About the Book
Book: Sermons from a Soapbox, Messages of Hope and Encouragement
Author: Ladonna Shanks
Genre: Devotional, based on personal experience; Memoir; Adult Nonfiction; “Life Lesson Essays”
Release Date: April 8, 2025
“What is God like?
Does He even exist, other than as a figment of the imagination?
Or is He real, a part of daily life and our world?
In Sermons from a Soapbox, Ladonna Shanks shares her personal spiritual journey of more than seventy-five years. “I cannot write what I have not experienced,” serves as the base of her easy-to-read, anecdotal essays. The short “sermons” challenge the reader to think, question, search, and consider living where God is . . . in the spiritual, long-term, instead of humankind’s physical, short-term.
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Ladonna Shanks was born and raised in Oregon’s lush Willamette Valley. During her several decades of life, she has been an entrepreneur, a small business owner, and, most recently, a writer. Her first book, Tidbits and Pearls, A Book of Essays on Living Everyday Life with God was published in 2019. Ladonna’s family, including five grandgirls, and her commitment to God serve as her priorities.
More from Ladonna
The desire and passion to share God’s quest for friendship with humankind has driven me to write of my personal experiences with Him. “I cannot write what I have not experienced” is my mantra.
The easy-to-read anecdotal essays make up both of my books: Tidbits and Pearls, A Book of Essays on Living Everyday Life with God and my newly published Sermons from a Soapbox, Messages of Hope and Encouragement. (My editor calls them “Life’s Lessons Essays.)
I never preach, but I share my life. My desire is to challenge the reader to consider life in the long-term, eternal instead of the short-term, physical. I want them to think.
I am open, honest, and transparent as I present my weaknesses, failures, and inadequacies in contrast to God’s faithfulness, care, and love.
Interview with the Author
1)What does success as an author look like to you?
I don’t view success in the number of books sold. When I wrote my first book “Tidbits and Pearls, A Book of Essays on Living Everyday Life with God,” God gave me the charge “for the sake of one . . .” If my writing encourages only one reader to turn to God or to consider Him in a new and better way, that is success to me—making an eternal difference.
2)What inspired this book?
The inspiration for this book is a “who,” not “what.” A lovely woman in Ohio contacted me after reading “Tidbits and Pearls.” She wanted to know how many books I had sold. I told her of God’s charge “for the sake of one,” and that I honestly didn’t track the sales. She responded, “I am that one.” She began encouraging me to write another one. She provided motivation and encouragement, often when I was stuck in a rut. In fact, I dedicated this book to her.
3)What is your favorite Bible verse or life verse?
I’m not sure I would call this my favorite, but it is one I’m reminded of often. 😊
“You are not your own. You were bought with a price.“ I Cor. 6: 19, 20
4)What would you like your readers to get out of this book?
I would like my readers to know and understand I am cut from the same cloth as they are and, in honesty and transparency I, too, struggle in my faith walk with God. But God is faithful. And He is worth it.
5)Why write nonfiction?
I can do no other. I could not make up a story if my life depended on it. I cannot write what I have not experienced, so I am a nonfiction writer. I’m eighty-one years old. I’ve only been writing for ten years or so. God gives me the opening thought or sentence, typically based on a recent experience. And so the essay begins. I guess you could say I write nonfiction, because that is what God has called me to do. Yes. That is why I write nonfiction. It’s real and personal, as I lay out my life before God and the world.
Blog Stops
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, November 13
Simple Harvest Reads, November 14 (Author Interview)
Texas Book-aholic, November 15
Artistic Nobody, November 16 (Author Interview)
Guild Master, November 17 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 17
The Sacred Line, November 18
Lots of Helpers, November 19
Fiction Book Lover, November 20 (Author Interview)
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 21
Vicky Sluiter, November 22 (Author Interview)
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, November 23
For the Love of Literature, November 24 (Author Interview)
Because I said So, November 24
Tell Tale Book Reviews, November 25 (Author Interview)
Girls in White Dresses, November 26
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Ladonna is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card, copy of my book, and a set of 6 blank note cards created by myself using floral photos!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/3d5a0/sermons-from-a-soapbox-celebration-tour-giveaway
In the small foothill village of Shiloh on a stormy Christmas Eve, a group of children find themselves lost in a powerful storm. When a chance encounter with a kind stranger presents itself, their faith is put to the test as they discover the true meaning of Christmas, learn valuable life lessons, and experience the transformative power of just one tiny seed: The Seed of Faith.
Instead of moving closer to his girlfriend, Chance McPherson gets dumped and relocated to Cincinnati—farther from his dreams and closer to his shameful past. Stacey Sanderson is excited to finally secure a role in law enforcement, like the rest of her family, especially as an EPA CID agent, where she can protect God’s creation.
Heidi Glick writes romantic suspense and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Faith, Hope, and Love Christian Writers. She has an eye for detail and includes law enforcement particulars in her stories, grounding the reader in scenes. She’s attended Writers’ Police Academy and the Hancock County (Ohio) Sheriff Citizen’s Academy to ensure accuracy of story details. Though she grew up in Southern California, Heidi now considers rural Northwest Ohio her home.
A Stampede Tramples Hopes
Terri J. Haynes, a native Baltimorean, is a homeschool mom, writer, prolific knitter, freelance graphic artist and former Army wife (left the Army, not the husband). She loves to read, so much that when she was in elementary school, she masterminded a plan to be locked in a public library armed with only a flashlight to read all the books and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. As she grew, her love for writing grew as she tried her hand at poetry, articles, speeches and fiction. She is storyteller at heart. Her passion is to draw readers in the story world she has created and to bring laughter and joy to their lives.
A desperate aunt and a duty-bound sheriff—thrown into marriage by necessity, driven by danger, and risking everything to rescue a child…and their hearts.
Best-selling, award-winning author of The Debutante’s Code, first in the Thorndike & Swann Regency Mystery Series, Erica Vetsch loves Jesus, history, romance, and sports. When she’s not writing fiction, she’s planning her next trip to a history museum.
He thinks he’s too old. She thinks she’s too young. Can these teachers learn that love defies all boundaries?
Linda Shenton Matchett writes happily-ever-after historical Christian fiction about second chances and women who overcome life’s challenges to be better versions of themselves.
Nine-year-old Dana Foster will follow her older brother, Luke, wherever he goes. From climbing on ledges, jumping in a fish pond, and causing general mischief, Luke is fearless. But when tragedy strikes the Foster family, everything that Dana has ever known is suddenly turned upside down. When the storms of life come, will the Foster family stand firm in their faith? Or will they shatter under the pressure? Suddenly, a blue boat that Dana and Luke received from their uncle leads Dana on a journey of faith, hope, and love that she will not soon forget.
Connie Kallback grew up on the plains of Cheyenne, Wyoming, attended the University of Wyoming, and graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle. She transitioned from English teacher to publishing in New Jersey with CCMI/McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall, and CPP, Inc, in positions from writer to acquisitions and managing editor. Her early writing, penned while teaching, appeared in magazines, newspapers and literary journals. No longer wearing the hats of Mary Poppins or Sherlock Holmes, necessities of raising six children in two separate families, she writes in South Carolina where she lives with her husband.
Being selected to enter into The Christmas Lights Showcase is an honor—and a commitment! Entrants pay a hefty fee and spend months designing and executing a Christmas display to knock all others out of the running. With only four competitors selected out of thousands of entrants, competition is stiff! Cozy up and join us as one judge, four locales, a few million lights, and more than a little Christmas romance bring it all together.
Laina Turner: Laina Turner writes sweet, feel-good romances that always have a HEA. When she’s not writing she’s a college professor teaching business and English. Through all her career choices, she has continued to have a passion for writing stemming from childhood, where, as an only child, she developed a vivid imagination.
Cathe Swanson: Cathe writes books with creative plots and engaging characters of all ages, to glorify God and entertain and bless readers. Her heartwarming stories will make you laugh and make you cry—and then make you laugh again.
Jaycee Weaver: When New Mexico resident and USA Today bestselling author Jaycee Weaver isn’t reading or writing, she enjoys dates with her brainiac hubby, crafting, pretending she’s a nature photographer, and making her daughters cringe. She appreciates humorous books with banter, characters who overcome adversity, and guaranteed happy endings, so that’s what she writes.
Chautona Havig: Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours, and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.
Daisy Blackwood has always played by the rules. As a meticulous budget analyst in Nashville, she’s built a life of quiet routines and steady work—until one discovery shatters everything. She uncovers evidence of embezzlement at her firm and sets off a chain of events that leaves Daisy framed, frightened, and fighting to clear her name.
