For my drawing from December 16 through mid-January, I will be giving away a copy of This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti. This classic is one of the best Christian suspense novels I’ve ever read. Current and new subscribers to my mailing list will be entered in this free drawing. Please invite family and friends to sign up today.

December 16, 2008

Dear Reader,

Welcome to my December newsletter. Snow has blanketed the ground here, reminding me that Christmas and New Year’s are just around the corner. Because I know everybody, including yours truly, is insanely busy this time of year, I’ll keep this letter brief.

Publication of Fatal Illusions is moving forward. Up to nine established novelists are reading the suspense novel now and will turn in endorsements by the end of January. I’m waiting to do one more read, this time only for typos and other glaring errors. After that, the novel goes to press and should be available sometime in March, the Lord willing. more…

For November’s drawing, I will be giving away a free copy of The Last Sin Eater by Francine Rivers. Winner of the Gold Medallion Book Award, this is one of the most powerful Christian novels I’ve ever read. Current and new subscribers to my mailing list will be entered in this free drawing. Please invite family and friends to sign up today.

November 8, 2008

Dear Reader,

Do you ever wish life would slow down? It’s almost mid-November, and here I am working on my second newsletter already. What’s the status of Fatal Illusions? Kregel has said that the novel will be their “lead fiction title of the season,” so I’m getting excited. Right now, a copyeditor is fixing typos and other mistakes. I will have two more opportunities to read the novel: once after Thanksgiving (I can make minor changes) and around Christmastime (I’ll be checking page proofs only for mistakes). The novel goes to the printer at the end of January, and Kregel’s official release is sometime in March.

What else is there to do? I need to finish writing my dedication, acknowledgments, and the Reading Group Guide (discussion questions for reading groups). Several “endorsers” (established novelists) will read the novel and hopefully write positive reviews and recommendations. Review snippets of Kregel’s choosing will appear in promotional materials and somewhere in the novel. A Kregel publicist plans to discuss a marketing plan with me soon. Book signings? Radio interviews? Blog tours? I’m not exactly sure, but I guess I’ll find out. more…