Kerenza Ryan

Kerenza and I met through Twitter. We had a lovely conversation about writing and what we both work on.

Author Bio

Kerenza Ryan is a poet and writer who tells the world, sometimes loudly, about what it’s like living with schizophrenia. She works as a peer support specialist at a community mental health agency, and volunteers with the Crisis Text Line, a texting suicide hotline. All in all, her voice is caught up in helping those with mental illness. She has a poetry book out and a novel on the way, and more information can be found at www.kerenzaryan.com.

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Kerenza. I sometimes go by Ren, mostly so people don’t get awkward while trying to pronounce my name. I have a book of poetry out called “I Am Schizophrenic: Poetry From A Beautiful Brain”, but here today I would like to talk about my upcoming book, “The Romance of Psychosis”.

As you may be able to guess from my title, I enjoy writing about schizophrenia, something I personally experience and that is a part of who I am, even as it does not define me. I also enjoy volunteering with the Crisis Text Line (a suicide hotline over text) and working as a peer support specialist at a community mental health agency. Pretty much, helping the mentally ill is my life.

When did you know you wanted to be an author?

There was never a time when I didn’t want to be an author. I won a writing competition in fourth grade, made a teacher cry with a piece about my best friend moving in fifth grade, then was unremarkable for a bit until I resurrected and at sixteen and was first published, finished my first novel, and did my first poetry reading. Since I started taking things more seriously at sixteen, I’ve never stopped.

What genres do you like to read?  Are these the same genres you write in?

I mainly, but not only, read science fiction. The novel I’m currently writing is science fiction, and I’ve written a few others in that genre, but never published in it. I also read a decent amount of poetry, like my first book, and listen at open mic nights often, which I think may be the best place to display poetry.

As for my upcoming novel, which is a combination of Christian romance and psychological suspense, I’ve come into the genres more recently, in order to help me work on the book. I also read both genres as a preteen, when I read much more often because I wasn’t spending at least an hour a day writing and didn’t work full time. I hadn’t expected to write either genre, particularly Christian romance, but I think sometimes when you get a good story you have to run with it.

Is your book for adults, young adults or children?

My book is for adults. Make no mistake, though it has no sexy scenes, it has plenty of trigger warnings, mostly including graphic descriptions of delusions, hallucinations and suicide. It also has brief mentions of alcoholism. The last thing I want it to do is hurt anyone. People who have troubles with reading about people who struggle to understand reality or who cannot handle reading about suicide at this stage in their life should probably wait to read this work.

What is your current release or project?

The Romance of Psychosis

Tell us about the key characters

Hugo Sousa is a Brazilian cancer-researcher, an only child of a single mother and a fun loving Christian who does a bit of day-drinking. Julia Douglas is a hairdresser and pastor’s daughter. She had a twin who died as a young infant, and no other siblings. She hopes to settle down and have kids of her own, and can’t wait to be Mrs. Hugo Sousa.

What is your blurb or synopsis of the book?

When Brazilian cancer researcher Hugo Sousa starts seeing things that aren’t there, and believing things that aren’t true, he terrifies his fiancee Julia.

They travel together on a journey through psychosis and mood swings as Hugo becomes more and more sick. He talks to demons, has religious delusions, and believes a bomb will go off if his heart rate gets too high. While the wedding is pushed back again and again, they struggle to find medicine and therapy that will bring Hugo back to himself.

Julia follows him through a hospitalization, suicide attempts, and almost daily therapy. The hairdresser sticks with her fiance through it all, because they have been together since childhood. She only can hope that with the right treatment they will be able to get on with their lives and finally get married.

Share an excerpt

When Hugo got to his apartment, Julia was sitting in the middle of the floor, pictures of wedding dresses strewn around her. “Does this actually help you, seeing them on other people?” Hugo asked, stepping gingerly over them to his favorite spot on his massive green sofa. Still, he wouldn’t complain, after all, he had someone beautiful in front of him, trying to pick out the best outfit to look gorgeous in.

Hugo watched Julia rake her photos into a pile. Wheat colored hair framed her ceaselessly pale skin in layers of curls. Her blue-grey eyes crinkled as she concentrated, and her rolls of flesh jiggled as she moved. He was the opposite: lanky and angular, tall and dark, with a head of wavy black hair almost covering his dark brown eyes.

“I didn’t say you had to move them,” Hugo said.

“But you were thinking it. I hope you don’t mind me working here. My mother was getting a little bit too involved back at my house.”

“You have no idea how happy I am that you are here,” he said, leaning down and kissing the top of her head from where she sat on the ground. “And I want you to find the prettiest dress there is. If this is part of your process, so be it. Not that any dress could make you look any prettier than you are right now.”

“I already said yes, Hugo,” Julia said, rolling her eyes. Still, she blushed.

“I picked out the flowers. Hope you don’t mind,” he said. As soon as he said it, he could tell she minded. The pause made it hard to breathe.

“Oh.”

“It’s probably not too late to cancel the order,” he said, pulling out his phone.

“Nonsense. I’m sure whatever you picked out is beautiful,” Julia said.

“This is your wed—”

“I thought I told you to stop saying that,” Julia interrupted. “This is our wedding. I want you to be involved. I’m sure the flowers you picked out are perfect. By the way, I was thinking about tables. Your mother needs a place to sit. Generally, we’d want her up front, but she can’t be too close to my family.”

“Surely she’ll be good on the wedding day,” Hugo said after some hesitation.

“We can’t take any chances. I think we can put her near the front on the opposite side of the auditorium and—” Julia continued talking, but Hugo stopped listening. He could feel someone behind him, staring. Goosebumps raised on his arms, and his body tensed up as he slowly looked back.

Do you have a favorite scene?

I like the scene where Hugo sees demons and takes off running from them in the middle of Paris, quite literally dragging Julia along with him– but you’ll have to read the book for that.

What advice would you give a beginner?

Read all the advice you can find, then do what feels right to you.

Social media links:

Facebook: www.facebook.con/kay18ryan

Twitter: www.twitter.com/KayRenRyan

Instagram: www.instagram.com/ren_the_writer

Other: www.kerenzaryan.com (My newsletter subscription box is on the bottom)

Purchasing links: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YLW7F2P

Sand Dollar

Penny For Your Thoughts
Sand Dollar Series Book 1
by J D Boudreaux
Genre: Sweet Romance
One random act of kindness. One prayer for a miracle.
Two lives changed forever.
Penny has her future all planned out. Her new job as a reporter is the first step toward building a successful life for herself. Unfortunately, her first day on the job isn’t going as she imagined it would. On the side of the highway with a flat tire and open trunk all she can do is silently pray for a miracle…and then gets one.
Alex likes to think he’s a good guy—the type of person who loves to help others. A Good Samaritan. So naturally when he sees a woman stuck at the side of the road, looking all helpless his first instinct is to stop and help.
Little did he know that this one act of kindness would steer both their lives in an entirely different direction.
Buy now to read the first book in this sweet romance series!
**Only 99 cents!!**
Wish I Had A Nickel
Sand Dollar Series Book 2
Will their reunion lead to love? Or another long good-bye?
Born two days apart in the same hospital, Alex and Leigh grew up to be inseparable. They were fierce protectors of each other, and it was only natural for everyone to assume they would one day find their happily-ever-after together.
Unfortunately, nothing in life is that simple.
When Leigh’s family decided to move to another state, it was only a matter of time before the distance between her and Alex caused them to drift apart…until finally, the special connection they had shared was lost.
Thirty years later, fate offers a chance at reuniting, but is it possible to erase years of separation? Or will fate require a little help?
Can a matchmaking mother and a smart-mouthed daughter working behind the scenes help Leigh and Alex regain what was lost?
Buy now to read the second book in this sweet romance series!
Broken Sand Dollar
Sand Dollar Series Book 3
It’s all about the love you give…
First there was Penny. Their relationship blossomed into something beautiful, and their engagement was proof of that. But her ambition, her need for success, meant moving forward…without Alex.
Then there was Leigh, his childhood sweetheart. She came rushing back into his life just as quickly as she had left in the first place. While helping her get her life back on track, Alex fell for her all over again. But the more she learned about Alex’s past, the more she learned about herself. Afraid of what may happen next, she does what she does best. Run.
All the while there was Payton. The woman who repeatedly found herself at the receiving end of Alex’s good deeds, who has slowly managed to get her life together. She’s forever grateful for all that he has done, but given the chance to reunite with her family, it will mean saying good-bye to Alex.
Now, while nursing his wounds after all the disappointment, Alex returns to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The place that’s always had a piece of his heart.
It’s there that he realizes it’s up to him to find his own way. Can he be still long enough to realize that what’s happened before is not the end… but the beginning?
Born and raised in Opelousas, Louisiana, J D Boudreaux is married and has three grown children. The family now resides an hour south in the small town of Erath. A good story, good friends, and a good cup of coffee are the ingredients that make up a great day for J D. Add a little boudin, cracklins, and Momma’s homemade carrot cake, and J D will call it a perfect day!
Follow the blitz HERE for exclusive content and a giveaway!

Not My Baby

Not My Baby
Babies For Billionaires Book 2
by Fallyn Briggs
Genre: Sweet Romance
Some women are hired for their looks…
Sydney Campbell wasn’t one of them.
Unbeknownst to her, Sydney Campbell is hired because CEO Grayson Carter believes she has no chance of turning his incorrigible son’s head. Aiden Carter is young, handsome, and set to inherit his father’s billion-dollar company. He also has a habit of dating his assistants.
But Sydney has as much time for rumors, taunts, and bad reputations as she does for relationships, love, and babies.
As in none.
She has her own demons to battle, a father who relies on her, and a plan that says working for Aiden Carter is just a stepping stone in her climb to the top of the marketing ladder.
She will not date Aiden. She will not fall in love with him. And she will most certainly not have children with him… right?
Not My Baby is a sweet billionaire romance with no bad language or sex scenes. Of course, there is also a Happy Ever After. Grab your copy now!
**Only .99 cents!!**
Fallyn Briggs has spent most of her life within the pages of a book and now she is thrilled to have the opportunity to invite people into the worlds she creates.
When she is not writing sweet romances, she is traveling, eating too much cheesecake, and thinking about writing sweet romances.Join her newsletter to keep up with the crazy life of this writer.
Follow the tour HERE for exclusive content and a giveaway!