Kiss by Ted Dekker and Erin Healy

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducing
KISSThomas Nelson (January 6, 2009)
by Ted Dekker
and
Erin Healy
I'm very excited about this book and can't wait to read it! Dekker is one of my favorite authors and Erin Healy has an amazing reputation as an editor. How can these two miss? AND, now the bonus...I have in my hands one hardback copy to give away. Leave a comment to enter the drawing. Send friends over and get your name in twice!

And don't miss the trailer! Very cool...

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ted is the son of missionaries John and Helen Dekker, whose incredible story of life among headhunters in Indonesia has been told in several books. Surrounded by the vivid colors of the jungle and a myriad of cultures, each steeped in their own interpretation of life and faith, Dekker received a first-class education on human nature and behavior. This, he believes, is the foundation of his writing.

After graduating from a multi-cultural high school, he took up permanent residence in the United States to study Religion and Philosophy. After earning his Bachelor's Degree, Dekker entered the corporate world in management for a large healthcare company in California. Dekker was quickly recognized as a talent in the field of marketing and was soon promoted to Director of Marketing. This experience gave him a background which enabled him to eventually form his own company and steadily climb the corporate ladder.

Since 1997, Dekker has written full-time. He states that each time he writes, he finds his understanding of life and love just a little clearer and his expression of that understanding a little more vivid. Dekker's body of work encompassing seven mysteries, three thrillers and ten fantasies includes Heaven's Wager, When Heaven Weeps, Thunder of Heaven, Blessed Child, A Man Called Blessed, Blink, Thr3e, The Circle Trilogy (Black, Red, White), Obsessed, Renegade, and Chaos.

*******************
Erin Healy is an award-winning fiction editor who has worked with talented novelists such as James Scott Bell, Melody Carlson, Colleen Coble, Brandilyn Collins, L. B. Graham, Rene Gutteridge, Michelle McKinney Hammond, Robin Lee Hatcher, Denise Hildreth, Denise Hunter, Randy Ingermanson, Jane Kirkpatrick, Gilbert Morris, Frank Peretti, Lisa Samson, Randy Singer, Robert Whitlow, and many others.

She began working with Ted Dekker in 2002 and edited twelve of his heart-pounding storiesbefore their collaboration on Kiss, the first novel to seat her on "the other side of the desk."

Erin is the owner of WordWright Editorial Services, a Colorado-based consulting firm specializing in fiction book development. She and her husband, Tim, are the proud parents of two children

ABOUT THE BOOK

Let me tell you all I know for sure. My name. Shauna.
I woke up in a hospital bed missing six months of my memory. In the room was my loving boyfriend-how could I have forgotten him?-my uncle and my abusive stepmother. Everyone blames me for the tragic car accident that left me near death and my dear brother brain damaged. But what they say can't be true-can it?

I believe the medicine is doing strange things to my memory. I'm unsure who I can trust and who I should run from. And I'm starting to remember things I've never known. Things not about me. I think I'm going crazy.

And even worse, I think they want to kill me.

But who? And for what? Is dying for the truth really better than living with a lie?

Sometimes dying with the truth is better than living with a lie.

After a car accident puts Shauna McAllister in a coma and wipes out six months of her memory, she returns to her childhood home to recover, but her arrival is fraught with confusion.

Her estranged father, a senator bidding on the White House, and her abusive stepmother blame Shauna for the tragedy, which has left her beloved brother severely brain damaged. Leaning on Wayne Spade, a forgotten but hopeful lover who stays by her side, Shauna tries to sort out what happened that night by jarring her memory to life. Instead, she acquires a mysterious mental ability that will either lead her to truth or get her killed by the people trying to hide it.

In this blind game of cat and mouse that stares even the darkest memories in the face, Shauna is sure of only one thing: if she remembers, she dies.

If you would like to read the first chapter of KISS, go HERE

Watch the Video Trailer




What people are saying about KISS:

“The human brain could actually be the real final frontier—we know so little about it and yet it drives the world as we know it. So when authors like Erin and Ted bravely explore these mysterious regions, going into complex places like memory and soul and relationships, I become hooked. The creativity of this suspenseful story is sure to hook other readers as well. Very memorable!”
~Melody Carlson, author of Finding Alice and The Other Side of Darkness

“Dekker and Healy prove a winning team in this intriguing, imaginative thriller.”
~James Scott Bell, bestselling author of Try Darkness

“Kiss by Erin Healy and Ted Dekker is a superb thriller that hooked me from the first sentence. The original plot kept me guessing, and I may never look at a kiss the same way again. I’ll be watching for the next book!”
~Colleen Coble, author of Cry in the Night

“The writing team of Erin Healy and Ted Dekker has taken me through a page-turner with Kiss. It’s one of those books that you think about when you’re not reading it. I highly recommend it, especially if you don’t mind staying up late because you can’t put the book down!”
~Rene Gutteridge, author of Skid and My Life As a Doormat

The Body of Christ in Action! Update on Liz and Katy Hughes

I wrote last week about Liz and Katy Hughes, a mom and her daughter who were evicted from their apartment and were living in their car. I have never been more proud of my brothers and sisters in Christ. We have rallied around this mom and daughter in their time of need and helped them on the road to get back on their feet. What a blessing for those of us able to help. And an honor.

Liz and Katy were even featured on the local news here last week and will be interviewed on Good Morning America sometime next week. To read the updates on Brandilyn Collin's blog and Katy's blog, Anywhere But Here, is amazing. God is so good!

My own family has been blessed in a special way in this. Many of you know my daughter, Leslie, was diagnosed with a brain tumor last October and had to undergo two surgical procedures. She's about to start her third week of radiation and is doing great. Leslie reached out to Katy, wanting to get to know another teen facing adversity. This is such a godsend, because Leslie hasn't wanted to reach out like this in a while. She was so excited to get an email back from Katy, and I hope we can meet them soon. Such a blessing!

Please keep Liz and Katy in your prayers. Liz needs a job, and not for lack of trying. She's been looking for three years. Hopefully a lead she has to a job will pan out in the next week or so, and they can find an affordable place to live.

To donate, please send a check to Elizabeth Hughes, P.O. Box 111525, Campbell, CA 95011. Or send through Paypal to: hugheselizabeth (@) rocketmail (dot) com.

Preparing for the New Year

Reflection seems to be a common state this time of year. As the New Year approaches, we look back on the past year and wonder what the new one will bring. Over the last few years God has led me to take this last week of December and the first week of January to spend time focused on what He wants to accomplish in the next year. I encourage you to do the same so that you can enter 2009 prepared and ready to join God in his plan.

These are the areas I focus on:

1. Me. What adjustments do I need to make in my life in the areas of Bible study, service, prayer and fasting, and obedience to what God is calling me to do. As a writer, this is a constant struggle to stay on track and keep my words serving Him, which makes his guidance so valuable a reference point when I veer off track.


2. My husband. Besides my constant prayers for his salvation, I ask God specifically for ways I can and should be praying for my husband throughout the new year. Interestingly enough, this has changed each year in regards to my husband’s future salvation and my growing belief that God will soon bring this to pass. For example, last year God told me to change my prayers from asking to thanking God for putting my husband’s salvation into place and to claim it.


3. My children. My constant prayer for them is always protection and a deepening faith, but I also want to be sensitive to what God is doing in their lives. Along with my own concerns, I ask God to show what areas I need to cover in prayer for the upcoming year. This also gives me insight to what the year will hold for them.


4. Extended family. Who in your family needs special prayers for the coming year? This is a good time to make a list (not too long or you’ll be overwhelmed) of those who don’t believe, are struggling in their lives, or are ill.


5. Friends. How can I be praying and uplifting the special people in my life? Praying for them keeps me closer to them as well.


6. Missionary. Do you have a cause or missionary you support? Put it down and make a commitment to pray for them. (Include your pastor here too!)


7. World. Is there an area God is calling you to pray for on a larger scope? I will say this is the first year I’ve felt led to pray for a president, but I’m committed to praying for President Elect Obama.

Finally, write it all down. I assign a day of the week to each area (Monday for my immediate family, Tuesdays for extended family, etc.) Give each day a page and list who and what you’re praying for. Then leave space to write in updates during the year. This will help you reassess the following year as well.

Also jot down any promises God gives you in these areas so that you can go back and read them when you find yourself discouraged or off track. You’ll be amazed how much strength you can draw from these reminders that God is personally involved in every aspect of our lives.

I hope this helps you bring in the New Year with new hope and determination to serve our amazing God by serving others. Sometimes our circumstances leave us little time to do more than pray, but what greater gift can we give those we love and honor in the coming year?

Homeless Mom and Daughter Need Help

One of the members (Brandilyn Collins) of my local writing group found out one of her readers has been unfairly evicted from their home. This mom and daughter are now living in their car. And it's cold here right now, colder than I can recall in the last six years we've lived in San Jose.

This vivacious sixteen year old is also blogging about her mom and their saga here. You can read Brandilyn's updates here, while we search for a way to get this mom and daughter into warm beds for the night. The daughter, Katy, has also shared a PO Box if you would like to send financial support to get them through this time. Her mom, Liz, has a potential job interview but that's not until mid January.

Please keep Katy and Liz in your prayers. It's wonderful to see the body of Christ rallying around these two dear people. With God, we can do anything.

Mercy vs. Sacrifice

"But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
— Matthew 9:13

This verse captured me yesterday. The study notes in my Bible talk about Jesus desiring us to be merciful, but I didn't see this verse that way.

When he says, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice," I believe its also shows the transfer of salvation from our hands to his. The Jews knew sacrifice well. From their time in Egypt and passed down through the generations since, animal sacrifices were their path to forgiveness. Yet even then it wasn't the perfect solution God desired. (See also 1 Sam. 15:22, Psalm 51:16, Prov. 21:3)

I believe Jesus is also saying here that the time of man's role in forgiveness was futile and had come to an end. Jesus had come as prophesied, and now his mercy would step in. In these five words, the source and method of our forgiveness shifted from our hands to his, literally and symbolically with the nails in his hands.

Just some thoughts for reflection...