Dream fulfilled: Palmyra writer a published author

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

Dreams can and do come true. Regina Hastings of Palmyra is living proof.

Now retired and in her 70s, she and her husband David have each prevailed through individual cancer scares. Recognizing that the days of life are finite, their son, Scott, a lieutenant colonel in the Army, reached out with an offer too good to pass up.

He wanted to help them fulfill their life-long dreams.

David’s dream was simple: As a Green Bay Packers fan of long standing, Scott will take his father on a tour of Wisconsin, and to a home game this coming November.

Regina’s dream was a bit more complicated. She wanted to publish the manuscript that has languished in her mind and on paper for the past four decades.

She wanted to be able to hold the published book in her hands.

“I can make that happen,” Scott told his mom. Scott’s wife has self-published manuals for her business, and understands the publishing process.

And now, thanks to those efforts, Regina’s dream has come true.

“Stolen Destiny,” written during relaxation hours during her 40-year work career, is now tangible evidence of her life-long yearning to write and to be read.

“I’ve written a number of stories” throughout the years, she said, "and have shown them to friends.” But she didn’t seriously consider publication.

“If you want to be published you have to make it your job,” she said. "I didn’t want writing to turn into a job, because I enjoyed it.”

During her career, she worked as a medical transcriptionist, as an X-ray technician, as an in-home day care provider, at a pharmacy and even as an over-the-road truck driver in tandem with her husband.

“When I had free time, I’d sit and reread what I had written last; I might only write two pages at a time.”

Her genre is historical romance, set in the west. “That is what fascinates me,” she said.

Writing is a natural outgrowth of her love of reading. “I read a lot, always have. When I have free time, I’m usually reading.

There are numerous steps involved in self publishing a novel, and Regina is grateful that her daughter-in-law, Melinda, was able to work through the process. “She has been learning; she got us through the proofing stage, bless her heart.”

By the second day of sales, “I was 15th in historical romance, new releases,” she said.

While most members of her core family are either artistic or musically inclined, Regina was not blessed with talents in art or music.

Instead, her interests have always leaned toward writing.

"I started writing because my mother (Maxine Devlin Wavering) was an accomplished singer and I have no voice. My dad (Ronald Devlin) was an artist and a jeweler. I have four brothers and a sister, almost all can sing, and half can draw. My dad said,  ‘but you write. You got your writing from your family tree.”

She said that her great-great-grandmother, Tabitha Hawes “Puss” Greening (1836-1917), and Sam Clemens were first cousins. 

“My grandmother talked about her all the time.”

The family story is that Tabitha and Sam grew up together during the summertime at the family farm.

“Sam was sickly or frail, and my great-great grandmother was older and she would stay in the house with him. She would encourage him to tell her stories. When he got old enough to write she encouraged him to write stories.

“She actually had a first edition, signed. She passed on to my grandmother and great aunt, and they donated it to the Mark Twain Museum.”

Next chapter

Now that her book is published, she hopes that people will buy it, and that they won’t be disappointed. 

“My proudest moment was when I held the book in my hand,” she said. “That was my dream to see my story in book form.

“What else goes from here is icing on the cake; this is my proudest moment.”

The book is available in both Kindle and print via amazon.com

“Stolen Destiny” by Palmyra author Regina Hastings was released via amazon.com on Aug. 1. Contributed photo

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

Dreams can and do come true. Regina Hastings of Palmyra is living proof.

Now retired and in her 70s, she and her husband David have each prevailed through individual cancer scares. Recognizing that the days of life are finite, their son, Scott, a lieutenant colonel in the Army, reached out with an offer too good to pass up.

He wanted to help them fulfill their life-long dreams.

David’s dream was simple: As a Green Bay Packers fan of long standing, Scott will take his father on a tour of Wisconsin, and to a home game this coming November.

Regina’s dream was a bit more complicated. She wanted to publish the manuscript that has languished in her mind and on paper for the past four decades.

She wanted to be able to hold the published book in her hands.

“I can make that happen,” Scott told his mom. Scott’s wife has self-published manuals for her business, and understands the publishing process.

And now, thanks to those efforts, Regina’s dream has come true.

“Stolen Destiny,” written during relaxation hours during her 40-year work career, is now tangible evidence of her life-long yearning to write and to be read.

“I’ve written a number of stories” throughout the years, she said, "and have shown them to friends.” But she didn’t seriously consider publication.

“If you want to be published you have to make it your job,” she said. "I didn’t want writing to turn into a job, because I enjoyed it.”

During her career, she worked as a medical transcriptionist, as an X-ray technician, as an in-home day care provider, at a pharmacy and even as an over-the-road truck driver in tandem with her husband.

“When I had free time, I’d sit and reread what I had written last; I might only write two pages at a time.”

Her genre is historical romance, set in the west. “That is what fascinates me,” she said.

Writing is a natural outgrowth of her love of reading. “I read a lot, always have. When I have free time, I’m usually reading.

There are numerous steps involved in self publishing a novel, and Regina is grateful that her daughter-in-law, Melinda, was able to work through the process. “She has been learning; she got us through the proofing stage, bless her heart.”

By the second day of sales, “I was 15th in historical romance, new releases,” she said.

While most members of her core family are either artistic or musically inclined, Regina was not blessed with talents in art or music.

Instead, her interests have always leaned toward writing.

"I started writing because my mother (Maxine Devlin Wavering) was an accomplished singer and I have no voice. My dad (Ronald Devlin) was an artist and a jeweler. I have four brothers and a sister, almost all can sing, and half can draw. My dad said,  ‘but you write. You got your writing from your family tree.”

She said that her great-great-grandmother, Tabitha Hawes “Puss” Greening (1836-1917), and Sam Clemens were first cousins. 

“My grandmother talked about her all the time.”

The family story is that Tabitha and Sam grew up together during the summertime at the family farm.

“Sam was sickly or frail, and my great-great grandmother was older and she would stay in the house with him. She would encourage him to tell her stories. When he got old enough to write she encouraged him to write stories.

“She actually had a first edition, signed. She passed on to my grandmother and great aunt, and they donated it to the Mark Twain Museum.”

Next chapter

Now that her book is published, she hopes that people will buy it, and that they won’t be disappointed. 

“My proudest moment was when I held the book in my hand,” she said. “That was my dream to see my story in book form.

“What else goes from here is icing on the cake; this is my proudest moment.”

The book is available in both Kindle and print via amazon.com

Regina Hastings of Palmyra is the author of a newly released book, “Stolen Destiny,” which was published in paperback via Amazon on Aug. 1. Contributed photo

Regina Hastings of Palmyra is a descendant of Mrs. Tabitha Greening, who was a first cousin to Sam Clemens. Kansas City Post, Dec. 25, 1917, ancestry.com