 About the Book Her dream is writing. His is the perfect wife and mother. Until God fulfills them both with a dream like no other. Twelve years ago, Faith O’Connor happily gave up her dream as a copywriter to become a wife and mother, clinging to her husband’s promise she could return someday. But when the opportunity arises to write for the Boston Herald again two days a week, her dream hits a snag … along with her marriage. To Collin McGuire, family is everything because he never really had one of his own. Raised by a father who died early and a mother who didn’t care, Collin is determined to give his children the very best with a full-time mother. But when he denies Faith her dream, he soon discovers he’s denied his own as well … until Christmas day brings a healing through a gift like no other. About the Author Julie Lessman is an award-winning author whose tagline of “Passion With a Purpose” underscores her intense passion for both God and romance. A lover of all things Irish, she enjoys writing close-knit Irish family sagas that evolve into 3-D love stories: the hero, the heroine, and the God that brings them together. Author of The Daughters of Boston, Winds of Change, Heart of San Francisco, Isle of Hope, and Silver Lining Ranch series, Julie was American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Debut Author of the Year and has garnered over 18 Romance Writers of America and other awards. Voted #1 Romance Author in Family Fiction magazine’s 2012 and 2011 Readers Choice Awards, Julie’s novels also made Family Fiction magazine’s Best of 2015, Best of 2014, and “Essential Christian Romance Authors” 2017, as well as Booklist’s 2010 Top 10 Inspirational Fiction and Borders Best Fiction. Her independent novel A Light in the Window was 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. Contact Julie through her website and read excerpts from each of her books at http://www.julielessman.com. GOODREADS | FACEBOOK | TWITTER PINTEREST | INSTAGRAM | AMAZON | WEBSITE NEWSLETTER | THE SEEKERS | JOURNAL JOTS SnippetChapter One Boston, Massachusetts September 1936 Lord have mercy … Faith O’Connor McGuire swallowed a gulp, glancing up as her husband strolled into their bedroom with that look in his eye, a towel wrapped low on his hips rather than his customary pajama bottoms. Which could only mean one thing. Her stomach fluttered along with her heart. He’d obviously missed her as much as she’d missed him during his week-long trade show in New York. Teeth tugging at her lower lip, Faith sat in their bed with a book in her lap, skin tingling as always when Collin McGuire entered a room. She took in the sculpted curve of his muscled arms and the hard, lean chest that tapered into a towel tied so low, his abdomen looked like it’d been chiseled in stone. Tall, dark, and dangerous, he’d been the Southie rogue who’d stolen every girl’s heart, and to this very day, Faith still marveled that somehow, someway, she’d been the one to steal his. Her mouth tipped up. Somehow? Someway? The seeds of a grin sneaked through. More like Someone. I honor those who honor Me. Oh, yes, Lord, you surely do, Faith thought for the thousandth time, the whisper of one of her favorite Scriptures—1 Samuel 2:30—a timely reminder that commitment to God’s precepts was the key to bounteous blessing. Heart racing, she sucked in a quiet breath and smiled, enjoying the warmth her husband stirred within. Because even after seventeen years of marriage, the man could still heat her blood with just a look. Like the one he was giving her right now—eyes smoky as they pinned her to the bed with dangerous intent, absolute confirmation there’d be no more reading tonight. “Tired?” he asked, the clean smell of soap and lime aftershave drifting in the room like an opiate as he approached with his usual confident swagger. His deadly gray eyes never strayed from hers while he plucked the book from her hand and tossed it on the nightstand with abandon. The slow smile she loved eased across his full lips as he turned out the light and sprawled horizontally on the moonlit bed, tugging her out from beneath the covers in one fluid movement to land her on top. Hungry palms skimmed the length of her satin gown. “Sweet mother of Job,” he rasped in a gravelly voice while his lips wandered her throat, “I love when you wear satin to bed, Faith, and God help me—I love it even more when I can take it off.” He gripped her close while he kissed her hard, his breathing suddenly as ragged as hers. “Tell me, Little Bit,” he whispered in a near groan, “do you have any idea just how much I’ve missed you?” His words blew warm in her ear, punctuated with a teasing flick of his tongue that immediately purled heat through her body. Oh, yes, my love, I definitely do …. “As much as I missed you, I hope,” she said with a quivering sigh, offering a weak tip of her head to give full access as he suckled the lobe of her ear. “More.” Burying his lips in her neck, he emitted a low growl while he rolled her over with all the grace of an athlete, his grin rakish as he straddled her with a decadent gleam in his eye. “So much, in fact, I intend to send Brady on all future trade shows out of town because I miss you too blasted much.” Easing down, he threaded his fingers into her hair and showed her just how much with a slow, languid kiss that both muddied her mind and whirled heat in her belly. “As God is my witness, Faith, you own me heart and soul because no other woman alive could even come close. Which means,” he whispered with a perilous smile, fingers hot as they carefully slid the strap of her gown off of her shoulder, “we have a lot of catching up to do, Mrs. McGuire.” And skimming her collarbone with his mouth, he did just that, heading south with slow, delicious kisses. “I love you, Collin,” she whispered a long while later, limp and lazy in his arms after they’d made love. Her body still hummed from his touch while her mind began to hum for an entirely different reason. “I love you, too, Faith.” He pressed a kiss to her head while he idly grazed the satin of her gown, his voice gruff with emotion. “More than I could ever say or do.” She paused, praying this might be the perfect moment to share what she hoped would be wonderful news. “Maybe not,” she said with a teasing lilt of her voice, fingers feathering across his washboard stomach to tease with a gentle dip in his navel. He softly pinched her waist. “And what’s that supposed to mean?” Faith sat up with a nervous grate of her lip, butterflies doing cartwheels in her stomach that nearly rivaled the dizzy whirl of Collin’s kisses. “I have good news to share, I hope,” she said softly, bending to gently sway her mouth against his. He stiffened for barely an instant before he gripped her arms with a wide span of eyes, his breathing suddenly shallow. “You’re pregnant?” His voice was hushed with hope. Faith blinked, painfully aware she’d just made a tactical error. Of course Collin would assume her good news was a baby because the man was desperate for another boy. With a nervous chew of her lip, she tenderly caressed the scruff of his jaw. “No, not pregnant, my love,” she said, diverting her mistake with a gently probing kiss she hoped would take his mind in another direction. “Although after this homecoming tonight, that’s a distinct possibility.” “Mmm … one can only hope.” He returned her kiss with a heated one of his own before rolling onto his side to hook her body flush with his. He pressed a kiss to her nose. “So, what’s your good news, Faith?” His mouth quirked into an affectionate smile. “Bren has finally learned to lift up the toilet seat? Or Abby has finally consented to you curling her hair?” Faith grinned, thinking both of those things would be very good news, indeed, since Abby was a tomboy and Bren a poor aim. “Noooo, nothing to do with the children. This has to do with me.” He offered a lazy smile as he cradled her face in his hands. “You’ve decided to wear satin to bed from now on?” “Well, that certainly can be arranged,” she said with a soft chuckle as she idly meandered a lazy finger down the scant line of dark hair that trailed from his chest down his stomach. “If you’re as happy about my news as I am.” Cocking his elbow to prop his head on his hand, he smiled, eyes in a squint. “Now you’ve got me really curious, Little Bit, so out with it.” “Well …” Giddy with excitement, Faith skittered up to sit Indian-style, hardly able to believe that after twelve years of devoting herself solely to being a wife and a mother, her dream to return to her job as a copywriter at the Herald could soon be a reality. “Charity happened to mention that Mitch said Father was short on copywriters at the Herald—” “Oh, no …” It was Collin’s turn to sit up, dark brows digging low as he stared at her in disbelief. “Please tell me you’re not thinking about going back to copywriting again.” Faith blinked, somewhat taken aback by the scowl on his face. “Well, yes, of course I am, Collin, but I’m only talking two days a week while the girls are in school—” “I don’t care if it’s only two hours a week, Faith. You have a responsibility to our children, so the answer is no.” She caught her breath, the sound harsh in the stillness of the night as she worked to contain her temper. “It-wasn’t-a-question, Collin,” she emphasized in a tone far tighter than she intended. “It was an opportunity I thought we should discuss since, as you well know, writing has always been my dream.” He grabbed his pillow and punched it several times before flopping down on his side, bunching it in a ball beneath his head as he closed his eyes. “Fine, we’ve discussed it. Case closed.” Jaw gaping, Faith snapped her mouth shut and silently counted to ten while she tamped down her anger. “Collin,” she said quietly, determined to approach this civilly instead of going off half-cocked like her husband. “Can you at least hear me out so we can discuss it like two rational adults who actually care about each other?” He peered up past shuttered lids, dark lashes so long and lips pursed so tight, he looked like her son refusing to eat his carrots. “I’m listening.” She expelled a silent breath. “Sean is crazy busy at the store, so he asked Emma if she could help out during the busy Christmas season twice a week,” she said quickly, grateful for the sister-in-law who had once managed Mitch and Charity’s department store, Dennehy’s, where her husband Sean was now the manager. “So, when I heard Father needed a part-time copywriter, I talked to Emma about each of us possibly trading off watching the kids two days a week. I mean, you know how close Bren is with her Daniel, so naturally both of the boys would be over the moon about this arrangement.” Unlike the sullen, little boy staring at me right now. She rushed on before Collin could interrupt. “It would only be two half days at the Herald from ten to two, well before the girls arrive home from school, and I’d be helping Father out as well, since he’s in dire need of copywriters.” She gently grazed his arm with her fingers, her voice fragile with hope as she continued. “With a depression on, Collin, the extra income would certainly help, too, taking some of the burden off of you. So really, if you think about it, it’s a win-win all the way around.” He slid her a narrow look. “I have thought about it and I don’t like it, not one little bit. This isn’t the Roaring twenties where women pushed to do whatever they bloomin’ well pleased. It’s the thirties, Faith, where married women have no business in the workplace, much less mothers. Period. We’re in the middle of a depression, for pity’s sake, where there aren’t enough jobs for men, much less mothers with young children.” He leaned in to pierce her with a hard gaze. “Children who still need them, so you can just get it out of your head right now. Bren is only four years old, and I don’t want him shuffled off or neglected just so you can pursue a whim. And in case you forgot, I am the breadwinner in this family and don’t need your help.” She blinked, stunned at the harsh bite of his words. “And I don’t need your permission!” she said, voice snapping along with her temper that the man who professed to love her more than he could “say or do” was squashing her dreams without a second thought. Chest heaving, she battled the sting of tears at the back of her lids, softening her tone in another attempt to corral her frustration. “You promised, Collin,” she whispered in a hoarse voice. “I put my dreams on hold to give you children, and you promised that after I had Abby, I could work part-time when all three girls were in school. Well, now they are, and Bren is close behind. And Father needs me”—her chin rose in her defense—“and I need the chance to pursue my love of writing, so I’m asking you--please—try to understand.” Gray eyes as cold as slate, Collin slowly rose from the pillow, lips clamped tight as he stared her down. A tic pulsed in his jaw, a rare sign of a temper she almost never saw. “All I understand, Faith,” he bit out in a tone brutal with bitterness, “is that this so-called ‘love’ of yours appears to exceed that for your husband and children.” She froze, shards of ice prickling her skin at the viciousness of his attack. The tears she’d tried so hard to stall now swelled in her eyes, unleashing a deluge of hurt and betrayal that drowned out all reason. “How dare you!” she hissed, fists clenched tight to keep from striking out. “And how dare you put your interests before that of our son!” he shouted back, obviously as enraged as she. Her tears fell, and with them any restraint, prompting a knee-jerk reaction that unleashed a swift slap across his face, the sound echoing like a clap of thunder rife with warning. His shock was at least equal to her own as they stared at each other through wide eyes, chests heaving and silence ticking away like the thundering heartbeats pounding in her chest. In the blink of his eye, fury calcified every line in that handsome face, distorting it into a man she didn’t know. Snatching his pillow up, he stalked to the closet to jerk a blanket from the top shelf, not once looking back as he bolted for the door. “Collin, I’m sorry,” she cried, but his only answer was a deafening slam that left her in a cold and empty bed where she’d just made love to her husband. A painful groan trailed from her lips. From ecstasy to agony in one violent sweep of her palm. “Oh, God, forgive me,” she whispered, sinking onto her pillow with a painful sob, well aware Collin would be too angry to accept her apology tonight. Heartsick, her body heaved as she lay there weeping, praying this awful rift would be over come morning. Boom! The door flew open with a crack to the wall, and Faith jolted up in bed, stomach cramping when her four-year-old son flew into the room with terror in his eyes. “M-Mommy, Mommy, I h-heard a loud b-bang,” he cried, voice quivering as much as his little body. Faith swept him up in her arms, clutching him tightly as she hurried toward the door. “It was nothing, sweetheart, I promise, so let’s get you back to your bed.” He clung as if he would never let go, small fingers digging into her back with a panic that rivaled the angst in her gut. “B-But it sounded like something breaking, and I’m afraid it might be a monster, so w-will you sleep w-with m-me for a while?” “Absolutely, sweetheart.” She laid him down in his bed, then crawled in alongside, grateful to escape the terrible loneliness of her empty room down the hall. Pressing a soft kiss to his head, she tucked the covers around them both, snuggling as close to him as he was to her. “I promise there are no monsters, Bren,” she whispered as she swept a tender palm down the whole of his tiny back, “and definitely nothing breaking, my love.” He shivered, and she followed suit, while a single tear slowly slid from her eye. Unless it’s my heart. ReviewA Gift Like No Other by Julie Lessman is an inspiring and romantic O’Conner Christmas story. Lessman really punches the reader in the gut with the truth and reality of what real life marriage relationships can be like. It can be hard and painful, but it can also be wonderful and glorious. This story shows the struggle and misunderstanding of a married couple with several children and how they forgive and overcome and strengthen their relationship. This is a story that readers will thoroughly enjoy. Series: O’Conner Christmas Novella Genre: Christian romance, inspirational Publisher: Indie Publication date: October 20, 2019 Number of pages: 129 Content warning: Due to a subject matter that deals with marital problems, please be advised that this sweet inspirational novella contains a higher level of romantic passion. An ecopy of this book was purchased for review. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own. Giveaway Enter the giveaway HERE. Giveaway ends November 12 at 11:59pm MT. Giveaway is subject to policies HERE. Tour Schedule
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 Welcome to the Cover Reveal for The Forever Sky, the fourth book of the Montana Gold series by Janalyn Voigt, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours! About the BookSeries: Montana Gold, Book 4 Author: Janalyn Voigt Release Date: December 1, 2019 Genre: Western/Historical Romance Can a young widow with no faith in love, hope for a future with the man who broke her heart? Maisey isn’t about to give Rob another chance to reject her love. Why should she believe that the man who left town without a backward glance three years ago cares about her? Life had taught her all about broken dreams, and she didn’t want to hope again. If only her young daughter would stop adopting Rob as a father, ignoring him—and her own emotions--would be a whole lot easier. Thoughts of the woman he’d left behind haunted Rob for three long years. It wouldn’t have been fair to ask Maisey to wait while he mined a gold claim. After making his fortune, he’d returned to his family in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley. Rob was ready to settle down, and he’d rather do so with Maisey. But after their first encounter, it was clear that he’d lost her forever. Circumstances force Maisey and Rob into one another’s company. They learn, through hardship and loss, that the only way to one another is to surrender first to God’s love. Based on actual historical events during a time of unrest in America, The Forever Sky explores faith, love, and courage in the wild west. About the Author Janalyn Voigt fell in love with literature at an early age when her father read chapters from classics to her at night. After Janalyn grew older, she put herself to sleep with bedtime stories "written" in her head. Janalyn is a storyteller who writes in multiple genres. The same elements--romance, mystery, adventure, history, and fantasy/whimsy--appear in all her novels. Janalyn Voigt is represented by Wordserve Literary. Learn more about Janalyn, read the first chapters of her books, subscribe to her e-letter, and join her reader clubs at her website. And now for the cover reveal... |
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And coming January 2020...
About the Author
Janet W. Ferguson grew up in Mississippi and received a degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Mississippi. She has served as a children’s minister and a church youth volunteer. An avid reader, she worked as a librarian at a large public high school. She writes humorous inspirational fiction for people with real lives and real problems. Janet and her husband have two grown children, one really smart dog, and a cat that allows them to share the space.
Review
The Art of Rivers by Janet W. Ferguson, is yet another beautiful, inspiring, and realistic story that readers will absolutely love. As readers come to know the couple in the story and the tragic incidences in their lives that bring them together, they will soon be rooting for these characters to form not just a friendship but a special bond that might just lead them to a chance at love if they can overcome their scars and mistakes. Readers will easily relate to the characters, pondering their own personal pains and troubles. This is a story that will leave a lasting impression upon readers long after they turn the last page.
Series: Coastal Hearts
Genre: contemporary, romance, Christian
Publisher: Southern Sun Press
Publication date: June 30, 2019
Number of pages: 249
An e-review copy of this book was purchased for review, as well as a print copy of the book provided by the author via Prsim Book Tours. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own.
Series: Coastal Hearts
Genre: contemporary, romance, Christian
Publisher: Southern Sun Press
Publication date: June 30, 2019
Number of pages: 249
An e-review copy of this book was purchased for review, as well as a print copy of the book provided by the author via Prsim Book Tours. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own.
Giveaway
One winner will receive a $10 Chick-fil-A gift card and signed copies of the first two books in the series, Magnolia Storms and Falling for Grace
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