Today concludes my month long 10 Year Blogiversary Celebration guest posts. Please welcome author Olivia Newport as she shares about her Tree of Life series, combining both contemporary and historical stories through the means of genealogy, and the blessings of life. Thanks, Olivia, for helping me celebrate!
The Light of Joy Along the Way by Olivia Newport
“May you always find nourishment for your body at the table.
May sustenance for your spirit rise and fill you with each dawn.
And may life always feed you with the light of joy along the way.”
“That’s an Irish blessing if ever there was one,” Tucker said.
Tucker is a character from my book In the Cradle Lies, but he said essentially the same thing that my friend Len, from my class at the gym, said.
“Where did you find that?” Len wanted to know. “I’ve never seen that one before.”
Len is a faithful reader of my books, so I could gladly tell him that I’d written the blessing for the family history of an Irish character in the first book in the Tree of Life series (The Inn at Hidden Run), where Len first encountered it. I hope he’ll be just as pleased to see it again in In the Cradle Lies (November 1, 2019 release).
We come to tables to eat food. It’s a place to set a plate or bowl and minimize dribbling onto our shirts. (Hey, I’m not saying I ever dribble. Okay. Maybe just all the time.) But around the table aren’t we also looking for other forms of sustenance? A few moments of respite? Connections with those close to us? New bonds with new friends? Encouragement that carries us through what comes next in our day?
In the Tree of Life series, Jillian and her Irish father, Nolan, open their hearts to people who need the light of joy along the way. In In the Cradle Lies, that someone is Tucker, who has 
arrived in the mountain town of Canyon Mines, Colorado, with a charming personality but some reckless habits that just don’t add up — including potentially bringing harm to himself. When Jillian puts her genealogy skills to work, and the story of Tucker’s grandfather and grandfather unfolds, new light sheds perspective on what has Tucker knotted up.
Nolan’s family Irish blessing is one way to let Tucker know he doesn’t have to figure out life on his own.
Recently I made some changes in my kitchen. I bought a table from Facebook Marketplace for next to nothing and painted it. The shape fits our space so much better than the old one, greatly improving the traffic flow in the room. I also took down a large wall hanging to make space for a painting a sister-in-law made for me. When a friend who has read both The Inn at Hidden Run and In the Cradle Lies saw the changes, she said, “Now you just need to put your blessing up.”
I hadn’t thought of it, but she may be right! Sustenance for both body and spirit, and hope for life, are what I want for everyone who visits my home — or my stories.
Olivia Newport chases joy in Colorado at the foot of Pikes Peak where she enjoys life with her husband and nearby adult children. In the Cradle Lies is the second book in the Tree of Life series. The Inn at Hidden Run released in 2019. When I Meet You and What You Said to Me are forthcoming in 2020. Visit www.olivianewport.com and http://www.treeoflifefiction.com
I’ve not read any books by Olivia Newport and would like to do so. Thank you for inviting her to share on your blog.
She has a two part Christmas novella volume too — The Colors of Christmas. If you are looking for a Christmas read 😉 .