✅   WHEW! What a Summer!

✅   We Have a Winner in the Pre-Order Contest!

✅   Winnie’s Almost Here!

✅   Free Download!

✅  Upcoming Contest: Win a $50 Gift Card!

✅   What Am I Pre-Ordering?

 Read my prior blog including 1st excerpt from Winnie’s story HERE!

 

Whew … What a Summer! 

Boy, oh boy … has it been a busy summer in Sweet Home Alabama!  (Roll Tide! 🏈)

Not only is an O’Connor cousin — Winifred Dennehy — making her debut in my upcoming release, A WHIM AND A PRAYER, on September 8, which definitely kept me busy, but we’ve also been settling into Bama life and lots of quality time with family and friends!

So, check out the montage below where my son’s family came for a visit including this rainy day in the woods, my granddaughter and I celebrated the 4th, my better half won a pickle-ball award, my daughter and I are having fun, one of many beautiful sunsets, and lots of rides on the waverunner!  All in, a truly blessed first summer in our new Alabama home!

      

 

 

Our Winner in the Pre-Order Contest! 

And now … it’s Winnie’s turn to shine, and boy, does she!

Along with … the winner of my pre-order contest who has won a fairly major character named after her in A WHIM AND A PRAYER, plus a signed paperback copy, and a $25 Amazon gift card. So, without further ado, let’s give a great big round of applause for …

Cari Lee Barton!

 

SUPER CONGRATS to Cari and a big thank you to each and every one of you who pre-ordered A WHIM AND A PRAYER and to Randomizer who picked Cari out of a slew of wonderful entrants. I truly wish you all could have won!

Cari … I will be in touch soon!

 

 

Whoo-Hoo … Winnie’s Almost Here!

Yep, the good news is Winnie’s almost here … but the even better news is … she’s still on a pre-order discount sale until her release date of September 8, so go for the discount before her price goes up!

She’s a former orphan desperate to protect her heart.
He’s a best friend who protects her from the start.
Till prayer protects them both from a true love torn apart.

Discarded like so much trash on the steps of an orphanage at age two, seventeen-year-old Winifred Dennehy thinks God has it out for her. Abandoned by abusive parents and born cross-eyed to boot, she spent the first four years of her life battling bullies and verbal abuse. Deliverance came in the form of one Beckett Campbell, the ten-year-old orphan who became her best friend and guardian angel for life, along with an orphanage volunteer by the name of Mrs. D. When Mrs. Charity Dennehy adopts Winnie into her family, has her crossed eyes fixed, and secretly arranges for Beckett to be fostered and then adopted by elderly neighbors down the street, Winnie figures her luck has changed. But instead of attributing it to God like Beckett does, she’s inclined to believe it’s her own grit, charm, and spontaneity that has paved the way.

From the moment twenty-four-year-old Beckett Campbell saw the tiny, cross-eyed orphan who reminded him of the sister he lost, he wanted to love and protect her forever. Best friends from the start despite over five years apart, Winnie’s naïve spontaneity for wild hairs and whims keeps Beck’s mature responsibility busy and happily so. Until the little girl he wanted to protect suddenly becomes the young woman he wants to love. When Winnie insists on protecting their friendship from the fear and risk of anything more, Beck has a decision to make. Friendship forever … or a life apart from the best friend he loves. Praying that Winnie will change her mind, Beck doesn’t hold out much hope for that day. But when an unexpected turn of events alters both of their lives, it puts “a whim and a prayer” on a collision course that just might make a way.

PRE-ORDER DISCOUNT HERE!

 

Free Download! 

Get ready for Winnie by reading about her background in A WHISPER OF HOPE, my O’Connor Christmas novella that introduces Winnie to the family. And where Charity’s up to her old tricks!  Here’s the blurb:

She’s desperate for a baby.
He’s desperate for an empty nest.
Love is desperate to surprise them both.

With a husband dead set against adoption, Charity O’Connor Dennehy has barely a whisper of hope for more children, but if hope doesn’t disappoint … will it be enough to find a precious bundle under her tree?

FROM SEPTEMBER 1-5 ONLY
FREE DOWNLOAD HERE! 

 

 

 

Win a $50 Amazon Gift Card! 

Guess what? September is my month for the THE CHRISTIAN FICTION READING CHALLENGE, so I hope you will join me for a Zoom chat on A WING AND A PRAYER on Tuesday, September 29, where you can ask me questions AND be eligible to win a $50 Amazon gift card.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

1.) Just sign up for THE CHRISTIAN FICTION READING CHALLENGE HERE.

2.) Read A WING AND A PRAYER  (now on e-sale for only 99 cents!) or maybe reread it if you already own it.

3.) Simply post a question in the chat during the Zoom on September 29 (details automatically will be sent to you after you sign up for the challenge).

4.) Then after the Zoom, just send me an email at CONTACT JULIE with your full name and the question you asked, and I will enter you in the drawing for a $50 Amazon gift card.  

WINNER ANNOUNCED IN MY NEXT JOURNAL JOT BLOG. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

 

 

So … What Am I Pre-Ordering? 

I can count on one hand the number of authors whose books I pre-order, and MaryLu Tyndall is definitely one. And let me just say that after reading Books One and Two in her amazing series, The Legend of the King’s Ring, I am chomping at the bit to get to her upcoming release, Book 3, The Sacrifice.

He Was Danger . . . But Still She Felt Safest in His Arms

Amos Kent Carlton has faced death before—but never with a noose around his neck. Spared at the last moment and sold into servitude, he vows to reclaim his freedom at any cost. Trust is a luxury he cannot afford… and faith, a relic he left behind long ago.

Lady Alexandra Ashcombe commands ships, land, and men with unyielding precision. But when the pirate placed under her authority begins to unravel both her control—and her guarded heart—she finds herself caught in a battle far more perilous than any she has fought in society or trade.

For the Ring of Solomon has resurfaced. Sought by those who crave its power, the ancient artifact carries with it whispers of divine authority… and devastating consequence. As enemies converge and the line between justice and vengeance blurs, Amos and Alexandra must confront the truth: Some chains cannot be broken without cost. Some love cannot survive without surrender. And some destinies demand the ultimate sacrifice.

I encourage you to check it out!                                     PRE-ORDER  HERE!

Hugs and Happy Summer!

Julie

 

 

Special Newsflash!!

 

💚 💛 🧡 

 

😱 WHAT???!!!!

Win a character named for you in

A Whim  and a Prayer — which releases

September 8 — PLUS a signed paperback copy AND

a $25 Amazon gift card??

 

YES you can! Why? Because I am SO happy to have finished my edits that I decided to celebrate with a giveaway!

Some of you may remember contests I’ve run in the past to have a character named after you or a loved one in a future book of mine. Well, I’m happy to say that there are still a few winners from a past contest that actually appear in A Whim and a Prayer, so I hope it gives them
a thrill when they see it.

BUT … when I realized I had a fairly major character left that I could rename, I thought I’d give YOU a chance to do it for me with your name or any other female friend or relative you want to surprise.

And the best part? Not only will you get the pre-order discount that goes up in price on release day, September 8, but you’ll also get a signed paperback copy of A WHIM AND A PRAYER with your name immortalized in it PLUS a $25 Amazon gift card! (NOTE: U.S. entrants only for the paperback, but international entrants eligible for gift card and name in book.)

How? By simply pre-ordering A WHIM AND A PRAYER at the pre-order reduced rate — which many of you already have — then letting me know via the CONTACT JULIE tab on my website (on the honor system), and I will toss your name in the hat for a random drawing. Winners will be announced on my Journal Jot blog on September 1st.

Here’s how I picture the hero, Beckett Campbell, and here’s the jacket blurb:

She’s a former orphan
desperate to protect her heart.

He’s a best friend
who protects her from the start.

Till prayer protects them both
from a true love torn apart.

So, good luck, and happy reading!

 

 

The Christian Fiction Reading Challenge!

You are cordially invited to join me and eleven other bestselling and award-winning authors for a year of great reading and great discussions via Zoom.

Each month, we dive into a novel by many of your favorite Christian authors, and there will be plenty of variety! Romance. Heart-pounding suspense. A visit to 1970’s London. Even a princess in search of true love.

This month’s chat is with award-winning author CARA PUTMAN regarding her fabulous novel, THE TARGETED, so if you’ve read it, be sure to sign up for the Zoom HERE, then come by for Cara’s Zoom chat TUESDAY, AUGUST 25 at 6PM CDT … or, if you haven’t read it, check it at the title link above and come on by because not only is Cara a lawyer and a law professor, but an award-winning author of Christian suspense. 

NOTE: My month is September for a Zoom chat on A Wing and a Prayer, so I hope you’ll consider joining us for that one in particular (see sale info below and info on winning a $50 gift card!).

Some books have strong Christian content. Some are clean reads but written from a Christian worldview. No matter which of those describes the book of the month, we hope you’ll love it.

Again, to join, just go to the website at Christian Fiction Reading Challenge HERE. Read the information about when and where and how it all works, then drop your name and email address into the signup box. You’ll receive the important information each month via email (the book everyone is reading, the day and time of the Zoom chat). And if you can’t make the Zoom, don’t worry. The video will be uploaded so you can watch later.

We can’t wait to see you!

 

 

CONTEST: Win $50 Gift Card! 

Guess what? September is my month for the THE CHRISTIAN FICTION READING CHALLENGE, so I hope you will join me for a Zoom chat on A WING AND A PRAYER on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, where you can ask me questions AND be eligible to win a $50 Amazon gift card.

 

HOW DOES IT WORK?

1.) Just sign up for THE CHRISTIAN FICTION READING CHALLENGE HERE. (Details automatically will be sent to you after you sign up for the challenge).

2.) Read A WING AND A PRAYER (will be on e-sale for only 99 cents on Sept. 1) or maybe reread it if you already own it.

3.) Simply post a question in the chat during the Zoom on September 29 at 6PM CDT.

4.) Then after the Zoom, just send me an email at CONTACT JULIE with your full name and the question you asked, and I will enter you in the drawing for a $50 Amazon gift card.

WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN MY OCTOBER JOURNAL JOT BLOG. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Hugs and Happy Summer!

Julie

 

✅   Long Time, No See, & Regrettably … Long Time, No Write!

✅   BUT … Winnie is FINALLY Here!

✅   Christian Fiction Reading Challenge!

✅   Upcoming Contest: Win a $50 Gift Card!

 Read my prior blog including 1st excerpt from Winnie’s story HERE!

 

 

Yee-Haw! Back in the Saddle Again …
Or More Appropriately … Back on the Deck Again!

Praise the Lord and pass the chips — I’m back in the saddle again and getting ready to release my first novel in three years (hard to believe, I know, at least for me!) and my first book in two years following my memoir devotional, What’s the Story, Morning Glory: A Memoir Devotional with a “Novel” Approach to Practical Christianity.  And let me just say right out the chute — it’s been a rough, rough ride! For my writing that is.

For my life? It’s been sheer heaven to move closer to our daughter, SIL, and two grands in Birmingham, Alabama, and on a lake, no less!! Needless to say, it’s been crazy busy with staging/selling our house at Lake of the Ozarks, moving to Alabama, and getting resettled again. But the best part has been spending time with my daughter, SIL, and two grands in what is for me, truly a dream house on a lake! We miss our family and friends back in Missouri like crazy, but we LOVE “Bama” and the people here — truly Southern hospitality at its best! And don’t even get me started on the crape myrtles, which bloom from late May to September! Alabama is SUCH a beautiful state!

One thing I did have to get used to, however, are the tremendous amount of bees, wasps, ants, and bugs that love Alabama too! I didn’t know why till ChatGPT told me that it never gets cold enough in Bama to kill off the last crop of bugs and insects like it does in Missouri, so there are far more here, especially since our yard is loaded with flowering plants, bushes, and trees.

But Keith and I are acclimating quickly and actually having fun with our Bug Assault guns which shoo flies and wasps away with salt. The bees don’t bother us at all since they stay around the flowers, and there are butterflies galore, something I seldom saw in Missouri. And the wildlife is WONDERFUL! We have our cove egret, Charlotte, who hunts for fish right off our boardwalk and a lazier guy we named Charlie, a blue heron who spends most of his time airing his wings.

   

Plus … now that I am back to writing again — THANK YOU, JESUS! —  I love Alabama even more! And speaking of writing …

 

 

Whoo-Hoo! Winnie is FINALLY Here!

Okay, let me go on record right now to say that this is one of the hardest novels I’ve ever written, not only because I hit the wall for two years, but because I wasn’t crazy about the heroine in the beginning.

But once I started writing again, Winnie grew on me — like Charity had to grow on a lot of you — and by book’s end? I hope you will love her as much as I do.

And the hero? St. Beckett “Gorgeous” Campbell? He carried me through this book like he carries Winnie through their story, a true “saint” and gorgeous as well. So I KNOW you are going to love him and hopefully Winnie too.

Here’s the jacket blurb:

She’s a former orphan
desperate to protect her heart.

He’s a best friend
who protects her from the start.

Till prayer protects them both
from a true love torn apart.

 

Discarded like so much trash on the steps of an orphanage at age two, seventeen-year-old Winifred Dennehy thinks God has it out for her. Abandoned by abusive parents and born cross-eyed to boot, she spent the first four years of her life battling bullies and verbal abuse. Deliverance came in the form of one Beckett Campbell, the ten-year-old orphan who became her best friend and guardian angel for life, along with an orphanage volunteer by the name of Mrs. D. When Mrs. Charity Dennehy adopts Winnie into her family, has her crossed eyes fixed, and arranges for Beckett to be adopted by elderly neighbors down the street, Winnie figures her luck has changed. But instead of attributing it to God like Beckett does, she’s inclined to believe it’s her own grit, charm, and spontaneity that has paved the way.

From the moment twenty-four-year-old Beckett Campbell saw the tiny, cross-eyed orphan who reminded him of the sister he lost, he wanted to love and protect her forever. Best friends from the start despite over five years apart, Winnie’s naïve spontaneity for wild hairs and whims keeps Beck’s mature responsibility busy and happily so. Until the little girl he wanted to protect suddenly becomes the young woman he wants to love. When Winnie insists on protecting their friendship from the fear and risk of anything more, Beck has a decision to make. Friendship forever … or a life apart from the best friend he loves. Praying that Winnie will change her mind, Beck doesn’t hold out much hope for that day. But when an unexpected turn of events alters both of their lives, it puts “a whim and a prayer” on a collision course that just might make a way.

And guess what? You can order the e-book TODAY at a reduced pre-order price or wait to order the paperback on the release date of SEPTEMBER, 8, 2026.

PRE-ORDER E-BOOK HERE!

PAPERBACK ON SALE SEPTEMBER 1ST

And to get ready for Winnie’s story, you might want to start at the beginning of The Cousin O’Connor Series all over again if you’ve already read it, just to refresh. Especially since book one in that series — A Wing and a Prayer — is The Christian Fiction Reading Challenge book for September, where you can win a $50 gift cards. See details below.

 

 

The Christian Fiction Reading Challenge!

You are cordially invited to join me and eleven other bestselling and award-winning authors for a year of great reading and great discussions via Zoom.

Each month, we dive into a novel by many of your favorite Christian authors, and there will be plenty of variety! Romance. Heart-pounding suspense. A visit to 1970’s London. Even a princess in search of true love.

This month’s chat is with award-winning author Denise Hunter regarding her fabulous novel, More Than Friends, so if you’ve read it, be sure to sign up for the Zoom HERE, then come by for Denise’s Zoom chat TOMORROW, Tuesday, July 28 at 6PM CDT … or, if you haven’t read it, come on by anyway because Denise is one of my favorite authors!

NOTE: My month is September for a Zoom chat on A Wing and a Prayer, so I hope you’ll consider joining us for that one in particular (see sale info below and info on winning a $50 gift card!).

Some books have strong Christian content. Some are clean reads but written from a Christian worldview. No matter which of those describes the book of the month, we hope you’ll love it.

Again, to join, just go to the website at Christian Fiction Reading Challenge HERE. Read the information about when and where and how it all works, then drop your name and email address into the signup box. You’ll receive the important information each month via email (the book everyone is reading, the day and time of the Zoom chat). And if you can’t make the Zoom, don’t worry. The video will be uploaded so you can watch later.

We can’t wait to see you!

 

 

 

CONTEST: Win $50 Gift Card! 

Guess what? September is my month for the THE CHRISTIAN FICTION READING CHALLENGE, so I hope you will join me for a Zoom chat on A WING AND A PRAYER on Tuesday, September 29, where you can ask me questions AND be eligible to win a $50 Amazon gift card.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

1.) Just sign up for THE CHRISTIAN FICTION READING CHALLENGE HERE.

2.) Read A WING AND A PRAYER (will be on e-sale for only 99 cents on Sept. 1) or maybe reread it if you already own it.

3.) Simply post a question in the chat during the Zoom on September 29 (details automatically will be sent to you after you sign up for the challenge).

4.) Then after the Zoom, just send me an email at CONTACT JULIE with your full name and the question you asked, and I will enter you in the drawing for a $50 Amazon gift card.

WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN MY NEXT JOURNAL JOT BLOG. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Hugs and Happy Summer!

Julie