We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ann Marie Ruby. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ann Marie below.
Ann Marie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
The most meaningful project I have created is implanting humanitarian issues within all of my books, be it fiction or nonfiction. My job continues as I know I have so much more to give. Within all of my upcoming books, this sacred project will continue.
Fear foils so many humans from pursuing their most meaningful projects. I stood under the dark skies and asked myself what I could do to help my fellow humans. Afraid of not just the dark nights or what’s under the bed as we all feared as a child, yet to deal with grief, financial obstacles, religious differences, and racial divisions. I knew I had to look under my bed and be exposed to the fear to deal with it and get over it. As a human with basic humanity, I wanted to give all the humans across the globe a huge hug. I wanted to tell them to take a breathing space and let all the worries evaporate with faith and know all shall be all right. You don’t need anyone but your own self to tell yourself everything will be just all right. The only way I could be with everyone without leaving my home was through my pen and paper. So, I brought my pen to paper as I knew this way, I could be there with you when you do need a hug. I could be there reassuring what your heart knew beforehand, everything will be all right.
It’s then I penned my Spiritual Songs Collection which consists of three books of spiritual prayers, songs, and poetry for all religion, race, and culture to recite together. My latest book in this collection, Spiritual Songs III: The Rising Lotus, not only contains 41 of my original prayers, but also explains how prayers are the only way we can communicate with our Creator without any religious preference. Within Spiritual Songs III, I have written prayers to be recited for all seven days of the week and prayers to overcome the troubles of life.
After I wrote my spiritual books, I wanted to create a world where you the citizen of this world can be on vacation, without leaving your home. So, I created my Kasteel Vrederic series, a gothic paranormal world where you can enter and find a family you never had. A world where the inhabitants travel time, they reincarnate, and they solve mysteries. The love they have for one another as a family will make you feel like you too belong in the Kasteel Vrederic family. You can forget all your worries and be rejuvenated for work and the world as your vacation through the pages. After you visit this world, you too will say there is no fear as we will close the doors to fear and not answer the calls to fear.
Whether it be in Melodies Of Humanity: The Golden Keys, Eternal Truth: The Tunnel Of Light, The World Hate Crisis: Through The Eyes Of A Dream Psychic, my Spiritual Songs Collection, The Netherlands: Land Of My Dreams, Everblooming: Through The Twelve Provinces Of The Netherlands, my books of inspirational quotations, Love Letters: The Timeless Treasure, or my fictional books: Enchanted Tales: A Kasteel Vrederic Storybook For Children, the Kasteel Vrederic series, Shattered Wings: Diary Of A Child Bride, and The Bride, The Groom, And The Ghost, being there for my fellow human beings through the pages of my books is my passion.
Like a mother cannot choose a favorite child, I cannot choose a favorite book. Throughout all of my books, the most important common factor remains, incorporating humanity. Be it through a prayer, a poem, a humanitarian crisis, or through a paranormal fictional world, I wanted to be there for you. So, I penned to this day, 26 books including my latest book of the Kasteel Vrederic series, Woman In The Mirror: Vows From The Beyond. By reading Woman In The Mirror, you can travel to the pyramids of Giza, the Stonehenge, and to the Netherlands as you enter the world of Kasteel Vrederic in another riveting gothic paranormal journey trying to figure out who the woman in the mirror is.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
How could I, a single human being, make a difference, was the question I asked myself as I spread tears for my fellow human beings. The question bothered me so much as everyone said, “You need to have a lot of money to help financially or have name and fame to do any charitable work.” I realized I had neither of the above, yet my heart wanted me to be there for the person who is crying herself to bed, the person who needs a break, the child who never left her or his part of the world. Individually I can only do so much but collectively with the support of others, we can do so much more. I collected my thoughts and wrote my books. Hearing from your favorite characters, you the reader would be involved in all of the projects that I could not get your attention to, but they would. I feel we the humanitarians would try to do something if only we were made aware of the issues.
So, I did what my heart was thirsting for. I quenched my own thirst through the pages of my books. I became an author. For the child who never left her or his own country, I penned my all-colorful children’s book taking everyone through the seven continents of this world and solving mysteries with your international friends. I realized this world needed humanitarian books, children’s books, spiritual books, fictional books, travel books, romantic poetry, so I penned all of them for my fellow humans across the globe. I became an author to be there in your home as a friend who will listen to your troubles and wipe off your tears or give you some laughter as laughing heals the broken hearts.
I became an author to heal all I could touch and heal through the pages of my books. I realized as a young child, books are a world we can enter and escape from all the troubles of this world. I wanted my books to be a bridge you could stand upon when you need something to stand upon and escape from the anxieties of this world. The world is a place we all must travel through, where I know the days are not always happy and peaceful. Yet maybe my books could give you some support as they became my gift for all of you.
I alone could write my books and tell my stories. So, I answered my own question of how I could be there for all. I am here for all of you through the pages of my books as I have now penned 26 books for all of you to pick and choose from.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My passion and love to be there for all who need a helping hand is the core reason I keep on writing one more book. The world has so many religions, so many languages, so many differences dividing us. Yet I want to talk about not what divides us but what unites all of us. Feeding the hungry, saving the children from the burning house, holding on to the woman who would have jumped off the bridge, or just being there with the forgotten elderly people, are some of the reasons I keep on writing.
The humanitarian soul in my heart holds on to your questions as I try to answer the unanswered questions of life. I know someone has to do it and I would want someone to hold on to my hands if and when I am falling or need the helping hands.
Once I was thirsty while I was visiting a zoo on a very hot day. I asked everyone where I could get some fresh cold water to drink. No one knew the answer. I went to a fast-food place. They said cash only, but they had no change for a hundred-dollar bill. I realized I had to order food that I didn’t need just to get a small cup of water. I was shocked at the behavior of my fellow humans.
A child who was watching brought me her bottle of water as she said, “I don’t like water anyway. You can have it.”
I hugged her and bought ice cream for her whole family. They were shocked and said, “No it’s all right, we just thought it was strange they were selling water in a small cup and did not have any change.”
I realized humans with humanity still exist. The family invited me to have ice cream with them. I told them I am diabetic and that’s why I can’t eat anything they offer but can’t bring anything in either. So, it’s hard at times. I never saw the family again as I finished my visit through another part of this world and came back home. Today for all the children of this world, I have written my children’s book. I will keep on authoring different genres of books as that way, I can be there for all who need to quench their thirst.
The need to be there for all through the pages of my books is driving my creative journey. Every dawn I wake up rejuvenated with the thought I have another gift for this world I must author and create. One more book is one more gift for you the humans across the globe. My message is you the reader should wake up each dawn with hope and faith that more positive news is coming.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Simple words of appreciation I have received saying, “the best book ever,” or another person saying the book helped give her a direction. Another person said, my books are her escape, and she feels excited when another book in the Kasteel Vrederic series is released. These are different words of appreciation from different parts of the world, which are like huge hugs for my inner soul. It’s not just the comments of what others say or don’t say but feeling the completion through my own heart. That is most rewarding.
Watching your books come to life at the conclusion, witnessing the fictional characters take life, listening to them talk through the pages of a book are the most rewarding parts of my creation. I feel like I have become a mother to all my characters. They are now alive in a world that I have created, and it is magical.
Currently, roughly 650 million girls around the globe are child brides. I have brought this issue to light through Ahana Roy, my fictional character. I made her story immortal through my fictional paranormal world in Shattered Wings: Diary Of A Child Bride.
Over ninety percent of the world population over the age of fifty, face ageism. I wrote a novel where a ghost bride walked for centuries to find her husband in the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana in The Bride, The Groom, And The Ghost. Living in a paranormal world, you would think they only had to worry about demons and ghosts. Yet here the ghost bride is torn up in astonishment as she finds out her groom was facing ageism on top of other paranormal activities.
In my children’s book, I have brought the children from all seven continents of this world and showed them they are all superheroes. It matters not if you are born into a poor or rich family, or what your race, color, or religion is, you are a superhero. The children will know there are multiracial and multicultural children living on the same planet as themselves and they can be friends with all the children, maybe through this book first then through the seven continents. Through this one book, one can travel across the entire world, experience different cultures, and visit different landmarks, without ever leaving their room. This book is special to me because I can see children rereading it over and over again as it has a hand in shaping their future. Enchanted Tales: A Kasteel Vrederic Storybook For Children is a storybook that will inspire children, make them braver, and instill a love of travel and love for the entire globe.
The most rewarding answer to my own self is answering my own question, “What can I alone do for this world?” I alone can write my books for all those who need them today. You can join in and help as you pick up the book which resonates with your need. I have created my own world, where in my library of books, there is a book for you. Just visit my world of books and I know I have something for you. If you don’t find anything today, don’t worry as my pen will not forget you, and tomorrow, I will have something for you too. As an author, my journey continues to knock, seek, and ask myself what more I could give you. I will keep creating and I know you too will one day find what you are seeking in my library of books.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://annmarieruby.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theannmarieruby/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAnnMarieRuby/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theannmarieruby
- Twitter: https://x.com/theannmarieruby
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theannmarieruby
- Other: Find my books here:
https://amazon.com/author/aruby
