precious beyond words...

Thanks be to God for His unspeakable Gift ~
indescribable
inestimable
incomparable
inexpressible
precious beyond words.

~L. Lebar

thank you, Lifeway!

This morning my publisher contacted me to tell me Lifeway's Rachel McRae included some wonderful books on her best reads list for 2011. Please have a peek and see if you've read these or would like to:)

I feel I've been given a wonderful early Christmas gift and want to thank Lifeway and Rachel for all that they do to support Christian fiction and wonderful books! My dream is to go to Nashville and meet them in person someday.

Here's the link: Lifeway Blog

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart...filled it, too, with melody that would last forever.
~Bess Streeter Aldrich

The rooms were very still while the pages were softly turned and the winter sunshine crept in to touch the bright heads and serious faces with a Christmas greeting.
~Louisa May Alcott

Let us remember that the Christmas heart is a giving heart, a wide open heart that thinks of others first. The birth of the baby Jesus stands as the most significant event in all history, because it has meant pouring into a sick world the healing medicine of love which has transformed all manner of hearts for almost 2,000 years...underneath all the bulging bundles is this beating Christmas heart.
~George Matthew Adams

the gift of you

Lately I've been wishing I could send readers a Christmas gift, snow dusted and berry sprinkled just like these packages. You've certainly given me a gift by being faithful readers here and in the pages of my books, sending me email, snail mail, Facebooking, and leaving blog comments! And that means more than I can say.

I think oftentimes we forget just how precious and powerful encouragement is and how the right word at the right time is, as Proverbs says, "like apples of gold in settings of silver." (25:11)

The past few months have been crazy busy and I keep waiting for things to settle down. But guess what? They never do. Those deadlines keep coming and then there's family and church life, too. Each of us have multiple things to juggle. Sometimes we just need to remember the best gift of all is taking time for each other. So, with that in mind, I've decided to close comments here and do some blog visiting the next 2 weeks, trying to catch up on what 's going on in your world. If you're a reader and have a blog I don't know about, please send me an email at lauran@tfon.com and I'll come visit. If you'd like to connect on Facebook instead, just look up Laura Feagan Frantz. See you soon:)

Have a blessed Christmas season!

cover candy

I thought it would be fun to see who could spy my next cover first rather than posting it here when I get the green light. Book covers are a bit tricky. There's no formal announcement its on its way, at least for this author. Someone at Revell just quietly posts it on the web and people stumble across it. Even the author!

Granted, I'm given a final image several weeks beforehand but have to wait to share till it appears on the net. But I really don't know when that magic happens. No matter what - or when - it's always a wonderful surprise when it's finally out there:)

Here are 2 covers from the colonial era, that I'm wild about:) The new Love Finds You in Annapolis by Roseanna White is out as of this month and is a great historical. Siri Mitchell's The Messenger follows in March.

Every house does cover art a bit differently. The cover for Love's Reckoning is in process. A search is on for a model in her 20's. Recently I met the photographer/designer for this project and he's nearly in my backyard - Seattle! His work is exquisite. He's done historicals for both the CBA and ABA. He and the costume company had some questions this time round about the dress. He even sent a portfolio of several dresses and hats to choose from this past week. I was asked to pick my favorites and these were sent on to editorial and marketing for review.

I'd love to have someone here spy the cover for Love's Reckoning first, even before me! First one who finds it on the web will win an Amazon gift card ($25). Some of you are very savvy cover-spotters...

Have you seen any covers for 2012 either in the CBA or ABA that "pop" for you? Maybe you have your own new cover to show us (waving at Carla and Keli!). If so, please do! If you're dreaming about your first cover, feel free to share that, too. Once upon a time I did that, too...

Happy hunting!

grow in grace

Do not think as you grow in grace your path will become smoother and the sky calmer and calmer. Quite the contrary. As God gives you greater skill as a soldier of the cross, He will send you on more difficult missions. As He more fully equips your ship to sail in stormy seas, He will send you on longer voyages to more boisterous seas, so that you may honor Him, and increase in holy confidence.

~Charles Spurgeon

giveaway winner!

Thanks so much to all who entered the drawing and left wonderful comments! The winner of A Lasting Impression by Tamera Alexander is...

Sheri!

Happy reading to you!

Next time I'll be giving away 2 favorite movies:)

Bless you all!