Today's host: Jennifer Slattery
Today we meet our final finalist, Jessica Patch. This has been a great, month-long clash! Come back tomorrow to see which of our three finalists received the most votes and which reader won Mary Connealy's novel, Sharpshooter in Petticoats. In the meantime, why not toss your name in the ring one more time? Remember, there are four ways to be entered in our book give-away drawing: leave a comment, fb share us and email us the link, tweet us and email us the link, become a new subscriber.
Jessica Patch attempted her first book at twelve. She finally finished one in 2004 and has been finishing them since!
She lives in the mid-south where the heat rises much like her contemporary suspenseful romances. Her novels are relevant, provocative stories of inspiration. Readers will identify with characters that are flawed but redeemable. Using witty humor and unusual twists, she brings characters through trials and triumphs while drawing out biblical truths.
Jessica grew up in southern Illinois then attended Central Bible College, where she met her husband, an ordained minister with Destiny Ministries. She is devoted to her local church, having served as a Biblical Studies teacher, Women’s ministry leader, Regional Women’s representative, and volunteer co-pastor with her husband of the Young Adult Ministry. She’s taught workshops, frequently spoken to the Women’s ministry group, and shared her testimony at a Women’s Discipleship retreat. Many of her articles are published in the Current—her church’s monthly newsletter. She is a member of the Christian Writers Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and Byhalia Christian Writers Group, a chapter of American Christian Writers.
When she’s not sneaking off to movies with her husband, crashing into police cruisers, or getting stuck on top of her refrigerator, she enjoys embarrassing her tween daughter and six year old son by wearing pajamas to take them to school and inventing new ways to get rid of her irksome dog (she hasn’t actually tried any of them…yet).
Jessica's excerpt was taken from Chasing Treasure, the first book in the Wayward Children Trilogy.
Jessica, we loved your excerpt! Tell us more about the novel it was taken from.
Indiana Jones and Seth Lance have something in common. They both want fortune and glory. Seth and Noah Lance have something in common too. They both want Scarlet King. Scarlet has loved Seth her whole life, but lately she’s noticing new feelings for her best friend, Noah, who happens to be Seth’s baby brother. In order to prove her feelings are simply a crush, she takes off to Egypt on one of Seth’s most adventurous treasure hunts yet, but someone else wants the treasure too. Someone willing to kill them to get it.
That sounds like quite the page turner, and you are quite the writer. What do you love most about writing and this book?
Writing is an exhilarating experience for me. I love doing it because it’s a way for me to effectively communicate God’s overflowing hope to so many people who feel hopeless. When I’m writing, I know I’m honoring the Lord and nothing feels better than pleasing God!
What I love most about [Chasing Treasure], is the spiritual truth that it’s never too late to repent, to make a change. Even when our consequences from sin lead us to a cave of darkness, there’s always a way out. God can overturn the heaviest of stones to save us. I also love the characters’ journeys from superficial love to sacrificial love.
I love stories with a strong redemptive or healing message! Tell us a bit about your motivations for writing. What keeps you going and helps move you to that next level?
[I've learned] God prepares things for me, but He expects me to prepare for His plans (and He gives me the resources to prepare). A teachable spirit is a must! I have to be willing to keep learning and keep rewriting. Just because He gives me the story, doesn’t mean I won’t make mistakes in writing it. I’m human. There is always a book, an article, or a blog that can help me be more effective in communicating what God speaks to my heart to write. The better I write, the richer the story—the stronger the message to the reader. And it’s all about touching the reader and bringing them closer to Jesus Christ.
I've also learned I’m me. I can’t be anyone else. And no one else can be me. It’s easy to slip into the comparison/competing game. “I wish I could write poetic lines. Why can’t I have that insight? I can’t describe like she can. Maybe I should blog about that.” I have to take my focus off what everyone else is doing and ask God what it is He wants specifically for me to do. Then do that and let Him take care of the rest. Yeah, there will always be writers who are more talented. Better bloggers. Greater sites. We’re to rejoice when others rejoice. God has a plan for me. I have to trust Him to get me there. So should you!
Amen! Thank you so much for chatting with us today! Many blessings in your writing venture. Before we go, do you have a question you'd like to ask our readers?
Readers: Think of your favorite romance novel; you know the one that made you sigh and dream about it for nights? What was it about the characters’ romance that held your heart and stayed with you?
Remember, come back tomorrow to find out which one of our three finalists will be crowned our next literary champion! (And don't forget to enter our book give-away!)
To our blogging readers, we're always on the look-out for great bloggers to join our blog alliance. If you'd like to have your blog added to our home page and receive quality articles to post on your site each week, contact us at contactcott(at)gmail(dot)com.
Today we meet our final finalist, Jessica Patch. This has been a great, month-long clash! Come back tomorrow to see which of our three finalists received the most votes and which reader won Mary Connealy's novel, Sharpshooter in Petticoats. In the meantime, why not toss your name in the ring one more time? Remember, there are four ways to be entered in our book give-away drawing: leave a comment, fb share us and email us the link, tweet us and email us the link, become a new subscriber.
Jessica Patch attempted her first book at twelve. She finally finished one in 2004 and has been finishing them since!
She lives in the mid-south where the heat rises much like her contemporary suspenseful romances. Her novels are relevant, provocative stories of inspiration. Readers will identify with characters that are flawed but redeemable. Using witty humor and unusual twists, she brings characters through trials and triumphs while drawing out biblical truths.Jessica grew up in southern Illinois then attended Central Bible College, where she met her husband, an ordained minister with Destiny Ministries. She is devoted to her local church, having served as a Biblical Studies teacher, Women’s ministry leader, Regional Women’s representative, and volunteer co-pastor with her husband of the Young Adult Ministry. She’s taught workshops, frequently spoken to the Women’s ministry group, and shared her testimony at a Women’s Discipleship retreat. Many of her articles are published in the Current—her church’s monthly newsletter. She is a member of the Christian Writers Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and Byhalia Christian Writers Group, a chapter of American Christian Writers.
When she’s not sneaking off to movies with her husband, crashing into police cruisers, or getting stuck on top of her refrigerator, she enjoys embarrassing her tween daughter and six year old son by wearing pajamas to take them to school and inventing new ways to get rid of her irksome dog (she hasn’t actually tried any of them…yet).
Jessica's excerpt was taken from Chasing Treasure, the first book in the Wayward Children Trilogy.
Jessica, we loved your excerpt! Tell us more about the novel it was taken from.
Indiana Jones and Seth Lance have something in common. They both want fortune and glory. Seth and Noah Lance have something in common too. They both want Scarlet King. Scarlet has loved Seth her whole life, but lately she’s noticing new feelings for her best friend, Noah, who happens to be Seth’s baby brother. In order to prove her feelings are simply a crush, she takes off to Egypt on one of Seth’s most adventurous treasure hunts yet, but someone else wants the treasure too. Someone willing to kill them to get it.
That sounds like quite the page turner, and you are quite the writer. What do you love most about writing and this book?
Writing is an exhilarating experience for me. I love doing it because it’s a way for me to effectively communicate God’s overflowing hope to so many people who feel hopeless. When I’m writing, I know I’m honoring the Lord and nothing feels better than pleasing God!
What I love most about [Chasing Treasure], is the spiritual truth that it’s never too late to repent, to make a change. Even when our consequences from sin lead us to a cave of darkness, there’s always a way out. God can overturn the heaviest of stones to save us. I also love the characters’ journeys from superficial love to sacrificial love.
I love stories with a strong redemptive or healing message! Tell us a bit about your motivations for writing. What keeps you going and helps move you to that next level?
[I've learned] God prepares things for me, but He expects me to prepare for His plans (and He gives me the resources to prepare). A teachable spirit is a must! I have to be willing to keep learning and keep rewriting. Just because He gives me the story, doesn’t mean I won’t make mistakes in writing it. I’m human. There is always a book, an article, or a blog that can help me be more effective in communicating what God speaks to my heart to write. The better I write, the richer the story—the stronger the message to the reader. And it’s all about touching the reader and bringing them closer to Jesus Christ.
I've also learned I’m me. I can’t be anyone else. And no one else can be me. It’s easy to slip into the comparison/competing game. “I wish I could write poetic lines. Why can’t I have that insight? I can’t describe like she can. Maybe I should blog about that.” I have to take my focus off what everyone else is doing and ask God what it is He wants specifically for me to do. Then do that and let Him take care of the rest. Yeah, there will always be writers who are more talented. Better bloggers. Greater sites. We’re to rejoice when others rejoice. God has a plan for me. I have to trust Him to get me there. So should you!
Amen! Thank you so much for chatting with us today! Many blessings in your writing venture. Before we go, do you have a question you'd like to ask our readers?
Readers: Think of your favorite romance novel; you know the one that made you sigh and dream about it for nights? What was it about the characters’ romance that held your heart and stayed with you?
Remember, come back tomorrow to find out which one of our three finalists will be crowned our next literary champion! (And don't forget to enter our book give-away!)
To our blogging readers, we're always on the look-out for great bloggers to join our blog alliance. If you'd like to have your blog added to our home page and receive quality articles to post on your site each week, contact us at contactcott(at)gmail(dot)com.
