THE LATEST MUST READ !
AWARD-WINNING FICTION
Death by Roses
When a man has brought his wife roses for the first time in thirty years, you’d think she would be happily surprised. You can’t imagine that she’d kick him out of the house… and then turn up dead on the toilet just hours later. But that’s what happened when Art McElroy brought his wife, Mae Rose, a dozen yellow roses.
Mae Rose McElroy doesn’t really know her husband Art until she sees him from the other side (yes, that other side). She had looked at his face every day for thirty years, but never truly knew the man he was. Now she longs to go back and have a second chance to choose her happy ending. Funny thing is, Art feels the same way. He didn’t know his wife at all until she died.
Most people accept their fate when a spouse dies. But not Art and especially not his determined wife, Mae Rose. She breaks every divine rule to come back, but confusion reigns.
A fun and irreverent story about bending the rules and fighting for a second chance, Vivian Probst’s debut novel, Death by Roses, tells the story of what happens to relationships after most of us think it’s too late.
Death, it turns out, is the best thing that ever happened to Mae Rose.
The judges at the When Words Count Retreat loved it—and awarded it the “Literary Trifecta,” selecting it from among one hundred entries.
The Avery Victoria Spencer Fables
The Woman Who Forgot Who She Was
Book 1
Bank president Avery Victoria Spencer fought long and hard to land her seat as the first female president of tha local bank in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and she intends to keep it. Her ability to transform financial disasters into profitable enterprises is legend; her glamorous life the envy of those who admire her, and those who don’t.
Her successful life is a mirage. In debt up to her auburn-dyed hair roots, Avery has no idea that her need to spend more than she earns lies hidden in a devastating trauma from twenty years earlier, carefully guarded by dissociative amnesia.
With bankruptcy and public disgrace looming on her horizon, Avery takes a dream journey into a medieval dungeon where she learns that her real issue is not with money. Three wise beings give her clues as she begins to piece her life back together. Will it be in time to prevent society columnist Millie St. James from ruining Avery’s stellar reputation?
What about her forgotten husband, George, who returns from London to Waukesha, hoping Avery will fall in love with him again?
The Woman Who Fell Out of Fear
Book 2
Book Two of The Avery Victoria Spencer Fables finds Avery Victoria Spencer returned from her first inner journey in glorious triumph. Her despair has vanished—her incredible debts are magically resolved. Avery is beginning to see herself in a new light—and she feels drawn toward George Logan without knowing why; except that he’s British, handsome, and seems to know her design preferences intimately.
But something else has changed that feels wrong. Instead of being more energized and enthusiastic, Avery is stunned that her once relentless energy has evaporated. She’s more intuitive and a better bank president, but she doesn’t care about previously important activities, including her upcoming charitable winter gala.
Everyone who’s anyone in Waukesha is waiting for invites to her now-renowned party, including society columnist Millie St. James who is tracking Avery’s every move, and suspects George Logan’s arrival is not as serendipitous as it appears.
Believing her energy was accidentally left behind on her first journey, Avery asks to return to her inner world. Back in a castle with her beloved candle, she’s shocked by how different everything feels—almost sinister. Instead of singing torches, skeletal soldiers hail her as ‘Great One.’ Instead of a dungeon, she’s trapped in a throne room; instead of regal décor, a grotesque tapestry beckons her.
Avery’s second adventure will make her wonder why she returned. Yet, as she braves what confronts her, she begins to see how deeply unworthy she has felt all her life. She will come to a pinnacle from which she must decide her fate. Will she dance with her nemesis forever, or let herself follow her heart into something she has never known, and uncover more about who she really is?
The Woman Who Found Her Fire
Book 3
Yes, Avery Victoria Spencer is in LOVE, except for one small detail. Her old trauma rears its “I don’t think so!” head, so that as she falls into the arms of George Robert Logan, their intimate connection fails right at the good part–just like an old movie when the film snaps.
George is no better. Both must find what’s missing–separately before they can love again: George, back in London; Avery, ascending a mountain peak she has hated since she was forced to climb it as a child.
Meanwhile, meddlesome Millie St. James is sure she’s seen Avery disappear UP her chimney; Frank is sure Millie has lost her marbles. What’s going on with those two?
As always, everyone is finding their way to a new sense of who they really are, just like a lot of us in real life.
The Woman Who Forgave Herself
Book 4
George and Avery travel to London; Avery has agreed to take on the Logan family’s financial challenges where resources are dwindling and no one knows what to do about it. While there Avery discovers an ancient Logan family Bible, suggesting that George is already married. An old photograph reminds Avery who his wife is, and launches her into remembering her own tragic past. Stunned, horrified, and guilt-ridden, Avery wanders the rain-soaked streets of London until, blinded by her umbrella, she steps in front of a moving vehicle–and ends up on life support.
Now Avery must choose whether to live or die and death is tempting. Could it be the solution to end her awful memories? Can she get a ‘do-over’ in the next life?
Avery encounters both the zany Angel of Life and the elegant Angel of Death who provide insights, but she’ll have to decide her own fate, because God tells her, she can die if she wants to…it’s up to her. But there are caveats.
One thing is for sure: if Avery chooses to die, George won’t live without her. Not any longer. Whither thou goest…
MEMOIR / NON FICTION
I WAS A YO-YO WIFE
“…valuable to people who feel like they are stuck in their marriage or in any relationship for that matter.”
Lynda Schultz, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist
Once upon a time there was a woman who left her first marriage (and an entire way of life) because she had to. She almost left her second marriage many times for a very different reason.
It’s not like Vivian Probst was alone as she vacillated. 72% of women think of leaving their marriages; 50% of first marriages end and almost 70% of second marriages fail. She couldn’t decide to stay (YO); but she couldn’t decide to leave either; so she did both (YO-YO).
Vivian knew her second husband wasn’t going to change (damn it) and she had no intention of yo-yoing for the rest of her life; a second divorce appeared imminent. A final incident sent Vivian down the hallway to pack and leave for the last time.
Except that even before she could get her suitcase opened, Life stopped Vivian with the stunning revelation she calls THIS One Thing that Changed Everything (aka THIS).
Vivian went on to write the award-winning novel, ‘Death by Roses’, a romantic comedy that has been called ‘A Love Story for the Ages’ by Foreword magazine.
She continues to practice THIS with amazing results, not just for her marriage, but for her life.
If you’ve ever thought about leaving your marriage and/or your way of life or if you’ve left and if your heart is like a yo-yo and you can’t decide what to do, consider THIS before taking another step!
AWARD-WINNING NON FICTION
The Little Black Book for Blue People
Medical Science tells us that over half the people in the world are BLUE. (Never truly happy-never really sad--just BLUE). Over half. Some recent reports suggest that the rate is as high as 50% of the population. If you're BLUE, you've got lots of company.
The Little Black Book for BLUE People is the story of a girl who is growing up BLUE. Everyone knows because her face color matches her feelings. With only a paintbrush and a blank canvas she artfully demonstrates how it feels to be BLUE; then discovers a remedy locked up in the dark closet of her unhappy mind.
This is an award-winning tale, but for the author, the true reward is in the message that is helping people, both young and old, to change their attitude toward being BLUE, first by admitting it, then using the incredible power inside to improve their lives. Without that power, all of the therapy in the world won't provide the lasting change we crave.
Sometimes all it takes is a simple message-a story perhaps--to change our perceptions and shift our 'stuck on BLUE' feelings into the rainbow of emotions that allows us to express ourselves-our lives--in wonderful new ways.