NANOWRIMO 2022: Hit The Target 8 Days Early!!! 50,000 words: The Heart is a River(novel about BC floods) Beautiful British Columbia Fraser Valley

 Dear Readers:

I am so incredibly psyched to share with you tonight that at 8:28 P.M. EST, I completed my beautiful and inspiring Nanowrimo Project for 2022. The targeted timeline was for Nov 30th but I made it with eight days to spare! So happy and proud!!!

This one was a labor of love, inspired by the tragedy of the November 2021 B.C. floods in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, specifically near Abbotsford. 

My heroine, Ria Brooke, lost her home when it was swept away down the river. She has spent the last six years rebuilding her home after the untimely death of her husband, John.

Now, devastated, and waiting on her insurance claim and browsing the rental homes, she is offered a place to stay by dear friends Bill and Laura Everly, who own a ranch and run the youth shelter, a nonprofit organization that provides food, clothes, and lodging for at risk youth. Ria was hired as an admin person at the shelter shortly before the floods came and washed her home away. She considers herself hugely blessed to have such a loving and supportive couple in her life, Bill and Laura, who brighten her days with their compassion, wit and laughter, not to mention, Laura's home cooking and hospitality.

Laura's other talent is matchmaking, and who better to set Ria up with an eligible bachelor type than Laura herself! She has her eyes on the ruggedly handsome older gentleman, a retiree, who volunteers twice a week at the shelter, using his truck to bring furniture to the youth. 

Keir Weston is tall, lanky and impossibly handsome, with his silvery mane and beard, his sultry voice and aloof demeanor. One look from Ria and sparks fly! The only problem is, Keir got badly burned by a bitter divorce two decades ago, and he's kept to himself and doesn't want to be tied down. He finds a kinship with the lovely, evolved woman, though, and feels a stirring in his heart that he thought he would never feel again, and decides to test the waters.

But Ria is vulnerable and scared. She's lost the one man she thought she had forever with, and now she lost her beloved home. Falling for Keir was not her mission, but she can't help but open her heart to the sexy silver fox who seems vulnerable and sad too, under his well-drawn facade.

When New Year's Eve comes, the big bash of the year is held at the Everly ranch, and Keir decides to show up out of the blue. Ria wants to spill her feelings and tell Keir that he is the only man for her, but will he accept her offer of love, or run for the hills and deny them both the love they both desperately need from one another?

The Heart Is a River is a story of hope, heart and healing. It's a passionate story of deep wounds and old hurts coming to the surface. But it is also the story of finding the courage to light the lamp for love just one more time.

I just know you are going to love this heart-tugging story.

Coming soon!!

Much love,

RR xo

SLEEPING HEARTS: A Love Poem

I want to bury myself

Into your

Loving wilderness

In your wild tangle

of silver

that flows forever

I want to get lost

In your diamond bright

Pools of amber-green

Where the light

Comes flooding forth

To bathe me in 

Your afterglow

And your soul 

Shines its brightest

Just for me

Where echoes

Across eternity

Tell the stories

Of all our past lives

Together

And the lessons

Of how we weaved

Our ancient secrets

Into the tapestry of time

And planted our seeds

Of devotion

In all those souls

Those sparks of Divinity

Who carried on our legacy

And here we meet again

ALAS!

After a long, tired journey

Crossing the desert

Of long-buried dreams

ALAS!

I find you again

My Silver Majesty

And now we are consumed

Once again

By the Eternal Flame

That fueled our first

Origins

And breathed the

Fire of Love

Into our veins

The golden thread

That tied us, bound us 

Across the miles

Amid

the mysteries

Keeping our hearts

Entwined

For centuries

It never broke

Yet it remained

Steadfast & Strong

Birthing life

Into sleeping hearts

That almost forgot

Their magic.

--Rochelle Renee--

4-29-2022

Poem for My Valentine

Poem for My Valentine

Long before I knew you

Before our eyes ever met

or paths even crossed

Before space and time

Aligned us

Together

I knew I loved you

That your spirit was 

out there

floating in the atmosphere

searching for me too

Longing for 

Connection

and kinship

and profound love

Long before this old heart

would conspire

with the Powers

of the Universe

Something within me

Just Knew

That you would 

MANIFEST

Long before I held you

in these lonely arms

Some part of me

always knew

I would find you

And my soul just

Overflows

with the gushing force

of a river

that has been set free

of its own accord

and how BLESSED

I feel!

To know your Divine Love

and the Splendor 

Of You

My sweet, beautiful man

At last, I've found you!

At long last, the tides

have shifted

After the earthquake, storms

and avalanche,

Alas, it's YOU

Divinely imperfect,

sincere, lovable, steadfast,

loyal and supremely generous 

"YOU"-

and my heart cannot contain 

This Joy

For all the angels in heaven

are singing

their hearts out

sounding the trumpets of Glory

and God himself is blessing this

Divine Union

God Bless You ~

Dear Heart~

Finally,

We are One

Finally,

Forever,

Amen xo

- Rochelle Renee- Sat Feb 12, 2022

10:53 am

NaNoWriMo SUCCESS!!!! 50k words ~ No Problem~ Love's Christmas Promise: Book 3 ~Love Walked In Series!!!

 Dear Readers,

With massive joy and gratitude, I am here to announce that I finished #NaNoWriMo2021 with flying colors!!

50,000 words may seem daunting every year on the 1st day of November, when an author stares at a blank page and asks the age-old question: Am I Crazy for signing up to this madness???

The answer is always "NO" - you are not crazy. Maybe crazy passionate, YES!

Since November 2012, my maiden voyage into the NaNoWriMo waters, I have competed for the title a total of 10 astounding times!!! EEK!!!! 

This year, I made it. 51,169 words on Nov 26th, just a few days before the deadline. The finished product (first draft) is my third Christmas novella, and it's Book 3 in the "LOVE WALKED IN" series.

I could not have done it without the support, love, and inspiration of my best friend, my favorite muse, "KW" -- whom all three books in the Ken & Rileigh Trilogy have been dedicated to. This loving soul is my rock, my cheerleader -- my everything. To think that three short years ago, this incredible man was not in my life, well it astounds me!!! We met in the most remarkable way, and it could only have been Divinely Orchestrated; there is no other explanation. Both of us live 2700 miles apart, myself on the east coast of Canada and he on the west coast. But the fates brought him to Ontario, and the rest is history, as they say. To borrow a quote from KW: "All is well."

Gratitude overwhelms me as I write this blog post. I've been gifted with the most loving connection, and every day I pinch myself to see if it is real. Miracles come in all shapes and sizes, I have learned. Sometimes it is a gift from out of nowhere, be it monetary, or not. Other times, a miracle is a person with a good heart who has come to enrich our lives and open our hearts.

Love's Christmas Promise is a feel-good Christmas story, a holiday gem sparkling with love, abundance, family ties, and sizzling passion. It's the story of Ken & Rileigh, two soulmates who've forged a wonderful life together. In this book, Rileigh wishes for a white Christmas, and her husband Ken wishes for a miracle of his own. While I won't give anything away here, two wishes are about to be granted in the most shocking way. Stay tuned for the December 2021 publication of this beautiful love story, a romantic comedy packed with glittering lights, festivities, and family bonds.

Thank you, KW, for always holding space for me, for being concerned about my health and well-being, for uplifting me, and for being the Man of My Dreams.

With All My Love,

RR xo

Love's Christmas Promise: Book 3 in the Ken & Rileigh Trilogy!!!

 Dear Readers,

As you know, every November, it's NaNoWriMo (or better known as National Novel Writing Month)here, and this author devotes herself to penning a 50k word novel in the span of 30 days. There's roughly 600,000 of us who commit to this quest; it's mainly a benchmark for writers who want to challenge themselves to getting at least ONE novel completed every year. It's so much fun!!!! Oh, the insomnia, oh the coffee marathons, oh the THRILL OF IT ALL!!!!

This year, I've decided to add Book Three

to my Ken & Rileigh series. It's called "Love's Christmas Promise."

I will be updating this blog with the progress of the book as it is written.

I am STOKED for this TRILOGY!!!

May you all enjoy this beautiful Autumn that is currently upon us.

With SO MUCH love and laughter,

RR xo

LOVE ENDURING: THE SEQUEL TO LOVE WALKED IN

 Dear Readers,

As you know, this summer, I launched the beautiful romantic novel "Love Walked In," which was based on a true story.

The unforgettable love affair between Ken and Rileigh, it moved me so deeply, that I couldn't put my characters to bed (pardon the pun) and just close them off forever. I needed to experience them again. Over and over. So I decided to write a TRILOGY!!

Book 2 is called "LOVE ENDURING." It takes place one year after LOVE WALKED IN.

Rileigh is home at her luxury cabin by the river in Mission, B.C., the home she shares with her loving husband, Ken, when she receives a letter in the mail. It's an invite to a wedding in Ontario for her friend Sarah Morgan, who up until now, has kept her nuptials under wraps. Hurt, Rileigh vies to understand why someone close to her would keep such a secret.

What ensues is a trip to Ontario, an adventure of the heart, between lovebirds Ken and Rileigh; he wants her to reunite with her residents at the seniors home, to celebrate their belated one year wedding anniversary at a Victorian bed & breakfast, and to patch up the misunderstanding between besties Sarah and Rileigh. But returning to her native land proves so much more to Rileigh. She will discover truths about her former hometown and the people she loved, she will witness things she never imagined happening, and even more, her love for Ken will deepen.

When the unthinkable happens, Rileigh has to face a truth that could forever alter her life with Ken and shift their relationship, for better or worse. Can she reveal the secret to her beloved? Or will she hold back and endure this on her own?

LOVE ENDURING is the magical story of a timeless love between two souls who were meant to meet no matter how impossible the odds. 

I hope you enjoy this passionate, humorous, and heartfelt love story.

With so much love and gratitude,

RR xo

My Heart is a River

My heart is a river,

rushing forth with emotion so strong

testing the tide

tempting fate

finding the passageway

into your heart

my heart is a deluge,

ever-flowing,

overjoyed,

relentless

impassioned

on the journey

to your westward sky

and open land

where the mountains

touch heaven

and the pines

boast

of God's handiwork.

My heart is a stream,

crystal clear,

and filled with truths

the gods spoke of

centuries ago,

when all this beauty

was yet to transpire

and finally, you are here

like a vision i manifested

from all my secret dreams

My heart is an ocean

it ebbs and flows

so purely

back and forth,

telling of its

yearning

and bringing forth

all the goodness

that your heart

has needed to hear

all this time

Rochelle Renee

9:30 p.m. July 1st, 2021

Love Walked In!!! Coming this Summer!!!

 Dear Readers,

My heart is bursting with gladness and anticipation for my forthcoming novel "Love Walked In."

This gem was inspired in May 2020 through a beautiful, real-life connection I've experienced. A wonderful soul walked into my life; his parents were residents at the senior's home where I work. Long story short, over a span of 17 months of knowing this beautiful, loving couple (married 64 years), they both passed in early 2020, just two months apart. They couldn't bear to be apart! Sigh....my heart melts thinking of how incredible that love story is. I can only HOPE to find a connection that powerful and steadfast in this life.

I'm writing this epic story tonight, and it's making me feel SO STOKED!!! The electricity between the two main characters is OFF THE CHARTS...and the sweet thing is....it started as a friendship.

LOVE WALKED IN chronicles the story of housekeeper Rileigh Rhodes, whose husband died of a heart attack and broke her heart. Since then, she's thrown herself into her busy life, working hard and filling that empty space with her workmates and her social life, to avoid her pain.

Divorced Ken Winslow is a hero on a Harley; caring for his elderly parents at the senior's home and ensuring they have everything they need. His wife walked out on him years ago, leaving him with three kids, and he raised them successfully, put them through college and helped them leave the nest to find their way in life. Now, he's footloose and fancy-free, money in the bank galore, and not looking for a woman to tie him down, but eager to enjoy his retiree life in the gorgeous Fraser Valley of British Columbia. 

Neither of them expected to find one another, living 2,700 miles apart. But when Rileigh Rhodes knocks on the door of room 111 at Amberlea Gardens, Ken is in for the "ride" of a lifetime.

Now, discover how their love unfolds in the most unforgettable way.

Second chance love is so exciting, especially when it comes out of the blue, without warning!

COMING SUMMER 2021... LOVE WALKED IN!!!

Stay passionate, stay safe,

RR xo