Welcome to the website of author, Jayna Newbold, M, msc., PhD: 
home of the writer with a happy heart!

 

About the name “Happy Heart Writer”. . .

My father -- with whom I shared a love of classic literature -- regularly created multiple nicknames for each of my siblings and me. 
 

My personal favorite moniker was  “Happy Heart”.  

 

My story (very condensed "Reader’s Digest" version). . .

 

. . .Contains a life full of joy; including a storybook childhood; lovely family and friends; endless opportunities; and like pretty much all humans, some heart-crushing experiences. Through it all, my heart remains elated.

 

However, my tale is long. It would take volumes to write everything that has happened in my abundantly full life

; hence, I am a storyteller

 

However, here is a brief synopsis about how I got here:

An early reader, I began devouring books -- even prior to my kindergarten debut. In first grade, my teacher simply allowed me to read to myself throughout most of class time after my work was complete. I wasn’t smart; I simply was passionate about books. A true bibliophile.

 

Fast forward to high school English class where my favorite academic pastime was to diagram sentences.

 

Wait. What?

 

Yes. It’s true. Although I could hardly stomach Shakespeare, sentence dissection fired me up!

 

An English Composition minor in college, I’m uncertain as to why I didn’t get a clue that writing for a living could be a “thing”. A symphony violinist and vocal music performance major at this point, all I truly cared about was music.

​

As a mother of three, I constantly inspected the syntax of my children’s writing homework as though I were their English professor. Wielding a red pen, I slashed and scribbled. Either they sincerely didn’t mind that I colored all over their homework or they have secretly worked through their mommy / language issues. (I do take a smidge of credit for the fact that they communicate very well via the written word).

 

Having remained an avid reader throughout my adult years - with a voracious appetite for novels in particular - a friend introduced me to the works of James A. Michener. I fell in love! Oh, to be able to write like him! I felt there was a novel in me somewhere, but nixed the idea of exploring such a far-fetched possibility as writing one. Besides, between work, family, friends, performances, and adulting in general, who had time?

 

Throughout my grownup life, given the repeated task of writing / editing / proofreading copy in almost every position of employment or volunteer, surely my eyes would have been opened to the fact that working with words is where my heart belonged.

 

It wasn’t until around 2006 that I thought writing could be my “next thing”. I had written and published a little book as a mother’s day gift to my Mom called “Defining Moments of Your Love” - a miniscule baby novella which described memorable times and situations with my mother.  Something sparked inside me.

I kept writing.

 

And writing.

 

In 2010, my first novel “The Big Smile” was born.

 

Having been seriously and eternally bitten by the storytelling bug, two more novels followed, completing the “The Big Adventure” series.

Finally, having earned a PhD in Pastoral Counseling Psychology, my current effort is focused upon converting my dissertation topic, which happens to be "Spiritual Formation" into a book for the masses. 

 

Dear Hearts, I am here to stay.

 

And since I plan to live to the ripe old age of one hundred and twenty years, look out! There are plenty more where these came from.

 

When you read my books, I hope your heart is as happy as mine when I write them.

 

Jayna