Journal Jots – Blog

Scroll to end of blog for InD’tale contest!

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

His mercies never come to an end;they are new every morning;

great is His faithfulness.

 —Lamentations 3:22-24

Ah, new beginnings! The first day of a year, the first day of school, the first time you wear new clothes, the first page of a book, the first time you say “I love you,” the first time you hold your newborn in your arms—new beginnings, all, offering a future and a hope. There is nothing quite like that feeling of new, fresh, clean, the idea of starting over to get it right.

Only we never quite “get it right” as human beings, do we? Oh, sometimes we do, sure, but unfortunately, sin is inherent for everyone who draws air, which is why for me, Easter is the most important day of the year. A new beginning, a fresh start, a do-over where the precious blood of Jesus washes me clean and let’s me start over, reminding me once again that His mercies are “new” every morning and His love never ceases.

Why?

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,

plans for welfare and not for evil,to give you a future and a hope.

 —Jeremiah 29:11

A future and a hope—Easter in a eggshell, if you will. And yet, there have been too many times when my focus has been on dying eggs instead of a dying Savior Who gave His all so I could have a new beginning—not just every day of my life, but in the next as well.

So, I don’t know about you, but this Easter, I plan to focus on just how very important this day is to each and every one of us. Because without Easter—the death and resurrection of our Savior—there would be no fresh starts, no do-overs, no future and no hope.

I wish you and yours a MOST blessed Easter and fresh start with the Lover of your Soul!

Hugs!!

Julie

InD’tale Contest!

My interview in InD’tales Magazine is one of the most in-depth — and most important — I’ve ever done, so I hope you check it out! And to motivate you to do so, here’s a chance to not only have a character named after you in my next book, His Steadfast Love, which releases this summer, BUT … receive a signed copy of His Steadfast Love PLUS your choice of any two of my books, e-book or paperback.

Plus a FREE subscription to InD’tale Magazine! To subscribe, just go to the InD’tale Magazine website, scroll down to the bottom of the page, then click on the “Subscribe” link on the right side of the black bar. And if you do subscribe, be sure to indicate that in the Rafflecopter box below since it’s worth 5 points in my contest, okay? 

The contest runs through April, so GOOD LUCK!

Hugs and Happy Weekend!

Julie

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Scroll to end of blog for new contest!

My beloved is mine, and I am his;  he grazes among the lilies
until the day breathes and the shadows flee.

— Song of Solomon 2:16-17

Goodness, it’s been a while since we’ve talked because I’ve been spending most of my time traveling and writing book 3 in the Isle of Hope Series, His Steadfast Love. But I wanted to come out of hiding to let you know about a cool interview I did for InD’tales Magazine and announce a new contest.

As many of you know, my tagline is “Passion With a Purpose,” which means my whole purpose for writing novels in the first place was to provide a romantically (and spiritually) passionate alternative to secular romance, which as we all know caters to a world view that is amoral at best. So when InD’Tales Magazine — a secular review magazine begun by a Christian reviewer — asked me to be her featured author interview for the month of Easter to talk about my “Passion With a Purpose” style, I said yes.

Why? Because yes, there are sweet romances in the secular market without gratuitous sex, but you will go a long, LONG way before you find secular romance novels that line up with God’s precepts as far as sexual morality. And likewise, in a $1.08 billion-dollar industry (in 2013) you will go a long, LONG way before you find Christian romance novels that offer the romantic passion that most secular readers are looking for.

Before I was published, I read a statistic from an evangelical Christian polling firm called The Barna Group that totally shocked me. It claimed that “nine out of ten women in the U.S. profess some form of Christianity,” and yet the moral climate in our world would suggest otherwise.

“The stark reality is that 65 percent of ‘altar-bound’ singles — many of whom identify as ‘Christians’ — now live together before marriage,” says Charisma News Contributor Larry Tomczak.

I don’t know about you, but this bothers me A LOT because it’s not God’s precepts that have changed, it’s our world.

According to CNN, the blockbuster book and movie, Fifty Shades of Grey — labeled “mommy porn” by some — “has topped best-seller lists around the world, selling over 125 million copies worldwide by June 2015. It has been translated into 52 languages, and set a record in the United Kingdom as the fastest-selling paperback of all time.”

Why? Because passion is important! Not just to romance readers, but to everyone on the planet. We were created that way by a passionate God who analogizes His own depth of love for each of us in a very passionate love letter called “Song of Solomon.” And what happens? The world uses this beautiful, God-given gift to shove sin down peoples’ throats, and I, for one, am really sick of it. I want to use passion the way it was intended — to teach people God’s precepts and therein, His love. It’s the cry of my heart, and I hope and pray that for my readers, my stories of romantic passion translate into passion for God.

Giveaway!

So …  I’ve decided to run a contest in honor of my interview in InD’tales AND my Seeker blog this upcoming Wednesday, April 12, which will feature the editor-in-chief of InD’tales Magazine, T.J. Mackay speaking about “Christian Fiction in a Secular World: A Light Under The Bushel?” There will be a giveaway of choice of my books, so I hope you stop by. Here’s the link:

JULIE’S GIVEAWAY ON SEEKER BLOG WED., 4/12/17

New Contest Begins Sat., 4/8 at midnight!

My interview in InD’tales Magazine is one of the most in-depth — and most important — I’ve ever done, so I hope you check it out! And to motivate you to do so, here’s a chance to not only have a character named after you in my next book, His Steadfast Love, which releases this summer, BUT … receive a signed copy of His Steadfast Love PLUS your choice of any two of my books, e-book or paperback. The contest runs through April, and further details are in the Rafflecopter box below, so GOOD LUCK!

Hugs and Happy Weekend!

Julie

a Rafflecopter giveaway

“You have to put off being young

until you can retire.”

— Author Unknown

Ah, retirement! Even though my husband and I live in Missouri on the largest recreational lake in the United States, we are not retired no matter how much we might swim, boat, or fish. We just figured if we both worked at home, why not do that in front of a lake? Made perfect sense to us.

And it still does.

But I will admit, there is something magical about retiring to Florida. You see, we just got back from a week in Florida, where my retired prayer partner and her hubby rented a gorgeous house with an L-shaped pool for two months, and all I can say is, WOW!

Great weather, great food, great landscaping, great beaches, great activities, and great prayer time with my two prayer partners — sheer heaven!

But now we’re back to reality, which is pretty good too, I have to say, because I am having a lot of fun writing His Steadfast Love (am on Chapter Twenty-One so far).

Although I didn’t get much time to write in Florida, I am committed to Seekerville’s Speedbo, which is a cool writer’s incentive to write 1,000 words (or whatever goal you set) every day during the month of March. So far — March 3rd — I am on track, so prayers appreciated that I can get this book out in early summer. And any writers out there who would like to jump into Speedbo, it’s not too late, and it’s free, so I encourage you to do so.

We Have Winners!

Mega thanks to everyone who entered last week’s Rafflecopter contest to win one of my indie e-books and a signed paper copy of SPARK Magazine, which includes my flash fiction piece for an alternate ending to Gone With the Wind.

The five winners have their choice of an e-copy of A Light in the Window, Romance-ology 101, A Glimmer of Hope Rewrite, Isle of Hope, or Love Everlasting). OR … for those winners who already have all of those indie books, I will be happy to put you on my e-book list for the first copies of book 3 in the series, His Steadfast Love, which I hope to release this summer.

So, SUPER CONGRATS and THANKS to the following winners. I will contact each of you personally.

Hilda Simmons

Sonnetta Jones

Abigail Allen

Kerri

Julie Jobe

Newsflash!!

Whoa, baby … I just found out that the February issue of SPARK Magazine, which includes my alternate ending for Gone With the Wind, is available for FREE DOWNLOAD when you take advantage of the FREE SUBSCRIPTION to Splickety, so all you have to do is send a blank email with “Subscribe” in the subject line to:  info@splickety.com

Deal Alert on Love at Any Cost!

If you have never read book 1 in the Heart of San Francisco series, NOW is the time to do so! Love at Any Cost, which is one of my favorite and most fun books, is only 79 cents to 99 cents for a brief time, so check out the fabulous video below!

VIDEO FOR LOVE AT ANY COST

The entire Heart of San Francisco series is a lot of fun — shorter, funnier, and less complicated than the O’Connor saga, but I promise you that with a wise-cracking parrot, a crotchety cook, and a near deaf and blind butler, there’s a LOT of fun in store with the McClares. So DO check it out because LAAC contains one of the best kissing scenes I have ever written (hint: in a billiard room).

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

CBD (79 cents)

Giveaway!

Join me in Seekerville on Wednesday, March 8 for my blog entitled, “Back-Peddling on the Road to Success.”

I will be giving away one of my e-books and a signed paper copy of SPARK Magazine, which includes my flash fiction piece for an alternate ending to Gone With the Wind, so do come on by to leave a comment.

That’s all for now, so

HAPPY WEEKEND!

Hugs,

Julie