I'm posting over at Craftie Ladies of Romance today. I hope you'll come visit.

Introducing the Killer Voices

I'm so excited to relaunch my blog with fun and exciting news!

As some of you may know, the editors at Love Inspired are amazing at creating unique opportunities for unpublished authors to pitch their work.

Last year around this time, the LIS editors started hinting of exciting things to come. They weren't kidding!

On February 11th, 2014, the editorial team of Emily Rodmell, Elizabeth Mazer, Shana Asaro, Giselle Regus and Emily Krupin announced the KILLER VOICES competition!

Over the next few months, writers wrote furiously to meet deadlines, while the editors selected teams, coached us, shared expertise, and ultimately offered 6 contracts and numerous revise and resubmit letters. If you want to read more about the contest, check out the blog post We Found Some Killer Voices.

I was lucky enough to be one of the 6 authors offered a contract by my super-wonderful editor, Emily Rodmell. My debut LIS, (Working title: Christmas in Hiding) will be out in October, 2105.

But enough about me.

Three of my co-Killer Voices are debuting their novels together in April. Today, I am so excited to join them in celebrating as we reveal the covers for their debut Love Inspired Suspense books.

The first author to sell through Killer Voices was Michelle Karl.
In April, Michelle will debut FATAL FREEZE (already available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble).  To learn more about Michelle and her writing, be sure to visit her website.

DEADLY REUNION

CIA agent Shaun Carter is on the trail of an international crime ring, and the sudden appearance of a woman from his past could jeopardize his mission. Missing persons investigator Lexie Reilly's search for a missing teen has put her in the criminals' crosshairs. Joining forces to take down this ring is their only chance of survival. Shaun vows to keep the beautiful investigator out of harm's way and help her find the lost girl. But when their ferry becomes icebound, they are trapped at sea with killers who will stop at nothing to keep them from discovering their secrets.

Next up - and the second sale - was Dana R. Lynn.
Dana's PRESUMED GUILTY also makes its appearance in April and is available for pre-order at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
You can visit Dana on her website.

"I'M INNOCENT!"

After four years in prison for a crime she didn't commit, Melanie Swanson's finally free. Yet starting over brings a heavy load of challenges. Nearly everyone believes she's guilty—including police lieutenant Jace Tucker. Jace's certainty cracks only when Melanie is repeatedly attacked, and when the people around her are picked off one by one. Melanie's clearly innocent—and terrified. Someone wants her dead to keep her shattered memories from recalling the crime she witnessed rather than caused. She lost her friends, her fiancé and her freedom when she was found guilty—but proving her innocence could cost Melanie her life.

 The third author to sell via Killer Voices (within hours of Dana), was Tammy Johnson. Tammy's exciting book of royal intrigue, ROYAL RESCUE is also available for pre-order through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. You can reach Tammy at her website.

A PRINCESS IN PERIL

Hidden away for more than fourteen years, Thea James was presumed dead by most—killed in the fire that burned the royal palace. But Ronin Parrish knows the truth… and so does the person who murdered Thea's father, the king. Ronin takes his new duty as Thea's bodyguard seriously. After all, she's the only one who can clear his father of the king's murder. It doesn't matter that the princess's beauty and strength draw him to her. To a commoner like him, she can never be more than a mission. Now he's in a race to restore the princess to her rightful place on the throne before the unknown killer prematurely ends her reign.

 Two other Killer Voices will debut soon after. 

Mary Ellen Porter debuts her novel, INTO THIN AIR, in May. The cover isn't visible yet, but the book is available for pre-order on  Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

You can also visit Mary Ellen and learn what it's like to be one of three sisters writing for Love Inspired Suspense at the blog she shares with her sisters, Sara Parker and Shirlee McCoy, both of whom currently have books out from LIS.     3 Sisters Write

June will bring Lynn Huggins Backburn's COVERT JUSTICE available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  Stay tuned to Lynn's blog - Out of the Boat - for more news on her book.

And eventually, in October, the final of the 6 debut Killer Voice books - my holiday-themed suspense about a kindergarten teacher forced into witness protection right before Christmas and the handsome marshal who has to keep her alive. Title and cover are still in the works.

Thanks so much for celebrating with us today. Be surehttp://seekerville.blogspot.com/ to come back soon as I launch my own project giveaway! More news to come.

And be sure to join us next Thursday(January 13th) to learn more about the Killer Voice experience as we join in for a guest post on Seekerville.

Under construction

I've been planning some changes for the blog and hope to relaunch soon.

Stay tuned!

Memorial Day Thoughts: The Story Behind "I Drive Your Truck"

Blessings to all who served and to their families on this Memorial Day.

Someone posted this story on Facebook the other day. I may be the last person in the world to have read/heard about it. Even my husband knew the story. But in case there's anyone else who missed it, this is the story of the song I Drive  Your Truck.

The instant I heard this song, I knew it was a blog I needed to post today.

I've always been a country music fan, and this song would beckon to me even if I didn't know the history.

               


I think what gets me is that it points to the very personal ways we deal with grief.

I hope you'll go to the National Review Online site and read the entire story, but in short,

In the article, Lee Habeeb writes this:

It was the moment when Paul Monti talked about his son’s truck, and why he still has it, and still drives it.
“What can I tell you? It’s him,” Jared’s father explained, nearly choking on his words. “It’s got his DNA all over it. I love driving it because it reminds me of him, though I don’t need the truck to remind me of him. I think about him every hour of every day.”

 Lee wasn't the only one who heard the interview.

I wasn’t the only one in a car crying that day. It turns out that a Nashville songwriter named Connie Harrington was in her car, too, listening to the very same story. Moved to tears, she pulled over to the side of the road, scribbling notes as the story proceeded.
She wrote down detail upon detail, everything she could remember. When she got back home, Harrington couldn’t get that story of the soldier’s father and his son’s truck out of her mind. So she did what writers do, and turned the words of that grieving father into a song. With the help of two co-writers, the finished product found its way to singer Lee Brice, who recorded the song called, aptly, “I Drive Your Truck.”

So on this Memorial Day, as we remember all who served, I remember also, those left behind, those suffering the kind of grief Paul Monti described.  Thank you.

Snow!

Since it's been awhile, I thought I would just post some snow pictures.

Since it's NYC, things are up and around pretty fast. We were lucky with this one.