October Newsletter - Dallas, here we come!

Hi,

My intention is to make this a short, monthly update to keep you informed and help get you excited about upcoming books.

So, to the news ....

My first novel, The Sacred Cipher, will be released by Kregel Publications in April. I knew it was going to be in the spring, but now we know it will be April - the first month of Kregel's fiscal year. That's exciting.

(this is an experiment ... below is a drawing - very small version - of my attempt to draw the secret scroll which is at the heart of The Sacred Cipher. The symbols are my rendition of Demotic, the third language on the Rosetta Stone. Check out the book to learn more!)

It's also exciting that Kregel has designated Sacred Cipher as part of its "A" list of releases this spring, which I believe means it will receive prominent promotion in Kregel's catalog and focused attention by Kregel's sales force.

But what's really exciting is that Kregel has decided to fly me down to Dallas in March for the first Christian Book Expo which promises to be the largest gathering of Christian book sellers and Christian book publishers in the nation.

Christian Book Expo is a convention sponsored by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). The Expo was created to raise awareness of Christian authors, books, and publishers following interviews with 15 publishing CEOs and 23 Christian publishing houses who wanted a consumer-based show that would connect with actual readers.

So the Expo will be open to the general public. There will be a huge exhibit floor with publishers booths, as well as workshops, evening programming, author signings ... and media coverage. Kregel's plan is to have Sacred Cipher available at the Book Expo, to have signage and promotions for Sacred Cipher in the booth, have me do a book signing and possibly even a reading and reserve some booth time for me to do a "meet and greet" with the folks at the show. Wow! Isn't that cool?

My agent, Rachelle Gardner, said some authors get really freaked out when they go to a book show and there's really big pictures of them and their book covers.

Me? I'm already really freaked out.

We are just receiving so much favor and grace with this book - it is clearly a God thing and not a Terry thing. Important to keep in mind, I think, come March.

The folks at Kregel have been absolutely fantastic to work with. I couldn't have asked for more. We should get our first look at the book's cover sometime early next month. That will be the subject of next month's newsletter.

In the meantime, this week I submitted the edited and revised manuscript for my second novel, Hunger's Ransom, to my agent and she will be forwarding it to the Kregel staff. We're hopeful it will be reviewed, and accepted, at Kregel's editorial staff meeting in November. Stay tuned.

And I've just begun work on the sequel to Sacred Cipher, a book called Scorpion Pass. Pray for me that I can get a good jump on this book over the next eight weeks.

Okay, that's enough.

Stay tuned for more exciting adventures of "Terry Through Book Land" - probably late night, community-access time on the Jewelry Channel.

Ciao, baby ...

Terry