BOTH Murder at Eagle Summit and Scent of Murder are Caroll Award finalists!

I received a call the other day that every author loves to get. Two of my 2009 releases have finalied in the Short Contemporary Suspense category for the 2010 Caroll Award! The winners will be announced at the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference in Indiapolis in September. To see a list of all the finalists, click here.

Scent of Murder  is a Daphne finalist!

Exciting news! Scent of Murder, the third and final book in the Classical Trio series, is a finalist for the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence in Mystery/Suspense! The award winner will be named at a ceremony in Orlando on July 29th. Congratulations to all the finalists!

A Daughter's Legacy is now available!

My eleventh novel officially launched on May 1st! Look for A Daughter's Legacy in bookstores, grocery stores, Walmart, department stores, or wherever Harlequin romance novels are sold! Also available through online retailers such as Amazon.com, CBD.com, and others.

Now Available - A Novel Idea

A group of Christian novelists joined forces to create a book on the craft of writing inspirational fiction, and I was honored to be part of the project. A Novel Idea includes expert advice from successful fiction writers who have published thousands of novels with more than 70 million copies sold. You'll recognize many of the names: Jerry Jenkins, Francine Rivers, Karen Kingsbury, Randy Alcorn, Robin Jones Gunn, Angela Hunt, Terri Blackstock... the list goes on and on. The book includes over 75 articles on a variety of fiction techniques. My contributions include "Avoiding Preachy Fiction" and "Confessions of a Critique Groupie." If you aspire to write good fiction, this book is a must-have for your resource library.

Upcoming Writers Conferences

I'm often asked what aspiring writers can do to pursue their dream of publication. One of the pieces of advice I give is to attend writer's conferences, which provide opportunities to improve writing skills and make contacts with other writers and professionals in the publishing industry. If you cherish hopes of becoming an author, I hope you'll consider finding a good writer's conference to attend.

I'm currently scheduled to teach at the following conferences:

• June 11-12, 2010 - Kentucky Christian Writers Conference, in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. I'll be the keynote speaker at this conference!

Looking for a Critique of your Manuscript?

When I teach at conferences, attendees frequently ask if they can hire me to critique their manuscripts. Well, now the answer is Yes! I've recently launched Next Step Critiques, a manuscript editing service designed to help writers take the Next Step in their writing career. For prices and more information, visit www.NextStepCritiques.com