Sneak Peak at "Scream" by Mike Dellosso

Over at his blog, novelist Mike Dellosso has given us a sneak peak at the cover of his Winter 2009 release Scream (Realms).

In his recent interview with us, Mike shared the first scene of the novel. Check the interview out here to read it.

Summary:

What if you knew when someone was going to die?

What if that someone was your wife?

The screams have never been wrong.

Mark Stone is convinced the other-wordly screams he’s been hearing over the phone are sure predictors of death. Three have died already, and the fourth may be his estranged wife, Cheryl, who has fallen into the hands of a psychotic serial abductor.

Battling his own guilt and a race against the clock, Mark must find Cheryl, mend their fractured relationship, and convince her of her own impending fate . . . all before her appointment with death comes due.

Read our review of Mike's latest book The Hunted here.

Try Darkness by James Scott Bell trailer

Read our review of Try Dying, Book #1 in the series here.

Author Melanie Wells' Chararacter Peter Terry Provides Summer Thrills & Chills

Psychological thriller author Melanie Wells provides readers summer mystery, adventure and mind games with her Dylan Foster series – “When the Day of Evil Comes,” “The Soul Hunter” and the newly-released “My Soul to Keep.”

Through Wells’ edge-of-your seat trilogy, readers will follow the mayhem surrounding the eccentric and slightly compulsive university psychology professor, Dylan Foster, who seems to have the worst fortune. Whether it is being framed for the murder of a former student (“When the Day of Evil Comes”), dealing with a psychotic stalker (“The Soul Hunter”) or witnessing the kidnapping of a child (“My Soul to Keep”), Dylan always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Moreover, she can’t seem to escape from her own personal inner-demon, Peter Terry, who lives to engage her in mind games to steal her peace, joy and safety in the world.

“Summer is the perfect time to begin this series,” said Wells. “People relate to Dylan. She’s human, engaging and funny – someone you’d want to hang out with. The books’ quick pace and Dylan’s quirky character will keep readers turning pages, which is what every thriller writer strives for and what everyone wants in a summer read.”

Wells says it best with Foster’s opening line of the series, ‘It’s hotter than the eyes of hell out here,’ but readers will quickly feel a change in temperature as they get acquainted with eerie Peter Terry whose menacing antics are sure to bring a chill down one’s spine.

“Peter Terry is like a bad boyfriend who just won’t go away – a spiritual and emotional stalker whose aim is to disrupt your entire life and make every day difficult and daunting,” Wells said. “So he’s a metaphor for the opposition. We live in an oppositional world. Everyone has a Peter Terry – or maybe several – staking out their sanity. We’re all fighting that battle. As a result, I can’t tell you how many Peter Terry stories I hear from readers who have dived into the books and come up for air to identify their own Peter Terry.”

Wells, a Texas author and licensed psychotherapist, utilizes her 15-year experience as a therapist dealing with Peter Terry issues to write stories driven by real, multi-dimensional characters. In addition, Wells, who grew up in a musical family and is a musician herself, draws upon her lifetime of studying and playing music to use rhythm, melody and voice throughout her writing.

“I follow my characters around in my head, so often when I begin writing, I don’t know the direction the story will take,” Wells said. “It’s very organic, and quite unnerving not to know how the story ends – especially when you’re writing on a deadline. I find out the answers about 15 minutes before the readers do.”

Read our interview with Melanie here.
Read our review of My Soul To Keep here.

Debbie Macomber signs with Howard Books

According to Christian Retailing:

Best-selling novelist Debbie Macomber has signed a deal to write two nonfiction inspirational books with Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster. The first book, Fishes and Loaves: Living in a Spirit of Generosity, will be published in fall 2009.

Read the full article here.

Thomas Nelson to release new Bible translation

Thomas Nelson, Inc.’s Bible group is set to release The Voice New Testament in October 2008, featuring the first completely new Bible translation available to readers in several years.

The Voice represents a collaboration of historians, poets, storytellers and songwriters which provides a true interpretation of the traditional Bible text while including historical and cultural expansions of the story. With additional background on setting and characters, the project’s screenplay-like format is ideal for group studies and dramatizations, and the inserted devotional commentary will further help readers understand the context of the biblical story.

About 40 different authors are believed to have been inspired by God to write the Scriptures. The Voice retains the perspective of the human writers. Most English translations attempt to even out the styles of the different authors in sentence structure and vocabulary. Instead, The Voice distinguishes the uniqueness of each author. The heart of the project is retelling the story of the Bible in a form as fluid as modern literary works while remaining true to the original manuscripts.

Featured writers, scholars, artists and musicians for The Voice include the president of Ecclesia Bible Society and internationally acclaimed speaker and pastor Chris Seay (project founder); Blue Like Jazz author Donald Miller; internationally known speaker and author of over 12 highly acclaimed books Brian McLaren; theologian, author, and futurist Leonard Sweet; and nationally renowned author Lauren Winner. The translation and literary style of The Voice have been checked by biblical reviewers, theological scholars and a biblical archeologist, among others.

Replicating the manner in which the Bible was originally available in the church’s first century beginnings, The Voice translation has previously been introduced to the marketplace through the release of single books of the Bible, including Acts, Matthew, Luke, John, Hebrews, Mark and the soon-to-be-released The Voice of Romans. However, the release of The Voice New Testament marks the official launch of The Voice translation, bringing the previously released Scripture projects and the remaining Bible books together into one complete New Testament offering. The Thomas Nelson scholar/author team is also currently working on the Old Testament books which when finished will form The Voice Bible in its entirety.

The Voice New Testament will be offered in both a flexible cloth and leather cover and in paperback. For more information on The Voice New Testament and The Voice translation, visit www.hearthevoice.com or www.nelsonbibles.com.

Thomas Nelson, Inc. is a leading provider of Bibles, products and live events emphasizing Christian, inspirational and family value themes. For more information on the company and titles, visit www.thomasnelson.com.

Ted Dekker to release two general market novels

According to Christian Retailing...


"Best-selling Christian thriller writer Ted Dekker has signed an agreement with Hachette Book Group (HBG) USA to write two novels for the general market with the company's Center Street imprint. The first book will release in April 2009, and the second will release the following year...."


Read the full report here.

Read our interview with Ted here.

Zondervan launches new teen website + contest

Just launched is Zondervan's new website featuring their YA line. The launch list includes books by Bryan Davis, Melody Carlson, Bill Myers, Robert Elmer & Debbie Viquie.

Check it out here, and be sure to enter their contest for a cool prize pack---a library of Zondervan teen titles.

Marcher Lord Press Preview #1: Hero, Second Class

Jeff Gerke has unveiled the first book in his three-book launch list over at Marcher Lord Press. It's called Hero, Second Class and is written by a 20-year-old author named Mitchell Bonds.

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Summary of novel:

Hero, Second Class is a delightful roast of all the fantasy fiction elements we hold dear. It is said that only someone who loves something can truly lampoon it. So it is in this case. Bonds' novel is a riot.

Quest with Cyrus, our your protagonist who aspires to be a Hero. But Heroes have a guild, you see, and lots of rules. One has to pay one's dues, apprentice to a Hero in good standing, and comport oneself as befits a member of the Heroes Guild.

Cyrus is fortunate to be serving his apprenticeship during a True Crisis, during which an Arch Villain is on the loose. An ambitious hero-in-training could make quite a name for himself during such times.

Cyrus's progress toward achieving his next level in the Heroes Guild is complicated by a wise-cracking dragon, a self-narrating knight, a droll zombie, and an attractive young woman who also happens to kind of be a cat.

On top of it all, Cyrus is discovering he has strange, non-standard-issue magical powers that definitely don't fit into his plans. And the Arch Villain (along with sundry Villains Guild members) has suddenly taken an intense personal interest in our plucky young protagonist.

If Cyrus isn't careful, he's not going to live long enough to become a Hero of any class.
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Read an interview with Mitchell here.
Read a sample chapter from Hero, Second Class here.

Loving Cee Cee Johnson trailer

The Bell Messenger by Alton Gansky & Robert Cornuke

Interesting historical novel coming from Howard/Simon & Schuster this September.

Publisher's description:

A suspenseful yet touching story of a Civil war Bible that pops up again and again over a century and shapes the very history of the nation.

This rich and involving historical and archeological thriller begins as a Union soldier, Tate, shoots a Confederate preacher known as the Bell Messenger and is bequeathed a worn Bible by the dying man. Tate's historical narrative parallels the contemporary story of John Brandon, who has just graduated college in 2000 and received the very same Bible, unearthed in a Saudi Arabian cave, as a gift.

The potent history of this book is revealed as Brandon searches for its previous owners, along the way uncovering the existence of a mysterious cache of gold hidden during Old Testament times -- which brings shadowy figures hot on Brandon's heels, hungry for the gold and desperate to learn the new clues he possesses.

As the past and present intertwine, the reader learns that this Bible has passed through many hands over the years. From the Civil War to the building of the Central Pacific Railroad, to the gang wars and the holding of Chinese slaves in nineteenth-century California, to the trenches of World War I, Brandon learns of the lives this Bible has saved, the deaths it has caused, and the history it has changed forever.

Suspicious Minds by Christy Barritt

For those of you who loved Christy Barritt's character Gabby St. Claire from her first novel Hazardous Duty ... you're in for a treat! Gabby is back in Barritt's latest novel (releasing shortly from Kregel).

Summary:

Rock and roll may never die, but the King is definitely dead . . . again. To pay off some bills, crime scene cleaner Gabby St. Claire takes a job doing mold remediation, but she finds a surprise in the dilapidated home’s crawlspace: Elvis, dead as a doornail and still wearing his blue suede shoes. How could she possibly keep her nose out of a case like this? A sequel to the popular novel Hazardous Duty.

Read our review of Hazardous Duty here.