Our garden is in full bloom now and early mornings and evenings are cool enough that I can enjoy the deck. Visit the beautiful prairie garden my husband has created in our backyard at A Kansas Prairie Garden (a sneak peek at left) or take a virtual tour of the lovely gardens where some of my favorite novelists write at The Plot Thickens.
• The Plot Thickens. . .
• Book Club fun in "Clayburn," Kansas!
A book club group who read my Clayburn Novels decided to spend a day in Lindsborg, the small Kansas town that was the inspiration for Clayburn. They invited me to join them for brunch at "Wren's Nest" (known in the real world as the Swedish Country Inn.) What a fun group and what wonderful friendships have been formed around a love of books and love for God.
• A bestseller!
Yesterday's Embers hit the ECPA (Evangelical Christian Publishers Association) bestsellers list for June! I've only been on a bestsellers list once before, years ago with a Christmas novella, so I'm pretty excited. 
Okay...full disclosure, true confessions and all that: I'm #20 on the list which goes 1 through, um...20. But hey, on the list is on the list, and I'm delighted to be there with enduring and endearing bestsellers like Francine Rivers, Terri Blackstock, Karen Kingsbury, Beverly Lewis and Tamera Alexander! ; )
Above All Things (Steeple Hill) released early in June, on the heels of Yesterday's Embers and Insight, so it's been a very busy year. I'm excited to be working on a brand new series with Howard/Simon & Schuster set in a small Missouri town, and following the survivors of five firefighters who died in a tragic blaze in a homeless shelter. 
Already the research for this book has stretched me and taken me out of my comfort zone. That's always a good thing for a writer. I'm working on the rewrite of the first book, Almost Forever, and I'll be excited to share more with you as I progress with the other novels in the Hanover Falls Novels series, Forever After and After All.
It's contest season and I'm happy to announce that Leaving November is a finalist for the National Readers Choice Award and the Booksellers Best Award. Winners will be named in July, but it's always been my philosophy that a final is an honor in itself, so I'm celebrating.
For those of you who have asked, there is a real recipe for Wren's Peaches-and-Cream Cheesecake! It just happens to be a long-time Raney family favorite and I'm delighted to be able to share the recipe with you. (Click on the peaches.)
This great new book will be out in November and I'm happy to have three articles included in the anthology, including one written with my critique partner, Tamera Alexander. You can preorder the book by clicking on the image above. And know that your purchase will benefit Media Associates International.
• Pearls, grit and grace
There seems to be a theme emerging here. I'm a contributor to two new books, both using the "it takes grit to make pearls" analogy. Grit for the Oyster is written with aspiring writers in mind: words of encouragement and wisdom about the writing life. Pearl Girls is about experiencing God's grace in the midst of the difficult things we encounter in life. Both are beautiful books, and I'm proud to be a contributor.
• The many faces of A Vow to Cherish
A reader emailed me recently because she had picked up a rather rare first edition of A Vow to Cherish, first published by Bethany House in 1996. She was confused by the fact that my protagonist in that edition is named "Jake," while in all other editions, his name is "John." I thought other readers might be interested in my response:
When my novel was made into a movie by World Wide Pictures in 1998, my publisher went back to press with the book, giving it a new movie tie-in cover. The screenwriters/movie director changed the name of my character from Jake to John (we don't know why). My publisher felt that most people picking up this new addition would be doing so because they had seen the movie (which has been shown at thousands of churches across the country). So my publisher asked if I would mind changing Jake's name to John in this new edition of the book. I agreed with their reasoning and we changed the name, and a few minor character descriptions to match the actors from the film.
"No motion picture could ever define
the power behind the Billy Graham ministry
more effectively. I have not been so moved
by any movie, maybe ever. Not just entertainment."
~Paul Harvey
The DVD cover is at left. The movie is available in seven languages and has a lovely, haunting score by John Campbell. (If you want to be even more confused, watch the film, which was beautifully done and won several film awards, but changed many of the details from my novel, as often happens when a book is translated to the screen.) Ten years after the first release of my novel, it was out of print, when another publisher, Steeple Hill, purchased the rights to reissue it, and asked me to write a sequel as well.
A Vow to Cherish is available in trade size as well as mass market, while the sequel, Within This Circle, is only available in mass market size.
I should also note that this newest version of A Vow to Cherish has been updated to reflect current medical information about Alzheimer's disease, and to reflect how much I've learned about the craft of writing since penning that first version. To my surprise, as I was working on the rewrite, I realized that I also needed to move my story into the 21st century and give my characters cell phones and computers! The newest edition has about 7000 more words and is much improved from the original, in my humble opinion.
A Vow to Cherish has also been translated into Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, and will soon release in the Dutch language (see Toeverlaat at right).So, now you know the rest of the story. Watch the movie trailer below:
• Welcome to my Dutch readers
Welkom aan mijn Nederlandse lezers!
Ik ben heel blij dat uitgeverij Voorhoeve veel van mijn boeken in het Nederlands uitgeeft. Helaas spreek ik uw prachtige taal niet, maar gelukkig kunnen wij desondanks, door het vakmanschap van de vertalers, samen iets delen - namelijk verhalen over Gods liefde en genade. Dank u voor uw belangstelling voor mijn romans, en ik wens u veel plezier bij uw bezoek aan mijn website.
It's been fun to see some of my novels translated into foreign languages. But to have written a book I can't read is a bit disconcerting! When my first novel released in Danish, Swedish and Norwegian, I asked a friend who'd been a foreign exchange student in Sweden to read a few paragraphs. I was reassured that little was lost in the translation. At the 2007 International Christian Retail Show in Atlanta, I had the privilege of meeting with Hella Willering and Marieke van den Hazel, editors with Kok Publishers of The Netherlands. We met in Orlando again this year (below) and it was fascinating to hear some of the challenges they face translating a novel. American humor doesn't always translate well, and a motif from Scripture, etc. may depend heavily on the sound or spelling of the English word. It can be a challenge to find an alternative.
Voorhoeve, a Kok imprint, has put out beautiful editions of (from top left) Beneath a Southern Sky (the title translates as "Contest," or literally, "two fight"), Over the Waters (the Dutch title is "Rain Season") and A Nest of Sparrows, renamed "Father Love." I'm excited that Voorhoeve plans to translate more of my books in the future. I just discovered two new titles available soon: A Scarlet Cord is Hartenkreet ("Heart's Cry") and Remember to Forget, called Vluchtplaats ("Flight Place," appropriate, since Maggie "took flight." Besides "tweaked" titles, these foreign editions have stunning new covers.
P.S. I got fun news from my agent recently. The Dutch edition of my novella Playing by Heart is out! I love the title, Twinkeling, and the cover Kok Publishers chose really captures the heart of my little romantic comedy. 
Voorhoeve, a Kok imprint, has put out beautiful editions of (from top left) Beneath a Southern Sky (the title translates as "Contest," or literally, "two fight"), Over the Waters (the Dutch title is "Rain Season") and A Nest of Sparrows, renamed "Father Love." I'm excited that Voorhoeve plans to translate more of my books in the future. I just discovered two new titles available soon: A Scarlet Cord is Hartenkreet ("Heart's Cry") and Remember to Forget, called Vluchtplaats ("Flight Place," appropriate, since Maggie "took flight." Besides "tweaked" titles, these foreign editions have stunning new covers.
This makes seven titles I've had translated to Dutch, with at least two more to come. Playing by Heart has been out of print for some time, but it's one of my favorite books I've written, and was a winner of the National Readers' Choice Award for novella (a secular category), as well as being a Christy Award finalist. (Thank-you, Hella, for translating my greeting!)
• Calling all book discussion leaders...
If you lead a book discussion group and plan to discuss one of my novels in the coming months, I'd love to know about it. Many of my books have discussion questions in the back, and you can find study guides for many other novels HERE. I'll be glad to answer any questions your group might have about one of my books, or about the process of writing that particular book. If your group has 15 members or more, I'll even send some goodies for you to use as door prizes. If your group qualifies, CONTACT ME and let me know the date of your meeting and which book you've selected.
Readers often say, "I loved your book; now how can I help get the word out to my friends?" Click here for a whole list of ideas and thank you for asking!
• Hanging out at Club Deb
I'm blessed with a bevy of friends who just happen to share my name. During a getaway at a bed and breakfast a couple of years ago, one of the guests dubbed us "Club Deb" after being introduced at the breakfast table. The name stuck, and we've been sharing birthdays and other special occasions together ever since (although we'll use any excuse to get together!) I count my wonderful "Deb" friends as one of the great blessings of my life.
• The best things in life are...kids!
Three of our four kids are grown and living out of state now, so the times are all too rare when all four of them, plus our son-in-law, new daughter-in-law––and of course, our two little grandsons––are home at the same time. But when that happens, we have such a great time just hanging out together.
We play cards and board games, work jigsaw puzzles, watch movies, cook and eat together, entertain extended family and just enjoy being all in one place together. It's a joy to discover that the children we raised are such genuinely nice people. Children are truly a blessing from the Lord!
...and grandkids!
Three and-a-half years ago, my husband and I got the sweetest Christmas present we could ever have wished for when our very first grandbaby was born—a precious boy—and now he has a little brother who's one and-a-half! These two little guys have stolen our hearts and made the six hundred miles between our house and theirs seem like six thousand. They are growing up far too quickly, but oh what a joy to hear little voices call us "Papa" and "Mimi!"
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