Let’s Chat! Author Joy Palmer

Welcome, Readers and V. Joy Palmer!

Our guest this week is Joy Palmer (a.k.a. V. Joy Palmer) who writes inspirational romantic comedy.

Joy is the author of Love, Lace, and Minor Alterations and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. Also, she’s an avid blogger and co-founder of Snack Time Devotions. 

Joy is offering a copy of her debut novel, Love, Lace, and Minor Alterations, to someone who joins to conversation below. So … take it away, Joy!

Congratulations to Kim S., winner of the drawing! Yay! Check your email, Kim, for a message from me.

Joy Palmer’s Pre-Author Life

So, I’m Joy. *waves awkwardly*

First, my life began as a bald book-hoarder. My mother likes to tell everyone how I was nearly bald until I was three-years-old and how I loved, loved, loved, my books.

Not a lot has changed. Well, I have hair now, but I’m still a hoarder of all things bookish.

When I was six years old, I wanted to be school teacher…or a bus driver. Yeah, I’m serious. However, I always loved telling stories, writing songs, and reading. So I started (and stopped) writing several stories while growing up, never showing them to anyone. I filled notebook after notebook with songs I had written. Yes, I wanted to be a singer/songwriter, but fear held me back.

How Joy’s Writing Began

However, God is awesome. He took that dream and helped me fully realize another dream – writing books. In my senior year of high school, I realized I actually liked writing assignments. They made me downright giddy. Yeah, I’m a weirdo, but that’s when I knew I wanted to be an author.

When I wasn’t writing, I volunteered as a youth leader, and I still love mentoring teens. I discovered the coolest writer’s conference in the world – the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Conference, and I married my warrior knight in August of 2013.

If you and I were hanging out, I’d drag you to a coffee shop with a stack of books in my purse that you MUST read. (And yes, my purse is that big.) We’d gush about our favorite authors, Gilmore Girls, cheesecake and everything under the sun as we drank all the coffee, tea, and hot chocolate the establishment had in stock.

And then the book stuff happened…

Joy Palmer’s Debut 

It took me four years to complete my first novel, and I did some major revisions (translation: weeping and gnashing of teeth) right before my second ACFW Conference, where I pitched that novel.

 Afterwards, I came home and waited.

Waited…

And waited.

Some rejections followed, and I drowned my sorrows with salty chocolate.

I mean, I tried to drown them. Rejections are hard. We know they’re not personal, but because we put so much of our heart and soul into our stories, sometimes it feels personal. God spent many hours whispering to my heart during this season. Not condolences, but to be me.

I distracted myself by writing and, goody, more waiting. Then I received notice my proposal was going to committee.

Thank God, I got the answer the next day because I could. not. sleep. that night!

My book baby, Love, Lace, and Minor Alterations, released from WhiteFire Publishing in June of 2016.

Love, Lace, and Minor Alterations

Isabel “Izze” Vez, bridal consultant extraordinaire, has been helping brides find The Dress for years. She loves nothing more than helping make wedding dreams come true.

But sometimes the happy endings grate on her. How many times can a girl discover someone else’s gown without dreaming of the day it’ll be her turn to wear one?

When James Miles Clayton walks into her life, he represents everything Izze can’t handle: change. He’s determined to bring the Ever After Bridal Boutique into the black…and prove to Izze she should give him a chance.

But if there’s anything Izze handles worse than change, it’s trust. She may have a few issues—fine, she knows she does. But will they keep getting in the way of any chance of her own Happily Ever After? She wants to trust God to give her those dreams of love and lace, but that’s going to require some…minor alterations.

Post-Debut for Joy Palmer

Remember that whispered message? It hadn’t sunk in. Not completely because things started getting really stressful.

First, there was the pressure of sales. The pressure of making every story even better. The pressure of following all the rules of all the social media outlets. The pressure of doing the author thing perfectly. And because I’m a perfectionist.

Finally, God’s voice broke through my stubborn, stressed heart in a blub session at another ACFW conference.

Be me. Write with Him. With. Him. Not me trying to do everything a certain way. Write with Him.

And that’s made all the difference for my heart.

What’s up with Joy Palmer now? 

Then about two weeks after I found out about my book baby, I found out I was pregnant. So honestly, the last few years have passed in a sleep deprived blur. Zzzz.

Now I’m working on two projects. All I can tell you about the first one is that while I absolutely love these characters now, for a while they made me want to pull my hair out by the roots!

The other is a Christmas novella I plan to release next year. Yay! I’m super excited for readers to meet these friends. So check my blog and social media pages for updates!

In my spare time, I’m an unprofessional chocolate connoisseur/binger, and I love acting crazy and drinking coffee with the teens I mentor. (Click to Tweet!) 

When I’m not urging the elves that live in my computer to write, I’m hanging out with my husband, our adorable baby girl, and our socially awkward pets.

How to Find Joy

• Facebook
• Twitter 
• Instagram
• Goodreads – 
• Website 
• Blog
• Snack Time Devotions Blog 
• The Diamond Mine of Christian Fiction 

Purchase Links

• Amazon 
• Barnes & Noble 
• Books-A-Million 

~ ~ ~

Lord, You are Love and the Author of Romance. You’re the Author of Everything, including laughter. Thank you for authors like Joy who add the lovely spice labeled humor to love stories that inspire readers to look to You for their everything.
Bless each word Joy Palmer writes for You.
~ For Jesus’ sake ~

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