Welcome to the Viola Shipman Heirloom Newsletter!

Why I write under a pen name and why I wrote THE PAGE TURNER (4/8), how I handle bad reviews, how to preorder my new novel & announcing my 10-state, 30-event book tour (PLEASE come see me)!

WINTER ISSUE

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“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:

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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.

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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

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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