Sharon Hinck's next Bethany House novel

First she brought us Becky Miller. Now she's bringing us Amy Johnson. Sharon Hinck's next Bethany House novel, scheduled for a Spring 2008 release, looks like another winner.

Summary:

Talented flutist Amy Johnson's dreams come true when she wins a spot with the Minneapolis Symphony. But this amateur sleuth has trouble concentrating on the notes as she begins to see devious motives behind her fellow musicians' many mishaps. Meanwhile, her musically talented daughter wants to give it all up for—gasp—the cheerleading squad! What's a musical mom to do? Can Amy fine-tune her investigation before the symphony is forced to close and she loses not only her dream job but her promising new relationship with its conductor?

Read our review of Renovating Becky Miller here.
Read our review of The Restorer here.

Claudia Mair Burney novels coming soon

Coming soon are the re-releases of Burney's Murder, Mayhem & A Fine Man as well as Death, Deceit & Some Smooth Jazz.

Both will be released by Howard/Simon & Schuster. Check out the cool new covers.








Burney says about this cover: "I kinda think Bell is a little tall and skinny and, um, not like Bell here. But that's just me ...
Here they've got the braids right, but what is with the heels? It's a running joke in the books that Bell always trips in heels. They're a hazard to us! Whoops! I mean they're a hazard to her."

For Claudia's full take on what went into selecting these covers, check out her blog entry here.

Talk Like A Pirate Contest

Most pirates routinely plunder and pillage and all that nasty stuff, and have earned the reputation of being an overall mean and grumpy lot with bad teeth. However, pirates are people, too!

Harvest House is pleased to announce the Talk Like A Pirate Contest—Reach Out to a Pirate and Win! Winners will receive copies of The Trophy Chase Trilogy by George Bryan Polivka, and other pirate-related books! Arrgghh! *The rules are simple me hearties! Write a short essay/message (200 words or less) on how you would positively impact a pirate’s life through one or more of the following actions:

a) Friendship/Fellowship (invite a pirate to an activity, outing, concert, church)
b) Prayer
c) Persuasion (as in persuading them to consider another line of work altogether!)

Arrgghh! All you have to do is write up yer message, and submit it between August 20 and Sept. 17 to: talklikeapiratecontest@harvesthousepublishers.com. Make sure to include yer email address and a good phone number (for verification and contact purposes only). Savvy?! We’ll make ye walk the plank if ye submit more than one entry, so if ye wants to avoid an untimely visit to Davey Jones’ Locker, pay attention ye land lubbers and follow the orders o’ yer fearless captain!

To effectively reach a pirate, you need to speak their language. So, your essay must be written in Pirate-speak! (hint: humor is good!) You can even choose a character from George Bryan Polivka’s Trophy Chase Trilogy to write about, or make someone up! Characters include: Fishbait McGee, Skewer Uttley, Conch Imbry, and/or Belisar the Whale—all notorious pirate captains of Nearing Vast (for ideas on pirate-speak, look up National Talk Like A Pirate Day, which is September 19).

Three winners will be selected, with the three winning essays to be posted on author George Bryan Polivka’s blogsite www.nearingvast.com/capspub on September 19. The winners (chosen by a scurvy band of judges whose honor and character are questionable) will receive a veritable pirate’s treasure chest of plunder, including: The Trophy Chase Trilogy (The Legend of the Firefish and The Hand That Bears the Sword, as well as the third book in the series, **The Battle for Vast Dominion). Other titles include When It's Fourth and Long by Josh Bidwell (punter for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arrgghh!), and Captives and Kings by Craig and Janet Parshall.

*Official Rules (NOT just guidelines):
One entry per contestant. Three winning essays will be chosen by a panel of judges based on humor, level of persuasion, and overall creative writing skills. The three winning essays will be posted on author George Bryan Polivka’s blogsite on Sept. 19, 2007. No purchase, entry fee, donation or any other type of payment necessary. Must be a resident of the lower 48 Continental United States to enter (residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Alaska, Canada or elsewhere not eligible). Employees and/or family members of Harvest House Publishers not eligible. Must be 14 years or older to enter contest and be able to provide proof of age. Retail value of winning entry: $67.95. **(The Battle for Vast Dominion by George Bryan Polivka releases in January, 2008, and will be shipped to the winning contestants at that time).

Leaving November by Deborah Raney coming March '08

Coming in March 2008 from Howard Books is Book #2 in the Clayburn series from Deborah Raney.

Back cover copy (subject to change):

Eight years ago, Vienne Kenney moved away from Clayburn and all its gossip to pursue a law degree in California. But now she’’s failed the bar exam...again. Is she destined to be stuck forever, a failure——just like her father—— in this two-horse Kansas town?

Nine months ago, Jackson Linder left Clayburn, with no explanation to anybody. Now he’s back. But he isn’t sure he’’s ready to face the rumors and well-meaning questions of the town’’s busybodies. Yet he’s determined, once more, to make his art gallery a success——in spite of the secret that haunts him every day...

Deb told us she is looking forward to working on Book #3. Says Deb, "[It] will take two minor characters from the first books and throw them together in a very challenging and fun way, I hope!"

If you're interested in staying up-to-date with Deb, check out her website here. She also has a fun blog up called The Plot Thickens which features novelists and their garden spots. Check it out here.

Read our interview with Deb here.
Read our review of Clayburn novel #1, Remember to Forget, here.

The Warriors by Mark Andrew Olsen

Coming this spring, Mark Andrew Olsen brings us the sequel to his successful novel The Watchers. Titled The Warriors, it continues the saga begun in The Watchers featuring characters Abby Sherman & Dylan Hatfield.

Summary:

Young Abby Sherman has been summoned to Israel, where a Watcher, the Sentinel of Jerusalem, lies dying. In her last breaths, the woman tells Abby of an ancient document prophesying humanity's full-scale entry into the ongoing conflict between the armies of heaven and fallen angels.

Dylan Hatfield has strayed from the teachings he learned in The Watchers. Returned to an earthly army, he leads a secret force to reconnoiter the Afghani tunnel complex from which Osama bin Laden escaped in 2001.

Abby's spiritual gifts alert her to Dylan's peril, and when she issues an Internet prayer warning on his behalf, she unwillingly sets in motion a series of events which will lead to one of America's hottest off-the-books secrets.

Here's a story to enthrall, educate, and energize Christians into participating in real-life strategic prayer—a novel featuring exotic international locales, chilling scenes of evil in action, multiple-character plot lines, and a clash against real-life spiritual "principalities and powers" carrying eternal consequences.

Read our interview with Mark Andrew Olsen here.
Read an excerpt of The Watchers here.

New Cathy Marie Hake novel coming in Jan. '08

She brought us Bittersweet, Letter Perfect, and the upcoming Fancy Pants. Be looking for a new Cathy Marie Hake novel in January 2008.

Summary:

Like a dandelion in the wind, Hope Ladley blows from one farm to the next, helping cook for the field hands during the harvest. Illiterate and often twisting clichés and Bible verses into mind-boggling observations, Hope leaves widower Jakob Stauffer baffled by her unconventional ways. But her sunny disposition and unstinting love make changes of a different kind around the place. His little daughter and the pregnant sister he's shielding from an abusive husband adore Hope, and things are getting accomplished even if Hope's methods are unique. Then Jakob's brother-in-law shows up and threatens the newfound peace and happiness of the farm. With Jakob's future uncertain and his heart tangled, can the farmer convince Hope to take root and remain as his wife?

Read an excerpt of Bittersweet here.
Read our review of Cathy's Texas Brides here.

Black Sea Affair by Don Brown coming in Feb. '08

Don Brown's next installment (Book #4) in his Naval Justice series is coming in February of 2008. Black Sea Affair continues in the Brown tradition of action/suspense...

Summary:

Navy Commander Pete Miranda is chosen to lead a top-secret military operation to sneak a U.S. submarine into the Black Sea. His mission: to sink a rogue Russian freighter carrying stolen nuclear fuel. The attack brings the world to the verge of nuclear holocaust. The Black Sea Affair is one of the most dangerous games of brinkmanship since the Cuban Missile Crisis.

As the U.S. Navy searches for weapons-grade plutonium that has been smuggled out of Russia by terrorists, a submarine mishap escalates the international crisis. JAG Officer Zack Brewer is called on to defend American submarine skipper Miranda and his crew at a military tribunal in Moscow. It is a heart-stopping race against the clock.

With Russian missiles activated and programmed for American cities, Brewer stalls for time, as the U.S. Navy frantically searches the high seas for a floating hydrogen bomb that could threaten New York Harbor.

Author Don Brown takes you from the Oval Office to the Straits of Istanbul to the high-stakes court-martial in Russia in one of the most dangerous games of non-stop suspense.

Read our review of Book #3, Defiance here.

Just As I Am by Virginia Smith sequel coming this spring!

For those of you who've read Virginia Smith's debut novel Just As I Am, you're probably wondering when and if a sequel will hit the shelves. Good news! In Virginia's latest newsletter, she says:

"I have some very exciting news to share with you. I’ve recently signed the contract for another Mayla book! Sincerely, Mayla will hit bookstores in March of 2008, and I can’t tell you how excited I am that Mayla’s story will continue to unfold. And yes, you will learn what happened between Mayla and Pastor Paul! I love this book, and I think you will, too. Check out my website to read a paragraph about the story, and of course stay tuned to watch as developments unfold about Mayla’s second book."

New James Scott Bell novel coming next spring

Coming next spring is a James Scott Bell novel called The Whole Truth. Looks like a good one.

Summary:

At the age of five, Steve Conroy saw his seven-year-old brother kidnapped from the very bedroom they shared. His brother was never found. And the guilt of his silence that night has all but destroyed Steve’s life.

Now thirty years old with a failing law practice, Steve agrees to represent convicted criminal Johnny LaSalle, an arrangement sweetened by a lucrative retainer. It’s not long until he discovers that this con man might just be his missing brother.

Desperate for his final shot at redemption, Steve will do anything to find the truth. But Johnny knows far more than he’s telling, and the secrets he keeps have deadly consequences. Now Steve must depend on an inexperienced law student whose faith seems to be his last chance at redemption from a corrupt world where one wrong move could be his last.

Read our interview with Jim here.
Read our review of Presumed Guilty here.
Read our review of No Legal Grounds here.

Important NavPress fiction news

There's been some confusion of late about the direction of NavPress fiction.

It's been reported that they were discontinuing their general fiction line and would only be publishing novels in their Th1ink line, as well as "missional" fiction.

This is not true.

Editorial Director Dan Benson clarified for us exactly what's happening at NavPress:

"NavPress has decided to pull back from the quota approach (say,12-15 general fiction titles per year) to considering fiction on a more highly selective basis, publishing perhaps 4-6 titles per year. Our door is always open to an outstanding general-fiction concept. Meanwhile, our Th1nk and Deliberate lines will pursue good fiction as always.

Last week NavPress did undergo a board-mandated reduction of several staff, including Rod Morris, whom I consider a top editor as well as a good friend."

In a letter sent out to NavPress authors and agents, Dan further clarifies:

“We love each of our authors and we’re committed to the ministry partnerships we have with them. As all publishers do, NavPress will adjust its future editorial emphases over time, but all commitments to our authors remain solid. Every book presently under contract will still receive our full editorial, promotional, and sales attention.”