News

Quick note for you bloggers out there! If you're interested in joining the blog tour for Refresh, register here by August 29. Those who are reviewing Refresh on the blog tour will receive their complimentary copies of the book by October 8, and the tour will run from November 7-11, 2016. (Read Kregel's Blog Tour Rules and Regulations here). For more information about Refresh: Spiritual Nourishment for Parents of Children with Special Needs, visit the book page here.

Drumroll please! I am so delighted to announce that I've signed a contract with Barbour Publishing, along with four other talented authors, for The Message in a Bottle Romance Collection! The five of us are currently hard at work writing our novellas, each from a different era and location, tied together with a single bottle that finds its way across the world and through generations to bring hope. My particular novella is set in one of my favorite periods: you guessed it, the Civil War.  We've been sitting on this news for sooo long! Look, I'm wearing a turtleneck in that photo. It was February when we signed the contract! I'm so honored to be writing with these four ladies. If you're not familiar with them already, allow me to introduce you! HEATHER DAY GILBERT writes novels that capture life in all its messy, bittersweet, hope-filled glory. Born and raised in the West Virginia mountains, generational story-telling runs in her blood. Heather is a graduate of Bob Jones University and is married to her college sweetheart. Having recently returned to her roots, she and her husband are raising their three children in the same home in which Heather grew up. Heather's Viking historical novel, God's Daughter, is an Amazon Norse bestseller. She is also the author of  Miranda Warning and Trial by Twelve, Books One and Two in the bestselling A Murder in the Mountains mystery series. She has also written the Indie Publishing Handbook: Four Key Elements for the Self-Publisher. Find Heather online at her Web site, on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads. AMANDA DYKES is the author of Bespoke: A Tiny Christmas Tale, the critically-acclaimed bicycle story that invited readers together to fund bicycles for missionaries in Asia. She is a drinker of tea, a dweller of Truth, and a spinner of hope-filled tales. With both Scottish and British heritage herself, writing A Song in the Night for the Message in a Bottle collection has been a very special journey for her. Amanda has a B.A. in English Education. She relishes connecting with readers online in an encouraging and heartfelt way. Delighting in a shared love of good books, she serves as the book club resource person for Novel Crossing. It’s also her joy to serve as Digital Coordinator for PulsePoint Design. Find Amanda online at her Web site, on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads. MAUREEN LANG is the author of thirteen novels and three novellas, with settings ranging from historical to contemporary, Europe to America. Her earlier work won RWA’s Golden Heart Award then ACFW’s Genesis, and published works went on to final in the Christy, Carol, Book Buyer’s Best, Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence and the Golden Quill. She’s won a HOLT Medallion, First Place in the Selah and RWA’s Inspirational Reader’s Choice Contest. A wife and mother of three, she is the primary caregiver to her adult son with Fragile X Syndrome and lives in the Chicago area. Find Maureen online at her Web site, on Facebook, on Goodreads, and in a group blog at Christians Read. JOANNE BISCHOF is a three-time Christy Award finalist in historical romance and young adult categories. Her titles include Be Still My Soul, This Quiet Sky, To Get to You and The Lady and the  Lionheart (forthcoming). She has a deep passion for heartfelt tales and writing stories that shine light on God's grace and goodness. She lives in the mountains of Southern California with her husband and their three children and visits Coronado Island as often as she can. Find Joanne online at her website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads. WOW! What a line-up. I'm so fortunate to be able to write with these authors. I can't wait to read the stories they are spinning. We are sharing glimpses with each other along the way, as we work out details of how the stories interlock, and I can tell you that you're in for a treat with this collection! This will be my first novella I've ever written. Let's see if I can squeeze a story into 30,000 words instead of 100,000! :) I'm up for the challenge! The next few weeks I'll be really digging into this story, so if it's quiet on the blog and social media, just know I'm busy in my writing cave, doing terrible things to my characters and then bringing them back from the brink. :) 

Last week I signed a contract with Kregel Publications, officially ending my nine-month sabbatical from deadlines. (If you're curious about how I filled my non-writing season, see my top 20 here.) This new project is one that is very close to my heart. It's a devotional book for parents of children with special needs, and I'm co-authoring it with my dear friend Kimberly Drew. Allow me to introduce you. About Kimberly [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"1219", "attributes":{"class":"media-image alignright size-full wp-image-3002", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"300", "height":"200", "alt":"kimberlyabbey"}}]]Kimberly and I attended Taylor University together, where we were Resident Assistants in the same resident hall. She and her college sweetheart, Ryan, have been married since 2000. (I was one of her  bridesmaids!) The Drews live in New Jersey with their three children, Abigail, Jayden, and Cooper. They also have a son Jackson who is waiting for them in heaven. Kimberly developed a labored passion for children and parents of children with special needs after their daughter Abigail suffered a traumatic birth which resulted in multiple disabilities including Cerebral Palsy, a seizure disorder, hearing loss, and microcephaly. From these experiences, and a heart to see and know Christ more, came the desire to help other parents grow in their Christian walk through their own experience raising a child with special needs. Kimberly has served the last fifteen years as a pastor's wife and mentor to teenage girls. She blogs at Promises and Perspective, and at www.differentdream.com, the Web site of author Jolene Philo. Why this project? Those of you who know me well know I've co-authored four devotional books so far. They were all for military, since, as a military wife, I felt a desperate need for spiritual encouragement. I believe parents of children with special needs share that need as well. My son was born with hypothyroidism six years ago. His medication is keeping symptoms at bay, but when I was told my baby was born with a disease that causes profound retardation and dwarfism, my world was rocked. It opened my eyes to an alternate possibility for our family, and though we are fortunate that he is developing normally with his medicine, my heart is still tender to the trials of families with special needs. Kimberly will be sharing from her own heart and experiences in this book, and I'll be sharing insights based on conversations I'll be having with many other parents whose children have a variety of challenges. We are both so grateful for this opportunity.