NEWSDAY TUESDAY …

Even with me wasting brain cells trying to figure out who from Oceanic 815 might come back to life after "moving on" into into the great white light, and Chip and Patti welcoming their beautiful new granddaughter to the MacGregor clan, we've still got a bit of news to share this week…

NEW DEALS

Poppy Smith will be doing a book with Harvest House, which at this point is tentatively titled WHY CAN'T HE BE MORE LIKE ME.

Elizabeth Musser, author of THE SWAN HOUSE, has just signed to have three books release with Cook: TWO DESTINIES, TWO CROSSES, and TWO TESTAMENTS have already released in Europe, but now they're going to be available in the US.

Jim Rubart, whose novel ROOMS is getting a lot of attention, has just signed to do BOOK OF DAYS with B&H. It's the story of a professor who has lost his wife and is in search of the Book of Days referred to in Scripture — a book he hopes will reveal the secrets of life and death. 

Janet Lee Barton has signed with Heartsong Presents to do I'D SOONER HAVE LOVE, the story of an Oklahoma couple, and Darlene Franklin has signed to do LOVE'S RAID with the same company. 

Continuing her series of books with Guideposts, Leslie Gould has agreed to do another in the STORIES OF HOPE HAVEN series, and Susan Page Davis is adding LOVE FINDS YOU IN PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND to Summerside's romance series. 

NEW RELEASES

Irene Hannon's IN HARM'S WAY is not only a new release, it's on the CBA Bestseller list, having made the ECPA's  "Top Fifty"list of Christian books. Congratulations Irene!

Shane Stanford's A POSITIVE LIFE released with Zondervan and has been getting endorsements from the likes of John Ortberg and Leonard Sweet. Shane, a United Methodist pastor, shares his story of being HIV positive.

Charles Foster's THE SACRED JOURNEY released with Thomas Nelson. A professor at Oxford University, Charles' book is part of the "Ancient Practices" series. 

Janice Thompson, one of the busiest writers in CBA, continues to entertain readers with IT HAD TO BE YOU, a romantic comedy just released by Revell. 

Alison Strobel has just released THE WEIGHT OF SHADOWS, her first novel with Zondervan. I just finished it and I LOVE this book. Really well done. 

And Susan Page Davis has released THE GUNSMITH'S GALLANTRY, a romance in the "Ladies Shooting Club" series with Barbour. 

REVIEWS

Claudia Mair Burney's upcoming GOD ALONE IS ENOUGH: A SPIRITED JOURNEY WITH THERESE OF AVILA received a thought-provoking review on Publisher's Weekly, calling her first nonfiction title "a fine introduction to the weighty realm of contemplative prayer. Releases in July from Paraclete.

Kit Wilkinson's new Harlequin release, SABOTAGE, has received Romantic Times coveted four-and-a-half star review. Nice job, Kit!

UPCOMING SEMINARS

I will be at the Write-to-Publish conference in Wheaton, June 9-12.

Chip will be co-teaching the "How to Write Bestselling Fiction" seminar in Denver, June 18-19. With him will be bestselling author Susan May Warren. There is still space available. You can find out more by going to www.themasterseminars.com. 

Chip will be at ICRS in St Louis, June 27-29.

We'll be hosting a writing retreat weekend in Lexington, July 23-24. It's called "Adding Depth to Your Fiction," and is taught by two award-winning novelists, Lisa Samson and Susan Meissner. This is a rare treat to get two days with authors like this in a small-group setting. If you'd like to be a part, you can email Tiffany Colter at tiffcolter (at) gmail.com for more information. 

Both of us will be at the Oregon Christian Writers Conference, August 2-5.

And, of course, we will both be heading to the annual ACFW conference in Indianapolis, September 17-20. If you're a novelist, we urge you to consider this one — it's the best big Christian writing conference going. 

REALLY?

So, just today, while I was poking around our new local LIFEWAY store, doing some market research, I received an email from the VP of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) that I'm one of three finalists for Agent of the Year alongside Terry Burns and Tamela Hancock Murray, both of Hartline Literary.  I'm still a bit stunned and just want to publicly say thank you to
whomever nominated me.  I'm sincerely honored to have made the short list of candidates. Hey, if I'm chosen, does this mean I'll have to accept the responsibility of keeping an island afloat?

Hmmm….

Have a great week.