Journal Jots – Blog
Welcome to my Journal Jots blog! This is a broad mix of what’s on my mind, allowing me to feel a little bit closer to some of the most important people in my life—YOU! From news on sales, freebies, giveaways, new releases, and excerpts from works in progress … to my thoughts on my walk with God, daily devotionals, or photos of my family, this is where you’ll find the most current glimpse into my books and my life. I invite you to subscribe in the “subscribe” box on the right side of this page to automatically receive an email whenever I post a blog. Till then, God bless and HAPPY READING!
Friday, February 12, 2016
Welcome to the
❤️ IT’S TIME TO FALL IN LOVE ❤️
Treasure Hunt!
Ready for today’s treasure hunt? Good!
Just read the blog below and answer the question
in the Rafflecopter box at the end of this post.
New to the hunt? No worries!
Details on what you can win and how
can be found HERE.
Welcome to my Journal Jots Blog!
My latest novel release — Isle of Hope — is not only my first contemporary novel (I am primarily known as a historical author in the CBA), but it’s somewhat biographical as well because it is loosely based on my own estranged relationship with my father after he kicked me out of the house when I was 21.
Isle of Hope is the story of a woman who has recently come to Christ and the first thing God tells her to do is to heal her relationship with her father, who kicked her out eight years earlier. At that time she was a good girl gone wild, engaged to a pastor’s son who planned to be a minister. But when the hero’s minister father has an affair with the heroine’s mother, the tragedy tears both families apart as well as the heroine’s relationship with her boyfriend.
So … eight years later, she’s back to make amends to the father she defied, the boyfriend she deserted, and the best friend she betrayed. Only this time the tables are turned because now she’s the Christian and he’s the bad boy who wants nothing to do with God.
I’m excited to say that not only did Isle of Hope hit Amazon’s Bestseller List, but it currently has a 5-star rating on Amazon as well, with 108 reviews. So, without further ado, here is part of the first chapter in which you’ll find the answer needed to today’s Rafflecopter question.
Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in Him.
—Psalm 32:10
Chapter One
Isle of Hope, Georgia, Early Summer
When it comes to burning bridges, I am the Queen of Kerosene.
Puffing out a wispy sigh, Lacey Carmichael squinted into the rearview mirror to make sure the coast was clear, then dragged her bulging purse onto the seat with an unladylike grunt. The action caused her dusty blue Honda to swerve on Skidaway Road—along with her stomach.
Oh, crud! She straightened the wheel with a jerk, body rattling more than her 2008 Honda after a cross-country trip. Her gaze flicked to the mirror, and relief coursed like high tide. The road behind revealed nothing but palms and Georgia pines, silent sentinels ushering her home.
Home. Where full moons rose over the marsh and the scent of wisteria embraced summer nights. Where the lazy lull of river grasses swayed in the breeze, soothing a sleepy coastal community that burrowed into one’s memory like a long-lost friend. A haven where tidy cottages nestled next to lush antebellum homes, evoking a postcard setting that harkened back to a simpler time.
A simpler time?
Lacey sucked in a deep draw of the rich and humid low-country air that was pungent with the salty smell of the marsh, and instantly zipped back eight years to a time that had been anything but simple. Memories of an eighteen-year-old wild child constricted her throat. A rebel daughter who’d bolted from the hometown that had been anything but a home. Her shoulders slumped as she passed the Piggly Wiggly.
What am I doing here?
She cut loose with another gust of ragged air while her eyes focused straight ahead. Returning to the scene of the crime. The charred debris of all the mistakes that I’ve made. One hand welded to the steering wheel, she rifled through her studded leather purse with the other, fingers fumbling on a tube of lip-gloss. With amazing dexterity, she untwirled the screw-on cap and applied “Ooh La La,” then puckered her lips. Now if she could only gloss over her past as easily …
The BP loomed ahead and she slapped on her blinker, veering in to park at the closest empty pump. Her car squealed to a stop at the exact moment the contents of her purse careened to the floor. Lacey, you lead foot—when are you going to learn? Mumbling under her breath, she turned the car off and leaned to pick up the spilled items. A woman’s high-pitched laughter suddenly riddled the air, desecrating the sacred strains of Justin Timberlake from a radio nearby.
“Jack, you bad boy,” a woman’s sultry voice said, drifting from the other side of the pump, “what am I going to do with you?”
“Well, I know a few things that come to mind.”
Lacey shot up. Her head slammed against the glove compartment. She blinked through a haze of stars at the car on the other side of the pump, too dazed to feel the pain.
That voice. The same voice that had once uttered a proposal of marriage and swore to love her forever. Goose bumps popped as her breathing shallowed. A second onslaught of female laughter grated in her ears, and when she inched up to peer out the window of her Honda, her stomach immediately took a dive.
Whenever she allowed herself to think of Jack O’Bryen—which wasn’t often—she convinced herself that memories made people and things far better than they’d actually been.
Yeah, right. Hands propped to the driver’s door of a brand-new cherry-red BMW Z4, Jack O’Bryen appeared every bit the hottie he’d been when they’d first started dating over ten years ago. Only now he was taller, his previously lanky frame more filled out, and his physique tighter. Once shaggy chestnut hair, a byproduct of college days, was now trimmed neat and clean at the nape of his neck. He casually scratched the back of his head with a bulge of a bicep that made her mouth go dry, then slacked a narrow hip to the door. “The nozzle leaked, so I’m going in to wash my hands—need anything?” he asked the blonde.
Lacey moaned inwardly. Yeah. Distance—lots and lots of distance. She’d expected to run into Jack eventually, but now? Her first two minutes in town? She fought the urge to roll her eyes. Really? Heaven knows she wasn’t ready. Not even after eight years. She caught a glimpse of his tight, faded jeans and swallowed hard.
God help me, will I ever be?
The blonde shook her head, letting fly with another nauseating giggle that was sheer blasphemy against the strains of Never Again, a song that fit perfectly with the theme of Lacey’s homecoming.
Never again would she turn her back on the people she loved.
Never again would she seek her will over God’s.
Never again would she give her all to Jack O’Bryen.
The man in question disappeared into the station, and Lacey dove for her keys. She cranked the ignition and groaned. The gas needle lay prostrate; so far beyond “E” it was on “F” for fumes. She shot a glance at the Barbie Doll applying hot-pink shimmer to Angelina Jolie lips and then at the station where Jack was nowhere to be seen, and decided to chance it. If memory served, the ladies’ room was on the opposite side of the building from the men’s—the perfect place to hide.
She could do this.
Jerking the handle, she flung the door wide and slammed it too hard, obviously distracting the blonde from her makeover as she looked up. Lacey offered a nervous smile and made a beeline for the station door, purse clutched to her chest while her gaze darted across the store. Ignoring the curious looks of bystanders, she sprinted to the ladies’ room, rib cage heaving as she gripped the knob and turned. Thank you, Lord, home free!
“Lacey? Lacey Carmichael?”
Her eyelids sank closed as her stomach contracted, hand now grafted to the door. Warding off a wave of dizziness, she willed herself to turn around, but her smile felt as cardboard as the Timberwolf Chewing Tobacco display over Jack’s shoulder.
“Hello, Jack.” Her voice was little more than a squeak as she peered up at “Bridge #1,” the man whose heart she’d stomped on eight years prior without ever looking back.
❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️
OKAY … to enter my contest for a $50 GIFT CARD, A COPY OF A GLIMMER OF HOPE, A COPY OF ISLE OF HOPE, AND A CHARACTER NAMED AFTER YOU IN MY NEXT BOOK, just answer the question for February 12 in the Rafflecopter box at the bottom of this page.
NEXT … before you go, make sure you WRITE DOWN THE FOLLOWING WORD CLUE in our 15-word sentence that you’ll need to enter the Kindle giveaway Feb. 29–March 3.
WORD CLUE #5 — STORIES
THEN HEAD ON OVER TO DEBBIE’S AND MARYLU’S BLOGS FOR MORE CLUES AND PRIZES.
Happy Treasure Hunting & Good Luck!
PLEASE NOTE: ENTRY FOR THE FOLLOWING KINDLE GIVEAWAY DOESN’T BEGIN
UNTIL FEBRUARY 29 AFTER ALL BLOGS HAVE BEEN VIEWED AND WORD CLUES COLLECTED.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Welcome to the
❤️ IT’S TIME TO FALL IN LOVE ❤️
Treasure Hunt!
Welcome to the “IT’S TIME TO FALL IN LOVE” treasure hunt where Debbie Lynne Costello, MaryLu Tyndall, and I are celebrating the release of our latest books with some fabulous prizes, including a Kindle Fire, Amazon gift cards, gift baskets, books galore … AND a character named after you in my next book!
YOU HAVE 2 CHANCES TO WIN AND HERE’S HOW:
1.) Individual Blog Treasure Hunts:
Debbie, MaryLu, and I are giving away separate prizes on each of our blogs per the schedule below, so be sure to come by all three blogs on the days listed. Then, simply enter each of our individual contests via the Rafflecopter box at the bottom of our blog pages. You can then earn extra chances each day of the schedule by answering a question that pertains to that particular blog on that particular day.
Links for Each of our Blogs:
Debbie Lynne Costello — http://theswordandspirit.blogspot.com
Julie Lessman — http://www.julielessman.com/journal-jots1/
MaryLu Tyndall — http://www.marylutyndall.com
Treasure Hunt Schedule:
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Friday, February 12, 2016
Friday, February 19, 2016
Friday, February 26, 2016
Monday, February 29, 2016
Friday, March 4, 2016 — Winner’s Announced
Kindle Fire Treasure Hunt:
1.) While you are visiting each of our blogs per the schedule above, simply collect the “treasure hunt clue” listed at the bottom of the page and write it down.
2.) Continue to collect all the clues at each of our blogs on the specified dates.
3.) Once you collect the final word clue on Monday, February 29, you will have a 15-word sentence that will allow you to enter the Kindle Fire Giveaway by entering that sentence in the Kindle Rafflecopter box on any of our blogs.
WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON EACH OF OUR BLOGS SIMULTANEOUSLY ON FRIDAY, MARCH 4TH, GOOD LUCK!
❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️
Meanwhile, to get you pumped for our new releases, here’s the jacket blurb for my latest release, A Glimmer of Hope, which is the prequel novella for my brand-new contemporary Isle of Hope. A Glimmer of Hope is available for PREORDER now at 66% off the release date price, so take advantage!
She’s a wounded girl
serving up trouble.
He’s a pastor’s kid bent on serving God.
But can they find a glimmer of hope
for a future together?
From the moment Jack O’Bryen kissed the sixteen-year-old tomboy next door, he knew he would love her forever. Lacey Carmichael was everything he’d ever wanted—intelligent, warm, and brimming with life, the perfect complement to his serious and sensible self. A girlfriend who not only shared his faith, but he hoped his future as well, the perfect mate for a would-be pastor.
Eighteen-year-old Lacey Carmichael has dreamed of marrying Jack O’Bryen since she was twelve years old, the boy next door who always picked up the pieces after her father shattered her heart. But when her cousin leads her astray while Jack’s away at school and her father’s rejection soars to new heights, Lacey finds herself at odds with the boy that she loves, not only jeopardizing their relationship, but Jack’s faith and heart as well.
❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜❤️
NEWSFLASH!!
AND … in honor of Valentine’s month AND this treasure hunt, my new contemporary, Isle of Hope, is on sale for 1/2 OFF THE REGULAR PRICE for five days only, so I hope you take advantage! It has a 5-star rating on Amazon with 108 reviews, and here’s what others are saying:
THANKS FOR STOPPING BY! BE SURE TO ENTER MY RAFFLECOPTER BOX BELOW TO BE ELIGIBLE TO WIN THE FOLLOWING:
❤️ $50 AMAZON GIFT CARD
❤️ A SIGNED PAPERBACK OR E-COPY OF ISLE OF HOPE AND AN E-COPY OF A GLIMMER OF HOPE.
❤️ A CHARACTER NAMED AFTER YOU IN MY NEXT BOOK!
AND … before you go, make sure you WRITE DOWN THE FOLLOWING WORD CLUE in our 15-word sentence that you’ll need to enter the Kindle giveaway on Feb. 29–March 3.
WORD CLUE #2 — CREATED
THEN HEAD ON OVER TO DEBBIE’S AND MARYLU’S BLOGS FOR MORE CLUES AND PRIZES.
Happy Treasure Hunting & Good Luck!
PLEASE NOTE: ENTRY FOR THE FOLLOWING KINDLE GIVEAWAY DOESN’T BEGIN
UNTIL FEBRUARY 29 AFTER ALL BLOGS HAVE BEEN VIEWED AND WORD CLUES COLLECTED.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Friday, February 5, 2016
Which is why Valentine’s Day is SO important to the human race. And why the romance genre romance sales exceed $1.08 billion each year.
Because people love “LOVE”!!
So to celebrate Valentine’s Month — the official month of “LOVE” — I have a whole bunch of LOVE-ly sales and giveaways I’d like to tell you about.
But first … let’s announce the winner of my LOVE LETTERS giveaway from last week, who will receive an early ecopy of A Glimmer of Hope WAY before it releases. Thank you to everyone who came by to say “hey” — I wish each and every one of you could win. But unfortunately, only one person can, and that person is:
Lynne Feuerstein
So, SUPER CONGRATS to Lynne! As soon as I have the formatted ecopy, you will be sent a copy, which will probably be next week. 🙂
💜❤️💜
SALES, GIVEAWAYS, & NEW RELEASE!
💜❤️💜
It’s Valentine’s Month, so how about a little love??
❤️ 1/2-PRICE SALE!
Here’s the chance to get my brand-new contemporary, Isle of Hope, for 50% off the normal price for five days only — FEBRUARY 10-14, 2016 — so mark your calendars!!
Can a wild girl gone good
rebuild bridges with a good boy gone bad?
She’s the girlfriend serving up temptation.
He’s the pastor’s kid bent on serving God.
Till tragedy separates them for eight long years.
Now she’s a woman of faith, back to make amends to the father she defied,
the boyfriend she deserted, and the best friend she betrayed.
But can a turning of tables—and hearts—
lead the way back to “hope” for them all?
ORDER ISLE OF HOPE HERE AT 50% OFF FEB. 7-14, 2016!
SEE CHARACTER PIX AND READ FIRST CHAPTER HERE!
❤️ 2/3 OFF-PRICE SALE!
Blake “The Rake’s” story, “GRACE LIKE RAIN,” is ON SALE at 66% off the orginal price, so DO check it out in the WITH THIS KISS HISTORICAL COLLECTION, ESPECIALLY since you also got novellas from four other award-winning authors, including Mary Connealy, Pam Hillman, Cara Lynn James, and Ruth Logan Herne. AND be sure to check out the WITH THIS KISS CONTEMPORARY COLLECTION as well, ALSO 2/3 off the original price! Here’s the links for both collections and HAPPY READING!!
WITH THIS KISS HISTORICAL COLLECTION
WITH THIS KISS CONTEMPORARY COLLECTION
❤️ PRE-ORDER SALE FOR NEW RELEASE!
A prequel novella to Isle of Hope?? Yes, it’s true, A GLIMMER OF HOPE is on sale for only 99 cents until it’s release date of March 1st, 66% off of the release-day price, so take advantage!
She’s a wounded girl
serving up trouble.
He’s a pastor’s kid
bent on serving God.
But can they find a glimmer of hope
for a future together?
❤️ FOUR GIVEAWAYS!!
Here’s your chance to win a Kindle Fire, Amazon gift cards, gift baskets, a character named after you in my next book, twelve books by top CBA authors, more free books, and a whole lot more!! How?
1.) BOOK LOVER’S GIVEAWAY
Feb. 7-13, 2016:
Win 12 paperback books by the following TOP CBA authors and me:
Hannah Alexander, Tamera Alexander, Colleen Coble, Robin Lee Hatcher, Rachel Hauck, Denise Hunter, Julie Lessman, Cara Putman, Deborah Raney, Beth Vogt, Becky Wade, and Susan May Warren
JUST CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW ANYTIME DURING FEB. 7–13 AND GOOD LUCK!!
2.) IT’S TIME TO FALL IN LOVE TREASURE HUNT
Feb. 10-29, 2016:
Join Debbie Lynne Costello, MaryLu Tyndall, and me as we celebrate the release of our latest books with some fabulous prizes, including 2 Kindles, Amazon gift cards, gift baskets, and books galore!
VISIT EACH OF OUR BLOGS FEB. 10-29 FOR RULES AND TREASURE HUNT CLUES.
3.) BLOG BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY/CONTEST!
Feb. 5-11, 2016:
Come help me celebrate blogger Jasmine Augustine’s birthday with a giveaway of A CHARACTER NAMED AFTER YOU IN MY NEXT BOOK and your choice of an ecopy of Isle of Hope or A Glimmer of Hope! Contest starts today, February 5 through February 11, so come on by! Here’s the link:
JASMINE’S BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY/CONTEST!
4.) SEEKERVILLE GIVEAWAY!
Wed., Feb. 10, 2016:
Join me on Seekerville when I celebrate Valentine’s month with a blog entitled KISSES, KISSES, KISSES, where I will highlight different types of kisses along with some of my favorite ones I’ve ever written. Hope to see you there! Here’s the link:
HUGS AND HAPPY WEEKEND — GO WIN A BOOK!!
JULIE
Meet Julie
