What's New in Christian Fiction

Welcome

BETRAYAL (Nov. 2012)

Welcome to my What's New in Christian Fiction blog. After many years writing for the general romance mass market (30 books published), I answered God's call to write fiction that honored Him. My 65th book, Heart of Gold, was released in February 2012. I invite you to visit my web site to learn more about me.

Over the years, I've come to know many wonderful Christian authors, and I love to share their books with others, so I decided to do so here. I hope you'll tell your friends about this blog, and I also hope you'll discover some wonderful new authors because of it.

If you have a particular genre of Christian fiction that you enjoy, look for the category listings in the sidebar to help you find them. If you see a book you like, click on the linked title next to the cover art to be taken to Amazon. You can also click on the writer's linked name to visit his/her web site.

Come back soon. I'll be adding books on a regular basis.

Garden of Madness by Tracy L. Higley

Garden of Madness
May 2012
 
The untold story of King Nebuchadnezzar's daughter

For seven years the Babylonian princess Tiamat has waited for the mad king Nebuchadnezzar to return to his family and to his kingdom. Driven from his throne to live as a beast, he prowls his luxurious Hanging Gardens, secreted away from the world.

Since her treaty marriage at a young age, Tia has lived an opulent yet oppressive life in the palace. But her husband has since died and she relishes her newfound independence. When a nobleman is found murdered in the palace, Tia must discover who is responsible for the macabre death, even if her own freedom is threatened.

As the queen plans to wed Tia to yet another prince, the powerful mage Shadir plots to expose the family's secret and set his own man on the throne. Tia enlists the help of a reluctant Jewish captive, her late husband's brother Pedaiah, who challenges her notions of the gods even as he opens her heart to both truth and love.

In a time when few gave their hearts to Yahweh, Tia must decide if she is willing to risk everything-her possessions, her gods, and her very life-for the Israelites' one God. Madness, sorcery, and sinister plots mingle like an alchemist's deadly potion as Tia chooses whether to risk all to save the kingdom-and her family.

"The biblical story of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar's seven years as a madman, found in the Old Testament Book of Daniel, deepens and broadens thanks to veteran author Higley's historical research and vivid imagination . . . Readers will find much to enjoy here: fine writing, suspense, mystery, faith, love, and a new look at an old story." -Publishers Weekly

About the Author:

Tracy started her first novel at the age of eight and has been hooked on writing ever since. A lifelong interest in history and mythology has led Tracy to extensive research into ancient Greece, Egypt, Rome and Persia, and shaped her desire to shine the light of the gospel into the cultures of the past. She has traveled through Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Italy researching her novels and falling into adventures.

Love’s Prize by Cara C. Putman

Love’s Prize, a novella in Rainbow’s End
May 2012

Reagan Graham has never been one to tempt fate. But after four years of making numbers match as an accountant, she’s ready for a break. Colton Ryan is spending the summer before law school trying to relax. His plan doesn’t include falling in love. But the more time he spends with Reagan, the more he can’t remember why. Will Reagan and Colton risk their safe plans and their hearts to take a chance on love?

About the Author:

Cara C. Putman lives in Indiana with her husband and four children. She’s an attorney, teacher at her church, and contract lecturer or adjunct faculty at a local community college and Big Ten University. She has loved reading and writing from a young age and now realizes it was all training for writing books. An honors graduate of the University of Nebraska and George Mason University School of Law, Cara loves bringing history and romance to life.  You can learn more about Cara and her books on her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade

My Stubborn Heart
May 2012

Kate Donovan is burned out on work, worn down by her dating relationships, and in need of an adventure.  When her grandmother asks Kate to accompany her to Redbud, Pennsylvania to restore the grand old house she grew up in, Kate jumps at the chance.

Upon her arrival in Redbud, Kate meets Matt Jarreau, the man hired to renovate the house.  Kate can't help being attracted to him, drawn by both his good looks and something else she can't quite put her finger on.  He's clearly wounded -- hiding from people, from God, and from his past.  Yet Kate sets her stubborn heart on bringing him out of the dark and back into the light...whether he likes it or not.

When the stilted, uncomfortable interactions between Kate and Matt slowly shift into something more, is God finally answering the longing of her heart?  Or will Kate be required to give up more than she ever dreamed?

About the Author:

During her childhood in California, Becky Wade frequently produced homemade plays starring her sisters, friends, and cousins.  These plays almost always featured a heroine, a prince, and a love story with a happy ending.  She's been a fan of all things romantic ever since.

Becky and her husband lived overseas in the Caribbean and Australia before settling in Dallas, Texas.  It was during her years abroad that Becky's passion for reading turned into a passion for writing.  She published three historical romances for the general market, then put her career on hold for several years to care for her kids, then recently returned to writing sheerly for the love of it.  She felt led to move to the genre of contemporary Christian romance and couldn’t be more thrilled with it.

These days Becky can be found failing but trying to keep up with her housework, sweating at the gym, carting her kids around town, playing tennis, hunched over her computer, eating chocolate, or collapsed on the sofa watching TV with her husband.   

After All by Deborah Raney

After All – a Hanover Falls novel
May 2012

Eighteen months after the tragic Grove Street Fire took the life of her husband and four other heroic firefighters, Susan Marlowe thinks she’s finally beginning to heal. But then she discovers that David carried a secret to his grave—a secret that changes everything she thought about their marriage. For the sake of their sons, can Susan forgive the unforgivable?

Andrea Morley lost her closest friend in the fire. But she has no right to mourn him. Instead, she must forever grieve in silence—for someone else’s husband. Peter Brennan carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. As Hanover Falls fire chief, he was responsible for the brave firefighters who lost their lives that awful November night. Can he ever shake the feeling that he could have somehow prevented the tragedy? And now it seems he might find comfort in the arms of the woman he least expected.   

About the Author:

Deborah Raney dreamed of writing a book since the summer she read Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books and discovered that a Kansas farm girl could, indeed, grow up to be a writer. After a happy twenty-year detour as a stay-at-home mom, Deb penned her first novel, A Vow to Cherish, which won a Silver Angel Award and inspired the acclaimed World Wide Pictures film of the same title. Since then, her books have won the RITA Award, HOLT Medallion, ACFW Carol Award, National Readers' Choice Award, as well as twice being finalists for the Christy Award. Deb teaches at writers' conferences across the country. She and her husband, Ken Raney, love small-town life in their native Kansas––the setting for many of Deb's novels. They have four children and four precious grandchildren who all live much too far away. Visit Deb on the Web at www.deborahraney.com.

Submerged by Dani Pettrey

Submerged
May 2012

A sabotaged plane. Two dead deep-water divers. One single clue.

Bailey Craig vowed never to set foot in Yancey, Alaska, again. She has a past, and a reputation--and Yancey's a town that doesn't forget. She's returned only to bury a loved one killed in the plane crash, but then dark evidence emerges and Bailey's own expertise becomes invaluable for the case.

Cole McKenna can face dangerous rescue dives. He can face the fear a murderer may be threatening his town. But facing the reality of Bailey's reappearance is a tougher challenge. She broke his heart... but doesn't seem to be the same girl who left Yancey ten years ago. And he's not the same guy she left behind.

Racing against the clock and a rising body count, Bailey and Cole must move beyond the hurts of their pasts to work together until the truth of what is hidden in the depths finally surfaces.

About the Author:
 
Dani Pettrey is a wife, homeschooling mom, and author. She feels blessed to write inspirational romantic suspense because it incorporates so many things she loves--the thrill of adventure, nail biting suspense, the deepening of her characters' faith, and plenty of romance. She and her husband reside in Maryland with their two teenage daughters. Visit her website at www.danipettrey.com.

Hannah's Joy by Marta Perry

Hannah’s Joy
May 2012
 
Army widow Hannah Conroy returns to Pleasant Valley, the Plain community she left as a child, to take refuge with her Old Order Mennonite aunt after her husband’s death. With a young son to support, Hannah intends to stay only until she’s on her feet again. But as she’s drawn into the life of the community and begins tutoring an Amish man, William Brand, to control his stuttering, she begins envisioning a life there. Her dreams are challenged by her late husband’s father, who threatens to attempt to take her son away if she persists in bringing him up Mennonite. Hannah is forced to make a choice between the freedom of the outside world and the home she’s found in Pleasant Valley, while William must find the courage to speak for the woman he loves.
 
About the Author:
 
A lifetime spent in rural Pennsylvania, where she still lives, and her own Pennsylvania Dutch roots led Marta Perry to write about the Plain People and their rich heritage in her current novels. The author of more than forty novels, with over five million copies of her books in print, Marta is active in her church and community. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Faith, Hope and Love, and American Christian Fiction Writers. She and her husband enjoy traveling and visiting their six beautiful grandchildren. For more information, visit Marta at www.martaperry.com.

The Key on the Quilt by Stephanie Grace Whitson

The Key on the Quilt
April 2012

From a distance, the building may resemble a castle, but it's the last place Jane Prescott, Mamie Dawson, and Ellen MacKenna ever thought they'd be, and the last place they expected to see love grow. Together, these women form an unlikely friendship that takes them to the end of themselves and, ultimately, on a journey that proves prison walls can neither frustrate God's plans nor keep love out. (See the book trailer)

About the Author:

Stephanie Grace Whitson, bestselling author and two-time Christy Award finalist, pursues a full time writing and speaking career from her home studio in Lincoln, Nebraska. Her husband and blended family, her quilting, and Kitty -- her motorcycle, all rank high on her list of "favorite things."

Learn more at www.stephaniegracewhitson.com or www.Facebook.com/StephanieGraceWhitson

 

Real Virtue by Katy Lee

Real Virtue
April 2012 (ebook)
Sept 2012 (print book)

In a virtual reality game where she can fly, someone’s aiming to take her down.
 
Mel Mesini is a New York City restaurateur and an avid, virtual reality world traveler. But her successful life—both online and in reality—takes a swerve the night her father is seriously injured in a hit-and-run. To make matters worse, Officer Jeremy Stiles, the man who had once cut her deep with his harsh, rejecting words, is heading the investigation.
 
When Jeremy realizes Mel is the actual target, his plan is to protect her—whether she wants him to or not. What he wants is answers, especially about this online game she plays. Is it a harmless pastime as she says? Or is she using it to cover something up? As a faceless predator destroys the things that matter to her, Jeremy knows he’s running out of time before she loses the one thing that matters most—her real life.

About the Author:

Katy Lee writes higher purpose stories in high speed worlds. As an inspirational author, speaker, home-schooling mom, and children’s ministry director, she has dedicated her life to sharing tales of love, from the greatest love story ever told to those sweet romantic stories of falling in love. Her fresh and unique voice brings a fast-paced and modern feel to her romances that are sure to resonate with readers long after the last page. Her debut novel Real Virtue is a finalist in many writing contests, and took second place in the 2011 Georgia Maggie Award of Excellence. Katy lives in Connecticut with her husband, three children, and two cats.

Daystar by Kathy Tyers

DAYSTAR
April 2012
 
Times have changed for the telepathic Sentinels in the realm of the Federate Whorl. Persecution sends these genetically altered people fleeing to their sanctuary world, but a shipboard disaster exposes High Commander Brennen Caldwell to fatal radiation. Medical student Meris Cariole ends up stranded, an unwelcome outsider, at a sanctuary she never meant to invade.

On another world, wrongfully imprisoned Sentinel Jorah Caldwell receives a supernatural visitor. For generations, the Sentinel kindred has anticipated Boh-Dabar, the prophesied Word to Come. The visitor hails Jorah as Boh-Dabar. Can he believe the news? 

Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger arrives at the sanctuary world, also claiming to be Boh-Dabar. Brennen and Firebird Caldwell, Meris, and Jorah are caught in a tangle of interstellar incidents that threaten the Sentinel kindred’s very existence. 

And no one—anywhere—has anticipated the events that will shake the interstellar Federacy.
 
In the “Firebird” alternate universe, humankind has gone to the stars. The messianic bloodline has been genetically altered, and instantaneous communication links the settled worlds. Still, God’s character has not changed, nor have his promises failed. Daystar brings the saga to a conclusion that rocks the galaxies, and all of the "Firebird" space adventure novels are now available from Marcher Lord Press.
 
About the Author:

Kathy Tyers has published ten novels in the Christian and general markets, including two authorized novels for the Star Wars expanded universe, as well as a biography and a travel book. If she isn't writing, she might be teaching a flute lesson, mentoring a hopeful author via the Christian Writers Guild, or battling quackgrass in her vegetable garden. Kathy lives in Montana and has one grown son.

Cowgirl Trail by Susan Page Davis

Cowgirl Trail (Texas Trails Series)
April, 2012

In 1884, Maggie Porter returns to the Rocking P Ranch. The sanatorium was not able to save her mother and now her father’s health is failing. When the cowboys walk off the job leaving no one to drive the cattle to market, ranch foreman Alex Bright cannot convince the men to stay. Maggie is desperate to save the ranch, and she turns to the town’s women for help. The new cowgirls must herd, rope, and drive the cattle to market. Unfortunately, some of the strikers resent their actions and want to liven up things on the cattle drive. Maggie can’t believe Alex, whom she always admired, would cause trouble for her family. Can she forgive him and accept his offer of help when trouble comes?
 
About the Author:
 
Susan Page Davis is the author of forty published novels. A Maine native, she now lives in western Kentucky with her husband Jim. They have six children and eight grandchildren. Susan is a past winner of the Carol Award and the Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award, as well as Heartsong Presents Favorite Author of the Year.