WRITING IS HER DREAM JOB

WRITING WRITING IS HER IS HER dream7 dream7 JOB JOB

ICU NURSE SPENDS HER OFF HOURS WRITING A FANTASY FICTION TRILOGY

written by CYDNEY HOEFLE photography by DANIEL SULLIVAN

“IN SIX MONTHS, the world would begin its descent into death. In six months, the fate of the universe would rest in the hands of five eighteen-year-olds—untrained, unprepared, and desperately searching for an adult to take over.” A synopsis written on the back cover of Chosen Children.

“Chosen Children” is the first published novel in a three-book series written by Billings resident Jenny Raveling. The young novelist couldn’t be more excited about the response to her book, released in June, and about her future. At a recent book launch party, Jenny enthusiastically shared with the audience her lifelong dream of being published.

“This has been a long time in the making,” she says. “But I couldn’t be more excited.”

For the past seven years, Jenny has been an intensive care nurse at St. Vincent Healthcare, writing novels in her spare time.

“I’ve always had a dream career of writing,” she says. “I’ve written since I was young. As a 6-year-old, I wrote my first story about a bird that was scared of heights. By early teens, I had 12 notebooks full of writing, and by 18, I tried to get my first novel published.”

targeting a teenage audience. It’s what she calls the “Great Generation Series,” in which five teenagers each make the decision to accept the world as it is, or to fight for change. The book is full of elemental powers — air, earth, water and fire — and a battle between good and evil.

“I always loved writing as a hobby,” she says. “I grew up during the Harry Potter and Hunger Games era and fantasy really had an impact on me.”

Raised in western Montana, Jenny attended Montana State University for nursing and began her career in the cardiac unit at St. Vincent Healthcare. It wasn’t long before she moved to the ICU and she’s been there since.

“It’s a stressful job,” she says. “There is no small talk. It’s real. It’s raw and emotions run high. It was especially hard during the pandemic.”

It was during that time she really began to think about a future as a writer. An avid outdoor person, Jenny enjoys hiking and climbing and tries to spend one day a week decompressing in the mountains.

“Nursing is hard,” she says. “There’s a lot going on. We’re shortstaffed and busy. I have incredible co-workers and we support each other, but you also have to have a release. Writing has been it for me.”

Just after graduation from MSU, Jenny was diagnosed with a benign tumor in her femur, which required several surgeries and weeks of down time for the active woman.

“It was a good time to really start writing,” she says. “I couldn’t do much else!”

The discipline of writing became part of her daily routine, and she now devotes hours per week, honing her craft. “It just comes to me,” she says. “I just start writing what comes to mind and go back and work with what I’ve already written.”

During the challenging times at the hospital during Covid, she wrote to keep her stress level under control.

“I live in an emotional world,” she says. “Not just in my job, but everywhere. My book is emotion-based. It’s entertaining, fast moving and the tension is high.”

Still, it is fantasy. But as she says, “Fantasy can bring up a conversation that’s not as triggering as reality.”

And though she didn’t purposely set out to make a statement to her readers, if they read closely enough, they’ll understand that she’s suggesting that it’s everyone’s job to take care of the world and we’re all called to make a difference in life.

Jenny deals with chronic pain because of her leg and manages it with her active lifestyle. She’s stepped back to per diem with her nursing career to two or three days per week, takes one day to completely unplug and spends the other three or four writing.

“I’m always working on something,” she says. “I have a file on my computer called ‘random ponderings’ full of things that just come to mind. I also have a couple of journals I call my affirmation and gratitude journals. It’s a fun escape for me.” courses on marketing and navigating through the entire process of finding editors, cover designers and other help. Her fiveyear business goal is to write full time.

“I’m treating my writing like a business,” she says. “I’ve invested a lot into what it takes to self-publish and promote it. I’m realistic and determined. I know what it will take to be successful and I’m willing to make it happen.” ✻

learn more about7 JENNY RAVELING

You can find “Chosen Children” on Amazon, Nook and Kobo. Follow her on Instagram @jenny.raveling or search Jenny Raveling Author on Facebook. You can also visit her website at jennyraveling.com.

CYDNEY HOEFLE, writer

A fourth generation Montanan, Cydney was raised on a ranch on the banks of the Yellowstone River where an appreciation of the outdoors was fostered. She and her husband raised three children in Billings and are now the proud grandparents of three. The best part of any of her days is time spent with Jesus, family, friends, a good book or capturing someone’s story in words.