Scarlet by Stephen Lawhead (Book II in the King Raven Trilogy)

Coming this summer:

The riveting second installment in a completely re-imagined epic of the man known as Robin Hood! Eerie, earthy, and elemental, Lawhead's sequel to Hood continues the story of King Raven and Bran's faithful band, whose lives hang ever more in the balance as they make a desperate sea voyage to France.

Read our review of Hood (Book I) here.

New Robert Liparulo novel coming in November

He brought us Comes a Horseman & Germ, and now this November he's bringing us Deadfall. Sounds like a real page-turner.

Summary:

Four Friends Get Away to the Canadian Wilderness… Only To Find Themselves Targets in a Deadly Game.

It started as the perfect vacation. Dropped by helicopter in the middle of nowhere. Hunting. Fishing. Stories by the fire. The nearest town far away.

But not far enough.

Tiny Fiddler Falls has been taken over by outsiders bent on turning it into a real-life video game, where “game over” means you’re dead. At their disposal is a prototype of the world’s most advanced weapon, known as “Slacker” — a Satellite Laser Cannon. From its 280-mile-high perch, the device can pinpoint a human target and instantly vaporize it. The person is there… then he’s not.

Campers and killers collide in a high-stakes battle of weapons and wits. But how does one fight an impossibly high-tech enemy with only primitive bows and arrows and the cover of the woods?

An intimately intense novel of character forged in the midst of search, survival and sacrifice.

Read our interview with Robert Liparulo here.
Read our review of Germ here.

Lorena McCourtney's Andi McConnell mystery series

She brought us beloved character Ivy Mallone, and now Lorena McCourtney is bringing us Andi McConnell. Your Chariot Awaits is the first in this new mystery series coming this fall from Thomas Nelson, and it sounds like it'll be worth the wait.

Summary:
During just one week, Andi McConnell turns 60, loses her job, inherits a limousine, breaks up with her boyfriend---then finds his body in the car! With the help of former TV detective Fitz, Andi hunts for the killer. Will her diligent---and clumsy---sleuthing keep the cops from blaming the murder on her?

Read our interview with Lorena here.
And check out our review of her last novel Stranded here.

Ted Dekker's "Blink" now "Blink of an Eye"

Ted Dekker's Blink is being reissued in hardcover as Blink of an Eye by Thomas Nelson.

Dekker told TitleTrakk.com in a recent interview: "Blink is coming out as a movie, too, and I’m rewriting the book for the movie. It will be truly different from the original."

Interesting. Check out the entire interview here.

Read our newest interview with Ted here.

Book #2 in Phantom Hollow series "Never Look Back" coming fall 2007

Kathy Herman says at her website:

"Never Look Back, book two in the Phantom Hollow Series, will be available in October 2007 and will continue Ivy's saga. This one has a huge surprise you won't want to miss! Based on Psalm 103:12: "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us," this tender and tumultuous story takes us face-to-face with the amazing power of grace. In the traditional Herman style, of course--with a healthy dose of breathless suspense!"

Amber Morn by Brandilyn Collins cover

Brandilyn Collins has unveiled the cover to her 4th and last Kanner Lake mystery (not due out until next year).

Read what it's like for an author to finish a book (and a series) over at Brandilyn's Forensics and Faith blog here.

Read my review of Book #1 Violet Dawn here.

Read my friend Darcie Gudger's review of Book #2 Coral Moon here.

Read an interview I did with Brandilyn here.

2007 Christy Award nominess

The Christy Award nominees are in!

First, a little History:

In the spring of 1999, nearly a dozen Christian publishers confirmed the need for establishing a Christian fiction award to recognize novelists and novels of excellence in several genres of Christian fiction. By late summer, ideas and planning had come together to launch The Christy Award, named in honor of Catherine Marshall’s novel and of her contribution to growth of the fiction Christians love to read.

The Christy Award is designed to:

• Nurture and encourage creativity and quality in the writing and publishing of fiction written from a Christian worldview.
• Bring a new awareness of the breadth and depth of fiction choices available, helping to broaden the readership.
• Provide opportunity to recognize novelists whose work may not have reached bestseller status.

Catherine Marshall, writer of more than two dozen books and the subject of at least one biography, is one of America's most notable and bestselling Christian writers. Her readers around the world know Catherine as "America's most inspirational author," as described in The New York Times. More than 25 million copies of her books are in print. Nine years in the making and perhaps Catherines's best-known work, the novel Christy has more than 10 million copies in print and is estimated to have been read by more than 30 million people.

The Christy Awards is proud to honor both the novelist and her novel through this annual award recognizing Christian novels of excellence.

THE 2007 NOMINEES:

CONTEMPORARY (STAND ALONE)

• Dwelling Places by Vinita Hampton Wright (HarperOne)
• Straight Up by Lisa Samson (WaterBrook Press)
• Winter Birds by Jamie Langston Turner (Bethany House Publishers)

CONTEMPORARY (SERIES, SEQUELS AND NOVELLAS)

• The Brethren by Beverly Lewis (Bethany House Publishers)
• Escape from Fred by Brad Whittington (B&H Publishing Group)
• The Proof by Austin Boyd (NavPress)

HISTORICAL (includes four titles due to a tie)

• Glastonbury Tor by LeAnne Hardy (Kregel)
• Grace in Thine Eyes by Liz Curtis Higgs (WaterBrook Press)
• Madman by Tracy Groot (Moody Press)
• Pieces of Silver by Maureen Lang (Kregel)

ROMANCE

• The Measure of a Lady by Deeanne Gist (Bethany House Publishers)
• Monday Morning Faith by Lori Copeland (Zondervan)
• The Redemption by M. L. Tyndall (Barbour)

SUSPENSE

• The Begotten by Lisa T. Bergren (Berkley)
• The Hidden by Kathryn Mackel (Thomas Nelson)
• Plague Maker by Tim Downs (Thomas Nelson)

LITS

• The Cubicle Next Door by Siri Mitchell (Harvest House Publishers)
• Everything’s Coming Up Josey by Susan May Warren (Steeple Hill Café)
• Sisterchicks in Gondolas by Robin Jones Gunn (Multnomah)

YOUNG ADULT

• Bad Idea by Todd and Jedd Hafer (NavPress)
• The Way of the Wilderking by Jonathan Rogers (B&H Publishing Group)
• William Henry Is a Fine Name by Cathy Gohlke (Moody Press)

FIRST NOVEL

• Watching the Tree Limbs by Mary DeMuth (NavPress)
• Where Mercy Flows by Karen Harter (Center Street)
• William Henry Is a Fine Name by Cathy Gohlke (Moody Press)

For more information, visit the Christy Awards website.

Creston Mapes ... a new blogger!

Creston has a new blog up where he talks about his book, writing, reading, and more.

Check it out here.

Don't forget to be looking for his next novel, Nobody, coming this fall.

Read our interview with Creston here.

Read our review of Creston's novel Full Tilt here.

Standing Strong by Donna Fleisher cover unveiled

The cover of Donna Fleisher's 4th Homeland Heroes novel, Standing Strong, has been unveiled over at her blog.

Donna talks a little about the cover, plus shares some other fun tidbits in this entry here.

Facing the Giants novelization by Eric Wilson

According to Eric Wilson's latest website news, Thomas Nelson has connected him with the Kendrick brothers, screenwriters of the surprise theatrical hit Facing the Giants.

Eric says, "I’ve done the film’s novelization, due on shelves September 4, ’07. This is a story full of hope that parallels the things God is doing in my own heart."

Read our interview with Eric here.