Welcome to the Blog Tour for A Wing and a Prayer by Julie Lessman, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours! Who else is ready for an O'Connor story?! If the O'Connor family hasn't stolen your heart, you are definitely missing out! Be sure to read the book excerpt below and then enter the giveaway!
About the Book
Title: A Whim and a Prayer
Series: The Cousins O'Connor #4
Author: Julie Lessman
Publisher: Independent
Release Date: September 8, 2026
Genre: Historical Romance
She’s a former orphan desperate to protect her heart.
He’s a best friend who protects her from the start.
Till prayer protects them both from a true love torn apart.
Discarded like so much trash on the steps of an orphanage at age two, seventeen-year-old Winifred Dennehy thinks God has it out for her. Abandoned by abusive parents and born cross-eyed to boot, she spent the first four years of her life battling bullies and verbal abuse. Deliverance came in the form of one Beckett Campbell, the ten-year-old orphan who became her best friend and guardian angel for life, along with an orphanage volunteer by the name of Mrs. D. When Mrs. Charity Dennehy adopts Winnie into her family, has her crossed eyes fixed, and secretly arranges for Beckett to be fostered and then adopted by elderly neighbors down the street, Winnie figures her luck has changed. But instead of attributing it to God like Beckett does, she’s inclined to believe it’s her own grit, charm, and spontaneity that has paved the way.
From the moment twenty-four-year-old Beckett Campbell saw the tiny, cross-eyed orphan who reminded him of the sister he lost, he wanted to love and protect her forever. Best friends from the start despite over five years apart, Winnie’s naïve spontaneity for wild hairs and whims keeps Beck’s mature responsibility busy and happily so. Until the little girl he wanted to protect suddenly becomes the young woman he wants to love. When Winnie insists on protecting their friendship from the fear and risk of anything more, Beck has a decision to make. Friendship forever … or a life apart from the best friend he loves. Praying that Winnie will change her mind, Beck doesn’t hold out much hope for that day. But when an unexpected turn of events alters both of their lives, it puts “a whim and a prayer” on a collision course that just might make a way.
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon
More in This Series
Book Excerpt
And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t escape those awful feelings, Winnie … not until I finally turned to the One who lifted them from my shoulders to His, nailing them to the cross once and for all.”
Tears burned beneath Winnie’s lids. “But, Mama, I don’t know how to do that, or even where to begin …”
“I didn’t either, sweetheart, until your Uncle Brady showed me how. You see, we were good friends at that time, before he and Aunt Lizzie even dated, and trust me, the man doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to living for God.”
“So, what’d he say?” Winnie asked, her curiosity piqued despite her disdain for the subject.
“Well, prior to all of this, he’d taught me to pray and read the Bible, of course, but I hadn’t really taken it seriously, you know? I was just going through the motions”—Winnie jumped when her mother gave her a pinch—“kind of like you, young lady, when you go to church with Julia, Daddy, and me.” The tease in her voice faded considerably. “But after the assault, Brady called me on it. Said even though I prayed and read the Bible, I wasn’t fooling anybody, least of all God, because I had never really invited Him in.”
Winnie squinted up at her. “What on earth does that mean?”
Her mother’s smile was tender. “It meant that I had never really given my life to God, darling. Oh, I danced around it plenty, Brady said, but I had never really made a decision to live for God instead of myself. You know, no more doing things my way, out of selfish motivation? Brady flat-out told me that if I wanted God’s blessings in my life, I had to obey Him. ‘Deuteronomy 30 in the flesh,’ he called it, ‘choosing life instead of death,’ or in simple terms, choosing God’s way instead of the world’s.”
Another shudder rippled through Winnie. “Sounds pretty hard.”
“Oh, it is—if you try to do it on your own. But Brady said there was only one way any human being could ever hope to make an attempt at obeying God, and that was to make Him Lord of their life.”
Winnie tipped her head. “How?”
Her mother gave a lift of her shoulders. “‘Invite him in,’ Brady said, ‘Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, to live in my heart and be the Savior of my soul.’ So I did, and you know what happened?”
The breath stilled in Winnie’s lungs. “What?” she whispered.
“I started doing things His way, not mine. I took it one step at a time, with God’s Word as a lamp unto my feet, looking to honor Him instead of myself in everything I said, thought, or did. It didn’t happen overnight for sure, but it did happen just like Brady said—I became ‘a new creature in Christ Jesus,’ who could finally say no to sin and yes to God.” Her mother paused to deliver a wide grin. “And you know what happened then?”
“What?” Winnie said, her voice a breathy whisper.
“Brady told me I’d better duck my head and look out.”
Winnie blinked. “What? Why?”
“Because the blessings of God were going to overtake me, overloading me with the desires of my heart.”
About the Author
A lover of all things Irish, Julie Lessman writes close-knit Irish family sagas that evolve into 3-D love stories: the hero, the heroine, and the God that brings them together. Award-winning author of The Daughters of Boston, Winds of Change, Heart of San Francisco, Isle of Hope, Silver Lining Ranch, and The Cousins O’Connor series, Julie was American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Debut Author of the Year and has garnered over 24 Romance Writers of America and other awards.
Voted #1 Romance Author in Family Fiction magazine’s 2012 and 2011 Reader’s Choice Awards, Julie also made Family Fiction magazine’s Best of 2015, 2014, and “Essential Christian Romance Authors” 2017-2021, 2023, as well as Booklist’s 2010 Top 10 Inspirational Fiction and Borders Best Fiction.
In addition, Julie has written a self-help workbook for writers entitled Romance-ology 101: Writing Romantic Tension for the Sweet and Inspirational Markets, and What’s the Story, Morning Glory: A Memoir Devotional with a “Novel” Approach to Practical Christianity. Contact Julie through her website at www.julielessman.com.
Tour Giveaway
(1) winner will receive a $50 Amazon gift card!
Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight September 21, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on September 28, 2026. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US/CAN only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
