Cover Reveal!

I am so excited to share the cover of my upcoming novel! The book will be released soon from Olivia Kimbrell Press and I will share the links with you at that time.

It is my first novel, a fiction based on fact. In it I tell many stories from my parents' childhoods, love, and their calling to the mission field. It was a labor of love, a work from my heart. But as I began to contemplate writing it, I quickly realized it would work better as fiction. So, though it is based on my parents' lives and much of it actually happened just the way it appears in the book, other parts are completely made up.

It is the story of Ali Blackwell and Kyle Edmonds who grow up in very separate worlds--she the daughter of a poor farmer, he the son of a wealthy doctor. Though based on the lives of Alice Blankenship and Keith Edwards (my parents), Ali and Kyle's story is their own.

This book was so much fun to write! I discovered I love writing fiction. It felt like I was a kid again, playing make-believe. At this point I do not have any future fiction projects in the works, and am juggling several nonfiction ones, which will keep me busy for a couple of years. But I do hope to write another novel some day.

Here's the cover:

Welcome 2017!

In my home of Louisville, the year greeted us with a few inches of snow. I always love the beginning of a new year. The upcoming year seems to stretch out before me like a large, open field covered in fresh snow. It beckons me to walk forward, to see what lies ahead, leaving tracks as I go.

This year looks to be busy and exciting for my writing career. I already have several things on my calendar:

Articles and devotions that will be coming out include:
3 articles in Standard Publishing's Student Magazine--Jan, March, and April
6 articles in SEEK Magazine--January, April, May, August, September, and November
7 days of devotions in Reflections Magazine--October 29-November 4
and devotions in The Upper Room on January 24, and in The Secret Place on February 17

Guest blog posts at various times for:
The Upper Room Blog
Write Integrity Press Blog
Writing Prompts & Thoughts & Ideas ... Oh, My! blog

And as for book writing, I have these irons in the fire:
My friend Shirley Crowder's "Study Guide on Prayer" a companion to my book, "Prayer: It's Not About You" is in the process of being released. Her kindle is up already. (Both are published by PixNPens)
I am anxiously awaiting the publication of my first novel, "The Whisper of the Palms" which is coming soon from Olivia Kimbrell Press.
My husband and I have been collaborating on a nonfiction for many years that is finally in the editing stages. We will be seeking a publisher for it soon.
And now that I have finished writing my novel, and the collaboration with my husband, I will begin co-writing another devotional with my friend Shirley (this one will be on prayer) and I will pick back up a nonfiction anthology I have been writing / compiling for about 2 years. My goal is to have the devotional finished by the end of 2017 and the anthology by the end of 2018.

Whew! That open field before me looks challenging ... but beautiful!