The favorite "Daughters of Boston" hero is...

Thank you to all who voted for your favorite hero! It was really cool to hear why people chose a certain "bad boy". Hope you all enjoyed voting and talking to Julie. :)

The final scores are:
Collin-37 (64%)
Mitch-6 (10%)
Brady-11 (19%)
Patrick-3 (5%)

Just so you know, Collin is my favorite. :-D I'm so glad he won! (And, no, I didn't rig the contest.) ;)
Thanks for voting!

Julie Lessman's book winner!

The lucky winner of (winner's choice) any one of Julie Lessman's books is:

Carolynn W!

Congrats! I will email you today for your mailing address. I'm sure you will love any book that you choose. :-D

(Sorry that this didn't post last night. Blogger was having issues.)

Julie Lessman ~ Guest Blog + Giveaway!

BAD BOYS GONE GOOD … and Book Giveaway!

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit it—I am an AVID Inspirational romance reader/writer with a weakness for bad boys. Not just any bad boys, mind you, but those smoldering, still-waters-run-deep kind of guys that weaken your knees. You know the type—the tall, brooding men with a questionable past and a penchant for the ladies? Because somehow, someway you just KNOW that underneath all those bad decisions these guys make, there’s a hurting little boy inside, desperate for a love that will save him. And I’m not just talking about the love of a woman, here, although I do like plenty of that in my books. Nope, I’m talking about the love of God, that deep and mysterious component that for me personally, ignites the WOW factor in a hero.

To me, there is nothing stronger than a wayward guy gone good. It takes strength of conviction and a lot of humility for a man to bend his knee to God, but when he does, he rises as a tower of strength and manhood, not in his own power, but in God’s. It’s like epoxy—the strength of a man combined with the strength of his Savior, recreating man as he was meant to be—a warrior, a protector and fiercely devoted to both God and the woman he loves.

Which is why in my Daughters of Boston series, all of my heroes were, at one time, bad boys—womanizers, drinkers, men driven by lust rather than love. Human beings with a painful past that throughout the course of my books, become human beings with a future of hope. From the moody good looks of Collin McGuire and the gruff, handsome appeal of Mitch Dennehy … to the quiet depth of passion in John Brady or the humble strength of Patrick O’Connor, there is nothing more romantic than a strong man who loves God.

So, here’s your chance to vote for your favorite Daughters of Boston hero in the poll to the right of this blog article. Just cast your vote, then leave a comment to tell me why you voted the way you did. Be sure to check back on October 23 when one winner will be drawn for a signed copy of their choice of one of the books in The Daughters of Boston Series. OR, if preferred, the winner may request a signed copy of book 1 of my next series, A Hope Undaunted, which is Katie O’Connor’s story, releasing Sept. 2010. And trust me … Cluny McGee is one “bad boy” you won’t want to miss! :) So vote for your favorite hero, and let’s just see if this “bad boy” doesn’t make “good” with a free book!

Julie Lessman is an award-winning author whose tagline of “Passion With a Purpose” underscores her white-hot passion for both God and romance. Winner of the 2009 ACFW Debut Author of the Year, Julie is also the recipient of 13 Romance Writers of America awards and resides in Missouri with her husband and their golden retriever. She is the author of The Daughters of Boston series, which includes A Passion Most Pure, A Passion Redeemed, and A Passion Denied. You can contact Julie through her website at http://www.julielessman.com/