Saturday, January 28, 2017

THE MARK OF THE KING BY JOCELYN GREEN | BLOG TOUR AND FIVE-BOOK GIVEAWAY



{ABOUT THE MARK OF THE KING}
The Mark of the King
(Bethany House, January 2017)
Sweeping historical fiction set at the edge of the continent
After being imprisoned and branded for the death of her client, twenty-five-year-old midwife Julianne Chevalier trades her life sentence for exile to the fledgling 1720s French colony of Louisiana, where she hopes to be reunited with her brother, serving there as a soldier. To make the journey, though, women must be married, and Julianne is forced to wed a fellow convict.
When they arrive in New Orleans, there is no news of Benjamin, Julianne’s brother, and searching for answers proves dangerous. What is behind the mystery, and does military officer Marc-Paul Girard know more than he is letting on?
With her dreams of a new life shattered, Julianne must find her way in this dangerous, rugged land, despite never being able to escape the king’s mark on her shoulder that brands her a criminal beyond redemption.
{MY REVIEW}
I've been following this book ever since Jocelyn Green announced it had been contracted and would be releasing in early 2017. And although I didn't know a thing about it, I couldn't wait to read it simply because it was hers.

What I found in the pages of The Mark of the King was a story brimming with raw struggles, yet always pointing to hope. It's set from 1719 to 1722 and follows the heroine, Julianne, through some very hard times. There are quite a few POV characters along the way, which isn't usually my favorite thing, but it worked for this book. I think my favorite character was Captian Marc-Paul Girard because of the bond he allowed to grow between himself and a "marked criminal" despite his penchant for law-abiding and justice.

This is a serious book. It is extremely well-written and basically BEAUTIFUL. Although there are many things in the book that seem unfair, it is written to be very true to the times the characters lived in. The Mark of the King will be sure to please fans of Lori Benton and Laura Frantz, but even if you don't read a lot of pre-revolutionary war novels, this one is one to add to your reading pile. 
Jocelyn Green
{MORE ABOUT JOCELYN GREEN}
Jocelyn Green inspires faith and courage as the award-winning author of ten books to date, including “Wedded to War,” a Christy Award finalist in 2013; “Widow of Gettysburg”; “Yankee in Atlanta”; and “The 5 Love Languages Military Edition,” which she coauthored with bestselling author Dr. Gary Chapman. A former military wife herself, her passion for military families informs all of her writing as well as her numerous speaking opportunities. Jocelyn graduated from Taylor University with a BA in English and now lives with her husband and two children in Iowa.
Find out more about Jocelyn at http://www.jocelyngreen.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

YOU’LL BE ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT AS YOU TAKE THE JOURNEY TO THE FLEDGLING 1720S FRENCH COLONY OF LOUISIANA IN JOCELYN GREEN’S NEW BOOK, THE MARK OF THE KING. AFTER BEING IMPRISONED AND BRANDED FOR THE DEATH OF HER CLIENT, TWENTY-FIVE-YEAR-OLD MIDWIFE JULIANNE CHEVALIER TRADES HER LIFE SENTENCE FOR EXILE, WHERE SHE HOPES TO BE REUNITED WITH HER BROTHER, SERVING THERE AS A SOLDIER. TO MAKE THE JOURNEY, THOUGH, WOMEN MUST BE MARRIED, AND JULIANNE IS FORCED TO WED A FELLOW CONVICT. WITH HER DREAMS OF A NEW LIFE SHATTERED, JULIANNE MUST FIND HER WAY IN THIS DANGEROUS, RUGGED LAND, DESPITE NEVER BEING ABLE TO ESCAPE THE KING’S MARK ON HER SHOULDER THAT BRANDS HER A CRIMINAL BEYOND REDEMPTION.


Enter to win a copy of The Mark of the King from Jocelyn. Five winners will be chosen! Click the image below to enter to win. The winners will be announced February 7th on Jocelyn’s blog!

In case my post isn't connecting to the giveaway correctly (I'm posting from my phone until I get a my dead laptop replaced soon), here is the link: https://promosimple.com/ps/afa3  

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Life.

I haven't been on my blog much since October 4th. Not only did my latest novel, The Cautious Maiden, release that day, but my laptop also died... taking everything on it to the grave. I did have a lot of my future book ideas and details saved in DropBox, but I did lose a lot of photos. 

All this a week and a half after my husband and I moved our little family to a fixer upper--my old brick house. 

Oh, and I'm not sure if I mentioned, but I had baby #2 in June. 

Interpretion: babies and fixer uppers take a lot of money, and there hasn't been any for a new laptop yet. There also hasn't been much time for writing. But don't worry, I will still write. I brainstorm my next book as often as I can with an infant and toddler running circles around me. 

What's next? 

I plan to write a novella focused on a side character from the Everstone Chronicles. If you've read The Cautious Maiden, you can probably guess who it's about. I might even pick up a few more of the characters and do the same in the future. And I do plan to write more full length novels as soon as I'm able--but they will likely be a new start of a story world with new characters... all of whom I'm sure you'll love as much as I already do. 😊

The glaring fact is, with the baby and the move, I just don't have time to create a full length novel in the next year. I purposefully refrained from giving my publisher any of my ideas for now because the thought of trying to figure out all the details for a book and then write it in the next year frankly stressed me out. I waited a long time to be a mommy, and I want to be able to say I was "all there" for my kids, and not stressing out and being mean mommy because I don't have the time to think about what I would need to think about. 

Just to be clear:

I got married May 2005. 
I didn't start writing until I wrote The Hesitant Heiress from January 2010-January 2012. 
I wrote The Bound Heart from February 2012-October 2012.
I wrote The Captive Imposter from November 2012-December 2013.
I signed the 3-book contract from Whitaker House in December 2013. 
I had baby #1 in March of 2014. 
The Hesitant Heiress released August 2014.
The Bound Heart released November 2014. 
The Captive Imposter released April 2015. 
I wrote The Cautious Maiden from November 2015-March 2016. 
I had baby #2 in June 2016. 
We moved. 
The Cautious Maiden released October 2016 and my laptop died. 

Writing with two kids is going to be something to get used to, so please be patient with me. 
And do please pray for me while you're at it. 😍