About the Book

Roxie Applesauce

Author: Tonya L. Matthews

Genre: Faith-based Christian Fiction

Release date: August, 2021

God takes broken pieces

and brings them together

for something amazing

Marcella Ciscal enjoyed few good days. The reason she knew she could live another day, the way she stayed sane, the friend who never left her side was Roxie Applesauce.

Homeless and beaten, Marcella awakens to the care of Haleya Kage who’s going through a difficult season—a demanding career, two teens, and her husband Thomas’s business a casualty of the 2009 economic downturn. Yet, with life unstable and the future unknown, it’s the unpredictable that propels His greater plan.

In a story of reconciliation, love, and legacy, we are reminded that life’s not always perfect or predictable, but God can make all things beautiful – in His time.

Life is full of scenes: some short, long, seemingly insignificant—others life-changing. Woven together, these scenes reveal a person’s heart. His or her life-story shared by a heart blessed, unforgettable. – the author.

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MY THOUGHTS.....

Saying that this is an emotional book is an understatement! Roxie Applesauce is a gut-wrenching, soul-searching story that gave me all the feels, and it's left me eager to read more books by Tonya Matthews. Yes, there may be trigger points for some readers, because Matthews tackles many sensitive topics. Marcella Ciscal's life has been a cycle of abuse, addiction, and being homeless, and she's found comfort and solace in her imaginary friend Roxie Applesauce, and in believing that Jesus loves her. And then, after a traumatic beating, Marcella becomes a patient of nurse Heyana Kage, and she finally learns about kindness and compassion. Heyana is a wonderful character but she certainly has her own problems. Her successful marriage is at risk, her daughter has become a rebellious teenager, and Heyana fears that her family life is spiraling out of control. Is it possible that this nurse and patient may be each other's saving grace? Can a sixty-something homeless person help a searching teenager find a new purpose?

There are several other characters who play key roles in this story, and I especially love that it is set in my home state of Kentucky. Roxie Applesauce is a heartbreaking and heartwarming book that I won't soon forget, and I highly recommend it. Just be sure to keep a box of tissues nearby!

I received a digital copy from Celebrate Lit. There was no obligation for a positive review. These are my own thoughts.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

About the Author

Tonya grew up on a family farm in Riverside, Kentucky. Her father recognized early on that hoeing tobacco and running hogs weren’t in her skill set. He opted to send her to college. Graduating from Western Kentucky University with honors, Tonya went on to support the business community for two decades as an executive for the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce where she served a primary role in the organization’s multiple national honors.

Tonya has found writing to be a healthy escape and effective therapy in tough seasons throughout her life. Tonya began writing Treasure atop the Mountain 15 years ago when she and her husband were trying to start their family and encountered multiple disappointments. Ultimately, they signed up to be foster parents and adopted.

Tonya’s been married to Todd Matthews for 25 years. They have two grown daughters. In August 2019, she published Treasure atop the Mountain—a fiction novel based on real-life emotions that can be related to by many. Tonya’s second novel in the TREASURE series, Roxie Applesauce, released in August 2021. She’s currently writing the series’ third book, Get Will. Additionally, in 2022, she will debut the first two books in her children’s book series.

More from Tonya

THE STORY behind the story—Tonya L. Matthews

As many of you know, Todd and I adopted our two girls from foster care. I remember hugging Haley one night after a tough day (she was a handful…well, still is) with tears in my eyes. Tears of sadness in my heart for what had brought us both together and tears of hope that we could help each other move forward. Todd and I had experienced multiple failures at trying to have a baby, and she’d experienced failure after failure of what is best for a little girl who needs a stable home-life. Roxie Applesauce, published and release this month, is dedicated to her. Though little has gone as we’d planned, God was and is still in control. I often say, ‘God had her before we did; he’s still got her!’

Life’s road isn’t always fair, but along the way there are those undeniable, unexplainable occurrences where without question the only answer is that it had to be God. That’s the message of hope I needed when I wrote Roxie Applesauce (and still need today.)

I began writing as an outlet for my emotions years ago as nothing seemed to work. I sat down and started writing, not knowing that I could write a novel and not set on it as the end goal. My goal was to find something that would take my thoughts away from the never-ending cycle of worry, anger and confusion over why there was no baby when for so many it just happened so simply.

I enjoyed reading fiction with an inspiring message. I remember when I finished a good book, I’d hold it for a minute after I closed it and even sometimes say out loud, “Wow, that was good!” I’d think about it the next day and the characters in the book were more like people that I knew or wished I knew.

After I read several that didn’t deliver, and inspired by those that did, I thought…I’ll just write what I like to read. So, I sat down and started typing and then I just never quit on the book. In the background of a busy, busy life, it was always there. Then when I walked away from the Chamber to be a better mom to my teen girls, I yet again, needed an outlet for all the ‘I am not equipped to raise these two!’ emotions that followed. Slowly, keeping my family as priority for really the first time ever, I worked toward the publication of Treasure atop the Mountain. Since its release, I can say the greatest joy has been the people that I’ve met! We all struggle. The emotions are the same, though the circumstances may be different. We need to know that we are not alone. We need to know that God’s plan is at work, even through the difficult times. If you haven’t had a chance to read Treasure atop the Mountain yet—first in the series, I hope someone passes it along to you as part of God’s plan as the existence of these books is beyond me!

If you didn’t know, my daughters are named Haley and Aleya. Not biological sisters. Born to two birth mothers who don’t know each other. One named her daughter HALEY and the other named her daughter ALEYA. If you put their names together you have HALEYA. Put you hand over the A on the end and it’s Haley. Put your hand over the H and you have Aleya. I have to remind myself on the toughest of days as a mother of two now adult-age girls in this world full of lies and heartache that God does know what he’s doing, and I know that God’s hand is at work! So, I write the third novel in the series, Get Will, yet again, as a healthy escape for my mind that is often unrelenting when so much is out of our control.