Next Novel Accepted for Publication

It's official. Kirkdale Press, the new fiction imprint of Logos Bible Software, will be publishing (e-book only) my second suspense novel, The Tenth Plague. More details coming soon. Praise the Lord! http://www.kirkdalepress.com/

Publisher Interested in The Tenth Plague

I have exciting news to share. The editor of a Christian e-book publisher contacted me yesterday via e-mail. "I’m pleased to inform you that our reviewers have very much enjoyed your book!" The editor said the publishing house wants to offer me a publishing deal and a contract—news that totally made my day after waiting so long and wondering if I'd ever find a publishing home for this project. The only problem is, I have a few other publishing leads, and I'm waiting for word on those before I decide. Pray for wisdom. Thanks! 

My Publisher Has Declined the Sequel

Due to inadequate sales of my first novel, my publisher has decided not to publish my sequel, which they said they would have otherwise accepted. This news is a downer after all the time and hard work poured into the project, but God must have other plans for good. I'm now shopping the project to other publishers, but the market has narrowed significantly due to the recession. Yet if God wants the novel to be published, He can open the door.

Thanks to all who have supported my writing journey thus far. My dad's terminal brain cancer has adjusted my perspective in many ways. Getting published is exciting, but there are far more important things in life, like people, souls, and pursuing things of eternal value. A friend recently pointed out, "Remember, books will burn." I appreciate the reality check.

Brandilyn Collins novels available for free download

Dark Pursuit and Exposure by Brandilyn Collins available for free download at B&N for a limited time: http://zndr.vn/7hH0Ss. 

Check it out!

Fatal Illusions Makes List of 'Best Books I’ve Read in 2009'

Check this out.Thanks, Glynn.

Fatal Illusions Appears in CBD Catalog

Check out page 24.

See the whole catalog: http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/catalog_viewer?issue_id=1104162&event=OLC&page=1

Fatal Illusions is officially finished

It's official. I proofread the page proofs (the book in layout) of my novel over the least couple of weeks and submitted the final corrections last Friday. Today I can say (with a great sense of liberation) that the project is finally finished, and the book is done. The only thing I have yet to see is the back cover; I should see that in a couple of weeks. Praise the Lord! What a journey!

So what's next? Promotion, promotion, promotion—as much as my schedule allows. More on that soon. And the next novel, of course.

Fatal Illusions makes CFBA schedule for 2009

I'm thrilled to report that Kregel has scheduled Fatal Illusions for a blog tour at the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, of which I'm a member. The blog tour will be July 6-8, 2009.

http://www.christianfictionblogalliance.com/book.html

FATAL ILLUSIONS Announced as Novel Title

I'm pleased to announce that Kregel has approved the final title of my Christian suspense novel as FATAL ILLUSIONS. I'm pleased with the title and eager to see the final cover as well.

My editor also e-mailed me this morning to say that she has officially approved my revised manuscript. So what's next? Now the manuscript goes to the "line editors," who begin the stage of grammar, consistency, and fact checking. They will query me if they have any questions along the way. I may need to rework a few scenes a little bit, but I won't be doing any major rewriting at this point. We're getting closer!

What am I doing now? I've already written the epigraph; that's the part that goes at the very beginning of the novel, usually a couple quotes or a Bible verse. Then I need to finish writing the dedication and the acknowledgments. So many people to thank! I could never have reached this part of the journey without so many cheerleaders and coaches along the way.

May the Lord receive the glory!

Final Revised Manuscript Submitted

Yesterday, June 18, was the big deadline for turning in my final, revised manuscript to Kregel. God is good, and He enabled me to e-mail the manuscript on time. Woo-hoo! This is a major project milestone for me, and I'm thrilled.

Readers may be wondering, Which manuscript is this? Here's the story. In April and May, I worked on revisions based on changes Kregel requested. The requested changes were pretty major: killing off a character, changing the direction and outcome of a pretty important subplot, adding more interaction with a character or two, etc. I had to cut about six chapters and write about as many new chapters. (Thanks goodness my chapters are short and numerous.) I worked on the revisions during some afternoons (as I could find time) but mostly on Saturdays.

I submitted my new chapters to my editor, who checked them over and gave me the thumbs up. After those new chapters were "approved," I needed to spend some time reading the full manuscript and making sure those new chapters fit into the big picture of the story. I consider my plot to be pretty complex with many threads connecting story lines to various characters. Pull one thread, and the whole thing could fall apart. I needed to make sure the threads were still connecting and making sense in light of my rewrites. So many details! If I wasn't a detail-oriented person, I could never do this type of work. I guess it's a blessing and a curse.

Over the last two weeks, I reread the full manuscript twice, tweaking places here and there, adding nuance, making little wording changes, verifying that character motivations made sense, double-checking police procedural details. (Special thanks to novelists Amy Wallace and Mark Mynheir for graciously lending their advice and answering my questions.) Sometimes I just had to follow my gut instinct. There was a lot to do and a lot to look for. (The Kregel editors will check these details, too, but I wanted to make their jobs easier.) I prayed that God would help me see what needed to change, since this was probably my last crack at major rewrites. This realization did make me feel nervous at times.

For a little while, I felt like I had read the manuscript so many times that I was losing my objectivity and ability to see what needed help. So I took a weekend off and didn't even look at the manuscript; that distance seemed to help me go back to it with fresh eyes. Either way, I've read it as carefully as I know how, trying to think everything through and put my best foot forward. Surprisingly, even yesterday I saw a plot hole I had forgotten about. Hopefully, it's plugged now. Hopefully.

Either way, the final manuscript is submitted and now out of my hands. Is it perfect? I'm sure it isn't. But it's definitely the best I could do right now with God's help, yet it is hard to let go. I struggle with the feeling that there's always something somewhere that I could have done better if only I'd had more time and done more work. But at some point every author needs to draw a line in the sand and say, "This is when the project is done" and stop working on it. Otherwise, he could be changing things forever.

I just need to let go of the project and trust the Lord for the rest. He's brought me this far. He won't fail me now.

So what's next? Now I wait to hear from my editors, who will be reading the whole manuscript again in light of the requested changes. If I missed anything or if anything doesn't measure up, they will contact me, and I'll have some more work to do. When all is good, then the manuscript formally begins the editing stage for Kregel. Their editors will begin doing their editing. If they have any questions about consistency or logic, they will contact me for changes. I'll be able to see the manuscript again, maybe even a couple times, before the printing.

Whew! That's all for now!

P.S. The latest title possibility was FATAL ILLUSIONS. I like it, but I'm not sure if that will be the final pick. Kregel had a few other possible titles, too. I also heard that my editor saw a mock-up of what the cover might look like. She said it looks fantastic, but I haven't seen it yet. I can hardly wait and feel a little nervous about seeing it.

Young Adult Christian Fiction Market Growing But Getting Edgier

Young adult literature is hot. According to the Young Adult Library Services Association, sales of books aimed at the 12–18 age group grew 20% between 1999 and 2005. With general market YA such a hot commodity, and religion soldiering on as a steady growth category—up 5.2% in 2007, according to the Association of American Publishers—it's no surprise that Christian publishers are scrambling to marry the two success stories. A number of Christian houses have started their own YA lines, aiming to be relevant to teens' needs while remaining true to a core Christian message. More.