Journal Jots – Blog

WELCOME, ALL!

I don’t normally feature authors on my blog, but today is an exception. Suzanne Woods Fisher is a fellow Revell author and good friend, and she just happens to write some of the BEST Amish books in the biz, so please help me welcome her to a mid-week, special edition of Journal Jots. 

Book one, The Letters, in Suzanne’s new series, Inn at Eagle Hill, is about to release on August 1. Suzanne is hosting a scavenger hunt July 23 – August 1, and I’m one of the stops! Keep an eye on Suzanne’s blog for a clue as to that day’s scavenger-hunt stop and visit for a sneak peek at The Letters and the chance to win a copy of the book!

“The time to make friends is before you need them.” Amish proverb Rose Schrock and Delia Stoltz in The Letters had little in common. Rose was Amish; Delia was a Philadelphia doctor’s wife. Yet the two women forged an unlikely friendship when Delia arrived as the first guest at the Inn at Eagle Hill, broken in spirit and body. The kindness Rose extended to Delia ended up being returned to her many times over. And isn’t that the way of a true friendship? Give and receive, help and be helped. Rose and Delia could have kept up the walls of their differences—significant differences when you consider the Amish—yet they took a chance and opened up to each other. Who is your most unlikely friend? What quality that drew you to that friend, despite your differences? How has your life been enriched through that friendship?

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Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of the Inn at Eagle Hill series, Lancaster County Secrets series, and the Stoney Ridge Seasons series, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including “Amish Peace.” She is also the coauthor of a new Amish children’s series, The Adventures of Lily Lapp. Her interest in the Anabaptist cultures can be directly traced to her grandfather, who was raised in the Old Order German Baptist Brethren Church in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Suzanne is a Carol Award winner and a Christy Award finalist. She is a columnist for Christian Post and Cooking & Such magazines. She lives in California. For more information, please visit http://suzannewoodsfisher.com/ and connect with her on Twitter https://twitter.com/suzannewfisher. Get Amish proverbs delivered right to your mobile device! Download the Free App! http://bit.ly/10Tygyi

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SWEET TEXAS TEA …

There’s still time!! The Becky Wade/Julie Lessman “Fall in Love Texas Style” giveaway is in progress!! Win a KINDLE FIRE, GIFT BASKET, or SIGNED COPIES of their books PLUS join in on lots of FUN, CHATTER, HUNKY HEROES, EXCERPTS and RECIPES. Just click on the purple “Fall in Love … Texas Style Contest” link below and HAVE FUN!! 

FALL IN LOVE … TEXAS STYLE CONTEST

Deep down, I’m a Texas girl

looking for that big romance every girl dreams about.

— Renee Zellweger

Sweet Thunderation … do I have some TEXAS-sized fun for you!!

  Author Becky Wade (she’s up for a Rita Award this weekend!!) and I have teamed up for a TEXAS-sized giveaway guaranteed to sweeten your tea!!

Our “FALL IN LOVE … TEXAS STYLE” giveaway begins next MONDAY, JULY 22^nd and continues through the 31^st, so mark your calendars to visit both our websites for lots of prizes, fun, chatter, excerpts, and recipes!!

Did I say “prizes”??? You bet your Texas tea I did, people, and we’re talkin’ TEXAS-sized giveaways including a KINDLE FIRE loaded with both our books, a TEXAS GIFT BASKET with lots of Texas goodies and our books, and 2-PACK BOOK BUNDLES of both our books.

All you have to do is visit both my contest page here AND Becky’s Contest Page throughout the ten days for new postings per the schedule below. Then don’t forget to officially enter the contest by clicking on the Rafflecopter box at the very bottom of the page on either BECKY’S contest page or MINE or on our FACEBOOK event page. Winners will be announced here and on Becky’s contest page, so GOOD LUCK and HAVE FUN!!

Here’s the schedule, so be sure to check back for all this fun!

•        July 22-24: Talkin’ Texas (Texas slang and book excerpts)
•        July 25-27: Hats Off to our Heroes (hero pics and romantic excerpts)
•        July 28-31: A Taste of Texas  (Texas recipes and food excerpts)

So, y’all come, ya hear?

Hugs and Happy Weekend!!

Julie

Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually,

that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

— Hebrews 13:15

Yum … I just bolted a bunch of green grapes not five minutes ago, and boy were they good! Peaches and cherries are my favorite fruits, but sometimes, when the grapes are large, firm and sweet, I can plow through the vine faster than a mechanical grape picking machine.

Since I am a romance writer, you might think that the “fruit of the lips” I’m talking about today are kisses, which, coincidentally, I also like “firm and sweet.” But nope, the fruit of the lips that I’m talking about today is the praise and thanksgiving that comes from our lips, and I gotta tell you, it tastes better than the juiciest, sweetest peaches plucked right from the tree.

You should try it. Not only is the fruit of our lips good for us (healthwise, both spiritually and physically), but it leaves a sweet taste in our mouths and in God’s, and happens to be just what God wants from us—continually praising Him and giving thanks to His name.

So I decided I’d share some of my “fruit” with you  (no, not the grapes—they’re all gone!) with thanksgiving to God for some of the wonderful things He’s blessed me with over the last few months. I hope you enjoy these pix as much as I enjoyed having them taken, and may the fruit of your lips always be “sweet.”

Hugs,

Julie

I’m grateful for the wonderful biking weekend God gave me at a delightful B&B with my precious prayer partners and hubbies at the Catnap Inn in Hermann, Missouri, a 120-year-old 3-bedroom Victorian House with deck, pation and lush backyard.

I’m grateful for my family.

I’m grateful for your prayers for my mother-in-law (the pretty, little thing in blue)—keep them coming, please!

I’m grateful for the ten days I had with my granddaughter before she moved to Spokane.

I’m grateful for attending ICRS and being able to have breakfast with my dear friend, Laura Frantz, and seeing other friends like Julie Klassen, Susie May Warren, and Kristen Heitzmann. And meeting the wonderful Lynn Austin for the first time!

I’m grateful for the AMAZING team at Revell, especially my editor who makes my stories sing!

I’m grateful for my new friend Becky Wade with whom I are kicking off a fun promo on July 22^nd called “Fall in Love … Texas Style.” This was Becky’s genius idea to promote both of our new books—Love at Any Cost and Becky’s Undeniably Yours because the heroine in each of our books is a Texas oil heiress. So we thought it would be fun to team up and give away a Kindle Fire, a Texas gift basket, and signed copies of both of our books. Just WAIT till you see what promo pic my artist hubby comes up with using these two pics …

I’m grateful for Revell allowing me to use excerpts from my books for a new how-to workbook I am publishing myself called ROMANCE-ology 101: Writing Romantic Tension for the Inspirational and Sweet Markets. It will be released in both paperback and ebook this September!

And finally, I’m grateful for a God who loves us so much, He gave His only Son to set us free and give us life abundantly. Your praise, Oh God, will forever be on my lips!