Saturday, March 21, 2009

2009 Christy Award Nominees Announced!

Just announced live at Christian Book Expo!

The nominees for the 2009 Christy Awards:

Contemporary Romance category:

* Beyond the Night by Marlo Schalesky (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)
* Finding Stefanie by Susan May Warren (Tyndale House Publishers)
* Zora and Nicky: A Novel in Black and White by Claudia Mair Burney (David C. Cook)

Contemporary Series, Sequels & Novellas category:

* Sisterchicks Go Brit! by Robin Jones Gunn (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)
* Summer Snow by Nicole Baart (Tyndale House Publishers)
* You Had Me at Good-bye by Tracey Bateman (FaithWords)

Contemporary Standalone category:

* Dogwood by Chris Fabry (Tyndale House Publishers)
* Embrace Me by Lisa Samson (Thomas Nelson)
* Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon by Debbie Fuller Thomas (Moody Publishers)

First Novel category:

* Blue Hole Back Home by Joy Jordan-Lake (David C. Cook)
* Rain Song by Alice J. Wisler (Bethany House Publishers)
* Safe at Home by Richard Doster (David C. Cook)

Historical category:

* Shadow of Colossus by T.L. Higley (B&H Publishing Group)
* Until We Reach Home by Lynn Austin (Bethany House Publishers)
* Washington’s Lady by Nancy Moser (Bethany House Publishers)

Historical Romance category:

* Calico Canyon by Mary Connealy (Barbour Publishers)
* From a Distance by Tamera Alexander (Bethany House Publishers)
* The Moon in the Mango Tree by Pamela Binnings Ewen (B&H Publishing Group)

Suspense category:

* By Reason of Insanity by Randy Singer (Tyndale House Publishers)
* The Rook by Steven James (Revell)
* Winter Haven by Athol Dickson (Bethany House Publishers)

Visionary category:

* The Battle for Vast Dominion by George Bryan Polivka (Harvest House Publishers)
* Shade by John B. Olson (B&H Publishing Group)
* Vanish by Tom Pawlik (Tyndale House Publishers)

Young Adult category are:

* The Fruit of My Lipstick by Shelley Adina (FaithWords)
* I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires by Cathy Gohlke (Moody Publishers)
* On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

New Ted Dekker website coming March 20th!

Coming March 20th, the Teddekker.com website will get a face lift! Or more accurately, a complete overhaul...

Here's an update from the old site:

At 12 noon CENTRAL TIME this Friday, the website you're on right now will be transformed. We've been working for over a year re-thinking and re-designing the online community. And it's now time to flip the switch.

Here's what we have in store for you:

- An all new look that we think you're going to love.

- A Circle social network complete with instant chat, message boards, and customizable pages.

- A little something Ted likes to call "The Underground," a section where we'll deliver never before seen Ted stories.

- All new ways to interact directly with Ted through his blog, video posts, and photos.


ALSO...SAVE THE DATE:

Be sure to join us on Teddekker.com, in "THE CIRCLE" section of the new website this Friday night from 8p-10p CENTRAL TIME for our launch party. Door prizes, including signed copies of Ted's novels, will be given away EVERY TEN MINUTES during the party, but you have to be online to win. It'll be a fun time for you to try out the new site, meet up with some current friends and make some new ones, and enjoy the new social network. You never know who might drop by.

So, come join us. A ton of work has gone into this new site and we're excited to share it with you!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Summerside Press to publish Melody Carlson novel

Summerside Press’s latest fiction acquisition is best-selling author Melody Carlson’s installment of Summerside’s new LOVE FINDS YOU series. Set in Carlson’s home town, Love Finds You in Sisters, Oregon, will be released in September 2009.

"I'm excited to be writing for Summerside Press, and I think a story set in my own town is just plain fun!” says Carlson.

“Melody is a greatly respected voice in the industry, and her hometown makes a stunning setting for a story that is packed with humor, adventure, and romance. We are absolutely delighted that she has joined our lineup of talented authors,” says Rachel Meisel, Summerside Press fiction editor.

LOVE FINDS YOU is an inspirational romance fiction series set in actual American towns with interesting, romantic, or quirky sounding names. The authors draw on each town’s local flavor and history to beautifully weave stories that will transport readers via the printed page and leave them anticipating the next exceptionally satisfying addition to the series. Just released in February are the two latest titles in the series, Love Finds You in Humble, Texas, by Anita Higman and Love Finds You in Last Chance, California, by Miralee Ferrell.

Two more novels, Love Finds You in Paradise, Pennsylvania from Loree Lough and Love Finds You in Maiden, North Carolina from Tamela Hancock Murray, are slated for an April release. Exciting new installments will follow approximately every other month.

“The LOVE FINDS YOU series is a great way for readers to explore America and be swept away to charming little towns like Sisters,” says Carlton Garborg, company president. “But you can’t publish great books without amazing authors. We’re fortunate to be working with great writers, and having Melody come on board just helps expand our readership that much more.”

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ABOUT SUMMERSIDE PRESS
At Summerside Press, our passion is to publish the best in inspirational reading. We hope that our Christian Romance, Devotional, Gift Book, and Christian Living titles will inspire you to see the beauty of life’s journey wherever it takes you. Come along with us.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Coming Soon from Camy Tang!

This summer, Camy Tang, who brought us novels like Sushi for One? and Only Uni, will wow us with her first suspense novel!

Summary:

The Grant family’s exclusive Sonoma spa is a place for rest and relaxation—not murder! Then Naomi Grant finds her client Jessica Ortiz bleeding to death in her massage room, and everything falls apart. The salon’s reputation is at stake...and so is Naomi’s freedom when she discovers that she is one of the main suspects! Her only solace is found with the other suspect—Dr. Devon Knightley, the victim’s ex-husband. But Devon is hiding secrets of his own. When they come to light, where can Naomi turn...and whom can she trust?

Read our interview with Camy.
Read our review of Single Sashimi.

Marcher Lord Press Readying for 2nd Release List

Marcher Lord Press, the premier Christian publisher of speculative fiction is readying for the release of its second set of novels this April.

Says Jeff Gerke about the novels:

"Like the first novels, these three books represent the very best in Christian speculative fiction. Each has been hand-picked, lovingly edited, and beautifully presented by a team of artists, editors, and technical specialists. The first time around we had two previously published novelists in the lineup and one newbie. This time it's all newbies! At Marcher Lord Press we love finding new and incredible voices like these to bring to readers as appreciative as you. You're going to love these novels by these fresh voices."

The next batch of novels will be:

Starfire by Stuart Vaughn Stockton

Starfire is a non-Earth, non-human science fiction about Rathe, a member of a race of talking, machine-using dinosaur people. (No, really.)

Rathe is trying to make his mark in his military unit while concealing the secret of his quick advancement through the ranks.

The empire he serves is at war with an enemy that is on the brink of discovering the secret of a lost civilization—a civilization whose Starfire weapons system will assure victory to whichever side seizes it first.

A mysterious follower of an all but forgotten God warns Rathe not to use the weapon as he has planned to.

Starfire is one of those books we created Marcher Lord Press to publish. Because of Stuart’s genre and subject matter, the book is all but unpublishable at traditional Christian houses. There's not a humanoid in the bunch, after all.

But it’s terrific and needs to be published. If the regular houses can’t publish books like this, we thought, let’s create a house that can. Oh, wait, that’s what we’ve done! :D

Read excerpt of Starfire here.
Read interview with Stuart
here.


By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson

Achan is a stray, mere property ranked lower even than a slave. His entire life he has lived as the abused ward of Poril, who is cook to Lord Narthak. Every morning Poril forces Achan to drink a foul elixer. It is supposedly for his health, but it's never prevented any illness that Achan can see.

Sometimes Achan has feelings about things before they happen. Sometimes he senses when someone will ill intent are on their way to abuse him.

One day, Achan has a new feeling. Someone is approaching who wishes him only well. It turns out to be Sir Gavin, famed hero of the Old Kingsguard. For some reason, Gavin takes an interest in Achan and even offers to train him in the ways of knighthood.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the continent, a teenage girl dons mens' clothing to conceal her identity. Her mother is under pressure to marry her daughter, Averella (now going as Vrell), to an evil lord. Vrell uses the mental communication ability she and her mother share to vanish into the world of men.

Forces of darkness have become aware of both Vrell and Achan and are seeking to seize their powers. Because while one knows her gift and hides it, the other's true gift, and identiy, is known only to a few who seek to use it to overthrow the world.

Read excerpt of By Darkness Hid here.
Read interview with Jill
here.


The Dark Man by Marc Schooley

The Dark Man was the first novel acquired for the second release list of Marcher Lord Press. The story was so bizarre, so beautiful, and so well written that we said, "We have to publish this."

Charles Graves is a master of disguise working with the secret police to bring down the last remnants of 21st century Christianity.

Possessed of remarkable powers of disguise--and haunted by a mysterious talking wooden puzzle--Charles is the government's most potent weapon against these undesireables.

Charles effortlessly becomes other people, slipping into character like others step through a doorway. But what remains of Charles's own character is being pulled under by his accursed past. When he is not working a job, he is lost to alcohol and despair.

And then comes one more assignment. Take down the ringleader of the Christian cult holding forth from some secret quarter of militarized Houston.

He doesn't know it, but God has plans for Charles. Along the way he'll discover the truth about his past, the extent of his depravity, and the strength to look inside.

Perhaps through love and firepower and a change of leadership, Charles can cease to be a man of darkness.

Read excerpt of The Dark Man here.
Read interview with Marc
here.