Captain's Log, Stardate 06.22.2008 Leave any prayer requests in the comments and I’ll be praying this week. You don’t have to be Christian to leave a prayer request. If you’d rather not advertise to everyone on the blogosphere, just leave an unspoken prayer request or e-mail me. If I forgot your prayer request, email me. Not to be mean or anything, but if you don't email me or comment to update your prayer request, I'm only going to pray ONE Sunday. I’m trying something new with my Sunday Prayer. I’m really bad about doing it on Sunday , so I’ll be updating it during the week. Dear Lord, thank you for your grace. I pray for complete healing for Malia, Helen, Kristy, Missy, Cheryl, and Sharon. I also lift up any of my blog readers in need of physical, emotional, or spiritual healing and pray you will touch them. I lift up Case and his family to you. Thank you for slowly healing my hip. Please help me with my current critiquing job—give me wisdom and strength. I pray for your...

Today's Wild Card author is: MARY CONNEALY and her book: Calico Canyon Barbour Publishing, Inc (July 1, 2008) ABOUT THE AUTHOR: MARY CONNEALY is married to Ivan a farmer, and she is the mother of four beautiful daughters, Joslyn, Wendy, Shelly and Katy. Mary is a GED Instructor by day and an author by night. And there is always a cape involved in her transformation. Visit her at her website and her blog . Product Details List Price: $10.97 Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc (July 1, 2008) Language: English ISBN-10: 1597899380 ISBN-13: 978-1597899383 Calico Canyon by Mary Connealy Let yourself be swept away by this fast-paced romance, featuring Grace Calhoun, an instructor of reading, writing, and arithmetic, who, in an attempt to escape the clutches of a relentless pursuer, runs smack dab into even more trouble with the 6R's - widower Daniel Reeves, along with his five rowdy sons. When a marriage is forced upon this hapless...

BEYOND THE NIGHT By Marlo Schalesky They say love is blind. This time, they're right . . . A poignant love story . . . A shocking twist . . . Come, experience a love that will not die. A Nicolas Sparks ( The Notebook ) type love story meets a M. Night Shymalan ( The Sixth Sense ) twist in this moving story of two people trying to find love in the dark. A woman going blind, a man who loves her but can't tell her so, a car crash, a hospital room, and an ending that has to be experienced to be believed. To read an excerpt of these new titles go to Chapter-a-Week and to join our deeper discussion of these and other titles go to Chapter-a-Week Chat at http://groups.yahoo.com/group /CAWChat/ where authors and readers discuss new titles together. If you enjoy Chapter-a-Week take the time to tell a friend how to sign up. It's easy and free and a great way to find books that fit each person's particular taste.

Washington's Lady by Nancy Moser The Martha you never knew… Who is this woman who captured the heart of our country's founder? While still a young woman, Martha Custis is a widow with two children. As the richest widow in Virginia she has many suitors. But one man, a striking French and Indian War hero, steps into her life and makes her realize she is ready to love again. Yet will this man, George Washington, who is accustomed to courageous military exploits, settle down to a simple life of farming and being a father to her children? Even as Martha longs for domestic bliss, she realizes she will have to risk everything to find the courage to get behind a dream much larger than her own. United in their Glorious Cause, the love of the Washingtons deepens until he calls her "My other self." It is said that without George Washington there would be no United States. But without Martha there would be no George Washington. To read an excerpt of these new title...

Melody Carlson and her book: Mixed Bags (Carter House Girls, Book 1) Zondervan (May 1, 2008) When her mom died, DJ had to move in with her grandmother, internationally famous ’60s fashion model Katherine Carter. Now Mrs. Carter’s opened a boarding home for young ladies, and DJ—who would rather wear her basketball team uniform than haute couture—is just sure they’ll all be unbearable fashion snobs. One by one, the girls arrive and begin to figure out how to fit into this new family, getting to know each other and forming friendships. Sure, there’s an aspiring diva or two, but before long, the Carter House girls are dating, fighting, laughing, shopping, sharing clothes, purses, shoes … and their deepest secrets. DJ may not turn into the perfect little lady her grandmother has in mind, but one thing’s for certain—with all these new “sisters,” her life will never be the same! ABOUT THE AUTHOR: In sixth grade, Melody Carlson helped start a school newspaper called The BuccaNews (her school...

Captain's Log, Stardate 06.20.2008 Today, the 2008 ACFW Conference registration opened up and writers are getting excited! I credit the ACFW conferences with my publishing career. I met my current agent at an ACFW conference, and I met my current editor at an ACFW conference, even before she became an editor! Most writers balk at the cost, and I won’t lie, it’s not cheap. Plus you have to factor in the cost of the hotel room and airfare (and can I get an amen at how ridiculous the airfare prices are now???). But for me, because I felt truly called by God to write Christian fiction, the cost was worth it. I knew I needed to attend the workshops and talk to both other writers and industry professionals. I didn’t think of it as “networking”—I thought of it as meeting people as excited about writing as I was. I wanted to meet other writers and “talk shop” with someone who could respond both coherently and with passion. (When I talk writing with Captain Caffeine, he tries to follow me,...

Captain's Log, Supplemental Some news on the writing front: I had put together a romantic suspense proposal for Steeple Hill’s Love Inspired Suspense line. I would love to write for Steeple Hill (in addition to Z). The editors totally rock and I’ve been reading their books for like forever. I had written one suspense (not romantic suspense) manuscript years ago before I contracted with Zondervan (the manuscript is languishing under the bed), but since then I’ve written chick lit and humorous women’s fiction, and that’s the voice I’ve developed in the past few years. I suspected my voice in the romantic suspense proposal wasn’t quite the same tone as other Love Inspired Suspense novels, but I wasn’t sure exactly what to fix. I sent the proposal in anyway (which, in hindsight, I really shouldn’t have done—I was too impatient and should have gotten more feedback first ). God totally gave me grace because the editor came back with, “We like the story but your voice isn’t quite right f...