Ronie Kendig

Okay, I waited as long as I could today to give y'all extra time to enter--and thank goodness, since two more participants joined today.

Annnnnd because there was such a great response and your enthusiasm touched me so much, I made the choice to pick TWO grand prize winners, as well as two winners who will receive a copy of either Nightshade or Digitalis.


So, without further ado, the TWO GRAND PRIZE WINNERS--who will receive ALL FOUR NIGHTSHADE BOOKS (Nightshade & Digitalis will be mailed this week, then the winners will be placed on my priority list as soon as I get my copies):

• AMANDA -- Thank you for posting about the giveaway on Twitter!
  
• SARA B. - Thank you for posting about the giveaway on Twitter!

• Kimberlyj503
• Deb Piccurelli - Thank you for posting about the giveaway on Twitter!
  

I am absolutely delighted to share that NIGHTSHADE, Discarded Heroes #1, has been nominated for Christian Retailing's 2011 Retailer's Choice Award!! I am really tickled that someone in the retailing field--the men/women on the "front lines" of bookstores (online and brick-and-mortar stores) thought of my book when it came to this contest. It's a real honor.

Here is a full list of fiction titles that were nominated:


Fiction: Contemporary Romance

Lydia's Charm, Wanda E. Brunstetter (Barbour Publishing)
Nightshade, Ronie Kendig (Barbour Publishing)
Seek Me With All Your Heart, Beth Wiseman (Thomas Nelson)
Tender Vow, Sharlene MacLaren (Whitaker House)
The Bridge of Peace, Cindy Woodsmall (WaterBrook Multnomah)
They Almost Always Come Home, Cynthia Ruchti (Abingdon Press)
Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball, Donita K. Paul (WaterBrook Multnomah)

Fiction: General

Greater Love, Robert Whitlow (Thomas Nelson)
Her Mother's Hope, Francine Rivers (Tyndale House Publishers)
Unlocked, Karen Kingsbury (Zondervan)

Fiction: Historical Romance

Embers of Love, Tracie Peterson (Baker Publishing Group)
Here Burns My Candle, Liz Curtis Higgs (WaterBrook Multnomah)
The Gathering Storm, Bodie & Brock Thoene (Summerside Press)

Fiction: Mystery and Suspense

Immanuel's Veins, Ted Dekker (Thomas Nelson)
The Bishop, Steven James (Baker Publishing Group)
The Twelfth Imam, Joel C. Rosenberg (Tyndale House Publishers)

First-Time Authors

Crossing Oceans, Gina Holmes (Tyndale House Publishers)
Life Without Limits, Nick Vujicic (Doubleday Religion)
The Devil in Pew Number 7, Rebecca Alonzo (Tyndale House Publishers)

Here's a bit from the RCA website about this contest and how the finalists were chosen:

Products nominated in the competition were judged on the impact they have had on staff and customers, including their ability to speak to hearts and evoke emotion, open minds to new ways of thinking and encourage and affirm Christlike living.

Well, I'm under a pretty heavy deadline at the moment and working to get Firethorn, Discarded Heroes #4 finished (hope to share the cover with y'all very soon--waiting to hear from the art director!), so I've been snowed under with that and sickness (three weeks now--oy!).

I wanted to share some photos with you. As some of you may (or may not) know, my mom was from Ireland (actually born in Sussex, England, but was raised in Dublin Ireland (her father who was born/raised in Ireland)). She died 15 years ago March 12, and this year my cousin Graham Keane got married, so my entire family traveled to Ireland for his wedding.


It really was a fantastic trip, despite some really awful things happening--like my jewelry getting stolen (including a beloved 10-year anniversary ring). I was able to get to know my side of the family and see where I belong, identify with them. One glorious moment for me was when Graham mentioned he and his father having the "stubborn, emotional Keane" trait. I laughed--nooooo, I didn't know anything about that trait. Just massively infected with it. :-D

On another note, I will be participating in a multi-author event on April 23 with three fabulous fiction authors: Elizabeth Goddard, Lena Nelson Dooley, and Dr. Richard Mabry. It's in Frisco at the Mardel on Preston Road. Come out, buy a book, save an author!!

Okay, I am really tickled to share the first endorsements with you for Wolfsbane, Discarded Heroes #3, which releases July 1st. Yes, that's four months away. Can you stand it?

The first endorsement came from Dineen Miller, author of Winning Him Without Words and The Soul Saver (Barbour, 2012):

Steeped in conflict and characters searching for redemption, Ronie Kendig writes her best story yet. Intense action, integrity, honor, sacrifice—these are the attributes displayed richly in Wolfsbane. Even after the last page, Dani and Canyon continue to live my heart. —Dineen Miller, author of Winning Him Without Words: 10 Keys to Thriving in Your Spiritually Mismatched Marriage and The Soul Saver


The second one is from the amazing LYNETTE EASON (you have read her romantic suspense, right???):

"Wow. Just finished Kendig's Wolfsbane and I've...yet...to...catch...my...breath. Non-stop, fast-paced, machine gun type action that will leave you exhausted--and yearning for more. Don't even try to put the book down because you'll find yourself drawn right back, unable to do or think about anything else until you reach the end. Kendig has created realistic, imperfect characters to cheer for and cry with as they struggle to find God and do the right thing. A definite keeper for your read-again shelf." --Lynette Eason - best-selling author of Too Close to Home and Don't Look Back

It is my extreme pleasure to announce that my agent Steve Laube has negotiated and I have signed a 3-book contract with my publisher, BARBOUR PUBLISHING, for a series about retired military war dogs and their handlers entitled A Breed Apart. I have been very pleased working with the Barbour Fiction team, and I'm so grateful to my editor, Rebecca Germany, for believing in me and these stories enough to let them see the ink of publication!

Without further ado, here is a bit more about the stories:


Trinity: Military War Dog (June 2012)- After Green Beret Heath Daniels survives an IED attack—thanks to his military war dog, Trinity, a Belgian Malinois—he battles blackouts from traumatic brain injury (TBI) and is discharged. Feeling weak and lost, he finds hope through A Breed Apart, an organization training dogs like Trinity to aid independent contractors. Military Intelligence officer Darci Kintz is secretly embedded with a geological survey team in Afghanistan. A deadly discovery leaves her team dead and her a captive. Heath and Trinity join the search for the military intelligence officer.

Talon: Combat Tracking Team (November 2012)– Former Marine Aspen Courtland adopts Talon, a Combat Tracking Team German Shepherd declared “excess.” But Talon is afraid of his own shadow after an attack that left his second handler—and Aspen’s brother—missing. Former Marine Special Operations commander Dane Markoski is tasked with tracking down a rogue Marine selling military secrets in Africa—and he needs Talon to do it because the rogue was Talon’s first handler. But Talon won’t cooperate without Aspen, who has rehabilitated the canine. In Africa, the team quickly realizes they’ve been set up. But can they untangle the maze of lies? Can Talon overcome his fear, or will he shut down and put everyone in danger?

Beowulf: Specialized Search Dog (June 2013)– Handler Timbrel Hogan and her highly trained specialized search dog, Beowulf, a Mastiff mix who is as ugly as he is smart, must enter a roiling war zone to retrieve a high-value target from a prison. But once on their own with the spy who provided the Intel, Timbrel is no longer certain the story is legit. In fact, she suspects they’ve been set up. Nikol Tselekova has more to hide that his nationality but he can’t let Timbrel Hogan, whose bite is worse than her dog’s, interfere with his mission to save his own sister from a deadly alliance.


So, there you have it. Celebrate with me!! I am really excited to begin the A Breed Apart series with Barbour!! I hope you'll enjoy these books when they hit the shelves next year.

(images found/property of DVIDS and www.af.mil)

It's been a crazy week. As y'all know, DEAD RECKONING was free on Kindle from the 22nd-29th, and with it came several 2-star reviews that broke the TWENTY-EIGHT 4- and 5-star review streak. These reviews were very harsh, angry that it was a Christian book and free, called the story a mess, said they don't have "interstates" in India (um, explain that to India's national transportation system with more than 900K miles of paved highways that stretch ACROSS India's states (INTER-STATE highways), with 8 lanes in some areas).

Anyway...it was tough to see those when I was sitting here in my cave trying to peck out the last 1/4 of WOLFSBANE, Discarded Heroes #3. But I kept giving the whole writing thing to God, praying and spending quiet time with Him, reminding myself that I write for Him and when I use the gift He gave me, that's all the approval I need. :-D God loved on me a lot this past week. It was so beautiful!

But this morning--a wonderful email arrived in my inbox.


DEAD RECKONING made the short list for the 2010 INSPY Awards in the Thriller/Suspense category!! In case you haven't heard, this is a contest run by bloggers. Their motto is: "The Bloggers' Award for Excellence in Faith-Driven Literature."

I have to say--I love this. It's organized by bloggers/readers and judged by bloggers/readers. How kewl is that?!? It's a brilliant idea, and I'm so glad to see this type of contest.

Here is the full list--amazing authors and reads!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE FINALISTS!!!!

Announcing the INSPY Shortlists
October 1, 2010

The INSPY Advisory Board is pleased to announce the shortlists for the 2010 INSPY Awards. We thank you for your enthusiastic nominations of books and acknowledge the difficulties in narrowing the field with so many quality nominations.

General & Literary Fiction

The Christmas Glass by Marci Alborghetti, Guideposts, 1st October, 2009

Life in Defiance by Mary DeMuth, Zondervan, 1st May, 2010

Lost Mission by Athol Dickson, Howard Books, 1st September, 2009

Lucky Baby by Meredith Efken, Howard Books, 13th April, 2010

Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes, Tyndale House, 1st May, 2010

Creative Non-Fiction

Evolving in Monkey Town by Rachel Held Evans, Zondervan, 15th June, 2010

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller, Thomas Nelson, 29th September, 2009

Halfway to Each Other by Susan Pohlman, Guideposts, 1st September, 2009

God Hides in Plain Sight by Dean Nelson, Brazos Press, 1st October, 2009

Hear No Evil by Matthew Paul Turner, Waterbrook Press, 16th February, 2010

Historical Fiction

The Frontiersman’s Daughter by Laura Frantz, Revell Books, 1st August, 2009

The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen, Bethany House, 1st January, 2010

The Fiddler’s Gun by AS Peterson, Rabbit Room Press, 1st December, 2009

She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell, Bethany House, 1st April, 2010

Her Mother’s Hope by Francine Rivers, Tyndale House, 1st March, 2010

Thriller/Suspense/Crime

Priceless by Tom Davis, David C Cook, 1st June, 2010

The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker, Hodder & Stoughton, 27th May, 2010

The Clouds Roll Away by Sibella Giorello, Thomas Nelson, 16th March, 2010

The Knight by Steven James, Revell Books, 1st August, 2009

Dead Reckoning by Ronie Kendig, Abingdon Press, 1st March, 2010

Speculative Fiction

Green by Ted Dekker, Thomas Nelson, 1st September, 2009

The Last Christian by David Gregory, Waterbrook Press, 4th May, 2010

A Star Curiously Singing by Kerry Nietz, Marcher Lord Press, 1st October, 2009

Eternity Falls by Kirk Outerbridge, Marcher Lord Press, 1st October, 2009

Rooms by James L. Rubart, B&H Publishing, 1st April, 2010

Amish Fiction

Love Finds You in Charm, Ohio by Annalisa Daughety, Summerside Press, 1st September, 2009

An Honest Love by Kathleen Fuller, Thomas Nelson, 16th March, 2010

Winter’s Awakening by Shelley Shepard Gray, Avon Inspire, 1st February, 2010

Anna’s Return by Marta Perry, Berkley, 1st June, 2010

Plain Paradise by Beth Wiseman, Thomas Nelson, 30th March, 2010

Romance/Romantic Suspense

A Lady Like Sarah by Margaret Brownley, Thomas Nelson, 29th December, 2009

Blood Ransom by Lisa Harris, Zondervan, 1st April, 2010

Seaside Letters by Denise Hunter, Thomas Nelson, 6th October, 2009

Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart by Beth Patillo, Guideposts, 1st February, 2010

Sons of Thunder by Susan May Warren, Summerside Press, 1st February, 2010

Young Adult Fiction

A Little Help From My Friends by Anne Dayton & May Vanderbilt, FaithWords, 15th October, 2009

This Gorgeous Game by Donna Freitas, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 25th May, 2010

So Over My Head by Jenny B Jones, Thomas Nelson, 4th May, 2010

Beautiful by Cindy Martinusen Coloma, Thomas Nelson, 3rd November, 2009

Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr, Little Brown, 1st October, 2009

Note: Dates from the publishers’ sites were used to determine eligibility

EDITED [by INSPY] TO ADD:
Correction: We just became aware that one of the books initially listed on the INSPYs shortlists was ineligible because of the date it was published. We’ve updated the list above. The INSPY Advisory Board sincerely apologizes for this mistake.

WOW! What an awesome line-up of books. I'm so excited to find out who won!

Debut Author

Bonnie Grove - Talking to the Dead (David C. Cook Publishing)

Liz Jonson - The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn (Steeple Hill)

Kirk Outerbridge - Eternity Falls (Marcher Lord Press)

Jill Eileen Smith - Michal (Revell)

Dan Walsh - The Unfinished Gift (Revell)

Contemporary Novella

6 Finalists due to a tie

Barbara Cameron – One Child (Thomas Nelson)

Barbara Cameron – When Winter Comes (Thomas Nelson)

Debra Clopton – A Mule Hollow Match (Steeple Hill)

Susan May Warren – The Great Christmas Bowl (Tyndale House)

Beth Wiseman – A Change of Heart (Thomas Nelson)

Beth Wiseman – A Choice to Forgive (Thomas Nelson)

Historical Novella

Victoria Bylin – Home Again (Steeple Hill)

Vickie McDonough – A Breed Apart (Barbour Publishing)

Vickie McDonough – Beloved Enemy (Barbour Publishing)

Janet Tronstad - Christmas Bells for Dry Creek (Steeple Hill)

Carrie Turansky - A Shelter in the Storm (Barbour Publishing)

Long Contemporary

6 Finalists due to a tie

Christina Berry - The Familiar Stranger (Moody Publishers)

Mary Ellis - A Widow's Hope (Harvest House Publishers)

Joyce Magnin - The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow (Abingdon Press)

Susan Meissner - White Picket Fences (Waterbrook Press)

Marlo Schalesky- If Tomorrow Never Comes (Multnomah)

Susan May Warren - Nothing But Trouble (Tyndale House)

Long Contemporary Romance

Candace Calvert - Critical Care (Tyndale House)

Denise Hunter - Seaside Letters (Thomas Nelson)

Jenny B. Jones - Just Between You and Me (Thomas Nelson)

Beth Wiseman - Plain Promise (Thomas Nelson)

Cindy Woodmsall - The Hope of Refuge (Waterbrook Press)

Mystery

A.K. Arenz - The Case of the Mystified M.D. (Sheaf House)

Mindy Starns Clark - Under the Cajun Moon (Harvest House Publishers)

Darlene Franklin - A String of Murders (Heartsong Mysteries)

S. Dionne Moore - Polly Dent Loses Grip (Heartsong Mysteries)

Janice Thompson writing as Janice Hanna - Pushing up Daisies (Heartsong Mysteries)

Long Historical

Deeanne Gist - A Bride in the Bargain (Bethany House)

Robin Lee Hatcher - Fit To Be Tied (Zondervan)

Maureen Lang - Look to the East (Tyndale House)

Siri Mitchell - Love's Pursuit (Bethany House)

Allison Pittman - Stealing Home (Multnomah)

Long Historical Romance

8 Finalists due to a tie

Amanda Cabot - Paper Roses (Revell)

Mary Connealy - Cowboy Christmas (Barbour Publishing)

Mary Connealy - Montana Rose (Barbour Publishing)

Laura Frantz - The Frontiersman's Daughter (Revell)

Ann Gabhart - The Believer (Revell)

Julie Lessman - A Passion Denied (Revell)

Janice Thompson writing as Janice Hanna - Love Finds You in Poetry, Texas (Summerside Press)

Kathleen Y’Barbo - The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper (Waterbrook Press)

Short Contemporary

Debra Clopton - His Cowgirl Bride (Steeple Hill)

Myra Johnson - Autumn Rains (Heartsong Presents)

Vickie McDonough - A Wagonload of Trouble (Heartsong Presents)

Mae Nunn - A Texas Ranger's Family (Steeple Hill)

Glynna Sirpless writing as Glynna Kaye - Dreaming of Home (Steeple Hill)

Short Contemporary Suspense

6 Finalists due to a tie

Jill Elizabeth Nelson - Evidence of Murder (Steeple Hill)

Sandra Robbins - Final Warning (Steeple Hill)

Virginia Smith - Murder at Eagle Summit (Steeple Hill)

Virginia Smith - Scent of Murder (Steeple Hill)

Jenness Walker - Double Take (Steeple Hill)

Lenora Worth - Code of Honor (Steeple Hill)

Short Historical

Lyn Cote - Her Patchwork Family (Steeple Hill)

Laurie Alice Eakes - The Glassblower (Heartsong Presents)

Laurie Kingery - The Outlaw's Lady (Steeple Hill)

Lynette Sowell - All That Glitters (Heartsong Presents)

Dan Walsh - The Unfinished Gift (Revell)

Speculative (includes Science Fiction, Fantasy, Allegory)

6 Finalists due to a tie

Kirk Outerbridge - Eternity Falls (Marcher Lord Press)

Donita K. Paul - The Vanishing Sculptor (Waterbrook Press)

Steve Rzasa - The Word Reclaimed (Marcher Lord Press)

Stuart Vaughn Stockton – Starfire (Marcher Lord Press)

Fred Warren - The Muse (Splashdown Books)

Jill Williamson - By Darkness Hid (Marcher Lord Press)

Suspense/Thriller

Terri Blackstock – Intervention (Zondervan)

Colleen Coble - Lonestar Secrets (Thomas Nelson)

Brandilyn Collins – Exposure (Zondervan)

Harry Kraus - Salty Like Blood (Howard/Simon & Schuster)

DiAnn Mills - Breach of Trust (Tyndale House)

Women’s Fiction

7 Finalists due to a tie

Julie Carobini - Sweet Waters (B&H Publishing)

Kathryn Cushman – Leaving Yesterday (Bethany House)

Sara Evans & Rachel Hauck - Sweet By and By (Thomas Nelson)

Rene Gutteridge & Cheryl McKay - Never the Bride (Waterbrook Press)

Deborah Raney - Yesterday's Embers (Howard/Simon & Schuster)

Deborah Raney - Above All Things (Steeple Hill)

Lisa Wingate - The Summer Kitchen (New American Library/Penguin)

Young Adult

Shelley Adina - Who Made You a Princess? (Hachette FaithWords)

Brandilyn & Amberly Collins - Always Watching (Zondervan)

Jenny B. Jones - I'm So Sure (Thomas Nelson)

Jenny B. Jones - So Not Happening (Thomas Nelson)

Booker T. Mattison - Unsigned Hype (Revell)