Welcome to the Viola Shipman Heirloom Newsletter!
Announcing our new Viola SHIPMANt boxes with my new novella! My new online writing & inspirational platform, UNLEARNING FEAR, is now live! Plus! News about my next book, Wine & Words with Wade & more!
NEW YEAR 2024 ISSUE
News from Viola!
HAPPY 2024!
2023 was filled the highest of highs and lowest of lows:
* I published two Viola Shipman novels, FAMOUS IN A SMALL TOWN and THE WISHING BRIDGE, both of which were instant national bestsellers, thanks to YOU!
* My memoir, MAGIC SEASON, my first memoir in a decade, was named a Michigan Notable Book of the Year
* I toured at bookstores and gave lectures in nearly half of all the U.S. states
* WINE & WORDS WITH WADE on the Viola Shipman Facebook page continued to grow like crazy in its FOURTH year, hosting authors and office parties, inspiring, and sharing our lives and homes with YOU! If you haven’t watched before, tune in! It’s every Thursday at 6:30pm ET!
* We went on a dream trip to Greece
* We lost Gary’s mom, Patty, a surrogate mother to me and Gary’s best friend, a heart wrenching, unexpected loss of the last parent in our lives. Watching Gary mourn - and continuing to do so - has shattered my heart and yet, I hope, made me even stronger for him.
My Grandma Shipman always said, “Life is as short as one blink of God’s eye, but we forget in that blink what matters most.”
I still lose track of that message, as we all do, but 2023 taught me that blink quickens the older we get, and I hold on dearly to each beautiful, awful, inspiring, heartbreaking glance I’m given.
2024 is going to be filled with JOY and BEAUTY, CREATIVITY and SURPRISES, and I can’t wait to share it all with YOU via my life and books.
PUBLISHING UPDATE
The release date of my next novel, The Page Turner, has been pushed back to February 2025 in order to give my publisher more time to dedicate to its success. It is also giving me a much-needed break and time to write.
Since I will not be publishing a book in 2024, I wanted to put a Viola Shipman story in your hands! So, my team had a thought: What if we came up with a way for me to write a story that tied into the seasons and beauty of Michigan and supported a good cause? Sooo … drum roll please!
NOW FOR SOMETHING NEW: We are offering Viola Shipman's Seasonal SHIPMANts, a special subscription box series!
This is a limited edition of 300 (so that the products can be hand made with care and the boxes shipped with love), and LESS THAN 20 boxes are still available.
Please note: The deadline to subscribe is THIS Monday, January 15th!
Six times a year, we will mail you a beautiful “Seasonal SHIPMANt” box containing unique, handmade in Michigan gifts that correspond to the season. In addition, only Viola SHIPMANt subscribers will receive my brand new heartwarming novella, THE LAST POSTMISTRESS OF NOEL, MICHIGAN. (Please note: The SHIPMANt boxes are the only way this novella will be distributed.)
Each box will contain one chapter that connects to the next, culminating at Christmas. By year’s end, subscribers will be among the select few to own my only literary work publishing in 2024!
PLUS!
EVERY SINGLE SUBSCRIBER WILL RECEIVE A $20 BOOKSTORE GIFT CARD IN THE FIRST VIOLA SHIPMANt BOX!!!
We are thrilled that – thanks to two wonderful Michigan independent booksellers who believed in what we are doing with this new initiative – EVERY single subscriber to the Viola SHIPMANt boxes will receive a $20 gift card in the very first SHIPMANt box arriving in February!
Most importantly, this new endeavor will continue to support and expand our partnership with Urban Vine, LLC, an organic farm in Michigan which not only produces our beautiful, handmade gift line but also employs differently abled, artistically gifted workers in order to provide them with a purpose and a community. A large percentage of the proceeds are returned to the farm to continue this legacy of hope, and, because of our efforts, they have been able to start a new Girls Program, and we are hoping they will be able to expand this legacy of love through our new endeavor by hiring more workers and creating more products in a safe, supportive, loving atmosphere.
The first gift box comes out in February and contains Valentine's themed items, including:
* Gary's Cinnamon Brownie Mix (SO delicious & perfect for Valentine's Day dessert! Includes Urban Vine Pink Lady Tea and a beautifully designed printed recipe)
* One Bar of Pink Passion All-Natural Soap (made with Pink Silica Clay and Rosemary essential oil). Gorgeous for Valentine's!
* A Valentine Note Pad with specially selected Viola love quotes
* Your own Embroidered Leather Binding for my book! (This is a gorgeous, handmade book binder to make your book special and permanent; just add the chapters to it as they are “published” with each box)
*The first entry of my brand new heartwarming novella, The Last Postmistress of Noel, Michigan! (This will not be sold separately due to tracking, shipping and pricing issues.)
This is a beautiful story inspired by my mother about JoAnn Graham, a postmistress at a rural, one-room post office, who is about to retire, disillusioned by the changes in the world. Noel used to be the town where people sent their holiday cards and letters to be stamped NOEL, Christmas City, USA. Today, JoAnn knew, people only texted an emoji that was quickly deleted.
Each holiday, for decades – Valentine’s, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas– JoAnn has received a vintage card from a stranger wishing her well. And she’s saved each one in a scrapbook. JoAnn always believed it was a sign … from the daughter she was never able to have. Until the stranger announces it would be her last year mailing the cards. Why? Would JoAnn ever know who was trying to connect with her? Inspired by the stories of my mom, who used to volunteer to stamp holiday envelopes and cards at the post office in Noel, Missouri, where my family had a cabin when I was younger. This is a story I’ve wanted to write for years!
*The last page will be personalized to you!
ANNUAL COST IS $360.00
(This is charged in 6, bi-monthly payments of $60 ... NOT all at once).
*Shipping is not included
To subscribe now, please click the following link:
DO YOU WANT TO BECOME THE PERSON YOU DREAMED?
Let's Go on A Journey Together in 2024!
For many years, I was scared. Of everything. Mostly I was scared of becoming the person I dreamed of being. So much of becoming not only a writer but also the person we dreamed is learning to love ourselves unconditionally and unlearning all the fear that’s been heaped on us over the course of our lives. All we want is to be accepted and liked. That starts in youth and continues through our lives. But that yawning need for acceptance does awful things to us: We lose our uniqueness. Square pegs wish to fit in round holes. Over time, our edges become dulled. We become swallowed alive by a whale of conformity. We forget the unique beings we once were. And, as writers, readers, souls, artists, we forget to listen to the only things that set us apart in this world: Our voices and our hearts.
How did I come to write my first book at the age of 40, the first of 17 that have been traditionally published and become national and international bestsellers? By overcoming fear!
With that in mind, I started a new online teaching platform, UNLEARNING FEAR, to help writers and souls learn to overcome fear. It’s part of Substack, an innovative online blog for authors to teach, share new writing and connect with readers and thinkers, those who wish to grow, change, challenge themselves and take a step toward becoming the person they dreamed.
I used to teach writing workshops before my publishing schedule and touring took over my calendar. I get hundreds of emails a month asking for advice – personal and professional – and this is a way for me to help those who are seeking answers.
UNLEARNING FEAR is a way for me to continue helping writers and souls ... at a discount! My writing workshops often cost hundreds of dollars. My Substack is priced around $5 a month, or $60 per year. Some of my content (like this newsletter) is free. Y
So join me …
Let’s take a journey together in 2024, which I am calling “New Year! No Fear!”
Sending warm hugs to each of you, and here’s to an epic 2024!
WINE & WORDS WITH WADE!
Tune in to Wine & Words with Wade on the Viola Shipman Facebook Page
every Thursday at 6:30pm ET. It's one of the longest-running author podcasts (now in its fourth year), and a great way for us to stay connected. This year, we look forward to introducing you to some wonderful author guests, including New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis on February 22 and novelist and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Anna Quindlen (LIVE!) on Thursday, April 4, as well as our monthly office parties with trivia, giveaways and surprise guests. Our Valentine’s Day party with Cupid is February 8!
XOXO!
Wade/Viola
P.S. We are also planning 2 fun filled Viola Shipman Readers’ Weekends that take you behind the gorgeous settings of my novels and show you my inspiration and favorite places! The perfect vacation for book lovers!
E-mail gary@violashipman.com if you would like to receive early information.
Follow & Like Viola
PLEASE follow and like Viola on social media! You’ll get the latest news on my books, great giveaways, interviews with your favorite authors, and loads of hope and inspiration.
Wade,
You amaze me, you inspire me, you give me hope! I look forward to your words. You make me smile and my heart lifts with each reading. Thank you so much!
Happy to see you on Substack; it's such a lovely bookish community here.