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, October 24, 2014
Squee!!!!!
Sorry, but this is the boy-crazy juvenile delinquent in me coming out, because today … TODAY … I am going to give you a link that gave me heart palpitations.
Okay, I guess it’s a little crazy for a woman my age to feel that way, but when you see older pix of the male model who personified your first hero in your debut book, well, I’m sorry, you have a tendency to swoon. Or at least I did when I saw older pix of “Collin McGuire.” Not all of them, mind you, but one or two definitely ramped up the sigh factor for sure.
So … are you ready??? Deep breath … here’s the link, but make sure you come back:
Whew!
Yes, some people are downright gorgeous, but you know what? Most of us are just downright normal with all kinds of human failings going on like the crooked teeth I had in my 20s before I got braces after I got married, or the gray hair beneath my Loreal Paris 6G Light Golden Brown. Sigh. Makes a girl feel downright old, you know?
And then … I read the following line in my devotional yesterday morning from Jesus Calling, which I don’t mind saying is one of THE BEST devotional books EVER!
Open your mind and your heart to receive
My heavenly smile of approval.
WOW. I read that, and immediately the tears began to well because the truth is all of us are looking for approval, desperate to know that someone really and truly loves us JUST THE WAY WE ARE, gray hairs and all.
And you know what? I suddenly realized ALL OVER AGAIN that God loves me — and you — with an unconditional love so real and pure that it’s not based on how pretty or cute we are or how much money or success we obtain. Nope, instead it’s rather like a mother giving birth to a child. All logic and reason says that anybody who causes a mother that much pain in giving birth (with or without an epidural!) should be hated rather than loved. But what happens? The minute the pain is gone, mothers are enraptured, bewitched, and completely besotted by a tiny, wrinkly little being who sleeps, cries, and poops around the clock.
So why do we love them? Most babies are not particularly good-looking or kind or loving or anything we would covet. Instead they’re work and pain and sacrifice, inflicting a lifestyle change unlike most things we could ever encounter. And yet, loving them is as natural as breathing because they are blood. Just like we are to God, sons and daughters saved by the precious Blood of Jesus.
I don’t know what your insecurities are right now, but I do know mine, and in the face of Jesus’ unfailing love — which, incidentally, is the title of book one of my Isle of Hope series — they are nothing. Because we are loved — just as we are — by a God Whose love never fails and never ends.
Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
— Psalms 36:5
I have loved you with a love that lasts forever.
And so with unfailing love, I have drawn you to myself.
— Jeremiah 31:3
So, sometime today, stop and take a moment to look up and tell Him “thanks” for all He has done for you, not the least of which is to cherish you … treasure you … and die for you.
Hugs and Happy Weekend!
Julie
FUN AND GIVEAWAYS, SO MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!
OCTOBER IS BIRTHDAY MONTH IN SEEKERVILLE!!:
Question: Why should you care??
Answer: Because besides finding some realllly great articles on writing and Christian fiction, you could also win one of FOUR $50 gift cards and iPad Mini! ‘Nuff said. 🙂 Here’s the link:
http://seekerville.blogspot.com/
OCTOBER 20 – NOVEMBER 8, 2014:
Join me on Margaret Chind’s blog, Creative Madness Mama, for an interview and giveaway of winner’s choice of any of my books, including my latest release, Surprised by Love!
OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 6, 2014:
Join me on the Relz Review blog for an interview and giveaway of winner’s choice of any of my books, including my latest release, Surprised by Love!
NOVEMBER 14, 2014:
Join me on The Journey blog where you can win your choice of any of my books, including my latest release, Surprised by Love!
NOVEMBER 17, 2014:
Get lost in a story with me on the “Get Lost in a Story” blog where you can win your choice of any of my books, including my latest release, Surprised by Love!
http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/
NOVEMBER 24-DECEMBER 8, 2014:
Join me on The Artist Librarian blog for an interview and giveaway of winner’s choice of any of my books, including my latest release, Surprised by Love!
http://theartistlibrarian.blogspot.com/
DECEMBER 1-7, 2014:
Join me on the Carole Jarvis’ blog for an interview and giveaway of winner’s choice of any of my books, including my latest release, Surprised by Love!
http://booksmusicandlife.blogspot.com/
OCTOBER SALES!!
In honor of my latest release, Surprised by Love, my publisher has put the two prior books in the “Heart of San Francisco” series on sale as well, at savings of 66% for Dare to Love Again to 80% for Love at Any Cost, so take advantage!! Here are the links:
LOVE AT ANY COST (Book 1):
DARE TO LOVE AGAIN (Book 2):
CHRISTMAS IS COMING AND A LIGHT IN THE WINDOW IS STILL ON SALE!! My Irish Christmas love story, A Light in the Window—winner of three awards—is only 99 cents, so PLEASE PASS THE WORD, and here’s the video to help you! ALITW Video.
MITCH & CHARITY CHRISTMAS NOVELLA RELEASES NOVEMBER 10 AND AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER FOR ONLY $2.99! WHOO-HOO … I am very excited to announce that I am part of a Seeker Historical Christmas novella collection called Hope for the Holidays Historical Collection that not only features a story on Mitch and Charity, but novellas by Mary Connealy, Ruth Logan Herne, and Myra Johnson.
In addition to this historical collection, The Seekers are also releasing a contemporary Hope for the Holidays Contemporary Collection as well, so be sure to check both out on Amazon November 10.
Here’s the blurb for Mitch and Charity’s story, which is called A Whisper of Hope:
Christmas is the season of hope, which is exactly what Charity O’Connor Dennehy is counting on. Since the birth of her twins twelve years ago, she’s prayed and hoped for a houseful of babies to love, but it wasn’t meant to be. With a husband dead-set against adoption, there’s barely a whisper of hope to change his mind, but if hope doesn’t disappoint … could it be enough to find a precious bundle under her tree?
Friday, October 17, 2014
Ahhh ….
I’m sitting on my lower deck with feet up, facing the woods that are just beginning to shimmer with autumn color, reflecting on where I’ve been the last eight months and where I’m going in the months ahead. So I thought I would devote this Journal Jot to those two subjects, but trust me—you do NOT want to miss next week’s Journal Jot because, baby, do I have a treat for you!
You see, one of the things I did in the last eight months was attend the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference, and I learned a very important piece of information. Uh, like the full name of the model who posed for Collin on the cover of A Passion Most Pure. So, being the boy-crazy juvenile delinquent I am, of course I looked him up on Google Image and sweet saints in heaven, did my drool factor go through the roof! Trust me, girls, you really don’t want to miss next week. 🙂
Now that I’ve whet your appetite for something from my past (A Passion Most Pure), let me do it some more by giving you a sneak peek as to my future—specifically, my writing future. As many of you know, I just came off an 8-month sabbatical where I focused on God, family, and writing for the sheer joy of writing again, without contracts and deadlines. Which means, of course, that I’m eight months behind in getting another book/series published, but I am ¾ of the way through book one of a new series called Isle of Hope for which I “hope” to have a contract in the near future.
Book one of this series is called Unfailing Love (working title) and I’m happy to say that my agent read both the synopsis and first chapter and absolutely loved it, much to my relief. I honestly haven’t seen her this excited since A Passion Most Pure, which is good because I am hoping that Unfailing Love will be the contemporary book of my heart like A Passion Most Pure was the historical book of my heart.
What’s really cool about this new series of mine is where it takes place. You see, I knew I wanted an island on the Eastern Seaboard, and I’ve always loved Savannah and Charleston, so I looked on a map and lo and behold, found a place called Isle of Hope, Georgia! It’s a peninsula fifteen minutes outside of Savannah that turns into an island when the tide comes in. It’s such a pretty place, that a number of movies have been filmed there, including parts of Forrest Gump and it has a very rich Civil War history.
Anyway, it’s the PERFECT setting for my new contemporary series, which is about restoration of “hope” for two close families who were devastated by the sins of the fathers. Loosely based on my own life, the heroine was a wild child who was kicked out of the house at the age of eighteen by a father she hated. Consequently, she leaves Isle of Hope, turning her back on the father she defied, the fiancé she betrayed, and best friends she’d left without ever saying goodbye.
Now, eight years later, she returns as a new Christian, determined to make amends. But because of an affair between her mother and the hero’s father who was a minister, the hero (who’d planned to become a minister himself), turns his back on God. So when the heroine returns, there’s a complete role reversal—the once-wild girl is now the good girl, and the former seminary-student hero is now the bad boy.
Of course, I will keep you updated through Journal Jots whenever I have any news about when it will be published, but here’s a glimpse of the first page of the synopsis I gave my agent for Unfailing Love.
May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.
—Psalms 33:22
UNFAILING LOVE
Isle of Hope, Georgia, Summer 2014
When it came to burning bridges, she was the Queen of Kerosene.
The last thing twenty-six-year-old Lacey Carmichael wants to do is return home after eight years to face the people she’d burned. But as a brand-new Christian, her faith compels her to make amends—be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. — Ephesians 4:32.
Of course, the issue isn’t whether she could forgive them. Nope, she’d already made her mind up on that by moving back to Isle of Hope to help her cousin Nicky plan for her wedding. The problem lies in them forgiving her— the estranged father she’d defied, the fiancé she’d ditched, and the best friends she’d turned her back on without saying goodbye.
While driving across the narrow bridge into Isle of Hope, the smell of the rich, Low country marsh captures her all over again, zipping her back eight years to the last time she saw Jack O’Bryen, her fiancé, neighbor, and brother of her best friend. Their last night before he left for seminary college was tainted by an awful fight when her father found them making out down on the dock, defiling her with names no father should ever call a daughter. “Nothing happened, sir,” Jack bit out, her father’s condemnation invoking a rare flash of temper. “Lacey’s a good girl—and I plan to make her my wife.”
Only Lacey never gave him the chance.
When Jack O’Bryen is the first person she runs into on Isle of Hope upon her return, it becomes all too clear that building bridges is far more difficult than burning them. Eyes glazed with shock, Jack’s welcome is hardly warm, a cool encounter tight with bitterness. His initial response matches his sister Maureen’s (Moe) to a scowl—once Lacey’s best friend—when he delivers the bad news to his family that Lacey Carmichael is back in town.
So … that’s my “future,” so to speak, now let’s move to the “past” of what I’ve been doing all year. And since I’ve already spent WAY too many words above, I’m going to give you a picture panorama of my year, which will follow the announcements below, so.
Hugs and have a GREAT WEEK!!
Julie
OCTOBER SALE ON BOOKS 1 & 2 IN THE “HEART OF SAN FRANCISCO” SERIES!! In honor of the October release of book 3, Surprised by Love, my publisher is offering discounts from 66-80% on the other two books, Love at Any Cost and Dare to Love Again throughout the month of October, so don’t miss out!
FREE DOWNLOAD CONTINUES!! Yes, it’s true, my debut novel A Passion Most Pure—American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Debut Book of the Year with 1,327 five-star ratings on Amazon and 563 five-star reviews—is STILL on free download everywhere, so PLEASE PASS THE WORD!!
CHRISTMAS IS COMING AND A LIGHT IN THE WINDOW IS STILL ON SALE!! My Irish Christmas love story, A Light in the Window—winner of three awards—is only 99 cents, so PLEASE PASS THE WORD, and here’s the video to help you! ALITW Video.
MITCH & CHARITY CHRISTMAS NOVELLA RELEASES NOVEMBER 10! WHOO-HOO … I am very excited to announce that I am part of a Seeker Historical Christmas novella collection called Hope for the Holidays that not only features a story on Mitch and Charity, but novellas by Mary Connealy, Ruth Logan Herne, and Myra Johnson. In addition to this historical collection, The Seekers are also releasing a contemporary Hope for the Holidays collection as well, so be sure to check both out on Amazon November 10. Here’s the blurb for Mitch and Charity’s story, which is called A Whisper of Hope:
Christmas is the season of hope, which is exactly what Charity O’Connor Dennehy is counting on. Since the birth of her twins twelve years ago, she’s prayed and hoped for a houseful of babies to love, but it wasn’t meant to be. With a husband dead-set against adoption, there’s barely a whisper of hope to change his mind, but if hope doesn’t disappoint … could it be enough to find a precious bundle under her tree?
Where I traveled this year:
To Birmingham to see my daughter Amy and son-in-law Nate, and we had a BLAST!! Then to Spokane to see my son Matt, daughter-in-law Katie, and grandkids Rory and Micah — SO FUN!
To Lake of the Ozarks this summer for a vacation:
And finally, to the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference, where I saw a ton of my friends, many of which you will recognize, and a visit from a very SPECIAL friend named Bonnie Roof!
Good friends Beth Vogt, Casey Herringshaw & me.
Becky Wade, Kate Breslin, me and my WONDERFUL Revell marketing person, Michele.
Good friend, Candy Calvert, Medical Romance Author Extraordinaire!
Good friend Julie Klassen and I at the Bethany House/Revell Dinner.
Mary Connealy, Charlene Patterson of Bethany House, ACFW keynote speak Lauraine Snelling, and me at the Bethany House/Revell dinner.
Our Seeker dinner at Carmine’s — L to R: Glynna Kaye, Janet Dean, Mary Connealy, Pam Hillman, Debby Giusti, and moi.
The Seekers at the Missouri History Museum.
Friday, October 10, 2014
Blink.
That’s exactly what it feels like since I wrote my last Journal Jot blog on February 10th—I blinked and eight months whooshed by like a two-ton locomotive at warp speed!
Hi, everybody, it’s good to be back, and I although I didn’t miss the deadlines of Journal Jots, I sure missed connecting with YOU!
You know, I had EVERY intention of posting a Journal Jot blog here and there over these last eight months, just to stay in touch with tidbits of news I wanted to share. But it was as if God slammed the door in my face, telling me to take my hands off the wheel and hop in the back seat.
So I did.
And, WOW, what a ride! Eight months of focusing on God, family, and writing for the sheer joy of writing! And let me tell you right now, that it paid off like a celestial slot machine … with three smiling angels in a row!
Trust me, for a high-wired CDQ (caffeinated drama queen) like me, it was a breath of fresh air to not have to worry about proposals, contracts, deadlines, social media, emails, or blogs. All I did was spend time getting closer to my Best Friend (compliments of Jesus Calling, Jesus Today, and a very battered Bible), more time with fabulous family, and WRITE!
So … what did I learn?
Well, as I mentioned in the interview in Book Fun Magazine, A TON! Too much, in fact, to catalog in one Journal Jot, but here’s the gist:
I have been a Christian for over forty years—going from a 23-year-old angry agnostic who once advocated burning Bibles in hotel rooms … to a young woman on fire for God, as told in another Journal Jot blog here.
Each and every one of those forty years, God has been my All-in-All and the Love of my life, the Lamp unto my feet. And yet, though I knew in my head His will IS the path to our highest pleasure (and even wrote about it in one of my books and in this Journal Jot here), I’m ashamed to say I really didn’t know-know it in my heart until now—after this sabbatical.
It’s kind of like not seeing the forest for the trees, you know? I was lost in the woods—the towering oaks of success, contest wins, book sales, people approval, what have you—which prevented the light of the Son from fully shining into my life. It wasn’t until I walked away from the forest for a season that I was able to soak up God to the fullest, helping me to finally and fully grasp for the very first time that true sustenance and growth, true peace and joy, true success and confidence, come only from Him. I learned to the deepest depth of my soul that it’s only through the healing warmth of His Son and the nurturing rain of His Holy Spirit that we can grow to be the people He has called us to be. As a Christian author, I learned one cannot fully absorb the sun/Son or rain/Holy Spirit in the dark gloom of a forest that overshadows His presence and will. And trust me, as a young woman who once laid out in her swimsuit to get a tan in 47-degree weather, I crave the sun always, but never more than now, basking in the sweet “Son” of God!
This morning in my devotion time, I read the following Scripture, 1 Peter 5:6-7, which frankly, pretty much sums up the lesson I feel God wanted me to learn these last eight months:
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand,
that He may lift you up in due time.
Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
I can’t speak for every occupation, but I know when it comes to being an author in the public eye, “humbling” doesn’t make the top-ten list of things you really want to do. Oh, sure, we Christian authors say it is, but trust me, our stomach clenches when the prayer for humility stalls on our tongues.
But you know what? I discovered first-hand that humbling one’s self under the hand of God (i.e. taking my hands off the wheel and jumping into the backseat of my career) is the MOST uplifting thing a human being can do, let alone an author!
You see, when I did that, the second part of that Scripture—that He may lift you up in due time—suddenly took on new meaning. For me, it became far more important to be “lifted up” closer to Him than closer to the dreams I once held for my career. Over these months, I discovered that HE slowly became the most important thing to me—not my career or my success or other people’s approval. Just God’s approval, which is the MOST liberating thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. A truly revolutionary spiritual concept that gently and sweetly brings you to the last part of that Scripture—casting all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
And He does. BIG TIME!
You! Not your career or your success or your emotional highs. Just you, as the apple of His eye (Psalms 17:8), as “His treasured possession” (Deuteronomy 7:6), and as the one He loves with an “everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3).
So go ahead, take a deep breath and ask Him to help you let the true depth of His love resonate in your heart and soul, and then just watch all that nasty stress and worry seep right on out. Yes, it will come back and try to taunt you again because we are all human beings caught in a battle between good and evil. And sometimes—because we all have blood in our veins—we will stumble. But I have discovered that just speaking Jesus’ name out loud, focusing on Him, saying something as simple as “Jesus, I trust you,” clears the fog from our brains and steadies our steps, so I encourage you to give it a try.
I know I did, and it feels pretty darn good.
And NEXT WEEK? Stop by to see all that I’ve been doing this summer and what I’m working on now … Till then,
HUGS and God bless!
Julie
OCTOBER SALE ON BOOKS 1 & 2 IN THE “HEART OF SAN FRANCISCO” SERIES!! In honor of the October release of book 3, Surprised by Love, my publisher is offering discounts from 66-80% on the other two books, Love at Any Cost and Dare to Love Again throughout the month of October, so don’t miss out!
FREE DOWNLOAD CONTINUES!! Yes, it’s true, my debut novel A Passion Most Pure—American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Debut Book of the Year with 1,327 five-star ratings on Amazon and 563 five-star reviews—is STILL on free download everywhere, so PLEASE PASS THE WORD!!
CHRISTMAS IS COMING AND A LIGHT IN THE WINDOW IS STILL ON SALE!! My Irish Christmas love story, A Light in the Window—winner of three awards—is only 99 cents, so PLEASE PASS THE WORD, and here’s the video to help you! ALITW Video.
MITCH & CHARITY CHRISTMAS NOVELLA RELEASES NOVEMBER 10! WHOO-HOO … I am very excited to announce that I am part of a Seeker Historical Christmas novella collection called Hope for the Holidays that not only features a story on Mitch and Charity called A Whisper of Hope, but novellas by Mary Connealy, Ruth Logan Herne, and Myra Johnson. In addition to this historical collection, The Seekers are also releasing a contemporary Hope for the Holidays collection as well, so be sure to check both out on Amazon November 10. Meanwhile, here’s the blurb for A Whisper of Hope:
Christmas is the season of hope, which is exactly what Charity O’Connor Dennehy is counting on. Since the birth of her twins twelve years ago, she’s prayed and hoped for a houseful of babies to love, but it wasn’t meant to be. With a husband dead-set against adoption, there’s barely a whisper of hope to change his mind, but if hope doesn’t disappoint … could it be enough to find a precious bundle under her tree?
Meet Julie
