For your reading pleasure

I had the lovely opportunity to share a book-signing table with DiAnn Mills this past weekend at the American Christian Fiction Writers annual conference. She was signing copies of her newest work, "When The Nile Runs Red."

Here's a little Q and A with this gifted and gracious gal:

Edgewise: What inspired you to write this novel?
DiAnn Mills: I had previously written a nonfiction book about the Lost Boys of Sudan – Lost Boy No More. From that research, I wrote the novel "When the Lion Roars," but the story would not let me go. Through numerous interviews and extensive reading, I grew to love and admire the courageous Sudanese people and was burdened by their incredible needs. I had to bring them back in When the Nile Runs Red.

E: Why Sudan?
DM: This country went through nearly two decades of civil war strife. In 1983, the northern government launched a holy war against the south. This grew out of the views of the Islamic north against the mostly Christian black African south. The war had three aspects: religion, politics, and oil. The atrocities committed against the southern people are too many to list, but the war was fought in the south through genocide.

E:How did you conduct your research?
DM:I grabbed my backpack and sun screen and traveled to Juba, Sudan, the southern capital. There I stayed at a Christian compound and met with southern Sudanese from all walks of life: refugees, political leaders, and church leaders. I talked to as many people as I could, snapped pictures, and listened to what was being said.

E: What impacted you the most?
DM: The incredible faith. I could look into a Sudanese’s eyes and see the pain of persecution and the hope of Jesus. Here, we say we love Jesus while we live in our huge homes, drive our fancy cars, are well-fed, are not hunted down for our faith, or are concerned about medical care. The Sudanese understand that all they have and need is Jesus.

E: Can you give us a brief description of your characters?
DM: Paul Farid was once a Muslim who actively persecuted the southern people, but now he’s a Christian who flies dangerous missions into war-torn areas to deliver food and medical supplies. Dr. Larson Kerr Farid risks her life to bring healing to the Sudanese. Just like her husband Paul, her life is often in danger. But there is a problem between her and Paul with no easy solution.
Colonel Ben Alier has been fighting and leading the southern army of Sudan for nearly two decades. Often referred to as a warlord, Ben fights his own demons. The three are friends, an unlikely friendship forged by their love for Sudan.

E: What are you goals for this novel?
DM: To increase awareness about the situation in Sudan and to share my passion for the Sudanese people through a compelling story. The proceeds for this novel go back to aid the Sudanese.

E: How can readers learn more about what you are doing?
DM: Check out my website at http://www.diannmills.com/. I have sections about Sudan, and for readers, and writers. Those signing up for my newsletter get to download a chapter of an upcoming release.

My friend DiAnn lives in sunny Houston, Texas, the home of heat, humidity, and Harleys. In fact she’d own a Harley, but she say her legs are too short. DiAnn and her husband have four adult sons and are active members of Metropolitan Baptist Church. You can buy When the Nile Runs Red right here.

But wait! There's more! My good friend Tammy Alexander's bestselling Fountain Creek Chronicles have just been released as a three-book set:

This lovely trilogy (Rekindled, Revealed, and Remembered) features a different historical romance in each novel. In the late 1860s, Colorado Territory is a wild and untamed land. Nestled within its mountains and sustained by one of its major creeks, three couples find adventure and love on the frontier. Each person will be called upon to stand on nothing more than faith, risk what is most dear, and turn away from the past in order to follow God's plan for the future.

You can learn more about Tammy here at her website or on her blog. And here is a link to learn more about these award-winning books.

I love chatting up my friends new books. But every time I do I am so mindful of the saying, "So many books, so little time." Better than "So little books, so much time, eh?

Have a fabulous weekend, Edgelings.

Back from the misty beyond

I have a few very good reasons for being invisible the last two weeks.

I was working on a deadline. I was speaking at an event in Canada. I was working on a deadline. I was launching the fall small groups ministry at my church. I was working on a deadline. I was teaching at the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) conference in Dallas. And then of course, there's the deadline.

But I am back at my desk with the deadine met, (big hallelujah!) the small groups grouping, Canada a lovely memory, eh? and the ACFW workshop taught and apparently enjoyed by those who attended.

I am thrilled to tell you that Widows and Orphans, the first in my Rachael Flynn mystery series, won second place in the ACFW's Book of the Year contest in the suspense category. It was wonderful to hear my name called and to see this beautiful book cover appear on the big screen as I walked to the stage this past Saturday. You can read the entire list of Book of the Year winners, all wonderful friends and superb writers, on the ACFW site.

I came home last night to this lovely email from a reader who had just finished reading W & O: "I loved Chapter 26. It was the reason for me picking up this book. I went through the same emotions and conversations with myself and God just this past August. I knew one of the ladies that died in the I-35W bridge collapse. It didn't make sense....it still doesn't, but I know God is like the rays of moon, that no matter how much you cover His light, He Still Shines!! When I read Chapter 26, I realized I'm still going through the grief, but also knowing I can still trust God with all that is going on around me. So Thank You again for writing this book."

And reading that, friends, was also like hearing applause. I am in awe of having written anything that meets someone at a place of need. Wow.

I am a bit behind in sharing with you some news about new books a couple good friends have just released, so if I may, here's some great reading available for the taking:

Tricia Goyer's second book in her Spanish Civil War series is now on bookstore shelves: Here's what my friend Tricia has to say about A Shadow of Treason: "There are very few of us who go through life without giving away a part of our hearts to someone who didn't deserve it. Even though Sophie [the main character] had the best intentions, she gave away her heart and she was hurt-not only that she must revisit those emotions. I wanted to include this element-to delve into the topic that emotions are sometimes as big of a trap as any physical cage. Emotions are real and they guide us -- even when we don't want to admit it. Poor Sophie, not only does she have to deal with a war around her -- she also has to deal with a war within herself. It's something I've battled, and mostly likely others have too."

Tricia is an award-winning novelist, a top notch researcher and a one of the most capable people I know. This book follows Valley of Betrayal and precedes Whisper of Freedom which is slated for a February release. You can learn more about Tricia's new book right here. And you can read the first chapter here.

I'll have another great read to recommend to you on Friday. Until then, enjoy these infant fall days. . .

Rachael Flynn dreams. . .

The first time I saw this cover, I knew it was perfect for this latest mystery in the Rachael Flynn series. The red shoes, the stylish skirt, the Gerberish baby in the corner, the brief case. So very Rachael Flynn. Rachael Flynn is smart, intuitive, makes mistakes, learns from them, and she's one of the people who inhabit my mind that I've come to think of as a friend.

Days and Hours, which released this week, hallelujah, was written during the first half of this year, during a time of transition like no other I've experienced. Big move, a job change, adult kids moving out. It was surreal sometimes. Too real, other times. Writing about Rachael Flynn having strange dreams - of hearing babies crying for their mothers - added a little haunting drama to the mix and reminded me that I really didn't have it so bad.

This book is about the pull and power of motherlove. It's about young, single mothers. About their kids and about how life sometimes doesn't pay you any favors no matter how hard you try. Here's a little teaser from the back cover:

"Readers of suspense fiction will once again be enthralled with the latest entry in the compelling series featuring attorney Rachael Flynn and her continuing cast of intriguing characters.
A newborn is found alive in a trash bin and a young, single mother insists her baby was abducted. While St. Paul police are skeptical, attorney Rachael Flynn’s strange dreams lead her to believe the mother is telling the truth. But who would steal a baby only to leave it for dead?
When the baby disappears again, Rachael agonizes over her decision to allow the baby to be returned to his mother. Did she make a terrible mistake? And where is that missing baby? Who would wish the child harm? Rachael races to see past the deception that threatens to send a young mother to prison and a newborn to a terrible fate."

When I was a guardian ad litem for the state of Minnesota, I saw how hard some young mothers have it. I saw how hard some young mothers make it for themselves. Some make no effort to rise above their circumstances. some make every effort and still cannot pull themselves out of poverty. Some are living the life they were taught to live. They mirror the inadequate mothers who mothered them because that is all they know. The thing is, we tend to attach stigma to the young impoverished single mom without knowing a thing about her. This book is certainly no treatise on the plight of the unmarried, teenage mother. But delving into that world for this book sure made me think about what I know about these struggling women and what I don't.

This is the third in the Rachael Flynn series, and I left it open at the end for more. She's a cool chick and I kinda like her and her friends.

Hope you get a chance to read this one. And if you do, I'd love to hear what you think . . .

Death becomes her

My good friend Angie Hunt, who is also a prolific novelist, unveils a new book next month and I happen to know all kinds of tidbits about it. The title is Doesn't She Look Natural? and I have to say I am intrigued by the premise of this three-book series. It's fresh, it's clever, it's not run-of-the-mill.

The back cover copy goes something like this:

How do you live when God asks you to bury a dream?
Jennifer Graham, the no-nonsense chief of staff for a Virginia senator, quits her job after her divorce—and finds herself an unemployed single mom. Forced to live with her mother until she can find work on Capitol Hill that does not involve her gregarious ex-husband, her efforts are stymied until she learns that she has inherited a funeral home in picturesque Mt. Dora. Jennifer journeys to the small Florida town with her two sons and her mother, never dreaming that within a mortuary she will uncover mysteries of love and life.

Here's Angie to tell us a little more about her first book with a casket on the front:

"I read HEAVEN by Randy Alcorn and naturally began to think about the life to come. I’ve also lost several friends over the last couple of years, and I’ve come to realize that death, for the believer, is not to be feared. I thought a series about a funeral home might be a good way to address issues affecting the living and those who are facing death. Jennifer Graham and her family are completely fictitious, but Mt. Dora is a real place. I’ve never been a mortician, but I’ve always been interested in all things medical."

And the meaning behind the title?

"When my editor and I were talking about titles, we were trying to think of things people always say at funerals. We’ve come up with three: Doesn’t She Look Natural?, She Always Wore Red, and She’s in a Better Place. In the second book, Jen goes to mortuary school, and by the third book she is actively operating the funeral home. So I’ve had to learn quite a bit about funeral homes, caskets, supplies, embalming, burial versus cremation, etc.

Angie has a simple take-away in mind for readers of Doesn't She Look Natural. "I would like readers to see that God is always leading us . . . even when we don’t like the direction in which we’re moving. And when God moves us, He supplies our needs . . . sometimes in the most unexpected ways."

Ain't that the truth!

Hope you come back to the Edge on Friday, because I have another new book to tell you about that will hit the bookstores shelves next week. It just so happens to have my name on the cover. And the cover itself is quite fetching. See you at then . . .