Annual Writers' Retreat

The beds are all ready, the refrigerator is stocked, the house is clean, and my husband's enjoying his last few moments of quiet. In other words, the annual retreat at our Idaho home starts today.

This is our sixth year for gathering during the last weekend of July. We are a group of 11 novelists who pray, play and plot hard during the long weekend, going from Thursday to Monday morning. Each of the novelists within the group (two aren't writing), get an hour-and-fifteen-minute session for plotting her next book. When you get that many crazy fictional minds together, you can come up with a lot of ideas in that time.

In the later afternoons we hang out, go out on the boat, go into town, whatever. We've gotten almost everyone up in the parasail at one time or another. There are a few hold-outs. Perhaps this year ... (Hey, one of the retreaters is my mom, who plays mother to us all. She parasailed seven years ago at the age of 84, so the rest of the gals have no excuse.)

The weather's going to be sunny and beautiful all weekend. Did I say that we laugh a lot? Great friends, great fellowship and fun. And a book plot to boot. Can't beat that.

Painted Dresses

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Painted Dresses
(WaterBrook Press - July 15, 2008)
by
Patricia Hickman

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Patricia Hickman is an award-winning author of fiction and non-fiction, whose work has been praised by critics and readers alike.

Patricia Hickman began writing many years ago after an invitation to join a writer's critique group. It was headed up by best-selling author Dr. Gilbert Morris, a pioneer in Christian fiction who has written many best selling titles. The group eventually came to be called the "Nubbing Chits". All four members of the original "Chits" have gone on to become award-winning and best selling novelists (good fruit, Gil!).

Patty signed her first multi-book contract with Bethany House Publishers. After she wrote several novels "for the market", she assessed her writer's life and decided she would follow the leanings of her heart. She says, "It had to be God leading me into the next work which wound up being my first break-out book, Katrina's Wings. I had never read a southern mainstream novel, yet I knew that one lived in my head, begging to be brought out and developed." She wanted to create deeper stories that broke away from convention and formula. From her own journey in life, she created a world based upon her hometown in the 70's, including Earthly Vows and Whisper Town from the Millwood Hollow Series.

Patty and her husband, Randy, have planted two churches in North Carolina. Her husband pastors Family Christian Center, located in Huntersville. The Hickmans have three children, two on earth and one in heaven. Their daughter, Jessi, was involved in a fatal automobile accident in 2001. Through her writing and speaking, Patty seeks to offer help, hope and encouragement to those who walk the daily road of loss and grief.


ABOUT THE BOOK

In this story of sisterhood and unexpected paths, Gaylen Syler-Boatwright flees her unraveling marriage to take refuge in a mountain cottage owned by her deceased aunt. Burdened with looking after her adult sister, Delia, she is shocked to find a trail of family secrets hidden within her aunt’s odd collection of framed, painted dresses. With Delia, who attracts trouble as a daily occupation, Gaylen embarks on a road trip that throws the unlikely pair together on a journey to painful understanding and delightful revelations.

Steeped in Hickman’s trademark humor, her spare writing voice, and the bittersweet pathos of the South, Painted Dresses powerfully captures a woman’s desperate longing to uncover a hidden, broken life and discover the liberty of living authentically, even when the things exposed are shrouded in shame.

If you would like to read the first chapter, go HERE.

News Tidbits--Kindle and Fantasy Tour

Industry News from Christian Etailing, the free newsletter from Christian Retailing. Sign up for Christian Etailing here.

Christian publishers add titles for Amazon's Kindle

Amazon.com has announced that a number of Christian publishers--Augsburg Fortress, Crossway Books & Bibles, David C. Cook, Gospel Light, Group Publishing, NavPress, Strang Communications, Thomas Nelson, Tyndale House Publishers, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. and Zondervan--have committed to making the majority of their book catalogs available by the end of this year to owners of Kindle, Amazon's portable digital reader.

"Of the 135,000 books available on Amazon.com as a physical book and on Kindle, Kindle books already account for over 12% of units sold," said Ian Freed, vice president of Amazon Kindle. "We're pleased that so many publishers are seeing this success with their Kindle titles, and that more publishers like the Christian book publishers are getting on board."

"The response to our Kindle editions has been remarkable," said Alan Huizenga, director of digital publishing at Tyndale House Publishers. "We are excited to know that for readers who own a Kindle, they can download and begin reading best-selling Tyndale authors such as Joel Rosenberg, Tony Dungy, Francine Rivers and Tommy Newberry in under a minute."

"For years Eerdmans readers have enjoyed our extensive selection of titles from the scholarly to the popular," said Sam Eerdmans, vice president of sales and marketing for Eerdmans. "Now Eerdmans is excited to announce that many of our titles will be readily available on Kindle."
Amazon has increased the number of books available on Kindle from 90,000 to 135,000 since it was introduced last November, with more being added every day.
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Journey begins for Christian fantasy authors

In a move somewhat paralleling familiar mythical tales, eight fantasy writers from different backgrounds and publishing houses will unite to embark on an epic journey, Oct. 4-11, for a common goal-to increase awareness of the Christian fantasy genre. Announced in a Tuesday press conference at the International Christian Retail Show, the tour will assemble eight fiction writers, each from a different publisher, including Thomas Nelson, Zondervan, NavPress, WaterBrook Press, B&H Publishing Group, Tsaba House and Creation House.
"Our belief is that fantasy opens up eyes to the spiritual world," said L.B. Graham, author of "The Binding of the Blade" series from P&R Publishing.

The authors will do book signings, visit book fairs and speak in homeschool meetings during the tour, raising awareness for a genre that is strong in the general market, but is underrepresented at Christian retail.

"It's a world (Christian retail) needs to be involved in," Graham said.

This year's tour features Graham along with Bryan Davis, Sharon Hinck, Eric Reinhold, Wayne Batson, Jonathan Rogers, Donita K. Paul and Christopher Hopper, and has doubled the number of participating authors from last year.

Several of the authors will contribute blogs, vodcasts and their itinerary on the tour's Web site, http://www.fantasyfictiontour.com/.
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While someone else was taking our picture, Christian Retailing snapped this photo of the Zondervan novelists with Mickey and Minnie at Epcot Center. From left to right: Nancy Rue, Mickey, Terri Blackstock, Robin Jones Gunn, Melody Carlson, Robin Lee Hatcher, Karen Kingsbury (unfortunately hidden), Robert Elmer, Brandilyn Collins, Minnie.

Try Darkness

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Try Darkness

(Center Street - July 30, 2008)

by

James Scott Bell

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

JAMES SCOTT BELL is a former trial lawyer who now writes full time. He has also been the fiction columnist for Writers Digest magazine and adjunct professor of writing at Pepperdine University.

The national bestselling author of several novels of suspense, he grew up and still lives in Los Angeles. His first Buchanan thriller, TRY DYING, was released to high critical praise, while his book on writing, Plot and Structure is one of the most popular writing books available today.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Ty Buchanan is living on the peaceful grounds of St. Monica’s, far away from the glamorous life he led as a rising trial lawyer for a big L.A. firm. Recovering from the death of his fiancée and a false accusation of murder, Buchanan has found his previous ambitions unrewarding. Now he prefers offering legal services to the poor and the underrepresented from his “office” at local coffee bar The Freudian Sip. With his new friends, the philosophizing Father Bob and basketball-playing Sister Mary Veritas, Buchanan has found a new family of sorts.

One of his first clients is a mysterious woman who arrives with her six-year-old daughter. They are being illegally evicted from a downtown transient hotel, an interest that Ty soon discovers is represented by his old law firm and his former best friend, Al Bradshaw. Buchanan won’t back down. He’s going to fight for the woman’s rights.

But then she ends up dead, and the case moves from the courtroom to the streets. Determined to find the killer and protect the little girl, who has no last name and no other family, Buchanan finds he must depend on skills he never needed in the employ of a civil law firm.

The trail leads Buchanan through the sordid underbelly of the city and to the mansions and yachts of the rich and famous. No one is anxious to talk.

But somebody wants Buchanan to shut up. For good.

Now he must use every legal and physical edge he knows to keep himself and the girl alive.
Once again evoking the neo-noir setting of contemporary Los Angeles, Bell delivers another thriller where darkness falls and the suspense never rests.

If you would like to read chapters 1 & 2, go HERE.

“Bell has created in Buchanan an appealing and series-worthy protagonist, and the tale equally balances action and drama, motion and emotion. Readers who pride themselves on figuring out the answers before an author reveals them are in for a surprise, too: Bell is very good at keeping secrets. Fans of thrillers with lawyers as their central characters—Lescroart and Margolin, especially—will welcome this new addition to their must-read lists.”
—Booklist

“Engaging whodunit series kickoff . . . Readers will enjoy Bell's talent for description and character development.”
—Publishers Weekly

“James Scott Bell has written himself into a niche that traditionally has been reserved for the likes of Raymond Chandler.”
—Los Angeles Times

“A master of suspense.”
—Library Journal

“One of the best writers out there, bar none.”
—In the Library Review

Zondervan's New Symtio

Last week at ICRS Zondervan unveiled its new Symtio digital initiative, a program that, according to president and CEO Moe Girkins, could do for books what ITunes has done for music. Retailers at the show were very positive.

Symtio cards are about the size of credit cards. They allow buyers to download an audio version of the book at home directly onto various media that will play it, such as a computer or an IPod. The consumer buys the card in a flat package, paying the same price as the printed version of the book. Those of you who've bought audio books know that the tapes/CDs generally run more expensive than the print version, so Symtio offers a savings for audio buyers. Each card package has the same design as the cover of the printed book, so the one you want is easy to spot. The packages are displayed face out in wooden cases with multiple tiers of narrow shelves. Retailers at ICRS who signed up for Symtio were given the display case free, a $300 value.

Moe Girkins said Symtio was "not about a new Zondervan product, this is about an industry movement." Baker Publishing Group has come on board with Zondervan to make its books available through Symtio. Discussions are being held regarding adding other publishers. Symtio is very appealing to battered Christian retailers. They only pay thirty-five cents for each card, thereby reaping a great profit from its sale.

Zondervan plans to offer many of its new books in this Symtio audio form. I just received the proofs for Dark Pursuit and saw in the front that it will be available in audio. I'm assuming this will be via Symtio card.

Take a minute and watch this video on UTube of how Symtio works. Very cool.

ICRS Events

Sorry my traveling last week prevented me from posting Thursday and Friday. In the course of two days I went from Orlando to California to Washington to Idaho. Now I'm settled for awhile.

Below are photos of my signing on the ICRS floor. I asked someone to take pictures with my camera and had no idea what he was taking. Unfortunately all you can see pics of me and the line. Michael Snyder signed with me, but he was cut out of all the photos! I think the photographer misunderstood that I wanted us both shown. Ah, well. Trust me, Michael was there and on his best behavior. The line came so steadily neither of us had time to tease each other or kill each other off or anything.

The last photo is of American Idol 2007 Top Ten Finalist Phil Stacey and me. Phil was a surprise singer at the fantastic party Zondervan hosted at Epcot Center to celebrate the 30th birthday of the NIV Bible. We heard some touching letters written by people whose lives have been changed by the NIV Bible, and Karen Kingsbury spoke briefly about what it has meant in her own life. Attendees were also treated to wonderful food, followed by VIP seating at Epcot Center's fireworks, followed by a dessert smorgasbord you wouldn't believe, followed by Phil Stacey performing. How way cool is that? Phil is singing both Christian music and country these days. I talked a little bit afterwards with Phil and his guitarist Rich. I'll be sending each of them and their wives some books. All in all it was a wonderful evening.

Following Phil Stacey, Mickey and Minnie Mouse came out to take photos with folks. The Zondervan novelists at the party all gathered around for a picture. We had Nancy Rue, Karen Kingsbury, Robin Lee Hatcher, me, and Terri Blackstock flanked by Mickey and Minnie. I suppose the photo will be sent to Zondervan. Hope to show it to you when I'm sent a copy.

Tomorrow and the next day I'll be posting some industry info. A note for those of you who read last week's post about Abingdon. About a day later editor Barbara Scott did leave a comment with a little more information. Please check that out.

New Fiction Line

During ICRS I had lunch with veteran editor and all-around wonderful gal Barbara Scott, who told me about the new fiction line at Abingdon Press. Abingdon was established in 1789 as an imprint of the United Methodist Church. They've done a lot of nonfiction, and now they're really geared up and excited to launch this fiction line.

Barbara Scott has been hired as Senior Acquisitions Editor for fiction. Barbara has been in publishing and writing for many years herself. She started out as a newspaper reporter and magazine writer. Later she served as acquisitions editor for Honor Books. In the mid 90s she co-wrote with Carrie Younce two Peretti-type thrillers published by Thomas Nelson--Sedona Storm and Secrets of the Gathering Darkness. She later moved to Zondervan to serve as acquisitions editor for Zonderkidz and the new young adult line.

Barbara says Abingdon has a "solid, realistic five-year plan" for developing their fiction line. They want to publish 18-20 fiction titles a year by the end of five years. Their first year, which launches with the first release in the fall of 2009, will see 4-5 titles published. Right now Barbara is looking for:

1. Contemporary women's fiction
2. Romance
3. Chick Lit
4. Suspense
5. Historical

For the first year launch she is not looking for adventure, sci-fi, fantasy or apocalyptic. This is a realistic plan to start a new line with the basic genres. "Depending on how things go," she says, they may publish the other genres in the future.

Barbara is an eclectic reader. She wants "to publish books I'd like to read and work with authors I enjoy." She's not interested in running after someone just because he/she is a "big name" in the industry. She is "excited about building new authors who have worked and worked on their craft but haven't yet been able to break in." She is looking for "honesty and authentic emotion" in her books. She doesn't want contemporary fiction that's "mostly depressing." She wants hope in the end. As to the spiritual thread, it needs to be "organic" to the story. It doesn't need to be overly strong. "Nobody has to get saved in the book."

Authors interested in submitting to Abingdon must have a finished manuscript to present if asked for it. Barbara will be going through the normal channels for submission--either meeting her at a writers conference or submitting through an agent. Or--readers of this blog can email Barbara directly, saying you read this post and would like to submit--even if you don't have an agent. If Barbara becomes too inundated and needs to pull back from this generous offer, I will amend this post with that news. Barbara's email address is her first name initial and full last name at abingdonpress.com.

My personal advice if you choose to submit: Don't go for overly long books at this point. Although we didn't discuss length, I would suggest 80-100 thousand words. If Barbara wants to amend that, she'll leave a comment.

Sisterchicks Go Brit

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing

Sisterchicks Go Brit
Multnomah Publishers (May 20, 2008)
by
Robin Jones Gunn


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robin grew up in Orange County, California and has lived in all kinds of interesting places, including Reno and Hawaii.

Robin’s first novel was published in 1988, and she has continued to write between two to five books a year. Her 63 published books include 47 novels, all of which are still in print. Sales of her popular Christy Miller Series, Glenbrooke Series and Sisterchicks Series, including Sisterchicks in Gondolas and the new Katie Weldon Series including Peculiar Treasures all of which are approaching four million copies sold, with translations in nine languages.

Robin’s passion for storytelling and travel are evident in all her books, especially the Sisterchicks novels, and she has received thousands of letters from readers around the world who have come to know Christ through her writing. She sees this as her dream come true. Her novels are traveling to foreign lands and her characters are doing what she always longed to do; telling people about God’s love.

She and her husband currently live near Portland, Oregon and have been married for 30 years. They spent their first 22 years of marriage working together in youth ministry, and enjoying life with their son and daughter who are now both grown.

As a frequent speaker at local and international events, one of Robin’s favorite topics is how God is the Relentless Lover and we are His first love. She delights in telling stories of how God uses fiction to change lives.

Robin is the recipient of the Christy Award, the Mt. Hermon Pacesetter Award, the Sherwood E. Wirt Award and is a Gold Medallion Finalist. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Media Associates International and the Board of Directors for Jerry Jenkins’ Christian Writers’ Guild.



ABOUT THE BOOK
SISTERCHICK® n: a friend who shares the deepest wonders of your heart, loves you like a sister, and provides a reality check when you’re being a brat.

Two midlife mamas hop over to jolly ole England and encounter so much more than the usual tourist stops. Liz does have a bit of a childhood crush on Big Ben, and she has hoped to “meet” him ever since her fifteenth birthday. Kellie dreams of starting an interior design business and figures Liz needs to be a part of that equation–a calculation that hasn’t added up for Liz yet.

Nothing on the excursion goes the way these two friends had envisioned. They start with a village pancake race and end up being held for questioning on The Underground. Kellie and Liz take a wild tour through the land of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien and then find themselves swept up, up, and away in a hot air balloon over the Cotswalds. London beckons with the Tower of London, Windsor Castle, shopping at Portabella Road in Knotting Hill, and of course, reservations at the Ritz for a posh high tea.

A few detours along the way and the possibility of being lost in a London fog of wonderment aren’t enough to stop these two Sisterchicks! Each step of their regal journey is lined with evidence of God’s gracious compassion, and both come to realize that God knows their every wish. He is the One who planted every dream in their hearts.

And, oh, what a surprise awaits them when they return home!


To read the first chapter, go HERE

“Robin has done it again! You and your Sisterchicks will love taking this new adventure together!”
- Karen Kingsbury, New York Times best-selling author of Between Sundays and Ever After

“My only complaint about Robin’s latest is that now I want to hop a plane to England! But combine a cup of Earl Grey tea and this charming story and you’re halfway there. Another delightful tale about women helping women to live their lives to the fullest.”
- Melody Carlson, author of These Boots Weren’t Made for Walking and A Mile in My Flip-Flops

“Sisterchicks in Gondolas is a true delight. The characters shine, and evocative language will make any reader want to visit Venice. Biblical truths are portrayed simply, yet will touch hearts and lives with their realistic application.”
- Romantic Times magazine

Zondervan Fiction Writers Contest

Announced at the Christy banquet on Saturday night: Zondervan is sponsoring a contest for unpublished novelists. Full guidelines will soon be posted on the Z website. When they are, I'll let you know. For now, here are the basics.

Unpubbed fiction authors, start getting your manuscripts ready now. There will be three rounds of judging for the contest. In the first round each author will submit a proposal for a novel. These will be judged and winnowed down. Those who make it through the first round will be asked to submit the complete manuscript. These will go through a second round of judging and be narrowed down to finalists. (Not sure how many--the guidelines will say.) The finalists will be judged by selected Zondervan authors to determine the winner.

The winner will be announced at next year's Mt. Hermon Writer's Conference, held over Palm Sunday weekend. Winning prize: publication of the novel by Zondervan.

Start polishing those wips!

All dressed up for the Christy Banquet:

Left to right--Angie Hunt, Robin Lee Hatcher, Sunni Jeffers,

Terri Blackstock, Marlo Schalesky, Tracy Higley, Brandilyn Collins

ChiLibris Retreat/Christy Awards

In case you haven't heard yet, here are the winners of the 2008 Christy Awards:

Contemporary Stand Alone: Charles Martin, Chasing Firelies
Contemporary Series: Jan Karon, Home to Holly Springs
First Novel: Sibella Giorello, The Stones Cry Out
Historical: Lynn Austin, A Proper Pursuit
Lits: Shelly Beach, Hallie's Heart
Romance: Tamera Alexander, Remembered
Suspense: Athol Dickson, The Cure
Visionary: Stephen Lawhead, Scarlet
Young Adult: Lisa Samson, Hollywood Nobody

Today in Orlando ICRS, the International Christian Retail Show, begins. Since last Thursday I've been at a novelist's retreat, hanging out with some of the wonderful people who write fiction for the Christian market. We discuss the craft and the business, encourage each other and generally have a whole lot of fun. There were about 70 in attendance. Below are a few photos I was able to catch.

Tomorrow and the next day I'll be blogging about some news of the industry: (1) a brand new fiction line you'll want to hear about, and (2) a contest for unpublished authors with a wonderful grand prize.

Tom Morrisey, Christy Finalist

Sarah Sumpolec, Sharon Ewell Foster

Robin Lee Hatcher, Tammy Alexander (Christy winner)

Robin Jones Gunn

Randy Alcorn

Nancy Rue, Randy Singer

Nancy Moser, Creston Mapes

Karen Ball, Francine Rivers, Karen Kingsbury

James Scott Bell, Terri Blackstock

Rene Gutteridge, Denise Hunter,

Kristin Billerbeck (Christy finalist), Wanda Dyson

Gayle Roper, Brad Whittington

Dave and Neta Jackson

Robert Whitlow

Angela Hunt

Allie Pleiter, Lynn Austin (Christy winner)

Boston Concert

Today I'm off to Orlando. Got up at 3:45 a.m. to catch a 6:30 flight out of San Francisco. I'll blog from the retreat/convention as I can.

Tuesday night I got to rock out at a concert of one of my favorite bands from the 70s--Boston. I laid out the money for seats in the 3rd row, dead center. We were 10 feet from the stage. Awesome! My husband ended up having to travel for business that night, so I took my local author friend Dineen Miller along.

Sadly, two years ago the lead singer of Boston, Brad Delp, committed suicide. The band found their new lead singer through a MySpace page. Who's the new lucky guy? Tommy DeCarlo, an employee at Home Depot, who's always loved Boston. He sounds a lot like Delp, who had quite a vocal range. But DeCarlo kinda looks like a Home Depot guy. :) Definitely not the rocker image.

Wind River

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Wind River
(Bethany House July 1, 2008)
by

Tom Morrisey

FIRST LINE:

The morning sun had just cleared the summits to the east, and the grass in the small valley was still thick with dew, wetting the boots and the shins of the man and the boy.

MY TAKE:

I was really looking forward to receiving this book, as I loved High Places. I've just started reading Wind River. Tom takes his time with story and characters, allowing plot and nuances to unfold slowly. I'm fully prepared to enjoy this book, and I do recommend Tom's writing highly.

By the way, High Places is now up for a Christy Award. Winners will be announced at the banquet this Saturday.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tom Morrisey is a mountaineer, aviator, shipwreck diver, and explorer, who holds a Full Cave certification from the National Speleological Society - Cave Diving Section.

He has launched, edited or contributed to numerous national publications and is an award-winning adventure-travel writer. A popular speaker, he is also active in both evangelism and the arts. Morrisey earned an MFA in creative writing from Bowling Green State University, and his fiction has been featured in numerous anthologies and magazines.

His first novel, Yucatan Deep (Zondervan, 2002) was a finalist for the Christy award, and he is the author of four other novels: In High Places (Bethany House Publishers, 2007), Dark Fathom (Zondervan, 2005), Deep Blue, (Zondervan 2004), and Turn Four (Zondervan 2004). In addition Tom has also written two nonfiction books: 20 American Peaks & Crags (Contemporary Books, 1978) and Wild by Nature (Baker Books, 2001). He and his family live in Orlando, Florida.

ABOUT THE BOOK


You Can't Outrun the Sins of Your Past

Desperate to forget what happened to him in Iraq, Tyler Perkins flees to the emptiness of Wyoming. He's here to escape and also to fulfill a long-ago promise by accompanying his 86-year-old friend Soren Andeman on a fly-fishing trip--once more for old time's sake. But their trek to an idyllic trout lake soon becomes something more deeply harrowing--a journey that uncovers long-held lies, deadly crimes, and the buried secrets of the past. Ty barely has time to contemplate the question of what constitutes justice when nature unleashes her own revenge. Trapped in a race back to safety, he must face his own guilt-ridden past or risk being consumed.

Powerfully imagined by the acclaimed author of In High Places, Wind River is an engaging wilderness adventure that explores the power of confession, the beauty of forgiveness, and the freedom of truth unveiled.

If you would like to read the first chapter, go HERE.

"Mornings" on FamilyNet

I should have put this up yesterday. Chalk the oversight up to my currently crazier-even-than-usual schedule. Today I'm on the live "Mornings" show with Lorri and Larry, aired on FamilyNet radio and also shown on FamilyNet TV. (Check the web site for channels.) "Mornings" airs live on Sirius radio channel 161 from 6 - 9 a.m. Eastern. I'm on at 8:20 a.m. Eastern for about 20 minutes. I think you can listen to archives from their web site, in case you miss it and want to hear what went on. Seeing as how 8:20 Eastern is 5:20 a.m. my time, I will do my best not to get my tangue tongled.

Lorri and Larry will be talking to me about Amber Morn and my Kanner Lake series. Besides whatever else they decide to ask.

The Edge of Recall

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
The Edge Of Recall
(Bethany House July 1, 2008)
by
Kristen Heitzmann

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Of her three main interests, art, music and writing, she chose to study English at the University of Colorado and thrived on Creative Writing and Literature classes. She married her husband Jim, and turned her energy to building a family. They have four children whom they have home schooled for all or most of their education. Kristen is a music minister with the ecumenical covenant community People of Praise.

Once she realized the stories in her head were truly a calling from the Lord, she made writing not just a passion, but a ministry. She has written seven historical fiction novels as part of the The Rocky Mountain Legacy series, the Diamond of the Rockies series, and the Christy Award winner Secrets. Most recently, she has written several contemporary fiction novels, including Echoes, Freefall and Unforgotten.

Kristen and her husband, Jim, and their family live in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she serves as worship leader in their church.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Tessa Young, an up-and-coming landscape architect who specializes in the design and creation of labyrinths, has immersed herself in the mythological, spiritual, and healing aspects of the elaborate structures. She also is searching for God and hoping to make sense of the nightmares that have plagued her since childhood.

When Smith Chandler, an estranged colleague--with whom she'd half fallen in love a dozen times before catching herself every time--calls to propose a project he claims is the opportunity of a lifetime, she reluctantly agrees to check it out. Smith is reconstructing a pre-Revolutionary War abbey for wealthy clients. Among its remarkable features is an overgrown labyrinth.

Unable to resist, Tessa accepts his offer to work with him. Soon she is immersed in the project of a lifetime. But one evening, after weeks of work in the labyrinth, Tessa and Smith are attacked. While protecting Tessa, Smith is stabbed, and the nightmare begins...again.

If you would like to read the first chapter, go HERE

Pre ICRS

Hope everyone had a great fourth. We sure did. We always have a big barbeque at the house in Idaho. My son invites a lot of friends, and I'm never quite sure how many are going to show up. Let's just say I do a HUGE store run.

I was expecting to finish Exposure on Wednesday. Didn't happen. As I was reading through it, I saw more that needed to be done to the ending. I worked until midnight that night, then crashed. The next morning I was up early and back at it. Finished in the afternoon and hit the ol' "send" button at 3:00 p.m. I looked up, totally google-eyed, and saw there was a big world out there. And it was almost the fourth! Agh, I hadn't even done the store run yet.

After a great holiday we came back to California yesterday. Today through Wednesday I'm in my California office, then Thursday it's off to the ChiLibris novelist's retreat and ICRS--the annual publishing convention. In Orlando. In July. I shall not be taking jackets.

As with most authors at ICRS I'll have meetings with my agent, my publisher, interviews here and there, plus a signing on the floor. I will be signing with Michael Snyder of clairvoyant dog fame. We ought to have a great time. He'll be signing copies of My Name is Russel Fink, and I'll be signing Amber Morn. Now what kind of appropriate stunt do you think we should pull? Maybe he could bring a dog, and I'll take it hostage? I'm listening to any ideas you might have.

Christian Fiction Online Magazine

Kudos to the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for its brand-new periodical (Michelle Sutton, editor). It's a very nice-looking piece of work. Lots of articles for readers and writers. Check out Christian Fiction Online Magazine.

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Exposure update:

Wrote 16 hours Monday, 14 yesterday. TYPED THE LAST WORD OF MY MANUSCRIPT YESTERDAY! Today I am going through the whole thing for one final edit.

I'm tired but happy.

Tomorrow I'm goin' shoppin'.

Controversy over The Shack

From the Christian E-Tailing Newsletter:
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As surprise hit The Shack makes the New York Times best-seller lists, the newspaper notes that its million-plus sales have been "fueled partly by a whiff of controversy."

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler has joined the list of critics of William P. Young's novel, calling it "deeply troubling" and warning that it undermines orthodox Christianity, said the newspaper this week.

But as well as a subject of sharp debate, The Shack is "the most compelling recent example of how word-of-mouth phenomenon can explode into a blockbuster when the momentum hits chain bookstores, and the marketing and distribution power of a major commercial publisher is thrown behind it."

Kathryn Popoff, vice president for merchandising of adult trade books at Borders, told the Times that the book was appealing to audiences beyond Christian readers. But not everyone agrees. Vivien Jennings, owner of Rainy Day Books, an independent store near Kansas City, Mo., said she had sold only nine copies in four months.

"The buzz never made it here," Jennings told the Times. "What it tells me is that it is still pretty much restricted to the Christian audience."
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You can read my review of The Shack in an earlier post here. I don't agree with Mohler's quote, above. I think there's a lot of good stuff in The Shack. It doesn't contain the entire orthodoxy of Christianity, but that's not its focus. Its message is of God's love, and it is, in the end, a novel. However, there certainly is some controversy, although the naysayers are far outweighed in number. I do recommend reading the book because so many people are talking about it. It's not fair to voice opinions without reading the thing.