Behold: the shell of the soul-words that cry for beauty on the battlefields.
This cover makes me so happy, and I feel that it truly represents the poetry inside. There are some deeper meanings beneath the design that I’ll delve into someday soon, but for now, the important details!
*insert a “pay attention” sort of cough*
the official info
dare to dream that there’s more than this broken road,
and that beauty may lie on tomorrow’s edge…
A sequel of sorts to the author’s debut collection, Clarion Hope takes the spark of courage held out in This Will Not Last and fans it into a roaring flame. Over and over again, scars are healed, brokenness is bathed in tears, and fear is buried in the name of the truth and hope of the highest order.
For the boldest warriors and the faint-hearted alike, Clarion Hope is a battle cry to live in the light of the coming Kingdom.
Clarion Hope officially releases on April 4th, 2023, but you can preorder it now and have it shipped just before release day so you can hold it in your hands (and read it!) on April 4th.
The date for Clarion Hope’s cover reveal and preorders opening is less than two weeks away, and I’d like to invite you to join The Couriers of Triumph (my super fancy name for my street team) and help me spread the glad tidings!
Please and thank you.
🙂
What will this involve?
Basically as a street team member, your job is to spread the word as far as it will go and get everyone excited about the release! All of my marketing is through word of mouth, so this is super important.
If you fill out the application form, you’ll get an email next week with some graphics and sample social media posts to get you started. (Yes, this does mean you’ll get a peek at the cover before the rest of the world does!) I’ll send all of the extra details you’ll need in that email, as well.
You can share through blog posts, Facebook, or Instagram!
Also: if you’ve already joined my street team in the past, you don’t have to sign up again! To opt out, just let me know and I’ll remove you from the email list.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them!✨
As I’m looking at the above graphic, I’m thinking about how wrong it feels that 2023 will be here in less than two months…but I’m also so excited because it means this next book will be here in less than five months!
Book #2 will be another poetry book (surprise, surprise!), but as of yet, I’m not sharing many more details. There will be a cover reveal with a blurb coming soon, but for now I’m letting you guys guess as to what this next book may hold. Here’s your clue:
I love the way that music communicates where the written word falls short, and so I’ve been compiling a playlist of songs that share the themes I’m writing about in book #2. If you’re into music, go ahead and check out the playlist…and let me know in the comments if you have any guesses as to what the themes of book #2 might be!
Also…if you would be willing to be praying for me as I finish compiling these poems and start the manuscript on its journey to publication, I would be so grateful! God has truly been the one carrying Book #2 (and me!) through this process, and I can’t finish it on my own. I’d so appreciate prayers that:
I would be diligent in writing the rest of this poetry (my deadline for that is November 30th, and I have 12-15 to write yet😅).
God would give me the words to say and the way to say them.
Technology would cooperate with me! XD
Thank you so much for showing up to read and chat with me. I appreciate your support and encouragement so much, and I can’t wait to get this next book to you!!!
Also…we are half-way through 2022, so…there’s that.
Things worth remembering
The first cutting of hay this season (!!!)
Late night conversations with siblings
Working on a book of children’s poetry for my little sister
Researching cocaine and ramen noodles
Realizing that it’s a good idea to bring bug spray if you want to enjoy a summer hike without being eaten alive
Finding all the weird selfies my sister leaves on my phone…(does she realize I can one day use them as blackmail?)
putting together aesthetic collages for the main characters in my WIP (work in progress)
checking my poetry book out of the library I grew up visiting! Probably the most surreal piece of being a writer thus far.🥺
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day; for surely there is a hereafter, and your hope will not be cut off.
I’ve been reading this one for some research I’m doing…it’s the autobiography of a WWII fighter pilot, and goodness, was he ever a naughty little boy!XD It’s been pretty enjoyable, although I get a bit lost in all of the pilot jargon sometimes.
He had seen the pain, the evil, and the sin within him, had lifted his face in gentle hands, caressed it as a father does a child with a nightmare whose tears streak their cheeks, looked him in the eye and said:
“I love you. All of you.”
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This book. I can’t even tell you how much I needed to read this one. Not only is the theme incredible, but the plot is so tight, the pacing incredible, the characters endearing…
And can we talk about the romance?? The romance is beautiful…and you have to understand that this is coming from the girl who cringes through most bits of romance in books and runs for popcorn during sappy parts in movies.XD The true love and restraint shown by the characters…I wanted to cheer and shout for joy. Please can we fight for such reform in the romance genre?
*tumbles off soapbox*
Anyway…I have an official review of the book coming up soon…plus an interview with the author! Stay tuned!
We must determine to be limited and concentrate our affinities.
Oswald Chambers
From the journal…
Oh, Lord, I only conquer in Your strength. Be my mighty defense…let me love what You love and hate what You hate.
I was so cranky today. …finally ate lunch. I hadn’t eaten anything and was so hungry and cranky. (Just keeping it real…)
Let ours be a story that makes people shake their heads and murmur in awe, “Only God could have worked such wonders.”
Whatever the future holds, Father, keep my heart soft and obedient.
The church must set aside what is good so that we may be about the business of what is best. And so must I…soul, defend yourself against distraction from what is highest and holiest.
Because of Christ’s blood shed to atone for my sins, God no longer sees any of my blemishes, and rejoices over me like a man head-over-heels in love with his bride. He delights in me. He wants me. The Master of the universe is enraptured by what He sees in me. Oh, Jesus, it is all because of You!
Oh, Father, make me like Abel, who, though he is dead, still speaks through the story he left behind. Let my life echo Your goodness and grace long after my voice is silenced.
Comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.
David Foster wallace
Writing update + prayer request
Disclaimer: I’m okay. Don’t freak out about the prayer request part.XD
About the writing…
I haven’t worked seriously at drafting a novel since last November, when I attempted NaNoWriMo and got 11k words in before I became an emotional dumpster fire. (A translation for the sane people in the world: NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it’s a time in November when maniacs armed with laptops decide to quit life for a month to write a novel, or 50,000 words, in November.)
After that experience, novel writing got shoved to the back burner as I scribbled poetry, published a poetry book, lived normal life, and scribbled more poetry.
Honestly, I was scared of attempting a novel again.
But a story idea kept haunting me. And haunting me. And haunting me.
I started sharing the concept with some friends, and the responses I got poured fuel on the fire of my desire to see this book through to publication.
So here I am again…committing to the goal of writing 20k words on this new heart project this July. And praying. A lot.
I’d love it if you would join me in prayer for this project. To me, this concept is more than just another story. Bits of it have been brewing in my mind since I was eleven or twelve…and so many topics that are near and dear to my heart have found their way into this book. It’s amazing to see how God has helped me to pull so many different elements of my experiences and passions into one story!
Last July I wrote 20k words for a story full of heartache and confusion. This July, I want to pour out 20k words of healing and redemption. Eeek! I only have a few thousand words written so far, but already I can’t wait to share this story with you all. ❤
When I hit 30k words on this project – which I’m currently terming Project Redemption – , I’m going to start sharing more details about it on Instagram…so if you aren’t following along there, click here so you can join the tribe and be among the first to hear updates!
What were the memorable pieces of your June? Writers, what’s been flowing from your pens/keyboards of late? Readers, what books have captured your imagination lately? I’d love to hear in the comments!
Raw and achingly honest, This Will Not Last is a collection of poetry that captures the fluctuating emotions that lace life’s pathway.
Wonder, grief, happiness, and heartache all have their turn to shine in this collection, ultimately bowing to the truth of their transience…and the sturdy realization of God’s unshakeable goodness.
this death
this shedding
of all I’ve known
must come before the rays of sun
burst bright upon my soul
to wake
a seed of what’s to come.
this death
this dying will not last
this, too
this, too
this, too, shall pass.
I’m so, so excited to finally be able to get this book out to you all next month!!!
Please excuse me for a moment while I bounce off the walls…
Friends, I’m so excited to finally introduce to you my new book-baby:
This Will Not Last
Raw and achingly honest, This Will Not Last is a collection of poetry that captures the fluctuating emotions that lace life’s pathway.
Wonder, grief, happiness, and heartache all have their turn to shine in this collection, ultimately bowing to the truth of their transience…and the sturdy realization of God’s unshakeable goodness.
this death
this shedding
of all I’ve known
must come before the rays of sun
burst bright upon my soul
to wake
a seed of what’s to come.
this death
this dying will not last
this, too
this, too
this, too, shall pass.
Aagh, I’m just so excited about this book. It’s chock full of poems that are near and dear to my heart… and it’s already been a blessing to see them touching other hearts, as well! I can’t wait to share the whole collection with you come April.😊
If you’d love to play a part in sharing my poetry with the world, this post is for you!
(If you wouldn’t love to play a part in sharing my poetry with the world, this post attempts to convince you into loving that idea.:) )
If you decide to join my street team, here’s what you can expect:
an email with more details, soon!
a role in helping me launch my book into the world by sharing graphics + posts I’ve already prepared (unless you’d like to write your own posts, which is definitely encouraged!!!)
updates on my little book’s progress
fun bookish freebies
Sound like fun? Fill out this form to join the team!
I’d so love to have you on board! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Also… the title of my poetry book will be announced on Monday, January 17th. Provided the hostile winter has not frozen my fingers off, thus leaving me incapable of typing up the announcement.
Laurel Luehmann 