Meet Yvonne Ortega

Yvonne Ortega is a speaker, author, speaking and writing coach, counselor, and teacher. Her counseling and teaching experiences add depth and humor to her presentations. With honesty and humor, she shares her life and struggles through messages that will help you move from broken to beautiful despite life’s transitions and challenges. Her latest book is Moving from Broken to Beautiful® through Grief.

Tell us about your newest book.

 Moving from Broken to Beautiful® through Grief is not only for those who have lost a loved one through death. It is also for those who have lost a job, a home, their health, or a relationship through a broken engagement or divorce. I’ve watched the bereaved question God, their faith, and their reason to live. I did so myself when I lost two aunts, my mother, and my only child within seven months. Through this book, the reader receives assurance that grief is a normal process and they can get through it. The emotional roller coaster of grief is a ride none of us wants to go on, but it is a part of life. In Moving from Broken to Beautiful® through Grief, the readers have me as their guide and companion. They will receive comfort, peace, promise, and purpose in their new normal. My book will also help friends, coworkers, and caregivers of the bereaved understand the grief process more than before and enable them to provide the compassion, encouragement, and support the grieving need.

What genre do you focus on and why?

I focus on inspirational nonfiction. With a background in teaching Spanish and English at the secondary and college level and then working as a Licensed Professional Counselor for years, it seemed a natural choice for me. My own personal experiences with divorce, cancer, four car accidents in seven years, and multiple family losses led to first-hand experience for this genre. God doesn’t waste our heartaches, disappointments, and losses. He will use them for good in our lives and the lives of others, if we let him.

Why do you write? What drives you?

I know God called me to write and speak for him. Writing is not a pastime or a hobby, it is a divine assignment, which I fulfill with joy. Sometimes I get an idea for a book and can’t wait to get started. I feel like I’ll burst if I don’t. Other times, God gives me an idea and nudges me to write. My passion is to help hurting women move from broken to beautiful through God’s Word. I want them to be and do all God called them to be and do. I long for them to live with freedom, peace, and joy. I long for them to live the abundant life Jesus Christ came to earth to give them. To my delight, God has used my books to help hurting men too.

What is the hardest part of being an author? Why?

 The hardest part is the marketing and publicity. Although I can easily review and publicize someone else’s books, I struggle to promote my own.

What’s the best part of your author’s life? Why?

When readers walk up to me and tell me how my books blessed them, gave them courage and hope to go on living, and helped them make positive changes in their lives, I thank God I answered his call to write for him. Those comments and reviews like them are the best part of my author’s life and confirm God’s call on my life.

What is the craziest thing you’ve experienced as an author?

When Revell published my first book, Hope for the Journey through Cancer, my mother put her copy in a plastic bag and took it everywhere she went. She would pull it out and tell everyone that her daughter was an author and wrote that book. She passed away before I wrote the next three, or she would have done the same with those books too.

What Are You Most Proud of?

I am most proud of book three, Moving from Broken to Beautiful® through Forgiveness, and book four, Moving from Broken to Beautiful® through Grief. They were the most difficult to write. During the writing of the forgiveness book, I had a hard drive crash, a printer failure, and computer program difficulties. During the writing of the grief book, my dad was diagnosed with dementia and my lifelong friend with pancreatic cancer. A few months later, Dad went to a nursing home, and my friend passed away. With the grace of God, I hung in there and completed both books.

What is your favorite pastime?

My favorite pastime is reading. I can get lost in a book and not stop reading it until I’ve finished it. I also love to go to the beach, walk barefooted in the sand, and listen to the waves.

Do you have other books? We’d love to know.

Yes, I have a total of four books in my Moving from Broken to Beautiful® Series: Finding Hope for Your Journey through Breast Cancer, Moving from Broken to Beautiful: 9 Life Lessons to Help You Move Forward, Moving from Broken to Beautiful® through Forgiveness, and Moving from Broken to Beautiful® through Grief.

What are you working on now?

At the present time, I’m working on the marketing and publicity of my book on grief. I’ve put together a “Grief Powerpak,” which includes downloads of A–Z Prayers for the Bereaved, A–Z Prayers for the Comforting Angels, Bible verses for the bereaved and for the comforting angels, and book marks. This Powerpak will soon be available.

Website: www.YvonneOrtega.com

Link to book: https://bit.ly/brokenbeautiful

Social media links:

Facebook Public Page: https://www.facebook.com/yvonne.ortega.98

Twitter: https://twitter.com/yvonneortega1

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvonneortega

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8bWlg9Nmmg