Author Spotlight-Jackie Layton

Hi friends! For my very first author spotlight, we have Jackie Layton. Everyone, say hello to Jackie! She is a very dear friend of mine. She has written two books in the Low Country Dog Walker Mystery series, Bite the Dust and Dog-Gone Dead. Without further ado, let's get to know Jackie and her new book Dog-Gone Dead.

Back cover blurb:
Who’d have thought mulch could cause such a stink?

Low Country dog walker Andi Grace Scott is happy to score some free mulch from one of her brother’s landscaping jobs—until she discovers the dead body buried beneath the bark.

Worse, her brother’s landscaping tools were used to commit the murder. Once the police arrest her brother and seem happy to have “caught their man,” Andi Grace has no choice but to track down the real killer. She’ll risk everything to prove her brother’s innocence. Even if it means turning over every rock in town.

If you love small-town coastal life, dogs, and strong heroines, you’ll love Dog-Gone Dead.


Author Bio:
Former Kentucky pharmacist Jackie Layton loves her new life in the Low Country. When she’s not writing, Jackie enjoys walks on the beach, bike rides and collecting shells. The first two books in Jackie's Low Country Dog Walker Mystery series are Bite the Dust and Dog-Gone Dead. Jackie always enjoys hearing from readers.
Jackie loves time on the beach despite one trip that ended with cracked ribs from riding her boogie board with the kids and another trip that ended up with a trip to the emergency room. There’s nothing like time at the beach, although she tends to be a bit more cautious these days.

I asked Jackie to provide an interesting tidbit about Dog-Gone Dead. Here's what Jackie had to say:

Sally, you asked about a cute tidbit about Dog-Gone Dead.
When I moved to South Carolina, I left life in a small town. I wanted Heyward Beach to be like the town I left where people stop and speak. You know your neighbors and ‘do life’ with them. You also get to know your friends well because of the smallness of the town. People know the good and the bad, but friends stick by you.
Andi Grace Scott has lived in Heyward Beach all of her life and knows the locals. She has a huge heart and is a natural caregiver. She wants people to be loved and to have friends. If she sees a problem, she wants to fix it. This is one of the reasons she jumps into solving mysteries.
Andi Grace is a loyal friend, and she’ll defend you to the end. If you’re ever accused of murder, you’d want Andi Grace on your side. Her natural inquisitiveness leads her to ask the right questions and track down clues.

Friends, I sure hope you enjoyed getting to know Jackie Layton and her book Dog-Gone Dead.

Jackie has graciously offered an autographed copy of Bite the Dust! For a chance to win an autographed copy of Jackie's first book in the Low Country Dog Walker Mystery series Bite the Dust, leave a comment, including your email address, by Sunday, July 5. Winner will be announced next Tuesday!

Below are links to connect with Jackie and where you can buy her books:

Social media links:
https://jackielaytoncozyauthor.com/
http://jackiesbackporch.blogspot.com
Twitter: @Joyfuljel
https://www.facebook.com/JackieLaytonAuthor
https://www.facebook.com/Joyfuljel
https://www.pinterest.com/jackielaytonauthor/
https://www.instagram.com/jackielaytonauthor

Links to buy Dog-Gone Dead:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2VbTidG
Kobo: https://tinyurl.com/ybo4pr8t
Barnes & Noble: https://tinyurl.com/ycf7765c
Google: https://tinyurl.com/y8u6sf45
Apple: https://tinyurl.com/ycyjno6b

Thank you so much for joining us here today. Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered for an autographed copy of Jackie's book Bite the Dust!

If you're an author and you'd like to be showcased here, just let me know. Must be inspirational or clean, can be fiction or nonfiction.
Check out my website, connect with me, and sign up for my newsletter. https://sallyshupe.weebly.com/

Grab a copy of Jackie's books and enjoy your day!

What Is Your Response?

Thanks for joining me on my blog! Praying your day is going well. Enjoy this post!

Remember Jonah and the whale in the Bible? God calls Jonah to warn Nineveh to repent. Jonah doesn't want to do what God called him to do. He runs away, boards a boat, and thinks he's escaped. Then a big storm arises and he ends up being tossed overboard and getting swallowed by the whale. He thought if he ignored what God wanted him to do, he could skip over that part and go on to something else.

(This is Milo, hiding.)











How did Jonah respond? By running away. What is our response to God's call on our life? How are we using the talents God has given us? Whether it is a talent for writing, or encouraging, or ministering, or serving, or something else, are we using that talent? Or, are we like Jonah and running away until a better talent comes along? Are we burying our talent so others won't know that we are writing for Him, or singing for Him, or witnessing to others? Are we just barely using our talents? Just enough to say that we are using them, but not to the full potential God intended?

We should be excited to use our talents!

We should look for ways to use our talents for Him, to grow our talents to inspire others, to encourage others. As writers, we should write, sharing God's love with others through stories, devotions, songs. As encouragers, we should look for opportunities to share a smile, a good word, to lift up those around us.

Pray for opportunities to grow your talents. The more you write, the more you study the craft of writing, the stronger your writing becomes. The same with other talents. Are you using your talents for God, or hiding them away, hoping nobody sees them?

We should be excited to use our talents for God. What is your response? What is your talent and how are you using it for Him?

Thanks for stopping by!

Leave a comment so I know you're here. Follow my blog so you don't miss a post. I'll be posting here on Wednesdays. I also post the first Thursday of the month at https://seriouslywrite.blogspot.com/

Check out my website, and sign up for my newsletter. https://sallyshupe.weebly.com/

Don't Be Distracted by What's Going on Around You

Hello friends! It's great to see you here today. My husband and I got back from visiting our son in Florida last week. I kept getting distracted by the airplanes. He lives close to the airport. Airplanes and military jets flew by every few minutes close enough to touch. I could hear them taking off, and I’d run outside to watch them, until I figured out to just take my chair outside on the porch 😊. Where I live in Virginia, we don’t get many planes flying overhead, but when they do, I run outside to see them. As these plans flew by my son’s house, I would eagerly await the next one so I could watch it.

I learned a lesson in this. Instead of being distracted by what’s going on around me, I should be listening, watching, following what God’s doing in my life. I should be just as eagerly awaiting what God’s going to do next, instead of worrying about what is going wrong or could go wrong.

Look beyond to what God’s doing on a higher level. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. His ways are above our ways. He wants so much for us.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.-Isaiah 55:8-9

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.-Jeremiah 29:11


I was reading Ezekiel 37 the other day, where God has Ezekiel prophecy over the bones and then to breathe on the bones. Those bones got up and walked around! Those dead, dried out bones had tendons, and flesh, and skin and breathed! They became a vast army. If he can bring back to life dead, dried out bones, He can do anything!

What are you eagerly awaiting God to do in your life? Be encouraged!



Thanks for stopping by!

Leave a comment so I know you're here. Follow my blog so you don't miss a post. I'll be posting here on Wednesdays. I also post the first Thursday of the month at https://seriouslywrite.blogspot.com/

Check out my website, and sign up for my newsletter. I'm working on it now, and you don't want to miss it! https://sallyshupe.weebly.com/

Don't Get Discouraged on the Journey by Sally Shupe

Don’t Get Discouraged on Your Journey

At the beginning of the year, we planned a trip in March. Needless to say, it got canceled due to COVID-19. We were disappointed, discouraged, upset, but there was nothing we could do about it. We had to wait. Until, finally, we were able to go on our trip late last week. The trip was for fun, and since it had been canceled once already, we were really looking forward to it. Even though it got canceled, that didn’t diminish the fun we had on this trip. If anything, it made it that much sweeter. We had been anticipating this trip. Planning for this trip. And once we were on the road, we couldn’t wait to get to where we were going. But you know something? Our writing journey can affect us in the same way.


One year we headed to the beach in South Carolina. We got lost along the way. But, we got to see some cool sights along the way that we wouldn’t have gotten to see if we hadn’t gotten lost. We came across an airplane parking lot. It was so fun seeing all those parked airplanes!


While here on this trip, we went riding through town (Valparaiso and Niceville, Florida) trying to learn our way around. We found a park next to a body of water with boats in the water and airplanes and military jets flying overheard. It was fun to sit in the car and eat while watching the water and the sky.

So, if your writing journey isn’t turning out as you thought it would, don’t get discouraged. Many times not following the path you had planned makes the journey seem harder, longer, and not as fun. Do you sometimes feel like your writing journey is the same way? Did you think you’d be published already? Or have more books published by now? Now, think about the things you’ve learned, the people you’ve met during this time, the feedback you’ve received, the encouragement that’s been given to you. How your writing has changed and grown.


Don’t get discouraged when things don't seem to go your way. Pray about your situation and listen to what’s happening around you. You’re writing is growing, your connections are growing. Use this time to fine-tune your craft, your audience, your voice. And pray. Pray about the connections you make, the feedback you receive. Pray about your writing. Instead of being discouraged, pray for opportunities.


And then, when your first book, your third, your fiftieth is published, you will remember the journey with fondness, the accomplishments will be that much sweeter.


Every reader enjoys hearing about an author’s first call of acceptance. What was yours? For the reader, what is something that took you awhile to accomplish? Let’s cheer each other on!