Archive for March, 2009

2009 RITA Finalists for Inspirational Romance

Mar 25th 2009
Posted by Susan

And the nominees are…

Deep in the Heart of Trouble by Deeanne Gist
Bethany House Publishers (ISBN: 1590529286)
David Long and Julie Klasseneditor, editors

Faking Grace by Tamara Leigh
Random House Publishing, WaterBrook Multnomah (ISBN: 978-1-59052-929-4)
Julee Schwarzburg, editor

Finding Stefanie by Susan May Warren
Tyndale House Publishers (ISBN: 1-4143-1019-6)
Karen Watson, editor

Love Starts with Elle by Rachel Hauck
Thomas Nelson Inc.  (ISBN: 1595543384)
Ami McConnell, editor

Mulberry Park by Judy Duarte
Kensington Publishing Corp. (ISBN: 978-0-7582-2015-8)
John Scognamiglio, editor

The Convenient Groom by Denise Hunter
Thomas Nelson Inc.  (ISBN: 9781595542588)
Christina Boys, editor

The Perfect Life by Robin Lee Hatcher
Thomas Nelson Inc., Women of Faith Fiction (ISBN: 978-1-59554-148-2)
Ami McConnell and Leslie Peterson, editors

Where Love Abides by Irene Hannon
Harlequin Enterprises, Steeple Hill Love Inspired (ISBN: 9780373874798)
Melissa Endlich, editor

How funny that both Rachel and I are nominated! I'm amazed to be among such great talent!

DiAnn Mills: Breach of Trust, Book 1 in the Call of Duty series

Mar 17th 2009
Posted by Susan

DiAnn Mills would like to encourage readers to visit her website's homepage where BreachofTrust you can view the trailer for Breach of Trust, Book 1 in the Call of Duty series by Tyndale House Publishers.  While there, please sign-up for her monthly e-newsletter so she can stay in-touch with her readers.
 
–Breach of Trust Book Trailer:  www.diannmills.com
 
 
Paige Rogers survived every CIA operative’s worst nightmare.

A covert mission gone terribly wrong.

A betrayal by the one man she thought she could trust.

Forced to disappear to protect the lives of her loved ones, Paige has spent the last several years building a quiet life as a small-town librarian. But the day a stranger comes to town and starts asking questions, Paige knows her careful existence has been shattered.

He is coming after her again. And this time, he intends to silence her for good.
Take a look around at the people you see every day. The friendly clerk at the coffee shop. The cheerful woman who teaches Sunday school. The quiet, unassuming librarian. Wouldn’t you be shocked if one of them turned out to be a former CIA operative with a secret too big to keep under wraps?
It could happen.

This edge-of-your-seat thriller is the first book in the new Call of Duty series. In Breach of Trust, Paige Rogers is a former CIA agent who is living incognito as a librarian in the sleepy little town of Split Creek, Oklahoma, after experiencing a life-altering disaster in the line of duty. But the unwelcome past has suddenly turned up to find her, in the form of a ruthless politician who is out to destroy everything Paige holds dear. She knows too much, and he’s desperate to silence her. Can she bring him down before he ruins her life? And most of all, what would the Lord want her to do?
 
–Endorsements from back cover:

“[Breach of Trust] is romance with an operative kick when the quiet life Paige Rogers enjoys is sent into overdrive by a past that refuses to stay buried.” —Tamera Alexander, best-selling author of From a Distance
“DiAnn Mills has crafted a tightly woven tale of danger and deception. Breach of Trust is a page turner to the very end.”
—Kathy Herman, author of The Grand Scheme

“Mills creates extraordinary characters wrestling with profound life issues in the face of immediate danger. A surefire recipe for a great read!" —Jill Elizabeth Nelson, author of Reluctant Smuggler
 
–What people are saying about Breach of Trust:
"DiAnn Mills certainly knows how to stay one step ahead of her readers in Breach of Trust!" Kim Ford, CFBA

"Readers who enjoy the works of Dee Henderson, especially her O'Malley series, will love Breach of Trust." – Harriet Klausner

"If you have been waiting for a story to match Dee Henderson's O'Malley series or Susan May Warren's Team Hope, look no further than Breach of Trust, the first in the Call of Duty series. Breach of Trust is romantic suspense at its finest." Rel Mollet – Relz Reviewz

–DiAnn has Chapter 1 of Breach of Trust, Discussion Questions suitable for Book Clubs, Reviews, etc. available on her website www.diannmills.com.
 
You can purchase your own copy of Breach of Trust here!

–Author Bio – DiAnn Mills
Award-winning author DiAnn Mills launched her career in 1998 with the publication of her first book. Currently she has over forty books in print and has sold over 1.5 million copies.

DiAnn believes her readers should “Expect an Adventure.” Six of her anthologies have appeared on the CBA best seller list. Three of her books were selected by Heartsong Presents as best historical of the year. Five of her books have placed in the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year awards from 2003 to 2007. She also received Inspirational Reader’s Choice awards in 2005 and 2007. She was a Christy Award Finalist 2008.

DiAnn is a founding board member for American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Inspirational Writers Alive, Romance Writers of America’s Faith, Hope and Love, and Advanced Writers and Speakers Association. DiAnn is also a mentor for the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild. DiAnn’s home is in Houston, Texas.

www.diannmills.com – Expect an Adventure

A Tale of Two Villains: The Dark Knight CFOM March article

Mar 10th 2009
Posted by Susan

Craft Tips and Techniques from Today’s Blockbusters

So, a great villain is human…

I love Batman. I don’t know why—maybe it’s the cool gadgets, but my fascination started with “Holy Toledo, Batman,” in the fifth grade as I watched Adam West run around in his blue pajamas. Even then, the villains scared me—the Penguin and Catwoman . . . but no one was worse than the Joker. And through the years, he’s only gotten scarier—first through Jack Nickolson’s portrayal in the 1989 version of Batman, and most recently the late Heath Ledger’s amazing performance.

But what makes the Joker so frightening, the quintessential villain? It’s not just his face, or his crazy antics, although they help. No, there is a formula to every epic villain and the Joker nails it.

First, however, let’s find out what makes a villain.

“Holy super-villain, Batman! Is that a list?”

1. A great villain is Human, a little bit like us. He wants what we want, or has been through what we’ve been through. For example, the sad (but untrue) story the Joker in The Dark Knight tells one of his victims about being abused by his father makes us, just for a second, feel for the sick, deranged Joker. Says our favorite caped crusader: “Criminals are complicated . . . we just need to find out what they’re after.”

read the rest here!

Mary DeMuth’s Daisy Chain

Mar 4th 2009
Posted by Susan

I love Mary DeMuth’s writing. It’s evocative and beautiful, and makes me love the writing craft! And the way she weaves all into an amazing story – her books are like fine dining. More than that, they are reflective of Mary’s deep relationship with her Lord. Pick up this book and savor it.

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Daisy Chain

Zondervan (March 1, 2009)

by

Mary DeMuth

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mary E. DeMuth is an expert in Pioneer Parenting. She enables Christian parents to navigate our changing culture when their families left no good faith examples to follow.

Her parenting books include Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture (Harvest House, 2007), Building the Christian Family You Never Had (WaterBrook, 2006), and Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God (Harvest House, 2005).

Mary also inspires people to face their trials through her real-to-life novels, Watching The Tree Limbs
(nominated for a Christy Award) and Wishing On Dandelions (NavPress, 2006).

Mary has spoken at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, the ACFW Conference, the Colorado Christian Writers Conference, and at various churches and church planting ministries. Mary and her husband, Patrick, reside in Texas with their three children. They recently returned from breaking new spiritual ground in Southern France, and planting a church.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The abrupt disappearance of young Daisy Chance from a small Texas town in 1973 spins three lives out of control—Jed, whose guilt over not protecting his friend Daisy strangles him; Emory Chance, who blames her own choices for her daughter’s demise; and Ouisie Pepper, who is plagued by headaches while pierced by the shattered pieces of a family in crisis.

In this first book in the Defiance, Texas Trilogy, fourteen-year-old Jed Pepper has a sickening secret: He’s convinced it’s his fault his best friend Daisy went missing. Jed’s pain sends him on a quest for answers to mysteries woven through the fabric of his own life and the lives of the families of Defiance, Texas. When he finally confronts the terrible truths he’s been denying all his life, Jed must choose between rebellion and love, anger and freedom.

Daisy Chain is an achingly beautiful southern coming-of-age story crafted by a bright new literary talent. It offers a haunting yet hopeful backdrop for human depravity and beauty, for terrible secrets and God’s surprising redemption.

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