Announcements

Our next Coffee and Books event will be on October 5th from 9:00-10:00am EST. Enjoy an hour of book talk with authors Julie Lessman, Misty M. Beller, and Lynn Shannon. This is a free event, but you do need to register to save your spot. Head over to www.literaryscape.com/events to register today. We look forward to seeing you on October 5th!

Author we are offering two sessions this month on writing book proposals. Kylee Woodley and Terry Whalin will be joining us on September 14th and 19th. If you cannot make it to one then join us for the other or both as these two experts share the how and why behind writing book proposal that catches the eye of an agent. Full details and registration can be found at www.literaryscape.com/events. These events are free for our Editing HCRW members and just $17 for anyone who would like to join. We hope to see you there.

The Unwavering Faith crowdfunding campaign is off to a great start. I am thankful for each and every person who has purchased a book. We are just 39 books away from unlocking the first bonus item. Please consider sharing this campaign with others as we worked toward the goal of publishing Unwavering Faith.

A huge thank you to Linda Messer, Angie Williamson, and Cathy Strycker for purchasing limited-edition copies of Unwavering Faith!

Episode Notes

In this episode Jessica and Melissa dicuss Julie Lessman’s novella Grace Like Rain. This story features Blake the rake and concludes the Heart of San Francisco series. We loved seeing Blake find Jesus, love, and grace.

Topics we discuss:

Working with children with special needs.

How our sin hurts the ones we love.

The power of prayer.

God’s grace.

We gave the following ratings to each of the story elements listed below.

(Espresso = an expression, Mocha = Medium amount, Latte = A lot)

Mystery - Espresso

Drama – Mocha/Latte

Suspense - Espresso

Romance – Mocha

Inspiration – Mocha/Latte

This whole series is a must read and we know you will be hooked and hog-tied which is why LiteraryScape gave Grace Like Rain by Julie Lessman 3 lassos!

(1 lasso – throw and a miss, 2 lassos – hooked, 3 lassos – hooked and hog tied)

Julie has a devotional, What’s the Story Morning Glory? Coming out on October 1st. Check out the blurb below from Julie.

“DEAR LORD, JULIE … OUR WHOLE LIFE IS IN THIS BOOK!”

My heart went out to my sweet husband as he walked into our kitchen one day with a noticeable gulp, ashen-faced after reading my latest novel.“Yes, I know, babe,” I said with a repentant smile and a conciliatory hug, “but nobody really knows that.”

Ahem. Until now …

Trust me, “What’s the Story, Morning Glory? A Memoir Devotional with a ‘Novel’ Approach to Practical Christianity” is not a book I wanted to write. As a novelist, I have never been partial to nonfiction, either reading it or writing it, but I had little choice when God convinced me otherwise through a number of point-blank arm-twistings I couldn’t deny and not-so-gentle proddings from family and friends.

Despite all the encouragement, I wasn’t really sure where to begin. “It will be fiction and nonfiction combined,” the Holy Spirit whispered within, and just like that, the idea for this book took flight. First, I would tell my “real” and very personal story behind the life-lesson stories in my novels, then I would follow it up with the excerpt from my books where I teach that same life lesson to my characters, finally culminating in corresponding Scriptures, a bulleted “Takeaway” list, and a related prayer.

Thus, What’s the Story, Morning Glory: A Memoir Devotional with a “Novel” Approach to Practical Christianity was born. A memoir devotional that when combined with scenes from my novels, becomes a “novotional” where I relate the life lessons God personally taught me through His Word. I am simply a child of God who applied these lessons and Biblical precepts to every situation in my life and consequently, saw nonstop answers to prayer and blessings galore. It is my profound hope and prayer that through my own very simple and personal stories and examples, I can do the same for others. Therefore, the format for each chapter of this book will be as follows:

1. The Real Story (How I learned and applied the spiritual lesson in my own life)

2. The Novel Story (The scene where I teach the spiritual lesson to my characters)

3. The Scripture Story (Scriptures applicable to the spiritual lesson)

4. The Takeaway Story (Bulletized points for spiritual lesson in easy-to-read/apply format)

5. The Prayer Story (Specific prayer related to the spiritual lesson)

I pray this bottom-line, albeit somewhat quirky, 1-2-3 devotional blesses you as much as God’s spiritual life lessons have blessed me!