Florida, Baltimore, Maryland (twice in two weeks!), Spring Lake, New Jersey (GET TICKETS HERE!), Brooklyn, New York (in conversation with PEOPLE books editor Lizz Schumer), St. Louis, Missouri, Cleveland, Ohio (GET TICKETS HERE!), Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois (with summer stops to be added later).

3. We have started a book club, CHAPTER CHAT WITH WADE, GARY & KAT,

   to not only take our community of kindness to a new level but also to share our love of books and authors … and I’m excited my two new 2026 novels will be part of this new book club (Hear more about it in this video!). We need stories, escape, different perspectives - and each other - more than ever right now. STILL TIME TO JOIN! JOIN NOW & SAVE 20%!

4. I am teaching again, and that’s made me feel whole and inspired again as I know how many of you need someone who believes in you and your dreams. Writing is not for the weak. I’m teaching two workshops in 2026, including one NEXT SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, entitled Facing Your Fear & Finding Your Voice (in life & writing). It’s three hours of creative inspiration and perspiration for only $75. REGISTER NOW! And on Saturday, February 7, I’m teaching a four-hour workshop focused solely on your writing and work in progress (novel, memoir, essays, or whatever you’ve been working on). The class is $150 and capped at 12 writers. RSVP FOR MY FEB. 7 WORKSHOP NOW!

5. Finally, my next Christmas/winter novel — The Bluff — will publish October 13. I can’t say much yet (there’s no cover yet), but think one of the most beautiful locations in Michigan combined with The Family Stone (one of my all-time favorite holiday movies). You can preorder really early HERE!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season! One final look back at 2025 with a holiday home tour of our 13 Christmas trees!

Here’s to a happy, healthy, successful 2026 filled with love, laughter and lots of books!

XOXO,

Wade

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HAPPY HO-HO-HOLIDAYS!

Christmas has always been one of my favorite holidays. My grandma, Viola Shipman, instilled the meaning and magic of Christmas from the earliest of ages (as you can see in that first picture!). Though our parents and grandparents may be gone, Gary and I continue to bring their lives and light — as well as the beauty of the holidays — to life through the traditions, decorating, recipes and faith they taught us. We decorate 11 trees (yes, 11!), we bake cookies, we watch movies, we make Clark Griswold look completely normal. In my next Substack — in advance of Christmas — I will take you on a “holiday stroll” through our home and decorations (trees, tinsel tree villages, snow globe collections, felted tree skirts, manger scenes and thousands of heirloom ornaments) as well as a beloved holiday recipe. And if you’d like to join us LIVE for our holiday home stroll, Christmas craft day and holiday party, please follow me HERE ON FACEBOOK for photos and WINE & WORDS WITH WADE every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET. In the meantime, I wrote a special holiday essay (below) that I hope reminds you to embrace the spirit of the season!

A Special Christmas Essay from Me … to YOU!

I was honored to be asked by Country Living — one of my favorite magazines — to write a Christmas essay for their December/January holiday issue. My essay, Grandma Knows Best, is about how our beloved pets keep us connected to loved ones and the memories of Christmases past. It is featured on the final page of the magazine and was a joy to write. If your beloved pets — whether with you now or just in your memory — have been a special part of your holiday celebrations over the years, I hope this essay touches your heart. (And check out our new holiday gift line that features Gerti-inspired presents for the dog lover in your life! Santa approved!)

LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT? LOOK NO FURTHER! ANNOUNCING OUR CHRISTMAS & HANUKKAH GIFT LINE!

Our Viola Holiday Gift Line Is Now LIVE! All new designs!

SHOP IT NOW!

Celebrate Christmas & Hanukkah with our one-of-kind gifts!
Support two small businesses this holiday season!

All gifts feature funny/sweet holiday quotes from my novels!

❤️ Our dog Gerti-inspired gifts are perfect for dog lovers
💚 “You Can’t Spell Christmas without Wine!” is a simple truth
❤️ “Welcome to the Nuthouse” is a fab, funny family gift
💚 “Lights, Love, Latkes” will be a hit for Hanukkah
❤️ “Snow Angels Are Winter’s Way of Saying Hello to God”
💚 “All Booked for Christmas” is ideal for book lovers
❤️ “Live in the Moment Today” pine-scented, all-natural candles

These designs and sayings come in ceramic & cork coasters, wine glasses, tumblers, aprons, ornaments, journals, T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies & more! YOU customize the size & color! Order today & all will arrive early for Hanukkah & Christmas!

HOLIDAY SHOP WITH US NOW & SEE OUR ENTIRE GIFT LINE HERE!

Our Brand New (& VERY fun!) Book Club Starts in January! Have you joined? Why not? Perfect Gift for Your Book Lover!

JOIN NOW!

Chapter Chat with Gary & Kat (and yours truly) kicks off next month, and this is a book club for ALL readers and book lovers, not those simply focused on one genre, or the latest NYT list, but those who relish reading a range of books, from debuts to classics.

 • This is for readers like Gary, who struggled with reading growing up and relishes the support of a book community. It’s for voracious readers like Kat, who enjoy a vast range of stories and brings a contagious joy and unbridled love for books and authors. It’s for readers like me: I want to bring you authors I know and love - from NYT bestselling authors to debut authors whose books I feel deserve attention - to your attention. I want you to enjoy more than just a bland discussion of a book: I want you to laugh and get to know the author, I want to cry with you over passages that move me, and I want to bring my new work to you first. I also wanted to deepen the connections we have made via WINE & WORDS WITH WADE and focus more deeply on the books that touch my heart and that I know will touch yours as well.

 • We want this to be FUN! CHAPTER CHAT WITH GARY & KAT (and me!) will be loaded with bookish parties, playlists, recipes, cooking, cocktails & crafts ... and LOTS of LAUGHS!

• We want this to be PERSONAL & INTERACTIVE! Chapter Chat will meet twice a month, so we can go deep with the author & also go deep with YOU about the book!

• BIG BONUS: We will be bringing you my 2 new novels in 2026 so that you will be among the first to read & hear about them!

• Finally, I started this because I love books … and you!

We are offering SO much our first year including:

* In-Depth Discussion Guides
* Recipes to match the book!
* Signature drinks for the book!
* Music playlists to match the book’s characters, mood & themes!
* Private interactive Facebook Group (just for members)
* Pop up live videos (cooking, crafting that fit the book)
* Variety of digital goodies & gifts each month, from printables, phone & desktop wallpaper & more
*Members receive a 10% discount on TomKat Designs Studio & Viola Creations Merchandise
* Two (2!) Monthly Meetings! Including a FACEBOOK LIVE with Wade, Gary, Kat AND our chosen author the first Tuesday of the month (at 7 p.m. ET) + book discussion/book club Zoom for members only the third or fourth Thursday of each (depending on holidays, at 8 p.m. ET)
* Books & authors (along with book club meeting times) will be announced quarterly to give you time to read the books (but we also want to surprise you as we go!); personalized indie bookstores will be selected for you to support, but we also know many of you will get your books from your beloved library
* BONUS: If you join right now for the year, you receive a $24 savings!!!

• 2026 Annual Subscription •

JOIN NOW FOR THE YEAR! $24 SAVINGS!

Billed once $71.88 ($5.99 a month)
$24.00 savings (Sign up NOW to receive this discount)
——————————————————
• Quarterly Subscription for Jan.-Feb.-Mar. •

JOIN NOW QUARTERLY!

Billed once $23.97 (7.99 a month)

*Actual Books are not included
*Non-Refundable

Sign up today! Make Friends Who Love Books!
Let’s Read Together (and maybe even change the world a bit)!

I’M HOSTING 3 WRITING WORKSHOPS (INCLUDING 1 ON SATURDAY)!

 • SIGN UP FOR MY DEC. 13 QUERY/AGENT WORKSHOP!

 • SIGN UP FOR JAN. 10 FACE YOUR FEAR/FIND YOUR VOICE WORKSHOP!

 • SIGN UP FOR MY FEB. 7 FOCUS ON YOUR MANUSCRIPT WORKSHOP!

***SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1:30-3:30 PM ET***

“Writing the Perfect Query Letter & Securing the Perfect Literary Agent!”
*ONLY $45! (non-refundable but may be applied to future class)
HUGE NEWS: CeCe Lyra, an agent from MY literary agency (Wendy Sherman Associates) will join us LIVE!

Are you ready to take the next step in your writing journey? Just want to be prepared with the best information when you finish your book? Want to hear about the query letter I wrote that secured three offers of representation and an agent that has helped me publish 21 books? Want to hear from one of the best literary agents in publishing?

You’ve written a book! Congratulations! Hard truth? Nobody wants to read it … unless you write the perfect query letter. I call publishing BART: Business meets ART. Yes, it’s art. But, first and foremost, it’s a BIG business, and you must learn the tricks of the trade to give yourself the best chance to be traditionally published. I will teach you how to write a winning query (sharing my letter that led to three offers of representation without any connections in the publishing world), how to search the vast sea of agents to find the perfect (and legitimate!) agent who will be the ideal fit for you, your genre and your career plus what it’s like to work with an agent (what they do for writers, etc.). I will also take your questions throughout to ensure your specific questions are being addressed. BONUS: CeCe Lyra, an agent from MY literary agency (Wendy Sherman Associates will join us LIVE to talk with you and discuss the do’s & don’t of writing queries, what she & agents look for in a query & client + she will listen to your query letter if you have one ready! CeCe is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents and a co-host of the hugely popular podcast The Shit No One Tells You About Writing which has over four million downloads. SIGN UP NOW!

***SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 1:30 PM ET***

Facing Your Fear, Finding Your Voice & Focusing on Your Work!

$75.00 — Three-hour workshop (Space is limited!) Includes time for YOU to ask questions! (non-refundable but may be applied to future workshops

I will lead you through how fear stops us from finding our authentic voice in life AND writing, and how unlocking that voice is the key to writing a great book. Plus: I will teach you How to Start & Finish A Book (plus navigating the middle), the 3H’s (humor + heartbreak = honesty) as well as Completing Your Manuscript: Personal Q&A with Wade. SIGN UP NOW!

***SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1:30-5:30 PM ET***

Focusing on YOUR Work in Progress! Let’s Talk about YOUR Book!

$150/4-Hour Workshop • Max 12 participants! (Non-refundable but may be applied to future workshops)

This small, deeply personal and intensive workshop will focus solely on YOUR work in progress. After a short, personal introduction about my work and how I feel in the midst of writing a book, the group and I will listen to the elevator pitch of your work in progress (1-minute max) plus a 5-7 minute excerpt of your work in progress (this can be the opening, middle, end, or two short pieces from different places in your work), but this reading should give a clear picture of the work and/or where you need help. I will give my constructive advice on the shared work (and pitch), and then ask where you are stuck, concerned, thrilled, need help, etc. The group will also have a chance to share constructive feedback that is grounded in kindness.

Participation is maxed at twelve, so each writer will have roughly 20 minutes of time. Time at the end will be open for questions from participants that may have been missed or arose during the workshop. Have your work heard in this amazing session! SIGN UP NOW!

HOLIDAY BOOK GIFT GUIDE! NEED A BOOK FOR THE HOLIDAYS? MAY I SUGGEST ONE OF MINE?

Did you know I’ve written three holiday novels (The Secret of Snow, A Wish for Winter and The Wishing Bridge) and three holiday novellas (Christmas in Tinsel Tree Village, A Sugarplum Christmas and Christmas Angels) all of which bring the magic, meaning and beauty of winter and the holidays to life?

Plus, the New York Post and Hour Detroit Magazine suggested putting ME under your tree this year (well, not me, although I would happily sit under your tree for some eggnog and frosted sugar cookies!), but my books!

The Post named my upcoming novel, THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR, as one of the “45 cozy gifts that’ll warm hearts this holiday season.” They wrote: “Full of heart, humor, and friendship, That’s What Friends Are For is the perfect cozy gift to make you laugh, cry, and fall in love with your chosen family. Think The Golden Girls meets four gay men and Palm Springs fabulousness. Wade Rouse is quick-witted and heartfelt with every last word. You’re going to love this read, so buy one for a gift and the other to read stat!”

And Hour Detroit named THE PAGE TURNER as part of their annual Book Gift Guide of Michigan Authors for The Feel-Good Fiction Fan! They wrote: “By Wade Rouse (writing under Viola Shipman), Saugatuck/Douglas-based. Follows a young romance writer who makes a discovery that could throw her literary elitist family into chaos!”

Wanna make your book lover happy? Put me under the tree!

To order my books, or to preorder That's What Friends Are For (most of which are currently on sale for the holidays!), visit my websites HERE & HERE!

I’ll be back soon with a special Christmas issue packed with holiday decorating, recipes and Christmas stroll of our bedecked, bedazzled home! Happy Ho-Ho-Holidays!

XOXO,

Wade

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Join Our Cool, New Bookclub Today!

Join My Dec. 13 Literary Agent Workshop!

2026 Is The Year of The Fire Horse, Filled with Passion, Purpose & Bold Action! Let’s Set 2026 on Fire … Together!

Did you know that 2026 is the “Year of the Fire Horse,” which is associated with passion and bold action?

Okay, so I don’t know a lot about fire horses, but I do know a lot about , who has always been my spirit animal, and she beautifully explains the difference between a wish and a dream, saying: “I’ve always been a dreamer, and dreams are special things. But dreams are of no value if they’re not equipped with wings and feet and hands and all that. If you’re going to make a dream come true, you’ve got to work. You can’t just sit around. That’s a wish. That’s not a dream.”

So, this year, let’s turn your wishes into dreams that come true. It requires — as Dolly says — wings AND work. That’s how I started: I never believed I would be a an author. I had a wish, but hard work - waking at 4 a.m. before my “real job” to write, overcoming my own fears and doubts - turned that into a dream which eventually became reality: I’ve now published 21 books! And counting … my new novel, THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR (inspired by The Golden Girls) publishes March 3! (And I just announced the first launch event for it, a special prelaunch party on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 7:30 p.m. PT, at the newly renovated, historic Plaza Theatre in Palm Springs — which Cynthia Erivo is reopening with a concert next month — as part of the distinguished Palm Springs Speaks speaker series featuring Rob Reiner … and me! If you are in the Palm Springs area — or have friends, family, or fav readers in the desert, San Diego or LA area) please let them know!

GET TIX TO MY PALM SPRINGS LAUNCH HERE!

This year, I am Dolly on a Fire Horse … two new books PLUS I’m introducing a new (very fun and interactive) book club AND reintroducing my master classes in writing to help YOU achieve your dream, be part of our community of kindness, and laugh, learn and read along the way.

• CHAPTER CHAT WITH GARY & KAT (plus yours truly)! Our new (& VERY fun) book club launches Jan. 1st! Bringing you 12 months of my favorite books & authors (including my 2 new novels … be among the first to read & hear about them!)

JOIN TODAY HERE!!!

This is not your ordinary bookclub! Chapter Chat with Gary & Kat (and me!) will not only feature my two next 2026 novels (one publishing in March, and my holiday novel in October!), but it will also be filled with recipes, cocktails and playlists that match the chosen book, cooking and crafting classes that fit the setting, storyline and characters, plus LOADS of laughter and fun! PLUS! Interviews with authors and personal online meetings with members to discuss the book in depth so we can hear from YOU!

We will meet TWICE every month, including a Facebook Live the first Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. ET to introduce you to the author (interviews will even include cooking & cocktails with the author as we discus the novel) PLUS a special Zoom just for book club members the third or fourth Thursday of the month (depending on holidays) at 8 p.m. ET after my Wine & Words with Wade podcast. This will be a chance for you to discuss the book live with other members and share in the joy and friendship of a community that loves books and relishes reading.

Even with my insane writing and tour schedule, I started this new endeavor as a way to bring my personal take on books to you. I want to bring authors I know and love - from NYT bestselling authors to debut authors whose books I feel deserve attention - to your attention. I wanted you to enjoy more than just a bland discussion of a book: I want you to laugh and get to know the author, I want to cry with you over passages that move me, and I want to bring my new work to you first. I also wanted to deepen the connections we have made via WINE & WORDS WITH WADE and focus more deeply on the books that touch my heart and that I know will touch yours as well. Kat Ferraro (the small business owner who designs our gorgeous gift line and a lifelong reader) and Gary Edwards (my husband and the king of fun) will lead the discussion, and I will interview authors and share my soul with you.

Chapter Chat with Gary & Kat (and yours truly) will be truly special because of how personal it is going to be (kindness, community and fun is our Hallmark brand). We will be bringing you the best books, from fiction to historical fiction, memoir to magical realism. But mostly we will be bringing our hearts, souls, friendship, laughter and love of books to you.

We are offering SO much our first year including:

* In-Depth Discussion Guides
* Recipes to match the book!
* Signature drinks for the book!
* Music playlists to match the book’s characters, mood & themes!
* Private interactive Facebook Group (just for members)
* Pop up live videos (cooking, crafting that fit the book)
* Variety of digital goodies & gifts each month, from printables, phone & desktop wallpaper & more
*Members receive a 10% discount on TomKat Designs Studio & Viola Creations Merchandise
* Two (2!) Monthly Meetings! Including a FACEBOOK LIVE with Wade, Gary, Kat AND our chosen author the first Tuesday of the month + book discussion/book club Zoom for members only the third or fourth Thursday of each (depending on holidays)
* Books & authors (along with book club meeting times) will be announced quarterly to give you time to read the books (but we also want to surprise you as we go!); personalized indie bookstores will be selected for you to support, but we also know many of you will get your books from your beloved library
* BONUS: If you join right now for the year, you receive a $24 savings!!!

• 2026 Annual Subscription •

JOIN NOW FOR THE YEAR! $24 SAVINGS!

Billed once $71.88 ($5.99 a month)
$24.00 savings (Sign up NOW to receive this discount)
——————————————————
• Quarterly Subscription for Jan.-Feb.-Mar. •

JOIN NOW QUARTERLY

Billed once $23.97 (7.99 a month)

*Actual Books are not included
*Non-Refundable

Sign up today! Make Friends Who Love Books!
Let’s Read Together (and maybe even change the world a bit)!

WADE’S WRITING WORKSHOPS ARE BACK! TAKE MY HAND & JOIN ME FOR MY INTENSIVE MASTER CLASSES!

JOIN ME FOR MY DEC. 13 AGENT WORKSHOP!

JOIN ME FOR MY JAN. 10 FEAR WORKSHOP!

FEB. 7 'YOUR WORK' WORKSHOP!

Regret.

It follows us. Eats at us. Eventually consumes us.

I was filled with regret for the majority of my life. I wanted to be a writer. I was nearing forty. It wasn’t going to happen.

And then — when I went home one summer to visit my parents — my mom, a hospice nurse, asked me to ride with her as she visited her patients. We drove all over the Ozarks countryside in her Toyota Corolla — over train tracks, dry creek beds, running creeks — and we’d talk in between her stops. All of her patients were nearing the end of their lives; many had no family or friends; many had little money or health insurance; most had no one to talk to ... except for my mom. They shared their joys, sorrow and - mostly - regrets with her. She was the conduit. She understood I was the storyteller.

“Nearly every single person I care for at the end of their lives is filled with some sort of regret,” she told me, grabbing my hand and beginning to cry. “As my only remaining child, I beg of you not to be filled with regret at the end of yours. Dream big. Fail big. But try to fulfill every dream you have because - one day - there will be no tomorrow.”

I started writing my first book when I got home from that visit.

If you regret not writing, not starting, not finishing a book, if you regret not doing something you dream or want, if you regret simply not taking a risk, don’t regret being part of an incredible community of writers and souls. Now is your chance.

Years ago, when my writing and tour schedule was less intense, I used to teach writing workshops. I loved them. Not only — pardon the bragging here — did I help numerous aspiring authors become traditionally published authors (with major publishers like Hachette), I was more proud that I helped writers and souls overcome the fear that has been holding them back from doing something they dreamed. Their lives were changed. As a result, my life — and writing — was as well. Despite my crazed schedule and always looming deadlines, I realized I need this creative connection and rush of writerly adrenaline in my life again, so I will now be holding a variety of online intensive masterclasses for writers at every stage.

We have one workshop coming up in December, one in January and one in February. The first one sold out fast — and space is capped — so put regret aside for once, RSVP now and jump ... I’m here to take your hand!

    • SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1:30 PM ET •

Masterclass on How to Write the Perfect Query Letter & Secure A Literary Agent!

$45.00 — Two-hour workshop (non-refundable but may be applied to future workshops)

SIGN UP NOW!

You’ve written a book! Congratulations! Hard truth? Nobody wants to read it … unless you write the perfect query letter. I call publishing BART: Business meets ART. Yes, it’s art. But, first and foremost, it’s a BIG business, and you must learn the tricks of the trade to give yourself the best chance to be traditionally published. I will teach you how to write a winning query (sharing my own letter that led to three offers of representation without any connections in the publishing world), how to search the vast sea of agents to find the perfect (and legitimate!) agent who will be the ideal fit for you, your genre and your career plus what it’s like to work with an agent (what they do for writers, etc.). I will also take your questions throughout to ensure your specific questions are being addressed. Bonus: Wade will share the things his agent and agency look for in a great query and client! Whether you’ve finished a book, nearing completion, or just want to be ready for the next steps in your writing career, or if you’ve finished a query and want to share or have written a query that is not landing an agent, this is the masterclass for you!

***

• SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 1:30 PM ET •

Facing Your Fear, Finding Your Voice & Focusing on Your Work!

$75.00 — Three-hour workshop (Space is limited!) Includes time for YOU to ask questions! (non-refundable but may be applied to future workshops)

SIGN UP NOW!

New Year! New You! Kick off your dream with this multi-tiered intensive focused on:

• Fear & Voice

Fear is what stops people from pursuing their passion, inhibits authors from writing what calls to them, and keeps them from finding their voice. I will lead participants through an in-depth discussion on fear, how it is intertwined with writing, and how it nearly stopped me. I will share examples of how overcoming fear in life and writing was the final piece of the puzzle that changed my voice forever, leading me to become a bestselling author. I will also teach how to unleash your true writer’s voice. Whether writing your first memoir, novel, or mystery, “voice” is the key to success, and the one thing every agent, editor and publisher is seeking.

• How to Start & Finish A Book (plus navigating the middle)

I will share my tips for perfecting and completing your work, focusing on characterization, dialogue, structure, tension, plot flow, and beginning a memorable story (How to create the “ first-page pop”).

• The 3 H’s

Humor, honesty and heartbreak are the secret keys to memoir writing. I will teach you how to balance those perfectly in your work.

• Completing Your Manuscript: Personal Q&A with Wade

I will then conduct an open Q&A session & teaching session, with a prime focus on completing/perfecting your work in progress. Gary will facilitate the Q&A period, and I will answer your specific questions about where you are stuck, or need help and advice, in your work.

***

• SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1:30 PM ET •

Focusing on YOUR Work in Progress! Let’s Talk about YOUR Book!

$150/4 Hour Workshop • Max 12 participants! (Non-refundable but may be applied to future workshops)

SIGN UP NOW!

This small, deeply personal and intensive workshop will focus solely on YOUR work in progress. After a short, personal introduction about my work and how I feel in the midst of writing a book, the group and I will listen to the elevator pitch of your work in progress (1-minute max) plus a 5-7 minute excerpt of your work in progress (this can be the opening, middle, end, or two short pieces from different places in your work), but this reading should give a clear picture of the work and/or where you need help. I will give my constructive advice on the shared work (and pitch), and then ask where you are stuck, concerned, thrilled, need help, etc. The group will also have a chance to share constructive feedback that is grounded in kindness.

Participation is maxed at twelve, so each writer will have roughly 20 minutes of time. Time at the end will be open for questions from participants that may have been missed or arose during the workshop. Have your work heard in this amazing session!

I will be back soon with a couple of December issues packed with holiday decorating tips, recipes, gift guides and Christmas stroll of our bedecked holiday home and TEN Christmas trees! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

XOXO,

Wade

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

As we near another holiday season — filled with food, family and friends — I wanted to send blessings and love from my home to yours. In honor of Turkey Day, this newsletter is filled with a potpourri of inspiration and inspiration, including:

• My traditional Thanksgiving essay about honoring those who are no longer present at the table but still live in our hearts

• A favorite Thanksgiving recipe from my grandma’s recipe box

• Our autumn & Thanksgiving GIFT LINE is “stuffed” with new designs and products — including the most adorable “Thanksgiving Cooking Crew” & “Thanksgiving Eating Crew” Tees (which would still arrive before Turkey Day if you order now) that would make the most adorable family photos! — from aprons, cutting boards, candles and tea towels to journals, clothing, mugs and more!

• I’m once again offering writing workshops! Whether you are an aspiring author, blogger, Substack’er, just starting a book or about to finish one, I will be offering a variety of master classes on Facing Your Fear & Finding Your Voice, Writing A Query Letter & Finding A Literary Agent, and An Intensive Focused Solely on Your Work in Progress.

Email gary@violashipman.com to get on the list to reserve your spot, find out dates and more information!

• PLUS! We are starting a Book Club! One book a month (including some of mine), personal interviews WITH THE AUTHOR, a special Facebook page for members, a monthly in-depth book club Q&A for our discussion + a play list, recipes that correspond with the month’s selection and SO MUCH MORE! It’s only $5.99 a month, and is the perfect gift for someone (including yourself) to be part of a community of friends and book lovers.

EMAIL GARY@VIOLASHIPMAN.COM to get on the list now!

A SPECIAL THANKSGIVING ESSAY: How My Mother Gave Me Her Hand When I Needed It The Most

I wrote this essay after I lost my mother and best friend. It is a reminder to cherish the moments we have with those we love and to celebrate their memories even if they are no longer with us. I hope you enjoy it!

The cutout of my hand was waving back at me, and I couldn’t contain my tears.

It was the first Thanksgiving after my mother’s death, and I had reluctantly gone to the basement to look through the orange storage containers that held our family’s fall holiday dishes, mementos and decorations.

I had come as a test: Yes, or no to celebrating Thanksgiving this year.

There, on top, sat the childish art project my mother had helped me make decades earlier. I remembered her tracing my little hand onto a sheet of construction paper, before we cut it out and colored it to create a Thanksgiving turkey.

“Wade,” my mother’s looping handwriting stated on the turkey’s belly.

The beautiful thing about my childish art project was that my mother had let me fashion pearls around the turkey’s neck. I had also given the gobbler heels. It was more Carol Channing than Tom Turkey.

And it perfectly summed up my relationship with my mother. We celebrated each other’s quirks and uniqueness without judgment.

I couldn’t stop crying in the basement. I had failed my test.

“No Thanksgiving,” I told my family. “I can’t do it. I can’t host it this year.”

I just couldn’t bear celebrating Thanksgiving without my mother. It was the first major holiday since her death, which still felt so raw.

My mother adored Thanksgiving.

She happily rose at dawn to start cooking. She loved to drink coffee and watch the Macy’s Day Parade after fixing a big country breakfast.

She relished her Riesling.

And yet – like the turkey she helped me make as a kid – my mother was a juxtaposition of the traditional and non-traditional.

Yes, we did a green bean casserole with Durkee’s French onions. Yes, we had stuffing. Yes, the sweet potatoes were topped with marshmallows.

But, my mom loved experimenting with one new dish each year: Fresh cranberries with dates, walnuts and orange. Or, a caramel-apple tart instead of a pumpkin pie.

Celebrating Thanksgiving without my mom would be like celebrating without the turkey. The thing I looked most forward to, the person for whom I was most thankful, was gone. I couldn’t imagine simply enduring this holiday. It would never be the same.

As the weeks passed and Thanksgiving neared, Gary said to me one morning, before I’d had the chance to fully caffeinate, “We’re hosting Thanksgiving, and all of your family is coming.”

I spat my latte.

“No!” I insisted.

“Yes!” he persisted. “Your mother would want you to celebrate.”

“I hate platitudes!” I yelled.

“It’s the truth.”

I Zombie-walked through the early morning prep for Thanksgiving and greeted my family in similar fashion.

When it came time to set the table mid-morning, I headed to the basement to retrieve the décor and my turkey cutout was still waving at me.

I lost it yet again.

“Think of how much your mother loved this holiday,” Gary whispered to me, out of earshot of the family. “Why are you trying so hard to forget about her? Why don’t you treat her like she’s still here? Because she is. And she always will be.”

His words resonated, changed me, almost instantly.

So, I went upstairs and sat a place at the table for my mom.

I put out my hand turkey as a centerpiece.

I ran to the store, where I picked up the ingredients to make fresh cranberries with dates, walnuts and orange, as well as a parsnips recipe she’d wanted to make for years but that the family had pooh-pooh’ed.

I watched the Macy’s Parade.

I drank too much coffee and then too much wine.

I cried like a baby, and I laughed like a mad man.

Mostly, my family and I celebrated my mother, and when I gave thanks, I thanked my mom for being such a wonderful, loving, beautiful, quirky presence in my life.

And then I cleaned the dishes and put up the decorations, the little turkey cutout of my hand waving goodbye as I placed it on the top of the storage bin.

“Until next year,” I said, returning its wave.

PUMPKIN BARS: A Thanksgiving Dessert from My Family’s Recipe Box

These are the most moist, rich, delicious pumpkin dream of a dessert! A forever family favorite! Perfect for Thanksgiving! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

2 cups sugar

½ cup oil

1 can 16 oz. pumpkin

4 eggs beaten

Mix together and add:

2 cups Bisquick

1 tablespoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

½ teaspoon mace

1 teaspoon nutmeg

Pour into a greased 9/13 pan

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean

Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting

4 oz. cream cheese

1/3 cup butter (softened)

3 ½ cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat until creamy

Frost bars after they cool

ENJOY with a cup of coffee in one of our new “Pumpkin Spice Makes Reading Nice!” mugs! Order yours now HERE!

VIOLA GIFT LINE: Our Autumn & Thanksgiving Gift Line Is “STUFFED” with New Designs & Products That Will Arrive by Thanksgiving If You Order NOW!

***CHECK OUT OUR ENTIRE GIFT LINE HERE!***

We have SO much to be thankful for … one of the things I’m most thankful for is our collaboration with TomKat Designs Studios & Viola Creations, which creates our gift line. TomKat is a small, woman-owned business based in Michigan. Gary and I work with Kat, the talented owner, to supply seasonal quotes from my books, and Kat does the rest, selecting just the right merchandise and designing the artwork for the beautiful products we offer that embody the spirit of my books.

Some of my current favorites include the Thanksgiving Cooking Crew & Thanksgiving Eating Crew Tees (short & long sleeve) that are perfect for your family (they will arrive by Thanksgiving if you order now). Gary and I LOVE ours and are wearing them when we host Turkey Day.

Order Your Cooking Crew Tees Now!

Order Your Eating Crew Tees Now!

Among the other gifts I really love this Thanksgiving are the many new gifts that feature one of my all-time favorite quotes: Honoring those who came before — they made us who we are. This quote and adorable design is featured on a gorgeous glass cutting board, terrific tea towel, 8x10 matte art print that you can frame yourself and candle in three fall scents (cashmere musk, cinnamon chai and vanilla bean), two colors (amber and clear) and two sizes (4 oz. and 9 oz.) that smell like heaven, burn forever and are ALL NATURAL!

I also love our brand new aprons (perfect for cooks and bakers this Thanksgiving and holiday season that feature a quote from my grandma that was featured in The Recipe Box: Put the extra effort in life and baking. The end result is always worth it.

Plus, we have so many other awesome autumn & fab fall hoodies and sweatshirts. Remember! You customize the color and size!

GET YOURS NOW!

GET YOUR HOLIDAY READING & SHOPPING STARTED NOW WITH A VIOLA BOOK OR MY NEW NOVEL, THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR!

Looking for a wonderful book to read this holiday season? May I suggest one of mine, all of which will warm your heart and give you hope (which is all we really want this season, right?) And a preorder of my new novel, THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR, makes a perfect surprise gift for the reader in your life! Following is my Christmas shopping list of books just for you!

• PREORDER THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR

• CHRISTMAS IN TINSEL TREE VILLAGE

• A SUGARPLUM CHRISTMAS

• THE SECRET OF SNOW

• A WISH FOR WINTER

• THE WISHING BRIDGE

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

From my home to yours … have a happy, healthy, beautiful blessed Thanksgiving with your family and friends! I’ll be back soon with my very special Christmas issue (featuring a holiday tour of our home and TEN trees!)

XOXO,

Wade

P.S.!

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ASPIRING WRITERS! JOIN ME FOR MY WRITING MASTERCLASS! IT JUST MIGHT CHANGE YOUR LIFE!

Facing Your Fear, Finding Your Voice & Focusing on Your Work: A One-Day Zoom Intensive!

RSVP NOW HERE!

I…

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HAPPY FALL, Y’ALL!

I sure do love summer, but there’s nothing like autumn in Michigan.

It’s been an unusually warm and dry early fall, and the leaves are just now starting to turn. We live on seven acres, and our home is surrounded by sugar maples, so when their leaves finally explode, I feel as if I am living in a technicolor world of crimson, gold, siena, burgundy, and fiery red and orange. The woods literally glow. I love nothing more than sitting by the fire, writing, and drinking cider and eating chili plus pumpkin anything while watching football (Go, Rams! Go, Lions! Go, Mizzou! Go, Northwestern!) and marveling at nature’s annual show.

Halloween is huge in our resort town of Saugatuck-Douglas. In fact, our little towns of a few hundred fall folks welcomes over 10,000 visitors for the parade, which lasts for hours and is a sight to behold. Gary and I have been mainstays at the parade for years, even being asked to lead it one year. We’ve dressed as Elphaba and Galinda from Wicked, Las Vegas showgirls, Toddlers & Tiaras, and so many countless costumes that Gary spends MONTHS creating. No box costumes at this parade! My family loved fall growing up in the Ozarks, and I still have a pressed leaf I found with my grandma as a bookmark in a favorite Erma Bombeck memoir. I have a perfect acorn I found with my father on a hike through our woods. And we have Gary’s mom’s pumpkin crunch and pumpkin bars recipes that remind us of her. We decorate our house with skeletons and mums, we carve pumpkins, we buy candy, and we do fall/Halloween crafts for Wine & Words with Wade (every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET live on the Viola Shipman Facebook Page!). I truly hope you have a glorious fall surrounded by the things and people you love most.

BIG Buzz Is Building for THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR! PLUS: A Broadway Play Based on One of Memoirs?

I traveled to New York City this month for a whirlwind trip that was pretty much akin to a fever dream.

My amazing publicist, Kathleen Carter, threw an unforgettable media event at Bibliotheque (a stunning bookish wine bar) to build buzz for my first Wade Rouse novel, That's What Friends Are For. LOTS of media folk in attendance, including Us Weekly, Women’s World, WCBS-TV, NY Post, NY Times, Tamron Hall Show, Katie Couric Media, freelancer writers (including one who contributes to NYT’s Styles section), podcast hosts and influencers (plus lots of others who couldn’t attend but are psyched for the novel). I was in conversation with NY Times bestselling author and TODAY show books correspondent John Searles, the kindest, sweetest, most talented human on earth. I was able to tell John for the first time in person what his support meant to me. In 2009, John selected my memoir, At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream, as a TODAY show summer read. I still don’t know how that happened, but it changed my life personally and professionally. My mother was dying of cancer that summer, and she was able to see my book featured on the TODAY show two weeks before she died. She saw our dream come full circle. It’s trite to say, but I laughed, cried and bared my soul.

That's What Friends Are For is a poignant and hilarious story inspired by TV’s beloved The Golden Girls, and it celebrates love, aging, friendship, finding your people, and the art of impeccably timed one-liners. It is a story I was called to write, and this is the moment for a novel that tackles big issues facing our world with all of the laughter and heart of the sitcom. Family may be the tie that binds, but it’s our chosen family that truly keeps us together.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult writes: “Hilarious, tender, and devastating … I loved this ode to the family we find, the family we reinvent, and the support systems we lean on to find our authentic selves.”

Grant Ginder, author of The People We Hate at the Wedding (which became a feature film) writes: “Wade Rouse has written the most unabashedly joyful novel you’ll read this year, a rip-roaringly funny ode to found family. Thank You For Being A Friend is also a poignant study of survival — of what it means to persevere in a world hell-bent on bringing you down, and a celebration of the friends who always have our backs.”

To preorder your copy today (preorders are SO important!), click HERE!

Also while in NYC, I met with producers and Broadway stars at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre as we work to bring my memoir, AMERICA'S BOY (which was recently republished) to the stage as a one-man play. This has been in the works for a few years now, but it’s getting closer and closer to becoming reality. If you aren’t aware, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne were husband-and-wife Broadway stars who, by the mid 1920s, were the two most respected, popular, critically acclaimed, and highest-paid stage actors in the country. When they retired, they lived in their beloved summer home in Wisconsin named Ten Chimneys. Today, their legacy continues as regional theatre actors with more than 20 years of experience are invited to summer at Ten Chimneys and study with Broadway legends, from Tyne Daly to David Hyde Pierce, Colman Domingo and Alfred Molina, whom we were able to see in New York at a documentary celebrating the actors and Ten Chimneys. One of the board members for Ten Chimneys is writing the stage play and pulling together producers to make a dream come true. Fingers crossed!

I’m still floating, buzzing on energy, excitement, friendship, books, and the belief that when you are most afraid - as a writer and soul - and can corral that fear and turn it into the wonder you see and believe, great things will happen.

P.S. My next Christmas novel will be coming in October 2026 (it’s a beauty!), and my tour for THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR will be announced this winter.

OUR FABULOUS FALL GIFT LINE IS SO BOO-TIFUL!

Our newest Viola Shipman autumn & Halloween gift line is spooktacularly cute — perfect for all you hauntingly stylish book lovers who love fall, Halloween and reading!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP NOW!!!

Our fall products include new designs AND products:

Pillow Covers - Coasters - Mugs - Tumblers - Car Coasters - Mouse Pads - T-Shirts (long & short sleeve) - Sweatshirts - Phone Cases - Note Pads

YOU customize size & color! Float over to the shop & grab yours before they disappear!

FALL & HALLOWEEN GIFT LINE!

MAGIC SEASON LAUNCHES IN PAPERBACK!

The paperback edition of my memoir, MAGIC SEASON, launched out of the park this week! Just in time for the baseball ⚾️ playoffs and World Series! If you have yet to read my most personal and, I believe, most beautiful memoir I’ve ever written, now is the perfect time and season.

To order your copy now, CLICK HERE or HERE!

MAGIC SEASON was named a Michigan Notable Book of the Year, and a USA TODAY & Barnes & Noble Pick. The memoir charts the difficult relationship I had with my Ozarks father and how our love of baseball was the only thing to bond us over the years. Mostly, this is s story about the transformational power of unconditional love ❤️

Library Journal wrote, “This memoir is equal parts heart-rending and humorous, and at all points filled with love. It is a story about the power of family.”

And, if you love audiobooks, I narrate MAGIC SEASON. I am proud it was named one of the most powerful audiobooks of the year by Library Journal.

To listen to a sample, CLICK HERE!

To order an audiobook, CLICK HERE!

I hope you love MAGIC SEASON!

WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE LIKE A BIG PIZZA PIE! OUR TRIP TO ITALY TO CELEBRATE MY 60TH!

I turned sixty in March (how did that happen?), and my dream trip was to travel to parts of Italy I’d never been. We had to hit pause so I could finish a book tour and a new novel, but it was worth the wait. Gary and I traveled to Milan, Lake Como, Florence, Tuscany, Cinque Terre and Pisa (yes, we did a lot in sixteen days; yes, we always do too much when we travel).

Highlights were: Lake Como was even more stunningly beautiful than I had imagined. Our wooden boat ride was even more magical than I imagined (yes, we saw George Clooney’s home). The Grand Hotel Tremezzo was straight out of White Lotus. Florence was majestic, the climbs to the top of the Dome and the Bell Tower stunning and claustrophobic, the streets filled with history. Dinner at a mom-and-pop restaurant recommended by friends turned into a five-hour party … the owners kept bringing pasta, olive oil, bread and desserts we didn’t even order simply to experience. Whenever my wine glass went empty, the couple next to us grabbed it and refilled it from their spectacular bottle of red (and ended up inviting us to stay with them in Florida). Tuscany was everything I’d pictured. The gelato and affogato (gelato with espresso) was life-changing. I could go on and on …

But — beyond the places we experienced — it is the people we met that will stay with me forever. No matter where we went, we opened our hearts to locals and tourists, and they opened their hearts to us. On trains or planes, waiting in lines for gelato or museums, at restaurants, having an Aperol Spritz by the pool or a glass of chianti in a bar, we met a diverse group of people from all over the world — the U.S., Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, Canada, the UK — and it simply proves that I what I write about and celebrate in my books is true: We have more in common than what divides us. We just need to focus on those human connections. And travel — getting out of your comfort zone — reminds us of that.

Next year we head to Alaska to celebrate Gary’s 60th birthday. May you always seek to wander in and wonder at the beauty of the world.

CIAO! XOXO,

Wade

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Happy September!

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EXCLUSIVE! PEOPLE REVEALS THE COVER OF MY NEW NOVEL, THANK YOU FOR BEING A FRIEND!

Drum roll please … I am thrilled to launch my new novel (hardcover!) into the world with an exclusive cover reveal from PEOPLE.

READ ALL ABOUT IT IN PEOPLE!

PREORDER THE BOOK NOW!

(More preorder links to your fav booksellers follow below!)

Let me say this right upfront: This is the best book I’ve ever written. Period. This is the most beautiful cover for any book I’ve written. Period. This is the most excited and terrified I’ve ever been about launching a book. Period. I think this book can change the world. Period.

Let the words of #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult speak for themselves:

"By turns hilarious, tender, and devastating, Rouse’s novel explores what it means to be the sandwich generation of gays today — caught between those who paved the way for equality, those who are too young to credit them, and a world that seems increasingly hostile again. I loved this ode to the family we find, the family we reinvent, and the support systems we lean on to find our authentic selves.”

Thank You for Being A Friend is ferocious and funny, hopeful and heart wrenching, a story about what so many of us have endured in this life to find friendship, love and respect. Thank You for Being A Friend marks the twentieth book I’ve written and my twentieth year as a published author, and I feel as if this is not only the book I was meant to write but also the right moment for this story – inspired by The Golden Girls – of friendship, family, faith, aging and acceptance. This novel is a HUGE departure for me in in career – my first novel under my own name – and I wrote this story because it called to my soul, and I knew that I needed to follow my heart. I’ve learned that sometimes the greatest moments in our lives happen when we are most terrified – as writers and souls – and that if we can just corral that fear and walk through the fire to emerge on the other side – heart racing, a bit scorched –what we dreamed of and fought so hard to achieve has the chance to change the world. I believe this novel does. When you think of the show or hear the lyrics to the song, and smile, that is the spirit that this novel captures.

Moreover, on a personal note, I grew up watching The Golden Girls long distance with my mom and grandma as a closeted college kid in the 1980s, wrapping the cord of the rotary phone into my room, and the show – which tackled so many huge issues during its time on air from aging, friendships, the search for meaning after marriage and children, mortality, racism, LGBTQ+ issues (and did it all with intelligence, sensitivity and humor) – helped pave the way for me to come out to those I loved most. The show, like my novel, represents what I’ve done my entire existence in life and writing: Lessen the pain with laughter. Teach and break down walls with humor. Love unconditionally.

I have so much more to say about this novel – about why I had to write it, about the incredible characters (one of whom is based on a character from The Golden Girls I’m sure you never heard of who was meant to be a star of the show but was cut after the premiere), about the incredible cover endorsement – about so many other things – but I will do that in the coming weeks and months.

For now, let me just say I hope you love it, I hope you preorder it (a big giveaway to be announced this fall), I hope you spread the word, readers, influencers and booksellers, and I will let the jacket copy speak for itself:

In this poignant and hilarious story inspired by TV’s beloved The Golden Girls, bestselling author Wade Rouse celebrates love, aging, finding your people, and the art of impeccably timed one-liners.

Theodore Copeland has created a fabulous life in the desert oasis of Palm Springs, where he shares a fabulous pink mid-century home with three fabulous friends: Barry, a former actor still clinging to his youth, his hair, and the memory of the dream role that killed his career; Ron, an uprooted Christian from the Midwest with a big heart but no one to give it to; Sid, who, after coming out late in life, has never found love. Teddy is the caustic, unspoken leader of “The Golden Gays”—the foursome’s monthly drag tribute to The Golden Girls. Despite their foibles and bickering, they have turned their golden years into a golden era.

But the harmony of their desert enclave becomes a carousel of emotional baggage when Teddy’s estranged sister, Trudy, shows up on their doorstep, her dramatic teenage granddaughter in tow. While Teddy keeps Trudy at arm’s length, she manages to wheedle her way into the lives of the Golden Gays, until the real reason for her visit is revealed and the secrets they’ve all been keeping from each other unravel faster than a hastily stitched hemline.

A novel that gives thanks to “old” friends, Thank You for Being a Friend proves that while family may be the tie that binds, it’s the chosen family that truly keeps us together.

HARDCOVER

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AMERICA’S BOY IS OUT IN PAPERBACK NOW!

I’ve waited a decade to say this: My baby is back in the world again, this time in paperback!

ORDER THE PAPERBACK NOW!

America's Boy: A Memoir — my very first published book and the one to start my career as an author, a hilarious, heartbreaking book that was named an Indie Next Pick by America's booksellers, an inaugural American Library Association "Rainbow List” Selection for exemplary books with outstanding content that have the potential to help and save young and adult readers, and hailed by the Washington Post as "a revelatory story about acceptance, pride and family" — has been new reissued, this time in paperback! SO many of you have asked when it would be available in book form, and the time is now!

To read the story behind the story, click HERE to read my Substack, Unlearning Fear.

ABOUT AMERICA'S BOY

Let me say this first: This is a memoir. It is funny and sad, heartbreaking and uplifting, unfiltered and unflinching. You will learn things about my family you have never known. You will learn things about me that may be shocking. It is a memoir, and as a writer and journalist I believed that telling my truth would save me, and it did. It has also saved many, many other people who have felt they did not belong, that their families would never approve of them, that they would never measure up, or those that have faced such shame and overwhelming grief they believed they would never recover or be able to live or love again.

I have received hundreds of notes, letters and emails from readers of all ages - gay and straight - who said America’s Boy has changed - and often - saved their lives with its honesty, love and message of hope. The more things change in this world, the more they stay the same, and readers need books with characters, storylines and messages that reflect their lives, offer different viewpoints and perspectives and that hold out a hand — if not a lifeline — for those who are drowning in the world.

This book is for you, and I truly hope you love it. Here’s the memoir’s synopsis:

In this memoir, writer and journalist Wade Rouse delivers a humorous and heartwarming account of his Midwestern childhood and coming of age. Born in Granby, a small farm town in the southwest Missouri Ozarks, Wade was a fish out of water as long as he could remember.Life didn’t get easier in Wade’s conservative hometown, especially after his older brother died just a month after Wade graduated junior high school. It was then that Wade buried his brother—and his sexuality, so his parents wouldn’t mourn the loss of a second son. Finally, after years of a descent into obsessive-compulsive behaviors and overeating, Wade was able to come out to himself, losing weight and gaining confidence until he had nothing left to hide.Filled with memories of happiness and heartbreak, America’s Boy is both “a quirky tribute to [Rouse’s] rural Ozark family, and an easily digestible, homespun tale of a bygone era in Middle America” (Time Out Chicago).“A storyteller and a memoirist in the best sense of the words. . . . Reading Rouse’s memoir is more like sitting with a good friend and a cold beer, trading stories and remembering those things that may have been painful or tragic at the time, but must now be respected for what they are.” —Metro Weekly

NEW FALL GIFT LINE IS OUT! FEATURING - FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME - WINE & WORDS WITH WADE MERCHANDISE!

CHECK OUT THE ENTIRE LINE HERE!

Our fall merchandise is available NOW! It features - for the very first time - WINE & WORDS WITH WADE tees, sweatshirts, hoodies, tumblers, cell phone covers & more! Plus new COME TO VIOLA SHIPMAN mugs, tumblers, tees and sweatshirts. Remember: Clothing, mugs and tumblers are customizable, so YOU pick your size and favorite color! Perfect for the start of autumn or to watch Wine & Words with Wade every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET on the Viola Shipman Facebook Page! (Follow for all the fun!)

HAPPY END OF SUMMER!

I truly hope you had a memorable summer filled with sunshine, laughter, BBQ, ice cream, family, friends, water and memories!

My summer was filled with all of those things … along with a lot of hard work. I spent the summer writing my new Viola Shipman Christmas novel (yes, I wrote about winter in the hottest weather). I intentionally scheduled no lectures or travel so I could focus entirely on writing as well as reconnecting with dear friends who haven’t seen much of me over the last couple of years due to my tour schedule.

I leave next week to embark on my 60th birthday dream trip to Italy. We are headed to Milan, Lake Como, Florence, Tuscany and Cinque Terre. Then back to edits, a new book and heading west to Palm Springs for the winter.

I will see you soon (with an Italian accent)!

XOXO,

Wade

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A Big Creek Breakfast!

Growing up, I spent my childhood summers with my grandparents at an old log cabin on an ice-cold creek in the middle of nowhere in the Missouri Ozarks. In college, my parents built a cabin on a river in a little resort town called Noel. The log cabin had fun house floors and an ancient gas stove that was so warped it slanted: You cracked an egg on that griddle, and it would slide into an opening in the back never to be found again. The new cabin had a new stove: Eggs — along with bacon, French toast, and pancakes — only disappeared down on our throats.

But one tradition never changed: We always had weekend breakfasts together as a family.

At the old cabin (I document my childhood in my memoir, America's Boy, which was just reissued), my parents would come down on Fridays after working all week, and still rise at dawn on Saturday and Sunday. My dad would fish with my grampa, my mom would read the Bible with my grandma. Then they would all gather to make — as my mom called it — “a big Creek breakfast.”

A big Creek breakfast consisted of the following: Fried eggs, bacon, hashed browns and toast with my grandma’s homemade jam or preserves depending on the season (strawberry, blackberry, blueberry, peach, raspberry); French toast and sausage patties (always patties with French toast), maple syrup, powdered sugar and lots of whipped cream; pancakes (often blueberry or strawberry) with sausage links (always links with pancakes) and tater tots.

My grandma had an old speckled coffee percolator that set on top of the stove burner. It was small, and coffee was always being made, no matter the time of day. The old coffee cups were small, too, tinier than our mammoth mugs today. I didn’t drink coffee then but that changed as an adult.

My grandma usually always served our big creek breakfasts on her good china.

“Life’s too short to save it for special occasions,” she’d say. “Every moment is a special occasion.”

Especially our weekends together. When my brother passed away and our old cabin was sold, I didn’t know if those moments could ever be recreated again. But, as the years passed, my parents wanted our family to be together as they were when we were young, and they built a new cabin right on the river in an old resort town where they used to go as teenagers and dance in the summers.

This cabin was all new, but it had nods to the log cabin: A stone fireplace, swinging chairs, wide windows overlooking the water, canoes, fishing poles, books … and each other.

The one tradition that didn’t change? Our big creek breakfasts. And that continued for many decades.

It was the same for my husband, Gary, growing up: Summer vacations were spent at an old log cabin on the lake in Hayward, Wisconsin. Turns out big breakfasts were a part of his family as well.

When our parents passed, one of the things they passed to us was not only the love of a weekend breakfast together but also the things that brought that to life, including the desert rose dishes on which many a weekend breakfast was served.

Now, Gary and I are keeping that tradition alive.

Most weekends during the summer — when we are not traveling on book tour — we spend weekends making big creek (now lake) breakfasts at our old cottage outside Saugatuck, Michigan. We make breakfast for our friends who are visiting, but we also make it just for ourselves. We make the same things our parents did, and the incredible seasonal fruit we gather at U-Picks or roadside stands often determines the direction of our breakfast: Rhubarb-strawberry coffeecake; blueberry muffins and pancakes; and — into the fall — pumpkin waffles. And there is coffee, always coffee.

When we serve our big lake breakfasts, we serve them on the same dishes our grandparents and parents used.

Life is hectic. We need to slow down, cook together, drink coffee, talk, laugh, listen to the birds and plan a day that involves, well, nothing much beyond getting out on the water, going to the beach, floating in the pool, having friends over for a BBQ, enjoying a glass of wine on the screened porch … just being.

My one piece of advice this summer? Make a big creek breakfast with your family and friends. And serve it on the nice china.

I get it now. What my grandma knew so long ago: Every moment is a special occasion.

Going on A Trip This Year? Take A Copy of The Page Turner! It’s in Every Airport!

Taking a vacation this summer? Then take along a copy of THE PAGE TURNER with you on your trip! You'll find it right now in nearly every airport in the U.S.!

Annmarie spotted it in the Martha's Vineyard Airport, and DeAnn saw a copy in the Detroit Metro Airport!

Thanks to HarperCollins & Hudson Booksellers for featuring THE PAGE TURNER in airports this summer!

Want a copy now? Click HERE!

Happy summer, travels & reading! XOXO!

The Page Turner Summer Tour & Publicity

I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response to The Page Turner from readers, bookstores, critics and media. Some of my recent interviews follow below; they not only provide a deep dive into the novel itself but also what it’s like to be an author today, my writing process, using our voices to change the world for the better as well as what’s next (hint: My new novel will publish March 3! Stay tuned for LOTS more about it coming soon!). Enjoy the interviews, and the remaining dates for my tour follow … these are my last appearances of the summer, so I hope to see you at one of the events!

BUY YOUR COPY OF THE PAGE TURNER HERE!

PS: It’s now 20% off for a limited time!

• eightWest Morning Show Interview (West Michigan NBC affiliate)

• Fox 17 Morning Mix Interview

• Jen Hatmaker "For the Love" podcast

***

SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 12:00 pm ET in Grand Haven, Michigan
Book Cellar
Outdoor Garden Party at Central Park Place
Free! Fun! Bring a chair or blanket!
For more information, call: 616-296-0465
Or email: the_book_cellar@yahoo.com

MONDAY, JUNE 16, 7:00 pm ET in Fenton, Michigan
Fenton's Open Book
Fenton Community & Cultural Center
*NOTE: BIG venue! A few tickets remain!
$25 ticket includes a personalized, autographed copy of The Page Turner as well as delicious desserts and refreshments.
Get tickets here! https://www.fentontickets.com/product/Author-Talk-with-Wade-Rouse

THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 6:30 pm ET, Glen Arbor, Michigan
Cottage Book Shop
FREE! Event info here: https://cottagebooks.com/event/2025-06-19/viola-shipman-cottage-book-shop
Or you can call (231) 334-4223 or email info@cottagebooks.com
for more information

SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 7:00 pm ET, Petoskey, Michigan
McLean & Eakin Booksellers
An Evening with Wade Rouse celebrating THE PAGE TURNER!
NOTE: BIG venue!
FREE! Special event at Crooked Tree Arts Center - Petoskey
RSVP by emailing events@mcleanandeakin.com with the number of people in your party or by calling 231-347-1180

OUR SUMMER GIFT LINE IS HERE! Check Out The Viola Gift & Clothing Line … All Benefitting A Great Cause: Adults on the Spectrum

We started a Viola gift line a few years back in conjunction with a woman who not only runs an organic farm in Michigan, URBAN VINE, but also whose son is on the spectrum. I was deeply touched by her story: For those who aren’t aware, adults on the spectrum — unique, talented, incredible souls that want to be a part of our society — are “cycled” out of the system at the age of 26, often left without any type of support. Amy told us about the work she did on her farm — making organic teas, soaps, salves — and how she employed adults on the spectrum. Amy ended up creating companion teas for my books: Organic teas whose flavors “complement” my novels. Over time, we expanded our line to include candles, tea towels, bookmarks and so much more. We also started a Viola SHIPMANt box for subscribers that includes an original novella written by me with special, handmade gifts that coordinate with each chapter (each box and chapter is sent every other month … more about our 2026 SHIPMANt box — featuring my novella, THE MUSIC BOX — coming soon! If you are interested in subscribing for 2026, please email gary@violashipman.com to get on the list now). Many of those at Urban Vine not only package our boxes but also help create our products (felting of the bookmarks, hand embroidering tea towels and aprons, etc.). Proceeds from these items go back to Urban Vine to provide employment for adults on the spectrum (as we like to say, we help give them a place, purpose and passion). Our efforts have been so successful we were also able to start a women’s program thanks to your support. Our Viola gift and clothing lines also support two small, women-owned businesses in Michigan and are chock full of the most adorable bookish gifts for those who love to read: We offer organic teas (check out our Tea Time Passport Books — a collector's item box featuring the South Haven Lighthouse from The Page Turner on the cover that includes eight small batch tea bags created as themed companions to my heartfelt, intergenerational novels, including A NOVEL-TEA! which was created in honor of The Page Turner) as well as handmade candles, hand-designed garden flags, Page Turner-inspired writing journals as well as the CUTEST T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, totes, tumblers, mugs and inspirational cell phone cases!

Shop our gift line here: SHOP NOW!

Shop our clothing, mug, tote & tumbler line here (SO MUCH NEW STUFF: POOLSIDE WINE CHILLERS, HEIRLOOM GARDEN MUGS + THE CUTEST SUMMER TEES!) SHOP NOW!

Happy Summer & Reading! Make sure to join me every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET on the Viola Shipman Facebook for Wine & Words with Wade … and make sure to follow me on social media to be part of our community of kindness!

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XOXO,

Viola/Wade

“A revelatory story about acceptance, pride, and the many ways family can surprise us” by the bestselling author of Magic Season (The Washington Post).

Indie Next List “Great Read” Selection by America’s Independent Booksellers
American Library Association’s Inaugural “Rainbow List” Selection

I’ve waited a decade to say this: My baby is coming into the world again! America’s Boy: A Memoir — my very first published book and the one to start my career as an author — is being republished (it came out yesterday, May 27!) and IS AVAILABLE TO BUY NOW AT THE FOLLOWING LINKS (Note: It is currently available as an e-book; print versions will be available in the near future):

• AMAZON KINDLE

• BARNES & NOBLE NOOK

• APPLE BOOKS

• KOBO

• GOOGLE

Follow Me on Open Road to Receive Special Deals, Offers & Promotions!

Here is a link to America’s Boy on the Open Road online catalogue.. PLEASE make sure to follow me here to start receiving notifications when there is any kind of promotion for my books. All you need to do is click FOLLOW THIS AUTHOR beside my name and fill in your email—you will ONLY receive emails about America’s Boy (and future titles) that are offering the title at a special low price or sharing features about me or my work.

Again, readers who follow me will get a special dedicated email whenever Early Bird Books features a deal on one of my books.

About America’s Boy

Let me say this first: This is a memoir. It is funny and sad, heartbreaking and uplifting, unfiltered and unflinching. You will learn things about my family you have never known. You will learn things about me that may be shocking. It is a memoir, and as a writer and journalist I believed that telling my truth would save me, and it did. It has also saved many, many other people who have felt they did not belong, that their families would never approve of them, that they would never measure up, or those that have faced such shame and overwhelming grief they believed they would never recover or be able to live or love again. This is for you, and I truly hope you love it. Here’s the memoir’s synopsis:

In this memoir, writer and journalist Wade Rouse delivers a humorous and heartwarming account of his Midwestern childhood and coming of age as a gay man.

Born in Granby, a small farm town in the southwest Missouri Ozarks, Wade was a fish out of water as long as he could remember.

Life didn’t get easier in Wade’s conservative hometown, especially after his older brother died just a month after Wade graduated junior high school. It was then that Wade buried his brother—and his sexuality, so his parents wouldn’t mourn the loss of a second son. Finally, after years of a descent into obsessive-compulsive behaviors and overeating, Wade was able to come out to himself, losing weight and gaining confidence until he had nothing left to hide.

Filled with memories of happiness and heartbreak, America’s Boy is both “a quirky tribute to [Rouse’s] rural Ozark family, and an easily digestible, homespun tale of a bygone era in Middle America” (Time Out Chicago).

“A storyteller and a memoirist in the best sense of the words. . . . Reading Rouse’s memoir is more like sitting with a good friend and a cold beer, trading stories and remembering those things that may have been painful or tragic at the time, but must now be respected for what they are.” —Metro Weekly

The Story Behind America’s Boy

I grew up loving Erma Bombeck, and I began as she did: Locking myself in my bedroom as a kid and writing stories in leather writing journals (see below!) about my kooky but lovable family. I didn’t believe I could ever become an author — I mean, who does that? — so I became a journalist and then PR professional but became depressed in my career. When I would visit my mother — a hospice nurse at the time — we would drive all over the Ozarks as she cared for people. She told me once at the end of a long day that nearly every person she cared for at the end of their lives was filled with some kind of regret and begged me — as her only remaining child — not to be filled with regret. “Fail,” she told me, “a million times, but don’t ever stop trying to make your dreams come true.”

And so I started writing a book. And it was awful. Instead of writing a story like Erma, or other memoirists I admired like David Sedaris, Augusten Burroughs and Nora Ephron, I tried to fictionalize the story of my family and my life growing up gay in rural America. And so I started anew, using my voice, using humor, heartbreak and complete honesty to tell the story of an American family, our pain and path to redemption.

I woke at 4 a.m. before work every day to write. It was the only free time I had during days that often went until seven or eight at night due to meetings. I often wrote by candlelight on the tiny porch of my tiny bungalow in St. Louis. I had no idea what I was doing: I was simply telling a deeply personal, wholly universal story simply by trusting my gut and my voice. When I finished, I had no clue what to do: I had no connections in publishing, but I was a good student, so I began studying how to write a query letter and land an agent. I spent nine months writing a one-page query letter summarizing my book and identifying potential agents. On New Year’s Eve of 2004 — with my husband, Gary, on one side of me, and my mother on the other (as well as half a bottle of champagne in me!), I marched to the mailbox, inserted my letters (this was back in the day when I had to send SASE and pay for my own rejection) and said, “Here goes nothing!” “No!” my mother admonished. “Here goes everything!”

Two weeks later, I had seven requests to read my manuscript. Three weeks later, I received three formal offers of representation (and still have the same agent to this day!) and two weeks later, she sold my memoir to Penguin, and it was published in April of 2006 by Dutton. It received a lot of great momentum out of the gate — including being named an Indie Next List selection by the nation’s indie booksellers — but before the book had come out, my editor (the one who loved and championed the book) had left to take another job, my book was shuffled around, the imprint underwent big staffing changes, and the book sort of just came … and went. I was to learn that happens much too often in publishing.

Publishing houses traditionally focus their marketing efforts almost entirely on new books. Once a title has been out for a while, publishers generally have to move on to the next one, no matter how much they believe in the book. After a while, books — no matter how good — simply go out of print (authors have the ability to buy some copies), and many great books (including National Book Award winners) have such meager sales that the rights to the book revert from the publisher back to the author. That used to be the end of a book, unless TikTok or a movie brought it back to the attention of the book world.

And Then Along Came Open Road Media

A company called Open Road Integrated Media is trying to change that by giving a second life to older books. The company was originally founded by former HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman and American feature film and TV producer Jeffrey Sharp (Boys Don't Cry, You Can Count on Me and Proof).

“There’s potential to breathe new life into these books,” said publishing vet David Steinberger, current chief executive of Open Road, “and that flies in the face of conventional wisdom in the industry.”

It does this by using machine learning to make these titles more visible online and by republishing books that were largely forgotten or had fallen out of print.

This new venture by Open Road is called Re-Discovery Lit, and that is who is bringing America’s Boy back to life.

Here is a great New York Times article about Open Road Media and Re-Discovery Lit!

The life of a good book can span hundreds of years, but most of the time, a book gets a flash of attention when it is first published — if its author is lucky. Then, it fades away. Right now, I feel very, very lucky.

The Beautiful Thing about America’s Boy Is …

I now control more of the rights to the book and have more ownership over its new life. Which means, basically, if you buy and support it, the book stays in the world. Shockingly, this book has been banned in some libraries - simply because I talk about growing up gay - despite it being an American Library Association pick as an exemplary book with outstanding content that has the potential to help young readers as well as adult readers. Books save lives!

I have received hundreds of notes, letters and emails from readers of all ages - gay and straight - who said America’s Boy has changed - and often - saved their lives with its honesty, love and message of hope. The more things change in this world, the more they stay the same, and readers need books with characters, storylines and messages that reflect their lives, offer different viewpoints and perspectives and that hold out a hand — if not a lifeline — for those who are drowning in the world.

I am deeply proud of America’s Boy and always will be, and I’m thrilled “my baby” is able to walk in the world again. I hope you love it!

One last time, here’s how you can buy it:

• AMAZON KINDLE

• BARNES & NOBLE NOOK

• APPLE BOOKS

• KOBO

• GOOGLE

Speaking of Leather Writing Journals …

I haven’t changed since I was a kid: Although I write my novels on a laptop, I always keep writing journals with me everywhere I go (by my bedside, by the TV, on the screened porch, in the car) so that I can note any idea, any inspiration, any thought, any nugget that crosses my mind as I’m writing a book (and ideas when I’m thinking about my next book). I use them so much, I created one of my own! Our gorgeous Viola leatherette journals feature a quote from THE PAGE TURNER that not only sums up the soul of the story but also what it means to listen to your voice, write and become the person you dreamed of being: BE THE HERO OF YOUR OWN STORY! This is what my grandma told me decades ago, and it was the best advice I could have ever received about life and writing.

Moreover, these beautiful journals are engraved by a female-owned, Michigan-based company, so you will support multiple small businesses with your purchase.

Choose Black, Brown, Pink, or Purple, all with the quote in a stunning engraved font. This journal boasts 112 lined pages with a black, ribbon place holder, perfect for jotting down notes for YOUR next story, or journaling.

ORDER YOURS NOW WHILE THEY ARE STILL IN STOCK HERE!

Until next time … XOXO,

Wade/Viola

Annual Memorial Day Edition

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Many Memorial Days when I was a kid, I would accompany my mom and grandma to the little cemeteries that dotted the Ozark countryside, the trunk of our car filled with miniature American flags, boxes of Kleenex and a slew of fresh flowers from my grandma’s gardens.

While Memorial Day typically marked the end of school and beginning of summer vacation, our family would delay our departure to our log cabin on Sugar Creek until all of our “family visits” had been completed.

My grandma and mom would hit as many cemeteries as possible on Memorial Day with a great sense of purpose and a definitive agenda, like holiday shoppers the Friday after Thanksgiving.

My mom would slowly pull our car down the cemeteries’ long dirt or gravel driveways and bicker with my grandma about who was buried where — my mom pointing this way, my grandma the other — until my mom would park the car, and we would each grab a handful of fresh flowers wrapped in wet paper towels, tiny flags and Kleenex.

Ozark cemeteries were not lush, lavish, or large. Graveyards, as we called them, were usually compact and often rested on a rolling foothill or quiet piece of country land next to a pastoral pasture. They were not filled with enormous marble headstones. There were no mausoleums. They did not sit on breathtaking cliffs overlooking the crashing waves of an ocean.

The weather always varied greatly on Memorial Day. Some days were hot and stifling, portending a humid, windless summer where the unified cry of the crickets could almost make a man go nuts. And others were wet and cool, a gentle rain softening the earth, chilling our bones, turning the green grass on the graves even greener.

But the weather never deterred my mom or grandma. They made their way in sensible, respectful heels over mounds and mole hills, in the rain or sweltering heat, wending their way among the graves, their arms interlocked, purses notched in their elbows, their heels often getting mired in the mud, me following to wipe them clean with Kleenex originally meant for mascara-strewn eyes and cheeks.

My mom and grandma would seek out sisters and brothers, cousins and nephews, friends and neighbors, soldiers and war vets who had passed before them or in service to our country, the two of them sharing stories about the dead and what each had meant to them.

My grandma and my mom

It was while standing in these graveyards that I got to know many of those family members I never had a chance to meet. Sometimes, my mom and grandma would laugh, sometimes they would cry, but they always ended with the same ritual: My mother and grandmother would kneel to say a prayer, pay their respects and then plant peonies and American flags into the earth over the grave.

“See you next year,” they would whisper, passing a kiss from their hand to the earth before standing again, interlocking arms, and slowly making their way to the next party guest.

Learn More about My Novels

Learn More about My Memoirs

Preorder America's Boy!

But when I was fourteen, a litany of death strangled my family in short order like a swarm of locusts — starting with my brother, Todd, who was killed in an accident weeks after he had graduated from high school and weeks before I was to start my freshman year.

His death was followed by those of my aunt and my grampa, and it was then that our Memorial Days began to change. We simply headed to our cabin, taking a circuitous route that bypassed all the local cemeteries, a task — I now realize — must have taken a great deal of forethought.

As I aged, I didn’t consider Memorial Day much beyond the fact that it gave me a three-day weekend and kickstart to summer.

And then I met Gary, who was an avid gardener just like my grandma.

I always admired those who tended the earth, and when I saw Gary in work in our garden, I saw my grandma, too. I also secretly believed that if Gary could cultivate seeds in a dead patch of earth, he could surely nurture me back to life.

One scorching summer day, around the anniversary of my brother’s death, my parents drove to Michigan for a visit. It had not been an easy one for any of us, as — even three decades later — I found myself constantly preoccupied with what my parents were still missing: My dead brother, his imaginary wife, the ghost grandchildren they would never hold.

As Gary was giving my mother a tour of our cottage garden — literally acres of gardens — my mother suddenly fell to her knees and started crying, convulsing really. When I looked down to see if she was okay, she was holding a peony to her face. That’s when it hit me.

“Smell,” my mother said.

Gary plucked a white peony with a pink center from our garden, and I held it before my nose. The memories came flooding back.

My grandmother used to grow long rows of peonies on the back side of her Ozark home, a spot where the sun would bake them much of the day. She rotated bushes of white and pink, and the flowers would grow so heavy that they simply exhausted the stems that valiantly tried to support them. Eventually her peonies would just flop on the ground like a tired, old dog, thick powder puff blooms of soft pink and virginal white.

What I remember most was the flowers’ fragrance, which would hang in the air like a cloud of perfume. For a few precious days — before a thunderstorm arrived, and the rain would knock off all the petals — I would rejoice in the peonies’ thick smell, a fragrance so rich and deep, in fact, that it would scent the bedsheets that flapped on the clothesline overhead.

When I would stay at my grandma’s house, she would tuck me in every night and we’d recite “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.” I would nestle into a pile of line-dried sheets, and my grandma would whisper, “This is what heaven will smell like. Peonies!”

And it was then I remembered she not only hung her clothesline over her peonies so I would go to sleep in the sweetest scent in the world but also that she intentionally planted two types of peonies, early and late blooming. The early-blooming peonies were planted for one reason only: So she could decorate the graves of her family and friends on Memorial Day with not just real flowers but with flowers she considered to be the most beautiful in the world.

My mother looked at me and smiled, a tear trailing down her cheek.

My mother had transplanted the peonies my grandmother grew and loved to her garden after her mom had died. She had then given starts to Gary, and — for the first time — they had bloomed in our garden.

Today.

The next Memorial Day, we surprised my parents by driving eleven hours to visit them in the Ozarks. Out of the blue the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, just after we had finished eating dollar-sized pancakes with strawberry syrup, I asked my mother if she wanted to decorate graves.

Her tears told me she did.

She appeared moments later wearing a dress and a pair of respectful, sensible heels.

“We’ll need to pick up a few things on the way,” she said as we headed to my car.

I shook my head, popping the trunk, which I had already filled with miniature flags, a box of Kleenex and, most importantly, peonies — in a cooler, wrapped in wet paper towels — that had been born in my grandma’s garden, passed to my mother and then forwarded to us like precious, fragile cargo.

“I picked some from your garden on our way down here,” I said.

We stopped at my brother’s grave first, and then my grandmother’s, where we told stories, we wept and we hugged.

I knelt on my grandmother’s grave that Memorial Day, my knees on the cool earth, and planted a flag and then said a prayer: A prayer that after I am long gone someone takes the time to share my story, to visit me on occasion, and to pass along my legacy.

And then I scraped my hands into the wet earth, digging through new grass and mud and red clay, and I planted some peonies.

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P.S. In advance of posting this essay, a friend from high school messaged me to let me know that she had visited the cemetery where my family — grandparents, parents, brother, aunt — are buried and had decorated their graves with flowers. I wept at her thoughtfulness and felt as if my message had been carried on the wind back to the Ozarks this weekend.

Have You Read The Page Turner? (Peonies actually play a part in the novel!)

The Page Turner is a book about how books and reading change and save our lives. It’s a story about rediscovering the strength to use our voices to change the world for the better. It’s a novel about family — the good, the bad, how they can drive us crazy one moment and then wrap us in their arms and save us the next — and a tribute to my grandmother and an homage to why I chose her name as my pen name. It’s also an inside look at the world of publishing today and how difficult it is to be an author and get a book published. It’s about what I call “genre-shaming”: Why are books with female characters at the center with themes about love, family, friendship, faith, hardship, called chick lit, rom-coms, or beach reads when they tell stories that are central to all of our lives? If you love family stories and books about books, well, this is the book for you!

Order from a link below:

• AMAZON

• KINDLE

• BARNES & NOBLE

• NOOK

• BOOKS-A-MILLION

• BOOKSHOP.ORG

BIG NEWS: My first book America’s Boy, is being republished this month!

I’ve waited a decade to say this: My baby is coming into the world again! America’s Boy: A Memoir — my very first published book and the one to start my career as an author — is being republished (it comes out May 27!) and IS AVAILABLE TO BUY NOW! (Note: It is currently widely available as an e-book; print versions will be available in the near future). I will be sharing a newsletter devoted to America’s Boy next week, but if you’d like to get a jump on it, click a link below to preorder now:

• AMAZON KINDLE

• BARNES & NOBLE NOOK

A TEA-RIFIC COLLABORATION!

Thanks you, Michigan Family Travel, for the lovely article about my collaboration with Urban Vine! You can read the article HERE!

For those of you who are not familiar, our mission with our gift line and organic teas is meaningful and multifaceted: To support adults on the spectrum by providing them with a place, purpose and passion (proceeds from sales go back to employ adults on the spectrum who are cycled out of the system in Michigan at the age of 26); to support small and women-owned businesses in Michigan; to align with the mission and message of my novels by providing hope, beauty, purpose and a community of kindness; and to create a unique, one-of-a-kind, carefully curated gift line - from writing journals (inspired by the ones I use to write each of my novels), two spring/summer candle scents ( the creamy vanilla/cinnamon & honey BAKING IS AN ACT OF LOVE and the pine, water and grass WE GO TO THE WOODS TO FIND OURSELVES) garden flags and teas - that amplify the soul of my books.

You should know how hard Amy Vine works to bring our Viola SHIPMANt subscriber boxes (which comes out six times a year and features an original novella with themed gifts centered around each chapter … I’m already hard at work on the next novella, called The Music Box! Email gary@violashipman.com if you’d like to subscribe for 2026!) as well as our gift line to life: Amy is an herbalist, and her teas are not only created from ingredients on her organic farm but also from Amy's imagination. She creates each, small batch tea (title, flavor, herbs, ingredients) as a themed companion to my novels, including our newest creation, A NOVEL-TEA! that was created in honor of THE PAGE TURNER!

I'm especially proud of our brand new "Tea Time Passport Book," which includes eight small batch tea bags created as themed companions to my books that are housed in a GORGEOUS keepsake book box featuring the South Haven Lighthouse (featured in THE PAGE TURNER) that can be reused to house more teas, or as a coffee table book/decoration, candy box, etc. This is our 3rd edition of these beautiful, original, limited edition tea time passport books, and only a few remain. Get yours now before they're gone forever HERE!

Check Out Our Spring Gift, Candle, Clothing, Mug, Tea, Tote & Tumbler Line! It’s the one-stop shop for book clubs, teacher appreciation gifts & presents for the book lover!

Shop our gift line here: SHOP NOW!

PLUS! We have a STUNNING Viola clothing, mug, tote & tumbler line here: SHOP NOW!

THIS RULES! A Special Note from Kristy Woodson Harvey, whose new novel, BEACH HOUSE RULES, is out Tuesday!

Good morning, Viola (Wade) fans! I am so honored to be here with you today to let you know some big news: Summer’s biggest secret is OUT: my twelfth novel, Beach House Rules, hits shelves today! Think sun-soaked secrets, tangled family drama, and rules that were meant to be broken.

Our friend, #1 Bestselling Author Lisa Scottoline summed it up better than I ever could: “I love, love, loved Kristy Woodson Harvey’s BEACH HOUSE RULES! It’s the heartfelt and dramatic story of Charlotte and Iris Sitterly, a mother and daughter who find themselves struggling at a crossroads in their lives. They join a group of single mothers, forming a remarkable “mommune,” and through the power of friendship and love, they persevere and even triumph as a family, solving a mystery along the way. Take this book to the beach and you won’t stop turning the pages!”

And Remarkably Bright Creatures author and phenom Shelby van Pelt declared that: “Beach House Rules will rule the beach-read season!"

I’m so grateful–and would be so honored if you considered grabbing a copy of my Full House-meets-Gossip Girl tale for your beach bag this summer!

If you’re into signed first editions, they are available from Nantucket Books and South Main Book Company. But, of course, the book is also available from Bookshop.org, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and everywhere books are sold.

Also, I would LOVE to see you on tour! I’ll be in fifteen states, and thirty-three cities, so, if I’m near you, I’d love to meet you or see you again in real life. My full tour dates are available on my website, kristywoodsonharvey.com.

Just remember: As my Beach House Rules ladies learn, life doesn't always go as planned, but sometimes the detour is where the magic happens… Step into Beach House Rules—a heartwarming tale of mothers, daughters, and the sisterhood that lifts us when the tide feels too strong. Happy beach reading!

Xoxo, KWH

WINE & WORDS WITH WADE! EVERY THURSDAY AT 6:30 PM ET! JOIN OUR LITERARY HAPPY HOUR!

And please remember to join me every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET for Wine and Words with Wade live on the Viola Shipman Facebook Page. This summer, we will be giving tours tours of our gardens and cottage, sharing gardening tips, having craft days, baking in the kitchen, talking with bestselling authors on the screened porch, and sharing hope, love and inspiration to make your life just a little bit happier and more hopeful. JOIN US!

Happy Spring & Reading! And make sure to follow me on social media to be part of our community of kindness!

• Facebook

• Instagram

• Amazon

• BookBub

XOXO,

Viola/Wade

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PAGE TURNER TOUR RECAP! Filled with joy & gratitude!

Me, doing my best Burt Reynolds pose, after signing 1,000 books!

After a book tour that took me to 10 states in under three weeks, I returned home to Michigan weary but elated, humbled and eternally grateful. At its heart, The Page Turner — which has been featured in PEOPLE, Country Living Magazine and more! — is about how books and reading connect us, and the tour brought that connection to life.

In city after city, bookstore after bookstore, library after library, I was overwhelmed by the number of readers who showed up in force, especially to places I’d never been. I still have a bit of impostor syndrome (most authors do), no matter how many years I’ve been doing this, and my heart flits and flutters about my chest like a moth before every event wondering if anyone will actually attend. Often, I would get emotional pulling up to a store and seeing a line of people out the door or already seated through the window.

My events are different from many authors. They often last for hours (or should I say, four hours) as I try to spend as much time with each person who comes. As I always say at every event, and am saying to you now, your time and money are valuable. I know you could be anywhere else, doing anything else, reading anyone else, and for you to be here, supporting me, reading me, means the world, and I am eternally grateful for that and will never take it for granted. THANK YOU!

Funny tour story: The best piece of advice I received was from a woman “of a certain age” who not only looked stunning but was full of — as my grandma used to say — p*** and vinegar. I asked her secret, and she told me: “Honey, a little powder, a little paint, makes a lady what she ain’t.” Well, by the end of the tour I understood her wisdom: I was literally held up by a little powder and a little paint, but it was all of you who made me what I ain’t. You filled my soul and gas tank with love and energy!

I hope the following photos give a glimpse of what a page-turning, love-affirming, bookish blast this tour was! And I can’t wait to see more of you on tour this summer in Michigan.

Want to see my on tour? Check out my UPCOMING APPEARANCES HERE!

LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT MOTHER’S DAY GIFT?

Looking for the perfect Mother's Day gift? Look no further!

Is your mother a reader? If so, The Page Turner would be the ideal present! This is a book about books centered around a mother and daughter that will make your mom laugh, cry, and celebrate the importance of reading in our lives. It is ideal for moms, daughters, grandmothers, or any special woman in your life who loves a story that speaks to the soul.

Want to make your mom’s day even more special? Our Viola gift and clothing lines — which not only support two small, women-owned businesses in Michigan but also adults on the spectrum — are chock full of the most adorable bookish gifts for the mom who deserves everything. We offer organic teas, handmade candles, hand-designed garden flags, Page Turner-inspired writing journals as well as the CUTEST T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, totes, tumblers, mugs and inspirational cell phone cases! Knock out your shopping with a book and a Viola gift! Happy Mother’s Day!

Shop our gift line here: SHOP NOW!

Shop our clothing, mug, tote & tumbler line here: SHOP NOW!

A PERSONAL NOTE TO READERS ABOUT THE PAGE TURNER

The question I am most asked on tour is, “Why did you write this book?”

Every book I write begins with a question, either one I am seeking to answer in my life as well as one in which I believe you are struggling to answer. The Page Turner started with a simple question that led me back to my Grandma Shipman: How can we rediscover the strength to find and use our voice to change the world for the better, even if we believe no one is listening?” So, let’s start here:

What do books mean to you?

Growing up, books and reading saved my life. And I mean that. As a kid growing up in rural America in the 1970s – with no one like me and no one to talk to about what I was going through – I wasn’t just lonely, I was alone in this world.

My grandma – my pen name, Viola Shipman – swept me under her apron strings, loved me unconditionally and made sure I cherished my “Wade-ness.” One of the ways she did this was by pushing books into my hands from the earliest of ages and making it clear that reading, writing and education would not only change my life but quite possibly save it. How right she was. She saved rolls of pennies for my college education. One of the first Christmas gifts I remember receiving from my grandma was an aquamarine Selectric typewriter, which we pay tribute to on the cover of the novel. My grandma never finished high school and yet she was a voracious reader who volunteered at the local library.

“You can be the hero of your own story,” my grandmother told me when I was a boy. “Use your voice to change the world even if you think no one is listening.”

As a working poor woman with little money, education or power, society didn’t listen to my grandma when she was alive, but I did. And the stories I write today honor her strength and legacy as well as women just like her.

The voice, strength and legacy of GiGi, Emma Page’s grandmother, echoes throughout the pages of The Page Turner. The books Emma read with her GiGi every summer at her grandmother’s beach cottage – so called “fluff” much like the books I read with my own grandma – inspired her to become a writer in college. Emma grew up the black sheep in a bookish household, raised to believe that fine literature was the only worthy type of fiction by her parents, Phillip and Piper, self-proclaimed “serious” authors who run their own indie press, The Mighty Pages. They mingle in highbrow social circles that look down on anything too popular or mainstream. Her gorgeous sister, Jess, is a powerful social media influencer whose stylish reviews can make or break a novel. Emma has a secret, one that should be celebrated but one in which she is ashamed: She wrote a book in college, not just any book but a romance (gasp!) which she is hiding from her disapproving parents. Emma finds inspiration at the family cottage among the “fluff” they despise: the juicy summer romances that belonged to her late grandmother. But a chance discovery unearthed from her Gigi’s belongings reveals a secret that has the power to ruin her parents’ business and destroy their reputation in the industry—a secret that has already fallen into the hands of an unscrupulous publishing insider – a very despicable author based on a real one (sssshhh) with a grudge to settle. Now Emma must decide—as much as she’s dreamed of the day when her parents are forced to confront their own egos, can she really just sit back and watch The Mighty Pages be exposed and their legacy destroyed? If you love books about books, well, this is the book for you.

The Page Turner is a celebration of how books and reading not only change us but save our lives. It’s about family – the good, the bad, the ugly, the unsaid, the screamed – and how they can drive us insane one minute and then wrap us in their arms and save us the next. It’s a love letter to my grandmother. It’s a history lesson on why women writers have been forced to choose pen names over the years. It’s a peek at why I did. The novel is about the harsh, withering judgment we place on one another in today’s society, and often the books we read, simply by a casual glance at the collective cover without knowing a thing about what’s really inside. The Page Turner is about ‘genre shaming’: I ask in the novel why are books that center on the issues of women’s lives – all of our lives – labeled as chick lit, beach reads, or fluff, when other novels are simply called literature? Why are themes of love, family, friendship – the most important parts of our lives – considered less worthy of attention and wide readership if they also don't include blood, murder, sex, bad words, really big words (I know both – bad and big words – by the way) or seek to intentionally divide us? The novel is a deep dive into the challenges of being an author today and the issues the publishing industry faces.

Mostly, The Page Turner is about – as my grandma taught me so long ago – finding the strength to utilize the unique voice God gave each of us to change the world but the voice we too often bury out of fear and compromise, or the worry no one is listening. Every voice deserves to be heard. Every story needs to be told. This is the heart of The Page Turner.

If you have a daughter, or granddaughter, son or grandson — that person who feels deeply and loves to read — The Page Turner should be shared reading amongst the generations, from eight to eighty.

As I write in the novel:

“Books are a chance to right the wrong in the world, an opportunity to rewrite ourselves. We can reimagine and reinvent, see the world in an entirely new way simply by turning a page.

Authors write about the same topics – love, death, war, loss – and we use the same words, the same linguistic tool belt, but it’s how we bring those stories to life that sets us apart. We must listen to that unique voice that calls to us. We must listen to our hearts. We must overcome the fear that stops us from doing what we dream, of making sense of our pain through words.

It’s only by listening to that voice within us – the one that speaks to us late at night, the one calling to you right now, the one we try so hard to ignore because we just want to fit in and we just want life to be less painful – that we can bring our stories to life.

Because when we do, our words are no longer our words, our stories are no longer our stories, they belong to you, the reader. You make them your own, and, when you do, for a moment, the pain eases, the words are no longer jumbled, your heart is Super Glued back into place once more, it is whole, we are one, and the world actually makes sense again.

If even for a single, mighty page.”

To order your copy of The Page Turner, please visit a link below (and please follow & visit my Viola Shipman Facebook Page to see links on where to order autographed copies of my books from the many wonderful bookstores I visited on tour):

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

BOOKSHOP.ORG

MY WEBSITE

What’s Next This Summer?

• LOTS of appearances in Michigan and LOTS of virtual appearances

• THE PAGE TURNER was selected as a May Book Club Pick by Jen Hatmaker as well as Friends and Fiction and Brenda Novak's Book Group!

• I am diving into edits on my 2026 novel … stay tuned as I will have LOTS of big news to share about this one!

• I will begin writing a new Viola Shipman holiday novel this summer, which is slated to publish in 2027! Christmas in July!

• And please remember to join me every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET for Wine and Words with Wade live on the Viola Shipman Facebook Page. This summer, we will be giving tours tours of our gardens and cottage, sharing gardening tips, having craft days, baking in the kitchen, talking with bestselling authors on the screened porch, and sharing hope, love and inspiration to make your life just a little bit happier and more hopeful. JOIN US!

  

  Happy Spring & Reading! And make sure to follow me on social media to be part of our community of kindness!

  Facebook

  Instagram

  Amazon

  BookBub

XOXO,

Viola/Wade

THE PAGE TURNER IS OUT APRIL 8!

And it was just featured in PEOPLE!

Check out the exclusive article & excerpt HERE!

YEAH!!! You can preorder it now from the following link (other links follow below!):

PREORDER THE PAGE TURNER NOW!

My new novel — my first book in two years! — publishes Tuesday, April 8. It’s a novel about how books and reading not only change us but often save our lives, as they did mine growing up. It’s a tribute to family, sisters and friendship as well as to finding the strength to rediscover the unique voice God gave us — the one we too often hide or diminish to fit in — to change the world for the better. It’s an ode to pen names and my grandmother, and it pulls back the curtain on what it’s like to be an author today.

Memories of my grandmother and the books we read together sparked writing this book. Here’s a short video about why I wrote The Page Turner and why this story means to much to me:

Watch now!

And here’s the book’s synopsis! I hope you love it!

“A tasty, dishy inside look at the world of publishing. Readers will be begging for a sequel!”—Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of Summers at the Saint

A young romance writer makes a discovery that throws her elitist family into chaos in this sharp, witty and entirely delightful family drama for fans of Jennifer Weiner.

Emma Page grew up the black sheep in a bookish household, raised to believe that fine literature is the only worthy type of fiction. Her parents, self-proclaimed “serious” authors who run their own vanity press, The Mighty Pages, mingle in highbrow social circles that look down on anything too popular or mainstream, while her sister, Jess, is a powerful social media influencer whose stylish reviews can make or break a novel.

Hiding her own romance manuscript from her disapproving parents, Emma finds inspiration at the family cottage among the “fluff” they despise: the juicy summer romances that belonged to her late grandmother. But a chance discovery unearthed from her Gigi’s belongings reveals a secret that has the power to ruin her parents’ business and destroy their reputation in the industry—a secret that has already fallen into the hands of an unscrupulous publishing insider with a grudge to settle. Now Emma must decide—as much as she’s dreamed of the day when her parents are forced to confront their own egos, can she really just sit back and watch The Mighty Pages be exposed and their legacy destroyed?

From the wealthy enclaves of the Hamptons to the sparkling shores of Lake Michigan, The Page Turner is a delectable glimpse inside the world of publishing, and Viola Shipman’s most glittering achievement yet!

The Movie Trailer for The Page Turner! I hope you love it!

PREORDER NOW TO ENTER OUR $1,100 MEGA PAGE TURNER GIVEAWAY!

Wanna a chance to win $1,100 in cash & prizes simply for preordering The Page Turner? To enter, pre-order The Page Turner and submit a jpg copy of your receipt in the entry form below by April 7, 2025 11:59PM EDT. The more copies you order, the better your odds (just use a different email address with each receipt)!

CLICK THIS LINK NOW TO ENTER!

One lucky winner will take home:

• A Coach Leather Blueberry Print Rowan Handbag & Wallet Set
• A $250 Visa Gift Card
• Viola Shipman 40 oz. stainless steel hot & cold tumbler
• Viola Shipman leatherette journal
• Urban Vine, "A Novel Tea" - hand crafted for The Page Turner

One winner will be randomly chosen and announced on Saturday, April 12th at 7:00 p.m. ET during a Special Wine and Words with Wade on the Viola Shipman Facebook page (virtual). Open to USA residents only.

Preorder Links Follow! Or order from your fav bookstore!
Good luck! XOXO!

• AMAZON

• KINDLE

• BARNES & NOBLE

• NOOK

• BOOKS-A-MILLION

• BOOKSHOP.ORG

COME SEE ME ON TOUR!

I will be visiting 9 states in two weeks, followed by countless events across Michigan this spring & summer. Come see me in Texas, Georgia, North & South Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Missouri & Michigan!

For my appearances, see the graphics or click the link below for more information:

THE PAGE TURNER BOOK TOUR!

INTRODUCING VIOLA’S “PAGE TURNING” NEW SPRING, BOOK & EASTER CLOTHING/GIFT LINE FEATURING MERCH THAT I CAN SIGN ON TOUR!

BIG NEWS, PEEPS! Our Spring, Easter & PAGE TURNER clothing line is now LIVE!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP CLOTHING LINE NOW!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP GIFT LINE NOW!

We are so proud of our new gift & clothing line — run by small, women-owned businesses in Michigan with proceeds supporting adults on the spectrum by providing them jobs plus a purpose, place and passion.

Our new gift line features spring soaps and teas, writing journals and gift sets inspired by The Page Turner as well as three candles that smell like my favorite spring flowers: Peonies, lilacs and (lemon) lavender. Direct links to each candle follow:

PEONY: "Peonies-Powder puffs of white & pink that smell like heaven."
https://urban-vine.com/products/peony-candle

LILAC: "Lilacs remind us to breath deeply!"
https://urban-vine.com/products/untitled-mar9_15-18

LEMON LAVENDER: "Read Relax Repeat!"
https://urban-vine.com/products/read-relax-repeat-candle

Our clothing line includes adorable Easter designs as well as Page Turner-inspired clothes plus our new Book Lovers Unite! tees, totes and tumblers! These are inspired by concert T-shirts and are already signed by me … AND are meant for you to wear to book signings so your fav authors can sign them, too (and if you order now, they will arrive in time for my tour, and I can personalize them in person)! New line features:

• Book Lovers Unite! totes & tumblers (to be signed by your fav author!)
• PAGE TURNER inspired T-shirts, sweatshirts & mugs … even inspirational cell phone cases!
(Front says Be The Hero of Your Own Story; Back is book cover)
• Come Home to Viola Shipman totes & journals
• Easter clothes & mugs, including:
* Chillin' with My Peeps & Paperbacks! T-shirt & Mug
* Reading Viola Shipman Makes Me Hoppy! T-shirts
* Somebunny Loves Books mugs & T-shirts (even long sleeve)

Clothes & gifts are customizable by size & color!
Limited edition! These will go away soon! Get yours now!

We hope these make you very, very HOPPY!

A Farewell Tribute to My Beloved BFF, Doris!

It is with a broken - shattered really, but grateful - heart, and tears streaming down my face, that I'm sad to announce the passing of our beloved dog, Doris. So many of you knew Doris through social media and Wine & Words with Wade: She was our ray of light, pure sweetness and joy, an empath, a survivor, and she brightened every day of our lives until her big, ol' heart couldn't go on any longer.

Pets mark important chapters in our lives, and the loss of Doris is a particularly hard one as she was such a stable presence in shepherding me and Gary through such difficult chapters, including the loss of three parents. We only adopt rescues, and I truly believe they rescue us as much as we save them, and Doris certainly did.

Here is the Story of Doris: She came onto our property on a sunny Michigan day, not long we'd adopted Mabel and lost Marge (we have always been a two-dog family), brought to us by a kind woman who was fostering her after Doris had been adopted and returned three times in the first nine months of her life. She strode up to Gary, as if she had waited for this moment, as if the previous rejections were meant to be, wagging, smiling. She was blonde, beautiful and glowed in the sun. Gary looked up at me and smiled. "She's the one." I felt as if God had guided her directly to us.

From the start, I began to joke that Gary and Doris were husband and wife. Doris and I would "tuck each other into bed" every night: She would lay on my pillow, wait for me to come to bed, and I would look her in the eyes, stroke her fur and whisper, "Who wants to go to sleep? Time for bed, my beautiful angel. Let's go to sleep. Time to go to sleep." She would sigh, her eyes sagging, yawn, and then walk across Gary and snuggle into the crook of his arm every night, and the two would spoon.

Doris was so, so gentle and so, so sweet, but she was also a fierce fighter and quiet warrior: She survived a rare, aggressive form of tongue cancer when she was young (a half moon of her tongue was removed, and she was able to eat and drink normally thanks to our great vet), she survived ear cancer (part of her ear was removed), and she survived for a long, long time with congestive heart failure, and never once whined or complained. We fought so hard and so long for her, that the months blurred and the suddenness of losing her feels so raw, too raw, and I am having difficulty getting over this. The losses have accumulated too quickly over the past few years for me and Gary, and the sadness feels like a heavy shroud on my soul. But I shall remember that with loving fully, with all our hearts, the loss is that much greater. And, my goodness, did we love our Doris.

Doris was calm with our aging parents, and would let them love on her until they calmed, too. Doris was calm with me: She saw me through the ups and downs of writing my first novel, a trying time in my career. Doris was my breakfast and lunch companion every single day, and I shared more meals with her than anyone. Doris loved to snuggle while we watched TV, and Gary would hold her like a baby, upside down and cuddle her. We always said her "love tank" could never be filled.

Doris loved everyone, and everyone loved Doris. Doris loved popcorn. She loved her cookies. She loved my Kashi cereal. She loved fish and chicken and ice cream. She loved to yank the squeakers out of any toy. She loved to dress up in holiday costumes (okay, Gary loved to dress her up, but, boy, was she a patient model).

But, most of all, she loved us: We were her entire world. And she was ours.

It is a spring day today, but the world is less sunny without our baby in it. I see her and feel her everywhere. She is gone, but she is not gone. She will live forever in our hearts, and I must believe that she is whole again, no pain, young heart and young at heart, playing with our parents, with Mabel and Marge, and in a little while, when my heart no longer feels like concrete and the tears have slowed, I will look into the sky and see her filling the world with the same bright light she shined on us for nearly thirteen years. That's the hard part: We all want our pets to live forever. And forever always comes too soon.

I love you, Doris Dean! ❤️ Here’s to those we rescue & those who rescue us!

Happy Spring & Reading! And make sure to follow me on social media to be part of our community of kindness …

Facebook

Instagram

Amazon

BookBub

Subscribe now

XOXO,

Viola/Wade

“It’s deeply un-shocking that this book, featuring a misogynistic author writing women’s fiction under a pen name, is actually the work of a male author using a female pseudonym. He clearly has a terrible opinion of women.”

This was a recent review of THE PAGE TURNER on my Goodreads page.

The Page Turner release April 8. ORDER NOW! Preorder now & leave a great review!

Yes, I know it is terrible PR to showcase such a terrible review. I also know that — after twenty books and twenty years as a full-time author — my skin is thick enough to slough off such criticism (honestly, bad reviews and rejection typically does not bother me any longer). And I know that not every book will resonate with a reader in the way an author hopes; everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, and I always listen to fair criticism.

But this … this random, drive-by, hateful assertion (No! Lie!) that I am a misogynist who is laughing maniacally as I write in the dark hoping to fool readers into thinking I am a woman while hurting women is simply disgusting and wholly untrue. The reason these types of comments and reviews still get under my skin is that they continue to happen A LOT, over and over again, even a decade after my first novel, THE CHARM BRACELET, was written. Hate my book. Fine. But do not attack the reason I chose a pen name. It was done out of love, not hate. Do not say that I am a misogynist. I was raised by women. They saved my life. They made me who I am today. My stories honor and celebrate them. Their lives parallel my own. The judgment of the world that women face and have always faced is what I have faced in my own life: A societal belief that you cannot, or are not allowed, to do something. Dismissal. A belief that you are somehow less than.

The ironic thing is that my latest novel, THE PAGE TURNER, is a love letter to my grandma and strong women like her. The ironic thing is that the book is about the misogyny and sexism that women face in life and career. And, most importantly and ironically, it focuses a laser on why — as a society — we so often judge one another (and the books we read) by our collective covers without actually bothering to know a thing about what’s inside.

Sound familiar?

So, thank you, anonymous reviewer: You just proved why I wrote this novel in the first place.

However, a decade after my first novel under the pen name Viola Shipman was published, and two months before THE PAGE TURNER is set to release, it seems the perfect time to remind readers yet again why I chose my grandma’s name as my pen name: To pay tribute to the working poor Ozarks woman who loved me unconditionally and sacrificed everything so that my family and I could have better lives. If you think that is dark, or misogynistic, I feel sorry for you.

Here is my story:

Why A Man Uses His Grandma’s Name As A Pen Name: The Story of Wade Rouse and Viola Shipman

Dear Reader:

I grew up in rural America (the Missouri Ozarks) in the 1970s and 1980s. My grandparents were working poor. My Grandma Shipman was a seamstress who stitched overalls until she couldn’t stand straight. My Grampa Shipman was an ore miner. He used to say at the end of the day, “It’s good to see the sun again.” He hunted to put food on the table for his family. My grandmother took odd sewing jobs to make extra cash. They had an old crock in their garage, and when my mother was still very young, they began to throw any extra change – a penny, dime, quarter – they had into that crock. When it got full many years later, they drug it into the back of their pickup truck and drove it to the community bank, where they started a college fund for my mother, who would become the first in our family to graduate college. As I like to say, “That change changed the course of my life.”

My grandparents sacrificed everything for their family to have a better life than they did. They also nurtured my love of reading and writing. My grampa built a log cabin in the middle of nowhere on an icy cold “crick” called Sugar Creek. Even though she never finished high school, my grandma read to me from the earliest of ages and told me books and education would save my life. We used to read to one another as we floated in inner tubes on the creek. We used to sit on a barn red glider at the end of a day to watch the sunset. From the bluff, you could see the creek and the Ozarks stretch forever. “What do you see?” my grandma used to ask. “Everything,” I said. “Exactly. That’s called imagination.” She was a grand oral storyteller, and she would start a story and ask me to continue it.

The memories and lessons of my grandparents continue to guide me, even in the hardest of times. They survived war, poverty, a depression, disease and great loss with strength, resilience, grace, faith, positivity and, most of all, hope. That is how we continue. Hope.

I chose my grandmother’s name to honor the woman whose heirlooms and family stories inspire my fiction. It is the smallest thank-you I can give to her for all she gave to me. My novels are meant to remind readers of what’s most important in the world – the small things – and as a tribute to our elders, our families, our histories and our memories. Most of all, they are meant to inspire hope. The main characters in my novels are inspired by my grandmothers and my mom: Good, strong, hardworking women who are trying their darndest to do their best despite life’s hard knocks. These are the types of characters and women who are too often overlooked in literature and society.

My hope is that readers will pick up one of my books in the future when I am no longer around, understand who Viola Shipman is and why I chose her name, and seek to understand or more appreciate their own elders and family histories.

The Page Turner is a love letter to my grandma and our love of reading. It is a novel about how books save us, whether we are writers or readers. The novel is also about the judgment we place on one another, and often the books we read, simply by a casual glance at the collective cover.

Growing up, books saved my life. I mean that. With no one like me and no one to talk to about what I was going through, I wasn’t just lonely, I was alone in this world.

My grandma and my mother – a nurse and hospice nurse – sensed I was “different,” and they swept me under their wings, loved me unconditionally and made sure I cherished my uniqueness. One of the ways they did this was by pushing books into my hands from the earliest of ages and making it clear that reading and education would not only change my life but quite possibly save it.

As a kid, I didn’t dream of being an astronaut or baseball player. I dreamed of being a writer.

Books allowed me to see a vast world beyond the small town in which I lived. They allowed me to not only escape from the cruelty I often experienced but also understand the reasons behind the hatred. They allowed me to see – as my mom and grandma instilled in me – that being unique was an incredible gift.

Books aren’t just books. Books are family. Authors are friends. The stories we read are timestamps in our memories. They bookmark important chapters in our lives and growth.

Books are a chance to right the wrong in the world, an opportunity to rewrite ourselves. We can reimagine and reinvent, see the world in an entirely new way simply by turning a page. Or, sometimes, we can just escape from our own lives.

As Carl Sagan wrote: “What an astonishing thing a book is. It's a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you're inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic."

That’s exactly how I feel when I read and write: Magical. Like a literary unicorn.

When I talk to readers at events, many tend to believe that writing is a magical endeavor, that a muse lands upon my shoulders each morning and whispers gilded words into my ear. Some days can be like that. Most are just damn hard work.

And many readers tend to view writing as either madness or salvation.

I always tell them it’s both.

And on the best days, writing is salvation from the madness.

What does a book mean to a reader?

An escape.

A walk in someone else’s shoes.

A trip somewhere we’ve never been.

A fit of laughter, or tears, often both at the same time.

A rope of hope.

A reason to go on.

What does a book mean to an author?

The same.

Why?

Because every chapter of our lives is a storyline in a novel. It’s deeply personal but also wholly universal, which means it’s an important storyline in your lives, too.

Our broken heart will never heal.

Our love burns more intensely than any other.

Our grief is unimaginable.

Our secret is un-shareable.

Our family is unbearable.

Authors tend to write about the same topics – love, death, hope, loss – and we use the same words, the same linguistic tool belt, but it’s how we bring those stories to life that sets us apart.

That is why The Page Turner is also about voice. Not only the voice Emma Page uses to bring her novel to life, but the voice she owns that makes her special and that she is unwilling to silence. We all have a voice. In fact, I bet yours is talking to you in your head right now. However, there’s a good chance that you’ve forgotten the power of your own voice, the beauty of your own uniqueness.

As I address in this book, we tend to bury that out of fear: Fear of being different, as I was; fear of being unpopular; fear that our family or friends will disapprove; fear of, well, everything. And slowly that voice becomes so quiet, so distant, we don’t even hear it anymore, and we are no longer the unique souls we once were. We are far from being the people we once dreamed.

This novel is about overcoming fear and rediscovering your voice. As I write: Every voice is important. Every story needs to be heard.

I was once consumed by fear. And then I found my voice again.

In fact, when I first started writing and dreaming of being an author, I truly believed that there was a golden key that was passed around New York City. It was handed out — late at night, in a fancy restaurant under gilded lights and over expensive drinks — to “certain” authors. And I would never be one of them. I now know — and you certainly already do — that such a key does not exist. The only key you need you already own: The one that unlocks the door to overcoming your fear and believing in your dream.

This book also addresses – with a wink and a nod – why I made the conscious decision to choose my grandmother’s name as a pen name for my fiction.

I spent an inordinate amount of time with my grandmothers growing up: Sundays in their kitchens watching them bake using family recipes pulled from their recipe boxes; evenings in their sewing rooms watching them take scraps and turn them into beautiful quilts; Saturdays at the beauty parlor watching them get their ‘did’ and sharing stories with their friends they never told when the menfolk were around; and summers at a log cabin that had an outhouse, no phone or TV, just books, innertubes, fishing poles and each other. My grandmothers were both volunteers at the local library, and they were always reading and inspired my love of books and writing. “You can go anywhere and be anyone you dream when you read,” they told me.

Over time, I got to know my grandmothers not just as my grandmas but as real women, who had loved and lost, dreamed and hoped, been knocked down by life and gotten up with grace, hope and strength to soldier on time and again.

One of my grandma’s biggest pleasures was watching the sun set over the creek at our cabin every summer night. She told me more than once, “Life is as short as one blink of God’s eye, but in that blink, we forget what matters most.”

My grandma believed the simplest things in life were the most important: Family, friends, our health, a sunrise and a sunset. And her simple heirlooms – charm bracelets, recipe boxes, quilts – meant the world to her and told the history of our family.

After my mother died, I went to help move my father into a smaller home. In packing up, I came across boxes in the attic and garage filled with my grandma’s heirlooms — their charm bracelets, recipe boxes, hope chests filled with quilts, scrapbooks and family Bibles. I began to cry. I realized my grandparents had never been poor; in fact, they were the richest people I’d ever known because they got life, understood it better than almost anyone.

I began to write what would become my very first novel that day in the attic on top of a cardboard box. To honor her. To honor the women in my life.

Every novel I write is meant to serve as a tribute to family and our elders as well as to inspire hope and remind readers of what’s most important in life: “The simple things,” as my Grandma Shipman used to say, the things we take for granted. Each other.

My grandma was overlooked in society because she didn’t offer anything of “value.” But look at the legacy she left – one that will live forever – simply by being selfless and loving unconditionally (love without any conditions).

When a reader walks into a library or bookstore a hundred years from now – long after I’m gone – and picks up one of my novels, says my grandmother’s name, understands the person she was and the sacrifices she made and, perhaps, reconnects with their own family history to understand how they came to be, then my work will be done and my “blink” will have mattered.

All of which I honor in The Page Turner.

As an author, I write – like Emma does in the novel – what calls to me. it is the only thing we can do as writers and souls: Be ourselves. It also the only thing we should do as readers: Read what calls to us.

There is so much judgment in the world. Even down to the books we read. We are told what we should read, what is “hot,” “TikTok worthy,” “literary,” “smart.” We often put labels on books just as we do one another. Books for and about women are called “chick lit,” “women’s fiction,” “beach reads,” “summer sizzlers,” “romance,” and the implied meaning is that such books are fizzy and frivolous, less serious than others. Nothing could be further from the truth.

When my first memoir was published, some two decades ago, it was not found in bookstores or libraries under “memoir,” “nonfiction,” or even “humor.” It was classified as “gender studies” because it was judged as being something it wasn’t, like so many of us are at first glance on a daily basis.

I am still “judged” for what I write: It’s not deemed “literary” enough, or “highbrow” by some readers and critics. It’s “too emotional.”

I say, “Good!”

I grew up reading with my grandmas. Often, they would pluck books off the rounders in our old grocery story. They were books they could afford. Ones they could put in their pocket books. We read them together. We talked about them. I intentionally choose to make my books accessible to readers from eight to eighty. I intentionally don’t write them to be “admired” by a few. I could choose fancy words and dense plots. I could choose edgier themes and populate my books with bad people.

But I heed the voice that calls to me. And I hear your voices.

Publishing is a big, tough business. It’s not for the faint of heart.

I hope this book gives you some insights into what it’s like to be a writer, agent, or publisher today. I hope this story reminds you to read the books you love and that your history – good, bad, beautiful, ugly – should never be hidden or forgotten.

Books save us.

We save each other.

And I will always write about hope – as sappy as many “critics” may deem it – because it’s the gift, along with a love of reading, that my grandmothers and mother gave me that has allowed me to survive in this tough world.

I will always write under my grandmother’s name – as is celebrated in the novel – because the history of those we love, who raised us and sacrificed for us to have better lives, matters.

PREORDER THE PAGE TURNER TODAY!

To preorder a copy, click a link below:

Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1525804871#SalesRank

Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Page-Turner-Viola-Shipman-ebook/dp/B0CY966S5G/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=

Barnes & Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-page-turner-viola-shipman/1144246799?ean=9781525804878

Nook
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-page-turner-viola-shipman/1144246799?ean=9780369732743

Books-A-Million
https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Page-Turner/Viola-Shipman/9781525804878?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=0&gclid=Cj0KCQiA4fi7BhC5ARIsAEV1YiadaToXfezd9ZeOfzvu7_HdcVg2Kmnpqj_iiq4DSJh7F6ooJuKfv_oaAvW0EALw_wcB

Bookshop (Indie)

https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-mighty-pages-original-viola-shipman/20584172?ean=9781525804878&next=t&next=t

The Viola Website

www.ViolaShipman.com

ANNOUNCING THE PAGE TURNER BOOK TOUR!

10 States! 30 EVENTS! APRIL THROUGH JUNE!

I'm thrilled to (finally!) announce the official book tour for The Page Turner. Direct links to RSVP are included with most events. Some events are free, some are ticketed, nearly all require an RSVP. You can find more details on my website: https://violashipman.com/appearances/

PLEASE come see me! PLEASE spread the word! Many stops & stores will be my first visit, so I want to do the bookstores and my publisher proud! Hope to see you for a page-turning spring & summer filled with books, hugs, laughter, tears, wine & fun!

Come see me on tour!

Santa Monica, California
Sunday, March 23 • 11 a.m.
Zibby's Bookshop • Zibby Owens Most Anticipated Books of 2025 Party L.A

Virtual Launch with McLean & Eakin Booksellers
Thursday, April 3 • 6:30 p.m. ET
Special Wine & Words with Wade Author Telethon & Preorder Party! • Viola Shipman, Kristy Woodson Harvey, Annabel Monaghan, Brendan Slocumb
Preorder now at the link below for a chance to win 1) An exclusive Viola “Author Groupie” T-shirt signed by Viola that can also be signed by your fav authors at their events (5 winners!); 2) A $200 gift card to McLean & Eakin for preorders of two or more of participating authors’ books (1 winner!)
https://mcleanandeakin.com/event/2025-04-03/viola-shipman-kristy-woodson-harvey-brendan-slocumb-annabel-monaghan

Austin, Texas (Tour Launch!)
Monday, April 7 • 7:00 p.m. CT
BookPeople • In Conversation with Jen Hatmaker!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bookpeople-presents-viola-shipman-the-page-turner-tickets-1134130588119?aff=bp

Woodstock, Georgia (Book Launch at Woodstock Arts Theatre!)
Tuesday, April 8 • 6:30 p.m. ET
FoxTale Book Shoppe • In Conversation with The FRIENDS & FICTION Official Book Club with Brenda & Lisa!
https://foxtalebookshoppe.com/Shipman

Greenville, South Carolina
Wednesday, April 9 • 7:30 p.m. ET
M. Judson Booksellers • Books Over Drinks
https://mjudsonbooks.com/event/books-over-drinks-with-viola-shipman/

North Charleston, South Carolina
Thursday, April 10 • 6:00 p.m. ET
Itinerant Literate Books • In Conversation with Victoria Benton Frank (Location TBD)
https://www.itinerantliteratebooks.com/events

Pawleys Island, South Carolina
Friday, April 11 • 10:45 a.m. ET
Litchfield Books in Pawleys Island • Exclusive Author Luncheon at Pine Lakes Country Club
https://www.litchfieldbooks.com/events/viola-shipman-4

Sunset Beach, North Carolina
Friday, April 11 • 5:30 p.m. ET (Silver Coast Winery)
Pelican Bookstore • In Conversation with Bookstagrammer Dallas Strawn (@Libraryofdallas)
https://myclicktickets.com/product_view/FTMKT602F71Q1/26

Special Wine & Words with Wade! (Virtual)
Saturday, April 12 • 7:00 p.m. ET
Announcement of Our Page Turner Mega $1,500 Prize Giveaway Winner of A Coach Leather Blueberry Print Rowan Handbag with Wallet Set + A $250 Visa Gift Card + Viola Goodies!
(Save your preorder receipts from ANY bookseller! Heads up: The more you order, the better chance you have to win!)
https://www.facebook.com/authorviolashipman/

Spring Lake, New Jersey
Sunday, April 13 • 11:00 a.m. ET
Thunder Road Books • Brunch with Viola Shipman
https://calendar.boomte.ch/single/jA8W2jO4tU1uM6U1jxH9d

Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Monday, April 14 • 6:00 p.m. ET
The Doylestown Bookshop • In conversation with Jamie Brenner!
https://doylestownbookshop.com/shipman

Cleveland, Ohio
Tuesday, April 15 • 7:00 p.m. ET
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Middleburg Heights Branch) • In Conversation with Ron Block!
https://attend.cuyahogalibrary.org/event/12608675

Toledo, Ohio
Wednesday, April 16 • 7:00 p.m. ET
Toledo Lucas County Public Library • AUTHORS! Program
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/authors-with-viola-shipman-tickets-1112743117619?aff=oddtdtcreator

St. Louis, Missouri
Thursday, April 17 • 7:00 p.m. CT
St. Louis County Library (Clark Family Library) • Left Bank Books
https://www.slcl.org/events/viola-shipman

St. Joseph, Michigan
Tuesday, April 22 • 7:00 p.m. ET
Forever Books • SW Michigan Launch
https://www.foreverbooks.net/book/9781525804878

Chelsea, Michigan
Thursday, April 24 • 7:00 p.m. ET
Serendipity Books • SE Michigan Launch (First event in new store location!)
https://events.humanitix.com/author-visit-and-signing-the-page-turner-by-viola-shipman

Grand Rapids, Michigan
Sunday, April 27 • 1:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Barnes & Noble (Knapp’s Crossing) • Part of Grand Opening Celebration!
https://www.instagram.com/bnknappcrossing/

Plymouth, Michigan
Wednesday, May 7 • 7:00 p.m. ET
Plymouth District Library • An Evening at The Penn Theatre
https://plymouth.librarycalendar.com/event/evening-viola-shipman-22809

Holland, Michigan
Tuesday, May 13 • 6:30 p.m. ET
Herrick District Library • An Evening with Viola Shipman
https://herrickdl.bibliocommons.com/events/67acbfb2a26aad5d2e469294

FRIENDS AND FICTION Official Book Club with Brenda & Lisa
Monday, May 19 • 7:00 p.m. ET (Virtual)
A Discussion of The Page Turner (May Pick)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/friendsandfictionofficialbookclub

Brenda Novak’s Book Group (Virtual)
Thursday, May 29 • 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT
A Discussion of The Page Turner (May Pick)
Surprise fun in the works!
https://brendanovak.com/book-group/

Fremont, Michigan
Wednesday, June 4 • 6:00 p.m. ET
Fremont Area District Library • An Evening with Viola Shipman
Call for more info: (231) 924-3480

Grand Rapids, Michigan
Tuesday, June 10 • 6:30 p.m. ET
Schuler Books (In store/ 28th Street) • In conversation with eightWest host Rachael Ruiz
Link coming soon!

Saugatuck/Douglas, Michigan
Thursday, June 12 • 7:00 p.m. ET
The Book Nook of Saugatuck • Hometown party at Manifest Event Space/Satya Yoga
Call or email for more info: (269) 888-3576
booknooksaugatuck@gmail.com

Grand Haven, Michigan
Saturday, June 14 • Noon ET
Book Cellar • Outdoor Garden Party (Central Park)
For more info: https://www.facebook.com/usedbooksgh

Fenton, Michigan
Monday, June 16 • 7:00 p.m. ET
Fenton's Open Book • Special event at the Fenton Community & Cultural Center
https://www.fentonsopenbook.com/events

Glen Arbor, Michigan
Thursday, June 19 • 6:30 p.m. ET
Cottage Book Shop
Call or email for more info: (231) 334-4223 • info@cottagebooks.com

Suttons Bay, Michigan
Friday, June 20 • 6:00 p.m. ET
Bay Books • In store
https://baybooksmi.com/events-at-bay-books/

Petoskey, Michigan
Saturday, June 21 • 7:00 p.m. ET
McLean & Eakin Booksellers • Special event at Crooked Tree Arts Center - Petoskey
Link coming soon! Call or email for info & tickets:
(231) 347-1180 • books@mcleanandeakin.com

MORE DETAILS AT https://violashipman.com/appearances/

Here’s to a page-turning spring! XOXO,

Wade/Viola

Subscribe to My Substack for 2025!

My word for the new year is …

Every January, I choose a word or phrase to help guide me in my intention for the year. Believe me, I am not a “hocus pocus,” “manifest-it-and-it-will-be-so” type of guy.

But I am a type of guy. Dolly’s philosophy (and mine, too) is that there is a mighty big difference between a wish and a dream. A wish is something you “wish” might happen, but you don’t necessarily put the work in to make it so. A dream is something that guides you so powerfully you put in the work — and set an intention — to make it so.

Which is why I choose a word: To put my dream for the year into motion.

My word for the new year is “unmeasurable.”

I jotted this word down early last year as I was editing my upcoming novel, The Page Turner. In the novel, a young writer, Emma Page, has long been measured against the success and beauty of her parents and sister. She has long measured herself against the authors her parents publish. “We judge and measure each other – and the books we read – by our collective covers before we ever read a single word,” she says.

This past Sunday, I was brought to tears by Demi Moore’s Golden Globes speech in which she stated that others in her field never considered her ‘worthy’ of awards, esteem or accolades for her acting (she was deemed a ‘popcorn actress’), and – as a result – it corroded her and made her believe that they were correct.

“In those moments when we don’t think we’re smart enough, or pretty enough, or skinny enough, or successful enough, or basically just not enough,” she said, “I had a woman say to me, ‘Just know you will never be enough, but you can know the value of your worth if you just put down the measuring stick.’”

Much of my life I have felt the same way: I have compared my success to others. I have compared my life to others. I have compared the way I look to others. I have compared my work to others. I have compared my worth to others.

This impacted me, personally and professionally. For a while, I lost the sheer bliss, the unbridled joy, the creative comfort and the life balance I found in writing. I literally lost the plot of my own storyline.

But this past year, I have rediscovered it again by asking myself these questions:

What if I just stopped and let my work exist in the universe on its own without measuring its merit based on sales, bestseller lists or accolades?

What if I stopped measuring myself against others and simply loved myself unconditionally and took joy in the fact that I am blessed to create what calls to me?

What if that isn’t just enough, it’s more than enough?

This began to free me, personally and professionally. The Page Turner is symbolic of this new freedom. So is the 2026 novel I just finished and am currently editing. These new works are ‘very Viola’ but also very different in the themes I explore. I couldn’t be – once again – more excited to write.

Moreover, the questions I ask above parallel Emma’s journey in The Page Turner. What does it mean to be enough in a world where – from social media to entertainment – we are constantly bombarded with a desire to be ‘perfect.’ The Page Turner is a universal story about how we judge one another by our collective covers and measure ourselves against “the unmeasurable” as well as how we are often judged by the “types” of books we read. It’s also a look at the challenges of publishing and being an author today (see my post below about this!).

I hope I am able to put down that measuring stick this year. I hope that you are as well. And, knowing it won’t be easy, I hope The Page Turner allows you to consider just how important you and your beautiful story is needed in this world.

You may preorder a copy of The Page Turner from one of the wonderful bookstores below who will be supporting me this year. You may also preorder from your favorite bookstore as well. I will be sharing my Page Turner tour very soon!

Here’s to a year filled with unmeasurable joy! XOXO!

***PAPERBACK

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-A-Million

Bookshop (supporting indies)

The Viola Website

***eBOOK

Kindle

Nook

Google Play

Kobo

Apple Books

***AUDIOBOOK

Audible

Libro.fm

***SIGNED COPIES

Autographed copies of The Page Turner will be available from a wide number of indie booksellers across the U.S. Stay tuned for a list as well as the stores I’ll be visiting on tour this spring and summer!

📕❤️ TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO ORDER YOUR 2025 VIOLA SHIPMANt SUBScRIPTION BOX!
📕❤️ CAN YOU HELP MAKE DREAMS COME TRUE FOR ADULTS ON THE SPECTRUM?

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE NOW!

If you are not familiar with our Viola SHIPMANt book boxes, they ship every other month, with each box containing one chapter of my new novella, THE HEIRLOOM SCRAPBOOK (available only for subscribers), and unique, handmade gifts centered around the chapter, season or holiday (think, for instance, a box centered around The Wizard of Oz and Wicked). Moreover, these boxes are boxed with love (and many of the gifts are hand-embroidered or handmade by them) by adults on the spectrum - who are cycled out of this system at the age of 26 in most states - by providing them with jobs, a purpose and a passion. Proceeds benefit them! Your support supports THEM!

NEW this year (at no extra charge) is a book club for subscribers in which I will read, talk about the novella and answer your question (including about my new novel THE PAGE TURNER) as well as a cooking and crafting club with Gary Edwards and Amy Vine from Urban Vine, the nonprofit we work with.

A special Facebook page will be created for subscribers to watch our lives (and don't worry! If you miss a show due to work or family obligations, they will be archived so you can watch them at a later date).

The 2025 SHIPMANt box will include:

• THE HEIRLOOM SCRAPBOOK, a heartfelt, hopeful story about two very different women who become friends. If you have a friend who has changed you, saved you, gotten you into trouble, made you laugh, dream and be a better person, this is the story for you. Set in Holland, Michigan, this novella is filled with tulips, snow, family, friendship, and a magical history of Holland's ties to The Wizard of Oz. It is laced with visions of Paris, Italy, Greece and so much more!
• Gorgeous expandable Hard Cover for adding new chapters
• Six Chapters - One Chapter per box
• Unique themed gifts produced by some of our favorite Michigan Artisan's and Urban Vine's team (Select Michigan Products will be included)
• Artwork by Gary Edwards
• FOUR VIRTUAL book club meetings with Wade Rouse (NEW this year!)
• TWO VIRTUAL crafting & cooking days with Gary Edwards and Amy Vine (NEW this year!)
• SAME GREAT PRICE - MORE TO LOVE! ($60 per box plus tax)

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO SUBSCRIBE!
CAN YOU MAKE DREAMS COME TRUE?
ORDER NOW AT THE LINK BELOW!

2025 SHIPMANt BOXES!

TY for your love & support! XOXO!

WHY I APPROACH WRITING, LIFE & DREAMS “ONE DAY AT A TIME”

PLUS: A sneak peek at my upcoming book tour!

Many readers tend to think that writing is a solitary profession.

It is. And it isn’t.

Yes, when I write a book, I am alone, at my desk, in another world. But the rest of the time? I am the equivalent of that guy in the circus who spins a gazillion plates on the top of a pole.

You cannot be a successful author today if you simply sit in your office and avoid the realities of the publishing world. Which means: You. Have. To. Do. It. All. One. Day. At. A. Time.

Here is a sneak peek into the last few months of my life as an author:

• I am completing edits for my 2026 novel novel. It is due to my editor on January 15. I have spent the last eight months writing it.

• I am preparing proposals to submit to my editor and publisher for the novel after my 2026 novel. The proposals are due January 15, and the manuscript is due August 15. Proposals are tricky: They must be detailed enough (characters, plot, tension) to give the team a clear idea of what is going to occur, so each summary is akin to writing a short story. (Exciting news? The proposal is for a winter/holiday novel, which I love writing!)

• I am finalizing my tour for The Page Turner, which has taken months of planning. I love touring. I love bringing my book to life for and meeting, hugging and loving on readers. But it takes a big chunk of my schedule (remember above when I said was not only editing but also writing a new book that is due in August?) But touring makes me come alive! My tour will actually be two tours this year: The first part of the tour will occur April 7-17 when the book launches. It will take me through Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio and Missouri. The second part will focus on Michigan, where I will visit roughly 10 bookstores and a half dozen libraries. We are also looking at visits to Illinois and Wisconsin as well. Stay tuned as I will be posting all the tour dates within the next couple of weeks!

• I am working with three publicists, a marketing team and a social media marketer on The Page Turner publicity and marketing campaign. It is extensive (and exhausting) to plan as we work to secure attention for this beautiful book in a world where book coverage is shrinking and fewer big box outlets are buying books.

  • Side note: Not so ironically, The Page Turner details the challenges of publishing and being an author today. I’m sure you have already seen the endless lists touting “The Best Books of 2024!” and the onslaught of “The Books You Should Read in 2025!” Can I let you in on a secret? Many of these lists you see are ones that have been in the works for months if not years, carefully curated by publishers who have paid a great deal of money to acquire a book, money they want to recoup, or produced by publications that earn more money and garner greater attention when well-known celebrities, authors and books are promoted. All of the books and authors on these lists are worthy of your attention. But may I ask a favor of you in the new year?

    Respect these lists. And also ignore them. Some 2.2 million books will be published in 2025. You will hear about only a handful of those. I can already tell you most of the books you will see being promoted on TV, receiving the lion’s share of the advertising/marketing/PR from publishers, or destined to become New York Times bestsellers. But let’s go old school in 2025, too: Word of mouth. Talk about books you love with friends. Shout from the rooftops about the books you think deserve attention and to be read. Share on social media. Over and over and over again. There is nothing more powerful than readers talking about books.

• I am spending countless hours promoting The Page Turner on social media, doing podcasts, book clubs and interviews, doing anything and everything humanly possible to let readers know about the book and the story behind the story (again, while editing and writing and … )

• I also have a life, family, friends and dogs (including one elderly dog who doesn’t have much time left) separate from my career. They require my love and attention.

So … How do I do it? One day at a time.

My husband, Gary, recently celebrated his 30th year of sobriety. He has navigated the ups and downs of life, the loss of parents, family, friends, jobs, pets, the successes and heartbreaks, all without a drink, all without dulling his pain or his emotions. His philosophy: One day at a time. That is mine in writing and life. You cannot approach something as big as writing a book (especially when you are just starting) by looking at the end result. It’s just too overwhelming, and it will stop you cold in your tracks. You must look at it as I did when I wrote my first book or ran my first marathon: One word at a time. One page at a time. One mile at a time. One day at a time. A day at a time requires daily dedication. But it doesn’t overwhelm you. And, slowly, over time, you will cumulatively see what you have accomplished: Fifty pages of a book. Fifteen miles toward a marathon. Ten pounds on a weight loss journey. And this mindset, trust me, will become routine, a healthy, happy routine that changes your life. It will become a mental mandate to work toward your dream — whatever it may be — one day at a time. And there will come a day when you look up and you are standing at the finish line at the end of your marathon. Or have a completed first draft on your laptop. That’s how I approach what I do. I work hard. Every day. One day at a time. And it makes for a joyous life.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

WE LOVE, LOVE, LOVE OUR VIOLA VALENTINE’S CLOTHING LINE!

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We are so in love with our new Viola Valentine’s clothing line that is only available for a short time! These shirts are custom-designed by Kat Ferraro of Viola Creations by TomKat and feature book, love and Valentine’s quotes from my novels and the most adorable artwork. Perfect gift for yourself or the book lover in (or love of) your life!

These beautiful shirts are available in countless colors and sizes. You customize!

Which is your favorite? (Click on one to order now!)

• Books Are My Love Language

• Be My Bookentine

• All You Need Is Love & Books

• You Can't Spell Novel without Love

• A Trail of Glitter Leads to My Heart

• Hope & Love

And please join me every Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. EST for …

… my weekly literary happy hour where I interview bestselling authors and publishing insiders, host holiday parties and seasonal cooking and craft shows, give you tours of my homes and the settings behind my books, and talk about inspiration and overcoming fear in your life.

Just head to the Viola Shipman Facebook page — CLICK HERE! — to watch the show AND if you’re not currently following Viola on Facebook, please do! We’ve created a community of kindness and wonderful readers! Until next time …

Happy New Year!

XOXO,

Wade/Viola

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Happy Thanksgiving from Viola!

My Grandma Shipman loved Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I sure inherited her holiday genes! It’s a season not only to celebrate but also to remember, a chance to spend time with those we love, a chance to slow down, and a chance to spread love and joy to those near and far. My winter wish for my readers (which I shared to kickoff my holiday novel A WISH FOR WINTER) is this:

May your darkest days always be filled with light,
May your home always be filled with family and love,
May your holidays forever be filled with memories new and old,

May your coldest days always be filled with warmth,
May a great book forever sit nearby a roaring fire
And may you always remember how unique, beautiful and loved you are.

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I’M SO EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE OUR HOLIDAY GIFT & CLOTHING LINE!

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• REMEMBER: Every order of $50 through November receives a complimentary gift of between $8-$12 as a Thanksgiving THANK YOU for your love & support!

We are deeply proud of our Viola Shipman Gift Line! We have partnered with Urban Vine, a nonprofit and organic farm in Michigan owned by herbalist Amy Vine whose mission is to help adults on the spectrum who fall between the cracks of society and often have nowhere to turn despite having so much to offer. The proceeds from our gift line support these unique individuals by giving them a place, purpose and passion as well as employment and a supportive environment. In fact, many of the gifts we offer are handmade by some of these artistically gifted men and women, or gift-wrapped and boxed with love just for you. We were able to start a women’s program because of your support, and we hope to continue to grow our efforts. Together, we have created a one-of-a-kind gift line that includes beautiful, handmade, Michigan products you won’t find anywhere else (we will never purchase Amazon products and simply up-sell them to you). Moreover, these products align with the mission and message of my novels: To provide hope, beauty, purpose and a community of kindness. Our product line includes one-of-a-kind holiday gifts throughout the year (hand-poured candles, hand-embroidered aprons and more!), homemade bookmarks, herbal skincare, handcrafted tea, seasonal gifts as well as hand-painted cards and frameable artwork.

We also have launched a VIOLA CREATIONS clothing, mug and tumbler line featuring quotes from my novels and hand-designed by fashion and graphic designer Kat Ferraro of TomKat Design Studios based in Michigan. Our clothing line includes T-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies in all sizes and colors. We only use the best fabrics and materials. To see the latest clothing creations, follow us on Facebook HERE!

In addition to our gift and clothing line, we also offer a one-of-a-kind Viola SHIPMANt subscription book box! This beautiful box is unlike any other of its kind. It is sent bimonthly and contains an original novella by me that is only for subscribers (this year’s novella is The Heirloom Scrapbook). Each box contains one chapter of my novel along with unique, handmade gifts and recipes corresponding to the chapter as well as the holiday/season. It is beautifully wrapped and, again, supports a wonderful cause! A subscription also grants you access to our book club, Read ‘Em & Steep, as well as cooking and crafting days to make the goodies in your box.

Great gifts that support an even greater cause! Thank you for your love and support!

P.S. JOIN US LIVE THIS SATURDAY AT 3 P.M. EST FOR AN AFTERNOON FILLED WITH RAFFLES, GIVEAWAYS, FEEL GOOD STORIES & A MEGA-MARATHON OF SHOPPING! PLUS: A SPECIAL HOLIDAY READING FROM ME!

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YOUR SUPPORT SUPPORTS A GREAT CAUSE!

Looking for the perfect gift for the book lover in your life? I have written three holiday novels and three holiday novellas that celebrate the spirit of the season, faith, family, friends and remembering that the greatest gift in life is each other.

To order one — or all six — please visit my Viola Shipman website!

I ho-ho-hope you love them all!

P.S. My new novel, The Page Turner, is publishing on April 8! It’s a book about how books and reading change and save our lives! Visit my website to preorder now!

PREORDER THE PAGE TURNER!

A SPECIAL THANKSGIVING ESSAY!

I wrote this essay after I lost my mother and best friend. It is a reminder to cherish the moments we have with those we love and to celebrate their memories in beautiful ways even if they are no longer with us. Give thanks this Thanksgiving for those who love us unconditionally and make us who we are. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It was the first Thanksgiving after my mother's death, and I had reluctantly gone to the basement to look through the orange storage containers that held our family's fall holiday dishes, mementos and decorations.

I had come as a test: Yes, or no to celebrating Thanksgiving this year.

There, on top, sat the childish art project my mother had helped me make decades earlier. I remembered her tracing my little hand onto a sheet of construction paper, before we cut it out and colored it to create a Thanksgiving turkey.

"Wade," my mother's looping handwriting stated on the turkey's belly.

The beautiful thing about my childish art project was that my mother had let me fashion pearls around the turkey's neck. I had also given the gobbler heels. It was more Carol Channing than Tom Turkey.

And it perfectly summed up my relationship with my mother. We celebrated each other's quirks and uniqueness without judgment.

I couldn't stop crying in the basement. I had failed my test.

"No Thanksgiving," I told my family. "I can't do it. I can’t host it this year."

I just couldn't bear celebrating Thanksgiving without my mother. It was the first major holiday since her death, which still felt so raw.

My mother adored Thanksgiving.

She happily rose at dawn to start cooking. She loved to drink coffee and watch the Macy's Day Parade after fixing a big country breakfast.

She relished her Riesling.

And yet – like the turkey she helped me make as a kid – my mother was a juxtaposition of the traditional and non-traditional.

Yes, we did a green bean casserole with Durkee's French onions. Yes, we had stuffing. Yes, the sweet potatoes were topped with marshmallows.

But, my mom loved experimenting with one new dish each year: Fresh cranberries with dates, walnuts and orange. Or, a caramel-apple tart instead of a pumpkin pie.

Celebrating Thanksgiving without my mom would be like celebrating without the turkey. The thing I looked most forward to, the person for whom I was most thankful, was gone. I couldn't imagine simply enduring this holiday. It would never be the same.

As the weeks passed and Thanksgiving neared, Gary said to me one morning, before I'd had the chance to fully caffeinate, "We're hosting Thanksgiving, and all of your family is coming."

I spat my latte.

"No!" I insisted.

"Yes!" he persisted. "Your mother would want you to celebrate."

"I hate platitudes!" I yelled.

"It's the truth."

I Zombie-walked through the early morning prep for Thanksgiving and greeted my family in similar fashion.

When it came time to set the table mid-morning, I headed to the basement to retrieve the décor and my turkey cutout was still waving at me.

I lost it yet again.

"Think of how much your mother loved this holiday," Gary whispered to me, out of earshot of the family. "Why are you trying so hard to forget about her? Why don't you treat her like she's still here? Because she is. And she always will be."

His words resonated, changed me, almost instantly.

So, I went upstairs and sat a place at the table for my mom.

I put out my hand turkey as a centerpiece.

I ran to the store, where I picked up the ingredients to make fresh cranberries with dates, walnuts and orange, as well as a parsnips recipe she'd wanted to make for years but that the family had pooh-pooh'ed.

I watched the Macy's Parade.

I drank too much coffee and then too much wine.

I cried like a baby, and I laughed like a mad man.

Mostly, my family and I celebrated my mother, and when I gave thanks, I thanked my mom for being such a wonderful, loving, beautiful, quirky presence in my life.

And then I cleaned the dishes and put up the decorations, the little turkey cutout of my hand waving goodbye as I placed it on the top of the storage bin.

"Until next year," I said, returning its wave.

Much love from my home to yours! Gobble ‘til you wobble!

XOXO,

Viola/Wade