Book News

Happy Thanksgiving! I have a lot to be thankful for this year including book-news on a couple of different fronts.

My books with Pix-N-Pens
Pix-N-Pens is the nonfiction arm of Write Integrity Press, a small press based out of Dallas Texas. We are about to undergo some changes which will result in a new name but we will still be an imprint of Write Integrity Press. There will be more updates on that coming sometime next year.

I have one book written by only me and three that I have co-written with Shirley Crowder under Pix-N-Pens. Shirley and I also have four more under contract that we are currently working on, that will be releasing over the next couple of years. The most recent release is Prayer Warrior Confessions which released on Nov. 6. It had a great release, hitting #2 in three categories of new releases. The kindle has been on sale but will soon go back to its regular price of $6.99. This is a book I am really excited about. It is a collection of true stories of prayer and lessons the writers learned through the experiences they share. This book literally made me cry and laugh while I was compiling and editing it and it will do the same to readers.

My books with Olivia Kimbrell Press
There is another small press I work with as well. Olivia Kimbrell Press is based here in KY. The editor-in-chief is Gregg Bridgeman. They publish many of his wife, best-selling author Hallee Bridgman's, books as well as other authors. OKP published my novel, The Whisper of the Palms and has agreed to publish A Stand for Truth, the book I co-wrote with my husband, John R. Michael about his time as a trustee at Southern Seminary.

A Stand for Truth has an interesting publishing history. P&R came very close to offering us a contract but in the end, they decided not to. Then the manuscript was picked up by Founders Press. However, the contract they sent us differed in some important ways with what we had discussed on the phone with them and we simply were not able to sign the contract terms that they offered. So, we pitched the book to Gregg Bridgeman and he agreed because as he said, "It's a story that needs to be told." He did a great job with my novel and we are so excited that this book is finally in the publishing stage! We don't have a release date yet but it should be sometime in 2019. I'll let you know more as I can. Stay tuned.

Release Day!!!

                                                 

\ couldn't be more excited!               
















It's release day for the 2nd edition of "Glimpses of Prayer" and I couldn't be more excited!

The book is an updated version of the first devotional my childhood friend, Shirley Crowder and I ever collaborated on. The original had 30 meditations in it and the updated on has 50 along with some new illustrations by my very talented daughter, Kristin Michael. It is a holiday devotional that centers around the fall and winter holidays of Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year. To use the old, worn-out cliché: it's new and improved, The cliché may be old and worn-out but the truth of it still stands. I know you will enjoy this book!

Here's the link where you can purchase Glimpses of the Savior.

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. (I realize, as I write this, that the calendar still says October and we haven't even had Halloween yet. But I don't celebrate Halloween and the weather here has turned much colder, so I'm in the mood for Thanksgiving.)

What am I thankful for this year? In particular, what about my writing journey do I have to be thankful for? 

The answer to that is myriad. The ability to write is a gift God gave me which I enjoy "playing" with daily. I told God once that I feel like a child whose Father gave her the greatest gift ever and she loves to take it out and play with it every chance she has. And I play with it in so many ways--writing blog posts, articles, devotions, and books (both fiction and nonfiction).

Currently, I am juggling many things, as usual. I have magazine articles coming out in the next few months in "War Cry" and "Seek", devotions coming out in "Reflections" (7 days of devos) and "The Secret Place" (both fall and winter issues), more themes lists I am perusing, writing, and submitting to, and three books I am juggling. One of the books (a devotional I co-wrote) will be released by PNP in Dec, another (an anthology I am compiling & writing many stories for) will be released from PNP next summer, (that manuscript is due to my publisher in mid-Feb) and we are still looking for a publisher for a completed nonfiction I co-wrote with my husband. I also just submitted proposals for two more books. Whew!

But right now, I have something else I am rejoicing over. Several people I have mentored or helped in some way have seen their work contracted in just the last few months! This warms my heart like nothing else! One has her first published devotion coming out in the winter issue of The Secret Place, another has been notified that his devotion is being held by The Upper Room, a third just received his first contract from SEEK, and a fourth also just got a contract from SEEK, though not his first (I started helping him a few years ago. He also just recently had a story published in Chicken Soup for the Soul that I helped him tweak and submit.)

That makes me happiest of all!   

Happy Fall! The weather is starting to turn cooler and Thanksgiving is just around the corner.

I have so much to be thankful for this year. Just last week, I realized some the things for which I am thankful that I sometimes take for granted, like good health, and little things too, such as plumbing that doesn't leak and furnaces that work.

This week is election week. I have opinions on politics, but no matter how it all turns out, I am still aware of how blessed I am. My husband had surgery last week and had a few rough days afterwards, my disposal leaked, and my furnace broke just as we experienced our first frost of the season. This week my husband is healing, I have a new disposal, and will soon have a working furnace.

It's almost time to pull out the scarves and overcoats, start planning Thanksgiving dinner, and recall to our minds all that God has blessed us with over the last year. For me that list includes a brand new grand daughter!

It's also time to start reading the seasonal devotional I co-wrote with childhood friend Shirley Crowder titled, Glimpses of the Savior It's now available on Kindle Unlimited too!