Laura Jackson's Blog, page 5

Confessional Friday

  I've been lax about my Confessional Friday posts. I had a fantastic Christmas break that included a great trip to New Mexico. Then, I went back to work and the first couple weeks back were horrible. I was so discouraged. Things improved this week, and I'm hoping they continue.     So, I'm back. I confess I really miss the cold. It was in the 80s a few days this week. It's like Houston forgot it's January.      I confess I've got nothing left. Such a sad post.Next week will be better. I hope. '

A Few Giveaways!

 

So, I've been doing some interviews and giveaways on different blogs.
Here are the links in case you're interested. A couple of them only have a few entries, so your chances are great. :)

God is Love Blog:
http://capturingtheidea.blogspot.com/2015/01/author-interview-laura-jackson.html

Barn Door Book Loft Giveaway 1:
http://www.barndoorbookloft.net/2015/01/worth-time-by-laura-jackson.html

Barn Door Book Loft Giveaway 2:
http://www.barndoorbookloft.net/2015/01/interview-with-huston-author-laura.html

Teens of Today and Tomorrow Blog:
http://www.pattishene.com/teensoftodayandtomorrow/275/1

Good luck!



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Sometimes I don't Get It

 When I first got the cover for Worth the Time from my publisher, I have to admit I was a little confused. I was worried that someone who didn't know the series would immediately think couple....and an older guy with a teen girl.  But, you know what, my publisher got what I had forgotten.This wasn't a story about a girl meeting a guy and falling in love.It was about a girl who thought she was abandoned by her father only to find out she wasn't.A girl discovering that she is loved.By her earthly father.And more importantly, her heavenly father. That's the greatest love story ever told--the one we have with our creator.    So, my publisher added the blurb on the front, and it's perfect to me. I love it.It's not the norm to show a girl with her dad on the cover of a YA novel, but I've never been normal. :) And Lindsey's not either. Hope you enjoy Lindsey's story.  It's on sale Tuesday, January 6th on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. (And Worth the Wait is on sale until Saturday for 99 cents to celebrate. Find it on Amazon .)'

HopeSprings Giveaway!

   
Thanks to all of you who visited our various blogs throughout the month of December and commented. We appreciate you taking the time to do that and hope that you'll continue to stick around. Each of us try to provide interesting and entertaining content weekly and would love your continued presence!Without further ado, our grand prize winner isJune HorneJune, please contact me via email - elizabeth dot maddrey at gmail dot com (replace "dot" and "at" with a . and an @) And in even more delightful news - everyone else who commented is eligible for a free audiobook download of one of the following HopeSprings books:
Worth the Wait by Laura JacksonMarriage Takes Three by G.E. HamlinThe Sheep Walker�s Daughter by Sydney AveyCourage to Change by Elizabeth MaddreyJoint Venture by Elizabeth MaddreyPlease contact me (same email as above) with your first two choices (supplies of each title are limited, so get in touch quickly.) Your participation in the Advent giveaway will be verified and then you'll receive an email with information about how to claim your free audio book. Thanks again for spending a bit of your Advent with us. Have a very blessed Christmas!
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Congrats, Katie!

 
Congrats to Katie Clark for winning a copy of Worth the Time!Everyone who commented will be put into the drawing for the 150-dollar gift card! The winner will be announced Monday! Merry Christmas, everyone.  If you didn't win this time, you can still check out Worth the Time on Amazon. :)'

HopeSprings Giveaway: Hope in Jesus

 

Immigration DebatesISISRacial TensionViolenceDepressionBullyingBroken or hurting marriages   The world is messy. It's broken. Wait, it's more than broken, it's in shattered pieces.  And we search in all the wrong places to fix it: the government, anger, social status, education, relationships, etc. And they don't solve it. They will disappoint us every time we place our hope in them.  Where's the hope of a better future? The hope that tomorrow will be brighter?  Jesus. He is the only hope, the only way, the only truth. He takes our brokenness and restores.  He is hope. The brokenness of the world may still swirl around us, a tornado of sin, but inside we can still grasp onto the hope of Jesus. Titus 2:13 (ESV): Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ Our hope is not in the things of the world. Our hope is not in the people around us. Our hope is in Jesus alone and His appearance--His promise fulfilled. What a glorious day that will be! What does the word hope mean to you? Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Worth the Time. (Be sure to leave your email address.) Each comment will also enter you into the Author of HopeSprings giveaway (150 dollar Amazon gift card).  I'll draw a winner on the 20th.    
  

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Bookmarks and Pens!

   I've got pens and bookmarks for anyone who'd like some to keep for yourself or pass out. Just send me your info to laurajacksonwrites at gmail dot com and let me know if you're passing them out or just want a few for yourself.   '

Confessional Friday

 
Linking up with Leslies over at http://www.blondeambitionblog.com/.

I confess that I was super nervous about my first book signing, and I'm so glad I was just one of 5 authors because it was so slow. Bad weather swirled through Houston, and not many people came to Barnes and Noble. But, at least it's out of the way, right?



I confess that I've been to two Rockets games in the last two weeks, and I want to go every week. I'm spoiled. (Both times I went with the girl I babysit, who loves basketball even more than I do!)






I confess that I lack Pinterest talent. People kept sending me pictures of Book Christmas Trees, suggesting I do them for the library. I tried. I really did. I like it, and the kids like it. That's what matters.

   I confess that I laughed as some of my students made a tree for me. I tried to talk to them about making things level, but they kept piling books half-hazardly. It looked great. For 30 minutes. They left, and it completely fell. a volcano eruption. Sometimes we just need to learn by doing and failing. And laughing.   I confess that I miss my dad more around the holidays, which is natural. He was a hunter, and after his death, my mom got rid of his mounted animals. The people I babysit for own a couple of restaurants in Houston (Spaghetti Western--great food!), and they took my dad's bear. I get to see the bear fairly regularly, and I know my dad would be in a panic over his bear decorated, but I LOVE it!'

HopeSprings Giveaway Continues!

   It's the end of week one in the HopeSpringsBooks Advent Giveaway and...we had a few kinks. These things happen, but happily for you, it gives you a chance for some additional free stuff as our way of saying "Ooops! Please forgive us."  But first up, Teresa Pollard had a great post on Tuesday about hope. We hope (ha!) if you haven't already swung by and commented that you'll do so today. She's giving people until this Tuesday (12/9) to leave a comment to win either of her books (Not Guilty or Tokens of Promise. Both are wonderful reads and if you've not read them, this is a great opportunity to do that!) PLUS - every comment on one of our author posts on Hope gets you an entry into the Grand Prize giveaway.   You may be asking: are there other ways to enter for the Grand Prize? And that's a fantastic question, but the answer is nope. Rafflecopter and Facebook made some changes to the way they do things and between that and a few other logistical issues, we decided to kick it old school the year.   As a bonus, what we really want to do is connect with you! So asking you to leave a comment and chat with us works to that end as well. You may now be asking: I thought you said there were going to be two author posts each week? And that's where we get to additional free stuff. The second post with giveaway didn't happen this week - so sorry! But, because of that, we have the added bonus of offering up some audible download codes for free audio books. So - comment on this post for a special giveaway of 5 different audiobook codes. You have a choice between: Worth the Wait by Laura JacksonMarriage Takes Three by G.E. HamlinThe Sheep Walker's Daughter by Sydney AveyCourage to Change by Elizabeth MaddreyJoint Venture by Elizabeth MaddreySo leave a comment and let us know which FREE audio book you'd like! (Commenters from all the locations where this is posted will be put into a spreadsheet and then we'll use random.org to choose the winners - one for each audio code.)

We'll contact winners via email (and mention them in next Friday's post) on Friday (12/12.) Be sure to swing by Elizabeth Maddrey's blog on Monday and Mary Hamilton's blog on Wednesday for more chances to enter the Grand Prize Drawing and other author giveaways!
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HopeSprings Advent Giveaway!

  It's officially Advent! Counting down to Christmas is always such a delightful time of year. It's also a call to take time to reflect on what it means that the Christ child came to earth, born in such lowly circumstances, all so He could die on the cross to bear the punishment for our sin. We are truly blessed.  Over the next three weeks, five authors who are also published with HopeSpringsBooks and I are going to devote a post to our thoughts on the hope of Advent. We hope you'll join us and join in on the conversation.  Here's the schedule of posts: December 2 - Teresa Pollard December 3 - Stephanie McCallDecember 8 - Elizabeth MaddreyDecember 10 - Mary HamiltonDecember 15 - Laura JacksonDecember 17 - Patrick Johnston To enter individual giveaways as well as to be entered in the grand prize drawing, you just need to comment on each author's post. On Saturday, December 20th, all the comments will be put in a spreadsheet and Random.org will draw the winner. Check back here on December 22nd for the grand prize winner announcement!  '