novelinspirations newsletter Volume 3 - January 2008 CONTENTS THIS MONTH AT novelinspirations 2 DON’T-MISS READS A NEW-OLD FAVORITE CONTEST/BOOK GIVEAWAY COMING SOON WRITER’S CORNER PASS IT ON REPRINT RIGHTS #### THIS MONTH AT novelinspirations Here’s an excerpt from our interview with Cheryl Wyatt, debut author of A Soldier’s Promise. novelinspirations: Tell us about your first novel, A Soldier's Promise. What is the story about? CW: A Soldier's Promise is book one in my Wings of Refuge series which is about a team of USAF pararescue jumpers and the ladies who capture their hearts. Book one is about the team's leader, Joel. He faces a hard past and returns to his childhood home of Refuge, IL, to pledge allegiance to a promise he made to a little boy with cancer. He meets the boy's teacher and they fall in love despite hurdles. It received a Jan. '08 Top Pick! from Romantic Times BOOKclub. YAY! Don’t miss the rest of Cheryl’s interview. You’ll also find a review of A Soldier’s Promise and a link to read the first chapter. Go to: http://www.novelinspirations.com/featured.html . This month at Fiction Factoids We’ve started a new site/blog that features interesting tidbits about our favorite novels. Visit http://www.fictionfactoids.com to see what this new site is all about. #### 2 DON’T-MISS READS Don’t Miss… Off the Record by Elizabeth White Only one thing can stop Judge Laurel Kincaid from being elected chief justice of Alabama – a secret from her past. When reporter Cole McGuaghan shows up at one of her press conferences, she’s sure he’s there to stir up trouble. After all, he’s involved in the secret. Cole came to town with only one intention – let Laurel know he’s forgiven her. Anything else is icing on the cake. After she repeatedly pushes him away, he finally gets his foot into the door of her heart when a “friend” sends an email that could ruin both their budding relationship and Laurel’s chances for winning the election. Can God help these two overcome? Lacy’s favorite things about this book: Author’s voice. I know I already mentioned this above, but White is very talented and her writing just sings. Her careful balance of internal monologue, dialogue and description is awesome. Hero. Cole is smart, suave, and sensitive. He really wants to do the right thing, make things right, even when he struggles with knowing what that is. Sigh. He’s a really good hero. Dialogue. It’s unique and fun. Other things to love about this book: Supporting characters Strong heroine Setting and regional flavor Research – it doesn’t show so much except in the little details that are throughout the book Buy now: Off The Record ** Don’t Miss… On Sparrow Hill by Maureen Lang Read a review of On Sparrow Hill at Armchair Interviews: http://reviews.armchairinterviews.com/reviews/on-sparrow-hill Lang’s second book in this series, On Sparrow Hill starts when commercial manager Rebecca Seabrooke finds out her boss, aristocrat Quentin Hollinsworth will be moving into his family home (which Rebecca manages) for the summer. Rebecca has been successful at hiding her long-time crush on Quentin with him gone most of the time, but fears he’ll find out about her feelings if he’s in such close proximity. Does God have a plan to bring them together? Letters from Quentin’s ancestor, Berrie Hamilton, reveal a family history that starts with her intentions to be headmistress over a school for handicapped children. Berrie takes in a stranded girl whose family apparently doesn’t want her, but when the girl’s brother, a dashing Irishman, shows up on Berrie’s doorstep, her ordered world is upset. Berrie is sure God’s plan is for her to run the school. Does He have a bigger plan in mind? Things to love about On Sparrow Hill: Romance. Two times the story lines equals two times the romance in this book. Lang creates a fine tension between the characters that makes the romance jump off the page. My favorite scene is when Quentin chases Rebecca in the rain with no shoes on – sigh! History. Lang’s use of small details throughout the historical portion of this book makes reading it a joy and really draws you into the story. Also: Double the heroes Strong heroines Inspirational message Plot Don’t miss this February 2008 release: preorder now: On Sparrow Hill ** If you know of a book that should be a DON’T MISS READ, send the title, author’s name and ISBN (if available) to lacy@novelinspirations.com. You might see it featured here in the future! #### A NEW-OLD FAVORITE Do you ever stumble onto an older book that you wished you’d found sooner? I did. Chance Encounters of the Heart by Elizabeth White, Kathleen Fuller, and Susan May Warren is a novella collection from HeartQuest that features these three stories: Will and a Way – Will and Zoë knew each other in college because Will dated Zoë’s roommate. Years later, when they bump into each other at the airport, could it be Divine Providence? Outgoing, energetic Will has been searching for an answer to his prayers about starting an agency for Christian recording artists. But Zoë is a little gun-shy thanks to her fame-crazed mom and the father she hasn’t spoken to since she was a little girl. Will God work a miracle and get these two together? Encore, Encore – Annika meets Josef when he usurps her position a concertmaster – the position she’s been toward for years. Sure, he’s a violin prodigy, while she struggles to learn each new piece of music, but does that mean he can just waltz in and steal her solo, too? Annika finds out that holding onto a grudge won’t be easy – thanks to Josef helping her learn a new duet and praying her through a bad case of stage fright. Will she be able to hold onto her heart, or will Josef steal that, too? Measure of a Man – Peter lost Calli when she decided to be a missionary and he decided to follow his father’s footsteps in the business world right after college. Eight years later, when Peter turns up in Siberia to do a business deal, Calli ends up saving his bacon not once, but twice. Will Peter learn to follow his heart for missions, or Calli be left brokenhearted again? This was a charming novella collection by three great authors. Buy Chance Encounters of the Heart #### CONTEST/BOOK GIVEAWAY novelinspirations.com has a special giveaway this month for our newsletter subscribers. The first two people to answer this question about our January Featured Author correctly will win a free book. What is Cheryl Wyatt’s birthday? (hint: visit the featured author page: http://novelinspirations.com/featured.html to find out the answer) Email your answer to lacy@novelinspirations.com, along with your full name and mailing address. The first person to answer correctly will win a bonus copy of Cheryl Wyatt’s A Soldier’s Promise. The second person to answer correctly will win a copy of Fair Game by Elizabeth White. #### COMING SOON Watch for the February newsletter – I’ll be announcing a special giveaway that you won’t want to miss! #### WRITER’S CORNER Have you visited http://www.mybooktherapy.com lately? This is a site for aspiring writers offering tips from Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck, both talented writers. They are currently doing a series on Heroes that you don’t want to miss. Check it out! #### PASS IT ON There is no charge for this newsletter. If you want to pass it along, please do so, but PLEASE forward the newsletter in its entirety. Subscribe to this newsletter by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/novelinspirations/join/ Newsletter archives can be found here: http://newsletter.novelinspirations.com Copyright © 2008 by Lacy J. Williams #### REPRINT RIGHTS Permission is granted to use any of the articles in this newsletter in your own newsletter, e-zine or web site, as long as you include the following blurb with it: Lacy J. Williams is an inspirational writer and loves to help others find their inspiration, whether it comes from reading or writing. Visit novelinspirations.com today and GET INSPIRED! ==== Thanks for reading! Lacy J. Williams Publisher, novelinspirations.com newsletter