WordServe News Update and New Releases

Exciting things have been happening at WordServe Literary!

On the final post of each month you’ll find a list of WordServe client books releasing in the upcoming month along with WordServe Literary news from the month drawing to a close.

October New Releases

Always the Wedding Planner, Never the Bride

by Sandra D. Bricker*

Contemporary Romantic Comedy

Abingdon Press

.

Challenging Puzzles from the Bible:

Including Crosswords, Word Search, Cryptograms, and More

by Timothy Parker

Howard Publishers

The Exceptional LIfe:

8 Powerful Steps to Experiencing God’s Best for You

by Stephen Arterburn

Bethany House

.

Extreme Puzzles from the Bible:

Including Crosswords, Word Search, Cryptograms, and More

by Timothy Parker

Howard Publishers


Lethal Remedy

by Richard L. Mabry, MD*

Medical Drama

Abingdon Press

.

Sacrilege

Finding Life in the Unorthodox Ways of Jesus

by Hugh Halter

Baker Publishing

.

A Time for Peace

by Barbara Cameron*

Amish Romance

Abingdon Press

.

The What’s for Dinner Solution:

Quick, Easy, and Affordable Meals Your Family Will Love

by Kathi Lipp*

Harvest House

.

• • •

Agent News

We’re excited that Barbara Scott has joined WordServe Literary as the third agent.
To learn more about Barbara and what she’s looking for, read this announcement.

• • •

Bestseller News

New York Times October 2, 2011 Lists

Erica Vetsch*A Log Cabin Christmas, a nine-author novella collection that includes Erica’s story “Christmas Service,” hit #34 on the NYT paperback trade fiction list.

• • •

Consultant News

The WordServe agents have hired Ingrid Schneider to work with their authors on all of their social networking needs. Though it’s fee-based consulting, Ingrid’s been doing some fantastic things to help our authors coordinate all the various social networking platforms, blogging and the rest into a cohesive author brand.

• • •

Contest News

ACFW 2011 Agent of the Year

We’re excited that Rachelle Gardner was named ACFW’s Agent of the Year!

ACFW 2011 Genesis Contest for unpublished novelists

Camille Eide* was the winner in the Women’s Fiction category with My Father’s House!

ACFW 2011 Carol Award for published novelists

We cheered for our finalists, who were one of the top three in their respective categories.

Jody Hedlund* in the Debut Novel category with The Preacher’s Bride.

Richard Mabry* in the Suspense/Thriller category with Medical Error.

S. Dionne Moore in the Short Historical category with Promise of Tomorrow.

• • •

Contract News

Signing News from Greg:

Dena Dyer and Tina Samples ­– Wounded Women of The Bible, to Kregel.

Sid PhillipsYou’ll Be Sor-ee, his WWII memoir on audio, to Tantor Media.

Helen Shores and Barbara Shores Lee with Denise George – A memoir of their life growing up in Civil Rights era Birmingham and the influence their legendary Civil Rights attorney Arthur Shores had on the movement, to Zondervan.

Bob WelchResolved, the WWII memoir of Army hero Lt. Clay Conner, an escapee from the Bataan Death March, who lived and fought in the jungles of the Philippines until the end of the war, to Berkley Caliber (Penguin).

Rachelle announced the following deals on Publishers Marketplace:

Phil CookeOne Big Thing: Discovering What You Were Born to Do sold to Thomas Nelson
How to identify your personal “one thing” and more importantly, how to make it a reality in your life.

Jody Hedlund*Echo of Fall and two other titles sold to Bethany House
A young German immigrant must marry or lose her Michigan homestead and falls for a disguised nobleman while waiting for her mail-order groom.

Richard Mabry*Stress Test and two other titles sold to Thomas Nelson
Sparks fly between a doctor being framed for murder and his fiery redheaded lawyer, as they chase down the truth before the killer strikes again.

Krista Phillips*A Sandwich Romance sold to Abingdon Press
A 20-year-old moves to Sandwich, Illinois, to make a new life, then falls in love with her boss and becomes embroiled in a mystery that she must solve if she wants to save both her heart and her job.

Brian SussmanEco-Tyranny sold to WND Books
How the Left’s Green Agenda will Dismantle America, a follow-up to his first book, Climategate.

Lucille Zimmerman*Oxygen for a Woman’s Soul: Self-Care Strategies That Will Save Your Life sold to Abingdon Press
Exploring the idea that women can only love others if they care for themselves, so it’s time to get over thinking self-care is “selfish” and instead, embrace rest, peace and joy.

More News from Rachelle:

Paula Moldenhauer* was awarded her first fiction contract by Rebecca Germany of Barbour Publishing during a special presentation at the ACFW conference for her novella, “You’re a Charmer, Mr. Grinch,” in a Christmas collection with authors Paige Winship Dooly, Darlene Franklin, and Kathy Kovach.

 (* = WordServe Water Cooler Contributor)

• • •

That’s our good news for the month.
Please share yours in the comments so we can celebrate with you.

• • •

Post Author: Keli Gwyn

I write inspirational historical romance. My debut novel, A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, California, will be released July 1, 2012. I live in the heart of California’s Gold Country. My favorite places to visit are my fictional worlds, the Coach factory outlet store, and Taco Bell.

New Agent at WordServe!

Guest Post by Rachelle Gardner

Effective immediately, we at WordServe have added thirty years of experience to our service for authors with the addition of industry insider Barbara Scott as a new literary agent.

“Publishing continues to evolve, but finding and guiding the careers of new and established authors will always be a big need,” says 17-year agent Greg Johnson. “Barbara has worked as an in-house sales rep for a publisher as well as an editor, and authored numerous books of fiction and non-fiction. Her strong editorial eye, relational skills and professionalism make her a natural to join the WordServe team.”

Barbara Scott brings 30 years of publishing experience to WordServe having worked at Zondervan, McGraw-Hill, Honor Books, and most recently Abingdon Press where she developed and built the fiction line.

Barbara has partnered with best-selling authors such as Brandilyn Collins and Melody Carlson for the YA fiction line at Zondervan, and many of the authors in her fiction launch at Abingdon Press received rave reviews in Publisher’s Weekly and Library Journal. Two of her most recent authors at Abingdon Press, Cynthia Ruchti and Richard Mabry, have been nominated for Carol Awards by ACFW in 2011. The fiction line at Abingdon Press exceeded all sales expectations, and Barbara has been credited for kicking off a well-rounded series of quality, highly-reviewed novels.

I’m thrilled that I get to work alongside this talented lady, who is already well-loved in CBA. Please join me in welcoming Barbara to our team!

~Rachelle

P.S. Barbara won’t be at ACFW, but I’ll be there scouting projects for her!

What Barbara is Looking for:

Adult Fiction:
Full-length fiction, 65,000 to 100,000 words. General market or Christian market.
Genres: Women’s, Romance, Suspense/Thriller, Mystery, Romantic Suspense, Historical, Family Saga, Amish, Political Thrillers, Mainstream, Supernatural/Speculative, including End Times.

Short contemporary and historical fiction, 40,000 to 65,000 words. Christian market.
Genres: Romance, Historical, Romantic Suspense. Will accept queries for Barbour, Steeple Hill Love Inspired, Summerside Love Finds You, and Avon Inspire.

Kids:
Middle grade and YA books

Non-Fiction:
Both Christian market and general market projects. Current Affairs, Political, Management, Sales, Money, Home Life, Marriage, Family, Parenting, Health & Diet, How-to, Popular Culture, Psychology, Science, Self-Help, Women’s Issues, Devotionals. Authors should have established social media, consulting, or speaking platforms.

Christian theology, apologetics, pastoral, spiritual growth:
I will only take on this type of project if the author has well-known credentials and/or a large, established platform.

What she is NOT looking for:
• Gift books
• Poetry
• Short stories
• Screenplays
• Graphic novels
• Children’s picture books
• Horror

Contact Barbara Scott: barbara {at} wordserveliterary.com (This email might not be active yet – give it a couple days!)

WordServe News Update and New Releases

Exciting things have been happening at WordServe Literary!

On the final post each month you’ll find a list of Water Cooler contributors’ books releasing in the upcoming month and a recap of WordServe client news from the current month. (Since this is the first New Releases and Recent News post, we’re playing catch-up.)

• • •

September New Releases

(The titles are links to Amazon.)

A Bride’s Portrait of Dodge City Kansas

by Erica Vetsch*

Historical Romance

Barbour Publishing

 •

“Christmas Service” in A Log Cabin Christmas

by Erica Vetsch*

Historical Romance

Barbour Publishing

 •

The Doctor’s Lady

by Jody Hedlund*

Historical Romance

Bethany House

 •

Light to My Path

by Erica Vetsch*

Historical Romance

Barbour Heartsong Presents

 •

Lily and the Lawman

by Erica Vetsch*

Historical Romance –

Thorndike Large Print Edition

Bestseller News

CBA September 2011 Lists

Tim LaHayeEdge of Apocalypse hit #19 on the Fiction list.

Tim LaHaye and Craig ParshallThunder of Heaven hit #29 on the Top 50 list and #3 on the Fiction list.

Karen Witemeyer*A Tailor-Made Bride hit #17 on the Fiction list.

• • •

Contest News

ACFW 2011 Agent of the Year

We’re excited that Rachelle Gardner is one of the three finalists

ACFW 2011 Carol Award for published novelists:

Jody Hedlund* is a finalist in the Debut Novel category with The Preacher’s Bride.

Richard Mabry* is a finalist in the Mystery/Thriller category with Medical Error.

S. Dionne Moore is a finalist in the Short Historical category with Promise of Tomorrow.

ACFW 2011 Genesis Contest for unpublished novelists:

Camille Eide* is a finalist in the Women’s Fiction category with My Father’s House.

• • •

New Clients

Charise Olson accepted an offer of representation from Rachelle.

Wendy Paine Miller* accepted an offer of representation from Rachelle.

• • •

Contract News

Greg announced the following deals on Publishers Marketplace:

Carol BarnierA Prodigal Speaks sold to Moody Press. Going from parsonage to atheist to Christian, Carol writes to parents and gives valuable lessons on loving a child who is away from the faith.

Rick MarschallOne Year Book of Cartoon Devotions sold to Tyndale. The book uses syndicated cartoonists and contains 365 cartoon panels and devotional readings after each one. Rick also signed with Tyndale for a YA devotional to be written with Clubhouse editor Jesse Florea.

Dave Runyon and Jay PathakThe Art of Neighboring sold to Baker Books. What does it mean to be a great neighbor with no motive but to serve and care for those around you? Combining practical stories from a whole city whose churches practiced this concept with radical biblical thoughts on what Jesus meant when he said “love your neighbor,” the authors make a compelling case for a new way to neighbor as a person of faith.

Rachel St. John-GilbertThe Well Lived Laugh sold to Barbour. Rachel uses Seinfeld-style observations, offering comic relief from the pressure to check off all the “culturally correct, socially responsible, and spiritually edgy” boxes that are confronting today’s overwhelmed woman. The reader is encouraged to shape her own unique perspectives based on her gifts and limitations that have characterized her life experiences thus far.

Chuck TatumBlood Red, Black Sand sold to Berkley Caliber. The story is about Chuck, a WWII veteran who trained under and fought with Medal of Honor recipient John Basilone; chronicling their “two weeks in hell,” where he would watch his hero, Basilone, fall, where the enemy stalked the night, where snipers haunted the day, and where Chuck would see his friends whittled away in an eardrum-shattering, earth-shaking, meat grinder of a battle. Before the battle for Iwo Jima ended, Chuck would find himself, like Basilone, standing alone, blind with rage, firing a machine gun from the hip, in a personal battle to survive from a relentless foe.

Bob WelchWonderful Life Lessons sold to Thomas Nelson. Bob, a Eugene Register Guard journalist, uses the classic movie It’s a Wonderful Life as a springboard and mines 52 gold-nugget lessons that everyone should consider.

More News from Greg:

Wayne Cordeiro signed with Zondervan for a book called Sifted, the lead book for the Exponential Conference next April in Orlando.

Cheri Fuller signed with Bethany House for a non-fiction book, What Sons Need In A Mom.

Tim LaHaye signed with Zondervan for Book #4 in “The End” series.

Calvin Miller signed with Worthy Publishers for a non-fiction book, Letters To Heaven.

Gilbert Morris signed on for a new 3-book historical series with Barbour.

Jordyn Redwood* started out by signing just one book with Kregel, but they quickly signed on for two more in the series

Margot Starbuck signed a two-book deal with Baker Publishing Group, the first with a working title of Jesus In Vegas.

(* = WordServe Water Cooler Contributor)

• • •

That’s our good news for the month.

Please share yours in the comments so we can celebrate with you.

• • •

Post Author: Keli Gwyn

I write inspirational historical romance. My debut novel, A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, California, will be released July 1, 2012. I live in the heart of California’s Gold Country. My favorite places to visit are my fictional worlds, the Coach factory outlet store, and Taco Bell.