Click on the link and I’ll tell you why I wrote REIGN–and you can meet my fluffy muse, Duke.

The Jezebel novel REIGN officially hits stores the first week of May but the reviews are coming in. I’m pleased. As some of you know, REIGN is technically the prequel for the novel I wrote, DARK HOUR. (Btw, DARK HOUR is on sale as an ebook download for $3.99!)

From the back of the book:

“REIGN is faithful to the biblical account, with startling evidence uncovered by archeologists woven into the story. From her marriage to Ahab until her death, Jezebel’s heart is unveiled—a heart capable of passion and pain, love and hate. Captivating storytelling reveals another side to a familiar story as Jezebel maneuvers through heated palace politics, pitting the goddess Asherah against Obadiah’s God, Yahweh. And it may cost her everything. Part Three of The Lost Loves of the Bible fiction series it’s ideally suited for historical fiction fans and anyone fascinated by the lives of biblical women. It’s as haunting as it is relevant—the story of a woman forced to choose between love and vengeance.”

Please consider joining me at BookFun.org for some really cool contests, live author chats and more. You can also find me on GoodReads to connect and share thoughts on what we’re all reading.

So, here are the reviews:

RT Reviews (formerly Romantic Times) . . .

4 STARS

Garrett’s third book in her Lost Loves of the Bible series has momentum of plot and richness of character.
Her depiction of the lives of women during biblical times and the challenges they faced is fascinating.
Although the beginning outweighs the ending, you will be mesmerized by the cunning Queen Jezebel.

From the April 15 edition of Library Journal:

Garrett, Ginger. Reign: The Chronicles of Queen Jezebel. David C. Cook. (Lost Loves of the Bible). May 2013. 304p. ISBN 9781434765963. pap. $14.99. CF

The name Jezebel has long been associated with promiscuous women and false prophets. In the Bible, and here, Jezebel, the daughter of the King of Tyre, is married off as a political maneuver to King Ahab, and she converts him from Judaism to paganism. But the Prophet Elijah challenges the woman and her Phoenician gods. Seeking a miracle, Ahab’s people vow allegiance to Elijah’s God, inciting Jezebel to revenge. Garrett’s welcome follow-up to Desired: The Untold Story of Samson and Delilah offers a captivating portrait of a more human and complex woman. VERDICT This compelling and suspenseful revisionist character study makes an excellent choice for aficionados of Francine Rivers.

And there is another review on NetGalley, which I will load a bit later.

I am having so much fun with the marketing team planning some special giveaways for the readers, including hundreds of books! Connect with me on social media, or stay tuned to the blog for more updates.

I’m still busy mentoring middle school students who want to be writers, and working on some new volunteer projects as well.

I will be updating the site soon with some publishing news and fun stuff, including some giveaways of incredible jewelry as we get ready for the release of REIGN: THE CHRONICLES OF QUEEN JEZEBEL.

See you soon!

http://www.intouch.org/magazine/content?topic=enough_is_a_feast#.UKZ8ZIavNNg

Here’s what I’ve been up to, and why you may care:

I’m am working on line edits this month, and the Jezebel novel, REIGN, is now available for pre-order on Amazon. If you’ve been wondering where the Jezebel novel from the Serpent Moon series was supposed to be, this is it.

I’m also writing for the inspirational magazine InTouch, which is free to subscribe to. You can visit them at InTouch.org  It’s a smart, satisfying read every month that helps me embrace the truths of faith, love and hope. I promise it can do the same for you.

I’ve been busy at work on a middle-grade novel. I may use a new pen name for this genre and start a new career…but we will see. I don’t know what is ahead, but I wake up every day knowing what has to get done. I bet you’re the same! Our to-do lists seem to write themselves while we sleep.  Fall is a wonderful reminder to slow down and appreciate the quiet transitions in our lives.

Oh, yes, I accepted an offer to do a few TV shows. More on that later! I need to get myself to a mall and buy some MAC Ruby Woo. A great red lipstick seems in order to celebrate.

https://www.facebook.com/events/247235322044595/

I can’t wait to hang out with some of my favorite women in Atlanta, like author Johnna Stein and Tracey Baird! Not to mention all the moms who are getting ready for a fabulous summer with their kids. Beyond that, I am busy right now with some magazine articles (how odd to be writing for the Holiday 2012 editions while my house smells of sunscreen and hot dogs on the grill!), plus FINALLY finishing my beloved middle grade novel.

The Jezebel novel was finished this month and is in production, so I am free to play for a while…

So, for now, just know: I heart moms! See you at Perimeter Church, everyone!

Ginger

I helped lead a two-day spiritual retreat at a homeless shelter. These women described themselves as recovering “crack whores,” or “tricks.” That broke my heart. As I looked out at their faces, so weary and anxious for inspiration, I was deeply moved. What a thin line separates our worlds, really. There is no “Us” and “Them.”

To offer a little bit of comfort and hope was a real privilege and honor. That’s the best part of being a writer. I have had such incredible opportunities to sit with people of so many walks of life: practicing witches, homeless women and recovering addicts,  rabbis and atheists and conservative Christians.  I am more deeply in love today with the message of peace and hope and power that Scripture offers, and am also convinced that to live a life of Us versus Them opens the door to suffering.

That lesson was driven home two weeks later when I chaperoned a group of fifth graders to a Holocaust museum. The violent images and heartbreaking relics, such as the barbed wire fence from a concentration camp, left many of the kids in tears. The evil was overwhelming, as was the sense that the world had failed the persecuted ones by failing to identify with them.

April was an incredible month in many ways, and now I am looking forward to May. I can’t wait for school to be out, for coconut-scented sunscreen and watermelon by the pool. I can’t wait to turn in REIGN and move on to my next project.

I can’t wait to see what comes next!

That was my big lesson over Christmas. Normally, when all my little ones are home from school, the house is in tatters by lunch and my nerves are fried. I hate a messy house. I love the peace of a clean and orderly house, which is one thing no one at my old infertility clinic ever talked to me about. They did not warn me that these precious bundles would one day explode all over my living room, so to speak. So this season, every day, I cranked the hiphop and dance music up to ear-bleed level, set the timer for ten minutes, and we all did what came to be known as a Flash Clean. Just ten minutes of cleaning as fast as you can.  Then we were done for the day. And the house sparkled. I can’t say it was peaceful, but it was clean and orderly, and we devoted ourselves to cookie baking, target practice, puppy wrangling, and all the other fun stuff that makes our family ours.

So now I am a huge fan of small daily goals. Ten pages a day. Ten minutes a day.  Life is good!

Here’s what I am reading this month:

Dave Ramsey’s MORE THAN ENOUGH

Rick Yancey’s THE MONSTRUMOLOGIST

Cheryl Klein’s SECOND SIGHT: AN EDITOR’S TALKS ON WRITING, REVISING, & PUBLISHING BOOKS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS

Have a wonderful month, take a few baby steps every day towards a big goal, and get ready for a fantastic 2012.

Over the holiday I will be editing the Jezebel novel. I’ll need more than just a good meal to get that job done. I haven’t gotten to the raw heart of her story yet.  It’s disheartening to think I’m not there yet, but then again, every the best things in my life have all come from setbacks. My husband is here because my dog yacked all over my previous beau. My kids are here because I was told I couldn’t have any, and I  pursued a lonely path to get to them. My writing is here because I needed an outlet during that season, and my blank spiral journal never got tired of listening.

This Thanksgiving, when I drink my first cup of coffee and prepare for the madness, I am going to make a list of the setbacks and discouragements I am facing. Then I will say a prayer of thanks for each and every one. Someday, I know that I will look back and realize a gift came from them all.

Be blessed, be filled and get ready to be merry! Welcome, Christmas!

Ginger