New Chapter-A-Week Offerings--and one of them is mine!
The Falcon and the Sparrow
By M.L. Tyndall
"Ms. Tyndall digs deep and pens characters so real that you'll hurt for them, cry, and cheer for them. " Vickie McDonough of TitleTrakk
"Expertly written, featuring loveable characters, an inspiring Christian message, and an ideal blend of action, romance, and history" CBA Marketplace
London of 1803 is as wild as Rome before the fall of the Empire as the rich seek to feed their insatiable hunger for pleasure while ignoring Napoleon's resurgence.
Into a dark London townhouse walks a timid woman set upon saving her brother's life, even if it requires her to commit treason upon the country of her birth.
Admiral Chase Randal is intrigued by the new governess in his home and cannot deny that his grieving heart is beginning to awaken as he watches Dominique Dawson with his son.
Dominique loves the admiral's son, but how can she understand an attraction for the admiral when he claims to deny the existence of God? For only through God does she find her courage to spy for France.
FAKING GRACE
(Multnomah, August 2008)
By Tamara Leigh
All she wants is a job. All she needs is religion. How hard can it be?
Maizy Grace Stewart dreams of a career as an investigative journalist, but her last job ended in disaster when her compassion cost her employer a juicy headline. A part-time gig at a Nashville newspaper might be her big break. A second job at Steeple Side Christian Resources could help pay the bills, but they only hire committed Christians. Maizy is sure she can fake it with her "Five-Step Program to Authentic Christian Faith." If only Jack Prentiss, Steeple Side's managing editor and British hottie, wasn't determined to prove her a fraud. When Maizy's newspaper boss pressures her to expose any skeletons in Steeple Side's closet, she must decide whether to deliver the dirt and secure her career or lean on her newfound faith, change the direction of her life, and pray that her colleagues—and Jack—will show her grace.
"Faking Grace is a delight! I loved this story with its fun, quirky characters, its outside-the-bubble look at Christian culture, and a storyline that kept me turning pages. I could hardly put it down!"—Marlo Schalesky, award-winning author of Beyond the Night
To read an excerpt of these new titles go to Chapter-a-Week.
The Queen of Sleepy Eye & Where the Heart Leads
THE QUEEN OF SLEEPY EYE
(B&H Fiction ~ Pure Enjoyment, September 2008)
by Patti Hill
It's the summer of 1975, and Amy Monteiro believes it's high time her mother, Francie, the deposed queen of the 1958 Sleepy Eye Corn Festival lays aside her tiara and grows up. After all, Amy is California bound to college. Studious and focused, Amy is twilight to Francie's midnight beauty. Francie, gregarious as she is impetuous, can't imagine her life without Amy. Determined to detour her daughter's independence, Francie packs her beloved Pontiac Bonneville Sport Coupe, Jubilee Edition, and together they hit the open road. The journey becomes one unforgettable summer. Values clash. Belief sparks. Myths fade. A mother and daughter come to age.
"More than a coming-of-age tale, it's about life and loss, love and forgiveness, and discovering there is more to the world than what we see. In every way, it's a keeper."
--Susan May Warren, author of Finding Stefanie
WHERE THE HEART LEADS
By Kim Vogel Sawyer
Bestselling author Kim Vogel Sawyer's newest release follows up her award-winning
Waiting for Summer's Return. Using her Mennonite heritage for inspiration, Sawyer pens a story of a young man learning that he must step into his own future—and his own faith. With a style comparable to Janette Oke's, Where the Heart Leads is historically rich, immersing readers into the life and times of days gone by, and yet so relevant today.
To read an excerpt of these new titles go to
Chapter-a-Week.
If you enjoy Chapter-a-Week take the time to tell a friend how to sign up. It's easy and free and a great way to find great books that fit each person's particular taste.
Bon Appetit and Stepping Into the Sunlight Chapter-a-Week Offerings
Bon Appétit
By Sandra Byrd
The sequel to the Christy Award finalist, Let Them Eat Cake
Lexi Stuart is risking it all. Saying au revoir to the security of home, her job, and could-be boyfriend Dan, Lexi embarks on a culinary adventure in France to fulfill her life dream of becoming a pastry chef. Just when life seems set, though, the recipe goes awry and her life with God undergoes a major transformation as well. Now, she's got choices to make from the array in life's patisserie display window and just like at a bakery, choosing among delicious options is never easy.
"I was caught up in Lexi's tug-of-war between her charmed life in France with its possibility of romance, and the pull to Seattle where her family and a very special man long for her return. What a perfect story…" –Deborah Raney, author of Remember to Forget and Leaving November
Stepping Into Sunlight
Copyright Sharon Hinck, 2008
Bethany House Publishing
One tragic event.
One project of healing.
One step toward hope.
A story for every woman who has wondered where God is when life hurts.
Penny, a Navy chaplain's wife, witnesses a violent crime and struggles with post traumatic stress while her husband is on his first deployment. She designs a project to speed her recovery: doing one small, kind act for a different person each day. The results are sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking, and often used by God in surprising ways.
"Sharon Hinck's authentic and endearing heroine is so convincing that I found myself praying for her!"
—Patti Hill, author of The Queen of Sleepy Eye
"Told with humor and lump-in-the-throat insight, Stepping Into Sunlight is a compelling story of learning to live again after trauma."
—Deborah Raney, author of A Vow to Cherish
To read an excerpt of these new titles go to
Chapter-a-Week and to join our deeper discussion of these and other titles go to Chapter-a-Week Chat at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CAWChat/ where authors and readers discuss new titles together.
If you enjoy Chapter-a-Week take the time to tell a friend how to sign up. It's easy and free and a great way to find great books that fit each person's particular taste.
New Chapter-a-Week Offerings--Enjoy!
When the Soul Mends
book #3 in the best-selling "Sisters of the Quilt" series
by Cindy Woodsmall
. . . . When the Soul Mends, the brilliantly written third story in the "Sisters of the Quilt" series . . . Kathleen Y'Barbo, author of Beloved Castaway
Returning to the home she fled in disgrace, will Hannah find healing for the wounds of the past?
With her heart now in the hands of a new love as well as the two children left in their care, Hannah Lapp finds her Englischer life more than she'd ever hoped for and is actively pursuing a future with Martin and in medicine. When she receives a call from her sister Sarah, desperate for help, Hannah reluctantly returns to the Old Order Amish community that ostracized her. Once home, she must face her disapproving father and her former fiance, Paul Waddell, and it seems only Paul holds the key to her sister's mental health. When Hannah dares to speak her mind to him, she realizes that a lie separated them--one Paul knows nothing about. As they work together for Sarah's sake, her feelings for Paul become too strong to ignore.
Will Hannah choose the Englischer world and the man who restored her hope, or will she return to the Plain life–and perhaps to her first love?
Available September 16, 2008
www.cindywoodsmall.comPreorder your copy through
www.cbd.com or it will be available at your favorite bookstore starting September 16th.
Bayou Paradox
by Robin Caroll
Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense
It can cure you. Or it can kill you . . .
Tara LeBlanc and Sheriff Theriot lay it all on the line as they stand to lose everything as a killer gets ready to pounce in the untamed Louisiana bayou.
"Romantic suspense south of the Mason-Dixon line--the genre belongs to Robin Caroll"
Colleen Coble, author of Anathema and the Rock Harbor series
To read an excerpt of these new titles go to
Chapter-a-Week and to join our deeper discussion of these and other titles go to Chapter-a-Week Chat at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CAWChat/ where authors and readers discuss new titles together.
If you enjoy Chapter-a-Week take the time to tell a friend how to sign up. It's easy and free and a great way to find great books that fit each person's particular taste.
AND THE WINNER IS...
Congratulations to Linda Goodnight who took home the RITA award for best inspirational fiction at the Romance Writers of America conference! Though I wasn't able to attend the conference and miss being there to congratulate her in person, I am so pleased to present this last interview with Linda Goodnight:
How did you feel waiting for the winner's name to be announced.
I had spent so much time praying not to covet the award that I was perfectly at peace and ready to shout my head off for the winner. So I was just sitting there thinking that my dress was too tight and had unbuttoned my jacket. When they began to read off the Inspy finalists, I thought, “Hmm, maybe I should button my jacket just in case.” Instantly, butterflies started dancing in my stomach. (They’d probably been there all along, but now they were crushed and fighting for their lives.
)
At the moment the title of my book was announced as the winner, I went blank. I never heard my name called. Even though I don’t believe in out-of-body experiences, that’s the only way I can describe those few seconds. I remember looking at my editor and saying, “What? What did she say?” I still get chills just thinking about that amazing, exhilarating rush of disbelief and realization.
How did 'you' really feel up there on stage?
Really, really embarrassed not to have written a speech. My mind was both numb and whirling at the same time, but no coherent thoughts would come. I didn’t want to talk. I just wanted to jump up and down and laugh! The lights were extremely bright so all I could see were shadows in the audience. My brain was yelling, “You only have two minutes! Stop blubbering.”
Even though I tried to remember to thank all the right people, I forgot so many. I wanted to honor the other finalists, whom I have come to admire, and like as women as well as wonderful, worthy writers. Believe me, to win in a category with those other authors means something very, very special.
What happens after you step off the stage, both at RWA and then later on at home?
Wow! I couldn’t stop giggling during the rest of the ceremony –and shaking. I hadn’t been shaky before but I sure was then! My editor kept whispering, “I told you. I told you.” And then I’d squeeze Miss RITA and start giggling all over again.
After the ceremony, there was this rush of people-friends, other finalists, editors-toward me, and that continued for the next hour or so. Frankly, I loved it!!! I’ve said this over and over again, but it’s so true. Awards mean nothing if you have no one to share them with. The absolute best part of winning the RITA is that first hour after the program.
I have two very sweet memories that I will treasure in my heart forever. The other finalists, Pamela Tracy, Susan Mae Warren, and Irene Hannon were the first people to greet me. Looking so beautiful in their fancy duds, they hugged and smiled and congratulated me, though I know they had to be disappointed. That meant so very much and always will. See why I admire these women? They’re the real deal.
The second treasured moment was seeing my friend, Libby Banks. Libby and I have been friends and critique partners since before I sold that first book. Libby is a strong woman, an attorney who keeps her emotions in check. But there she was, coming at me through the crush, moving people out of the way like they were bowling pins, tears streaming down her face. We fell into each others arms, laughing and crying. Sweet, very, very sweet.
The next day, after two hours sleep, (Who needs sleep when you have adrenaline?) my family greeted me at the airport and took me out to dinner. Then, when I turned down the road toward home, I was met with a big congratulations sign erected by my neighbors.
Since getting back home, my email box has been full of congratulations. My chapter sent flowers. My phone has rung off the hook. My editors have emailed. Even some agents that I’ve never met have emailed! It’s truly been an exciting, amazing, and fulfilling ride.
Thank you for letting me re-live the excitement. Now, back to work. I have a book due!
OUR FINAL RITA NOMINEE: CINDY WOODSMALL!
Cindy Woodsmall is the author of the best-selling novels WHEN THE HEART CRIES and WHEN THE MORNING COMES, the first two books in the Sisters of the Quilt series. Her real-life connections with the Plain Mennonite and Old Order Amish families enrich her novels with authenticity. Cindy lives in Georgia with her husband, three sons, and one daughter-in-law.
1. DESCRIBE YOUR RITA PHONE CALL.
What a busy and fun day that was! On Tuesday of each week I have an assistant, Barbara, who comes in and we juggle as much of the non-writing-related aspects of being an author as we can. The call came in during one of those days. Like other authors, I screen calls during work hours, so when I didn’t recognize the number I didn’t answer. I had a couple of radio interviews that day, so Barbara started fielding phone calls from the downstairs office. (Two of my children grew up and moved out, so I now have two offices! ;-)
When she shared the news that I was a RITA finalist, I stared at her for a long moment, then mumbled, "Is this a joke?"
She shook her head, smiling broadly.
I gaped at her. "Are you sure? The RITA?"
She laughed. "I’m sure."
Once I got over feeling stunned, excitement grew like a crescendo in a wonderful piece of music. Eventually, the song dissolved into two women in a home office, squealing in delight.
2. TELL US ABOUT THE RITA BOOK AND WHY YOU THINK IT STOOD OUT IN THE CROWD.
WHEN THE MORNING COMES is book two in a three-book series, each chronicling a different aspect of Hannah’s journey. At the beginning of book two we see her as a seventeen-year-old Amish girl who has been betrayed by her family, her fiancé, and even her faith.
Broken, she steps off a train to search for a shunned aunt she hopes still exists. With only an eighth-grade education, she has little knowledge of how to survive in the outside world.
I think what sets this book apart is the parallel journeys of reaping devastation and the hope of building life anew.
A man, who has lost just as much as Hannah has but is nothing like her, becomes an unlikely champion who grows to love her like no other.
3. HOW MANY BOOKS HAVE YOU WRITTEN?
So far I have three novels completed, with the third coming out in September.
Book one in the series is WHEN THE HEART CRIES.
Book two and the RITA finalist is WHEN THE MORNING COMES.
Book three is WHEN THE SOUL MENDS, and it will be out September 16, 2008.
4. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE?
Since all three of my books are part of the same journey, each one is a favorite for a different reason. Hannah’s Old Order Amish innocence, strength, and epiphanies work both for and against her in each book. I think those things will linger in my heart as I continue to write more books.
Book one, WHEN THE HEART CRIES, made the CBA best-seller list and was an ECPA Christian Book Award finalist, along with books by Karen Kingsbury, Angela Hunt, and Charles Martin. I didn't think it was possible to be more pleased with a work, but book two, WHEN THE MORNING COMES, made the New York Times best-sellers extended list (#34) and is a RITA finalist, so I’m just off-the-wall excited. Of course, those who know me best would tell you I didn’t need a set of books to be off the wall. ;-)
5. DESCRIBE YOUR WRITING PROCESS.
I’m a super plotter who starts by taking the time to discover who the characters are. That begins with who their parents were and the mood of the home throughout their childhood, and it includes any traumatic or ecstatic experiences they had while growing up.
I spend time inside an Old Order Amish home, living as my characters do, while interviewing those within the community and seeing firsthand the various trades in which they make their living. This ensures that my characters and plots have a solid foundation.
The next step is to spend a week plotting out each character’s goals, motivations, conflicts, as well as the events that distance each one from his or her goals. I don’t plan out the epiphanies but allow those to grow organically as I write. So far they’ve surprised me every time.
After all that prewriting, I let creativity take over, ignoring or changing the outline as needed. I extensively edit, edit, edit as I go. After that I send each chapter to my critique partner. Since she’s also part of the planning and plotting process, she knows the story inside and out. She critiques with great scrutiny, and I pay close attention to anything she has to say.
6. WHEN DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME A WRITER AND WHY CHRISTIAN FICTION?
I decided to write when I had no other choice. The stories inside my head wouldn’t go away and refused to become quiet, so (long story short) I began writing.
The stories grow naturally from characters who may tremble in pain, fear, or confusion, but whose faith is never negotiable to them. Although the journeys are not about being or becoming a Christian, the characters have a God-centered world view, and the stories are about them dealing with the traumatic and ecstatic parts of life the best way they know how, and both the beauty and the distress of doing so.
7. TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEXT OR UPCOMING PROJECTS.
I’m about halfway finished with THE HOPE OF REFUGE, an Amish novel where the lead heroine, Cara, is a single mom living in Bronx, New York. Cara had been raised in foster care, and while trying to keep her own six-year-old daughter from the same fate, she begins following pieces of a memory that lead her to an Old Order Amish community. What she discovers inside this community seems more destructive than all her years of having no one.
8. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR UNPUBLISHED WRITERS?
Pray. Not so much about God opening doors for you as much as seeking from Him your direction, your inner compass. Be willing to lay writing down. Be willing to revamp your entire lifestyle in order to write. Be ready to follow every rule concerning writing. Be ready to break every rule.
Be ready.
That’s what listening during the quiet hours can do for us—cause us to be ready to both hear and follow to the best of our ability.
But please, please remember that success is not about how many books we’ve written or sold—if any. Success is being His and walking in whatever that means from His perspective, not some preconceived idea of ours or those around us.
Thank you so much for such a wonderful interview! I’m deeply honored to be a RITA finalist with such a wonderful lineup of authors.
I welcome the readers of this blog to visit me at my Web site, where I have a couple of contests running. One offers a chance to win an autographed copy of all three books, and one is a year-long contest with a chance to win an Amish-made quilt.
www.cindywoodsmall.com
An Interview with RITA Nominee SUSAN MAY WARREN
Susan May Warren is the award-winning author of seventeen novels and novellas with Tyndale, Steeple Hill and Barbour Publishing. Her first book, Happily Ever After won the American Fiction Christian Writers Book of the Year in 2003, and was a 2003 Christy Award finalist. In Sheep’s Clothing, a thriller set in Russia, was a 2006 Christy Award finalist and won the 2006 Inspirational Reader’s Choice award. A former missionary to Russia, Susan May Warren now writes Suspense/Romance and Chick Lit full time from her home in northern Minnesota.
1. Describe your RITA phone call.
The truth is, well, I had FORGOTTEN about the RITA. I’ve never finalled. Never even remotely thought I would final. So, there I am, reading my email, sipping coffee, sitting in my pajamas, and in comes a call. I see it’s RWA and think, uh oh, I forgot to pay my membership or something. Because WHY would they be calling me?
You could have pushed me over with a puff as the voice on the phone told me that Taming Rafe finalled in the RITA. In fact, I think I uttered an incredulous, “HUH? What?” Thankfully she repeated her news, slowly and clearly.
And then dancing started.
2. Tell us about the RITA book and why you think it stood out it the crowd.
Taming Rafe is about a bull-rider who finds himself at the bottom of his game, even his life. He’s lost everything and has made some pretty bad decisions. Into this mess walks Kat Breckenridge, a philanthropist who is trying to fill her deceased mother’s big, fashionable shoes. She’s got some mystery to her past that draws her to cowboys, but most of all, Rafe had decimated her latest charity event, and owes her big. As they sort out blame, and eventually come together with a game plan, they discover each one offers the other healing in ways they could never imagine. It’s a mulit-layered story, with a subplot romance, and a story within a story that illuminates the emotional plot of all the characters (and has it’s own plot). It was my most ambitious story to date, a challenge to write, and I loved it. I’m so thrilled that the RITA judges liked it!
3. How many books have you written?
Twenty-two, including novellas.
4. Do you have a favorite?
Oh boy – I love my first story, Happily Ever After – I wrote it from such a pure place, it’s still the story of my heart. And then there’s Everything’s Coming up Josey, my chick lit story – finally got to tell the truth about being a missionary. And then Rafe…well, who doesn’t like a cute Bull Rider?
5. Describe your writing process.
I’m a detailed plotter, plotting out the story, the subplots and even the epiphany. My character is pretty fleshed out when I start the first page. However, after that it gets really messy. I slap down the first draft without grammar or spell checking, just a download from my brain every day for a month or six weeks. At the end of the day, I simply save and crawl out of my mess of research books lying open around my writing chair. The next day, I crawl back in. I don’t cook. I don’t clean. I do shower. But my entire brain is on Book. My family calls it (kindly) being under my “Thought Blanket.” THEN, after the book is roughed out, I go back, chapter by chapter, adding in all the elements I’ve forgotten, as well as texture, and richer description. And then I go through again, smoothing it out and polishing it. THEN I print it, and read it, adding in final proofing or edits. By the time I turn it in, I’ve read it four times, at least.
6. When did you decide to become a writer and why Christian fiction?
I LOVE to write. I would rather write than eat (my children occasionally bring me food). And, I was a missionary for years, and I truly believe that the best stories engage the spiritual element in us. I love to stir up issues of the soul, and let the reader ponder them with the character, hopefully long after they put the book down. My hope is that my readers, regardless of their spiritual background, would see God at work in their lives, loving them, giving them grace, just as He works in the character’s life on the page.
7. Tell us about your next or upcoming projects.
I just finished a book called, “Here Comes Trouble.” It’s a novel about a girl who returns home after ten years to discover the mess she left behind. But she’s a different person now. Can a girl change her stripes in her own hometown? Or will she always be labeled Trouble? Funny, and romantic, with elements of mystery and suspense, it’s the first in the PJ Sugar series.
Do you have any advice for unpublished writers?
Yes – Read books in your genre, take notes, analyze, write, then continue the cycle….forever. *g*
Susan May Warren
award-winning author of...soul-stirring fiction
www.susanmaywarren.com
