Looking Out The Window: Julie Cosgrove Talks About Fallen Leaf, The Second Book In Her Relatively Seeking Mysteries. Gives Away A PDF Copy.

A Warm Welcome to Julie Cosgrove

Julie shares a thought-provoking devotional.

She will give away a PDF copy of her newest book, Fallen Leaf. 

The second book in the Relatively Seeking Mysteries finds thirty-something friends Jessica, Bailey, and Shannon solving yet another “skeleton in the family closet”.

Hi Julie, lots of writers loved to read as children. How about you? If so, what did you read?

I was an avid reader. I recall my mom and dad having a huge, white wardrobe in their bedroom and in one of the bottom drawers was a stack of Little Golden Books. I could pick one each night and then crawl up on her lap as we “read” it together. The Pokey Little Puppy and Grandpa Bunny-Bunny were my favorite.

Once I got into school, we made weekly trips to the library. When I turned ten, I got my very own library card!  About that time, I discovered Mary Stewart, who is now deceased. She was a fabulous romantic suspense writer who set her books all over Europe. I lived vicariously through her heroines.

And then, you became a writer. Why do you write?

It keeps me off the streets.

LOL.

Seriously, I began writing before I became widowed, but it has become my main hobby and has become a great way to stay busy and stave away the loneliness over the last nine years. I guess since I am working on my 15th published novel in those nine years, it’s working for me.

Yes, tell us about your latest book.

As you mentioned, Fallen Leaf is the 2nd in the Relatively Seeking Mysteries Series. Friends Bailey, Jessica and Shannon keep stumbling over skeletons in the familial closets they were not meant to find. In this one, Jessica, who is adopted, learns that her natural father is imprisoned for a murder he says he didn’t commit. As she begins to research the events surrounding the night he was arrested, she realizes she cannot believe everything people tell her. So many people have their own agenda, who can she trust, and will she ever discover the truth?

Interesting. What themes do you write about? 

I like to read books in which I learn something, so I write that way. Each book contains a human struggle such as adoption, family rivalries, secrets, prejudices, trafficking, corruption, aging, etc. as a subplot. It means quite a bit of research, but I enjoy that. There is always a redemptive message because Jesus meets us in our messes but loves us too much to leave us wallowing in them.

Does your faith affect your writing? If so, how?

Absolutely. My characters live the Christian life. One reviewer said she liked that faith was woven into the fabric of my characters, but that I never interrupted the car chase with a sermon. Exactly my intent. My faith is as much a part of me as my height or hair color or ability to breathe. Same with my characters. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be as three-dimensional.

What are you working on right now?

I just finished the first draft of book three, Leaf Me Alone, which features Shannon and her husband Jayden as the main genealogy sleuths. My publisher says she is interested in me continuing the series after that. So, the antics of Bailey, Jessica, and Shannon may continue…there are always family secrets to uncover.

Julie Shares A Devotional About Connecting To Our Spiritual Energy

At the suggestion of a friend, I got a battery backup for my smartphone. The older my phone gets (yes, it is paid for) the more quickly the battery runs down. I know the feeling!

Recently, the phone needed charging while I was not at home so I couldn't use the cord.  I had carried the battery with me. As I plugged the phone into the battery, it occurred to me that I am like that. Sometimes I need recharging. Don't you?

At any time, we can plug into our source of life, which is God. But sometimes, we don't feel we are close to the cord. It may be stress, hurt, pain, or a sense of being overwhelmed. That is when we need someone else to pray for us and boost our energy. I honestly think God puts people in our lives for just that purpose.

Interceding for each other is so very important. Being able to honestly discuss what we are going through and where we are in our walk is vital. We all need one or two prayer warriors to plug into, with whom we can be totally vulnerable, knowing that they will not judge or chide us. Instead, they will give godly wisdom and prayer support. We know they are filled with power because they have been in the Word, have spent time with God, and have allowed His Spirit to reign in their lives. Life has not depleted their resources. In other words, because they have been plugged in and are fully powered at the moment, they can boost us in our weakened state.

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." James 5:16

There will come a time when we will be the battery saver to someone else. Faith in community works that way. Sure, bearing another's burden may drain us a bit, but we can always be renewed by plugging into the Source on a regular basis.

And here is what convicted me the most. I should always have power stored up in me — the same way I try to keep my battery charger ready. If I don't, then when I run low, I will be drained of energy and in search of something to energize me. If I haven't brought my battery saver as a backup, or have not plugged my phone in for a while, it dies. It is the same with my soul. I need to plug into God through prayer and His Word often or I'll become depleted. I'll either seek a temporary fix such as caffeine, chocolate or comfort carbs, or I will lean on someone else over and over again to boost me, draining them.

It is wise to consistently plug ourselves into God's power.  We all need a holy battery saver (or should I say Savior) for those dark times when the power of our own strength seems to go out. And doesn't it always seem that power flickers the most during a storm?

Is your battery fully charged and ready?

More About Fallen Leaf

A DNA shocker.

Can Jessica prove the father she’s never known is innocent of a thirty-year-old murder?

It must be a mistake. When a DNA kit reveals the blond, blue-eyed Jessica Warren is half Cherokee, she confronts her adoptive parents who have always been tight-lipped about the circumstances surrounding her infancy. Reluctantly, they hand over her adoptive birth certificate along with a letter written by her biological mother about her real father — in prison on a murder charge!

Jessica and her best friends, Bailey and Shannon, head for Oklahoma to locate her birth mother, seek the truth about her heritage, and discern if her father is as innocent as he claims. In the process of trying to prove he was wrongly imprisoned, the three women uncover a thirty-year-old mystery some powerful people never wanted revealed. Can Jessica trust a handsome, young district attorney from Tulsa to help her discern the truth, or does he have an agenda of his own?

As Jessica chases down the past and digs into the real reason she was put up for adoption, she soon learns the sins of the fathers really can be visited upon their children, just as the Bible states.

Buy on Amazon

Bio: Julie is a widow who lives in Texas and enjoys word games, mysteries, and cats. She writes Christian women's fiction as well as devotionals. Visit her Website and her blog, Where Did You Find God Today?