Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, known as TNZ Fiction, have released not only late 2017 covers, but a couple of 2018 ones as well! TNZ Fiction are willing to reach outside the box these days, with cover art and storylines. I admire them for both.

Hands down for me, Billy Coffey’s cover is brilliant. I love everything about it – colour, placements, font, and its subtlety. And the story sounds amazing, which is pretty much guaranteed for him! Similarly, Julie Cantrell’s story and cover are special, and Katherine Reay’s continue to be themed and unique.

They still take the traditional approach with Amish covers and I’m afraid they all look alike to me, but obviously that is what they are going for in that genre. I love Shelley’s historical novels but the cover doesn’t particularly appeal. Tamera’s is pretty, as is Robin’s and stay true to their genre and readership.

I love legal thrillers (21 years as a lawyer will do that to you!) and Robert and Cara know how to write. While I really like Cara’s first cover in the series, this one doesn’t work for me. I like the concept and the continuity with the first, but it is too blurred making it hard to work out it is a little child and actually hurts my eyes! Must be getting old, right?!

Hoping Irma’s and Denise’s will be fabulous! Be sure to check out the pre-order links and the authors’ websites, below each cover, for more details.

As always, I can’t wait to hear your thoughts…

A Time to Standby Robert Whitlow

In a small Georgia town, lines are drawn and tensions mount. Can one woman stand in the divide and find truth in the face of hate?

Adisa Johnson, a young African American attorney, is living her dream of practicing high-stakes law with a prestigious firm in downtown Atlanta. Then, a split-second mistake destroys the world she’s created. Left with no options, she returns to her hometown so she can care for an aging aunt recovering from a stroke. Once there, Adisa is confronted with a much more brutal reality—a young unarmed black man has been shot by a white police officer and now lies comatose in the hospital. As a former assistant district attorney, Adisa is itching to jump into the fight as a special prosecutor. But she’s being pulled in another direction by equally powerful forces urging her to do what she considers unthinkable—defend the officer.

Tensions in the local community are at the boiling point with Adisa trapped in the middle. As the case unfolds, everyone must confront their own prejudices. For Adisa, it means seeking counsel from her Aunt Josie and charting her way through the labyrinth of a relationship with Rev. Reggie Reynolds, a charismatic young preacher and leader of the local movement seeking justice for the young man who was shot. For the police officer, it means confronting why he acted as he did.

Some problems have no solution. Some people don’t know where to look for answers. Some people are called to be lights in the darkness.

September 2017

An Amish Christmas Loveby Beth Wiseman, Amy Clipston, Kelli Irvin, and Ruth Reid

Winter Kisses by Beth Wiseman

Three generations of Stoltzfus women are all living under the same roof. At twenty-five, Naomi has never been married, and both her mother, Barbara, and her grandmother, Ruth, have recently been widowed. Each nursing broken or lonely hearts, they also each have potential suitors. When a storm on Christmas Eve forces the three couples to take shelter in the basement of the Stotlzfus homestead, secrets are revealed, hearts are opened, and all three potential grooms drop to their knees for very different reasons—a proposal, a prayer, and an epiphany.

The Christmas Cat by Amy Clipston

Emma Bontrager is spending her first Christmas alone after her husband of 45 years, Henry, passed away in July. Although the Amish don’t normally allow animals in their homes, a big, fat, orange barn cat keeps coming into Emma’s house. She shoos the cat away, but it continues to appear in her house, settling on Henry’s favorite wingchair. But the cat isn’t the only Christmas visitor: a group of young people help bring the Christmas spirit to Emma, reminding her that love and hope abide.

Snow Angels by Kelly Irvin

As a young man enjoying his rumspringa, David Byler gave his heart to an Englisch girl, but he eventually realized he couldn’t give up his Plain faith and family for her, so he let her go. He’s found a new love in his Bee County Plain community, Molly Shrock. Molly has been patient, waiting for the man she loves to love her back. Just as he is ready to propose, David makes a startling discover: Bobbie McGregor, his Englisch love, is back. Will Molly’s prayers for a Christmas love be answered?

Home for Christmas by Ruth Reid

When a misdirected GPS sends Ellie Whetstone to the wrong address, she inadvertently finds herself breaking into the home of Amish man, Ezra Mast. Ellie hopes to fix up the house left by her aenti and sell it quickly, but a series of run-ins with Ezra and his young daughter have her questioning whether a hasty sale is the right move. Could this new place with its slower pace be the right home for Ellie?

September 2017

Home All Alongby Beth Wiseman

An Amish Secrets Novel

Charlotte has made a home for herself in Amish Country with Daniel. But unforeseen events rock their fragile world and may move them even further away from the life they long for.

Charlotte, an Englisher, is living in Amish Country, and she has formed strong and lasting bonds with the people in her new community. She has even fallen in love with an Amish man. But just when she is considering a permanent conversion to the Amish way of life, her world crashes around her. An unexpected death and a mysterious visitor unsettle Charlotte, and she begins to question her faith and her choices.

Daniel loves Charlotte and wants to share his life with her, even it if means leaving the only world he’s ever known. But as he walks alongside of her through her struggles, his own world is turned upside down when a loved one receives a grim medical diagnosis and a prodigal relative returns home. Will Charlotte and Daniel’s relationship succumb to the many pressures around them, or will their faith and the strong community around them allow them to weather the storms of their own lives in order to build a life together?

September 2017

Christmas at Carntonby Tamera Alexander

A Novella

Amid the shadow of war, the fading dream of the Confederacy, and the faith of a child, a former soldier and a destitute woman discover the true meaning of Christmas and a most unanticipated friendship—and love.

Jake Winston, a revered Confederate sharpshooter, has suffered a head wound at the Battle of Chickamauga. His injuries may or may not result in blindness, which for Jake, would mean losing not just his greatest skill but his identity. As he waits to learn his fate, he observes and captures the bruising realities of war around him in his sketchbook and his journal, which become a lifeline for him.

When ordered to assist with a local Ladies Aid Society Christmas Auction, Jake respectfully objects, but orders are orders. As he is preparing for the auction, he meets Aleta Prescott, who has been hired by the Society as a cook. Aleta is struggling to hold life together for herself and for her six-year old son Andrew. Her husband, also has soldier, hasn’t been heard from him in several weeks, and Aleta fears the worst.

A friendship develops both between Jake and Aleta and between Jake and Andrew. Aleta and Jake learn that their paths have crossed in other ways that neither of them could have imagined.  As they learn the truth about each other, they strive to find hope and build a future together from amidst the ruins of their pasts.

October 2017

Love Held Captiveby Shelley Shepard Gray

After the War Between the States, a Confederate officer longs to heal the heart of Lizbeth Barclay—but first he’ll have to right the wrongs that were done to her.

Major Ethan Kelly has never been able to absolve himself of the guilt he feels for raiding one woman’s home just days before he was taken prisoner. He is struggling to get through each day until he once again crosses paths with Lizbeth Barclay—the very woman he can’t forget.

Life after the war is not much different for former Captain Devin Monroe. Until he meets Julianne VanFleet and knows that she is the woman he’s been waiting for. After calling on Julianne, Devin struggles to come to terms with the sacrifices she made to survive the war.

When Ethan and Devin discover that their former colonel Adam Bushnell is responsible for both Lizbeth’s and Julianne’s pain, they call on their former fellow soldiers to hunt him down. The men band together in an effort to earn the trust of the women they love and bring them the justice they deserve.

October 2017

The Austen Escapeby Katherine Reay

After years of following her best friend’s lead, Mary Davies finds a whimsical trip back to Austen’s Regency England paves the way towards a new future.

Mary Davies lives and works in Austin, Texas, as an industrial engineer. She has an orderly and productive life, a job and colleagues that she enjoys—particularly a certain adorable, intelligent, and hilarious consultant. But something is missing for Mary. When her estranged and emotionally fragile childhood friend Isabel Dwyer offers Mary a two-week stay in a gorgeous manor house in Bath, Mary reluctantly agrees to come along, in hopes that the holiday will shake up her quiet life in just the right ways. But Mary gets more than she bargained for when Isabel loses her memory and fully believes that she lives in Regency England. Mary becomes dependent on a household of strangers to take care of Isabel until she wakes up.

With Mary in charge and surrounded by new friends, Isabel rests and enjoys the leisure of a Regency lady. But life gets even more complicated when Mary makes the discovery that her life and Isabel’s have intersected in more ways that she knew, and she finds herself caught between who Isabel was, who she seems to be, and the man who stands between them. Outings are undertaken, misunderstandings play out, and dancing ensues as this triangle works out their lives and hearts among a company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation.

November 2017

Blue Ridge Sunriseby Denise Hunter

A Blue Ridge Romance

Former free spirit Zoe Collins swore she’d never again set foot in Copper Creek or speak to the man who broke her heart. But return she must when her beloved Granny dies, leaving the family legacy to Zoe–a peach orchard nestled at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

When Zoe returns home with her daughter and boyfriend Kyle, she finds that she’s the only person in town who doesn’t expect her to give up the life she’s established far away from Copper Creek. Everyone believes she was born to run the orchard, but how can she make it her home after so many years?

Cruz Huntley never quite got over his first love Zoe Collins, the little sister of his best friend Brady. Not when she cheated on him during their “break,” not when she took off to parts unknown with good-for-nothing Kyle Jenkins, and not even now—five years later.

As life-changing decisions and a history with Cruz hang over Zoe’s head, tensions rise between her and Kyle. Even as she comes to terms with the shifting relationships in her life, Zoe still isn’t sure if she can remain in Copper Creek with her new responsibilities . . . and her first love.

November 2017

A Place at Our Tableby Amy Clipston

An Amish Homestead Novel

In the midst of family heartaches, can two young Amish people move past their grief and trust that God’s will includes finding happiness again?

Jamie Riehl might very well be burning both ends of the candle. Running the family farm keeps him busy enough, but add in his volunteering for the local fire department, and Jamie barely has time to eat at the family table, never mind find someone to date. But when he meets Kayla Dienner while responding to a fire, he is smitten.

Kayla tries so hard to deny her attraction to Jamie. After all, she’s spent the last year trying to talk her younger brother, Nathan, out of joining the fire department. The death of their older brother in a fire a year ago has reinforced the dangers of just such a profession, and she can’t bear the idea of putting her heart on the line every time the sirens blare.

When tragedy strikes, Jamie runs from the guilt he feels and buries himself in his work, extinguishing any flickers of a relationship between him and Kayla. In order to save the love she was so determined to deny, Kayla must set aside her own fears, trusting that the reward of love is far greater than the risk of pain.

November 2017

The Crooked Pathby Irma Joubert

As retired physician Lettie Louw looks back upon her life, she recounts her coming of age in WWII-era South Africa in this compelling story of delayed love, loss, and reconciliation.

Lettie Louw is the daughter of the town physician in their South African village. She spends her childhood in the warm African days playing with her friends and being adored by her doting parents. When she becomes a teenager, she experiences her first taste of unrequited romantic love in the form of her best friend’s older brother, De Wet Fourie. When De Wet pursues the beautiful and wealthy Annabelle, Lettie’s dreams are crushed, and she moves to Johannesburg to pursue her studies in medicine.

Life in Johannesburg feels strange to Lettie, and the world around her is in profound upheaval as the Second World War rages. Her feelings for De Wet never waver, and Lettie is heartbroken when he marries another of her childhood friends. Lettie soon meets Marco Romanelli, an Italian immigrant, and they marry and raise two daughters, as the racial and political tensions in South Africa swirl about them.

Lettie never forgets her first love, even as the ravages of time, war, and illness play upon her life and the lives of those she loves. In their later years, Lettie and De Wet are thrown into one another’s company again, and they are given another chance at a life together.

November 2017

Perennialsby Julie Cantrell

When two estranged sisters reunite for their parents’ 50th anniversary, a family tragedy brings unexpected lessons of hope and healing amid the flowers of their mother’s perennial garden.

Eva—known to all as Lovey—grew up in Oxford, MS, surrounded by literary history and her mother’s stunning perennial gardens. But a garden shed fire and the burns suffered by one of her best friends seemed to change everything. Her older sister Bitsy blamed her for the fire—and no one spoke up on her behalf. Bitsy the cheerleader, Bitsy the homecoming queen, Bitsy married to a wealthy investor. And all the while, Lovey blamed for everything that goes wrong.

At eighteen, Lovey turns down a marriage proposal, flees from Oxford and the expectations of attending Ole Miss, and instead goes to Arizona—the farthest thing from the South she can imagine. She becomes a successful advertising executive, a weekend yoga instructor, and seems to have it all together. But she’s alone. And on her 45th birthday, she can’t help but wonder what’s wrong.

When she gets a call from her father—still known to everyone as Chief from his Ole Miss football days—insisting that she come home three weeks early for her parents’ 50th wedding anniversary celebration, she’s at wits end. She’s about to close the biggest contract of her career, the one that will secure her financial goals and set her up for retirement. But his words, “Family First,” hit too close to home. Is there hope for her estranged relationship with Bitsy after all this time?

Eva’s journey home, to the memory garden her father has planned as an anniversary surprise for her mother, becomes one of discovering roots, and truth, and love, and what living perennially in spite of disappointments and tragedy really means. Eva thought she wanted to leave her family and the South far behind . . . but she’s realizing she hasn’t truly been herself the whole time she’s been gone.

November 2017

Imperfect Justiceby Cara Putman

The police say the woman was a murderer. Emilie Wesley knows they can’t be talking about her client . . . but she can’t prove it.

To the world it seems obvious: Kaylene Turner snapped and killed her daughter and then was shot by police. However, attorney Emilie Wesley knows a different story. Kaylene was a nurturer at heart looking for a way out of a controlling, abusive marriage. Kaylene’s death shakes Emilie’s world and her belief that she can make a difference for these women. Self-doubt plagues her, and she finds herself struggling to continue her work in the wake of tragedy.

Austen Billings thought he knew his sister—right up until he learned of the manner of her death. He receives a letter from Kaylene begging him to fight for custody of her daughters if anything should happen to her. No attorney in her right mind would take on his case, but Kaylene’s letter claims Emilie Wesley will help him.

Thrown together in the race to save Kinley Turner from a father who isn’t all that he seems, Emily and Austen pursue the constantly evasive truth. But if they can hang on to hope together, maybe they can save Kinley—and find a future for themselves in the process.

December 2017

You’re Gonna Love Meby Robin Lee Hatcher

Nick’s love of thrills and danger and Samantha’s love of safety and security drove them apart two years ago. After her worst fears came true, can they build something new upon the ashes of the past?

Nick Chastain, a brilliant professor of fisheries and wildlife studies at Oregon State University, planned to spend spring break kayaking dangerous rapids in Colorado. But his thrill-seeking ways didn’t sit well with Samantha Winters, his girlfriend of over six months. Samantha lost her father in a skiing accident years before and has been fearful ever since. Finally, one argument too many—and a host of harsh words exchanged—ended their relationship. A few weeks later, Samantha emailed an apology, but Nick never replied.

Two years later, Samantha comes to Thunder Creek, Idaho, to nurse her grandmother back to health after an accident. She is shocked when Nick walks into Gran’s hospital room and even more shocked to learn that he no longer teaches at the university, a profession he loved with a passion. As Samantha and Nick get to know one another again, Samantha realizes that she should use this time in Thunder Creek to evaluate her life—and her fears—and make some changes for the better. And Nick sets out to prove he has changed far more than Samantha might imagine.

December 2017

Beneath the Summer Sunby Kelli Irvin

An Every Amish Season Novel

In the midst of family heartaches, can two young Amish people move past their grief and trust that God’s will includes finding happiness again?

Jamie Riehl might very well be burning both ends of the candle. Running the family farm keeps him busy enough, but add in his volunteering for the local fire department, and Jamie barely has time to eat at the family table, never mind find someone to date. But when he meets Kayla Dienner while responding to a fire, he is smitten.

Kayla tries so hard to deny her attraction to Jamie. After all, she’s spent the last year trying to talk her younger brother, Nathan, out of joining the fire department. The death of their older brother in a fire a year ago has reinforced the dangers of just such a profession, and she can’t bear the idea of putting her heart on the line every time the sirens blare.

When tragedy strikes, Jamie runs from the guilt he feels and buries himself in his work, extinguishing any flickers of a relationship between him and Kayla. In order to save the love she was so determined to deny, Kayla must set aside her own fears, trusting that the reward of love is far greater than the risk of pain.

January 2018

Steal Away Homeby Billy Coffey

Owen Cross grew up with two loves: one a game, the other a girl. One of those loves ruined him. Now he’s counting on the other to save him.

Baseball always came easy for Owen Cross. His innate talents were honed beneath the stiff hand of a father who wanted nothing more than for his son to succeed where he had failed. The girl was a little more complicated. Owen loved Micky Dullahan from the first time they met, on a lonely hill overlooking the depressed area where her troubled family had always lived. But she was from the wrong side of the tracks, and so that spot became their haven, the one place they could be together without worry of class or reputation.

Owen’s career progresses just as everyone expects: college, the minors, even a few stints in the big leagues. But it is on a major league field that he has the epiphany that he has always given everything to baseball—and yet it cannot love him back.

Micky’s advice comes back to haunt him. “You’ve got a second chance to love what will always love you back.” And so he returns home to that hill, to the last place he ever saw her, finally ready to stop running away.

January 2018