Book signing for SARAI this Sunday!

This Sunday, February 26, 2012, I will be signing copies of Sarai, Book One in the new Wives of the Patriarchs series, at Woodside Bible Church, Troy Campus from 9:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. between services. If you live in the area, please stop by and say hello. Copies of Sarai, as well as, copies of Michal, Abigail, and Bathsheba, all part of the Wives of King David series will be available for purchase at the signing or in the Troy Campus Bookstore.

Hope to see you there!

Shalom~

Posted in Announcements, Books, Sarai on February 21, 2012 |

Birthdays, blogs, and other stuff…

I feel very neglectful of this blog these days, but not without good reason! We are putting the last touches on a new website, which I can’t wait to share with you! I’ve been uploading content from this website, while my webmaster has been incorporating the information from the Wives of King David website to roll all of the information into one. With two more series in the works, it is too hard to keep up with both sites (though the Wives of King David site will remain as it is for another year), or to continue to have separate series websites, so from now on, all information can be found on the new (coming very soon!) website.

In the meantime, I also celebrated another birthday on Valentine’s Day. Actually, it was a celebration broken into parts because we were waiting for my guys to feel better. One had a cold and the other had the stomach flu, and they both tried desperately not to share them with me. Thankfully, they are doing much better, and I have kept both illnesses at bay, for which I’m very grateful.

So I cooked dinner on my actual birthday, but we went to Red Lobster last night to celebrate with my mom. In years past, my dad used to take me to lunch on my birthday – a father/daughter tradition that I cherished. But alas, Daddy had to miss this years’ celebration. I suspect, if God allowed, that he was watching. But I did miss hearing his prayer for me.

On the bright side, I had a wonderful two days with my family (in person and long distance over Skype) and dear friends who texted or called or sent cards or posted wishes on my Facebook wall. We watched Downton Abbey two days in a row, and I got to see the finale on Blue Ray (a birthday gift) before it airs here on Sunday night. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day! God is gracious!

In other news…Sarai is starting to hit bookstore shelves. PW (Publishers Weekly) reviewed it and among other things had this to say:

“Smith is at her best in handling the triangulated relationship between Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar…Smith breathes new imaginative life into a well-known sacred story.”

So thank you, PW!

The official blog tour for Sarai is coming up March 4-10! A blog tour is where people who have received review copies of the book agree to post a review during that week. We have 66 bloggers on the list this year! I hope each one enjoys the book.

I’m off to work on the story of Rachel and Leah. Birthdays tend to slow things down a bit, and I’m two days behind on my word count. Time to play catch up!

Shalom~

Posted in Books, Musings, Sarai on February 16, 2012 |

SARAI is here!

The other day my wonderful marketing manager at Revell told me that Sarai had arrived in house and would be shipping yesterday! A month ahead of schedule. Well, today my first copy landed on my doorstep!

A new book always brings a certain measure of emotion with it. Joy, gratitude, amazement! And this time, a few tears, particularly when I saw the dedication in print. Sometimes it’s hard to come up with the right words in a dedication and this time, for this book, the decision was harder than with the others.

When I received galley edits on Sarai last August, my editor asked me what I’d like to put there. At that same time my dad was diagnosed with leukemia and given one to two months to live. I knew in that moment that though I had dedicated Bathsheba to both my mom and dad, both such wonderful, deserving parents, that this time I wanted the book dedicated in loving memory of my dad. The story’s theme fits his own life’s theme fairly well, I think. He longed for a better country, one not made with human hands. So this dedication is my epitaph to honor him.

For the rest of the book - Sarai is a story of a journey of two real people who lived in time and space nearly 3000 years ago. But their experiences and the emotions and challenges they faced are not so very different than our own. While you will encounter what Abram and Sarai lived through (according to Scripture – and of course, part in my imagination), you will also meet Lot and Melah (Lot’s wife) and Hagar, a woman whose story shaped a nation. And in fact, many nations emerged from Abraham and Sarah’s descendants, though two in particular stand out to this day – the Arabs and Israelis.

I hope you will join me on this new adventure into the lives of the Wives of the Patriarchs. Travel back in time to 3000 BC to Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, and Ancient Canaan. Travel with Sarai, Abram, Lot, Melah, Hagar, and those around them as they leave the lands of their birth to go to places unknown to them. For most it was a walk of faith, though not all trusted in the same things or the same Person. It is said of Abraham in Hebrews 11:10 that “he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” Abraham and Sarah walked on in faith, though they didn’t live to see every promise fulfilled. They considered Him faithful who promised to keep His Word.

You can pre-order Sarai at these online stores:
Amazon
Kindle
CBD
Barnes and Noble

Todah rabbah! (Thank you very much!)

And happy reading~

Posted in Announcements, Books, Sarai on February 2, 2012 |

SARAI – 4 Stars from RT Book Reviews!

A few days ago my marketing manager at Revell emailed me to say that RT Book Reviews had given Sarai 4 stars! (The book should be in stores about mid February or so. Soon!) Here are the reviewers comments:

“Smith is passionate about bringing to life the women of the Old Testament. Her new series starts with the wife of Abram and authentically renders their marriage struggles and their way of life into a saga that readers will embrace.”

Thank you to the reviewer! Four stars means “Compelling. A page turner.” I’m so glad she thought so! I hope all of my readers are blessed by this new series.

For those of you who live in Michigan, I’ll be doing a book signing at Woodside Bible Church’s Troy Campus on February 26, 2012 between services (9:30-1:00) If you get a chance to stop by, I would love to meet you! They will have books available for purchase.

In the meantime, I spent much of this week reading and researching Jacob, Rachel, and Leah’s stories. Learned some things I didn’t know about bride prices and inheritance rights of women back then. When you read the Bible account, you might see a phrase that is easily passed over, perhaps given in conversation – like when Rachel and Leah complained that their father had spent their inheritance. What inheritance? Hmm…now that gives me pause. And research helps answer that “what” question.

Answering such questions can also help define a person’s character. What kind of man would spend the inheritance of his daughters, something he was to keep for them in case they were widowed? Then I ask myself, have I ever seen this played out in my lifetime, in society or to pull it in a little closer – do I know anyone who would do or has done such a thing?

Then there is the whole love triangle of Jacob, Rachel, and Leah. Nasty mess, that. And never having lived in a polygamous household or even been in a situation where I vied with another for the affection of the same man, where do I turn for understanding? Books and movies, even TV shows can help. And in truth, jealousy is not that hard an emotion to comprehend or feel. What sibling hasn’t at some point been jealous of a brother or sister? What parent hasn’t wanted their child’s attention only to be pushed away, especially during those teen years? And who among us hasn’t vied for the undivided love of another? Even the best among us fails sometimes.

So, I read and observe and ponder and pray, and eventually these characters begin to take shape in my mind. The characters are cast, now the roles need defining. The script is outlined. Soon the writing will begin.

Happy Friday!

Posted in Announcements, Musings, Sarai on January 27, 2012 |

Abigail in Dutch!

I found out today from my publisher that Stichting Het Zoeklicht, an organization based in the Netherlands, has officially signed a contract for a Dutch-language edition of  Abigail. Woo hoo!

Of course, it won’t come out right away, and I might not see a copy for a year or two, but the news is still pretty fun.

I received page proofs for Sarai yesterday, and have until October 5th to get them back to my editor. We are ahead of schedule, though, so that’s good. This will be my final read-through of the book before it sees print.

In the meantime, my critique partner is reading Rebekah for me. Word coming from her is positive so far, so I am encouraged. She is the first person who reads my work, and I am certain each story is better because of her input. Of course, sometimes her suggestions mean more rewriting, but it’s worth it in the end. :)

Next week I’ll be heading to St. Louis for the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Conference. This is the highlight of my career year, one of the few chances we have as authors to come together in person. Most communication is done by email, so it is really nice to see everyone in person. And it is a great time to meet with people from Revell, my publisher and Books & Such, my agency.

In the meantime, I’ve been running lots of errands, spending time talking to neighbors, friends, and family and catching up on personal research – like where can I buy a lavender sachet?..or perusing an online art gallery…or looking for a used car – that kind of thing. And of course, I’m still trying new recipes to learn a healthier way of cooking, but there is also a part of me that craves pizza and coconut mocha frappuccinos from Starbucks. Why did they have to get rid of my favorite treat just because Fall is coming? They brought back salted caramel hot chocolate though, so I suppose I should be appeased. I miss those coconut frappuccinos though…

I just finished a few new novels I need to post about soon. Right now I’m reading Pompeii by T.L. Higley. Intriguing!

Selah~

Posted in Abigail, Books, Musings, Sarai on September 14, 2011 |