May 2026 Newsletter

Debrahn
Jun 2
3 min read

Deb's Niche!

🌸MOTHER'S DAY MATTERS🌸

Let's talk about Mother's Day. Specifically, the annual negotiation of whose Mother's Day it actually is.

If you're like me, you've been a daughter, a mother, and a grandmother, all in the same Sunday afternoon. Which means Mother's Day has evolved from "breakfast in bed and a handmade card" to a full-scale diplomatic summit with a seating chart.

Here's the thing about a multi-generation Mother's Day: everybody is somebody's mother, and nobody wants to feel like the supporting cast in someone else's celebration. So how do you make every woman in the room feel seen?

A few thoughts:

For the new moms — This is still new and overwhelming and beautiful and exhausting. Acknowledge it. Husbands, let her sleep in. Don't give her more to manage.

For the moms in the middle — We've been doing this long enough that we don't need a fuss. But we do notice when nobody makes one. A genuine "thank you for everything you do" lands better than any bouquet.

For the grandmas — Honestly? We just want everybody in the same room, fed, and not arguing. That is the gift.

The secret to a multi-generation Mother's Day isn't a perfect plan. It's making sure each woman knows she is specifically seen, not just lumped into the general appreciation pile. A personal word. A specific memory. A moment that says you, in particular, matter.

That's it. That's the whole formula.

Happy Mother's Day to every woman reading this who has loved, raised, prayed over, and shown up for someone who needed her. That is the work God designed us for, and it doesn't go unnoticed, not by the people you love, and certainly not by the Lord.

FAMILY FACTS

May is doing a lot of heavy lifting around here.

It's my birthday month, May 18th, to be exact.

This year, Darryl and I will be on the road heading home from his wheelchair tennis tournament when my birthday rolls around. He has been competing in wheelchair tennis for decades and knocks out several tournaments every summer, so this is one more in a long line of accomplishments for him. For me, it's my birthday, celebrated somewhere on an Oklahoma highway.

I have feelings about this.

They are unresolved.

To be fair, my husband is incredible. He's been an amputee since age 14, and competes in tennis at a level most able-bodied people never will. He always supports my endeavors and makes me feel valued in my writing. And, he still finds time to make me laugh and feel cherished every single day. You can't be grumpy about a birthday road trip when you're married to someone like that.

You can try. I've tried. It doesn't stick.

So we'll celebrate on the first leg of our trip home, somewhere between Dallas and home, and we'll make the best of it. There are worse ways to spend a birthday than an open road and good company, even without a party hat in sight.

(Follow along on Instagram at @debrahnauthor. I may even throw up some photos and road trip updates!)

📚 READER'S CORNER 📚

Good news on the writing front, and I mean genuinely good news, not the "I wrote 200 words and called it a day" kind.

Love's Perfect Foundation, my reader magnet novella following Dylan before he meets Brynnlee, is in progress, and I'm aiming to wrap it up by the end of May or beginning of June. If you've wondered what made Dylan so guarded when Brynnlee walks into his life, this novella answers that question. Details on how to get your copy are coming soon.

Love's Perfect Design, Book One, has been through a full editing and revision pass and is now in the formatting stage. Once the reader magnet is complete, LPD gets a fresh re-release, better than ever, and with a friend along for the ride this time.

More updates next month. Things are moving!

TOTALLY TRIVIA

Book Facts:

A major portion of Love's Perfect Design was written while snuggled up in a quaint cabin in the Hot Springs area of South Dakota. Cozy setting, good inspiration. I took a couple pics while there of my inspiring view from the cozy table by the window and the outside (below).

Callie, Dylan's twin sister and the heroine of Book 2, is named after my oldest granddaughter. But Callie's story and personal journey in Love's Perfect Match are inspired by her mother, my daughter Brittany. Two generations, one character. I love how that worked out.

File those away. You'll want them later.

I'll be posting trivia facts in each newsletter. You may want to remember them . . . it could mean a chance for one lucky winner to receive a free copy of Love's Perfect Match - book two!