♫ ♫ The hills are alive
with the sound of … ♫ ♫
… PACKING??
Yep, you heard me — those wonderful moans, groans, and grunts of packing up (or giving away) almost forty years of memories and accumulation. Imagine moving from two houses (we’ve been renting a lake house that contains our own furniture) into one neat and compact townhome on a lake with no garage and almost no storage.
YIKES! That’s a lotta downsizing!!
And the ruler on the hand? Whack! We’re doing it in nine days!!
Thus the frazzled, cluttered state of mind I was in last week when I forgot, for the first time ever I might add, to even post a Journal Jot. Please forgive me — I’m hoping to return to normal (whatever THAT is!) sometime in July. 🙂
So although I don’t have much brain power to write a Journal Jot this morning, I do have a number of things to tell you, so thanks for coming by.
While packing this week, I came across the nun group pic above, which is actually from a performance that our Moms-in-Touch group (a national organization of moms who pray for their kids and their kids’ schools) did waaaaaaaay back when my kids went to Life Christian School. We performed a great singing/dancing rendition of I Will Follow Him from Sister Act as part of the school’s talent show, and let me tell you — we caused quite a stir! For those of you who have heard me mention my prayer partners from time to time, they are the third nuns in each row, left to right. Soooooo fun! And only one of many memories that either made me laugh or blubber as I waded through boxes and boxes of “memory files” that contained almost every note, picture, and school item for my kids from kindergarten to college.
Wonderful memories.
Ah, yes, but wonderful future as well!
Because now the love of my life and I are realizing our dream of living on a lake with almost no emcumbrances, which is how retirement should be. Only we’re not retiring, just slowing down some to smell the roses — or the lake air — a little bit more. Thus, I will no longer be writing books on my lower deck in the woods, but on a veranda overlooking a lake. Should be a nice setting to finish writing the Isle of Hope series, don’t you think?
So … what’s next in my writing world?
Well, unfortunately, I had to drop out of the Seeker summer novella due to lack of time, which would have kicked off my western series, but I’m hoping to get the novella out either on my own this year or early next year. As far as Isle of Hope, I’m still waiting word from my publisher, so I don’t know if that will be out this year as an indie book or in 2017 as a traditionally published book. But I do know I will have another Christmas novella out this year with The Seekers, so stay tuned to future Journal Jots for the info on that. I’m thinking either Katie and Luke or Lizzie and Brady …
Okay, I need to scoot now — packing calls! But here are some fun things going on that I hope you will check out:
INTERVIEW/GIVEAWAY IN THE NORFOLK CHRISTIAN FICTION EXAMINER: I don’t do many interviews anymore, so I hope you’ll take advantage and check this one out. Anyone who leaves a comment will be entered into a drawing to receive a free ecopy of any of my novellas, including my upcoming Christmas novella for this year, which releases 
in October. Contest will run through June, and I will announce the winner in a July Journal Jot.
HEY, DO YOU WANT TO SEE A PASSION MOST PURE MADE INTO A MOVIE??
A Passion Most Pure has recently been added to The IF List! The IF List is a platform for reader friends/fans to propose casting ideas for novels, games, etc. and allows them to gain popular support to make their dreams a reality! This is kind of a fun thing, so I hope you check it out, not just to “dream cast” APMP, but your other favorite novels/authors as well.
THE IMAGINE FILM LIST: A PASSION MOST PURE
HEART OF SAN FRANCISCO SERIES EBOOKS ARE ON SALE IN JUNE!!
If you haven’t had the chance to read about the fun and quirky McClares of San Francisco, including their deaf and near-blind lovable butler, crotchety housekeeper, and sarcastic parrot, you are missing out on a whole LOT of fun! Normally $9.99 each, these ebooks will be on sale as follows in June only, so if you are interested, now’s the time to check them out.
Love at Any Cost —– $1.99
Dare to Love Again — $6.99
Surprised by Love —- $6.99
Soooo … that’s it for this week! Hugs and happy packing — whether it be fun into a weekend or odds and ends into a box!
Julie
