The Summary of Bound by Guilt unveiled

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First things first. I've picked seven of your great questions to answer in the back of Bound by Guilt. I loved all of the questions, so it was really hard to narrow them down. But I ended up going with ones that were specifically about this novel. The rest I just might use on my website or blog in the future! Thanks so much. Congratulations to:

Debby
Emma Bedford
Sandi Andrews
Jan Archer
Anonymous (asking about whether I had a sequel in mind)
Diana Prusik
Laura

Could all of you e-mail me at cj at cjdarlington dot com with your mailing addresses? I'd like to send you a signed copy of Thicker than Blood as my way of saying thanks.

And now for the big unveil. Since you've now seen the cover of Bound by Guilt, you're probably wondering what the novel is about. Yes, it is a sequel to Thicker than Blood. But it also stands completely alone. It takes place about a year and half after the events of the first novel, and you will get to see Christy and Hunter again. May and Beth make cameos too. But the girl featured on the cover? Her name is Roxi Gold.

Here's summary:

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Roxi Gold has been shuttled from one foster home to another most of her life. She longs for a family and will do anything to fit in - even if it's against the law. Soon she's traveling the country in an RV stealing rare books from unsuspecting bookstores. If she refuses she'll be put out on the streets.

Police officer Abby Dawson has seen the worst of society, and not just at work. Her ex-husband has wrested her daughter away from her in a bitter custody battle. The job she once loved has become a chore - the world isn't safer, and there's no joy in her life.

One night a man's innocent blood changes Roxi and Abby forever. One searches for justice; the other finds herself on the run until a first edition of The Great Gatsby catches up with her. Will the power of forgiveness set them free, or will they both remain bound by guilt?
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What do you think? :)

Bound by Guilt is available for pre-order at Amazon.com, Christianbook.com and Barnes & Noble.com

Bound by Guilt cover unveiled!

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Here it is!

I'm so very excited to unveil the official cover of my February 2011 Tyndale House release, Bound by Guilt (click on photo to enlarge).

This book is one I'm really excited to share with you. If you liked Thicker than Blood I think you'll enjoy this one too. It has the same feel of my first novel, but with what I hope is even more depth.

In Thicker than Blood we featured a rare first edition of Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls. This time we're featuring an even rarer book---The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Some have wondered if Bound by Guilt is a sequel to Thicker than Blood. Yes, it is. Sort of. You don't have to have read Thicker than Blood to enjoy this one, but several of the main characters from Thicker become minor characters in Bound, but we're introduced to several new characters too!

Stay tuned! And in case you're interested, Bound by Guilt is available for pre-order at Amazon.com, Christianbook.com and Barnes & Noble.com

Help me with my next book!

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Okay, friends. I need your help. I have just completed the edits for my next novel Bound by Guilt. Releasing in February, Tyndale is hard at work finishing up the copy edits. I hope to share the cover and summary with you soon. In the mean time, my editor has asked me to provide her with a Question & Answer interview to be printed in the back of the book.

This is where you come in! I want these questions to be something you as the reader would like to read. So ... I'm asking you to submit your best questions to me here in the comments of this blog. I will pick five or more of the best questions and answer them in the back of Bound by Guilt. Plus, if I pick your question, I will send you a signed copy of my first novel Thicker than Blood.

I want to send these to my editor by the end of the week, so you have until August 25th at 12:00 pm EST.

Thank you!

Breakfast At Gingers - funny dog video!

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Dog lovers, you gotta check this video out. It's like Wegman except with a Golden Retriever!

The Mountains Have Labored And Brought Forth A Mouse . . . Or Two

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It all began this spring. I was cleaning out our pantry, organizing some of the dry foods, when I noticed mouse droppings. I tried to ignore them. We'd occasionally gotten a mouse in our house over the years that either went away (at least that's what our cats told us) or we caught and released.

Then I saw the bags of rice. Gone. We're not just talking nibbles here. There were entire bags of rice completely empty except for mouse droppings in the bag! I picture that little bugger chowing down for days living high on the hog.

So I threw the eaten and half eaten bags out, put the remainder in a box together, set them on the shelf again, and hoped the mice had moved on to other houses.

I was mistaken.

Several months later I notice an empty bag of rice on the floor under the pantry shelves. I really, really, wanted to believe this was an errant bag I forgot to throw out. So what if there were fresh mouse droppings beside the box of rice? I like living in a bubble without mice.

Mistaken again.

Finally I pulled the box of rice down to have a look. And discovered more empty bags, and more mouse droppings. Plus we found rice on the washing machine, of all places. Not good. We had a hungry mouse. (Yeah, I hear you experienced mouse catchers snickering.)

I got out the 'ol HaveAHart trap and got ready to set it, but it was broken so we had to make a hardware store run. My dad was enlisted for this. Well, he came home with a HaveAHart trap alright . . . the size of our cat! I pointed at the box where it said perfect for catching rats and small mammals.

Another hardware run later and we had a mouse sized trap. Which I set. With peanut butter.

The next morning I check the trap, and lo and behold, we have a mouse! Success! We'd caught our mouse. I let it go in the field near our house (it almost scampered up my arm when I opened the trap!). But just to be sure, I re-set the trap for that night's mouse parties.

Day 2 we caught a second mouse. Okay . . . trap re-set.

Day 3 we caught Mouse #3. Not so funny anymore.

Day 4 . . . Mouse #4.

Day 5 . . . Mouse #5.

Day 6 . . . No mouse! Had we trapped them all?

Day 7, today . . . Mouse #6!!! I'm getting tired of counting and taking pictures, so this one will remain anonymous.

What does this have to do with books, writing or publishing? I have no idea. But I knew the Mouse Saga deserved to be told. And it's not over . . .

P.S. All these photos are of different mice!