Ginger Garrett

Just published in In Touch magazine, here’s the story of how Grendel, my beloved Bearded Collie, taught my kids a lesson about the hope and joy awaiting us:

http://www.intouch.org/site/c.cnKBIPNuEoG/b.6003155/k.84A6/One_More_Day.htm

Keep a tissue handy!

Wondering when the next book will release? Here’s a quick peek:

Chosen: The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther    Time to pre-order! http://www.amazon.com/Chosen-Diaries-Queen-Esther-Loves/dp/1434768015/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_5 

Chosen releases on March 1, although in my experience, books do ship early. This is the title that has been offered for sale for up to $90 as a used copy. The new editions will have a gorgeous cover and you’ll be able to order as many as you like. (Until we burn through that first printing, and then we’ll be back to waiting.)

In The Eyes of Eternity. The last book in the Chronicles of the Scribe series is finished! I start edits with the publisher’s editor soon. Look for the book to release near Christmas of this year. I’m taking you all back to Germany in the 1500’s for the witch hunts. Get ready!

Dark Hour sequel: Yep, everyone asks me about this. I get emails constantly about the fate of the Serpent Moon trilogy I began with NavPress. As you may know, NavPress wanted to move away from fiction and I did not finish the series. However, I am back to work on it starting next month! The release dates will begin after Christmas of this year. I’ll update this site with a firm date when I have it. Should be fun!

And one more addition to the schedule: if you loved Beauty Secrets of the Bible, plan to pick up a copy of the new devotional I am writing for Harvest House. We’re still fine-tuning the title, but it will be based on the same theme. The devotional will be available for purchase just after Christmas.

January is almost over. I was shocked at how fast 2009 flew by, and I have a feeling 2010 will be just as busy for all of us. Soak in the sun when it shines, rest while it rains, and dance when no one is watching!

Merry Christmas! If you’d like to peek inside the homes of some of your favorite authors, you’ve come to the right place. Amy Wallace, who writes crime fiction with a message, has linked to me. If you’ve just come from her site, welcome!

Watch my Christmas open house video below and then please make your merry way to the next author, Lyn Cote.

Here’s my Christmas blessing for you, filmed under my Christmas tree:

 And now, here is Lyn Cote’s blog, which is your next stop! You may need to copy the web address and paste it into your browser.

http://strongwomenbravestories.blogspot.com/2009/12/author-house-tour-merry-christmas-from.html

Have fun on the tour! Ginger

Today’s the birthday of one of my favorite novelists, Siri Mitchell. On my  blog roll you’ll find a link to her site and see a cover of her newest release, Love’s Pursuit. It’s a great read for those dreary afternoons when it’s raining and cold. It’s Siri’s birthday but give yourself a present and pick up one of her books.

(I tried to load the cover below, but this WordPress application hates me. No, really.)

To celebrate the release of In The Arms of Immortals, I’m giving five copies away this week. If you’ve signed up to receive my newsletter, and your snail mail address is included, you’re already entered to win. If you haven’t signed up, here’s the scoop:

I will be sending the newsletter once a month starting in September, and including highlights and tips from my radio interviews from the popular Beauty Secrets of the Bible book. I despise SPAM, so you’ll never, ever catch me letting anyone peek at the subscriber list.  It’s sacred to me, like a promise between us. So sign up and know your information is confidential and you can look forward to great insider tips, subscriber-only previews, and monthly giveaways.

Reviews for In The Arms of Immortals are already coming in on Amazon, which tickles me. If you like the book, won’t you consider posting a review? Those are a big help to other readers. If you struggle with wondering what to write in a review, as I sometimes do, you can ask yourself these questions:

1. What did the book make me feel?

2. What did the book challenge me to think about or reconsider?

3. When I finished the book, I wanted to….

Book reviews–of all titles, not just mine–are one way we can engage with the larger community and influence our culture. Your words don’t have to be perfect to make an impact. Mine never are. In fact, there is only one perfect book ever written, and it’s not mine. :)  You don’t need to be perfect, not in a book review, and not in your everyday life. Just showing up and working from the heart are what matters.

Enjoy your fall weather this week!

My friend Kimberly Stuart posted a video tutorial on her blog today for her fans, and I nearly fell out of my chair laughing:

http://kimberlystuart.blogspot.com/2009/08/book-signings-video-tutorial.html

If you’ve never read Kimberly’s books, she’s sassy, real, and absolutely hyserical. Her new release, Stretch Marks, made me laugh and think. Promise me you’ll pick up a copy and snuggle up under the covers as the weather turns cooler. It’s a perfect book for hibernating, preferably with a nice bar of chocolate.

(Oh! Yes, and some of you amazing readers are already reviewing and commenting on my new book, In the Arms of Immortals. You can watch the trailer here if you haven’t already. It should be in bookstores across the country by next week. You can always ask your library to order a copy, too.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hWMjO8IJqA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hWMjO8IJqA

I admit it–I’m biased. But this new commercial for my next novel, In The Arms of Immortals, just takes my breath away. David C. Cook is an amazing publisher to work with!

I’m editing two novels and writing another. My brain should be fried, but being couch-bound has its advantages. Not many, actually, but at least I am able to get more writing done while my ankle heals. Now I will be waiting for galleys to come back on both books while I wrap up the new novel.

Getting the galleys back is the worst part of the publishing process. Galleys are the first time you get to see your book after edits, just before it goes to the presses. The hateful thing about galleys is that you realize the book is over, and it isn’t everything you dreamed of. Yet, it’s the best you could do for that moment in time. It’s like getting to relive your past only to realize you can’t really do anything different, even though you are wiser now.

If any of you dream of becoming a writer, just know that it’s okay to start and not like what you write. You’ll spend a lot of time not liking what you write. But if it’s the best you can do for today, then learn to let it go. I wish I could learn to apply this same lesson to life!

My nine year old son James ran into the kitchen to call his best friend.

“Mom!” my son yelled. “Get in here fast! The phone is doing something weird!”

I ran in, expecting it to be on fire, given my son’s track record with appliances.

“Listen!” he said, holding it out so I could hear. “It’s going ‘boop boop boop’!”

“That’s a busy signal,” I said.

“What’s a busy signal?” he asked.

“In the days before you were born,” I began, “there was no such thing as call waiting. Or voice mail. When you called someone and they were on the phone, that’s the sound you heard. It meant the line was busy.”

James stared at me like I was an embarassment to the twenty-first century.

“Well,” he said after a minute, still holding the phone. “What do I do?”

“You hang up. And you call again in ten minutes.”

James thinks I lived through the Dark Ages. The idea of having three channels on TV and having to read a map are barbaric concepts. Sigh.

On another note, last week I did three signings and appearances. I love talking to readers. You are all much smarter than me, and I learn something at every event. Last week, one person asked me, “How do you do it? How do you keep writing books about believers when you study church history and know all those horrible things Christians have done?”

I don’t think I could form the answer until I had more time and a lot more coffee. The truth is, I am never surprised or sidetracked by the ugliness of humanity. I see it only in my peripheral vision. I write because I am pursuing a man who rose from the dead. I write as a way of following in His footsteps, wanting to see Him, wanting to know His secrets. To know that there is a God who saw all this ugliness in us, the abuse and torture and lies, and was willing to lay down on a cross so we could drive the nails of our sickness deep into His flesh, I know that our sickness did not stop Him from loving us.

And I certainly won’t let it stop me from loving Him.