Monday, December 4, 2017

Choose The Top Fantasy and Science Fiction Cover of 2017



We're not supposed to judge a book by its cover.

All the same, I'm really pleased that the cover for The Illumination, the fourth and final book in my Awakening supernatural thriller series, was included in Kobo Writing Life's 10 Finalists for the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy covers of 2017. (Thank you to cover designer Chrissy from Damonza!)

This poll also reminded me of a book I've been waiting for: Map of Shadows by J. F. Penn. I love Penn's London Crime Thriller series, and I'm excited to branch out into reading her other fiction. I also plan to check out the 8 other authors whose book covers are in the Top 10.

You only have until 5 p.m. Eastern Time on December 7 so hurry and vote for your favorite cover today!




Sunday, September 3, 2017

Celebrate The Finale Of The Awakening Series - Chicago September 21, 2017

Please join me to celebrate releasing The Illumination, the finale of The Awakening series, and embracing life as a full-time author. We'll have an appetizer buffet, an Awakening trivia quiz, and a drawing.

Prizes include an Amazon gift card and a chance to have a character named after you in my new Q.C. Davis mystery series.


All four Awakening books will be available for sale.

Where:  Sopraffina Market Cafe, 10 N. Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois

Date:   Thursday, September 21, 2017

Time:     5-7 p.m.

Drop in any time and feel free to bring a friend!

Look for (metered) street parking on Dearborn or one block west on Clark Street or valet ($15). Sopraffina is also close to Red, Blue, and Brown Line L stops and about 6 blocks from Union Station.

If you can make it, please RSVP to Lisa@LisaLilly.com.

Hope to see you there!

P.S. Can't make it but want to check out The Illumination and other Awakening books anyway? Visit http://www.lisalilly.com/the-illumination/.

Monday, June 19, 2017

The Illumination, Book 4 in The Awakening Series (and my 100th post)


More than the other books in The Awakening Series, writing the fourth and final book, The Illumination, required pulling together many threads. It was like a giant puzzle as well as a novel.

That made it fun. And challenging.

It was also exciting because at last Tara Spencer comes face-to-face with the forces that caused her supernatural pregnancy. She learns the truth about her child's origin—and her own—and everything rests upon what she decides to do about it.

Completing and launching the book also made me sad because I’ve spent so many years thinking and writing about Tara and the people around her.

Some, like Thomas Stranyero, began as minor characters and turned into pivotal actors in the drama. Others didn’t make it to the end. But all of them became real people to me.

All of this makes it fitting that this is my 100th blog post. I didn't plan it that way, but if I had, that's what I would have wanted.

If you haven’t yet read The Illumination , you can find it in paperback or ebook editions (Kindle, Nook, Kobo (Canada), Kobo (U.S.), iBook, or GooglePlay formats).

The audiobook is coming soon.

If you have read the series, thanks so much! Reader reviews, emails, and comments are what kept me going throughout, especially when I was also managing a law practice.

Best,
Lisa


P.S. Haven’t had enough of Tara? You can get bonus materials from the series, including deleted scenes and my handwritten notes as I was plotting The Illumination here.




Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Did The Virgin Mary Influence The Supreme Court?


In 2014, three corporations argued to the United States Supreme Court that paying premiums for health insurance made them a cause of abortions. Everyone - the Court, the government, and the corporations - agreed that the insurance didn't cover abortions. But it did, as the Affordable Care Act required, cover IUDs and emergency contraception.


The shareholders of the corporations believed those methods of birth control were the same as abortions and argued requiring them to provide this insurance violated their religious freedom.

The Supreme Court agreed.

The five justices in the majority were Catholic. The corporations' religious objections mirrored those of the Roman Catholic Church.

How The Virgin Mary Influenced The United States Supreme Court looks at whether Catholic views about the perfect woman, sex, and birth control influenced the Court's decision. The Kindle edition, which is free 4/6/17 through 4/8/17 (and always free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers), talks about:


  • What the gospels say about the Virgin Mary (not much);
  • The Catholic Church’s view of the “perfect” and “pure” woman as both virgin and mother; 
  • The amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief filed by the 67 Roman Catholic theologians and ethicists; 
  • The reasoning of the justices who wrote the majority opinion and the principal dissent in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby.


How much did the Catholic view of women and the Virgin Mary really influence the Court?

Download the Kindle edition today and see for yourself.

P.S. Don't have a Kindle? Order the paperback edition here.