SUNDAY EDITION

Coming Up This Week

Monday

Harry Kraus

Tuesday

Shirley Corder: Happy Anniversary to Us

Wednesday

LeAnne Hardy: A Kenyan Childhood Turned to Fiction

Thursday

Jo-Anne Berthelsen: Staying Motivated - seeing the journey through

Friday Devotion

Kathi Macias: Walk Humbly with Your God

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blog Anniversary

We're celebrating our One Year Anniversary in November, with giveaways and an exciting announcement...

Have you ever wondered how to find one of our blog contributor's webpages and novels?

We've set up a brand new wiki at http://internationalchristianfiction.pbworks.com/w/page/Home to make that search easier for all of us. You'll find a search function in the top right-hand corner. Enter an author's name or a book title. You can also search by publisher, year published, the name of the country the book is set in, or various other search criteria. Go exploring! Have fun!

We'll be adding international fiction by other Christian authors in the upcoming weeks, so keep checking back. If you have any comments, corrections, or suggestions, please leave a comment here at the blog. Thanks!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New Sale

We're very excited to announce that Catherine West has sold her novel set in Vietnam. Congratulations Cathy! To find out more, please read Catherine's post on Thursday, October 28 titled Keep The Candle Burning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contest Giveaway Winners

Karenk is the winner of Carolyne Aarsen's books, Cowboy Daddy and The Baby Promise (from Alice's post, October 21).

Congratulations Karenk!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New Book Release

Kathi Macias' contemporary set in China, Red Ink, is an October 2010 release by New Hope Publishers.

They took her child, her family, and her freedom…but not her faith.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upcoming Book Releases

Lisa Harris' thriller, Blood Covenant, Book Two in the Mission Hope series set in Africa, will be a February 2011 release from Zondervan.

Lisa Harris' historical, An Ocean Away, set in Africa and New York in the early 1920's, will be a March 2011 release from Summerside Press.

Kathi Macias' contemporary set in Saudi Arabia, People of the Book, Book Four in the Extreme Devotion series, will be an April 2011 release from New Hope Publishers. Forced to choose between family and faith, her choice may also become life and death.

Mary Hawkins' contemporary set in Australia, Justice at Baragula, Book Three in the Baragula series, will be an April 2011 release from Ark House Press.

Jo-Anne Berthelsen's book, Helena's Legacy, will be a May 2011 release from Ark House Press.

Kathi Macias has a Freedom series involving human trafficking coming soon from New Hope Publishers. Deliver Me from Evil (October 2011); Special Delivery (January 2012); The Deliverer (April 2012).

To find more International Christian Fiction books, please visit our Recent Releases page, Backlist Titles page and our new International Christian Fiction wiki.

DEVOTION: Cyber Visitors - Shirley M. Corder

         A few months ago, I launched a new website especially to "inspire and encourage those living under the shadow of cancer".

          In order to have an idea of how many people visited the site, I added the same widget that we use on this site. It shows a small spinning world globe. Every time someone visits for the first time, a red dot appears on the world to pinpoint their location.
          The first dot to appear on my globe was of course at my own location, in Port Elizabeth in South Africa. Within an hour of launching, I had a second dot—further up in South Africa. That would be my writing friend, Ruth Ann Dell, also a cancer survivor and a writer for this blog. Then a red dot appeared in far-off Japan. That would be Wendy, one of my critique partners.
          Two dots in America showed that my other crit partners, Yvonne and Geneva, had paid the new site a visit. I smiled as I saw a bright red dot beam out from Eurasia, from the Muslim country of Kazakhstan. My daughter had visited from that land and hopefully the family as well. My friend in England, Elaine, left her mark, shortly joined by other friends from many years ago, Beryl and Mervyn in Scotland.
          Dots began to appear all over the globe and I soon could no longer identify the people who had left them. Yes, my site was gaining momentum. Yet we were linked together. They had visited me and read at least something on my new website. Were they fellow cancer survivors? Or were they struggling with the effects of the drastic treatment? I guessed that some of them were friends or family of those who suffered from the disease. I hoped that some were left by medical people who cared for cancer patients. I prayed that whatever their reason for visiting, they received inspiration and encouragement.
          Then I found another widget, ideal for my already well-established writers' website, ShirleyCorder.com, which already had a world map full of blue dots. This new widget caused a tiny flag to appear for each country represented by first time visitors to the site from the moment I put it onto the sidebar. Once again I enjoyed the same experience.
          As soon as the flag counter went up, a South African flag represented my presence on the site. Within hours, the South African count went up, and an American flag appeared that showed a growing number of visitors. Within a few days, an Australian flag was left, probably by Mary Hawkins, an author who also writes for this blog, and her husband Ray, who writes devotions for us. Then the flag of Mozambique appeared. That would be Lisa Harris, author and co-moderator for my online group for South African Christian writers, and one of the leaders of this blog.
          I soon gained flags from various locations in America, Kazakhstan, Japan, Australia, and I enjoyed trying to imagine who was visiting my site at these locations. Then new, intriguing flags appeared. Sometimes I knew people who lived in the new country but other times I had no idea who they were. Thailand. Who do I know in Thailand? Turkey? Norway? Saudi Arabia? People I knew nothing about started to visit my writers' site.
          I discovered that by clicking on the flag counter, I am able to call up statistics which give me more precise details. I learned that 23 different countries had visited my site in less than a month. One day I stared in amazement. I'd had a visitor from an "Unknown Satelite". Could this be true? Had my website been visited by someone from Outer Space? Visions of space craft inhabited by aliens sprang to mind. Would my next visitor be from another planet? Or from a space station? Of course, I understand it is actually from a satellite provider—but surely one can dream? Especially a writer.
          Then it occurred to me. There is One who visits both my websites all the time. He sees every word I put up there. What's more, He knows the reasons behind what I've written, and He reads the thoughts and motives for each thing I write. I can only guess at those who visit the sites. Yet God knows every one of them. He knows their needs, their joys and their heartaches. What an amazing honour. I am a representative of the One True God. People who have no faith in Him, may come to one of my sites because they are writers or because they have cancer. Whatever the reason, by visiting my site, they are coming into the presence of God. Or so I pray.
          Ever since I had that visitor from the unknown satellite, I have prayed regularly for my cyber visitors. I pray—that they, you, will be blessed by the One who visits every website put up in His Name, and reads ever word we write. He visits my sites, and He visits yours. He visits this site, and He reads our books and articles.

Will you join me as we pray together for our cyber visitors?

Lord, as writers we pray You will help us to write words that will draw others to Yourself. Whether they visit our websites or blogs, or read our work elsewhere; whether they come from Denmark, Honolulu, Uzbekistan, Jamaica, Mongolia, or even Outer Space, may they be blessed. May they come to know the One True God who can meet their every need. Lord, we commit our websites, blogs and writing to You—In Jesus' Name. Amen.  


Shirley Corder is an author, an RN, and a cancer survivor. She loves the opportunity to entertain cyber visitors from across the world and even from outer space as long as she doesn't need to bake. Please visit her at either her writers website, or at Rise and Soar, the site to encourage and inspire those in the shadow of cancer. Link with her through Twitter or FaceBook.

Keep The Candle Burning

by Catherine West.

Once upon a time, I decided I wanted to be a writer.
I can't remember a time in my life when I wasn't staring out a window, thinking up fascinating characters and faraway places. I can't remember when I wrote my first real story. But I do remember the moment I discovered the difference between wanting to be a writer and knowing I was one.
It happened just yesterday you see.
To be fair, I lit the candle a long time ago. I fanned the flame of my dream {to become a published author} furiously at times, and sometimes so hard that I blew the darned thing out.
I learned the hard way that any idiot can sit down and write a book. But only clever people who actually try to learn the craft, have a chance of publication.
I certainly had a lot to learn, but I had the gumption to try. I sent off my best work to a few publishing houses, knowing that one would be calling in a few weeks. Back in the day, I held lofty visions of instant contract offers. After which would come a spot on Oprah. And we all know what happens when you get on Oprah.
Oh, yes. Funny, isn't it?
That flame got a good dousing from a giant fire hose.
I wasn't sure I could light it again.
But God had other plans. He gave me a good talking to, and next thing I knew, I was back at it, the candle burning brighter than before. I began to believe in myself.
Doors began to open. Slowly, with each piece of positive encouragement, I began to believe that perhaps...all things being equal...I might actually be onto something here.
Perhaps I really could be a writer.
And then the idea came. Popped into my head out-of-the-blue. You know the feeling, right?
You wake up, shake the cobwebs from the old noggin and say, "Wow. Where'd that come from?"
My second thought of course, was, "Who in the world would want to read a book about Vietnam?" And "Why in the world would I want to write one??!!"
But it wasn't a matter of wanting. It was a matter of knowing.
Somehow I knew this story, Luke and Kristin's story, was the story I was meant to write.
So I did.
Can you guess what happened next?
The book I had written, the book I believed I was supposed to write, the book of my heart, was not going to be published. Not any time soon.
Not only did my candle burn down to a puddle of wax, but the next one I lit got blown to Timbuktu. So did the next one. And the next.
Good thing I love candles. Actually I really like the smelly ones from Yankee Candle...but I digress.

I wondered then whether I was on the path God wanted me on. I began to question why I'd ever been given that story in the first place. I mean, seriously. Who was I to take on the subject of a female journalist covering the Vietnam War? I questioned my talent, my desire to reach publication, and on more than one occasion, I even questioned my sanity.
I went on and did other things. Wrote other stories and pushed down the niggling feeling that I'd abandoned my baby. Trouble is, I hadn't. I couldn't.
I'd take it out when nobody was looking. Sneak a read now and again and wonder why nobody else saw what I saw. I even passed it off to a few trusted friends. And they too fell in love.

The flame began to flicker and glow again, and this time, somehow I knew it would continue to burn. I cleaned up that baby until it shone, and somehow found the courage to send it out once more.
And this time it landed in the right hands. This time, I knew that I hadn't lit that candle at all.
God had. And there's no snuffing that one out.

I'm thrilled to say that this story has a happy ending. My book, Yesterday's Tomorrow, truly the book of my heart, has been accepted for publication through Oak Tara Publishers.
And I have been given the title of Author.
I know that if I hadn't persevered, kept groping in the dark, trying to find the matches, battled the elements to keep that flame going, I wouldn't be in this place of celebration.

Light the candle of your dream. Keep it burning. And if it goes out, trust God to light it again.
He will.



Catherine West writes Inspirational Romance and Women's Fiction. Her debut novel, Yesterday's Tomorrow, will be released sometime in the near future. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, or you can stop by her Website and say hello.

Another Time, Another Place

Book giveaway, Here Burns My Candle (Liz Curtis Higgs)

by Marion Ueckermann

I’ve always thought it would be great to write a book using biblical characters set in a modern day Story World. This was before I had discovered writers like Francine Rivers, Karen Kingsbury and Liz Curtis Higgs. They’ve all done this successfully with numerous works. Francine Rivers’ best-selling Redeeming Love, based on the story of Hosea and Gomer, is set in California’s gold country in the 1850’s; Divine from Karen Kingsbury is a modern-day retelling of Mary Magdalene's story; and Liz Curtis Higgs’ fourfold epic saga powerfully retells the stories of Jacob and Esau, Rachel and Leah, Dinah and Shechem. Now Liz has done it again with her fifth historical novel, Here Burns My Candle, the story of Naomi and Ruth. She is currently working on the sequel, Mine is the Night, Boaz and Ruth’s love story.

When I discovered Liz Curtis Higgs’ books—Thorn in My Heart, Fair is the Rose, Whence Came a Prince and Grace in Thine Eyes—I was blown away by her ingenious ideas and talented writing as she “modernized” these age-old stories. Picture it ... familiar biblical characters transported from the late 1700’s BC to the late 1700’s AD; from ancient Canaan to the Lowlands of Scotland.

I’ve still to find and read her fifth historical novel, but over 2000 pages of literary intrigue, author’s notes, reader’s guides and Scottish glossaries in the first four books kept me captivated for weeks. Liz’s writing is sheer brilliance!

You may wonder why she chose Scotland for her characters. Liz explains, “It is simply the most beautiful place on earth. My first visit there in 1996 convinced me that the Scottish books I had been reading and the lovely calendars hanging on my walls only hinted at the green glory of Scotland. Soon I found the people—with their love for history, wry sense of humor, and gentle, honest manner—even more delightful. With each visit that followed, the truth became apparent: Scotland had stolen my heart forever.”

Being of Scottish decent and having visited the country twice, biased or not, I have to agree with Liz.

You will be astounded to learn what has equipped Liz to pen these stories:

• A BA degree in English Literature

• A passion for centuries past

• Twelve detailed historical research trips to the UK

• A personal library of eight hundred books on Scotland’s history and culture

• The study of fourteen translations of the biblical accounts and more than one hundred nonfiction books and commentaries on Genesis and Ruth

• A member of the Eighteenth-Century Scottish Studies Society and the Dumfries & Galloway Family History Society

• She supports Historic Scotland, the National Trust for Scotland, and the National Museums of Scotland

Liz Curtis Higgs is definitely an expert to write her stories in this chosen setting.

I can’t resist giving you a taste of what to expect, so indulge me as I take you on a whirlwind tour of her six historical novels.

THORN IN MY HEART

In the autumn of 1788, amid the moors and glens of the Scottish Lowlands, two brothers fight to claim one father's blessing, two sisters long to claim one man's heart.

Jamie and Evan McKie both want their father Alec's flocks and lands, yet only one brother will inherit Glentrool. Leana and Rose McBride both yearn to catch the eye of the same handsome lad, yet only one sister will be his bride.

A thorny love triangle emerges, plagued by lies and deception, jealousy and desire, betrayal and broken promises.

FAIR IS THE ROSE

Can a sister's love endure the ultimate betrayal?

A year has come and gone since Jamie McKie fled for his life and arrived at Auchengray in search of sanctuary and a bonny wife. Young Rose McBride, as fair as any lass in Scotland, dearly loves her handsome cousin, Jamie McKie—but so does her older sister, Leana.

Desperate to have Jamie all to herself, Rose is unwittingly aided by Lillias Brown, a wise woman—a wutch, some say—still keen on the old ways. Leana cherishes her newborn son and clings to her hard-won sense of peace by a slender thread of faith. Jamie, meanwhile, longs to return home to Glentrool, yet is thwarted at every turn by his uncle Lachlan’s deceitful ways.

All three points of this thorny triangle soon grow as sharp as a Scottish dirk. Och, such heartache! And yet, amid the conflicts, hope burns bright.

WHENCE CAME A PRINCE (2006 Christy Award for Best Historical Fiction)

A journey of the heart across the Lowlands of Scotland.
 
A prodigal hero returns ... Jamie McKie's long-awaited return to his ancestral home of Glentrool tests the depth of his courage, the strength of his sword, and the tenacity of his vow to honor the Almighty, no matter the cost.

To claim his inheritance, Jamie must first outwit his devious uncle, Lachlan, then confront the two men he fears most: Evan, the brother whose blessing he stole, and Alec, the father he once deceived.

Jamie faces a perilous journey of the heart as well: The two women in his life, Leana and Rose McBride, each stake a tender claim on his affections. Quiet, gentle Leana is the mother of his firstborn, Ian. And Rose, her spirited younger sister, is expecting his second child. Honor and duty prevail but not without heartache.

GRACE IN THINE EYES (a stand-alone novel, Christy Award finalist)

A young woman trapped by shame. Two brothers bent on revenge. Can her father rescue her? Or is there only One who can set her free?

Davina McKie is a bonny lass of seventeen, mute since childhood and fiercely guarded by her belligerent twin brothers, Will and Sandy. When the lads are forced to depart the glen, Jamie McKie escorts Davina to the Isle of Arran, where her lively cousins, Catherine and Abigail, make her welcome at the manse.

One moonless eve, Davina blithely entertains the gentry of Arran with her grandfather’s fiddle, unaware of the dramatic turn her life is about to take.

A story of passion and revenge, of lost innocence and shattered dreams, Grace in Thine Eyes explores the sorrow of unspeakable shame and the gift of immeasurable grace.

HERE BURNS MY CANDLE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2nPMBA_rgM

A mother who cannot face her future. A daughter who cannot escape her past.

A timeless saga of love and betrayal, loss and redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of eighteenth-century Edinburgh. Here Burns My Candle is a historical novel, based on the beloved Old Testament story of Naomi and Ruth, set in another time and place to demonstrate the timelessness of God's Word.

MINE IS THE NIGHT (March 2011)

She lost everything she loved. He had everything she needed.

Reeling from the aftermath of bonny Prince Charlie’s disastrous bid to reclaim the British throne, Marjory Kerr and her daughter-in-law, Elisabeth, have lost everything they hold dear. But they have not lost hope.

Just as Naomi and Ruth once traveled from Moab to Judah, Marjory and Elisabeth move from the crowded streets of Edinburgh to the countryside of the Scottish Borderland for Mine Is the Night.

Marjory Kerr is a widow undone, having buried her husband, her sons, and any hope of grandsons. Her title, property, and fortune are gone as well, yet it's her family alone that matters. When a glimmer of hope appears on the horizon, her faith in God’s loving-kindness is slowly restored, and a new Marjory emerges.

Elisabeth Kerr has also suffered crushing losses in her life. Instead of giving in to melancholy, she places her future firmly in the hands of Almighty God and spends her days helping others, never imagining where her compassionate acts of service will lead her: straight into the arms of her redeemer.

Liz Curtis Higgs is the author of twenty-eight books, with three million copies in print, including her best-selling historical novels, Thorn in My Heart, Fair Is the Rose, Whence Came a Prince, a Christy Award winner, Grace in Thine Eyes, a Christy Award finalist, and Here Burns My Candle. Her best-selling nonfiction books include Bad Girls of the Bible and Really Bad Girls of the Bible; and she has written two contemporary novels: Mixed Signals, a Rita Award finalist; and Bookends, a Christy Award finalist.


All this talk of historical novels has reminded me that I can’t wait for Nanowrimo. I’ve been busy plotting and researching my first historical Christian novel. Maybe one day I’ll be privileged to have you read my rendition of David, Bathsheba and Uriah as Irish beauty Breanna Kelly and her betrothed, Uilliam O’Hea, become the innocent pawns in the hands of their powerful landlord, Devan Barrington-Jones.

During the two years we lived in Ireland, my husband and I had our favorite spot up in the Wicklow mountains overlooking Lough Tay. I have chosen this breathtaking area as the backdrop for this tragic tale of lust, betrayal, collusion and secrecy set during the Great Irish Famine.

So far, it has been an interesting and entertaining road of research.

Liz will be giving away a signed copy of Here Burns My Candle and will post to anywhere in the world. If you would like to win a copy of Here Burns My Candle, please add your email address to your comment, replacing @ with (at) and .com with (dot) com. The winner will be announced in The Sunday Edition November 7th.

"Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws."

MARION UECKERMANN’s writing passion was sparked in 2001 when she moved to Ireland with her husband and two sons. Since then Marion has been honing her skills and has published some devotional articles in Winners at Work as well as inspirational poetry online and in a poetry journal. She has written her first Christian Women’s novel (unpublished) and is currently completing the sequel. Marion now lives in Pretoria East, South Africa with her husband, sons and a crazy black ‘Scottie’. A member and moderator of the South African Christian Writers Group, Marion can be contacted via email on marionu(at)telkomsa(dot)net.

The Story Behind the Story and Book Giveaway

Hi, Ruth Ann here. What do a 7th century hermit, a children's hospital in Africa and a thoroughly modern heroine have to do with each other? If you would like to know, read the story below by my guest blogger, Donna Fletcher Crow. Then leave a comment to enter the draw for a copy of Donna's book, A VERY PRIVATE GRAVE.

Donna Fletcher Crow is the author of 35 books, mostly novels of British Christian history. The award-winning epic GLASTONBURY, is her best-known work, an Arthurian grail search covering 15 centuries of English history. A VERY PRIVATE GRAVE, Book 1 in the Monastery Murders series is her re-entry into publishing after a ten-year hiatus. THE SHADOW OF REALITY, Book 1 of The Elizabeth & Richard Mysteries, is a romantic intrigue available on Ebook.

Donna and her husband have four adult children and ten grandchildren. She is an enthusiastic gardener and tea-drinker.

Over to you, Donna.

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

A VERY PRIVATE GRAVE, Book 1 in my Monastery Murders series, is a contemporary thriller with an all-too modern heroine who is determined to change the future with her efforts to bring about justice. But when her favorite monk in the theological college she is attending is brutally murdered, Felicity is forced to learn about the past in order to bring about justice much closer to home. What can the life, death and strange posthumous travels of a 7^th century hermit, who communed with birds and swam with otters, possibly have to do with events today?

I have wanted to tell the story of St. Cuthbert ever since I first heard of him. It must have been in 1985. I was in England with my two youngest children, John 12 and Elizabeth 5, doing research for The Cambridge Collection, my series on 18th and 19th century evangelical Anglicans. Durham had no place in the story I was writing then, but I knew I wanted to see it.

It took only one look at that storybook city with its ancient cathedral and castle perched high on a rocky pinnacle for me to fall in love. And then all the stories about St. Cuthbert— how this holy man transformed the north of England by his gentle, loving life. That was what captivated me, really— the fact that there was no story. Simple faith and love.

A lovely way to live, but it makes for a very short novel.

And so I began pondering telling St. Cuthbert’s story in the context of a thriller— maybe even with Muslims on a jihad. And this was more than a decade before 9/11. After I published my Arthurian epic, GLASTONBURY, The Story of Christian England, in 1992 I approached my editor with the idea of doing St. Cuthbert as a follow-up. He was enthusiastic.We signed a contract.

Then he moved to a different publishing house. In due course a new contract arrived from a new publisher. A contract that my lawyer husband advised me not to sign.

By 1997, I had written THE FIELDS OF BANNOCKBURN, my story of Scottish Christianity and my editor, who had attended Trinity College, Dublin, wanted me to write an Irish epic. No way. “I am NOT going to Ireland. They throw bombs at each other there.” We agreed that I would write my St. Cuthbert story. Contract signed.

And then The Good Friday Agreement. Apparent peace in Ireland. I knew I was to write the story of Christianity in Northern Ireland. We simply inserted a new title, THE BANKS OF THE BOYNE, on the contract and I made my travel plans. (Three days before I was to leave— taking my teenage daughter and her friend with me— the glorious peace was shattered and it was only on hearing directly from God that I went ahead with the project. But that’s another story.)

So life moved on, as life is prone to do. Our daughter went off to study classics at Keble College, Oxford, then stayed in London to work in a Church of England church before going on to theological college. While in London she met a lovely young man who was also working for a church before going on to theological college . . .

Never mind that her mother had made her stand against the wall and repeat, “I will not get serious with any man I have not know for two years” twenty times. True love is simply overwhelming. And aren’t we glad?  Besides, London is seven hours ahead of Boise and I was getting phone calls regularly at 3 a.m. telling me “Mama, he’s so wonderful.” And he is.

So they went off together to The College of the Resurrection, run by The Community of the Resurrection in Mirfield, Yorkshire. Not yet married, Elizabeth lived in the tiny cottage outside the community grounds that they would share as man and wife and Lee lived in the dormitory. They were married in Wakefield Cathedral during Christmastide 2003.

During their three years with The Community of the Resurrection I was exceedingly privileged to visit many times, to get acquainted with the monks and lay teachers in the college, to understand how they lived, to enter into their worship.  In other words, to live what was to become the background for A VERY PRIVATE GRAVE.

Of special interest to this blog is the fact that even work the Mirfield Fathers have done in South Africa became a barely fictionalized part of my story, and that Felicity and Antony's motivation for saving the fabled treasure is to build Fr. Dominic's African Children's Hospital.

Felicity Howard, my energetic, headstrong, American heroine has a background that needed very little fictionalizing, as does the setting of my College and Community of the Transfiguration. I was only a few pages into the story, however, when I realized that giving Felicity Elizabeth’s background was fine. Giving her Elizabeth’s personality would never work. Well, except perhaps for the headstrong bit. But Felicity is very much her own person with her own ideas of life. And a great deal to learn, indeed.  As a matter of fact, I think that growing Felicity up will be much of the fun of writing this series.

You can read more about Felicity, watch my trailer and see research photos for A VERY PRIVATE GRAVE and read about my other books, and even order them, on my website: www.DonnaFletcherCrow.com

Thank you, Donna, what a fascinating story. I'm about to sign off so that I can take a look at the photos and book trailer on your website.


Donna has kindly offered to send  a copy of A VERY PRIVATE GRAVE  anywhere in the world to one lucky reader. Please leave a comment for Donna and your email address by midnight Thursday, 4th November if you would like to be entered in the draw for her book. The winner will be announced in the Sunday Edition on the 7th November.

The giveaway is void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

Ruth Ann Dell writes children's stories and international Christian fiction from her home in a sunny South African suburb. She is a member of several writing groups including the American Christian Fiction Writers and Writer's Ink. Her desire is to craft gripping stories which draw her readers into a closer relationship with God.

Ruth Ann and her husband have lived in several countries and are renovating a cottage in the heart of Ireland.

SUNDAY EDITION

Coming Up This Week

Monday

Ruth Ann Dell: Guest - Donna Fletcher Crow and Book Giveaway, A Very Private Grave

Tuesday

Marion Ueckermann: Another Time, Another Place and Book Giveaway, Here Burns My Candle, from multi-published author, Liz Curtis Higgs

Wednesday

Jeanette Windle

Thursday

Ufuoma Daniella Ojo

Friday Devotion

Shirley M. Corder: Cyber Visitors

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blog Anniversary

We're celebrating our One Year Anniversary in November, and kicking off our celebrations with two book giveaways this week! Watch this space for more info on our upcoming giveaways and an exciting announcement next week.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New Book Release

Kathi Macias' contemporary set in China, Red Ink, is an October 2010 release by New Hope Publishers.

They took her child, her family, and her freedom…but not her faith.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upcoming Book Releases

Lisa Harris' thriller, Blood Covenant, Book Two in the Mission Hope series set in Africa, will be a February 2011 release from Zondervan.

Lisa Harris' historical, An Ocean Away, set in Africa and New York in the early 1920's, will be a March 2011 release from Summerside Press.

Kathi Macias' contemporary set in Saudi Arabia, People of the Book, Book Four in the Extreme Devotion series, will be an April 2011 release from New Hope Publishers. Forced to choose between family and faith, her choice may also become life and death.

Mary Hawkins' contemporary set in Australia, Justice at Baragula, Book Three in the Baragula series, will be an April 2011 release from Ark House Press.

Jo-Anne Berthelsen's book, Helena's Legacy, will be a May 2011 release from Ark House Press.

Kathi Macias has a Freedom series involving human trafficking coming soon from New Hope Publishers. Deliver Me from Evil (October 2011); Special Delivery (January 2012); The Deliverer (April 2012).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recent Book Releases

Jo-Anne Berthelsen's book, Jenna, is an August 2010 release from Ark House Press.

Tom Davis' book, Priceless, is a June 2010 release from David C. Cook.

Lisa Harris' thriller set in Africa, Blood Ransom, is an April 2010 release from Zondervan.

Harry Kraus' book, The Six-Liter Club, is an April 2010 release from Howard Books.

Kathi Macias' contemporary set in Mexico, More than Conquerors, is an April 2010 release from New Hope Publishers. Will Pastor Hector Rodriguez continue to take Bibles into the dangerous Mayan area surrounding San Juan Chamula, even after his mother disappears and his little congregation is threatened by unimaginable violence?

Kathi Macias' contemporary set in South Africa, No Greater Love, is an April 2010 release from New Hope Publishers. Chioma discovers forbidden love amidst the hatred and violence of Apartheid—and then must decide exactly what it is she’s willing to die for…

Kathi Macias' historical set in Rome, Valeria's Cross, is a September 2010 release by Abingdon Press. Amidst lost love, torn loyalties, and a dangerous faith, Princess Valeria discovers that all the riches of Rome can't protect her from the evil that encroaches at every turn...

Legendary Space Pilgrims by Grace Bridges

If Pilgrim's Progress happened in space, this is what it might look like...

On a planet that has never seen the sun, a harvester hears a Voice from beyond. It's time to leave the oatfield. Mario and Caitlin escape the mind control of Planet Monday, following the Voice to unknown worlds where wonders and challenges await. Have you got what it takes...to be a legend?
http://www.amazon.com/Legendary-Space-Pilgrims-Grace-Bridges/dp/098645172X/

Also available at a discount direct from the publisher: www.splashdownbooks.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contest News

Jeanette Windle's book, Veiled Freedom (Tyndale) is a 2010 Christy Award Nominee and a 2010 ECPA Christian Book Award finalist - congratulations Jeanette!

Tom Davis' book, Scared (David C. Cook) is a 2010 Christy Award Nominee - congratulations Tom!

Tom Davis' book, Priceless (David C. Cook) is shortlisted for the 2010 INSPY Awards in the Thriller/Suspense/Crime category - congratulations Tom!

Harry Kraus' book, Salty Like Blood (Howard), is a finalist in the suspense/thriller category of the ACFW 2010 Carol Awards and the romantic suspense category of the Faith, Hope and Love Inspirational Chapter of Romance Writers of America's 2010 Inspirational Reader's Choice Contest - congratulations Harry!

Lisa Harris' book, Blood Ransom (Zondervan) is shortlisted for the 2010 INSPY Awards in the Romance/Romantic Suspense category - congratulations Lisa!

Mary Hawkins' book, Return to Baragula (Ark House Press) is a finalist in the Omega Writers 2010 Caleb Prize in the fiction category.

Christine Lindsay placed second in the historical category of the Faith, Hope and Love Inspirational Chapter of Romance Writers of America's 2010 Touched By Love Contest - congratulations Christine!