✅ Family Time!
✅ MORE GIVEAWAYS!
✅ Winners from Blog Tour, Video Contest, & Podcast Giveaways!
✅ What’s the Story, Morning Glory? Paperbk/E-Book NOW on sale!
✅ Autumn Sales Continue!
✅ Read my prior blog including excerpt from Henry’s story HERE!
🍁 Family Time!
Whew! I just got back from a rare get-together with ALL of my grandkiddos in Branson, Missouri, and boy oh boy, did we have a blast! Eight adults and six kids in a gorgeous VRBO a mere 2 minutes from Silver Dollar City! So, I thought I’d share a few pix with y’all just for fun.
🍁 Two More Giveaways!
GIVEAWAY # 1:
This Saturday, Oct. 12th, I have the privilege of being a guest author on the SMALL TOWN CHRISTIAN ROMANCE READER GROUP, a really cool Facebook group for anyone who loves romance! Since it features romance in a small town, I will be highlighting my award-winning novel, Isle of Hope, which is set on the small-town community of Isle of Hope, Georgia — AND giving away a free e-copy of IOH to anyone who wants it, so if you know someone who could use a novel on forgiveness — send them over!
AND … the good news is I will be giving away copies of my new memoir devotional, What’s the Story, Morning Glory in both paperback and e-book, so you have one more chance to win my latest
HOW DOES IT WORK? Well, I will have four posts on the SMALL TOWN CHRISTIAN ROMANCE READER GROUP throughout the day on Saturday, and if you leave a comment answering the question for each post, you are automatically entered for the grand price below. PLUS, there will be individual post prizes, so that gives you four more chances to win!
GRAND PRIZE:
Your choice of either a signed paperback copy (or e-book) of my brand-new memoir devotional, What’s the Story, Morning Glory? OR a signed paperback copy (or e-book) of book 1 in my Irish family saga, A Passion Most Pure, which was American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Debut Book of the Year and listed in a Publisher’s Weekly article, “Ten Best Historical Romance Novels”).
INDIVIDUAL POST PRIZES:
I will also draw one winner from the comments on each post to win their choice of any of my indie e-books, over and above Isle of Hope.
SO … HOW DO YOU ENTER?
1.) Go to SMALL TOWN CHRISTIAN ROMANCE READER GROUP by clicking HERE to join. It’s free, but you’ll have to answer the questions and agree to the rules like you do on most FB groups.
2.) ON SATURDAY, if you see my post at the top, just leave a comment answering the question and you will automatically be entered for both the grand prize and the individual post prizes.
3.) NOTE: If you do NOT see my post, you can easily find each of the four posts by typing one of the following phrases into the search bar at the top right-hand side of the page just beneath the “JOINED” tab (it’s the magnifying-glass icon), and that will take you to each one:
4.) Winners will be announced on the SMALL TOWN CHRISTIAN ROMANCE READER GROUP page on Sunday, Oct. 13, so simply type the winners phrase below into the search bar to find out if you won and good luck! Hope to see you there.
JULIE LESSMAN GUEST GIVEAWAY #1
JULIE LESSMAN GUEST GIVEAWAY #2
JULIE LESSMAN GUEST GIVEAWAY #3
JULIE LESSMAN GUEST GIVEAWAY #4
JULIE LESSMAN GUEST GIVEAWAY WINNERS!
GIVEAWAY # 2:
Come on “Down Under” to leave a comment on the AUSTRALASIAN CHRISTIAN WRITERS blog for a chance to win an e-copy of my new memoir devotional, What’s the Story, Morning Glory?
It’s easy-peasy — just leave a comment and you’re in the draw, so hope to see you there!
Contest closes Wednesday evening October 16, and the winner will be listed in my next Journal Jot blog, so stay tuned!
Here’s the link and good luck!
🍁 We Have Winners!
MEGA HUGS to everyone who entered all my contests–for my Morning Glory blog tour, the Heart of San Francisco video, and the more recent Coffee & Books podcast. How I wish everyone could win! But regrettably, as you all are aware, my husband would shoot me if I sent free paperbacks to everyone who entered!
BLOG-TOUR GIVEAWAY WINNER:
Hope you had a chance to enter my blog-tour contest for What’s the Story, Morning Glory? Sept. 24-28, where 20 different blogs highlighted and reviewed my new memoir devotional with rave reviews!
If you did, it is now my honor to announce the Winner of the Blog-Tour Contest, who has won the following GRAND PRIZE:
🍁$25 Amazon Gift Card
🍁 Character Named After You or a Loved One in my Next Novel & Signed Paperback Copy
🍁 A Signed Paperback Copy of What’s the Story, Morning Glory
AND … THAT BLOG-TOUR WINNER IS … DRUM ROLL, PLEASE:
ANNE-MARIE T
PLUS … The COMMENT WINNERS who mentioned Journal Jots
in their blog comments to win a signed paperback
copy of Morning Glory are:
KATIE PFEIFER
KATHRYN BOCHMAN
KATE VOSS
🍁 MY MORNING GLORY RAFFLECOPTER WINNERS:
The 1st-Place Winner of my Rafflecopter Contest for Morning Glory will receive the following GRAND PRIZE :
🍁 $35 Amazon Gift Card
🍁 Character Named After You or a Loved One in my Next Novel & Signed Paperback Copy
🍁 A Signed Paperback Copy of What’s the Story, Morning Glory
🍁 Your Choice of 3 Paperback Copies from my List of Top-CBA Authors (list follows below)
🍁 Your Choice of any 3 of my Indie E-Books OR Your Choice of a Signed Paperback Copy of any of my Indie or Revell Books (Revell Books Contingent on my Personal Supply)
AND … THE 1ST-PLACE WINNER IS … DRUM ROLL, PLEASE:
GINA FERRELL
The 2ND-PLACE WINNER, who wins choice of
3 of my indie e-books OR 1 paperback from my
top CBA (Christian) Author List, is:
LORAINE N.
🍁 HEART OF SAN FRANCISCO VIDEO WINNERS:
The following winners have won an e-copy of Grace Like Rain, my favorite novella I’ve ever written, which is Blake “The Rake” McClare’s story, so SUPER CONGRATS!
DEBRA MOKUA
ROBIN WHITFIELD
BN100CANDG@HOTMAIL.COM
🍁 LITERARYSCAPE’S COFFEE & BOOKS PODCAST WINNER:
Thank you to everyone who came to my podcast on Saturday and if you weren’t able to make it, you can check out the podcast video HERE!
I sure wish everybody could win. But, unfortunately, only one can, and that person has won a signed paperback copy of my new memoir devotional, What’s the Story, Morning Glory, so SUPER CONGRATS to the following winner:
MARLINE WILLIAMS
🍁 Morning Glory is Here at Last!
YES, it’s finally true … What’s the Story, Morning Glory, my brand-new and quirky memoir devotional is FINALLY here in both paperback and e-book, so I hope you check it out.
Why?
Well, for one reason, some realllly great authors endorsed it above, which totally blessed the socks off of me.
But the real reason you should check it out?
Because author endorsements are great, but the true test of a book is on the blog tour, where a ton of complete strangers (along with a few who know me and my books, of course) read and post their completely honest reviews for all the world to see.
YIKES! I don’t mind saying that I was more than a wee bit nervous 😰, sweating bullets since this was my very first nonfiction AND one I did NOT want to write, as you all know. But God had other ideas as you can hear in the following INTERVIEW VIDEO ON MORNING GLORY if you so desire.
So, I decided to let Him handle the blog tour and any reviews that came my way, good or bad. And, boy-oh-boy, did He!! Check out these amazing reviews out:
Here’s a peek at the Jacket Blurb and Table of Contents:
What’s the Story, Morning Glory?
A Memoir Devotional with a “Novel” Approach
to Practical Christianity
“DEAR LORD, JULIE … OUR WHOLE LIFE IS IN THIS BOOK!”
My heart went out to my sweet husband as he walked into our kitchen one day with a noticeable gulp, ashen-faced after reading my latest novel.“Yes, I know, babe,” I said with a repentant smile and a conciliatory hug, “but nobody really knows that.”
Ahem. Until now …
Trust me, “What’s the Story, Morning Glory? A Memoir Devotional with a ‘Novel’ Approach to Practical Christianity” is not a book I wanted to write. As a novelist, I have never been partial to nonfiction, either reading it or writing it, but I had little choice when God convinced me otherwise through a number of point-blank arm-twistings I couldn’t deny and not-so-gentle proddings from family and friends.
Despite all the encouragement, I wasn’t really sure where to begin. “It will be fiction and nonfiction combined,” the Holy Spirit whispered within, and just like that, the idea for this book took flight. First, I would tell my “real” and very personal story behind the life-lesson stories in my novels, then I would follow it up with the excerpt from my books where I teach that same life lesson to my characters, finally culminating in corresponding Scriptures, a bulleted “Takeaway” list, and a related prayer.
Thus, What’s the Story, Morning Glory: A Memoir Devotional with a “Novel” Approach to Practical Christianity was born. A memoir devotional that when combined with scenes from my novels, becomes a “novotional” where I relate the life lessons God personally taught me through His Word. I am simply a child of God who applied these lessons and Biblical precepts to every situation in my life and consequently, saw nonstop answers to prayer and blessings galore. It is my profound hope and prayer that through my own very simple and personal stories and examples, I can do the same for others. Therefore, the format for each chapter of this book will be as follows:
- The Real Story (How I learned and applied the spiritual lesson in my own life)
- The Novel Story (The scene where I teach the spiritual lesson to my characters)
- The Scripture Story (Scriptures applicable to the spiritual lesson)
- The Takeaway Story (Bulletized points for spiritual lesson in easy-to-read/apply format)
- The Prayer Story (Specific prayer related to the spiritual lesson)
Table of Contents
Introduction: Application of God’s Precepts (His Word) in Everyday Life
Dedication: Why I Wrote This Book
Chapter One: The Plight of Windowsill Jesus: My Background
Chapter Two: From Dark to Light: My Testimony
Chapter Three: From Fury to Faith: Overcoming Obstacles to our Faith: Anger, Bitterness, Self-Pity, Worry
Chapter Four: From Hot Mess to Healing: Inner Healing, Deep Dive into Heart and Soul
Chapter Five: To Heal an Achille’s Heel: Tempering a Temper
Chapter Six: From Hurt to Healed: The Footpath to Forgiveness
Chapter Seven: Herb Therapy: Application of God’s Precepts in the Workplace
Chapter Eight: From Promiscuity to Purity: Being Single in an Amoral World
Chapter Nine: From Single to Married: Marital Boot Camp
—The Gift of Singlehood
—Trusting God for a Mate
—Trusting Your Mate
—Submission vs. Respect
—Priorities
—Perspective: Taking a Spouse for Granted
—The Seeds of Adultery
—The Seeds of Divorce
—Anger and Forgiveness
—Do Not Let the Sun Go Down on Your Anger
Chapter Ten: Clean Heart, Dirty Diapers: My Struggle with Infertility
Chapter Eleven: Preventing Parenting Pitfalls: Tips for “Training Up a Child in the Way He Should Go”
Chapter Twelve: From Loss to Hope: Trusting God Through Tests and Trials
Chapter Thirteen: Writer’s Conference CPR—Cry, Pray, Repent: Attitude of Gratitude
Chapter Fourteen: My Career: Slaying the Dragons of
Rejection, Bitterness, Jealousy, and Idol Worship in Our Dreams
and Desires
Chapter Fifteen: From Sibling Rivalry to Restoration:
Healing Sibling Sorrow
Chapter Sixteen: The Abraham Factor: True Surrender—Turning Control Over to God
Chapter Seventeen: Eternal Perspective vs. Earthly
Perspective; Eternal Speech vs. Earthly Speech—The Key to a
Successful Life Story
Chapter Eighteen: From Ailing to Haling: Physical
and Spiritual Healing
Chapter Nineteen: Spiritual Warfare: Wielding Power
in the Name of Christ
A Note to My Readers
About the Author
Other Books by Julie Lessman
Notes
CLICK HERE FOR MORNING GLORY E-BOOK
AT RELEASE-DATE DISCOUNT
CLICK HERE FOR MORNING GLORY PAPERBACK
AT RELEASE-DATE DISCOUNT
🍁 Book Prices Are “Fall“-ing!
Okay, since we are now in the “fall” of the year, it only makes sense that some of my book prices are “falling” too, right? So check out all the sales below!
The Cousins O’Connor Series
Book 3: A Dare and a Prayer
If you like my books and miss the O’Connors AND haven’t read this series yet, I encourage you to take advantage of these sales because this is one of my favorite series I’ve ever written — especially Book 3, Henry’s story, A Dare and a Prayer!
This 4.7-⭐️ series is now at the lowest price ever (not counting a prior free-download sale for Book 1), so do check it out!
Book 3: A Dare and a Prayer
She’s an aspiring missionary who wants to beware.
He’s a hotshot who takes up a dare.
But will love become a gamble with a dare and a prayer
AND … to sweeten the deal, the entire series is on sale with book 1, A Wing and a Prayer, only 99¢, book 2, A Hope and a Prayer, only $1.99 (over 60% off!), and book 3, A Dare and a Prayer only $2.99 (over 60% off!).
Book 2: A Hope and a Prayer
Book 1: A Wing and a Prayer
30% SALE E-DOWNLOAD A DARE AND A PRAYER HERE
PAPERBACK OF A DARE AND A PRAYER HERE
Bk. 2, E-BOOK A HOPE AND A PRAYER, $1.99 HERE
PAPERBACK A HOPE AND A PRAYER HERE
- 1, A WING AND A PRAYER, 99¢ HERE
PAPERBACK, A WING AND A PRAYER HERE
VIDEO TRAILER FOR A WING AND A PRAYER HERE
The Isle of Hope Series
❤️🩵❤️ “CHRISTIAN WOW!” — Vince Mooney, Amazon Review
Check out this 4.67⭐️ AWARD-WINNING TRILOGY ON SALE W/FREE DOWNLOAD ON PREQUEL NOVELLA!
Isle of Hope listed on BOOKBUB’S “16 CHRISTIAN ROMANCE NOVELS READERS ARE GUARANTEED TO LOVE!” and FAMILY FICTION MAGAZINE’S “TOP 15 NOVELS OF 2015!”
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ “Lessman has carved out her own new subgenre: CHRISTIAN WOW! Read, Enjoy, and Feel the Power! Five Stars from Start to Finish!” — Vince Mooney, Amazon Review
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ “ABSOLUTELY the best book I’ve ever read by any Christian author.” — Anneta Allen, Amazon Review
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ “It is my book of the year.”—M. Barkman, Amazon Review
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ “Julie Lessman is one of the few authors I will dish out my own money to buy a book instead of getting it from the library.” — Alexia, Goodreads
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ “Punchy, passionate, and powerful! From characters with raw, penetrating emotions that tied me up in knots and tears, to the most compelling, God-given story-thread I’ve ever read on forgiveness.” — Noela Nancarrow, Overcoming With God blog.
FREE DOWNLOAD ON PREQUEL NOVEL
A GLIMMER OF HOPE HERE
BOOK 2, LOVE EVERLASTING, $2.99 HERE
BOOK 3, HIS STEADFAST LOVE, $2.99 HERE
I hope you enjoy the fall colors before we dive into the holiday season. Till then, God bless and …
HUGS,
♥️ Julie