ISLE OF HOPE - Julie Lessman - One Free Book

Dear Readers, I first met Julie at a small, intimate chocolate party at an ACFW conference a long time ago. We really clicked, so we’ve been friends since then. I told someone I wanted to write like her when I grew up J Her books are wonderful, and she knows how to pull the reader into the characters. Her books always have strong romantic tension, but in a pure way. You’ll love her books.

BIO: Award-winning author of The Daughters of Boston, Winds of Change, and Heart of San Francisco series with Revell Publishing, Julie Lessman was named American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Debut Author of the Year and has garnered 17 Romance Writers of America and other awards. Voted #1 Romance Author of the year in Family Fiction magazine’s 2012 and 2011 Readers Choice Awards, Julie was also named on Booklist’s 2010 Top 10 Inspirational Fiction and Borders Best Fiction list. Her latest novel, Surprised by Love, appeared on Family Fiction magazine’s list of Top Ten Novels of 2014, and her independent novel A Light in the Window is an International Digital Awards winner, a 2013 Readers' Crown Award winner, and a 2013 Book Buyers Best Award winner. Julie has also written a self-help workbook for writers entitled Romance-ology 101: Writing Romantic Tension for the Sweet and Inspirational Markets. You can contact Julie through her website and read excerpts from each of her books at www.julielessman.com.

Welcome back, Julie. As an author, I know it takes a lot of people to birth each book. Who were the people involved in the birthing of this book, and what were their contributions?

Well, first and foremost, the Holy Spirit is the main “person” involved since I felt prompted to write about the estranged relationship with my own dad and how I turned it around with God’s help. Secondly, both my husband and my dear friend, Bonnie Roof, encouraged me throughout the entire process, reading, proofing, and making suggestions. As did my fabulous agent, Natasha Kern, and even my wonderful editor at Revell, Lonnie Hull Dupont, was kind enough to offer suggestions even though I opted to publish Isle of Hope on my own.

From there, I did everything on my own, which to be honest, kind of shocks me! J From designing the cover that the Killion Group finalized (along with the formatting for both ebook and paperback) … to final edits after the Brandes editorial staff proofed it. Trust me, I was a nervous wreck clicking the “publish” button on both the Kindle and CreateSpace pages, but I did, and now I’m breathing a whole lot easier … whew!

If you teach or speak. What’s coming up on your calendar?

I actually don’t do a lot of speaking or teaching anymore since I took a sabbatical last year to focus more on God, family, and writing for the sheer joy of writing, but I do have a speaking gig scheduled at a Christmas luncheon in Birmingham, where my daughter lives, so I’m mixing business with pleasure.

That sounds like fun. Wish I could be there. If you had to completely start over in another place, where would you move, and why?

Ha! I already have. J My husband and I just moved from St. Louis to the Lake of the Ozarks this summer, where we both work from home. I write on a veranda overlooking the lake while my hubby takes his coffee breaks down on the dock, fishing or feeding the ducks—a long-held dream-come-true!

I grew up in the Arkansas Ozarks. It’s beautiful. If you could only tell aspiring novelists one thing, what would it be?

I’d warn them about what an emotional roller-coaster it was going to be AFTER they get published. Like a lot of unpublished writers, I thought all the anxiety and self-doubt would dissipate after I signed on the dotted line. I mean that would validate me, right? Give me confidence as a writer? But I discovered that true confidence is not in accolades from your editor or a really good review, but instead in where your heart is with God. HE is my confidence when my sales rankings on Amazon.com are high or low, which is why I CLING to the following Scripture prayer from 2 Corinthians ll:3: Do not let my mind “be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”

So to sum it up, my most significant advice for aspiring novelists is the critical truth that as Christian authors, we have to stay grounded in what God wants for us versus what we want for us. Sure, we would all love to be a bestselling author, but what does God want? I have learned (and very painfully, I might add) that I must become less so that He can become more. I often told fellow writer friends that I would give anything to have a spiritual lobotomy of sorts, where I could surgically remove that part of my writer’s brain that focuses on good reviews, book sales, and contest wins. But the reality is that I am a human being with a lot of flaws, and quite frankly, that’s the way God wants us—so flawed that we are forced to cling to Him, which I do, trust me!

That is so true. We authors have to grasp that truth and hold it close to our hearts. Tell us about the featured book.

Sure—here’s the jacket blurb:

Can a wild girl gone good

rebuild bridges with a good boy gone bad?

She’s the town flirt serving up trouble. He’s a pastor’s kid bent on serving God. Until tragedy separates them for eight years, turning tables—and hearts—to restore hope for them all.

At the age of eighteen, Lacey Carmichael was a wild girl bent on fun, promised to Jack O'Bryen, a straight-and-narrow pastor’s kid bent on the seminary. When her father kicks her out of the house, she runs away from Isle of Hope, turning her back on everything she loves. Now, eight years later, she’s back as a woman of faith, hoping to make amends to the father she defied, the boyfriend she deserted, and the best friend she denied. Only the bridges she’s burned are still smoldering, kindled by an adulterous affair by Jack’s pastor father that damaged his son’s faith. But can God’s unfailing love lead the way to His true “Isle of Hope”?

Please give us the first page of the book.

Many are the woes of the wicked,

but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in Him.

—Psalm 32:10

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 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.”

Wow! I can’t wait until my copy comes. It will go to the top of my to-be-read pile. I might even stop what I’m reading at the time and dive right in. Where can we find you on the Internet?

Thank you, Lena, for hosting me on your blog—it’s been fun! Readers can find and contact me at www.julielessman.com, or through Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, or Pinterest or by signing up for my newsletter.

I also have a blog called “Journal Jots,” which is a very laid-back journal to my reader friends, or readers can check out my favorite romantic and spiritual scenes from each of my books on the “Excerpts” tab of my website. In addition, I can be found daily at The Seekers, a group blog of 13 published authors that inspires, encourages, teaches, and informs aspiring writers on the road to publication and beyond. Although Seekerville has been listed on Writers Digest 2013 and 2014 “Best 101 Websites for Writers,” it is also a blog devoted to readers as well.

Finally, I have the following sales/contests currently going on:

AWARD-WINNING IRISH LOVE STORY ON SALE! The eBook for my Irish love story, A Light in the Window—224 five-star reviews on Amazon and winner of three awards—is on sale for only $.99, so I invite you to take a peek at the excellent video my artist hubby did for A Light in the Window, starring my daughter. ALITW Video.

Dec. 5-12, 2015 ONLY — O’connor christmas novellas on special CHRISTMAS sale! ‘Tis the season, and I’m ready for it with two novellas that are part of the Hope for the Holiday’s Historical Collection and the Home for Christmas Historical Romance Collection, both of which include novellas from other award-winning authors for only $.99 per  collection, so I hope your readers check them out.

Calling All Writers!! My writer’s workbook entitled Romance-ology 101: Writing Romantic Tension for the Sweet and Inspirational Markets is on e-sale for $2.99

CONTEST TO HAVE A CHARACTER NAMED AFTER YOU IN MY NEXT BOOK, A SIGNED COPY, AND CHOICE OF ONE OF MY OTHER BOOKS. Sound good to you? If so, just head on over to the CONTEST tab of my website and check it out.

Hugs,

Julie

Thank you, Julie, for sharing this new book and these sales with us today.

Readers, 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

DARE TO LOVE AGAIN - Julie Lessman - One Free Book

Readers, I've loved Julie since I first met her at an American Christian Fiction Writers national conference several years ago. And I've loved her writing since I read the first word of the first book in her Daughters of Boston series. She writes books with the kind of passion I'd like to include in mine, but my publishers always delete the best parts. I feel the same way as she does about romantic passion and a passion for God. (You'll read about that in the answers to her questions.

Dare to Love Again is another winner. I've loved all the character in her books, but I think I love the ones in the Heart of San Francisco the best. Her storylines catch my attention, and her characters pull me straight into the story and don't let go until long after I read the last page. This was true in Dare to Love Again. And she paints a tapestry of setting that is true to San Francisco in that time period. You won't want to miss this marvelous read.

BIO: Award-winning author of “The Daughters of Boston” and “Winds of Change” series, Julie Lessman was American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Debut Author of the Year and voted #1 Romance Author of the year in Family Fiction magazine’s 2012 and 2011 Readers Choice Awards. She has also garnered 17 RWA awards and made Booklist’s 2010 Top 10 Inspirational Fiction. Her book A Light in the Window is an International Digital Awards winner, a 2013 Readers' Crown Award winner, and a 2013 Book Buyers Best Award winner. 

Welcome back, Julie. Why did you become an author?

Well, Lena, frankly I got SO sick of the world pushing its amoral agenda in romance novels that I decided to try and write my own where I could push God's agenda instead. My thinking was to promote His precepts with the lure of the same kind of passionate romance that I fell in love with at the age of twelve, when I read Gone With the Wind, which, by the way, is when I started writing A Passion Most Pure. Back then I wrote 150 single-spaced pages of what is today my debut novel, but I didn't finish it till after I turned 50. But … better late than never, eh?

I will admit my books are a tad more passionate than the majority of Inspirational romance in the Christian market today, both romantically and spiritually. And I did this on purpose. You see, I’m the type of woman who loves a great love story. You know—the heart-fluttering, pulse-pounding emotional tug-of-war between a man and a woman that makes romance the #1 genre in the world? It draws me, always has, from the early days of Gone With the Wind. But for me, passion in romance is not enough. Without God and His precepts in the middle, it’s nothing but lust—heat that burns but doesn’t keep you warm. So when I started writing my own novels over 13 years ago, it was primarily because I didn’t want to read secular romance anymore. Unfortunately way back then, I had trouble finding the level of passion I wanted in a Christian romance novel, so I decided to write my own. My intent was to write romantic passion that is more real and relevant to what young girls are exposed to in today’s amoral society, but laced with a spiritual thread that is just as passionate.

Let’s face it—passion is powerful. It can drive a woman into the arms of a man, or a person into the arms of God. In truth, romantic passion gives us a glimpse into the very heart of God. After studying the “Song of Solomon” in the Bible , I’m convinced that the God who created passion and intimacy did so to mirror the intensity of His own love for mankind. It is my belief that romance laced with God’s precepts is also powerful—it can draw, woo, and win advocates to its cause with the stroke of a keyboard. It is my hope that my novels will strikes the balance between romantic and spiritual passion for the broad base of readers searching for its message, and by interweaving the two, bring them into an intimate relationship with the true Author of Romance.

If you weren’t an author, what would be your dream job?

Oh, gosh, I have no idea! At one time I would have said Christian counselor because I’m a bottom-line kind of person who likes applying God’s Word to people’s problems, then shoring it up with prayer. But since I’ve gotten up in years a wee bit, I don’t seem to have the energy for an occupation like that anymore.

If you could have lived at another time in history, what would it be and why?

Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’ ministry because I would LOVE to follow Him around like so many crowds did back then. Then, of course, I would go to Golgotha in a heartbeat on the day that He died. Because if His death has radically changed my life for the better through mere faith, I can’t even imagine the impact of seeing Him carry that cross for me in person.

What place in the United States have you not visited that you would like to?

Oh, are you kidding? Boston, of course! I know, I know—as an author of two series set in Boston, it’s downright shameful I haven’t been there yet, but I can blame my hubby for that because he refuses to go. Apparently he had a bad business trip there once, and it’s scarred him for life. But, oh … Boston has been a love of mine since I was a little girl watching Walt Disney’s Swamp Fox, which chronicled the Revolutionary War, of which Boston was a huge part. I LOVE the history of that city, especially after researching it while writing the Daughters of Boston series and you know what? I have craved Boston Baked Beans candy and Boston cream pie ever since!

How about a foreign country you hope to visit?

HA! That’s a no-brainer too. Ireland, of course! ;)

I knew that would be your answer to that question. Readers, if you want to know why, read Julie’s Daughter of Boston series. Now Julie, what lesson has the Lord taught you recently?

“Do not fear your weakness,

for it is the stage on which My Power and My Glory

perform most brilliantly.”

-- Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, Dec. 21 Entry

The most recent lesson is from the Scripture above, when God showed me that Jesus' Power and Glory—in the flesh, through the birth of a human infant born in a bed of straw—is the very thing that can and will eradicate all of my fears and yours. Oh, the joy of knowing that my imperfections—and God knows they are many—are obliterated by a God Who loves me—and you—just the way we are!! Talk about “joy to the world”! Because in our weakness He is strong.

So, like the disciple Paul, “I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” And, oh baby, if my weakness equates to God's strength, than I'm bending bars of steel like pretzels ... and bopping them over the devil’s head. :)

I have used Jesus Calling for my devotional several times. And I often give it to someone else as a gift. Tell us about the featured book.

Well, book 2 in the Heart of San Francisco series, DARE TO LOVE AGAIN, released January 1st and tells the story of the second McClare cousin, Allison McClare, a woman who has had her heart broken three times and is determined it will not happen again. She’s seeing red and wielding a stick, a dangerous combination when she meets a crotchety Italian police detective whose temper is as loose as hers. Here’s the jacket blurb for this sweet and funny love story that I will warn you, is the sweetest, least passionate of all my books, which means there are very few kisses, but LOTS of romantic tension! ;)

She’s a sassy socialite burned by love.

He’s a jaded cop burned by the upper class.

When sparks fly … will love catch fire again?

Spunky Allison McClare is determined to be a fearless, independent woman. But when she takes a notion to explore the wild Barbary Coast, she quickly discovers she’s no match for the unsavory characters that haunt the dark streets.

Detective Nick Barone would rather do almost anything than teach this petite socialite self-defense, but it seems he has little choice. Sparks fly every time the two meet until a grudging friendship develops into something deeper. But is he just a fraud like all the rest of the men Allison’s cared for? Or the one man she can dare to love again?

As you know, I read the book as soon as it arrived. Please give us the first page of the book for my blog readers.

Here’s the first page from my galleys, which runs a wee bit longer than the actual printed page:

San Francisco, Summer 1903

          Merciful Providence . . . I smell a rat! Allison McClare sniffed with nose in the air, the unmistakable scent of Bay Rum drifting into her empty classroom of the Hand of Hope School. Although not uncommon for an antiquated Victorian house a stone’s throw from the sewers of the Barbary Coast, this smell of “rat” was altogether different and far more frightening. She wrinkled her nose.

The man kind.

“I think you took a wrong turn, lady, high tea is at The Palace.”

“Oh!” Body jolting, she whirled around at the bulletin board, almost inhaling the straight pin in her teeth. She blinked at a tall, disgruntled stranger cocked in the door of her classroom who might have been dangerously attractive if not for the scowl on his face. An unruly strand of dark hair, almost black—like his mood appeared to be—toppled over his forehead beneath a dark Homburg he obviously felt no courtesy to remove. He hiked a thumb toward the front door, his gruff voice a near snarl as he glared through gray-green eyes that seemed to darken by the moment, the color of stormy seas. “I assume that’s your fancy car and driver out front? Well, it needs to move to the back alley, lady, whether you’re here to teach or just out slumming with the poor folks.”

The straight pin in her teeth dropped to the floor along with her jaw. As she gaped, hardly able to comprehend the rudeness of this Neanderthal who’d be better attired in bearskin and club than the charcoal suit coat draped over his shoulder. Rolled sleeves of what might have been a crisp white shirt at one time revealed muscled forearms thick with dark hair like the brainless caveman he appeared to be. It was only two in the afternoon, but already dark bristle shadowed his hard-angled jaw, lending an ominous air to a man who possessed less charm than found on the head of her pin. Her nose scrunched, the smell of “rat” surprisingly strong due to a keen sense of smell and three near misses at the altar. She fought the squirm of a smile over his high starched collar with its off-center tie—loosened as if in protest to fashionable attire he considered a noose ’round his neck.

Like the one I’m envisioning now . . .

He squinted as if she were the intruder instead of him, daring to invade his cave. “What, cat got your tongue?”

Yes, you pinhead . . . a polecat. She glared right back in silence, figuring if she waited long enough, his face would crack . . . something she’d pay good money to see. She almost wished she’d gone home with Mother and Cassie earlier instead of staying later on a Friday the week before they opened their new school. Her gaze flicked to the clock on the wall that indicated her elderly driver Hadley was on time to take her home. And not a moment too soon, if this barbarian was any indication of the rest of her day.

Her silence apparently ruffled his fur because his eyes narrowed, if possible, even more than before as he blasted out a noisy exhale, shaking his head as if she were the one with a pea for a brain. “Great—a rich dame as dumb as she is lost,” he muttered, and every word his insolence had stolen from her lips marched to the tip of her tongue to do battle.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Oh, Lena, thanks for asking because I LOVE to hear from reader friends, so if they like, they can contact me through my website at http://www.julielessman.com, either by sending an e-mail via my site or by signing up for my newsletter at:

http://www.julielessman.com/sign-up-for-newsletter/.

Also, I have a cool blog feature on my website called “Journal Jots” at http://www.julielessman.com/journal-jots1/, which is a very laid-back Friday journal to my reader friends that will give your readers an idea as to my relaxed style of writing.

Or readers can check out my favorite romantic and spiritual scenes from each of my books on the “Excerpts” tab of my website at http://www.julielessman.com/excerpts/.

Finally, I can be found daily at The Seekers blog at http://seekerville.blogspot.com/, a group blog of 13 published authors that inspires, encourages, teaches, and informs aspiring writers on the road to publication and beyond.

Hugs,

Julie

I'm so thrilled to have you on my blog again, Julie.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Dare to Love Again - Christianbook.com
Dare to Love Again: A Novel (The Heart of San Francisco) - Amazon
Dare to Love Again (The Heart of San Francisco Book #2): A Novel - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. 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 Google +, Feedblitz, Facebook, 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

A LOVE SURRENDERED and A LIGHT IN THE WINDOW - Julie Lessman - One Free Book (Winner's Choice)

BIO:

Julie Lessman is an award-winning author whose tagline of “Passion With a Purpose” underscores her intense passion for both God and romance. American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Debut Author of the Year and winner of 14 RWA awards, Julie Lessman was voted #1 Romance Author of the year in Family Fiction magazine’s 2012 and 2011 Readers Choice Awards, as well as #1 Historical Fiction Author, #3 Author, #4 Novel, #3 Series, and Booklist’s 2010 Top 10 Inspirational Fiction. Julie resides in Missouri with her husband, daughter, son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter and is the author of “The Daughters of Boston” series—A Passion Most Pure, A Passion Redeemed, A Passion Denied and the “Winds of Change” series—A Hope Undaunted, A Heart Revealed, A Love Surrendered. You can contact Julie through her website and read excerpts from each of her books at www.julielessman.com.

How did you come up with the idea for these stories?

Well, my two newest books—A Love Surrendered and my Christmas e-book entitled A Light in the Window: A Irish Christmas Love Story—are the final two novels in the O’Connor family saga, so I suppose I need to explain where I got the original idea for this family epic since each book springboards off the prior one.

As most of my readers already know, I started writing the first book in this saga, A Passion Most Pure, at the age of twelve after reading Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind. I immediately knew I wanted an Irish family coping with a war (like GWTW), but didn’t have the audacity to try another Civil War epic like Margaret, so I settled on WWI instead.

As the 12^th child in a dysfunctional family of 13 kids, I also knew I wanted to portray a family the way God intended a family to be—flawed but steeped in faith. The result is the saga of the O’Connors, a passionate but imperfect family of six children who love God and each other in the best way they know how, all interwoven with a secondary love story between their parents. The first three books in The Daughters of Boston series highlight the love stories of each of the three oldest daughters, and the second series, Winds of Change, focuses on the youngest daughter and two sons. Oh, and the Christmas e-book? Ah … that’s the prequel I’ve been longing to write and finally did, which details the tumultuous love story of the saga’s happily married parents, Marcy and Patrick O’Connor.

If you were planning a party with Christian authors of contemporary fiction, what six people would you invite and why?

Ooops, sorry, Lena, I’m primarily a historical romance reader, but when I do read contemporary fiction, I can tell you right now that there would need to be ten authors at this party or none at all. My Seeker buds who write contemporary are a must—Mary Connealy, Debby Giusti, Audra Harders, Ruth Logan Herne, Myra Johnson, Glynna Kaye, Sandra LeeSmith, Tina Radcliffe, and Missy Tippens—every one a gifted author with a unique style all her own that captures me each and every time. And then, without question, my dear friend Patti Lacy as well, one of the few women’s fiction authors I simply will not miss because she is flat-out riveting.

Now let’s do that for a party for Christian authors of historical fiction, what six people would you invite and why?

For me, parties are about good friends, so again it would have to be my Seeker buds who write historical fiction, and those are—Mary Connealy, Janet Dean, Pam Hillman and Cara Lynn James. And without question, NO party would be complete without two of my dearest author friends and prayer partners, Laura Frantz and MaryLu Tyndall—women whose hearts beat to the same rhythm as mine and whose work I absolutely love!

Many times, people (and other authors) think you have it made with so many books published. What is your most difficult problem with writing at this time in your career?

Ha! At this time in my career?? How ‘bout ALL of my career, which has been the same age-old problem I’ve struggled with more than anything else, and that is the annoying focus on sales, contest wins, good reviews and contracts. BUT … the good news is that after almost five years of being published, I have finally turned a corner on that nasty problem, thank God, through a combination of prayer, fasting and a pretty amazing book entitled The Well by Mark Hall, pastor and lead singer for Casting Crowns. You see, my church has been urging each of its 6,000 members to read this book, and once you do, it’s pretty obvious why. Like Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well, He is the only source of “living water,” and to try and draw our confidence, peace, hope and joy from stagnant holes such as success, people’s approval or talent will never truly satisfy and will only make us sick.

For me, getting published was like hopping aboard the scariest roller-coaster on the planet, and let me tell you, as much as I LOVE angst, drama and thrills in my books, I have a fear of heights and HATE roller-coasters! Everything happens so fast—you go flying to great heights with contest wins, wonderful reviews that bring tears to your eyes, and connections with reader friends that deepen and enrich your life. And then in the next pulse-freezing second, you go crashing back down to earth with 1-star reviews that cut your heart out and a truly awful obsession with Amazon rankings and book sales. The good news is that God has used this crazy lifestyle to ground and level me in HIM despite the endless ups and downs, for which I am eternally grateful.

Tell us about the featured books.

Gladly! Although I usually only have one book release a year, I’m very excited to announce that I have THREE books coming out in a six-month span. A Love Surrendered—the final book in the O’Connor family saga—released October 1^st. Then my Marcy/Patrick e-book prequel, A Light in the Window: An Irish Christmas Love Story, released November 9 and I am SO proud to say that my artist hubby designed the cover and my daughter modeled for it! Then, April 1^st, book 1 in my new Heart of San Francisco series, Love at Any Cost, releases, so there’s lots of “Passion with a Purpose”—my tagline—coming, and here are the blurbs for the two books out now:

A Love Surrendered:

He broke her sister’s heart …

Will she be next?

Orphaned in Iowa, Annie Kennedy moves to Boston to stay with her spinster aunt, longing for romance to fill the void of her parent’s death. But when she falls hard for Steven O’Connor, the man who broke an engagement to her sister, Annie is worried. Will he break her heart, too, when he discovers who she really is?

A Light in the Window: An Irish Christmas Love Story:

One woman. Two men.

One stirs her pulse and the other her faith.

But who will win her heart?

Marceline Murphy is a gentle beauty with a well-founded aversion to rogues. But when two of Boston's most notorious pursue her, attraction, dreams and faith only muddle her mind. Can the light in the window illuminate the path of true love?

They both sound wonderful. Please give us the first page of each book.

A Love Surrendered:

1

Boston, Massachusetts, May 1932

So help me, if I get caught tonight, Peggy Pankow’s name is “Mud.” Susannah Grace Kennedy braced herself against the cool of the salty sea air—and her guilt—and hurried down the dark street toward Revere Beach, almost regretting she’d let her new friend talk her into sneaking out of the house. A crescent moon rose while the waning light of dusk cast purple shadows on the boardwalk where streetlamps were just beginning to glow. People milled on the seashore, mere silhouettes backdropped by a fuscia sky glinting across restless waters. The sound of music drifted in the air along with the scent of the sea, and suddenly a tingle of excitement trumped any worry she had.

“Hey, Suzi-Q,” Peggy had said after class last week, “my big sis says we can tag along to Ocean Pier on Friday night.” Her brown eyes had sparkled with the dare of adventure. “Wanna go?”

Suzi-Q. Susannah winced, the little-girl nickname her family had coined a painful reminder of just how much her life had changed in three months. Her smile was patient. “Peg, it’s Anna now, remember? Not Suzi-Q or Suz or Susannah or Gracie or anything else that reminds me of a past I’m trying to forget.” She battled the familiar malaise that always accompanied thoughts of her once happy home. “Besides,” she said, her voice trailing to a whisper, “I’m not that girl anymore.”

“Okay, okay, but I refuse to call you Anna. Too stuffy.” Peg pursed her lips. “I should call you Dr Pepper Girl the way you guzzle the stuff when Aunt Eleanor’s not around, but with that strawberry blonde hair and cute freckled face, you’re an Annie through and through.”

“Annie” chewed on her thumbnail. “I don’t know, Peg, you don’t think ‘Annie’ sounds too young or rural?” she asked, anxious to shed her small-town roots. “After all, I’m a city girl now, looking for a new name and a new life.”

“Nope, it’s perfect.” Peggy wriggled her brows. “And you mean love life, don’t you?”

Annie’s stomach dipped and rolled like the seagulls over Revere Beach, and she gulped down a sliver of nail. Love life. Not just sterile words written in her diary this time back in her hometown of Badger, Iowa, or in one of her many handwritten novels. Nope, this would be real flesh-and-blood kisses from real flesh-and-blood men. She swallowed hard. “Uh . . . maybe.”

“No maybes about it, kiddo,” Peggy said with a wink. “A deal is a deal. You tutored me in algebra? I tutor you in love. What kind of romance writer will you be without research? Not to mention our bet—you swore you’d get your first kiss at Revere Beach or I get to keep your favorite sweater, remember?” Peggy sighed when Annie hesitated. “For criminy sakes, Annie Lou, you’re a woman who’s never been kissed, and this is your chance. Besides, Ocean Pier is the perfect place to lose your heart.” She elbowed Annie in the side, eyes agleam with mischief. “Or your reputation. What do you say, wanna go?”

A Light in the Window: An Irish Christmas Love Story:

Chapter One

Boston, Massachusetts, Summer 1895

I will not throw up … I will not throw up ...

Eighteen-year-old Marceline Murphy set her overnight case on the O’Rourke’s wraparound porch and pressed a quivering finger to the brass doorbell, a battalion of butterflies barnstorming her stomach. The last time she’d been this nervous was at the age of eleven when she’d frozen on the top limb of a massive pine tree in the backyard of her best friend Julie O’Rourke. The memory of Julie’s older brother Sam climbing up to rescue her made her hands sweat even now, his body close behind as he helped her down, limb by limb. At the bottom he’d tugged on her pigtail with that dimpled grin that had always fluttered her pulse. “Best keep your feet on the ground and your nose in a book, Marceline,” he’d whispered in her ear. “You’ll want to stay far away from danger.”

Danger, yes. Marcy swallowed hard.

Heights and Sam O’Rourke—two things that made her dizzy.

She heard the thump-thump of hurried footsteps on the other side of the door and nervously smoothed her hair. Carefully puffed and pulled back on the sides in the new Gibson Girl style with a tortoise-shell comb, the rest of her long blond curls trailed the back of her powder-blue shirtwaist. Adjusting her wide black belt, she slid a damp palm down her cream gabardine skirt that loosely hugged her hips before it spilled into a bell shape at her ankles. Children’s laughter floated on the summer breeze while a pink sky reflected in shiny parlour windows, casting a rosy glow on a white wicker swing. Marcy breathed in the fragrance of the scarlet pillar roses that coiled and tangled on a trellis at the end of the porch, their scent recalling summers playing jacks with Julie or discussing favorite book heroes while lazing in the swing.

It had been five years since she’d seen her best friend, five long years since Papa had whisked them away to New York for his new job as a vice president for Reading Railroad. But he hadn’t counted on an agricultural crisis that would result in a worldwide economic depression in 1893, costing him and thousands of others their jobs. Some of Marcy’s excitement over returning to Boston ebbed as her thoughts strayed to the financial crisis in which a quarter of the nation’s railroads—including the company Papa worked for—went bankrupt. In New York alone, unemployment among industrial workers exceeded twenty percent, which meant Papa had been forced to return to Boston to look for work. Squaring her shoulders, Marcy shook off the malaise that always settled when she thought of Papa out of a job, but she had no doubt that her faith—and that of her parents—would see them through. Even so, tonight she was back home with her best friend, and she refused to let anything dampen her excitement of seeing Julie again. Especially Julie’s brother.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Of course, I LOVE to hear from reader friends, so they can feel free to contact me through my website at http://www.julielessman.com, either by sending an e-mail via my site or by signing up for my newsletter at http://www.julielessman.com/sign-up-for-newsletter/. My newsletter is chock-full of fun info on my books and there’s always a contest featuring signed book giveaways including one right now to have a character named after you or a loved one in my next book.

Also, I have a cool blog feature on my website called “Journal Jots” at http://www.julielessman.com/journal-jots1/, which is a very laid-back, Friday journal to my reader friends that would give your readers an idea as to my relaxed style of writing. Or they check out my favorite romantic and spiritual scenes from each of my books on the “Excerpts” tab of my website at http://www.julielessman.com/excerpts/.  Finally, I can be found daily at The Seekers blog at http://seekerville.blogspot.com/, a group blog devoted to encouraging and helping aspiring writers on the road to publication.

Thanks, Lena, for allowing me to connect with your readers, and I’m looking forward to giving the winning commenter a signed copy of any of my books, including A Love Surrendered or an e-book of A Light in the Window: An Irish Christmas Love Story, so GOOD LUCK!!

Hugs,

Julie

Thank you, Julie, for sharing both of these books with us. It's always such a pleasure to have you here. You need to contact me to book your next book.

Readers, leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of one of the books. 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 Feedblitz, Facebook, 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 

A HEART REVEALED - Julie Lessman - Free Book

I'm so happy to have my very good friend, Julie, on my blog again. Welcome, Julie. Tell us about your salvation experience.

Sure, but I guarantee you, you wouldn’t have liked me back then. I was a 23-year-old hardnosed agnostic from a devout but dysfunctional family of 13 kids. I was so angry at God that I actually used to say I wanted to burn Gideon Bibles in hotel rooms. As a wild child of the 60s and 70s, I tried everything to be happy—from astrology and tarot cards, to transcendental meditation and witchcraft—you name it. My vocabulary would have made a sailor blush. Suffice it to say that I was pretty angry at God. According to the world’s standards, I had everything going for me—a hunky boyfriend with a Corvette and a boat, a great job, my own apartment (at a time when other friends still lived at home), and I was acing an advanced writing course at Washington U., a prestigious college in St. Louis. But I wasn’t happy. I felt a lot like Peggy Lee singing, “Is that all there is?”

Then one day, this annoying gal at work approached me. She had a lesser job than me, was divorced with a kid and no boyfriend in sight. I hated her because she came in humming every day, happy as a lark while I was utterly miserable. And then it happened—one life-altering moment when she and I were alone—I looked up from my typewriter and said, “Just what in the heck (except my language was a bit saltier back then) makes you so happy all the time?” She said, “I’ve been praying you would ask.”

Oh, no, a Jesus freak, I thought to myself, but I found myself going to lunch with her, badgering her with questions and accusations. I don’t remember now if it was weeks or months, but either way, I met Jesus Christ through the remarkable patience of a God-sent angel by the name of Joy—pretty appropriate name, eh?

Since then, my life has been a journey of “joy,” because EVERYTHING with Jesus Christ at the center is pure joy—especially romance! A Passion Most Pure was my first love letter to a God whose love took me from the dark into His glorious light, and I hope and pray it and all of my books bring Him the glory He so richly deserves.

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

YIKES, I couldn’t do that, sorry! I have met WAY too many wonderful people in this business to limit it to just four, especially when I am part of a group blog called The Seekers (http://www.seekerville.blogspot.com/) with 14 other incredible authors. But I will say that Liz Curtis Higgs and Francine Rivers have been icons to me in this business—two authors whose work I devour and who have inspired me more than I can say, so I sure wouldn’t mind sitting down with them. And, then, gosh, throw in Margaret Mitchell and Harper Lee, two authors who captured me during childhood, and I’d say that’s quite a party!

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

I have done speaking engagements, but I don’t pursue them. When I started writing, I thought public speaking would be a big part of my ministry because I have never had problems talking to people one-on-one or in crowds and, of course, I tend to be a drama queen, so I get people’s attention. In fact, when I took a speech class in college, the professor took me aside and said, “Julie, I’ve been teaching speech for a long time now, and I work hard to get people to emote, but in all the time I’ve been teaching, I have never had to tone anybody down until now. J I am happy to report that I got an “A,” but even so, today, I prefer my writing ministry to one of public speaking.

What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you and how did you handle it?

Oh, honey, you’re talking to a woman with “hoof-in-mouth” disease, so the examples I could give would fill your blog for a week! Probably one of the most embarrassing things for me (and certainly my sister) was when I was about thirteen years old and my dear Aunt Julie’s husband died. I tend to babble on when I’m nervous and don’t know what to say, so when my sister and I went up to the front of the casket where my Aunt Julie was standing, I remember hugging my aunt and telling her how sorry I was.

Now, my Aunt Julie was a beautiful woman in her early 40s, and to me she looked like a movie star, and since I was enamored with romance from the age of twelve after reading Gone With the Wind, naturally romance was foremost on my mind. So after I hugged her, I pulled away to give her a tender smile. “Aunt Julie,” I said with all the wisdom of a romance-crazed thirteen-year-old, “I am so sorry about Uncle Alex, but you are such a beautiful woman, men will line up to marry you, I promise—and you’ll knock ’em dead.” I can still see the shock on my sister’s face as she quietly turned around and walked to the back of the room. This is only one of the many examples of why my daughter jokes about getting me a shock collar for Christmas since, regrettably, I’m not a whole lot better now at the age of 60 than I was then!

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?

Well, of course I tell them to do it, and then I tell them how I did it, giving them the following list of things I did to get published:

1.) Join ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers at http://www.americanchristianfictionwriters.com/), FHL (Faith, Hope & Love at http://www.faithhopelove-rwa.org/) and RWA (Romance Writers of America at http://www.rwanational.org/), both to get connected with other like-minded writers and to learn a lot about your craft.

2.) Take a fiction-writing class or attend a writing seminar or conference.

3.) Join a critique group (you can do that through ACFW).

4.) Purchase and study writing books such as Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King or Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maas, AND invest in a great thesaurus such as The Synonym Finder by Rodale Press (my writer’s bible!!).

5.) Enter contests for invaluable feedback, growth, confidence, networking opportunities and to get your name out there.

6.) Frequent websites/blogs that deal with writing, such as The Seekers (http://seekerville.blogspot.com/), a group blog that I belong to whose theme is “On the road to publication. Writing, contests, publication and everything in between.”

7.) Go for an agent first, publisher second.

8.) Then pray your heart out and put it in God’s hands.

Tell us about the featured book.

A Heart Revealed is book 2 in “The Winds of Change” series, and it’s the love story of the oldest O’Connor brother, Sean O’Connor, a confirmed bachelor, and his sister’s best friend, Emma Malloy, a battered married woman. Here’s my own personal blurb:

The ring on her hand belongs to one man …

but her heart belongs to another.

As a battered woman, Emma Malloy fled Dublin for Boston ten years ago, seeking shelter for a heart badly bruised by both her husband and guilt. But when she falls in love with Sean O’Connor, a confirmed bachelor who wrestles with demons of his own, fear and shame almost destroy her … until she is finally set free by a heart revealed.

Since I love all your books, I know I'll love this one as well. Please give us the first page of the book.

I would like to post the prologue, but before I do, I want to point out that it’s pretty heavy and violent and not really indicative of the rest of the book. In fact in contrast, the first chapter starts very light, with an O’Connor wedding some ten years after the prologue. So that said, here is Emma Malloy’s past:

A HEART REVEALED

Prologue

Dublin, Ireland, 1916

She heard it before she felt it. Harsh air sucking through clenched teeth, the grunt of an arm raised, the soft swish of a hand slicing the air.

“I want the truth—”

And then she felt it. The crack of his knuckles when her jaw met the back of his hand, the thud of her head against the wall, the putrid rise of nausea as it climbed in her throat.

“Did you sleep with him?”

“No, I swear—”

“Liar!”

Cruel hands rattled her shoulders while the vile stench of whiskey smothered her air. The taste of blood and vomit soured her tongue, forcing the words to heave from her throat. “It was an innocent comment, I swear, from a friend and nothing more …”

He wrenched her arm and her scream pierced the night before he jerked her close, his foul breath hot against her skin. “You think I’m stupid, do ya? I see the way he looks at you, the way they all look at you …”

“It doesn’t matter, Rory—you’re the one I love—only you!” The air seized in her lungs as she waited for her words to take effect. Blood pulsing in her brain, she licked her lips and forced her gaze to his, watching as his rage slowed and simmered into lust. Her body quivered as she pressed in close, tracing his mouth with a shaky finger. The violent throb of her pulse betrayed the casual huskiness of her whisper. “You … I only want you … forever and ever.”

He stared, the crazed look in his eye finally fading into the smoldering obsession she had mistaken for love. Jerking her close, he devoured her with his mouth, his lips hard and cruel as they plumbed the depths of his desire. He shoved her to the wall, pinning her there with a possessive gaze while his hands took the liberties allowed to a husband. “Mine … you’re all mine, Emma, and no other man can ever have you—do you hear?”

His breathing quickened as taut arms swallowed her up. “Don’t you know how much I love you?” he whispered, his voice pleading as the dark bristle of his late-day beard ground against her cheek. He jerked away to cup her face in his hands, all of his fury suddenly chased away by the lovesick look in his eyes. A gentle smile lifted the corners of his mouth, transforming his handsome face into the lost, little boy she’d fallen in love with. “Emma, my beautiful, beautiful Emma, I’m sorry for hitting you, love, and I swear from now on, I’ll give you all the love you deserve.”

His kiss was gentler this time, and her eyes fluttered closed. Mrs. Rory Malloy—the envy of every girl on O’Connell Street. Her sweat-soaked blouse shivered against her skin. Every lass’s dream … and one woman’s nightmare. Rory’s whispers of love tickled her ear, but all she could hear was her father’s curse, ricocheting off the battered walls of her mind.

I pray to God you get what you deserve …

With a gentle stroke of her cheek, Rory carried her into their bedroom. He closed the door with the tip of his shoe, severing the light as surely as he’d severed the hope from her soul.

Not to worry, Da … I did.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Thank you, Lena, for the opportunity to connect with your readers! I LOVE to hear from reader friends, so they can contact me through my Web site at www.julielessman.com, either by sending an e-mail via my site or by signing up for my newsletter at http://www.julielessman.com/sign-up-for-newsletter/. My newsletter is chock-full of fun info on my books and there’s always a contest featuring signed book giveaways including one right now to have a character named after you or a loved one in my next book. Also, I have a cool feature on my website called “Journal Jots” (http://www.julielessman.com/journal-jots/), which is a very laid-back, Friday journal to my reader friends that would give your readers an idea as to my relaxed style of writing. Then finally, I can be found daily at The Seekers blog (http://seekerville.blogspot.com/), a group blog devoted to encouraging and helping aspiring writers on the road to publication.


Thank you so much, Julie, for the intimate look into your life both BC (Before Christ) and after.



Readers, here's a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.


Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. 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 Feedblitz, Facebook, 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

A HOPE UNDAUNTED - Julie Lessman - Free Book

I'm thrilled to have Julie back on the blog. What are some of the spiritual themes you like to write about?

Oh, wow, I absolutely LOVE to write about spiritual themes that relate to marriage, because I have learned SO much the hard way in my 32 years with the love of my life! I long to pass all I’ve gleaned onto young women today and maybe save them some agony in the process.

Application of God’s Word in our relationship with our mate is CRUCIAL for a happy marriage, so I like to explore themes like respect for one’s husband (i.e. the dreaded submission Scripture!) or the importance of saying no to your flesh and yes to God when your husband gets in a snarky mood and takes it out on you. NOT that that ever happens to me, mind you, because it’s more the other way around in our house between my even-keel husband and the caffeinated drama queen he married! :-)

What other books of yours are coming out soon?

Well … in exactly ONE WEEK, the first book in my “Winds of Change” series A Hope Undaunted officially releases, although it is available on CBD.com as of three days ago and is probably available in stores now as well too. The next book in the series, A Heart Revealed is written but won’t be released until September 2011, followed by the final book in the series (and the final book about the O’Connors!) A Trust Restored (working title), September 2012.

If you could spend an evening with one contemporary person (not a family member of yours), who would it be and why?

Probably Francine Rivers because she is not only one of the best authors in the Christian market, but she is one of the most humble and godly women I have ever had the pleasure to meet. I would LOVE to pick her brain on spiritual matters that relate to writing.

I was able to visit with her several times when she was the speaker at the first national ACFW conference in Denver. What a blessing! What historical person would you like to meet (besides Jesus) and why?

Oh, no contest — Margaret Mitchell, of course! I would like to personally thank that woman for writing Gone With the Wind, the novel that inspired me to be a romance writer at the age of twelve, even though I shirked the calling for many years because I was too blind to see what God had called me to do. You see, I was a professional woman who was a bit of literary snob and wouldn’t be caught dead reading a romance novel. Grin … now I wouldn’t be caught dead without one in my purse or powder room at ALL times! :-)

How can you encourage authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers?

Well, anyone who attended the 2005 American Christian Fiction Writers Conference will remember me as the poor slob who waved her hands wildly in the back of the room when Brandilyn Collins asked who had the most rejections in a year. I won hands-down with 19 (at that time) and went on to garner 45 (both agent and publisher rejections, including three received AFTER I signed a 3-book contract with Revell Publishing!). Even my agent, Natasha Kern, blanched a bit when she first signed me, realizing after the ink was dry just how many times I’d been rejected. I believe the word she used was “daunting.” But apparently not too daunting for her amazing skills as an agent because she landed a contract for me within six months.

Despite 45 rejections, A Passion Most Pure went on to win ACFW’s 2009 Debut Book of the Year and the Holt Medallion Award of Merit, which STILL blows me away! So to all the aspiring authors out there—don’t let those rejections have the final say! For me the trick was to praise God in the face of every single rejection, eyes fixed on HIM instead of myself while I continued to press on. Also, because of the struggles I encountered on the road to publication, I compiled a whole lot of Scripture prayers that I wrote specifically for writers, so I encourage any writers out there to print off a copy from my website at http://www.julielessman.com/from-the-heart/ .

Tell us about the featured book?

Although the “Winds of Change” is a brand-new series, it does continue the saga of the close-knit O’Connor family, picking up with the youngest daughter’s story at the tail end of the Roaring 20s into The Great Depression. Anyone who has read “The Daughters of Boston” series knows that Katie O’Connor is a spunky, sassy little girl with a sharp wit and dry humor, but never more so than when she butts heads with her childhood nemesis, Cluny McGee. Here’s the jacket blurb:

What happens when the boy she loved to hate ...
becomes the man she hates to love?

The 1920s are drawing to a close, and feisty Katie O'Connor is the epitome of the new woman—smart and sassy with goals for her future that include the perfect husband and a challenging career in law. Her boyfriend Jack fits all of her criteria for a husband—smart, good-looking, well-connected, wealthy … and eating out of her hand. But when she is forced to spend the summer of 1929 with Cluny McGee, the bane of her childhood existence, Katie comes face to face with a choice. Will she follow her well-laid plans to marry Jack? Or will she fall for the man she swore to despise forever?

Sounds like anothre winner, Julie. Please give us the first page of the book.

Gladly! Now keep in mind that this is the first page of my galleys, which always have more copy than the final printed page.

Boston, Massachusetts, May 1929

Now this is how love should be—nice and neat. Katie O’Connor sucked the last of her Coca-Cola through a straw in Robinson’s Diner and studied her steady beau Jack Worthington with a secret smile. No, siree, no dime-novel notions of love for her. Love requires a focused plan, she thought to herself with certainty. Cool, calm, rational thinking, not a moment in time where one lovesick glance seals your fate. With a loud, hollow noise, she drained her soda and pushed the glass away, assessing Jack through approving eyes. Her lips slanted. Love at first sight, my foot.

She noted the dimple that deepened on his chiseled face as he delivered a punch line with a boyish grin, and a satisfied smile tilted the corners of her mouth. Falling in love was for fools—blind fools, she reflected with all the mature assurance of her eighteen years. Let other girls “fall” in love with their eyes closed, but not her. No, she preferred to be in control and walk—not fall, thank you very much—into true love. And if she had her way—which she fully intended to have—it would be with a man who was everything on her carefully crafted list.

Laughter disrupted her thoughts, and she found herself grinning along with the two couples sharing their booth as they roared at the finish of Jack’s joke. As usual, Jack’s buddies made a ruckus whooping and pounding their fists on the table in glee, and Katie couldn’t help but sigh with contentment. Good sense of humor. She mentally checked a box on her list and quickly scanned the cozy shop with its black-and-white-checked décor, grateful they had it to themselves at this late hour. Jack and his friends tended to get a bit rowdy, but they certainly knew how to have a good time. She settled back against the red-leather, high-backed booth and shot a glance at the marble counter where a lone soda jerk polished chrome mixers to a gleam.

“For crying out loud, Katydid, you inhaled that soda! And I bet I’ll have to buy you another, won’t I? I’m not made of money, you know.” Jack draped a sturdy arm across her shoulder and pulled her close to his handsome face. The glimmer in his dark eyes matched that of his deep brown hair, stylishly slicked back with Brilliantine. “Or maybe I am,” he teased.

Wealthy and attractive. Check, check. She drew in a deep breath and gave him a patient smile. “Nobody likes a braggart, Jack, but if you’re willing to put your money where your mouth is, I believe I’d like a hamburger. I’m starved.”

“No, you can’t be!” Genevieve Townsend said with a moan. “How can you possibly be hungry? We just had dinner before the picture show.”

Katie shrugged her shoulders. “That was over two hours ago, Gen.” She wrinkled her nose and teased with a ghost of a smile. “Besides, Valentino makes me hungry.”

Jack leaned in to plant a kiss at the nape of her neck. “Mmm … not only for food, I hope.”

I can hardly wait for my copy to arrive. How can readers find you on the Internet?

At my website at http://www.julielessman.com/ , where I talk to my readers every day via a new feature I call “Journal Jots,” or at my group blog, The Seekers at http://www.seekerville.blogspot.com/ .

Thank you, Lena, for hosting me on your blog, and I can’t wait to give you a big, ol’ hug at ACFW, my friend!

Hugs,
Julie

And thank you, Julie, for giving us a peek into your life and your new book. See you at the chocolate party!
 
Readers, here's a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. (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 6 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Feedblitz, Facebook, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment. Here’s a link.

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/

Julie Lessman - A PASSION DENIED - Free Book

I've really been anticipating having Julie back on my blog. I love her books and can hardly wait to read the new one. Welcome, Julie. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?

Gosh, Lena, I try REALLY hard not to “see” too much with my own vision because as we all know, that can set you up for a fall. And if there is one thing I have learned (ahem … the hard way!), it’s that I’d really rather not focus on what I want, but what God wants for me. BUT, if you are asking me what I would LIKE to see in my future, I can certainly share my dreams with you and your readers.

Deep down in the core of my being, I have a burning desire to reach women like I used to be—women who, yeah, maybe they believe in God, but they are not living for him—not in their lives or in their sexuality. I look at the young women today, mired in an amoral society, and my heart cries out to make a difference in their lives. To show them what God showed me—that unless He is in the center of our relationships, true happiness will be very hard to come by. Unfortunately, most of these types of girls and women don’t read Inspirational Romance. BUT … it is my desire—and I hope, God’s—that the edgy romantic tension in my books will somehow draw women like this to the type of Inspirational Romance that I write. And IF they read it, I am convinced the spiritual message will resonate for some of them.

How do I know? Because I get e-mails all the time, telling me so. And just last week, I was going through a really discouraging time regarding my writing, wondering if I was on track with God regarding the level of sensuality I include in my books. I was praying with my prayer partner about it when her 25-year-old daughter stopped by, a girl I hadn’t seen in a long time but knew that she had strayed from her Christian roots—living with her boyfriend before they got married, not going to church anymore, heavy drinking, etc. This young women proceeded to tell me that when she read my books, she actually got angry at me. Why? Because the spiritual parts convicted her so much that she wanted to throw the books out. But she didn’t, she said, BECAUSE the sensuality and intense romance so grabbed her by the throat, that she was compelled to finish the books. And when she turned the last page of A Passion Redeemed, she told me it had brought her to another level with God. I had tears in my eyes when I learned she is now back at church and trying to live for Him. For me, it just doesn’t get any better than that.

I know what you mean. When I receive feedback about how one of my books changed someone's life, it's as if the Lord is saying, "Keep doing what I've called you to." Now, Julie, tell us a little about your family.

Well, first off, I am married to a man I don’t deserve—he’s way too kind and patient for the likes of a high-maintenance drama queen like myself, but therein lies the goodness of God! He is an artist who designs my Web site, posters, bookmarks, newsletters, whatever I need. I also have a 25-year-old son who lives in Omaha with his wife who just graduated from med school, and we were blessed to learn she obtained a residency in St. Louis (where we live). I also have a sassy 21-year-old daughter who is headed for law school in the fall, so come May, my husband and I will go from empty-nesters to having five adults and three golden retrievers under our roof. YIKES … we’re a close family, for sure, but the question is, will we remain that way?? If nothing else, it should provide plenty of fodder for my books. :-)

Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?

Yes! Before I started writing, I never read anything but the Bible, some non-fiction and an occasional best-selling novel. You may find this hard to believe, but I never read romance! Why? Because I was a romance snob—one of those professional women who wouldn’t be caught dead reading a romance novel because I didn’t consider it “serious” reading. And then eight years ago, God set me free from my bias when He dropped the bomb on me that the actual desire of my heart was to write romance for Him. What a shocker! Since then, I have read everything in the Inspirational market I can get my hands on to study how it was done, and that’s still pretty much all I read.

What are you working on right now?

I just finished my fourth book about the O’Connors on St. Pat’s Day—how’s that for great timing as far as Irish novels? It’s called Refuge From the Storm (working title), and it’s the first book in my new 3-book series, which begins with Katie O’Connor’s story, the youngest daughter from The Daughters of Boston series. Katie is a pistol who comes of age during the Roaring 20s and The Great Depression, so it was fun to write.

Books 2 and 3 will be about the O'Connor brothers, Sean and then Steven, all during the exciting era of speakeasies, dance marathons, gangsters, G-men and era criminals like Bonnie & Clyde and John Dillenger. Sean's love interest will be ... guess who? Emma! Charity's scarred friend from Dublin. Steven will be a tall, brooding G-man-type modeled after real-life Elliot Ness. Some of your readers are probably too young to remember this, but I am modeling him after Robert Stack from "The Untouchables," who played Eliot Ness in the TV show years ago. I am very excited because all three plots are very involved, include detailed sub-stories for ALL the character couples (can you say "complicated"???) and each plot has surprises that I hope and pray will blow readers away!

I'm sure they will. What outside interests do you have?

Grin. Not many since I’ve taken up writing, I can tell you that! I used to be into gardening and entertaining, but with a 500-page book due every six months, there’s not much time for those things anymore. But, I do still love to watch old movies and musicals with my husband, fix special dinners and READ, of course!

How do you choose your settings for each book?

Well, Boston and Dublin are the only two settings I’ve used in all three novels of The Daughters of Boston series, which are the only books I’ve written, and I chose those cities when I was a little girl. As you may remember, I started writing A Passion Most Pure at the age of twelve after reading Gone With the Wind and immediately knew I wanted an Irish family coping with a war (like GWTW), but didn’t have the audacity to try another Civil War epic. :-) Ireland was always a given, and Dublin is one of its biggest cities, so that’s why I chose it.

As far as Boston, I have never been there, but I LOVED Boston Baked Beans candy when I was kid, as well as anything Colonial (I used to LOVE Disney’s Swamp Fox show), so I am guessing I just picked Boston because of those reasons. You can imagine my excitement when I wrote A Passion Most Pure 40 years later and learned that Boston was considered the heart of Irish America because of its large contingent of immigrants after the potato famine. Very cool!

If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?

Are you kidding? Jesus Christ, hands-down … or maybe I should say, “knees-down.” He is the love of my life, and I would thrill at the opportunity to worship Him in person.

What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?

I wish I’d known what an emotional roller-coaster it was going to be AFTER I got published. Like a lot of unpublished writers, I thought all the anxiety and self-doubt would dissipate after I signed on the dotted line. I mean that would validate me, wouldn’t it? Give me confidence as a writer? But I discovered (AGAIN!) that true confidence is not in accolades from your editor or a really good review, but instead in where your heart is with God. HE is my confidence when my sales rankings on Amazon.com are high or low, which is why I CLING to the following Scripture from 2 Corinthians ll:3, praying it almost every day: Do not let my mind “be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”

I even believe that every rejection for a manuscript comes from the Lord. The publisher who rejected the proposal or manuscript wouldn't be able to reach the readers who need to read that story. What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

Ouch, Lena, you really know how to go right for the jugular, don’t you? In fact, the lesson the Lord is teaching me right now has been so painful, that I’m afraid it’s still a bit raw. He’s teaching me that it doesn’t matter if I final in contests or if my numbers on Amazon are high or low or if a reviewer thinks my books are too sensual or not. All that matters right now is that my heart is stayed on Him and His will for my writing. Period. I’m getting there, but I have to admit—it’s slow.

We wouldn't grow, if we didn't experience the pain. I know. What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?

Well, I hope you don’t mind, but I would rather not limit it to three things, because I suggest all of the following in order to succeed, which is basically what I did:

1.) Join ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers at http://www.americanchristianfictionwriters.com/), FHL (Faith, Hope & Love at http://www.faithhopelove-rwa.org/) and RWA (Romance Writers of America at http://www.rwanational.org/), both to get connected with other like-minded writers and to learn a lot about your craft.
2.) Take a fiction-writing class or attend a writing seminar or conference.
3.) Join a critique group.
4.) Purchase and study writing books such as Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King or Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maas, AND invest in a great thesaurus such as The Synonym Finder by Rodale Press (my writer’s bible!!).
5.) Enter contests for invaluable feedback.
6.) Hang out at Web sites devoted to getting published, such as The Seekers (http://seekerville.blogspot.com/), an excellent group blog that I belong to.
6.) Go for an agent first, publisher second.
7.) Then pray your heart out and put it in God’s hands.

Very good advice. Tell us about the featured book?

Book 3 in The Daughters of Boston series, A Passion Denied, is the story of Faith and Charity’s little sister, Lizzie, a shy bookworm who dreams of a fairy-tale romance. It unfolds a man’s dark past and a young girl’s shattered dreams … and the God who redeems it all.
Elizabeth O’Connor is the little sister John always longed for. With a fire for God in his belly, he has been her spiritual mentor since she was thirteen, sharing her love of literature and her thirst for God. But when his gangly protégé blossoms into a beautiful young woman bent on loving him, he refuses to act on the attraction he feels. His past won’t let him go there. Unfortunately, “Lizzie” won’t let him go anywhere else … until his dark and shocking secrets push her away.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Gladly, and how fun! I have never had anyone ask that before! Here you go:

Boston, Massachusetts, Spring 1922

Oh, to be a calculating woman! Elizabeth O’Connor sighed. She dodged her way down the bustling sidewalk of Boston’s thriving business district, wishing she were more like her sister, Charity. She chewed on her lip. Regrettably, she wasn’t, a definite character flaw at the moment. And one that would have to change.

She sidestepped a rickety wood wagon heaped high with the Boston Herald, hot off the presses. The freckle-faced boy hauling it muttered an apology before disappearing into a sea of pin-striped suits, short skirts and bobbed hair. On his heels, a young mother ambled along, cooing to a wide-eyed baby in a stroller. The baby’s soft chuckle floated by, and the sound buoyed Elizabeth’s spirits. Spring in the city! Despite the whiff of gasoline and tobacco drifting in the unseasonably warm breeze, she was ready for the promise of love in the air. Her heart fluttered. And maybe, just maybe, a little spring fever would do the trick!

She pressed her nose to the window of McGuire & Brady Printing Company and peered inside. John Morrison Brady was bent over a press, his lean, muscled body poised for battle with a screwdriver in his hand. Her chin hardened, and her smiled faded. That man suffered from a terminal illness that would be the death of their relationship: friendship. Elizabeth straightened her shoulders. And the worst kind of friendship at that—the big-brother kind.

She touched a hand to the wavy shingle haircut her friend Millie had talked her into. “It’s all the rage, Lizzzzzie Lou,” Millie had insisted, the sound of Lizzie’s name buzzing on her tongue like the hum of a busy beehive. A self-proclaimed modern woman, Millie had convinced Elizabeth “Beth” O’Connor to change her name to Lizzie over a year ago—to add excitement to her life, she’d said. And now, in the throes of radical 1920s fashion, Lizzie’s best friend had also convinced her that the chestnut tresses trailing her back simply had to go. The result was a short, fashionable bob, newly shorn just yesterday. Softly waved, it fell to just below her ear, showing off her heart-shaped face and slender neck to good advantage. Or so Millie had said. She squinted at her reflection in the window. She did look older, more sophisticated, she supposed. A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. And it certainly seemed as if she had turned a few more heads at the bookstore where she worked. She opened the door, spurred on by the tinkling bell overhead, and took a deep breath. Now to turn the right one …

The reason I now ask for the first page is to give the readers a tiny glimpse that will hook them. And I'm hooked. I can hardly wait to read the book. How can readers find you on the Internet?

Thanks for asking, Lena. Readers can contact me through my Web site at http://www.julielessman.com/, either by sending an e-mail via my site or by signing up for my newsletter, which will keep them updated on The Daughters of Boston series, as well as give them sneak peeks at the inside publishing process and info on book releases and signings. They can also just pop in and leave a comment and their e-mail on our group blog at http://seekerville.blogspot.com/, a blog about “The road to publication. Writing, contests, publication and everything in between.”

Thank you, Julie, for once again giving us a wonderful glimpse into your life.

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