BREAKING FREE - Jennifer Slattery - One Free Book

Bio: Jennifer Slattery writes soul-stirring fiction for New Hope Publishers, Christian living articles for Crosswalk.com, and devotions for Internet Café Devotions, the group blog, Faith-filled Friends, and her personal blog. She also does content editing for Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas’ Firefly imprint and loves working with authors who are serious about pursuing their calling. When not writing, reading, or editing, Jennifer loves going on mall dates with her adult daughter and coffee dates with her hilariously fun husband.

Visit with Jennifer online at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com and connect with her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/JenSlatte

Welcome back, Jennifer. Tell us about your salvation experience.

I was saved at a young age at a neighborhood Good News Club ran by a sweet old lady who lived in the same trailer park I did. I’m not exactly sure how old I was, and no one marked the date for me, but it was sometime between my kindergarten year and the summer before I hit third grade. I don’t recall much of what she said—actually, I don’t remember a whole lot of those years. But I do remember her name—Ms. Dorothy, her smile, and all the popcorn she fed me and all the other dirty, rambunctious neighborhood kids whenever we came over. Probably because she couldn’t afford much else. One afternoon she told me Jesus, God’s Son, had died for me, and that truth penetrated deep.

That was the day I first believed, though I didn’t do much with my immature belief for a long, long time. Not until a Good Friday almost two decades later when I had a little one of my own. That afternoon, walking down the sidewalk with my daughter, what God had done for me struck me with such force, I knew my only response was to surrender my life completely to Him. That was when I first sensed a definite call to serve Him, though at the time I had no idea what that meant. I just knew He wanted me to dedicate my life to ministry. He’s since expanded on and clarified that call, showing me how my speaking and writing fit into all that.  

You’re planning a writing retreat where you can only have four other authors. Who would they be and why?

Eva Marie Everson because she’s brilliant and funny and imparts wisdom in every conversation. Shannon Taylor Vannatter because she has the sweetest, most giving heart I’ve ever met. Though she has an incredibly busy and thriving writing career, she always finds time to help other writers out. Holly Michael because she’s a gifted writer with incredible life stories of experiences in foreign lands that absolutely fascinate me. Mikal Hermanns because she’s a bundle of joy and energy I’d love to bottle up for future use, and it’s fun to see how God is expanding her reach as she steps out in faith to serve Him through her writing.

Do you have a speaking ministry? If so, tell us about that.

I do. I speak on a wide variety of subjects but one of my most popular keynotes is a testimony I call “The Power of Grace.” In it, I share how God brought me from a hopeless, homeless teenager filled with self-loathing and shame to a suburban author passionate about reaching out to the broken.

I also love speaking to women on how they can grab hold of deeper emotional and spiritual freedom through Christ and discover and embrace their unique calling. We all have a call—a unique way of revealing grace to our hurting world, and nothing will fulfill us quite like doing that which we were created to do.

Readers can learn more about my speaking topics here: https://jenniferslatterylivesoutloud.com/speaking/  

People are always telling me that they’d like to write a book someday. I’m sure they do to you, too. What would you tell someone who came up to you and said that?

I’d say, “Do it.” Though I’m sure you’ve heard the same response to that statement that I have: “I don’t have time.” Yet we tend to have time for those things that are most important to us. Truth is, if we really want to do something, we’ll find a way to make it happen. It might mean cutting back on our social events or another hobby or watching less television, but it’s not a matter of how much time we have but rather how we use the time we’ve been given. I’ve known some incredibly busy writers—moms of little ones who also work full time—who manage to make writing a priority. They’ve simply learned to be more intentional with how they spend their time, and have published novels to show for it.

Tell us about the featured book.

I’d love to. How about I share what’s on the back cover?

Sometimes it takes losing everything to grab hold of what really matters.

Women’s ministry leader and Seattle housewife, Alice Goddard, and her successful graphic-designer husband appear to have it all together. Until their credit and debit cards are denied, launching Alice into an investigation that only leads to the discovery of secrets. Meanwhile, her husband is trapped in a downward spiral of lies, shame, and self-destruction. Can they break free from their deception and turn to the only One who can save them? And will it be in time to save their marriage?

People can read the first three chapters here: http://newhopepublishers.com/2016/02/free-sample-of-breaking-free/

Please give us the first page of the book for me and my readers.

Sure!

This place, these friends—her life—was exhausting. What Alice wouldn’t give to hide away . . . indefinitely. And yet here she sat in an upscale Seattle restaurant with her upscale Seattle friends, playing the part, while her latest keynote cycled through her brain again and again. Authenticity. Transparency. That’s the key to the Christian life.

           

Right.

           

Breathing deeply, she glanced around. The quaint little bistro was busier than normal. Wait staff, dressed in white double-breasted shirts, flitted around brightly colored tables, heavily laden trays in their hands. Bottles of wine lined the far wall, their red and green labels adding a splash of color to the exposed brick. Alice raised her fork and nibbled on a piece of chicken, careful not to smudge her lipstick. As she chewed, she studied her friends.

           

Friends? What a comical word choice. Beth was the only one Alice trusted, and yet she spent countless hours with the others, listening to them go on and on about their passionate marriages and honor roll kids. Either they all lived picture-perfect lives or they were Academy Award winners. Like Alice—always carefully groomed, full of smiles, and positive words. The boys? They were great. Trent, her husband, he was great. Everything was great. Just perfect.

           

Not.

           

And the fear that one of them would find out just how imperfect her life was consumed her like a rapidly growing cancer.

           

Misty, a redhead with glitter-blue eye shadow, grabbed a slice of zucchini bread from the center basket. “We need to meet for lunch more often.”

           

“Speaking of getting together . . .” Beth, a petite blonde with sparkling blue eyes and skin too smooth for a woman in her forties, flashed a smile. “Who’s hosting the next women’s game night?” She glanced from one face to the next.

           

Avoiding eye contact, Alice swallowed and tucked her hair behind her ears. Her house was off limits.

           

Beth’s gaze zeroed in on Misty.

           

She waved her hands in the air. “No way. Not me. I’m still trying to clean the chocolate stains out of my carpet from last time.” She threw her hair over her shoulders, exposing large gold hoop earrings.

           

“Yeah, but you were the one that started flinging the cake around in the first place.” Beth dabbed her mouth with a napkin and looked at Alice. “Looks like it’s on you.”

           

Alice raised a hand and opened her mouth to protest when someone touched her shoulder. She glanced at the waiter standing over her.

           

He leaned closer and whispered, “There seems to be a problem with your credit card ma’am.”

           

Her cheeks burned as everyone looked at her. “What do you mean by problem?”

           

The kid shifted, eyes darting from face to face. Turning back to Alice, he spoke quieter. “Your credit card company declined the charges.” He placed the card on the table.

           

Alice’s stomach dropped. They had a ten thousand dollar limit. She’d done some minor shopping last week, bought a new dress and matching shoes, but nothing big. Unless Trent went on a Saks Fifth Avenue shopping spree, there should still be plenty of credit left on their account. Certainly enough to pay for a chicken and watercress salad.

           

She pulled her wallet from her purse, flipped it open, and stared at the empty pocket. Where had her twenty dollars gone? Maybe her boys had grabbed it without telling her. So she’d pay with debit.

           

“Here.” She handed her bankcard to the waiter then turned back to her friends with a forced smile. “OK, OK, I’ll do it. I’ll host the next game night.” Anything to get the focus off her and her finances.

Used by permission. Breaking Free: A Novel, by Jennifer Slattery (New Hope Publishers, Birmingham, AL) NewHopeDigital.com

How can readers find you on the Internet?

They can stop by my blog at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud, follow me on Twitter at Jenslattery, connect with me on Facebook at JenSlatte, or interact with me on Pinterest, also at jenslatte. They can see various scene locations pinned to my Breaking Free board at http://www.pinterest.com/jenslatte/breaking-free/

Thanks for having me on your site, Lena! I always love spending time with other book addicts. 

It's always a pleasure to have you, Jennifer, and being a book addict is the best kind of addict to be.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Breaking Free - Christianbook.com
Breaking Free - Amazon
Breaking Free - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com