Book Buying International— Postage Free

When our son returned home from a foreign exchange program— a summer of Outdoor Adventuring in New Zealand that included skiing, snow caving, white water rafting and black water rafting— I asked him, "What was the best part of your experience?"
His reply: "That God is really the same on the other side of the world."
That's one of the things I love most about this group: We're from absolutely everywhere and yet we're all on the same page. It lifts one out of any tendency to provincialism and is such wonderfully concrete evidence for the universality of the Faith.
That's the good news. The bad news is that our assorted postal services aren't quite so ecumenical and buying one another's books can be slow and costly. Of course, ebooks are helping to break down that barrier, but those of us who secretly cling to our paper copies while promoting our electronic books have to battle with the high cost of international postage or be very, very patient until a book released on one continent finally makes it across whatever body of water it needs to sail.
My recent announcement that A DARKLY HIDDEN TRUTH, book 2 in my Monastery Murders would be released this fall in the UK, but not until early 2012 in North America evoked such interesting replies from friends around the world that I thought the conversation and my subsequent research worth sharing since the information can be applied to any of our varied titles.
First, Julie wrote from Australia: "When will it be available in Australia?"
I immediately tried searching for A VERY PRIVATE GRAVE on Amazon AU and found it isn't even listed. That prompted a quick query to my English publisher who replied with information that I found fascinating: Basically, books release in Australia about three months after the UK. So there is a reasonable chance that A DARKLY HIDDEN TRUTH will release in Australia before Christmas.
He explained that "Amazon Australia" doesn't really exist. The link that comes up from a Google search transfers to Shopping.com which carries some titles but by no means a complete range. My publisher's major agent in Australia is Koorong, http://ning.it/f1EJ1m.
My publisher said, "Please tell your contact to keep in touch with Koorong. They will be proactive – they are very capable." He adds, "Koorong are one of the best."
Koorong also sell into NZ but my publisher uses a different distributor for that territory, Soul Distributors. Contact is ian@souldistributors.co.nz
Then Dolores wrote from England: "Donna. Here's a practical tip. When it's released in the UK, your non-British readers can buy it from The Book Depository, a UK Internet bookshop, that sells books worldwide without charging postage. So Australians, Canadians and everyone else - including Americans - can buy it without any extra charges."
Which sent me to The Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/book/9781854249685/A-Very-Private-Grave
And I was amazed. Not only is A VERY PRIVATE GRAVE available anywhere worldwide postage free it is also the lowest price I've seen anywhere: $9.99 USD. Not sure how that would translate into Australian dollars or pounds Sterling but it's at least a dollar less than I've ever seen it.
I asked my friend Jayne to check it out from Canada and she replied that, indeed, The Book Depository magically shows the price in Canadian dollars for her: "It says CDN $11.15 (26% off, Save $3.99)," she replied.
How can they do this, you ask? I'm wondering that, too, as to the deeply discounted price. I can't sell my own book that cheaply. But I do have at least a start of an answer on the free postage issue: Did you know that unlike England, America's media mail or book rate postage is domestic only? No wonder so many book giveaways from American authors specify "America only." Since I so value my international readers I don't limit my giveaways and have, with great delight posted books to England, Canada and South Africa. But also, I'll admit, with great expense. I would be very interested to hear from others regarding your country's postal regulations.
So there it is, once again, the good news and the bad news. But do keep The Book Depository in mind when looking for a book that's not available at your local brick and mortar store. And pass the information on to your own international readers, because, after all, "God is the same on the other side of the world," even if postal rates aren't.
Donna Fletcher Crow (US) is the author of 35 books, mostly novels dealing with the history of British Christianity. Her newest book is A VERY PRIVATE GRAVE, book one in The Monastery Murders.
www.donnafletchercrow.com

DEVOTION: No Watered-down Gospel! - Kathi Macias

I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple…. Then I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” …Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” (Is. 6:1,5,8 NIV).


            Five chapters into the powerful writing of Isaiah, the prophet stopped and spent some time telling us how he had come to this place of proclaiming God’s truth to a sin-filled world. He first tells us of his awe-inspiring vision of the Lord in all His majesty, seated on the very throne of heaven, and then he tells us of his response to this revelation of God’s holiness and sovereignty. He realized he was hopeless and helpless in the presence of one so great and magnificent. He recognized the depth of his sin and depravity in light of a holy and sinless God. And he repented and confessed accordingly.
            After a seraph touched his lips with a live coal, taking away his iniquity and purging his sin, Isaiah was ready to respond to God’s call to go forth and proclaim the Word of the Most High. And that, of course, is where we all must begin if we are to answer God’s call on our own lives to go forth and proclaim His Word, whether in writing, speaking, or daily living. But even then we must beware that we don’t become complacent and begin to compromise the absolute holiness of the One we serve and the complete righteousness He requires of all who would claim His name as their own. What good is a watered-down, user-friendly gospel if it has lost its power to save and deliver? What good is a message of unconditional love without the accompanying need for repentance? What good is it if we all “get along” if that camaraderie is based on a false foundation?
            Our call as writers and speakers—indeed, as servants of the Most High God—is to proclaim the vision of the Holy One, seated on the throne of heaven, where no sin will ever taint or mar its beauty. Nothing less than complete repentance, a 180-degree turn from following our own way to following His way, and an absolute and total dependence on Jesus, the only righteous and sinless Being who ever walked this earth, will qualify us to enter that holy place.
            When we find ourselves tempted to soften this one-and-only-way-of-salvation message under the guise of not offending someone or making others feel more comfortable or welcome in our presence, let’s remember Isaiah, who took the time to interrupt his prophetic message long enough to let us know his one and only qualification for delivering that message: He had seen the holy and righteous God, recognized his own sin, repented and confessed, and allowed God’s live coal to cleanse his lips before he spoke another word. If we ourselves will walk in that truth, then we will more readily call others to do the same, so that they too may come into his presence with the joy and confidence that comes only from being translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of His dear Son.

Kathi Macias is a wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother—as well as an “occasional radio host” and an award-winning author of more than thirty books, including her popular international Extreme Devotion fiction series from New Hope Publishers. Thank you for sharing your devotions with us through this column, Kathi.

When Characters Don't Do What You Want

I sat down to work on my new work-in-progress recently. I'm what is lovingly referred to as a "seat of the pantser" which means that I am in awe of people who, before they even start writing, have fully plotted out the book, know their characters intimately and even have chapter by chapter detailed synopses.

Here's how it works for me. A situation pops into my head. Closely followed by a main character. This generally occurs at a very inconvenient time in the middle of the night, leaving me blindly trying to find a pen and paper on the bedside table, followed by trying to decide whether to risk my husband's wrath by turning on the light or braving the cold and sneaking out to the living room.

I then spend a few days (or weeks) pondering if there is really a story here. It's one thing to have a great situation, it's another to try and spin it into a 90,000 word compelling plot. After I've ironed out a main framework, I sit down to start writing.

There are many good things about being a pantser. Writing a manuscript is a bit of an adventure, you never quite know what is going to show up on the page. There are many bad things about being a pantser. You never know what is going to show up on the page!

Case in point. On Tuesday night I sat down to write. Having hit a bit of a block at the end of the first chapter and having no idea of where to take the story next (bad thing about being a pantser), I decide to pick up the story at a later point where a long past ex-boyfriend makes a reappearance. So I'm writing away, feeling like I have some vague clue where I'm going, and the next thing I know there's A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT GUY ON THE PAGE. I don't know where he came from, I don't know what he's doing there, he's totally messing up the plot that I did have, and my traitorous heroine has chemistry with him!

So what would you do? Would you hit the delete button and force your heroine to go down the path (and the guy!) you have chosen for her? Or would you want to see where this "new" character takes things, even if it means you'll have a completely different story on your hands?

The Writer's Wall - by Rita Stella Galieh

Give me a WINDOW anytime, but not a WALL! Walls block you and you can't see through them.

But, from a writer's perspective, I've got to admit they make you THINK. Hmm, there's just got to be a way around this. It's all about plotting, and everything is chugging along with the story, until BLAM! You've just hit the wall. Mind you, I consistently make it happen to my characters, but I don't like it when it happens to me. Writer's Block is it's unfeeling name.

When I first started writing, I believed an author just sat down to write the story on their heart. As it unfolded, it'd just click, click along on the keyboard. How naive was I? And, oh, how little I understood about the craft! The very first thing you discover is this set in concrete fact; publishers aren't waiting on your story. Huh? There are thousands of other experienced authors out there with great stories who are also trying to interest publishers. Hmm, well, you hadn't thought of that.

Naturally, you read "how to" books and find you probably need to cut out the first couple of chapters. Ouch! My precious words all gone. You discover your story should be like a three act play. You briefly need to let a reader get to know your character and their goals before you hit them with the inciting incident which pushes them into a new situation. Then complications and conflicts follow which threatens to defeat them. And finally they surmount their problems which turns out to be the climax. You study Point of View and realize you'd slipped up on that a bit. Quick job of rectifying. Now the real headache; the MRUs. What? Simple, they tell us. Motivation Reaction Units must be part of every scene. Please explain? Phew. The motivation is something that happens outwardly. That's external. Now your character reacts. They feel it emotionally. They show some sort of physical reaction. Then rational speech or action follows. Well now, I think a bit of rewriting is called for here.

Then you learn all about the BOOK PROPOSAL. What? I have to write out why the publisher would be interested in my story? I have to write a hook to catch their attention? I have to explain what it's all about in a sentence. A whole book? Then give them ideas about how I'd promote my book? And how I'd market it? Then say why it's maybe a little like some other authors' books, but different; a new twist? Mm, complicated!

So you get yourself a substantive edit from a very understanding, but very honest editor. You really learn scads. This gives you confidence to rewrite, realizing ( like the determined authors we are) that like any true work of music, art, literature, practical mechanics, and especially the Christian life, there are guidelines to follow. Yes, it's hard work, but what a sense of accomplishment. And, hey, you've just climbed over the wall!

*  Rita's second contracted book Signed, Sealed and Delivered will be published this September by Ark House Press. More on that later. Her weekly blog of true life stories of how couples found each other is featured on  http://inspirationalromance.blogspot.com  Some are amusing, some fascinating, but all give hope that the Lord is interested in every detail of our lives. Several authors on this ICFW blog are featured, and will be shared with you on future blogs. So, if you have a personal story, please contact her at ritagalieh at gmail dot com.

Interview with author Jenn Kelly (and Book Giveaway!)

Sometimes you have to get lost to figure out where you're going. All Jackson wants is to be the hero, just for once in his life. The hero who steps in at the last minute to save the universe. The hero who saves the entire village from a raging fire. Great Aunt Harriett is always telling him find his own story, but so far his story doesn't seem very exciting. Until he falls into Great Aunt Harriett's hair, that is. There Jackson will encounter a world of elves, trap doors, bubblegum-blowing birds, hairy-backed spiders, kangaroo meat, and perilous danger which requires ... a hero.

We find this hero-in-training in Jackson Jones: The Tale of a Boy, an Elf, and a Very Stinky Fish. Well, with a title like that, you can imagine how much fun kids 9-12 are going to have reading this novel! When I read that blurb on Amazon and discovered the author was Canadian, I immediately hunted Jenn Kelly down and asked if I could interview her. She told me to 'have at it!'

VC: The first burning question: huge hair? Where did the idea for that come from?
 
JK: Great Aunt Harriett's hair: Ok, so awhile ago (like 4 years ago) hubby and I were invited to a very ... prestigious wedding. Not royalty, but the nicest building I've ever been in. The decor was just so and I felt very uncomfortable. I have learned to purchase a 60% off Jones New York cocktail dress for such occasions, but that was 4 years ago!

And one thing I noticed at fancy weddings, is that they are double-boring. No one cares what the father of the bride has to say except for the father of the bride, the bride and the mom of the bride. No one else even knows what he's talking about! Aaaaand there was nowhere to sit down! We all had to stand around and let the super-old people sit in the fancy straight back chairs (of which there were 6 chairs for 65 people). No sitting and eating, we had to stand. The entire 4 hours.

So as I was munching on a particularly disgusting canape, I noticed a rather ... fancy lady with a huge helmet head of hair. Honkin' huge. I thought we were in the south.  So this woman had her big hair and had her dress and I thought, 'I bet she's one of those ladies who carries her dog everywhere. And I bet she's furious she can't bring her dog to the wedding. I bet the dog is in her hair!'  And I waited breathlessly for this woman to start feeding her dog canapes, but it never happened. The next day I sat down and started the story of a woman who had a whole other world in her hair, complete with its own tour guide.

VC: A tour guide? What kinds of sights to see are in this hairy world?
 
JK: The tour guide is Meeka. She's an elf. She has two other sisters, Rayaa and Eleissa who work in there as well.  Meeka has an affinity for getting into trouble, which is why she is stuck being a tour guide. She's great at it, but always manages to get into predicaments.  The places Jackson and Meeka visit are: the Book Room (where Jackson finds a book that tells him 'how to be yourself' but it's blank, the Cafeteria (where Jackson learns moderation is key), the House (where Jackson meets the other two sisters and is introduced to 'the Author'), and then the Forest (where Jackson meets Josh, a dreamgiver, who helps people find their dream). Jackson is sent on a quest to find a stone with his name on it, the name the Author gave him. There are also bubble-gum blowing birds, kangaroo-meat and gargantuan hairy-backed spiders that wait in the corner for their lunch.

VC: Reading through bits of the Amazon sneak peak was fascinating. You're breaking all the rules, girl! You're not supposed to address the reader directly! How dare you!  

JK: Wait, there's rules? Who said there were rules? I didn't know that! I failed English in University! Wait, do they teach that in University? I was learning garbage about symbolism of Chaucer and what the holly meant in Sir Galahad. Maybe that's why I failed. I didn't care about symbolism. I just wanted to read the story!

I had absolutely no idea what the rules were. I didn't read books on how to write a book. It made absolutely no sense to me. I just ... wrote it.  When I look back at what worked for me, it was pretty systematic. Which makes no sense. I had to be at Starbucks, I had to have a venti, soy, no water, no foam, chai latte. I had to be listening to funk jazz. I would just sit down, and write. Of course I'd stand up frequently and walk around Chapters and stomp my feet in frustration because I had no idea what would happen next, so I'd think of the most ridiculous thing I could think of.

VC: So...did anyone try to make you change the way you addressed the reader? Or, on the flip side, did Zonderkidz ask you to put it in?

JK: Did they change it? Um, part of it. They only took out a bit of the narrative. They liked it, I think.

But, in the second book, they took a bit more of the narrative out. Which made me pout a little. And then I got over it.

VC: How important is that to your voice? (Because I gotta say, your voice positively oozes out of the pages--good job!)
 
JK: Voice: I had no idea what voice was when I wrote. I still don't. I just smile and nod and say 'thank you'. From what I understand, it's that I write like I speak. Which I guess is a compliment because when people read it, they admit right away that they can tell I wrote it. I think that's a compliment. I haven't seen anyone cover their ears when I talk. At least, not to my face.

What I don't understand is how people could not write the way they talk. I mean, sure, some writers are fantastically eloquent and I can be eloquent when I get my grown-up voice on (or when I'm arguing. I pull out big words when I argue) but if you don't talk like that normally ... wouldn't that be arrogant and presumptuous? Wouldn't it sound like you were 'being' someone else?  There's one thing I am very good at.  Being myself, being real.  Wow... did that sound arrogant?

VC: Not at all. You know the saying: Be yourself; everyone else is taken.
 
JK: What I'm challenged with now, is learning to use my voice in a non-ridiculous way. The Jackson Jones' books are fun and silly and fantastic (well, I like them) but now I'm taking a break and working on an adult contemporary fiction.

When I was writing the Jackson Jones' books, I would only allow myself to read kids' books to stay in the zone. Now that's changed. I have to read grown-up books, which is something I don't do often.  I don't like reading serious books because then they make me serious. I can't read horror or mysteries. I can't read heart-breaking books (The Kite Runner absolutely destroyed me), so how am I going to write adult fiction? I have no idea.  I am trying to read some of my favourite grown-up books like 'Chocolat', 'The Red Shoes', and the Left Behind series. What genre is that? 

VC: I'm pretty sure the Left Behind series isn't the kind of thing your voice wants to write. Why can't stories for adults be lighthearted and funny, too? Who says adults have to be serious all the time?
 
JK: Ah, but how can you tell? I have done quite a bit of writing in the past, mostly with 'serious dramas' for our church. I really get into the rawness and realness of the challenges of Christianity. I'm rather proud of them. Rather emotional and heart-wrenching.  But I am reading the Left Behind series because well, 1) they're fantastic! and 2) I've been thinking a lot about death and Heaven. I'm feeding my soul.

I totally agree with you that adults should be lighthearted, but unless you're Douglas Coupland, people don't normally like silly and bizarre. Which is unfortunate. Inside of me is a series waiting to be written. It's all about a girl's struggle with her identity in Christ. And it's real and raw and kinda ... well, it plants you right back into reality.  But it isn't time to write it yet.

VC: So you're setting Jackson aside in favor of serious adult fiction? Whatever will the kids who are becoming addicted to your books do?
 
JK: The reason I'm not writing anymore Jackson Jones at the moment is because, well, publishers like to see good sales first. And given that the first book has only been out for six months, it's too early to tell if it'll do well. So they said to wait.  So in the meantime, I snagged an agent (money! security! encouragement! kick in the bum!) and while chatting, I threw a plot at him and he went a little crazy for it, so that's what I'm doing.

VC: Ah, I was wondering if you had an agent. How did that process work for you?

JK: I had 72 rejections. In between all that, I went to the Word Guild writer's conference in Guelph (Ontario, Canada) and met agents and publishers. I hit it off with someone from Zondervan but they didn't have a kids' editor yet. A few months went by and when I contacted him again, he said they had hired Kathleen. He put my manuscript on her desk and within a week, she called.
 
I had been rejected by 45 agents. This one had rejected me before but I had a 'feeling' about him. So I figured I had two books to my name, what agent would say no? So I queried around again to 'Christian Agents' and he responded.  So now I have the lovely Bill Jensen as my agent. 

VC: Are you figuring on more Jackson Jones books in the future?
 
JK: I do have the third and fourth book written in my head. I've written down all my brilliant ideas for them, and they will wait for now. When Zondervan says, Ok, time for another one, I'll be ready.

VC: So what is prompting the genre change, then? 

JK: You're going to laugh.  While at Zondervan I had a brilliant editor named Kathleen. I love this girl. She 'gets' it. And it is so rare that people get it. Kids who read my book and love it, 'get it'.  Adults who read it...well, it's not as popular with adults, and I'm fine with that. I didn't exactly write it for them. 

Anyway, Kathleen was there for the second book and then she emails me saying she's moving across the universe to somewhere named Oregon and is changing publishing houses. Yes, my heart broke completely. I had a champion behind me and she left.  When she switched publishing houses, she switched jobs from kids' books to adult fiction and Amish romance. So I told myself I would write Amish fiction so I could work with her again. And then it progressed into Amish fiction with a Bourne Identity twist to it. I'm kinda excited.

VC: Wow, that is quite a change from Jackson Jones! Did the genre change prompt a method change in your writing style, or are you still writing seat-of-the-pants?

JK: No, I have learned to have an outline. Who knew you needed one? I have never needed to be methodical in writing (with the exception of location and beverage choices) but now I do. And what a difference when you when write an outline! Why don't they teach you that? Maybe they do, but not until second year?

VC: I don't know what they teach you; I never went to university at all. But I'm interested in the fact that now you love outlines. How much structure are you planning ahead with this novel?

JK: I think I like the outline because then it tells you what you're supposed to be working on. I'm brilliant at falling off course. This is why it takes me about twelve hours to clean my house. I get distracted. So if I'm writing about a character and something happens, the next thing I know, something else happens and I realize that it makes absolutely no sense and there is no way I can keep it that way.  With the outline, I like the structure. This happens, then make this happen, which makes this happen. I like that it gives you a home base to always come back to.

VC: One last question. As you know, this blog highlights international fiction. Is there a setting for Jackson's story besides Aunt Harriet's hair? Does it take place in Toronto or anywhere real as well?
 
JK: Um, do you mean a city? It starts off taking place at his house. He just moved. Then Great Aunt Harriett's hair. Then back at his house, then another house. I don't like putting in cities because then you have to be accurate. I'm terribly at accuracy. And grammar. (You may have to clean this up.)

The next book takes place in a tree.

VC: And there you have it, ladies, gentlemen, and kids! I can't imagine how all of you wouldn't want to pass this book on to a tween in your life. Jenn Kelly is offering one reader a copy, anywhere on Planet Earth. If you'd like to put your name in the hat, please add your email address with your comment before Friday, April 29, replacing @ with (at) and .com with (dot) com.

"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."

Welcome a new regular contributer to our blog, author Jenn Kelly! She lives in Ottawa, Canada, but her heart lives in Paris. Or Hawaii. She hasn't decided yet. She is an undercover garden guru, painter, and chef, which has absolutely nothing to do with this book. She won a writing award in grade 4, failed English Lit in university, spent many years writing bad poetry, and then decided to write a book. This is it. She is married to her best friend, Danny, and is mom to a five-year-old boy and a dog who worries too much. She embraces the ridiculousness and disorganization of life.

Valerie Comer's life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local foods movement as well as their church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily ever afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughter.

She is represented by Joyce Hart of Hartline Literary Agency and has recently sold her first work, a novella, to Barbour Books. Visit her website and blog to glimpse inside her world.

Remembering

As I write this on Easter Monday, this year it falls on one of the most important, significant days on the Australian calendar. No, it isn’t only the day after Resurrection Sunday, it is the day we remember death – the death of many Australian and New Zealand soldiers in battles fought around the globe since the late nineteenth century.

This is ANZAC Day, the Australian New Zealand Army Corps Day of Remembrance.

Australia is a very blessed nation in that no war has ever actually been fought on our own land. However, having said that, those who have seen the recent film. Australia, saw scenes of our most northern city, Darwin, being bombed in World War II. What may not be known as well is that enemy mini-submarines entered Sydney Harbour and caused loss of life and damage that brought home, in a way never expected by many other Australians on our eastern shores, that we were at war! Other than these incidents, we have been so blessed never to have had men fighting men on our own soil with all the horrors of war. We do need a day of remembering.

The first time Australian armed forces were involved in a war was in the late nineteenth century during the Boer War in South Africa. The next time was years later when our troop ships left to support England during World War I. That we have made April 25th our nationwide day of remembrance often causes many to shake their heads in puzzlement – and perhaps even wonder. This was a time of war when the British and allied forces suffered a dreadful defeat at Gallipoli against the Turkish army. This photo of World War I memoribilea was taken in a small Australian town's museum - so typical of many, many such small towns and villages across our nation trying to help us "remember."

Over twelve months ago I made contact with a fellow Australian writer, Andrea Grigg. Since then, I have been privileged to meet this delightful, very talented Christian woman and am delighted she has signed her first contract for a Christian novel – an inspirational romance being released next year by Even Before Publishing in Queensland. Andrea is a lady of many talents and last year in my April post here I shared the ANZAC song she has written. The song and images of soldiers at war are so good I want to share it again. I trust if you viewed it then you will still do so again. It shows clearly what Australians are involved in today and I have just watched and listened again. It brought home to me once again just a very, very little of what our soldiers have faced – where they have died – not only at Gallipoli but in far too many countries and wars since. Sadly today, our soldiers are still serving and dying in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrFGBXvHK4Ehttp://
This is the first time I remember our national ANZAC day being the very day after we have remembered THE Day death was conquered once and for all time. RESURRECTION SUNDAY!

How appropriate, and yet yesterday during our worship service, I couldn’t help but wonder just how many folk throughout Australia gathered at dawn services, at special church celebrations to remember that God raised Jesus from the dead. That DAY God demonstrated once for all time that Christ’ death on a cruel cross was acceptable to Him to pay the price for OUR sin.

Throughout the world, remembrance days of special significance for nations are held in the hope that people will not forget the sacrifices soldiers have made for those nations. The surviving soldiers of wars long gone are being replaced by other generations who could perhaps too soon forget what it has cost to live in peace, what it also warns about the cost of war. Sadly, this morning on our TV was a grieving mother of an Australian killed in Afghanistan. And so another generation is grieving today from modern wars.

Even more important for us never to forget is that a spiritual war is still raging. The enemy wants humankind’s allegiance. He hates God, seeks to enslave, to control, to destroy God’s creation – whether through physical wars or even more destructive, the war for our souls. But the Creator God is a God who loves so much He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Christ will not perish but have everlasting Life.

That is what we must never, never, never forget.
It was Jesus Himself who told His disciples the words we often hear at our ANZAC day services across the world.
“Greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
But it is sad to me the rest of Christ’s words in that passage in the Bible are most times omitted. He went on to say, “Your are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” (John 15:13-14)

Perhaps even more important for us today is to remember the apostle Paul’s words in Romans 5: 6-10
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

Mary is a best-selling inspirational romance author... A Queensland farmer’s daughter, she became a registered nurse before going to Bible College. She and her minister husband have three adult children and five grandchildren, enjoyed over 46 years of ministry including church planting in Australia, two years in England, three short term mission trips to Africa and now live in Tasmania, Australia's island state. Her 19th title, Justice at Baragula will be released next month, May, 2011. Do watch out for book giveaways here and also on her own blog http://www.maryhawkins.blogspot.com/

SUNDAY EDITION

Coming Up This Week

Monday

Mary Hawkins

Tuesday

Valerie Comer: Interview with author Jenn Kelly (and Book Giveaway!)

Wednesday

Rita Galieh

Thursday

Kara Isaac

Friday Devotion

Kathi Macias: No Watered-down Gospel

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Contest Giveaway Winners

Marion is the winner of Laura O'Connell's book, African Hearts (Narelle's post, April 14)

Congratulations Marion!

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New Book Releases

Kathi Macias' contemporary set in Saudi Arabia, People of the Book, Book Four in the Extreme Devotion series, is an April 2011 release from New Hope Publishers.

Forced to choose between family and faith, her choice may also become life and death.

Tessa Stockton's debut political intrigue novel set in Argentina, The Unforgivable, Book One in the Wounds of South America series, is an April 2011 release from Risen Books.

Accused of the worst war crimes in the history of Argentina, Carlos Cornella is despised by a wounded nation…

“I’m in love with a monster. That’s what people call him anyway: monster, murderer, kidnapper, torturer, sociopath, even the devil. His crimes are so terrible that he may be unforgivable. But I have come to know him as something else. I know him as God’s Treasure. And I’m not sure what to do about that. So, here’s my story.”

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

Upcoming Book Releases

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

Jeanette Windle's contemporary set in Afghanistan, Freedom's Stand, the sequel to Veiled Freedom, will be a May 2011 release from Tyndale.

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

Christine Lindsay's historical set in India circa 1919, Shadowed in Silk, will be a May 2011 release in e-book format and a September 2011 release in print format from Whitefire Publishing.

Nick Daniels' thriller set in the Middle East, The Jihad's Messiah, Book 1 in the Jihad series, will be a September 2011 release from Risen Books.

Kathi Macias has a Freedom series involving human trafficking coming soon from New Hope Publishers. Deliver Me from Evil (September 2011) is set in San Diego, CA. and the Golden Triangle area of Thailand; Special Delivery (January 2012); The Deliverer (April 2012).

Kathi Macias' Christmas themed book, A Christmas Journey Home, set in Arizona and Ensenada, Mexico, will be an October 2011 release from New Hope Publishers.

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

DEVOTION: God at Work! - Shirley Corder

Joseph from Arimathea placed the body of Jesus in his own tomb. He rolled a massive boulder across the entrance. Roman soldiers sealed the tomb, then placed men on guard duty. No one could get in, and certainly no one could get out. Then God sent an angel. " an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled the stone away, and sat on it.” 


I always thought the heavenly being rolled away the stone to allow Jesus to get out. Then one day I realised this wasn't so. They didn't have to let Jesus out. He was no longer there. He had already risen. The angel opened the tomb to show those outside that God was at work.

In 1997, I found myself in a tomb of a different sort when I underwent radical and life-threatening treatment for cancer. Many times, I felt trapped. Death seemed inevitable. Then God would send someone to show me that he was still in control. We found a much-needed check under the front door; a family member gave us a week’s vacation at a luxury resort; a loving friend cut my toenails and washed my hair; my youngest son installed a computer game on my pc to occupy my mind when I had no company. Flowers, cards and unexpected gifts all served one purpose. They showed me that God was at work.

As writers, we often find ourselves trapped. At least, I do.
Where do I go from here? 
Am I saying what I wanted to say? 
I thought God wanted me to write this article and now I don't know . . .

Then something happens to trigger a new idea. A knock at the door brings someone into the room who reminds me what I wanted to say. A flash of inspiration—or a sudden realization—causes my fingers to once again fly across the keyboard. I know where my writing's going. I'm not trapped any more. The boulder's gone. I'm free to move on. God is at work in my writing.

There are thousands, make that millions, of people out there who are trapped. Trapped in tombs of their own making—or in tombs of illness, grief or abuse. They need someone to open their tombs. But in this case, it's to show them the way out. 

I can't open tombs. I can't move boulders. I can't free those who are trapped. But God can. If I yield my writing to Him, He can use my words to roll away the boulders in peoples' lives. He can use my words to show the world that God is at work in their lives.out. 

SHIRLEY M. CORDER lives in South Africa and never expected to be a published author—until she decided to pray about her writing. Her book, Rise and Soar above the Cancer Valley is due for release in the USA in 2012, and she is contributing author to nine other books. Hundreds of her inspirational and life-enrichment articles have been published internationally. You can contact Shirley through her writing website, her Rise and Soar cancer site, or follow her on Twitter.

STORY BEHIND THE COVER OF SHADOWED IN SILK--By Christine Lindsay

Some might say there are disadvantages in being published by a small press. WhiteFire may be small---and I certainly am---but that means we need to lean on God all the more. Because of that, I’ve been astounded by what He’s done. But nothing could have amazed me more than the way the Lord arranged the front cover of my book.

I have to go back 32 years to when I gave birth to a little girl. Not married at the time, I felt God urge me to relinquish her to a Christian couple unable to have children. I named my baby, Sarah, in the hope that one day I would see her again.

Twenty years later Sarah and I were reunited. But though our reunion was a good one, I began to relive my original loss of relinquishing her. My husband encouraged me to work out my emotional pain by writing. A little later the Lord urged me to write out the emotional healing He had given me in fictional stories to help others.

And now my debut novel about the British Raj in India will be released May 1, 2011—a story that has nothing to do with adoption (at least not much).

WhiteFire and I were excited as we discussed the design of the cover. One day I suggested the sari material I had purchased in India on a missions trip. Roseanna and David White loved the idea but said to hold off on mailing the silk across the country as it was pretty heavy with gems and beading.

It was then I noticed that the model they suggested resembled my birthdaughter. On a whim I suggested Sarah for the model, and the publisher agreed. Sarah was shy at first, but she pitched in on this step of faith with me.

WhiteFire wanted 2 costumes—-a western one for 1919 and the sari that my character Abby wears in the novel. A friend loaned me a straw boater hat, and I was sure I had a tan linen skirt up in my closet. But when I went to look . . . it was gone. I’d forgotten that when we moved last year, I’d given the skirt to a charity. On another whim I decided to go to the local second hand store to search for something similar.

As I walked across the parking lot I prayed the Lord would help me find the perfect skirt. I was not 5 minutes in the store, walking down the aisle and I found my very own skirt which I then purchased back for $9.99.

I could go on and on about the details that just seemed to come together---the background photos taken by a friend in India...and so much more. I’d asked the Lord to put His fingerprints all over it, and He did.

It wasn’t until later that I realized—that without my ever planning or imagining it—He had not only inspired me to write because of my sadness over losing my first child to adoption, but He then placed the face of my beautiful muse on the front cover of my book.

Only our Heavenly Father can do something so intricately tender.

We have to remember that we serve a God who delights in working with little people and small things—-a shepherd boy and a few smooth stones. A child with a lunch of fish and bread for one. A babe in a womb that rocks the world.

If you’d like to read more about my journey as an unwed mother, the relinquishment of Sarah, and of our emotionally racking reunion, go to www.christinelindsay.com

And here for the fun of it is the back cover of Sarah as Abby wearing the Sari.


And thank you to George and Ashley Weis of Tekeme Designs for the awesome job of designing this cover.

Interview: König's Fire by Marc Schooley

The Story:

The Nazis have established a torture center in a mine at the heart of a Romanian forest. Here they interrogate prisoners and, sometimes, throw them into the furnace at the heart of the mine.

Only now, the primeval forest is rising against them, unleashing a preternatural army to besiege the great iron gate of the mine. The fearsome guards become terrified prisoners and the furnace itself burns with hungry anger against them.

Sascha König, a man they called Nebuchadnezzar,

is their only hope. He is master of the furnace. All along, he has been Hitler’s ardent servant. But now...König is wrestling with demons of his own, and the Master of all fires is calling him to Himself through the haunting eyes of a little gypsy girl König did not save.

The Interview:

Marc kindly agreed to talk to us today about the international aspects of this novel. Let's make him welcome!

- What made you decide on the setting for this novel? How did you come up with the idea?

Marc: The manner in which this question is worded seems to entail that I have a choice in the matter. I don’t, outside of picking Romania instead of Transylvania, the German dark forest, or a similar substitute. The setting appeared to me one night around 9:34 when I was playing dominoes at my Grandmother’s house. From there it was only a matter of determining a suitable location where Nazis might inhabit a dark forest during WWII, that also had mountains.
So much less stress this way, allowing the ideas to happen rather than attempting to create them or manipulate them: no storyboards, outlines, fretting over this or that with regard to the setting.
- Have you been to Romania? What is your impression of it today, from any sources, and how does that impression influence the story?

Marc: I had serendipitous encounter at the WestMan Bible Conference with Dr. Emil Silvestru, who is Romanian, I believe, who confirmed my general impression of the setting of Ploiesti, and even the presence there of Nazis in WWII. He indicated that there were indeed strange “goings-on” from the Nazis at that time, and his confirmation led to a greater confidence in writing the remainder of the book.
The part of Romania I wrote about is rural and forested. Very dark. A perfect influence on the story as it literally took on a life of its own.

- How far did you delve into the German psyche? Do you think your characters are a good mirror of it?

Marc: I didn’t, for the most part. I wanted “everyman” characters. Philosophy, and to a lesser extent theology, is a major strain of German thought, however. Sascha König is a good mirror of that discipline. Overall, there are Nietzschean undercurrents in the book, so in that sense, it could be thought of as German.

- How did the setting influence the plot - would it have worked out different had you set it elsewhere?

Marc: The setting itself represents two of the main characters: the Nachthaus and the forest. I could envision many ways to do this book elsewhere—in fact, if the book has any connection to reality at all, and I think it does, any setting would work—and the plot should work out nearly the same. It’s meant to be universally human. I sure am fond of this particular setting, though...

- In your mind, what are the most important cultural aspects of the story?

Marc: The cultural universality of sin and the universal cultural tendency to pretend as if we’re not sinners and to act and reason as though we’re not. Daydreaming is seeing the world as it is not...

- How far would you say König’s Bavarian background influences his decision-making?

Marc: König’s Bavarian background is lush and green, which is the opposite of the austere and rocky mine he finds himself in. It’s more of a contrast rather than an influence, for, as he discovers, there’s really no difference in so far as the backgrounds.
This begins to weigh on him as the book progresses. In a way, the Nachthaus was a blessing to him because he was sound asleep and comfortable in sin in Bavaria. His Bavaria is a cultivated green, rather than the wild greenness of the Romanian forest.

- Anything else you’d like to add?

Marc: Thanks for the opportunity to respond...

My thanks to Marc for the interview!

Best Forgotten - Fiction that changes hearts!

by Paula Vince

I'm delighted that Lisa has given me an opportunity to share once again on this blog. Before I talk about my new release, I’ll begin with a recent attitude adjustment.

I was having a prayer time that was more like a long complaint list. It went something like this. ‘Lord, I know several readers who I’m sure would love my books if only they bothered to take the time. You don’t know how frustrating it is when you have something which would bless people but they’re too indifferent to even want to know.’

No sooner were the words out of my mouth when His answer filled my spirit.

You think I don’t understand how that feels? Just remember who you’re talking to!

That made my pulse race. How could I have forgotten for a moment? It suddenly seemed I’d been raised to an aerial view to see the rut I’d dug for myself. It was clear how tightly yoked I’d been to my own ego, wanting to make a ‘success’ of selling Christian novels in Australia so I could prove my value to others and myself. I’d missed the point entirely. If I’d noticed that I was pacing over the same dusty ground month after month, I would have scrambled out of that dirty rut long ago. I’d started out on this adventure with Jesus. How short-sighted of me to be offended because I shared some of His own experiences.

Nothing has changed in my approach to selling books but how refreshing it feels to climb out of that result-driven rut and survey things from higher ground. How liberating to change my concept of ‘success’ and stop gauging it by the human feedback I receive compared to others. Even the air from the new vantage point feels cleaner and crisper to breathe.

Having said this, I really am excited to offer my new release, Best Forgotten to others. I’ve tried to weave together elements of mystery, suspense and redemption in a way I’ve never done before.

A young accident victim wakes up in hospital without a clue who he is. Not only does he have nothing in common with his family but he develops an aversion to the person he used to be. He cannot understand the way he used to behave or the choices he made. The more he learns about himself, the more puzzled and upset he becomes.

He discovers that his best friend disappeared without a trace on the night of his own accident. His girlfriend is strangely aloof and he cannot shake off a feeling that the answer will prove even more unpleasant than his amnesia. The more he tries to investigate, the more likely it appears that he was involved in something really shady and sinister. And he senses that something bad is after him. So he’s torn between wanting to find out and being terrified that he’ll have to face horrible consequences when he does.

I’ve been fascinated by the relationship between our thinking patterns and what we make of our lives. How is a person’s personality shaped by his sum of experiences? To what extent do the thoughts we choose to think make us into the people we are? Do our seemingly random choices have the impact to come back when least expected and impact the rest of our lives?

When you, the reader, find out the mystery, hopefully you’ll let out a gasp and cry, ‘Oh wow, I never saw that coming!’ That’s my intention, anyhow.

I love it when a work of fiction not only entertains readers but changes us at the core by getting us to think about how what we’ve read within the pages may also apply to us. These are the stories we like to remember, lend to others and call really special. I believe novelists have a responsibility to offer readers our very best and it’s a quest I take seriously.

For Australian and international readers alike, my books are available from Amazon.com and directly from my own website, www.appleleafbooks.com. In fact I invite you to visit my website if you’d like to read about my other titles too. For Australian and New Zealand readers, Best Forgotten and my other books are also available from Koorong and other good Christian book stores.

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

Paula Vince always wanted to write fiction and loves to evoke tears and laughter. Her novels include a fantasy/adventure trilogy for young adults and four contemporary dramas with elements of romance, mystery and suspense. She lives with her husband and three children in South Australia’s beautiful Adelaide Hills, which she uses as the setting for several of her novels. Her novel, Picking up the Pieces was a finalist in the inaugural 2010 Omega Writer’s CALEB prize. Her most recent novel, Best Forgotten is a mystery/romance that has just been published by Wombat Books/Even Before Publishing.

SUNDAY EDITION

Coming Up This Week

Monday

Guest Blogger: Paula Vince

Tuesday

Catherine West

Wednesday

Grace Bridges

Thursday

Christine Lindsay: Story behind the cover of Shadowed in Silk

Friday Devotion

Shirley Corder: God at Work!

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

New Book Releases

Kathi Macias' contemporary set in Saudi Arabia, People of the Book, Book Four in the Extreme Devotion series, is an April 2011 release from New Hope Publishers.

Forced to choose between family and faith, her choice may also become life and death.

Tessa Stockton's debut political intrigue novel set in Argentina, The Unforgivable, Book One in the Wounds of South America series, is an April 2011 release from Risen Books.

Accused of the worst war crimes in the history of Argentina, Carlos Cornella is despised by a wounded nation…

“I’m in love with a monster. That’s what people call him anyway: monster, murderer, kidnapper, torturer, sociopath, even the devil. His crimes are so terrible that he may be unforgivable. But I have come to know him as something else. I know him as God’s Treasure. And I’m not sure what to do about that. So, here’s my story.”

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

Upcoming Book Releases

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

Jeanette Windle's contemporary set in Afghanistan, Freedom's Stand, the sequel to Veiled Freedom, will be a May 2011 release from Tyndale.

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

Christine Lindsay's historical set in India circa 1919, Shadowed in Silk, will be a May 2011 release in e-book format and a September 2011 release in print format from Whitefire Publishing.

Nick Daniels' thriller set in the Middle East, The Jihad's Messiah, Book 1 in the Jihad series, will be a September 2011 release from Risen Books.

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 International Christian Fiction wiki.

DEVOTION: A Divine Appointment - Marcia Lee Laycock

“Do you know anything about these flowers?”

The young woman’s eyes were hopeful but I had to disappoint her and explain that I did not work in the hospital gift shop. I was just there to stock the book rack. I pointed to two ladies at a nearby counter. “Maybe they can help,” I said.

She nodded, stared at the flower display and sighed. “I’m not really sure what I want.”

I took note of her dress then – a baseball cap pulled over messy hair; a thin pair of pyjama bottoms topped by a hospital issue housecoat wrapped around a frail frame; pull-on terrycloth slippers, two sizes too big.

“My friend is dying,” she said, then turned back to me. “I am too.”

I put my clipboard down and waited. Her story unfolded in simple language, the words slipping from her mouth almost as though rehearsed. She reached into a pocket and pulled out a picture of her seven year old daughter. I could see the resemblance. She smiled when I mentioned it and went on to say there was a surgery that she was hoping for – highly experimental, there was only one doctor who could do it and he just happened to live in a nearby city. But then her voice fell and I had to lean close to hear. Her friend had had the surgery. She was still dying.

The conversation turned to the word hope then. She had hope they would agree to do the surgery, hope that, unlike her friend, she would recover, hope that she would live to watch her daughter grow up.

She said a pastor came to visit sometimes and “we say our small prayers together. They seem small, just words, but maybe not, eh?” Again that hopeful look in her eyes.

I was praying small prayers right then. She’s so young, Lord. Please. Please.

Then she was gone and I resumed stocking the rack. I do it once a month and in that hospital, the rack is usually almost empty by the time I return. As I filled the pockets with books I was acutely aware of their contents. They hold pages about the love and mercy of Jesus, pages filled with stories of courage and faith, pages of humour to lift a sad heart and inspiration to encourage a weary soul. Pages of hope.

I knew I was sent there that day to do much more than “just stock the book racks,” but my job suddenly seemed important. My other job, as a writer, suddenly seemed essential, “That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.” (Ps. 26:7, KJV).

Marcia Lee Laycock’s inspirational writing has won awards in both Canada and the U.S. Her devotionals are distributed to thousands and her novel, One Smooth Stone, won the Best New Canadian Christian Author Award in 2006. Marcia is also a sought-after speaker for women’s events. Visit her at www.vinemarc.com