Book Spotlight with Jeanette Levellie

Jeanette Levellie is here to celebrate the second edition release of The Heart of Humor: Sixty Helpings of Hilarity to Nourish Your Soul. It's a wonderful book, full of insight and humor that does exactly what it says, nourishes the soul. (Check out my review below.)

As you might have guessed, Jen and I met through blogging, and she's since become a good friend. So I'm excited to help her spread the word about this wonderful book.

Welcome Jen! Can you give us an overview of The Heart of Humor?

By all means! Here is the back cover copy, which took almost as much time and thought to write than the entire book:

Welcome to a vacation from stress, worry, and global whining. Learn the secrets of how laughter can help you:

• Live healthier & longer
• Deepen your relationships
• Trust a God with the sense of humor that gives a 90-year-old lady a baby
  

In her sassy yet down-to-earth style, award-wining author and speaker Jeanette Levellie takes readers on fun trip through 45 short stories with titles like An Outhouse to Celebrate, Confessions of a Jailbird, and Swimsuit Shopping Stress. Accompanying the stories are comical drawings by a professional animator, articles, and lists revealing the superpowers of humor such as Got Pain? Laugh it Away, Everybody Loves Dummies, and Ten Ways to Help Yourself Laugh.

I can vouch for the fact that Heart of Humor is a fun and encouraging read. How did the idea for it come about?

I’d been writing humor columns for a Christian magazine for five years. I had so many on file, I decided to compile the best ones into a book. After writing articles about the benefits of humor and compiling lists of humor quotes and the best funny movies, The Heart of Humor was born. In this second edition, we’ve added 8 cartoons and a new cover, which has a laughing redhead who looks suspiciously like me!

 

Yes...I noticed that - the cover does somehow resemble you. :) What other books have you written? Can you share a bit about them?

Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top, my best seller, is a humorous devotional focusing on God’s bottomless heart of grace. Comical drawings from my son accompany nine of the chapters.

Shock the Clock is a fun time management system that focuses on different personality types. A great feature of this book is the list of time management tips by well-known Christian authors, agents, and editors.

Touchable God, features 25 personal stories about how I developed friendship with God through talking to him. The final 20 chapters are actual prayers for friends in crisis.

Thanks for stopping by, Jen! I know others will be blessed by your books. May you enjoy much success through every facet of your life and writing.

Thank you, Karen!

Find Jeanette 

Website 

Facebook  

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Jeanette's Books 

Scoops of Grace  

The Heart of Humor  
Shock the Clock 
Touchable God

 

My Review of The Heart of Humor

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Jeanette Levellie’s gift for humor is evident, and shines through every chapter. Readers will appreciate her down to earth style, and will laugh (maybe cry, too) as she shares personal anecdotes and lessons learned. For example, one of my favorite chapters, “I Love My Hips”, reminds us that our worth goes beyond physical features. Ms. Levellie is the real deal; she understands how important it is to laugh at ourselves and keep a good perspective. I am sure that her wit and wisdom will entertain and lift you up.


Winner

Congratulations to Cecelia Lester! She's the winner of a copy of River to Redemption by Ann Gabhart. Thanks to everyone who stopped by for last week's post and interview. 

Do you think that humor helps us through the hard times? What questions do you have for Jeanette? What are you reading this week?

Happy writing, 

Karen

Interview with Jeanette Levellie

      Jeanette Levellie is here today to share a bit of her insight and trademark wit and wisdom. I am excited! 

    

      I met Jen shortly after I started blogging; she's a faithful friend and delightful writing buddy who always makes me laugh. Her book, Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top hit the shelves this spring and is a big hit. It is currently in the #10 slot for Christian Humor/Family/Parenting on Amazon. 

Jen's generously offered a copy of her book for a giveaway. Details on that and her $100 Gift Card Giveaway follow the interview.

        

Karen: Welcome, Jen! Congratulations on your book's success. I imagine you are pretty excited. When did you start writing for publication?

Jen: Thank you, I am! It's great to be here. When my son was a baby, I wrote several poems for La Leche League, which they published in their international calendars.  I was thrilled to see my work in print, delighted that people all over the globe were reading it. LLL offered me a job editing the newsletter for our local region, but I turned them down, since I had two small children at the time, and wanted to devote all my time to them. When they were a bit older, I started writing for a large church’s daily devotional, and then my first article, Felines: Friend or Foe? was published by an educational magazine. Since then I’ve had hundreds of columns, articles, and stories published. Several of the columns I wrote for our local newspaper are included in my book, Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top.

Karen: What is Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top about? 

Jen: It is a light-hearted look at God’s enormous heart. I’ve taken 72 stories of everyday battles, brouhahas, bliss, and added a touch of humor. My goal is to make you laugh, help you like yourself, and enable you to receive God’s love. I’ve aimed it primarily at Christians, but it has some “salt” sprinkled in it as well, to make pre-believers thirsty to know Jesus.

Karen: Where did you find the inspiration for your stories? 

Jen: Mostly from stupid things I’ve done or messes I’ve gotten myself into. I share what I’ve learned about God’s bottomless grace from my own misadventures. I also love to observe other people’s nutty behavior, and draw funny conclusions from those. Every happening and encounter in my life is a potential story to write about, and I see humor in nearly everything and everybody. So be careful if you ever hang out with me—I may use you in my next book! 

Karen: I'll have to remember that. :) I'm curious about the process of finding an agent. How did you find yours?

Jen: I went to the Write to Publish conference in Wheaton, IL. I did what they told me to do, and researched the staff ahead of time. I picked out Diana Flegal of Hartline Literary as my top choice, since she represented non-fiction writers, and she looked like a gentle soul. I had no idea she was also a pastor’s wife, like myself. When I met with her, we just clicked. It had to be the Holy Spirit guiding my steps, because she is the perfect agent for me. She gets my nutty sense of humor, and we’ve become great friends and prayer partners. But you really must do your homework on this one. It’s better to have no agent than a bad one. You can check out a potential agent on a website called Preditors and Editors. Also, find out some of the authors they represent, and interview them. 

Karen: Thanks for the info and for joining us today. It's been a pleasure! Wishing you much success with all your writing endeavors. :)

Jen: Thank you, and thanks for having me!

Stop by Jen's blog or Facebook page; she'd love to see you. Don't forget to check out her $100 Gift Card Giveaway.

For more info on Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top, click here. To read my review, go here.

Book Giveaway 

Jen has offered a copy of her book, either in Kindle, hard copy, or pdf file. Here are the details: 

• You must be a follower and leave a comment, with your email address.  

• Gain bonus entries (+1 each) by posting this on Facebook, your blog, and/or Twitter. Please total your entries and include link with your comment where applicable.

• Open to residents of the United States.

• Deadline to enter is midnight EST, Friday, June 29, 2012. Winner will be notified via email and will have 36 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Winner will be announced Monday, July 2, 2012.

Do you have any questions for Jeanette? What are you reading now?

Happy writing,
Karen