Pajama Party The Story by E.C. Jackson Spotlight and Giveaway!

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Pajama Party: The Story
By E. C. Jackson
YA Christian Contemporary
Paperback & ebook, 213 Pages
August 26th 2017 by E. C. Jackson

Most sleepovers are simple. Food, fun, and pillow fights. But sixteen-year-old Karen Duncan has bigger plans for her slumber party. Family troubles have changed her over the past year, and she’s no longer the petty, selfish girl she used to be. Now she’s ready to shake things up with her friends. The guest list comes as a surprise to some and a slap in the face to others. This popular girl has invited some not-so-popular guests. Even more shocking, she’s left out some of the girls she’s hung out with since middle school.

Diane and Evette are outsiders, nervous about being stuck in a house with the same girls who tease them at school. Kathy, Lisa, and Joann come to the party with the confidence of the in-crowd, but they’re masking inner-turmoil that is bound to surface. Sandy and Angela are usually the voices of reason…usually. And then there’s Linda, the friend that got away. She may not ever forgive the girls who abandoned her years ago. Karen hopes to change her mind.

Her agenda is ambitious, and it could spell disaster. But Karen is convinced God will use this party to spark a new beginning for everyone involved. This companion book to A Living Hope gives us the inspired story Sadie Cummings wrote for the girls of Shiatown.

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About the Author

E. C. Jackson began her writing career with the full-length play Pajama Party. For three and a half years she published the Confidence in Life newsletter for Alpha Production Ministries, in addition to writing tracts and devotionals. Teaching a women’s Bible study at her church for eleven years naturally led to her current endeavor of writing inspirational romance novels and teen and young adult fiction. Her mission: spiritual maturity in the body of Christ through fiction.

A note from E. C. Jackson: “The Write Way: A Real Slice of Life” is the slogan on my website and Facebook author page. If every person reading my book feels connected to the characters, my job is done.

Website│Goodreads│Facebook│Twitter│Amazon

Tour Schedule

Tour Giveaway

One 1st Prize winner will receive:
– A Living Hope Paperback (the companion book to Pajama Party: The Story)
– 1 Key chain for Pajama Party: The Story
– 1 Key chain for A Living Hope

One 2nd Prize winner will receive:
– A $25 Amazon eGift Card

Open internationally
Ends March 6, 2019

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

NIV Artisan Collection Bible in Turquoise Floral Review

Description:

Exquisite from the inside out, the NIV Artisan Collection Bible stuns with its printed cover design showcasing hand-painted flair. When the Bible is opened, beautiful art appears on the page edges as you read through Scripture. When you close the Bible, the image vanishes into shimmery foil gilding. In addition to the attractive typesetting, each page of this Bible has lightly ruled, wide margins, inviting you to journal, reflect, take notes, and create art. As you start reading, let your eyes relax as you take in more of God’s Word with the exclusive Zondervan NIV Comfort Print® typeface, carefully designed with custom fonts to be easy and enjoyable to read.

Features:

Stunning, hand-painted cover design printed on soft, durable cloth
Hidden page edge design is fully revealed when pages are fanned open
Sparkling foil edge gilding when closed
Lined, wide margins for journals, notes, and art
Complete text of the accurate, readable, and clear New International Version (NIV)
Words of Jesus in red
Two ribbon markers
Exclusive Zondervan NIV Comfort Print® typeface
9.9-point print size

Edna Marie Esparra
Founder, Everlasting Words Designs
Edna founded Everlasting Words Designs, a Bible painting ministry, in 2017. A former industrial engineer, she quickly changed paths and discovered her true passion when a friend asked her to custom paint a Bible cover. Creating personal and inspirational artwork that glorified God turned into a new journey for her life and career. An avid lover of flowers, landscape views, writing, and music, you can find Edna sitting in her home studio painting fields of wild flowers and hand lettering while she listens to her newest playlist. She resides in Puerto Rico with her husband and two adorable dogs.

My Thoughts:

This is the most beautiful Bible I’ve seen. The cover design is gorgeous and looks as though it’s been personally painted (the design is based on a hand painted image). Seafoam green and pink is my favorite color combination so I truly love the looks of this Bible. I also love the musical notes that are floating along the top and bottom edges. The front cover is titled with “The Holy Bible” and the back says, “I will sing to the Lord. Psalm 104:33”. The cover is cloth over board, which I like overall but the one drawback is that it tends to attract hair (I am a beagle owner and often find myself rubbing the hair off my cloth over board Bibles).

The end papers are royal purple with musical notes flying through and a “This Bible belongs to: ” plaque. The page edges of this Bible are very unique and have a special surprise. They are edged in gold and when fanned opened, reveal musical notes. This is a great feature that really adds to the special qualities of this Bible. It contains 2 ribbon bookmarks (royal purple and white), which I love. I always appreciate when more than one bookmark is provided as I often find myself in more than one place in the Bible.

The translation is the NIV, which is a very popular version of the Bible and very accessible. The margins are very large and provide plenty of room for notes or artistic Bible journaling. The margins are also lightly lined. The words of Jesus are in red (which I always prefer). The text is printed in 9.9 print size, which is very easy to read. It is in a single column style. There are several pages for notes in the back of the Bible and the standard “Table of weights and measures”.

Overall, this Bible is a home run. If you are looking for a journaling Bible and like the NIV translation, this is perfect. It is so beautiful that I find I’m drawn to it just because of the pretty cover. It would also make a wonderful gift. The only drawback is that there are no special features…no maps, no concordance, no index, etc. But still well worth it, in my opinion!

My Rating:

I received this Bible from the publisher to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Castle on the Rise by Kristy Cambron Review

Synopsis

A storied castle. A band of rebels. And a nation chasing the centuries-old dream of freedom . . . What legacy will they leave behind?

When Laine Forrester travels to France to attend her longtime friend’s vineyard wedding, she expects to find a bride on the brink of a fairy-tale life. But after a series of unforeseen setbacks–a devastating diagnosis, a castle restoration put on hold, and the emergence of deep-seated family dynamics that threaten to derail the new couple’s fledgling marriage–it seems the storybook life Laine had imagined for her friend–and once, for herself–is suddenly crumbling before her eyes.

With hopes of resurrecting a happy ending for one of them, Laine throws support behind her friend and agrees to accompany the couple to the groom’s family home in Ireland, where the merging of a mysterious inheritance, long-buried wounds, and a fractured family set out to upend the trip from the start. It’s in the unlikely corners of a historic Dublin pub, and across the wide-open moors bordering Ireland’s majestic Wicklow Mountains, that Laine is slowly drawn in by the land and the people, sparking hope for something she never imagined possible: the courage to heal. But with secrets of her own–and a heart afraid to trust again–Laine must determine how much she’s willing to risk in mending the broken places within herself, and whether she believes that even through the depths of our pain, a beautiful story can emerge.

Set in three time-periods–the revolutionary era of the late eighteenth century, Ireland’s turbulent Easter week of the 1916 Rising, and present day–Castle on the Rise weaves a story of legacy, conviction, and redemption against the backdrop of Dublin’s storied streets, and the stretch of Ireland’s stunning emerald shores. It raises the question: given the choice between the fairy tale or a life of truly anchored faith–which legacy would you choose?

My Thoughts

This story is told in 3 different time periods (present day, 1916, and 1798) and follows many characters in Ireland. All the stories involve a crumbling castle and manor near the Irish Sea.

The story is very atmospheric, as I read the words, I was swept away to Ireland and felt as though I was travelling along with the characters. Kristy Cambron is very gifted of describing everything so that the picture is very clear and vivid.

I found the book to be very educational as I had never learned about the 1916 Easter Rising or even the snugs in Irish pubs (which I found very interesting and had to google pictures after reading about them).

I did find the plot to be a little bit dull and I was not very interested in any of the romances. I also felt as though the story didn’t seem like a Christian fiction story…it seemed more like a clean fiction story.  I also at times got confused by the number of characters and the 3 timelines switching back and forth.

Overall, the atmospheric quality of the story was my favorite part.

My Rating

I received this book from the publisher to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

Riven by Jerry B. Jenkins Review

Synopsis:

When a condemned man with nothing to lose meets one with nothing to gain, everyone washed by the endless ripples of that encounter will forever recall the day a little bit of heaven invaded a whole lot of hell. Brady Wayne Darby and Thomas Carey could hardly have been more disparate individuals. Yet when Darby, a no-account loser raised in a dingy suburban trailer park, encounters Carey, a weary man of God, an entire—state indeed, a nation—is affected. Embark on a wondrous journey where death, guilt, and despair are unfathomably trumped by rebirth, forgiveness, and hope. Author Jerry Jenkins says: “This is the novel I have always wanted to write. I determine whether a fiction idea has merit by how long it stays with me. Does it rattle in my brain, and do I find myself telling it to my wife and other confidants? Is it the type of a tale that will draw me back to the keyboard every day? Two-thirds of my published books have been novels, and only three have had that effect on me. I give my all to every one, but special joy and anticipation attend those that genuinely feel like the best ideas. “Riven” is my fourth such labor of love. The two main characters have remained in my memory since high school 40 years ago. The story idea is perhaps 20 years old. And those mystical, interweaving elements I hope make it all work have been tugging at me for more than a decade. If a novelist has a life’s work, this is mine. I hope in the end you agree and that “Riven” stays with you long after the final page.”

My Thoughts:

This is a story that will stay with me for a long time. The characters truly came to life and are people that I think about often. The book follows Brady, a young man who grows up in a trailer park with a neglectful mother and no father and Thomas, a pastor who struggles to find his place in serving God. Throughout the book you follow these 2 men as they both struggle in different ways until the time comes where their paths intersect.

This book is over 500 pages but not once did I feel like it was slow or lagging. I was interested in the story with every page that I read. It spans many years and the character development is extremely well done.

There are some gritty scenes in the book but the content is clean overall. I highly recommend this book to readers. It was amazing and one of my all time favorites!

My Rating:

 

I received this book by using my points from Tyndale Reader Rewards. This is a wonderful program where you can earn points and cash them in for free books. Sign up here and get 25 points now!