Viola Shipman

Dear Reader: Welcome! I am the USA Today, Publishers Weekly and internationally bestselling author of fifteen books that have been translated into nearly 25 languages. I write fiction under the pen name, Viola Shipman, as a tribute to my working poor Ozarks grandma, whose memory and love inspire my novels and inspired me to become a writer. My novels are a tribute to family and our elders and meant to inspire hope. My grandma used to say, "Life is as short as one blink of God's eye, but we too often forget what matters most in that blink." As a result, my novels remind readers of what matters most in life: Each other. My new Christmas novel, THE WISHING BRIDGE, publishes November 7 and is available for preorder now. I'm honored that it’s being compared to the holiday works of Kristy Woodson Harvey, Jenny Colgan and Nancy Thayer. It is a beautiful story about why we leave home, why we come home, the magic and meaning of Christmas (and all its ornaments, lights, garland, tinsel, tree skirts, snow globes and villages), the spirit of the American entrepreneur, lost love, and the beautiful story of a father and daughter. We all must cross bridges in our lives. The direction we choose forever alters our course. There is a line in The Wishing Bridge where the dad asks his daughter, “Why do we always wait until Christmas to return home to show how much we love one another?” That is the foundational question in my latest holiday novel. Growing up in the Ozarks, my grandmother’s house was the epicenter – the North Pole – of Christmas to me. She decorated every room, lined her yard with Christmas blow molds and lit anything that didn’t move. But it was more than the decorations: It was the feeling I was safe and loved more than anything else in the world. That’s hard to replace and recreate once we grow up, move on and begin to lose those we love. However, I’ve learned that sometimes you must stop running from the hurt and celebrate your past while also starting new traditions. This novel looks at the difficult decisions we must make and how those alter our lives, be it a breakup, moving away from home, or becoming the person you want to be even if that hurts or disappoints those who raise and love us. I took the path less traveled in becoming an author, and that path was a curvy, hilly one filled with potholes and blind turns, and yet it was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. The Wishing Bridge takes place in the very real village of Frankenmuth, Michigan, a beautiful Bavarian Christmas wonderland (think Hallmark on steroids!). Frankenmuth is known as Michigan’s Little Bavaria due to its German heritage and architecture. But it really comes alive at Christmas. I absolutely fell in love with Frankenmuth the first time I visited – and also nearly spent my entire IRA at Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland, the world’s largest Christmas store, which inspired Wegner’s Winter Wonderland in the novel. It is a magical place, and Wally Bronner’s unwavering faith, love of family and friends, and belief in the American dream reminded me of my grandparents and touched my soul, making me want to write this novel the first time I set foot in Bronner’s, from its Glockenspiel and dueling chicken restaurants, to the woolen mill, fudge shop and Silent Night chapel. Speaking of the American dream, I wanted to honor that “idea” in this novel. My grandparents worked and sacrificed to have better lives, and that planted a seed in my soul to pursue my own American dream, which I have done as an author. The Wishing Bridge is about the choices we make in life – some good, some bad – but realizing that if we have a strong foundation, it is never too late to cross that bridge in our lives to become the people we dreamed we could become. This is a love story – to family, to friends, to finding love later in life and to Christmas. I was swept away writing this novel, and I hope it touches you as much it touched – and changed – me. Happy holidays, and I’m so excited to bring you my new summer novel in a few months! XOXO, Viola