My new cover unveiled, FB party winners announced!

What a great Facebook party we had last night for Sweeter than Birdsong! I loved talking to my readers--you are all so kind and you ask great questions.

This is the cover for my third novel, Lovelier than Daylight, which will release this November, 2012. We revealed it at the party for the first time in public. I love it...when you read the novel, you'll see this cover is just perfect for the story, in addition to being beautiful.

So without further ado, here are the winners of the party giveaways! Trivia answers posted at the end.


Congratulations to Wendy Newcomb! You've won a copy of Sweeter Than Birdsong!

Congratulations to Stephanie Ford Skinner! You've won a copy of Sweeter Than Birdsong!

Congratulations to Jessica Carlson Mocny! You've won a copy of Sweeter Than Birdsong and the gift certificate of your choice (Amazon, iTunes, Starbucks)! Email your mailing address and choice to amy {at} litfusegroup.com!

Congratulations to Libbi Hartwig! You've won a copy of Sweeter Than Birdsong!

Congratulations to Jan Bouchard-Kerr! You've won a copy of Sweeter Than Birdsong!

Congratulations to Audrey Elizabeth! You've won a copy of Sweeter Than Birdsong and the gift certificate of your choice (Amazon, iTunes, Starbucks)! Email your mailing address and choice to amy {at} litfusegroup.com!

Congratulations to Hannah Wilson! You've won a copy of Sweeter Than Birdsong!

Congratulations to Jenna Zeidler! You've won a copy of Sweeter Than Birdsong!

Congratulations to Jennifer Stevensen Tipton! You've won a copy of Sweeter Than Birdsong and the gift certificate of your choice (Amazon, iTunes, Starbucks)! Email your mailing address and choice to amy {at} litfusegroup.com!

Congratulations to Kim Moss! You've won a copy of Sweeter Than Birdsong for posting your photo on my wall! Email your mailing address to amy {at} litfusegroup.com!

Congratulations to Jennifer Campbell! You've won a copy of Sweeter Than Birdsong for posting your photo on my wall! Email your mailing address to amy {at} litfusegroup.com!
Trivia Winner:

Congrats to Kimberlee Patton! You won the book club prize pack! Email your mailing address to amy {at} litfusegroup.com and let her know when you'd like to schedule your live chat with Rosslyn!
Super Trivia Winner:

Congrats to Renn Shearin! You won the Downton Abbey Prize Pack! Email your mailing address to amy {at} litfusegroup.com!
And here is the iPod Nano Winner:

Congrats to Sabine Galvin from California! You are the winner of the iPod Nano in the color of your choice and both books in The Saddler's Legacy series! Send your mailing address to amy {at} litfusegroup.com and we'll get right out to you!

Congrats to all the winners - please email your mailing address to Amy {at} litfusegroup {dot} com.

TRIVIA ANSWERS:

History trivia

1 What first name was shared by both the most famous African-American woman to work on the Underground Railroad and the most famous white woman to write a novel opposing slavery?
Harriet
2 What religious group was the first in America to fully condemn slavery and was later renowned for their work on the Underground Railroad?
Quakers
3 Sweeter than Birdsong begins in 1855. How many years later would the Civil War break out?
Six years later, in 1861
4 Who was the most famous songwriter in America in 1855?
Stephen Foster
5 What was the most popular ladies’ magazine in 1855?
Godey's

Questions about the author:

1 Name one of my two favorite animals.
Horse or dog
2 In what major city did I work after I finished undergrad work?
New York City
3 Where did I go for graduate school?
Emory University
4 In how many foreign countries did I live before graduating from high school?
Two
5 Which book by Dickens is on my “Books I Love” list?
Oliver Twist

Trivia questions about the book

1 What is the name of Kate Winter’s horse?
Garnet
2 Who is the real African-American hero who works on the Underground Railroad in Sweeter than Birdsong?
John Parker
3 To what city does Ruth Winter take her daughter near the end of the novel?
Philadelphia

Controversial Subjects in CBA Fiction

My third novel, Lovelier than Daylight, is based on the Westerville Whiskey Wars of the 1870s.

I'm working on it right now, and it will be released in November 2012.

Because the novel is about temperance crusaders fighting a saloon (among other things), it must inevitably deal with the subject of alcoholic beverages and their abuses.

A couple of years ago, I told my dad that I had some concerns about writing this novel, even though it was part of my series proposal.

"How can you not want to write a novel about people blowing up a saloon?" he asked.

"Because handling the alcohol issue is going to be tricky," I said. "People have very strong feelings about it. But I don't write polemics, and I'm not going to portray the temperance crusaders as completely right and the saloon owner as completely in the wrong. I'm going to show all sides of the issue."

After all, I thought, this is a real story from history, and trying to paint it as a black-and-white situation would do a grave disservice to the actual historical account. In real life, it's often hard to tell the heroes from the villains, and the Westerville Whiskey Wars are particularly ambiguous in that respect.

Flash forward two years. Now that I'm embarking on the edits for this novel, I'm really enjoying the complexity of the novel's depiction of alcohol and the conflict surrounding the saloon.

CBA novels have a reputation for being preachy, which is sometimes deserved and sometimes not. More and more, CBA novelists are developing the craft and finesse to address even controversial topics in non-preachy ways. In fact, when a novel deals with a hot button topic, it is even MORE important to write it with a very light hand.

If you want to see the beautiful cover for this third novel, it will receive its grand unveiling at my Facebook party this Tuesday night, February 28th, at 5pm Pacific, 6pm Mountain, 7pm Central, 8pm Eastern! Just click on my author page and we'll be having all kinds of fun conversations, plus GIVEAWAYS! An Ipod Nano and a Downton Abbey prize pack could be yours, plus gift certificates and free books.

Facebook Author Page for party Tuesday night!

Question for you: do you prefer historical novels to address complex real-life issues about morality and conduct, or would you prefer a lighter read that's more of a nostalgic portrait of a historical era?

Because the Book Itself is Not the Goal

Here's the most touching email I've received about my new novel in the last few weeks:

A woman who works against human trafficking (aka slavery in the twenty-first century) told me that Sweeter than Birdsong had encouraged her, because it depicts a great victory for nineteenth-century abolitionists.

I told a friend about this email during the book launch last week and I couldn't keep tears from coming to my eyes.

One of my greatest hopes for my novels is that they will encourage people to work in ministries for the oppressed, imprisoned, and brokenhearted. Inspiring historical figures like the heroes of Sweeter than Birdsong fought for those without a voice, and that battle still resonates today with millions in various forms of slavery around the world.

Getting an email like that is really the fulfillment of my dream. It's not about being published--publication would mean nothing if the story were not worthwhile. My dearest hopes about publishing are about what good might come from the truth in the story I tell.

This month, on February 26th, over 4000 churches will celebrate Freedom Sunday by remembering those enslaved by human trafficking. If you'd like, you can sign up, and maybe offer a prayer at your own church on that day. To find out more, go to this site from Not for Sale and the Underground Church Network.

http://www.freedomsunday.org/

How do you hope your work might affect readers?

Launch Week Begins!

Everything's in a whirl as we prepare for the Westerville launch of Sweeter than Birdsong!

This photo shows the historic Westerville home of the Hanby family, whose story inspired the Saddler's Legacy series that began with Fairer than Morning and continues now with Sweeter than Birdsong.

I am so excited about the launch schedule, chock full of meetings and talks and conversations with old friends.

Please excuse me if I'm a little sparse in the blogosphere this week. Next week I will be back, visiting blogs and posting pics from the launch.

And by next week, I should also get my editorial letter for Lovelier than Daylight. Just in case there's not enough excitement. :-)

What are you up to this week?