WordServe February News 2024

National Library Lover’s Month in February is dedicated to the people who love whole buildings devoted to reading, housing, organizing, categorizing, finding, studying, and otherwise loving books. . . . our highlights below include new releases, contracts signed, notable reviews and PR events, new authors to the agency and other news of note by clients and agents.

New Releases

Congratulations to Robert L Wise and FaithHappenings Publishing for the November 28, 2023 release of The Conspiracy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer — Stopping Hitler.

The time has come to tell the story again. Westerners tend to forget that evil dictators don’t disappear. The West must remember the story of a man who laid down his life to stop tyranny in order to bring peace in his time.

The almost unknown account of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s full involvement in the attempts to assassinate Adolph Hitler remains one of the extraordinary stories of World War II. A towering theologian and patriot, Bonhoeffer did not retreat from joining the fight to stop the Nazis. In these pages you will discover an explosive adventure that remains an ultimate witness to the truth.

After his capture, his finance Maria von Wedemeyer, never gave up attempting to find him and stand with him. In later years, Maria was to become the leading scientist with the Remington Rand Corporation, pioneering the way for the modern computer.

The author’s interview with Bonhoeffer’s godson, Christop Von Dohnanyi, sheds more light on who Bonhoeffer was and what he accomplished. You will find this thoroughly researched though novelized story of Bonhoeffer’s involvement in WWII to be gripping and compelling.

Congratulations to Thomas Quinn with Paige Kaner for the January 28, 2024 release of Game Changer: Al Ross: The Man Who Transformed the NBA.

In 1971 one man fought the ABA and the NBA all the way to the US Supreme Court–and won!

Determined and principled, rookie lawyer Al Ross fought for players who had been underpaid and badly treated by team owners. Against the odds, his victory transformed the game of basketball as we know it, and its impact is still felt today.

Al Ross is a sports and entertainment attorney turned real estate mogul. He fought hard for all his athletes and entertainers, especially against the racially charged ABA and some of its franchise owners, most of whom were very wealthy, powerful white men. He did so to ensure his athletes (mainly young, black athletes) got the best deals imaginable and a fair shake.

Set against the backdrop of The Civil Rights Movement, perhaps, his biggest fight was against racism in all the world of professional sports. Al, then a young sports agent and newly admitted lawyer to the California Bar went to war on behalf of the then very young, very talented, Spencer Haywood, who was being horribly mistreated and racially discriminated against by the ABA, specifically, the Denver Rockets owner and franchise. Al assembled a team of legal experts and took Spencer’s case all the way to the US Supreme Court where Al and his team won the verdict. This win would not only benefit his client, the young Haywood, but would forever change the lives of so many young players who came after Spencer and benefitted greatly from the verdict. It changed the NBA and the world of professional sports forever by instituting The Al Ross “Hardship Rule”.

The ABA/NBA connection was only the beginning of his illustrious career. He dealt with some of the best players, talent and most powerful men in basketball, football, baseball and entertainment. He negotiated in basketball against Jack Kent Cook, then owner of the L.A. Lakers. Sam Shuman, owner of the Seattle Supersonics, Abe Pollen with Bullets, Jerry Colangelo with the Suns, and in football against Al Davis of the Raiders and Don Shula then of the 1972 undefeated Miami Dolphins, and many others.

Congratulations to Angela J Herrington and Eerdmans for the February 20, 2024 release of Deconstructing Your Faith without Losing Yourself.

How to heal religious trauma by releasing harmful beliefs

Have you experienced #ChurchHurt? Are you frustrated by judgmental church people supporting oppressive systems? Do you have doubts about the faith tradition you were raised in but are afraid of losing your community? Angela J. Herrington has been there. And with over a decade of experience as a life coach, she can teach you how to begin healing religious trauma through deconstruction.

Lively and empathetic, Angela will gently guide you through deconstructing your faith. This concise and actionable handbook will
• give you permission to trust yourself,
• show you how to seek new perspectives and information,
• teach you how to embrace vulnerable exploration and self-compassion, and
• help you release unhealthy beliefs that are harming you and marginalized persons.

Deconstructing your long-held beliefs can be isolating and overwhelming. But you don’t have to do it alone. Begin your healing journey with Deconstructing Your Faith without Losing Yourself.

Congratulations to Glenn Allen with Richard Kaufman for January 19, 2024 release of Played: The Games of the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

American Olympic Committee President Avery Brundage, unmoved by the new Nazi regime’s anti-Jewish doctrines, leads the fight to participate in the 1936 Berlin Games after much debate of a U.S. boycott. Brundage desperately wants to be on the International Olympic Committee. If he doesn’t get the Americans to Berlin, he can kiss that dream goodbye.

When the vote is decided in Brundage’s favor, AP Sports Editor, Alan J. Gould, friend and champion of the athletes, travels to Berlin to cover all of the “games” being played. Through his eyes we see the machinations of Brundage’s complicity with the Nazis, the tenacity of the proud American athletes, and the extreme pressure from the Nazis on their German athletes. Their stories, heartbreaking and tragic, give rise to feats of heroism that go beyond the playing field.

PLAYED is a cauldron of politics, sports, espionage and courage. Along the way we meet some of the most famous people of the time; Mae West, Charlie Chaplin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Joseph Goebbels, Leni Riefenstahl, Eva Braun and the madman himself, who vowed to “make Germany great again,” Adolf Hitler.

Contracts

Marissa Burt and Kelsey Elizabeth Kramer signed with Brazos Press for the October 2025 release of In The Way They Should Go.

Jamie Sumner signed with Simon & Schuster for the January 2027 release of Fly.

Brian Byrd signed with Post Hill Press for the March 2025 release of Navigating The Evaluation Era: Mastering Feedback For Personal And Professional Growth.

Candace Camling signed with Ascension for the March 2025 release of Camling Interactive Rosary.

Carole Avriett with Thomas Curtis signed with Valor Press for the 2025 release of Captured, Tortured, Freed: Faith lessons from 7+ years as a Vietnam-Era POW.

Debora M Coty signed with Christian Art Gifts for the August 2025 release of Bless Your Heart: Daily Devotions to Warm Your Heart & Feed Your Soul.

Alisha Darlyne Miller signed with Baker Publishing for the July 2025 release of Courageous Divorce.

New Clients

Randy Grigsby, Sherrie Eldridge, Stephen Day, and Dan Hoffman recently signed with WordServe. Welcome!