Sunday, August 25, 2024

CALLING ALL BLOGGERS!

A LITTLE HELP FOR MY FRIENDS!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR NOV. 1-14 FOR PRIZES GALORE!

SUMMER SALES, ANYONE?

Read my prior blog including excerpt from Henry’s story HERE!

Calling All Bloggers!

ARE YOU A BLOGGER WHO WOULD LIKE TO REVIEW MY NEW DEVOTIONAL?

If so, you can sign up now for the blog tour scheduled for SEPTEMBER 24-28, 2024, handled by JustRead Blog Tours. All you have to do is sign up at the following link:

SIGN-UP HERE FOR
“WHAT’S THE STORY,
MORNING GLORY?”
BLOG TOUR

Regrettably, per JustRead rules, the tour is open to Bloggers only (Instagram & other social media accounts do not count as blogs for tour purposes), and the tour has digital copies only. (Only 1 copy of the book will be provided for the same host on multiple tours of this title.)

BUT … for Journal Jot bloggers, if you sign up for my blog tour and state you are a Journal Jot reader, I will personally send you a signed paperback copy of the book after the blog tour is over, so just contact me through my website.

For those of you who are non-bloggers, the e-book is now available for pre-order, and I am hoping the paperback will be available for a pre-order discount very soon as well, prior to the release date of October 1, 2024.

As mentioned in my last blog, this is the HARDEST book I have ever written and the one which I have been under the most attack from the enemy, so I’m pretty sure the devil hates it. Hopefully, you will like it because this is God’s book more than mine, chock-full of spiritual lessons God has taught me in my marriage, in raising my children, and in life in general, so I hope it blesses you.

Here’s the jacket blurb:

“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:

1. 1. The Real Story (How I learned and applied the spiritual lesson in my own life)
  2. The Novel Story (The scene where I teach the spiritual lesson to my characters)
  3. The Scripture Story (Scriptures applicable to the spiritual lesson)
  4. The Takeaway Story (Bulletized points for spiritual lesson in easy-to-read/apply format)
  5. The Prayer Story (Specific prayer related to the spiritual lesson)

I pray this bottom-line, albeit somewhat quirky, 1-2-3 devotional blesses you as much as God’s spiritual life lessons have blessed me! Once the paperback is available for pre-order, I will send out another Journal Jot, but till then, you can pre-order the e-book below:

PRE-ORDER DEVOTIONAL AT REDUCED RATE HERE

A Little Help for my Friends!

I very seldom do promotion of fellow authors or artists on my blog, but today I am going to make an exception.

The first friend I want to promote is Abigail Sloane, one of my long-time readers who is now a prominent Christian music artist that writes her own songs and performs them around the country.

Abbie is a beautiful young woman who is on fire for Christ and relates that passion in her music, particularly to ‘the broken and the hurting,’ proclaiming through Christ and her music ‘that there are better days ahead.’

“As someone who has battled depression and fought dark days, she wishes to equip those who hear her music with the same weapons that helped her to fight past the deepest nights. Her faith is what keeps her grounded and humble and she finds deep connections with those who are in her life. She seeks to make connections with more and more people that might need to hear words of encouragement.”

The biggest reason I wanted to promote Abbie (other than the fact she is adorable and a dear friend) is because of her newest record, Come Like the Rain, which touched me deeply. As a wordsmith, naturally I read the words first, then listened to the song, and it was SO powerful, I literally had to blink through tears in my eyes. I encourage to to take a listen by clicking on the title below to hear the song, and I promise you will LOVE it!

Come Like The Rain

The earth is groaning it’s crying out
For living water, here in this drought.
Wandering in wilderness, lost in a desert place
We need your mercy, Lord pour it out

So come like the rain
And take my last breath away
Fill my lungs with amazing grace
God we need you
We receive you
Oh, so come like the rain
Let me fall under every wave
I wanna be swept away
God we need you
We receive you
Oh, so come

A storm is coming, a holy flood
We’ll see the nations washed in your blood
So come fill this place
We know you will rule and reign
We want to see your kingdom come

One day every knee will bow before you
Every heart and every tongue will confess
You alone are Lord of salvation
Jesus, my Jesus

So come like the rain
And take my last breath away
Fill my lungs with amazing grace
God we need you
We receive you

Oh, so come like the rain
Let me fall under every wave
I wanna be swept away
God we need you
We receive you
Oh, so come

Oh, I want to be swept away
God we need you
We receive you
Oh, so come

Next, I’d like to introduce you to an up-and-coming Christian author, Melissa LaShure, who is releasing Book One in her Bounty Brothers series, Unwavering Faith, on February 1st, but you can YOU can read the first nine chapters for free by visiting her writer’s website, LiteraryScape.

What’s it about? Well, here’s the tagline—Tombstone Meets Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman—but you can check out lots of info and videos about the series on her crowdfunding campaign page HERE.

A lover of the Wild West, romance, and adventure, Melissa is launching her crowdfunding campaign to fund the publication of her book Unwavering Faith, a truly unique historical Christian suspense romance novel that I know you will enjoy, so I hope you check her links out.

Mark Your Calendar for Nov. 1-14 for Giveaways Galore!

WHY? Because I will be back on Mysti’s Book Nook giving away TONS of prizes including gift cards, books, and characters named for you or a loved one in my next book.

We will be discussing A Dare and a Prayer, Book 3 in my Cousins O’Connor Series, Henry’s story, so mark your calendar now to join us.

AND … if you haven’t read Henry’s story yet (it’s one of my absolute faves!), now’s the chance to do so because Henry is on sale for 30% off and I guarantee you will LOVE him! Here’s the jacket blurb:

He’s a hotshot who takes up a dare.
She’s an aspiring missionary who wants to beware.
But will love become a gamble with a dare 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, $2.99 HERE

PAPERBACK A HOPE AND A PRAYER HERE

BK. 1, A WING AND A PRAYER, $2.99 HERE

PAPERBACK, A WING AND A PRAYER HERE

VIDEO TRAILER FOR A WING AND A PRAYER HERE

Summer Sales, Anyone?

❤️🩵❤️ “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.

ISLE OF HOPE at $.99 HERE

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

Hugs and Happy Reading! ♥️
Julie