July New Releases and Contest News

Congratulations to Kara Isaac on winning an award for the Debut Novel at the 2017 INSPY Awards for Close to You.

Birds and Bees by The Book by Patricia Weerakoon (Christian Education Publications, 19 July, 2017) 

People have been talking about the birds and the bees since Adam and Eve walked the earth. Yet the conversation hasn’t become easier! With so many messages about sexuality, gender and identity around them, our children need a safe space to learn about these topics now more than ever.

Designed for parents and carers to read with children aged 7 to 10, Birds and Bees by the Book has been created to help you to have these conversations at your own pace.

Written by renowned sex educator Patricia Weerakoon, the six books in this set are designed to be read in whichever order suits you and your child. They cover three foundational topics that help children to understand the family structures in the world around them, and how their body and brain are developing as they grow. There are also three extension topics that teach children what is involved in sexual activity, what it means to be a boy or a girl, and how to protect themselves against pornography if they stumble across it.

All of these topics are framed within the Bible’s message that children are unique creations of God, and that sex is a precious gift to be used carefully and wisely in the context of marriage.

Video link: https://vimeo.com/218748624

More information available here: http://birdsandbeesbooks.com  

www.cepstore.com.au

Blood Crystal by Jeanette O'Hagan (By the Light Books, 30 June 2017) 

YA Fantasy Adventure in the lost realm Under the Mountain. Blood Crystal: the sequel to Heart of the Mountain

The underground realm is under attack from mad Overseer Uzza and the Crystal Heart is failing. As things become desperate, Twins Delvina and Retza must brave a treacherous journey to seek help from their new friend Zadeki and his people.

Will they find the answers they seek before it’s too late? Is the blood of Uzza’s children the only way to restore the Crystal Heart? What are the twins prepared to do to save their realm and those they love from certain destruction?

Blood Crystal is the second novella in the Under the Mountain series. 


Amazon link

June New Releases

The Captivating Lady Charlotte by Carolyn Miller (Kregel Publications, 27 June 2017) 

Her heart is her own―but her hand in marriage is another matter
Lady Charlotte Featherington is destined for great things on the marriage market. After all, as the beautiful daughter of a marquess, she should have her pick of the eligible nobility when she debuts. She, however, has love at the top of her list of marriageable attributes. And her romantic heart falls hard for one particularly dashing, attentive suitor. Sadly for Charlotte, her noble father intends her betrothed to be someone far more dull.
William Hartwell may be a duke, but he knows he was Charlotte's father's pick, not the young lady's own choice. And the captivating Lady Charlotte does not strike him as a woman who will be wooed by his wealth or title. While she has captured his heart, he has no idea how to win hers in return--and the betrayal and scandal his first wife put him through makes it difficult for him to believe that love can ever be trusted. His only hope is that Charlotte's sense of responsibility will win out over her romantic notions.
Can a widowed duke and a romantically inclined lady negotiate a future and discover love beyond duty? Will they be able to find healing and hope from the legacy of grace? Poignant and charming, this is another beautifully written, clean and wholesome Regency romance from Carolyn Miller.

Website

Then There Was You by Kara Isaac (Bellbird Press, 22 June 2017) 

Paige McAllister needs to do something drastic. Her boyfriend can’t even commit to living in the same country, her promised promotion is dead on arrival and the simultaneous loss of her brother and her dream of being a concert violinist has kept her playing life safe and predictable for six years. Things need to change. A moment of temporary insanity finds her leaving her life in Chicago to move to Sydney, Australia. There she finds herself, against many of her convictions, as a logistics planner for one of Australia’s biggest churches, and on a collision course with her boss’s son.

Josh Tyler fronts a top-selling worship band and is in demand all over the world. But, in the past, his failed romantic relationships almost destroyed both his reputation and his family. He's determined to never risk it happening again. The last thing he needs is some American girl tipping his ordered life upside down. Especially one who despises everything he’s ever worked for and manages to push every button he has.

When Josh and Paige are thrown together to organize his band’s next tour, the sparks fly. But can they find a way to bridge the differences that pull them apart? Or will they choose the safety and security of what they know over taking a chance on something that will require them to risk everything?

Amazon link

April New Releases and Contest News

Contest News   

Kara Isaac's debut novel Close to You (Howard Books, 2016) is a double finalist in the 2017 Romance Writers of America RITA Award in the Best First Book category and Romance with Religious or Spiritual Elements category. Congratulations Kara!

Lulu by George Donaghey (Wombat Books, 1 April, 2017) 

Lulu's life was quite cosy and nice, with mountain of fish and even more ice. But something was missing, something wasn't quite right. She dreamed of the stage, she yearned for the lights. Join Lulu on her adventure and see what she discovers...

Website

My Brother Tom by Michelle Worthington (Wombat Books, 2017) 

Tom was born earlier than expected and had the doctors worried. His big brother wasn't worried though, he saw angels outside his window and knew everything would be okay.


My Brother Tom is a story for older siblings of premature babies to help them make sense of what is happening at a difficult time.

Website

The Holy Grail of Book Publishing

ALL your questions answered by Mimi Emmanuel (independent release, January 10, 2017) 

A bestselling author's complete manual to self-publishing and marketing your book.

The book teaches you how to become a bestselling author effortlessly. Three volumes in ONE (362 pages).

The book has stacks of easy-to-follow-templates and action guides to help Indie Authors publish their books.

​The book can be purchased at https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Grail-Launching-step-step/dp/1542448980

or 

books can be purchased from

https://www.createspace.com/6849195

February New Releases

Unshakeable: Following Jesus in Your   (Fervr, 2016) 

When should I start dating? Is it OK for Christians to drink alcohol? How do I tell my friends about Jesus? Do I need to go to church? What job does God want me to do? Unshakable answers some of the biggest questions facing teens and young people today.

Inside the book, you’ll find straightforward, Bible-based advice to help you live for Jesus every day, with every decision! Featuring articles from over 30 authors including Dave Miers, Kristen Young, Mike Everett, Ronnie Campbell and Andy Judd and edited by Richard Beeston, Unshakable brings you the best of fervr.net in a handy guidebook for teens and young adults as you explore life, relationships and the future. 

Website

The Elusive Miss Elison by Carolyn Miller (Kregal Publications, 27 February, 2017) 

The seventh Earl of Hawkesbury has the villagers of St. Hampton Heath aflutter—all except Lavinia Ellison. His refusal to take his responsibilities seriously suggests he is as arrogant and reckless as his brother, who stole the most important person in Lavinia’s world.

Shadowed by guilt, Nicholas Stamford is challenged by Miss Ellison’s fascinating blend of faith, hoydenish behavior, and angelic voice. But her aloof manner, society’s opposition and his ancestral obligations prove most frustrating, until scandal forces them to get along. 

Fans of Georgette Heyer and Julie Klassen will enjoy the spirited exchanges between the bluestocking minister’s daughter and the bruised war hero as they move past pride and presumption to a humbled appreciation of God’s grace and the true strength of love.

Please visit www.carolynmiller.org for more information.

Koorong or Amazon link

Lakwi's Lament by O'Hagan (independent release, 20 January, 2017) 

A middle-grade to young adult short story set in the fantasy world of Nardva:

Lakwi would love to read the books in the Royal library, but girls aren’t allowed inside. Her passion for books attracts the attention of her dashing older brother, Prince Rokkan, and her suave cousin, Lord Haka. Will her drive for knowledge lead her into more trouble than she can handle?
 

Lakwi's Lament originally appeared in Like a Girl Anthology and is related to The Herbalist's Daughter and the Akrad's Legacy series.

Amazon link

January New Releases

A Cowboy's Dare by Lucy Thompson (Forget Me Not Romances, a division of Winged Publications, 30 December 30 2016)

Tyrone woke up with a headache—and a wife. And he’s never been so scared in his life. 

Mayor’s daughter Jane Montgomery has always wanted to be more than a social ornament, and now that her father has given her a three-month deadline to find a suitable husband, she’s desperate. Desperate enough to run away from her pampered life of ribbons and bows to pursue her dream of becoming a mechanical engineer. 

But right before her planned escape, she’s the victim of a matchmaking prank involving spiked punch and a certain local rancher. 

Ever since he failed to stop his mother from going mad, Tyrone Harding — local daredevil rancher who runs hunting expeditions under the banner of “Female-Free Adventures” — has shied away from females, feelings, and anything inhibiting his freedom. Wanting to avoid his family’s questions and his own feelings for Jane, he proposes they fake being in love until she leaves for college, thereby freeing them both. 

Their playacting doesn’t fool Tyrone’s brother who challenges him to prove he truly loves Jane. Never one to back down, he accepts the dare: do something loving for her every day — and to record it in a special Cowboy’s Dare book. 

The dare has unexpected consequences, and as the sparks fly between them, Tyrone and Jane begin to wonder if they’ll lose more than they gain when Jane departs for school. 

Amazon link

Next Year In Huntsville by Grace L. Sutherland (Birdcatcher Books, 30 November 2016) 

Sarah, Melanie and Theresa are three very different girls, each in her own way a misfit. A shared birthday binds them together in a friendship that spans almost fifty years and three continents. Set mostly in a country town in Gippsland, Australia, and against a backdrop of actual world events, Next Year In Huntsville is the saga of their intertwined lives as they share their ups and downs, joys and sorrows, the dramatic and the mundane, all building to a stunning climax.

Website 

Emelin by Jackie Randall (independent release, 13 December 2016)


Emelin Lambert is an eleven-year-old orphan in medieval England who has an incredible gift in illuminating manuscripts. She’s also quick-witted, mouthy, and nearly always in trouble.

One terrible day, her last relative is killed and Emelin ends up being in possession of a manuscript that belongs to Geoffrey Chaucer. She cannot stay safely in her home with the manuscript so she begins a grim wintery journey to what she hopes will be safety.

Along the way Emelin meets a boy named Wolf who rescues her from a violent thief. Together, Wolf and Emelin flee to Reading Abbey.

The journey makes Wolf deathly ill and Emelin learns that she cannot always depend on others. She will have to fight alone, so she battles the adult world, and she battles fear. She puts her gift to work with the hope that her skills might help her and Wolf survive. 

Amazon link