THERE'S NO DENYING IT! JULIE'S HERE!

Welcome JULIE:

Julie Lessman is a new author who has garnered much writing acclaim, including ten Romance Writers of America awards. She resides in Missouri with her husband and their golden retriever, and has two grown children and a daughter-in-law. She is the author of The Daughters of Boston series, which includes A Passion Most Pure, A Passion Redeemed, and A Passion Denied. You can contact Julie through her website at http://www.julielessman.com/.



SKC: Now, that you are here, Julie, please tell us what inspiration went behind the penning of your third book, A Passion Denied.

JL: Gosh, Shirley, I wish I could tell you that I had this grand scheme for Lizzie and Brady’s book, but I’m afraid it just kind of naturally happened as the O’Connor saga evolved. I knew that I loved John Morrison Brady from A Passion Most Pure, and since he was the male counterpart to Faith O’Connor as the spiritual influence in Collin’s life, I found that I couldn’t let him go once the book ended. So in book 2, A Passion Redeemed, it seemed natural to make him Collin’s business partner in the print shop and equally as natural to give 13-year-old Beth O’Connor a crush on him at the same time since she was not only a bookworm like Brady, but a romantic dreamer as well.

SKC: Will you always write historical-inspirational, or do you have plans to venture out, and if so, to where?

JL: Oooo … good question, Shirley! As a matter of fact, I’ve been plotting a semi-contemporary series in my head for a while now, something that would take place in the Baby Boomer era of the 60s, and I’m starting to get pretty excited about it. A series title I’m thinking of at the moment is The Cousins McClare, and basically it would be a love/hate tug-of-war between cousins and their families (and their love interests!) in a small lake community.

But I do love historicals A LOT, so I also have thoughts about a prequel about Marcy and Patrick O’Connor (a story which is hinted at in book 3, A Passion Denied), as well as stories about each of the O’Connor girls’ children … The Cousins of Boston, maybe? J Who knows!

SKC: Tell us about some of the authors who have given you insight on how to express your own voice, and have taught you the most about development of style

JL: Well, without question, Margaret Mitchell got it all started for me with her amazing novel, Gone With the Wind. That book instilled a love for romance in me at the age of 12 that I hope carries through into my novels today. And, of course, King Solomon who wrote the “Song of Solomon” in the Bible, which opened my eyes as to just how passionate God’s love is for each of us. As far as craft, the author who had the most influence on me would be Donald Maas and his Writing the Breakout Novel, and more recently, The Moral Premise by Stanley D. Williams, a book highly recommended by my agent, Natasha Kern, and one that is changing how I look at the structure of a novel.

SKC: When you are in the middle of series and deadlines does it cramp your creativity, or enhance it, and why?

JL: Well, deadlines drive me like nothing else, so when I have one before me, I find that I push on the writing all the more, and the more I write, the more creative I become. So although I don’t LIKE deadlines hovering, they are a necessary evil that seem to spur my creative juices on.

SKC: As we close please give us a hint about your new series coming out next year, where our readers can reach you, and share a question you might have about how they’ve received your work, thus far.

JL: My next 3-book series will finish off the saga of the O’Connors in grand style. Book 1 will be the story of the youngest daughter, Katie, which is fun because she is a pistol who comes of age in the Roaring Twenties, right before The Great Depression. Books 2 and 3 will be about the O’Connor brothers, Sean and Steven, 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 book 2, A Passion Redeemed! Steven will be a tall, brooding G-man-type modeled after Elliot Ness … you know, a la Robert Stack from the Untouchables? Hubba hubba. I’m 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 will blow my readers away!

Gosh, Shirley, as far as how readers have received my work thus far, I have to say that I’m pretty blown away by some of the e-mails I have received. Stories like the one from the 15-year-old who couldn’t talk to her mom about anything, she said, UNTIL her mom gave her my book and suddenly they had common ground in their mutual love of the story. Or the guy who contacted me to get a signed copy for a friend he wanted as a girlfriend. When he told her he wanted a deeper relationship with her, she actually made him read A Passion Most Pure because “that was the kind of relationship she wanted, with God in the middle!” Or the fallen-away woman who would not read Inspirational books on a dare, but picked mine up not realizing it was spiritual. She wrote that A Passion Most Pure rekindled her love for God and gave her hope again. It just doesn’t get any better than that, does it?

SDC: Sounds exciting!

JL: Thanks SO much, Shirley, for allowing me this time to connect with you and your readership. Anyone who would like to contact me can do so through my website at http://www.julielessman.com/, either by sending an e-mail via my site or by signing up for my newsletter, in which I feature book giveaways and contests. For instance, currently I am running a contest where I am going to name a character in my next book after the contest winner. Finally, I invite your readers to visit The Seekers, a group blog of which I am a part that talks about “The road to publication. Writing, contests, publication and everything in between.” You can find it at http://seekerville.blogspot.com/.

SDC: Julie, I can’t thank you enough for coming by to visit. I am in the middle of A Passion Denied right now, and look forward to the read.
I also understand you look are forwarding to donating a book to one of our guests! What a great gift for POST Mother's Day!

A big congratulations to Linda Wagner of Minnesota! You have just won Julie's book. Thank you so much for joining us and leaving your comment. Be watching for your book!
Blessings
Shirley

JOIN ME IN MEETING PATTI LACY!

Welcome, Patti Lacy!

Hi, Shirley! Thanks for having me on board!

SDC: Let's hear the scoop about you!

In 1955, Ann Qualls gave birth to her daughter Patti in the front seat of a Buick. By pure coincidence, Ann claims, their daughter was named Patti Day Qualls, PDQ.
This moniker has served Patti well, as she’s moved at least ten times, traveled to forty states, and changed occupations with a liberality unusual in native Texans. However, Patti thinks her latest profession will stick awhile.
The Still, Small Voice encouraged Patti to write after a brave Irish friend shared memories of betrayal and her decision to forgive. In 2008, An Irishwoman’s Tale was published by Kregel Publications. Patti’s second novel, What the Bayou Saw, draws on the memories of two young girls who refused to let segregation, a chain link fence, and a brutal rape come between them.
The secrets women keep and why they keep them continue to capture Patti’s imagination. She writes full time, teaches Bible studies and seminars, and attends book signings. Patti and her husband Alan, an Illinois State faculty member, live in Normal. They have two grown children and a dog named Laura.

SKC: Thank you, Patti. Please tell us what got you started in the field of fiction writing.

PL: After God yanked us from our warm Southern front porch and dumped us in Terre Haute, Indiana, I formed a book discussion group hoping to meet my neighbors. After one of the meetings, Mary, a chic red-haired woman, hung around my kitchen long after the other women bustled into the cold.
“What is your first memory?” Mary asked, interrupting my monologue about kids.
“I don’t know. I’ve never really had to think about it,” I stammered as I gripped the Formica countertop.
“How pretty, NOT to think about it. My first memory cut my heart in two, and it’s never been the same. Moon-shaped faces about a scarred oaken table, guzzling tea. Cup after cup of the steamin’ stuff. Saying, ‘The little eejit’s got to go.’”
“How awful!” I gasped.
“No, that’s not the awful thing. What’s awful is what happened next.”
For hours, Mary shared her brutal first memory and her decision to forgive...a living, breathing testament to Romans 8:28. Ten years later, God led me to write that story.

SKC: That is truly interesting and inspiring! How has your Christian background affected the style of writing you do?

PL: Shirley, it’s that hope of Christ, that trusting in Him through ALL things, that I long to depict. Even through racism. Even through abandonment. Even through a rape. Our Lord used stories to teach. It would be such a blessing if my books can do the same.

SKC: I know you stay extremely busy, but how disciplined are you each day with your writing schedule, or do you ever get off track?

PL: When I’m in the “composing” part of my work in process, Laura, my trusty canine critique partner, rouses me around five. I set a page goal per day and stick with it pretty well. Getting up so early frees us to meet friends for lattes and/or jog about our lovely town of Normal. Right now I’m between books and spend more time on research, publicity…and planning my daughter’s wedding! Yippee!

SKC: What books in the field of writing have you recommended to your past students and to others even today? I know there are so many. But I am always open to learning about more.

PL: Oh, this old dog hasn’t learned a whole lotta new tricks. I love Self-Editing for Fiction Writers. Gosh, every time I reread that book, my writing improves! Ann Lamont’s Bird by Bird nourishes my soul. With pen in hand, I devour books by good writers. What a fun group of teachers I have! Dostoevsky, Kingsolver, Edwards…right now I’m reading Steinbeck’s Travels With Charley, a birthday gift from my baby girl. My nightstand is stacked high with wonderful Christian novels as well.

SKC: I've not read the ones you mentioned, but I love those authors and many of their works, myself. How often do you visit other authors’ blogs, and what do you learn from going about the web? Do you ever get distracted by the web?

PL: Shirley, I am just not cut out to be a blogger. Lord knows I’ve tried. It’s just not a ball I can juggle right now! Besides, I “office” at one of two branches of our local Coffee Hound four or five days (gulp) a week with a motley crew that will be seen with me, and it just doesn’t leave much time for surfing! But I sure to absorb some fascinating stories and see some colorful characters “at work.”

SKC: Blogs are sometimes a mystery. Patti, every writer goes through some particular trial when it comes to their craft. What is one that gets to you the most and how do you deal with it?

PL: Shirley, as I’ve gotten older, multi-tasking muddles what gray matter left upstairs. It’s hard for me to edit, compose fresh material, and promote all at once. Many times this year I’ve had to recall the advice Lynn Austin gave at my first writers’ conference: Compose for the Audience of One. He is the one to whom you answer. Lay those manuscripts, published or unpublished, at His feet one day. And it will be enough. Lord, yes, it will be enough.

SKC: You can't be getting that much older! I thought authors got younger! So, what do you think is one of the most important things you have learned so far since becoming a published writer?

PL: That I don’t know anything.

SDC: Ok. And I have to admit, that is a great answer. If you were to ask a new or established writer a question, what would you ask, Patti?

PL: I love chatting with authors to see how they put together all the little pieces of their stories. Do they write SOP (seat of the pants)? Snowflake? Detailed outline? There’s so much to learn from my comrades of the pen!

SDC: Good question. Well, Patti, It has been a pleasure having you here at A Pen for Your Thoughts. I understand you have a book to offer one of our readers. Please tell us about it, and do let us know where we can find you on the web.

Oh, y’all, I’m so happy to share a copy of What the Bayou Saw, my second novel.
[A little hint on what it's about]

Since leaving Louisiana, Sally Stevens has held her childhood secrets at bay, smothering them in a sunny disposition and sugar-coated lies. No one, not even her husband Sam, has heard the truth about what happened to her and her best friend, Ella Ward, when they were twelve years old.
Now a teacher in Normal, Illinois, Sally has nearly forgotten her past. Then Shamika, one of her students, is violently attacked, and memories of segregation, a chain-link fence, and a blood oath bubble to the surface like a dead body in a bayou. Lies continue to tumble from Sally’s lips as she scrambles to gloss over the harsh reality of a betrayal that refuses to stay buried.
Finally cornered by the Holy Spirit and her own web of lies, Sally—and Shamika embark on a quest to find Ella in post-Katrina New Orleans. With the help of friends, family, and God, Sally can glimpse a life free of the mire of deceit and truly begin to live with joy. But will she pay the price for a lifetime of deception?

Visit my kinda blog, kinda website at http://www.pattilacy.com/. Check out my latest book trailer. And thank y’all for the interest in this Southern transplant living in Normal, Illinois! God bless!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR CROSSING OVER AND JOINING US

Oh, thanks for having me, Shirley. You’re great!

Don't forget to drop in your comment! I look forward to drawing your name. Oh, and if you want to respond to Patti's question about your style of writing if you are a writer, we'd love to hear it.
WE HAVE A DELIGHTFUL WINNER FOR PATTI'S BOOK! CONGRATULATIONS, HOPE CHASTAIN of HACKET, ARIZONA! YOUR NEW BOOK IS ON IT'S WAY. AND THANKS SO MUCH FOR RESPONDING AND FOR GIVING US YOUR THOUGHTS! AND GOOD LUCK ON THE CONTINUANCE OF YOUR WRITING SUCCESS.
Shirley Kiger Connolly