Author: Sandra Leesmith

+Book Review+ Sandra Leesmith’s “Love’s Promises” #sweetromance, #Romance

Posted Monday, 28 July, 2014 by jorielov , , , 2 Comments

Parajunkee Designs

Loves Promises by Sandra Leesmith
Artwork Credit: Lena Goldfinch

 Love’s Promises by Sandra Leesmith

Published By: Amber Press Publishing,
March 2014

Official Author Websites: Site | Twitter | Facebook

  Cover Designer Pages: Site | Twitter | Facebook | Pin(terest) Boards

Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook
Page Count: 310

[Previous Releases]

  • “Loves Refuge”+
  • “Loves Miracles”+
  • {note} +part of the same series as Love’s Promises!

Converse via Twitter: #LovesPromises, #ChrisFic,

#cleanromance, & #inspirationalfiction

Genres: Fiction | Inspirational Fiction

Romance | Contemporary

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Acquired Book By: I had originally intended to read “Love’s Promises” for review on the blog tour earlier in the Spring, however, at that point in time the novel was only going to be released in Ebook format rather than print edition. Through my participation on the tour, I received the good news that a print edition was viable and would be put into action. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the author Sandra Leesmith, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read:

I am always keen on reading the books I highlight and spotlight on Jorie Loves A Story, and this novel in particular caught my attention when I was first offered to participate on the original blog tour hosted by Amber Stokes and her Editing Through the Seasons publicity company. I appreciate being what I consider a ‘hybrid reader’ as one who reads both mainstream and inspirational markets for fiction and non-fiction. I talk about this a bit under “My Bookish Life” and hinted about it on the note that proceeded this book review when I explained why posting this took a bit longer than originally expected due health and life reasons occurring at a pace that simply exhausted me. I always aim to feature novels through Guest Author & Book Features that will key into the diverse variety of books I appreciate reading overall.

I was originally going to only focus on books in print, but then I re-considered when I noted that many ebooks I would dearly love to read eventually end up in print editions. This can take anywhere from a few months to a full year or longer depending on the publisher, author, and body of work. I decided to stand firm in being a traditional reader but to yield as a book blogger to highlight books first released into an electronic version that I would one day hope would go into a print run as well. In this way, I am opening my mind to a wider net of authors and stories but remaining true to who I am as a reader and as a blogger at the same time. I am thankful that my path crossed with Ms. Leesmith and with Ms. Stokes, as I might not have stumbled across this particular novel nor the lovely series it is a part of.

My original showcases on Leesmith’s behalf was a heap of joy for me, as it encouraged me to re-examine where the publishing world is currently with a green-minded focus on publishing and printing practices (a bit of an on-going personal research topic of interest) as much as it gave a strong impression on having an open discussion on where writers and readers alike stand on the position of being green-minded and being voracious readers. For me, it confirmed that you can be environmentally conscience and read print books without having to concede to ebooks and ereaders. Notwithstanding of the fact that not all of us can use ereaders nor read ebooks in any format due to our vision and the way in which we process information.

My participation led to a healthy itch to read “Love’s Promises” and I felt blessed that I had the opportunity to tuck inside the story of how a novel went into print format when it was originally only scheduled for one type of release. The further blessing was discovering the other two books in the Love Promises series are already released in print, and are on my ‘next reads’ list of books to acquire!

Book Synopsis:

For Monica Scott, building her late father’s house at Lake Tahoe isn’t an option—it’s a necessary distraction from confusing memories and an uncertain future. But a handsome planner working for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) is keeping Monica from moving forward with the project. Never mind that he’s young and charming with a great sense of humor. No one is going to stop Monica from making her father’s dream—and her own—a reality.

All Greg Linsey wants is for his work to mean something. His job at TRPA gives him the opportunity to fight for the environment he loves and make a difference in his small corner of the world. But with the sophisticated Monica Scott’s arrival, his dedication is tested as never before, especially when Monica turns to his unscrupulous nemesis for assistance. As Greg and Monica’s animosity turns into something far sweeter, can they learn to accept each other’s promises and avoid the growing danger to their lives and hearts?

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Sandra LeesmithAuthor Biography: 

SANDRA LEESMITH loves to travel in her RV and explore all of nature’s beauty, discover America’s history, and fellowship with the wonderful people she meets while on the road. She enjoys reading, writing, hiking, swimming, and pickleball. Learn more about Sandra and her books at sandraleesmith.com.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Book Cover Designer Biography:

LENA GOLDFINCH writes fantasy and Lena Goldfinchromance for teens and adults. She’s a sucker for a good old-fashioned romance, whether it’s a novel, novella, or short story, young adult or adult, fantasy or realistic, contemporary or historical. Elements of romance, fantasy, and mystery have a way of creeping into her writing, even when she’s writing something light and contemporary like her latest releases, Haunting Joy and Take a Picture. Lena has been a finalist in several national writing contests, including the RWA Golden Heart and ACFW Genesis contests. She lives in a scenic small town in Massachusetts with her husband, two kids, and a very spoiled Black Lab. Learn more about Lena and her books at lenagoldfinch.blogspot.com.

 

Romance, Thirty-somethings, & the Environment:

I shall never discredit the timing of a book in hand nor of the story at the heart of the novel’s message to be consumed at a particular moment in time as this particular one has reached my eyes and mind! I cannot deny that I am a thirty-something myself nor a singleton who oft thinks about her own life, her chosen path, and where the pebbles of her path shall lead her next. Each of us is living a life of worth and it is not always measured in events and incidents that the masses experience but in smaller steps and graces which take us to where we are being led to traverse. I love stories of the heart as much as the human condition, to knit inside the small fragments of time wherein we cross-examine our own hearts, spirits, and desires of will — to understand where we have been as much as where we are going next. I had to nearly chuckle to myself whilst realising a bit of the cheeky humour Leesmith placed inside her two lead characters, as both Monica and Greg are within a farthing of a distance in age from each other, and experiencing the same self-exploration and questions of the heart that neither wants to admit possible.

I think thirty-somethings have a lot of ground to cover in today’s fiction, especially in the Romance side of the ledger. To oft writers focus on someone either in college or thereafter or even settle inside the years of the twenties, but few root out the early years of being twentyten and thirty-something; the decisive age for most singletons either in want of finding someone to walk through life with or to walk alone. It is a unique perspective to give in fiction, as the veins of narrative can go in so many unique and different directions. Whilst in the opening bits of Love’s Promises, what I especially liked is how the path Leesmith chooses to take is not quite predictable nor is it contrite. She breathes a bit of life into the characters and gives them enough realism and free will to keep you in suspense of what their choices will be the further you walk inside their story.

The environment is nearly a third character in the story, as the natural environment is beautifully highlighted as the backdrop and setting for Love’s Promises. I appreciated the care and attention the advocacy and conservation on the Lake Tahoe Basin were given throughout the story, as it illuminates one small fraction of how over building and overusing our natural resources is becoming a larger problem as a whole. There are too many loosely controlled environmental protections on building permits and on maintaining natural habitats. I’ve even witnessed where previously protected land was sold to the highest bidder and commericalised for consumer use; at the determent of the wildlife and ecosystem. There needs to be a better balance between sustaining the ecological habitats already thriving where developers and residents want to intercede on their right to build. I celebrate the small successes such as non-chemical pest control by water sources, walkways and green paths in urban developments that do not deter from the natural ecosystems, and a recognition of local bird and wildlife habitats being protected by watchful observations by local groups working for preservation and conservation of their lands. I commend the research Leesmith knitted into her novel, as she is tackling a very difficult issue and a controversial topic laced with politics on all levels.

Read More

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • Go Indie
Divider

Posted Monday, 28 July, 2014 by jorielov in 20th Century, Agnostic (Questioning & Searching or Unsure), Balance of Faith whilst Living, Blogs I Regularly Read, Book Review (non-blog tour), Bookish Discussions, Conservation, Contemporary Romance, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Domestic Violence, Eco-Friendly, Ecology, Editing Through The Seasons, Environmental Activism, Environmental Advocacy, Environmental Conscience, Environmental Solutions, Fathers and Daughters, Indie Author, Indie Book Trade, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Lake Tahoe, Life of Thirty-Somethings, Life Shift, Modern Day, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Nature & Wildlife, Pacific Crest Trail, Political Narrative & Modern Topics, Preservation, Romance Fiction, Seekerville, Singletons & Commitment, Sustainability & Ecological Preservation, Walking & Hiking Trails, Women's Fiction

*Book Cover Reveal*: Sandra Leesmith’s “Love’s Promises”

Posted Friday, 14 March, 2014 by jorielov , , , 43 Comments

Parajunkee Designs

*NEWSFLASH* | *NEWSFLASH*

Sandra Leesmith has an exciting new release today! I came to know her publicist Ms. Stokes via Twitter whereupon we broached a conversation about hosting blog tours & spotlights on Jorie Loves A Story! I was quite delighted with the suggestion, as I have always appreciated inspirational fiction stories!

Ever since I was a young girl who grew up on the “Mandie” series as reflected in my “One Book Everyone Should Read Once” post! As well as why I am embarking on a personal quest to read *70 Authors!* who are new-to-be in the inspirational fiction world! Reading the premise of “Love’s Promises” I felt I had found an author who writes uplifting stories similar to the authors I already have come to know and love! A truly heart-warming story filt with characters who are struggling to resolve their differences and remain together!

Currently available in e-book format, I am hoping this particular title will be released in either POD or print format, whereupon I can be a stop on the blog tour once this novel starts to hop around the bookish blogosphere! I decided to highlight select books which whet my palette of interest even if they are currently available in a format I cannot read at present; for the hope of being available to in the near future!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comLoves Promises by Sandra Leesmith

Artwork Credit: Lena Goldfinch

Book Synopsis:

For Monica Scott, building her late father’s house at Lake Tahoe isn’t an option—it’s a necessary distraction from confusing memories and an uncertain future. But a handsome planner working for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) is keeping Monica from moving forward with the project. Never mind that he’s young and charming with a great sense of humor. No one is going to stop Monica from making her father’s dream—and her own—a reality.

All Greg Linsey wants is for his work to mean something. His job at TRPA gives him the opportunity to fight for the environment he loves and make a difference in his small corner of the world. But with the sophisticated Monica Scott’s arrival, his dedication is tested as never before, especially when Monica turns to his unscrupulous nemesis for assistance. As Greg and Monica’s animosity turns into something far sweeter, can they learn to accept each other’s promises and avoid the growing danger to their lives and hearts?

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Sandra LeesmithAuthor Biography:

SANDRA LEESMITH loves to travel in her RV and explore all of nature’s beauty, discover America’s history, and fellowship with the wonderful people she meets while on the road. She enjoys reading, writing, hiking, swimming, and pickleball. Learn more about Sandra and her books at sandraleesmith.com.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Book Cover Designer Biography:

Lena Goldfinch

LENA GOLDFINCH writes fantasy and romance for teens and adults. She’s a sucker for a good old-fashioned romance, whether it’s a novel, novella, or short story, young adult or adult, fantasy or realistic, contemporary or historical. Elements of romance, fantasy, and mystery have a way of creeping into her writing, even when she’s writing something light and contemporary like her latest releases, Haunting Joy and Take a Picture. Lena has been a finalist in several national writing contests, including the RWA Golden Heart and ACFW Genesis contests. She lives in a scenic small town in Massachusetts with her husband, two kids, and a very spoiled Black Lab. Learn more about Lena and her books at lenagoldfinch.blogspot.com.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Contact Information for Author | Cover Designer

Official Author Websites: Site | Twitter | Facebook
  Cover Designer Pages: Site | Twitter | Facebook | Pin(terest) Boards

Converse via Twitter: #LovesPromises, #ChrisFic,

#cleanromance, & #inspirationalfiction

Genres: Fiction | Inspirational Fiction

Romance | Contemporary

Published by: Amber Press Publishing, March 2014

Page Count: avg. 300

[Previous Releases]

  • “Loves Refuge”+
  • “Loves Miracles”+
  • “Current of Love”
  • “The Price of Victory”
  • {note} +part of the same series as Love’s Promises!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Virtual Road Map of Cover Reveal of “Love’s Promises”

Blog Tour Announcement & Background on the Cover Art Design

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Book Cover Reveal Blog Hop courtesy of:

Editing Through the Seasons - Freelance Editing & Publicity Services

{Amber took a job at a publisher

& closed her publicity service Summer 2014}

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Similar to blog tours, when I feature a showcase for an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Reader Interactive Question:

If you a regular reader of Inspirational / Christian fiction, what do you appreciate the most about the stories you find inside the novels and novellas!? Do you seek what I do? Do you wish there were more publishers who put more stock and weight into relationship-based stories (i.e. mainstream publisher ChocLitUK does!) rather than the causal dating scene that is so very rampant!? What stills your heart the most!?

{SOURCES: Cover art of “Loves Promises”, author & illustrator photographs, book synopsis, and publicity badge were all provided by Editing Through The Seasons and used with permission. Cover Reveal badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

Related Articles:

Coming this November – A new romance from Sandra Leesmith – (seasonsofhumility.blogspot.com)

Divider

Posted Friday, 14 March, 2014 by jorielov in 21st Century, 70 Authors Challenge 2013-19, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Book Cover Reveal, Book Spotlight of E-Book (ahead of POD/print edition), Bookish Discussions, ChocLitUK, Contemporary Romance, Editing Through The Seasons, Indie Author, Indie Book Trade, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Lake Tahoe, Life Shift, Modern Day, Romance Fiction