Redemption through Christ Shines through Young Adult Novel

Who is Michelle Sutton? I'm in my early forties but can pass for thirties. I have a husband of 19 years and two teens (11th and 12th graders). I live on 4.5 acres in Southeastern Arizona and enjoy country living because up until 2001 I lived in cities my whole life. I love to help people and write about real life heartaches with Christ as the ultimate solution. I also love to write romantic scenes.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time? I enjoy reading better than anything with writing fiction coming in second.

Of the books you’ve written, which is your favorite and why? I've written more than I've sold. I'm probably up to about 15 total. I could never choose a favorite. It would be like saying which of my kids do I love the most.

Where do you draw inspiration from for your characters? From real people I know. Usually a combination of traits so it's not one solid person but each is a mixture of several people I know.

Of all the characters you’ve created, which one do you identify with the most and why? I love Tony from the Second Glances series. He screws up a lot but he's real.

What makes your newest release, It’s Not About Him (Book 2 in the Second Glances series), unique? It's about an open adoption as one way of dealing with a crisis pregnancy and it's from the birth mother's point of view. This is the only book like it that I know of anywhere, including ABA.

What issues are the characters working through in your latest release, It’s Not About Him? Crisis pregnancy, adoption search, sexual situations, an alcoholic friend.

How did you get involved in writing? I just started doing it. Seriously.

Why did you decide to start writing books for the Young Adult audience? I didn't decide. They just came out that way. They are most appropriate for mature teens and college aged people.

What advice would you offer an aspiring author? Keep writing until something sells. Don't be a one book wonder.

What story ideas would you like to explore in the future? I've got tons of ideas in the works. I'd tell you what they are but then I'd have to kill you *wink*.

What has God been teaching you lately? How to trust in Him to direct my path and to work for Him and no one else.

Premarital sex, consumption of alcohol, and teen pregnancy are often taboo subjects in the Christian realm. Yet, these problems do exist in today’s world. One Christian author has been valiant enough to tackle these difficult issues in a realistic and tactful manner. In her new book, It’s Not About Him, Michelle Sutton has adeptly portrayed a young teen and the daunting choices she must make after she becomes pregnant. Most importantly, this is a story of God’s redemptive grace, which no one has earned but each is given because of God’s fervent love for every person. This masterfully crafted Young Adult novel is an effective way to reach out with these inevitable truths: each action bears consequences and Christ’s blood bought redemption for all.

Title: It’s Not About HimAuthor: Michelle Sutton
Genre: Fiction – Young Adult
Publisher: Sheaf House
ISBN-13: 978-0979748578
Release Date: September, 2009
Price: $12.99
Available at: Amazon, Christianbook.com, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and local Christian retailers

Raising a boy or know someone who is? Read Boy-sterous Living by Jean Blackmer

Boy-sterous Living: Celebrating Your Loud and Rowdy Life with Sons by Christian author Jean Blackmer is a wonderful guide that any mother raising a son should read. Readers will feel as though they have settled down to share a nice conversation with a dear friend on the trials and joys of parenting boys. Boy-sterous Living is laced with humor, relevant Bible verses, and practical insights drawn from not only Jean’s own experiences as the mother of three boys but also from the interviews she conducted with other parents of boys. She expounds upon the characteristics that make boys unique and different from girls. Dirt is like a second skin to most boys. Boys typically like loud noises and often make them. While mothers are generally wired to be worriers by nature, boys are often wired to be risk-takers. In addition to helping moms understand these unique characteristics, Jean also points out the joys of viewing the world through the eyes of a boy. Most importantly, Jean’s book stands as a reminder that every parent has made a mistake or two along the journey of raising their children.

Title: Boy-sterous Living: Celebrating Your Loud and Rowdy Life with Sons

Author: Jean Blackmer

Genre: Nonfiction - Christian Life - Family

Publisher: Beacon Hill Press

ISBN-13: 978-0-8341-2390-8

Price: $14.99

Available at: Amazon, Christianbook.com, and local Christian retailers

Egnimatic, Gritty Psychological Thriller Is Dynamic

The Knight, the newest release in the Patrick Bowers series by Steven James, is an enigmatic suspense story that twists the plot with clues that lead down one path only to leave disbelief in its wake as it turns down an altogether different path. The multidimensional characters are dynamic and well written. Author Steven James does a remarkable job of making the reader a part of the story as he meticulously describes a crime scene or expresses a character’s emotions. This gritty, realistic novel about a FBI agent struggling in a relationship and still reeling from the loss of a loved one is not for the faint of heart. Yet, it is that realism that helps the reader to understand how a man who sees so much evil on a daily basis must have a firm belief in God to help him continue his pursuit of justice. In this story, special agent Patrick Bowers is tracking a violent serial killer. Who will be the killer’s next target? Is it possible that the man who hunts down evil is suddenly being preyed upon? Can Patrick find the killer before time runs out? Pick up a copy of The Knight by Steven James to solve the puzzle of this intense psychological thriller.

Title: The Knight
Author: Steven James
Genre: Fiction- Suspense
Publisher: Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group
ISBN-13: 978-0-8007-3270-7
Release Date: August 2009
Price: $13.99
Available at: Amazon, Christianbook, Barnes and Noble, Borders, and local Christian retailers

Astounding Debut Novel

In her debut novel, The Frontiersman’s Daughter, newcomer Laura Frantz has intricately woven the accurate details of history, which add to the story’s unique quaintness rather than detracting from it with cumbersome dates and details, with a compelling story of a young woman’s life in the Appalachian hills of Kentucky during the time of the Revolutionary War. Beautiful, determined and vivacious accurately describe Lael Click. Born the daughter of a famous frontiersman, Lael is at that difficult stage in a young woman’s life when she must decide who she is and what she believes in. This task is made even more difficult when a handsome Scottish doctor with an unshakable faith not only sets up residence in her idyllic homeland but also sets her world off kilter by causing her to question her own beliefs. Will Lael find redemption in God’s grace? Will she give her heart to her Simon (her childhood love), Captain Jack (who was raised by the Shawnee to be a warrior), or Ian (the handsome Scottish doctor)? The answers to these questions await you along with a lively host of characters in Laura Frantz’s The Frontiersman’s Daughter from Revell.

More about the author: Laura Frantz credits her 100 yr old grandmother for her love of history. As a little girl, living in the hills of Kentucky, Laura and her cousins would dress in pioneer costume’s and act out the stories of Daniel Boone, the Shawnee, and other early settlers, which includes her own family lineage. Laura went abroad to study the British perspective of the American Revolution. A former teacher and social worker, Laura has an array of interesting topics dealing with the 18th century, her thoughts on Bible verses, and the activities of her family (her husband and 2 sons) on her blog.

Title: The Frontiersman’s Daughter
Author: Laura Frantz
Genre: Fiction-Historical
Publisher: Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group
ISBN-13: 978-0-8007-3339-1
Release Date: August 2009
Price: $ 13.99
Available at: Amazon, Christianbook, Barnes and Noble, Borders, and local Christian retailers

A Hodgepodge of characters and delectable recipes

In A Taste of Fame: The Potluck Catering Club, a group of six colorful characters, connected by good food, friendship and faith, make for a heartwarming, and mouthwatering, story that will tease the taste buds, tug on the heartstrings, and provide a good dose of laughter as well. Whether the reader has read the previous Potluck Club books or is meeting these ladies for the first time, the characters will soon feel like old friends.

Meet the lively cast of characters:
Evangeline “Evie” Vesey: She is the founder of the Potluck Club as well as the wife of the local Sheriff. Although Evie is a good cook, she is happiest when she micromanaging the lives of everyone around her.

Lizzie Prattle: Lizzie is a librarian at the local High School. She is the sensible one of the group. Lizzie allows her unwavering faith to guide her. Because her job and family responsibilities keep her busy, Lizzie’s favorite meals are those that are quick and easy to prepare.

Goldie Dippel: The belle of the group, she embraces cooking, life and love full of Southern grace and charm. This legal secretary is married to a coach with a wondering eye.

Lisa Leann Lambert: This is one woman who knows what she wants, which is to be in control and to be influential in the community. This bridal boutique owner is also the President of Potluck Catering Club.

Vonnie Westbrook: Vonnie is the charming nurturer if the group. This retired nurse came face to face with the child she secretly gave birth to years before.

Donna Vesey: This feisty member of the Potluck Club confronts evil as she seeks truth and justice while serving her community as a Deputy Sheriff.

The latest venture of the Potluck Club finds these six friends as the newest contestants of the reality TV show Great Party Showdown in New York, New York. The humor of the authors shines through in this newest addition to The Potluck Catering Club series. Pick up a copy of A Taste of Fame today to see if this hodgepodge group can preserve the ties of friendship in the crux of the ruthless world of reality TV.

Title: A Taste of Fame (The Potluck Catering Club)

Authors: Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson

Genre: fiction: Women’s lit

Publisher: Revell: A division of Baker Publishing Group

ISBN-13: 978-0-8007-3209-7

Release Date: September 2009

Price: $13.99

Available at: Amazon, Christianbook.com, Barnes and Noble, Borders, local Christian bookstores

In conjunction with their newest addition, A Taste of Fame, to their fiction series, The Potluck Catering Club, Christian authors Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson have created The Potluck Club Cookbook: Easy Recipes to Enjoy with Family and Friends. The cookbook is filled with delicious recipes will have even the reluctant cook in the kitchen concocting mouthwatering dishes. Typical of a potluck meal, the cookbook is filled with fun, a variety of foods, and love. To whet the reader’s appetite even more, the book even provides excuses for trying new foods with its list of suggestions for holding potluck meals. To be the complimented on a delectable dish, pick up a copy of The Potluck Club Cookbook and prepare one of the recipes to take to the next church potluck dinner.

Title: The Potluck Club Cookbook

Authors: Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson

Genre: non-fiction: cookbook

Publisher: Revell: A division of Baker Publishing Group

ISBN-13: 978-0-8007-3349-0

Release Date: September 2009

Price: $14.99

Available at: Amazon, Christianbook.com, Barnes and Noble, Borders, local Christian bookstores

A Dynamic New Book for Women

A Different Kind of Wild: Is Your Faith too Tame? is just the book to infuse the spiritual lives of the women who read it. Author Debbie Alsdorf, director of Women’s Ministries at Cornerstone Fellowship Church in California and biblical lay counselor, has written a dynamic new book to help women learn how to turn from self and turn towards Christ. “This new wild is about taking our lives back,” Debbie says. “It’s about becoming women who dare to live differently—wild in surrender, wild in devotion, wild in service, and wild in following what God calls us to.”

A Different Kind of Wild is broken down into three main parts: Developing - Growing Up Spiritually, Daring- Living by a Different Standard, and Determined – Finding Courage to Follow a new path. Debbie will challenge each reader of A Different Kind of Wild to embrace boldly, passionately, and courageously in order to be free to be the person God desires her to be. She encourages women to embrace the adventure God has for them, and watch their faith flourish like never before. She looks at how women can be risk-takers for Christ, stand firm in crises, confront fear with truth, dare to live by a different standard and find courage to follow a new life path.

A Different Kind of Wild offers practical examples, scripture references, reflections questions at the end of each chapter, and a study guide to help facilitate the process for this new type of living. This monumental book is a must read for all women. Be prepared, though, it is not for the faint of heart. This book has the potential to help readers become less like self and more like Christ.

The Publisher of A Different Kind of Wild, Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, offers practical books that bring the Christian faith to everyday life. They publish resources from a variety of well-known brands and authors, including their partnership with MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and Hungry Planet.

Title: A Different Kind of Wild: Is Your Faith too Tame
Author: Debbie Alsdorf
Genre: Non-fiction, women, spiritual living
Publisher: Revell
ISBN-13: 978-0-8007-3366-7
Release Date: July 2009
Price: $12.99
Available at: Christianbooks.com, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Local Christian Retailers