Eeeeeek! GABE’S STORY IS COMING!
Okay, everybody — buckle up because it’s going to be a bumpy ride! Especially for Marcy and Patrick O’Connor and the hero, Alex Kincaid, when Gabriella Dawn O’Connor — the sassy street orphan from A Hope Undaunted gets her very own story.
Yep, it’s true, Gabe’s story — A Wing and a Prayer — will release this March (followed by Sheridan’s story in Love’s Silver Bullet in May), and I promise that Gabe’s antics will make Charity’s and Katie’s stunts look like child’s play.
I have to admit, it does make me feel a wee bit sorry for poor Marcy and Patrick (not to mention Alex) because Gabe definitely puts them all through the paces in this wild and wonderful WW2 saga. But I promise you, it’s all worth it in the end!
If you’ve been reading my Journal Jots, you know that three secular publishers expressed interest in Gabe’s story, and one even took it to pub board, but I’m happy to say, in the end, they decided against it.
Now, why am I happy to say that? Well, because now I get to follow my dream of publishing all my indie books both in the Christian market and the secular market, something I would not have been able to do with Gabe’s story if a secular publisher had bought it. As a result, I will be revamping my website accordingly to promote both my Christian indie books and their secular counterparts, hopefully this summer. My prayer for this upcoming move into the secular market is Hebrews 13:20-21, which I humbly ask each of you to pray for me regarding this venture and for yourselves as well, that God will do the same for you:
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. — Hebrews 13:20-21
And all of you, my dear Journal Jot readers, get the first glimpse of Gabe’s cover right here, right now. I had a devil of a time finding a model in uniform that was halfway decent and even remotely looked like I pictured Gabe. Especially since the original model I revealed in a prior Journal Jots blog would not work according to my cover designer. Sigh. Anyway, I had to get used to this model, but I finally did and almost like the hint of coolness in her face despite the crisp salute because that is SO Gabe in this novel!
Sooooo … to celebrate Gabe’s arrival on the scene, I am offering a special pre-order discount of which I hope you will take advantage via the link down below. But first … here’s the jacket blurb:
She’s set on giving everything to the war overseas …
Even if it means losing everything in a war of the heart.
A street orphan abused and abandoned by an alcoholic father at age five, Gabriella (Gabe) O’Connor has never let a man stand in her way yet. So when a handsome flight officer thwarts her plans to become a WASP — Women Air Force Service Pilot — she’s determined to join the war effort anyway she can. Her chance comes when she “borrows” foreign correspondent credentials from the Boston Herald—where her father is the editor—to stow away on a medical ship to the front.
Lieutenant Reece Kincaid pegs Gabe O’Connor as trouble the moment she steps foot on Avenger Field as a WASP cadet. As the eldest brother of a boy whose jaw Gabe broke in grade school, Reece is familiar with her reputation as both a charismatic ringleader and a headstrong hooligan who’s challenged every male and nun from grade school to college. As her WASP flight instructor, Reece eventually expels Gabe when she pulls a dangerous stunt. But when he is an evacuation pilot in France eight months later, their lives intertwine once again, exposing them to a danger as perilous as the German tanks roaming the Reichswald Forest: a love that neither expects.
PRE-ORDER A WING AND PRAYER HERE!
📕 Love’s Silver Bullet on Pre-Order Too!
WHOO-HOO!! Book 2 in my Silver Lining Ranch series, LOVE’S SILVER BULLET, is now available for pre-order on Amazon with a projected release date of May 1st, so here’s the new cover. I hope you like it, and I hope you pre-order, because if you do, you’ll save a dollar! Here’s the blurb for Sheridan & Jake’s story:
She’s targeting his love.
He’s aiming to steer clear.
Till true love picks them off in a bull’s-eye of the heart
Eighteen-year-old Sheridan Donovan has been in love with Jake Sullivan since the age of four, when she used to tag after him and her big brothers on the Silver Lining Ranch. From little on, Jake has been her hero, convincing her brothers to play school and wedding with her whenever she’d begged and cried. From horsey rides and tickle fests to his sweet willingness to be her pretend groom, Jake’s gentleness and affection had nurtured two dreams in Sheridan’s heart—becoming both a teacher and Mrs. Jake Sullivan. Preferably not in that order.
At the age of thirty, Jake figures he pretty much has everything he needs at the moment. A good job as the Assistant Foreman for Silver Lining Ranch, great friends in Blaze and Dash Donovan, and a true mentor in their uncle and owner of the ranch, Finn McShane, the man who’d given him a family to replace the one he lost. But when Finn’s niece, Sheridan—Blaze’s and Dash’s little sister to whom Jake became a big brother as well—turns eighteen, Jake discovers there’s one more thing he needs: distance and lots of it. From pinafores and bows at age six to overalls and dirt till age fifteen, the grown-up Sheridan looks nothing like the little girl who’d once been his constant shadow, now transformed into a young woman who races his heart. Painfully aware that Sheridan is determined to win his love, Jake is equally determined to keep a promise to her uncle, a promise that not only shoots a hole in his well-ordered life, but in his heart as well.
PRE-ORDER LOVE’S SILVER BULLET HERE!
📕 Most Anticipated CBA Novels of 2020!
Hey, guys, Goodreads has a new Listopia poll that you can cast your vote for as many of the Christian books you are looking foward to in 2020 as you want.
So, if you are looking forward to the release of both Love’s Silver Bullet and A Wing and a Prayer, please consider voting for both of my books in Goodread’s Most Anticipated Inspirational Novels of 2020. Remember, you can vote for as many of your favorite authors as you like, so I hope I will be one. THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS!
📚 Romance-ology 101 at ACFW Workshop!
Oh my goodness, I am soooo excited because my friend Becky Wade and I were selected to teach a workshop at the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference (ACFW) in St. Louis, September 17th-20th. This is a big honor because ACFW receives tons of applications, so we feel quite blessed to be selected.
That said, if you are planning to attend ACFW this year, I hope you will consider signing up for our workshop. It’s called “Romance-ology 101: Creating Sigh-Worthy Heroes,” and it should be fun with lots of giveaways and opportunities for Q & A, so we are excited!
🙏 StoryFest ACFW!
ATTENTION CHRISTIAN FICTION READERS!! Do we have a deal for you! This year at the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference in St. Louis, MO September 18-19, 2020, there will be an intimate author/readers retreat that you will NOT want to miss! ACFW is literally crawling with every Christian author you have ever wanted to meet or have coffee with, so check out the following fun events included and mark your calendars.
PLUS … you will receive a $20 discount if you use my author code (JLESS) when you register, so check out all the details on registration and pricing right here: STORYFEST ACFW
🙏 Keynote speaker LIZ CURTIS HIGGS!
🙏 Meet & Greet with 40-50 of your favorite Christian authors such as Rachel Hauck, Colleen Coble, Denise Hunter, Becky Wade, Mary Connealy, Dani Pettrey and many others including MOI!
🙏 Bookstore & Book Signing!
🙏 Games, Panels, Giveaways!
🙏 Group Breakfast or Lunch with Your Favorite Author!
🙏 Worship Time with Your Favorite Authors
🙏 Chance to Attend ACFW Gala (like the Oscars for Christian Fiction!)
💕 SORRY, CONTEST IS OVER!
WHAT: Christian Fiction Rocks Contest
WHEN: January 27 through February 3, 2020
HOW TO ENTER: Check out the Rafflecopter box below and GOOD LUCK!
Winner will be announced on my Journal Jots blog on Valentine’s Day!
WHAT CAN YOU WIN? Kindle Fire OR $50 Amazon G.C., plus character in next book/signed copy and IOH e-series or 4 of my other indies.
