I’m thrilled to welcome Soul Mate author Ryan Jo Summers to the Power of 10 series. Today, Ryan shares ten observations and her latest release, Chasing the Painted Skies.

Here’s Ryan!

1. The river always flows down, never back up. Leaves fall down, never back up. Perhaps we should flow and fall downward, never back from whence we came.

2. Time moves forward, never back. Seconds hours, months and years never go in reverse. Perhaps we ought to live forward, never looking back but follow our path, the schedule, the cycle.

3. We need time to step out and fall, stand tall, get it all right and get it all wrong. Move out, move up and move along.

4. We need time to change our preference and change our priorities. Try and fail, try again and succeed. Know when to fight and when to concede. Make mistakes and learn from them.

5. We need time to learn when hang on and when to let go. To discover moments to savor and develop memories to treasure.

6. We need time to walk in the dark, find the light, both grow dim and shine bright. To experiment, create, dream big, Experience, grow, hope and wish. Taste disappointment and grow from it. Weep, cry, laugh, choose, love and lose.

7. We need time to learn humility, stand proud, show others and see for ourselves. Be a victim of circumstance and change those circumstances. Time to mature, grow, feel. Discover, hurt and heal.

8. We need time to find the heart hidden within, decide when to follow that heart. Hear that still small voice inside and learn to trust that voice.

9. We need time to change our goals, clothes and choices. Desires, directions and dreams. Tastes, attitudes and opinions. Styles, plans and habits.

10. We need time to reach a point where we care less about what the world thinks and says and more about what we need for ourselves.

Chasing the Painted Skies: Inspired by a lakeside photo, shrouded in swirling mist, it comes. Part mystery, part treasure hunt, part alternative paranormal, a dash of ghost story and all romance.

Blurb

Raven Koynes is a woman in hiding. Years ago she escaped to remote Gull Island Light Station, nestled far away in Lake Superior. She has carved out a life of peace and solitude for herself. Until famed nature photographer Sebastian Knight arrives—in the height of a nor’easter storm—to document the beauty of Gull Island. Unsavory treasure hunters also blow in with the storm, determined to find missing cargo from a sunken ship. And they think Raven knows where it’s stashed. A power outage is a final threat, pushing Raven to the limit.

Help arrives in the form of a stray German Shepherd Dog, who takes an immediate protective interest in Raven. He becomes her constant shadow and listening ear as she sorts out her growing—and conflicting—feelings for Sebastian.

Meanwhile, Sebastian came to the island looking for treasure as well, in the form of photographs, While he isn’t so sure about a sunken boat and missing cargo, he only needs one look at Raven Koynes to know he’s found his own valuable treasure. One he hopes he can hang on to once she learns about his mysterious secret.

Now that Madeline the resident ghost has found out, it’s probably just a matter of time until Raven does too. And with the storm and power outage, no one is going anywhere any time soon.

Bio

Ryan Jo Summers is a North Carolina writer who shares her mountain cottage with several rescue pets. She has been infatuated with the written word since early childhood, writing her first book at age ten. She comes from a long line of wordsmiths, in the form of poets and songwriters. She has had numerous articles and essays and one poem published over the years, many of them dealing with animals and nature. Her debut romance novel was published in 2012, followed by two more in 2014 and those will be followed by two more in late 2015/ early 2016. Her hobbies include painting, doodling cartoons, taking her new dog exploring in the regional national forests, visiting with friends, reading, working wiggly wordfind puzzles and playing Mah Jongg.

Where to find Ryan…

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter