The theme of Sung in Shadows, the book that broke me, is mental illness and the struggle of those who support others with mental illness. Why that topic? It’s actually a topic near and dear to my heart. While mental health has become less of a taboo topic, there is still a huge gap in support and understanding of those who struggle with mental illness and the people who support them. I’ve been on both sides of the aisle now, and my wrestle with mental illness actually came to a head during the writing of Sung in the Shadows.

Don’t Be Like Jonah . . . or Me

You see, even though I knew God wanted me to write a book with a mental health thread, I wanted to make it as small as I possibly could. But God wasn’t satisfied with a “side-note” of what He called me to write. With only three months before my book was due, God orchestrated events so that my editor read the first chapter of my draft-in-progress. With firm, but loving kindness, she told me what I turned in was not the story that needed to be told. That mental health thread I was trying to hide under many other layers of plot? That was were the real story was. That was the one that needed to be told.

I should have known that fighting God wasn’t going to end with me winning.

So everything got tossed out and rewritten in 1/3 of the time that I usually write a book–and it wasn’t because it came easy. Every word was a fight, every page a wrestle with the struggles I’d endured as a supporter of those with mental illnesses and the realization that I myself had reached a mental breakdown. I needed help, but those I supported still needed me. I should have gotten professional help, and I regret that I didn’t. However, God was good enough to minister to me through the writing of the story, those who ended up being my support, and the soundtrack to Sung in the Shadows below.

A release is coming, but it’s so much more . . .

Between now and release, I plan to create several blog posts, not just about the history like I usually do, but also about mental health, my journey to write this story, and some things God taught me about Christians and mental health. Unfortunately, the Church has, by-and-large (but not everyone), ignored mental illness, shamed those who struggled, and/or failed to support those with mental illness and the loved ones who support them.

Sung in the Shadows is specifically written for anyone who has ever struggled to support someone with mental illness or has ever struggled themselves. As hard as this book was for me, it’s become as much a book of my heart as Counterfeit Hope is. It’s so important to me that both groups feel seen, understood, supported, and loved by God despite the struggles.

Today, I’m sharing with you what I’m calling the “Sung in the Shadows Soundtrack.” These are the songs I listened to over and over and over and over (and still listen to on hard days) as I wrote Sung in the Shadows. May it encourage you and help you as you walk through your own struggles.

READER QUESTION: What songs would you add to a list for encouragement and hard days?

When past darkness prowls, will stepping into the light lead to a brighter future?

In nineteenth-century Cincinnati, fear keeps Nora Davis caged with secrets and lies. Her true identity as the daughter of a famous opera singer is too dangerous to reveal with her former captors still on the loose. But weekly singing lessons at Longview Asylum—her paranoid mother’s permanent residence—light a flame in Nora, and it’s one she can avoid fanning for only so long.

With his suicidal ma in the asylum, Ezekiel Beaumont’s soul is weary, but Nora’s presence at the asylum intrigues him. As a Pike’s Opera House employee, Ezekiel thinks Nora might be cut out for the stage. He also begins to wonder if Nora’s ma is really the famed Constanza Brisbane, who went missing mid-performance. He’s determined to find out.

Though Ezekiel brings the performance world a little too close for comfort, Nora is drawn to his warm personality all the same. The two of them steadily grow closer, but then Nora begins to fear she’s being watched, and her own paranoia blooms.

As the line between what’s real and false grows fainter, will Ezekiel’s and Nora’s faith and love overcome?

“From the haunting halls of Longview Asylum to the dangerous secrets of Nora’s past, Sung in the Shadows delivers a riveting blend of romance, mystery, and redemption.”

—Misty M. Beller, USA TODAY best-selling author of the Sisters of the Rockies series

Learn More Here

Story Inspiration

The story spark for this story came from a variety of places. The political/judicial corruption and city rioting came from an event in 1884 that I discovered while researching Counterfeit Love. Two men were responsible for the violent death of their employer, William Berner and Joe Palmer. William Berner had connections, while Joe was a black man. Berner received a conviction of manslaughter with a maximum 20-year sentence, while his partner received a murder conviction and death sentence. The city felt someone had bought the jury in Berner’s favor and rioted. In the end, fifty-four men died, an estimated two hundred were wounded, and Berner escaped safely to the State Penitentiary to serve eleven years of his twenty-year sentence before being released for good behavior.

A Bit About Dime Novels

Dime novels were the first novel type to make books and reading available to the common man. On a wage of $5 to $8 a week, traditional books that cost $2 to $3 were cost-prohibitive to anyone below the middle class. Dime novels were cheaply printed, much smaller in length and size, and cost only a nickel to twenty-five cents.

In addition to being cheap, dime novels were the precursor to genre fiction. Searching for crime, suspense, mystery, romance, thrillers, westerns, etc? Thank Dime Novels. These stories became wildly popular and spurred other variations and genres. Are you a fan of subscription fiction services like Love Inspired or Guidepost? Yep, dime novels were their start.

Personal Behind-the-Scenes Facts

I wrote this story during one of my life’s most challenging caregiving seasons. Generally, a novel takes me about 6 months to draft, with another month or two for self-editing. However, due to lots of stops and starts as I dealt with multiple significant health crises for my mother-in-law (including a broken neck), this book took 14 months to draft, and I had to squeeze edits down to two weeks. This book was such a disjointed mess that I never thought it would come together, but by God’s grace and mercy (and a fantastic editing team), it is the book you read now.

Writing a “spin-off” series from Counterfeit Love brought challenges I hadn’t expected. In the first draft, the characters didn’t closely enough resemble their portrayal in Counterfeit Love, so I had to do some serious reworking of characters–especially Abraham Hall and Dr. Pelton. Although I swore I would never reread one of my books once published, I did indeed have to reread Counterfeit Love. I created a detailed document of information from Counterfeit Love that had to be kept the same in Written in Secret. Even more challenging, the characters had to stay similar to what they were in Counterfeit Love while being different enough to show how they grew between 1880 and 1884.

Each “Guardian” has flavors of my core group of girls and critique partners, The Mayhemmers. I am the one most like Theresa, Liz the one most like Lydia, Angela the most like Nora, and Voni the most like Flossie. However, each character is still their own person and not directly based on a Mayhemmer.

Written in Secret by Crystal Caudill

In the heart of nineteenth-century Cincinnati one woman holds the power to rewrite history.

What happens when fiction becomes reality? In the corruption-infested Queen City, danger lurks in every shadow, but Lydia Pelton refuses to stay silent. She writes under a pseudonym, E. A. Dupin, crafting crime novels to exact justice and right the wrongs she sees in society. When a serial killer decides to be the sword to her pen, Lydia is confronted with the consequences of her words. Four men are dead, and the city blames her.

With murders on the rise, Officer Abraham Hall’s only lead is Lydia’s fiction, and he is thrust into an investigation with the “Killer Queen of Romance.” Despite his misgivings about the woman, he realizes that even with his reputation for catching elusive criminals, he needs her help. But his unexpected attraction to Lydia proves as difficult to manage as the woman herself.

As the mystery unfolds, Abraham and Lydia race to rewrite the ending, not only for Cincinnati’s citizens, but for their own hearts too.

Purchase Links:  Amazon  |  Apple Books  |  Baker Book House  |  Barnes & Noble |  Books-A-Million  | Christianbook  |  IndieBound  | Kobo  |  Kregel Parable Christian Book Store

Month-Long Blog Giveaway #1

Help me celebrate the release of Written in Secret and get the word out about the new series. From March 4 to April 1, this giveaway will be open to those legally allowed to enter both domestically and internationally. International winners will be given a prize of equal value as shipping costs are prohibitive. See my giveaway policies for more details.

Prize: homemade book cozy, fuzzy socks, journal, reader mug mat, bookmarks, stickers, tea, and chapstick.

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Month-Long Giveaway #2

Already have the book?? This giveaway is for you. Somewhere in the first fifty pages of Written in Secret is the answer to “What attacked Lydia and Abraham inside the circus tent?” Fill out the below Google Form to be entered for your chance to win a $25 gift card to Amazon or Baker Book House. The giveaway runs until April 11, 2024. The winner will be selected the week of April 12 and notified by email.

Enter Here

What is something you’d like to know about my research or behind the scenes that maybe I didn’t answer?

My family told me not to come home, that I should enjoy this time because I would have to be managing a lot of things when I got home–including one of the most difficult caregiving seasons of my life, which is REALLY saying something if you knew some of the things we’ve walked through with my MIL. Even with my decision to stay at the conference (because I really felt like God was telling me to), I was coordinating lots of things at home with getting meals to my family, friends and family reaching out to me to let me know they were praying and wanting updates, and honestly the whole weekend was a blur. I couldn’t enjoy the Carol final or celebrate it with my family. And when I came home, the next six months were focused on my MIL’s recovery. The Carol final kind of got lost in the shuffle, and while I wouldn’t change anything, it was a wounding point for me. Because the Carols were such a big deal, and yet in my own family, it felt like it never happened.

When I learned about the Christy Award Final, it was a redemption of that chaotic time. A sense of healing that I didn’t realize I still needed. I thought I had let it go and moved on, but y’all. Not only did I get to celebrate with my family, my husband came with me this weekend on a rare weekend alone and I got to bring him into the crazy writing/reading world that I love. He only sees my life behind the computer and hear about bits and pieces of my conference experiences. Last night, I got to introduce him to the people whom I’ve formed amazing relationships with, and I got to have him next to me at this big fancy gala where we got to celebrate God’s redemption and great love shown in a way I didn’t know I needed.

I was a finalist among many amazing authors who I have such a great respect for, and I fully anticipate it was one of them to have “won” the category last night. But I truly feel like I was a winner, as you can tell from the story above. But since I went through all the trouble of actually writing a thank you speech, I thought maybe you’d like to see what I would have said if I had won. (And if by some blow me away extra blessing I did, then here’s the written version of what I said.)

(Note to self ONLY: Holy cow girl, if you are reading this in front of people, then pull yourself together. God has blessed you beyond measured and redeemed the year behind you 100-fold to what you went through. Give Him all the glory. Praise His name. Give your speech, and remember people are more important that awards, but this is an honor and a blessing you never expected and should be celebrated.)

I never expected to be up here reading this speech, but I give all credit to Rhonda Dragomir for the impetus to actually write a speech despite my expectations. I’m thankful to even be nominated for a Christy. I’ve read many of the authors nominated here tonight, and I’m beyond honored to be listed among them. Truly, it is one of those dreams you tell God but don’t actually expect to receive. These men and women are people I’ve long looked up to and whose books I’ve lost many nights of sleep over and will continue to lose sleep over. Thank you for writing your stories and inspiring others to follow your lead in writing for Christ.

I want to thank my God and my Jesus first and foremost for this unmerited gift. This award represents God’s redeeming of a really hard year for my family. I cried when I heard the nomination, and it was enough for me. But in His abundant grace, He has done what is above anything I ever imagined. May all I do and write always point back to Him.

Thank you to Travis, my amazing husband who has supported me and encouraged me to write even before I knew this would be the journey God called me to. Thank you Malaki and Nehemiah for putting up with your scatterbrained mom and providing endless fodder for her stories. Thank you to Mom, Dad, Matthew, Ramey, Linda, and Noah for your never-ending enthusiasm and support. You make the hard days better.

Thank you to my amazing agent, Tamela Hancock Murray, who was the first one to take a chance on me. Janyre Tromp, your mad editing skills were invaluable. Thank you, Kregel and the entire team at Kregel. It has been a true blessing to work with each one of you. Thank you to my co-authors of the collection, Cara Putman and Angela Ruth Strong. You are amazing women who have taught me so much, and I am one lucky ducky to have worked on this project with you.

Thank you to the judges and coordinators and many others involved in the running of the Christy Awards. What you do is a blessing to authors and readers alike. I appreciate the honor you have bestowed upon me with this award.

Thank you to my fellow Mayhemmers, Liz Bradford, Angela Carlisle, and Voni Harris and to Lucy Nel. I would never have survived the trials of a writing career and plain ol’ life without you. To all those who have encouraged me, prayed for me, read my books, and joined me on this writing journey, whether you be an author, reader, and/or friend, may you be blessed a hundred-fold for the blessings you have poured upon me.

To everyone in this room, thank you for being here and celebrating the wonderful way God works through fiction. May each of you use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace.

Counterfeit Love has been selected as a semi-finalist for the Carol Awards!!!!!

The Carol Award is a major publishing award given by American Christian Fiction Writers for outstanding work in Christian fiction. To be listed among the same amazing authors I admire is a truly humbling and exciting moment.  Check out the other authors who also are semi-finalists in my category:

Debut Author

Sara Brunsvold – The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip

Crystal Caudill – Counterfeit Love

Dawn Ford – The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes

Elizabeth Jacobson – Not by Sight: a novel of the patriarchs

Anna Rose Johnson – The Star That Always Stays

Kathy Maresca – Porch Music

Linda W. Rooks – Pieces of Dark, Pieces of Light

Have you read any of them? 

It is an honor to have made it this far, and I hope you’ll join me at the ACFW Conference in St. Louis from August 24 to August 26 for a lot of bookish fun, including a massive book signing in conjunction with StoryFest. Just check out this lineup!

The finalists will be announced on that first night, and then the winner will be announced at the fancy gala on the last night. . . and you could be there with me. You can check out more information about StoryFest here, and if you do register, be sure to put Crystal Caudill as your “referred by” person. I won’t lie. It gives me a shot at getting a free hotel night off my conference stay. 🙂 

Here’s a bit about Counterfeit Love if you haven’t read it yet:

Can this undercover agent save the woman he loves–or is her heart as counterfeit as the money he’s been sent to track down?

After all that Grandfather has sacrificed to raise her, Theresa Plane owes it to him to save the family name–and that means clearing their debt with creditors before she marries Edward Greystone. But when one of the creditors’ threats leads her to stumble across a midnight meeting, she discovers that the money he owes isn’t all Grandfather was hiding. And the secrets he kept have now trapped Theresa in a life-threatening fight for her home–and the truth.

After months of undercover work, Secret Service operative Broderick Cosgrove is finally about to uncover the identity of the leader of a notorious counterfeiting ring. That moment of triumph turns to horror, however, when he finds undeniable proof that his former fiancée is connected. Can he really believe the woman he loved is a willing participant? Protecting Theresa and proving her innocence may destroy his career–but that’s better than failing her twice in one lifetime.

They must form a partnership, tentative though it is. But there’s no question they’re both still keeping secrets–and that lack of trust, along with the dangerous criminals out for their blood, threatens their hearts, their faith, and their very survival.

And here’s a snippet from one of my favorite moments:

The window above him slid open, and a pair of boy’s boots thudded to the ground inches from where he crouched. If shoes fell, a body was bound to follow. Broderick crept behind an unkempt bush and waited.

Black-stockinged feet and legs protruded from the sill’s edge, followed by blue skirts. Delicate hands adjusted the material before the familiar slender body swung from the ledge’s safety to straining twigs.

Of all the dangerous stunts! It was one thing for him to climb up, another for her to attempt climbing down. The little imp would get herself killed.

Broderick moved from the bush’s safety and resisted the urge to call out. Startling her could end in disaster, but words of rebuke played through his mind as displaced snow plopped around him. She couldn’t possibly see her next step beneath those skirts. Making it to the ground without mishap would be—

A branch snapped.

Theresa screamed. Blue and white material waved in surrender to the inevitable as she fell. Broderick lunged for her. The tree limbs cracked like a grand finale of fireworks, stopping moments before she crashed into his arms. His legs buckled, and they dropped to the ground with Theresa landing on his chest.

He lay still, his lungs begging for air but refusing to accept it. Given the force of their impact, a human-shaped crater would exist once he moved—if he ever moved again.

Theresa rolled to her knees beside him and stared in dazed silence.

Pain seared his arms as he pushed to a sitting position. “Are you hurt?”

Confusion creased her face as she blinked at him. She might be sorting through a touch of shock, but no discomfort contorted her features, which was more than he could say for himself. He rotated his shoulders and then flexed his arms. In a few years he might laugh about catching an angel, but right now he felt like he’d caught an anvil.

You can buy it now on sale from Amazon, Baker Book House, and Christianbook.

Have you read Counterfeit Love? What was your favorite part? If not, does it sound like something you’d like to check out? 

Creating a Cover

The process of creating a cover rarely involves me beyond the initial form I fill out to my publisher of critical information about the story that might work its way onto the cover. Generally, other than seeing the final product and saying I like it, that’s about as involved with the process as I get. However, with the We Three Kings Romance Christmas Collection, the experience was very different.

The Draft

Cara Putman and Angela Ruth Strong are my co-authors in this collection, and all three of us were sent the cover asking for input on how it might be tweaked. Really the only element from our story on the cover other than the snow indicating winter/Christmas was the ornament of the three kings. The ornament is one that my characters buy at the end of the story, and it reappears in various forms in the other two stories. You can see the original cover they sent us below:

It wasn’t a bad cover, we just were afraid it wasn’t compelling enough for readers to pick up. Especially when compared with the previous novella collections in the series: Joy to the World and O’ Little Town.

These covers were stunning, in my opinion, and I felt like our cover didn’t match the “feel” of these other two. After tossing some ideas around with Cara and Angela, I decided I wanted to play in Canva, an image creation program. I’m a pretty tactile person, and this was how I process anything that requires a visual image. After talking with a friend who is a cover designer, one of the things I realized that was missing was that “aisle”  or framing feeling. The columns in Joy to the World draw your eyes to the house and up to the title. In O Little Town, you have the lamp posts creating that same sort of effect.

Playing Around

Using Cara and Angela’s suggestions, I brought in more trees to create the framing feeling. But in our conversation, we also brought up the fact that each of our stories has to do with some form of light. My story is “Star of Wonder,” Cara’s is “Beauty Bright,” and Angela’s is “Perfect Light.” And considering our stories connect to the three Weise (wise) men, the cover would probably benefit from having a star. I’m getting pretty savvy at using Canva with layering, and so after lots of playing with removing backgrounds and editing various features, this is the mock-up I came up with:

Making the layers match in coloring is something I’m still learning, and since this was just me playing around, I didn’t bother with even trying. I sent the mock-up to Angela and Cara but did not intend to send it to Kregel. I responded with some verbal tweaking ideas that we’d discussed, but I didn’t mention I’d created a mock-up or anything. Design is not something I have a lot of confidence in, and besides, it was more or less just playing for my own sake so I could communicate some suggestions without overstepping.

However, Angela added my mock-up to her email when she sent in her recommendations. I am so thankful for her boldness in doing that. It gave a much-needed encouragement boost, and Kregel’s response was equally encouraging. And I think you might understand why when you look at the two options they sent to us afterward:

Option 1:

While that was better than the first one, we unanimously agreed that the second option was the favorite. And now, I get to reveal the FINAL cover of We Three Kings: A Romance Christmas Collection.

Cover Reveal – the FINAL Cover

Didn’t they do a phenomenal job? AND LOOK!!! They took my playing-around mock-up and turned it into something beautiful!!!! I’ve always loved my covers from Kregel, but this one will always have a special place in my heart (and on my Christmas tree). God is so good to bless me with that sort of encouragement, and I am so grateful that He used Angela to place it into Kregel’s hands. Now we just have to wait for it to release in September. Want to know more about each of our stories? Here is the blurb and preorder links!

We Three Kings: A Romance Christmas Collection

In this Christmas collection, Weise men still seek Jesus–and love

Best-selling romance authors Caudill, Putman, and Strong follow three generations of the Weise family in this third collection of Christmas novellas from Kregel that will prove just as popular as the previous award-winning volumes.

“Star of Wonder” by Crystal Caudill
The Christmas-themed maiden voyage of his family’s grand steamer ship was supposed to be Aldrich Weise’s chance both to instill investor confidence and to romance Celestia Isaacs. Instead, he must foil a criminal and leave his lady love behind forever.

“Beauty Bright” by Cara Putman
Lieutenant Charles Weise served as a Monuments Man after World War II and now works to restore stolen art to rightful owners. Captain Lillian Thorsen pairs up with him not only to return treasures but also to fix the war-torn lives around them.

“Perfect Light” by Angela Ruth Strong
Essential oils mogul Brendon Wise is drawn to Lacey Foster, the event planner for his huge Christmas lights festival. But when he inadvertently makes a spectacle of her on television, Lacey wants nothing to do with him. Will a chance to give gifts to those in need at Christmas be the key to discovering common ground–and maybe love?

Preorder Links:  Amazon  |  Baker Book House  |  Barnes and Noble  |   Books-A-Million

What do you think of the cover and the process?

Counterfeit Hope – Book 2 – Releases 2/14/2023, Preorder Available Now

Here are the Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Book Depository | Bookshop.org | Indiebound| Christianbook

Here are the direct links to leave a review: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Bookbub | Books-A-Million |  Christianbook | Goodreads

What’s it like to be a debut author?

This is a question I’ve been getting a lot, and so I thought I’d give as best an answer as I can. Being a debut author is akin to being the navigator on a cross-country road trip but forgetting the map. You’ve done all the planning and preparation. You have a good idea of where you’re going, the general route to get there, but when it comes down to the specifics you’re completely lost without the map and having a slight panic attack. I know that doesn’t quite work as an illustration in today’s GPS world, but I grew up being the navigator for my family’s cross-country trips back when all you had were the Rand McNally and AAA Trip maps.

Writing and editing the first book was the easy part, however, as I entered this season of debut release the entire world changed. With a three-book contract, I’ve managed to have my hands in all three books at once. I’ve been working on marketing and getting the word out about book one. I’ve filled out countless interview questions, scheduled both social media and blog posts, recorded podcast interviews, created images, figured out giveaways, ran a launch team, tried to figure out the ins and outs of social media (pro-tip: you won’t so don’t stress), and spent most of yesterday and today trying to comment on every single post I see related to Counterfeit Love or myself. During this season, I’ve also completed developmental (big picture) edits for book 2, Counterfeit Hope, and am trying to get nearly 2000 words a day done on book 3. This week, I’m miserably failing on the latter.

This isn’t said for pity, or anything, just giving an honest glimpse of what life looks like. Practically, it looks like laundry piling up, dinners being ordered in or made by others, and my kids seeing me during the time frames I take them to school, pick them up, and run errands, but that’s pretty much it. It means trying to be present with my family on the weekends when I *try* not to work, but struggling with the mental weight of knowing I’m falling behind.

However, despite all the challenges, this has been an amazing blessing. God is reteaching me my dependency must be on Him alone and that my worth comes in who He says I am, not in what I do or what reviews say. I’ve read three great reviews of Counterfeit Love but realized my heart is not ready for the impact they can have. So I’m going to wait until after I have book three written.

Before I sign off, some of you have wanted to know how I’m going to celebrate. Despite wanting to find a non-food-related activity, I have eaten half of a strawberry-rhubarb pie (soon-to-be a whole), bought myself carnations (my favorite flower), and I plan on hopefully going out to see a movie with my family sometime over the next couple of weekends. 🙂 Well, I’m hosting a party in the Blue Ridge Readers Connection group on Facebook, so I better get back to that. Then book three is calling for words in between posts and comments.

The life of a debut author is tiring, but it is a gift from God that I wouldn’t change. Thank you for all the support, messages, and well-wishes. I’ve tried to respond to every single one I receive, so if you didn’t get a response, know it’s just because either Facebook didn’t notify me or I just haven’t seen it yet. Thank you, and God bless! Crystal

Enter the Rafflecopter below to be entered to win one of three prizes: (Grand prize) – A signed copy of Counterfeit Love with a book sleeve made by my Momma, a toe bag with story-related prizes inside, (2nd prize) – A signed copy of Counterfeit Love with a book sleeve made by my Momma, socks, and a bookmark, (3rd prize) A signed copy of Counterfeit Love with a book sleeve made by my Momma and a bookish zipper bag. Entries run from March 1st to March 31st, 11:59pm EST. *Open to those legally able to enter, U.S. residents only for the physical prizes, international winners will be given a prize of equal value to whichever level they win.*

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It is always good for me to review my year, and oops! It looks like I didn’t do many author interviews or giveaways this year. Is this something you would like to see more of? Let me know in the comments. Otherwise, check out the three categories below: Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and 2020 New Releases.

Happy New Year everyone!

Book Reviews – By Title (Omitting The and A)

It’s always exciting to see how many books I reviewed this year, though there are far more that I have read and just not written a review on, but I’m hoping to add those to my emergency stockpile for you to enjoy later. 😉 For now, you can revisit all the books I reviewed this year and see which ones you missed that interest you.

Banking on Love by Crystal Caudill (Info on Short Story for Newsletter Subscribers)

The Bounty Hunter’s Bargain by Lucette Nel

The Bride Bargain by Kelly Eileen Hake

The Christmas Husband by Lucette Nel

Circle of Spies by Roseanna M. White

“Far as the Curse is Found” by Amanda Barratt

The Gentleman Spy by Erica Vetsch

A Gilded Lady by Elizabeth Camden

“Heaven and Nature Sing” by Carolyn Miller

The House at the End of the Moor by Michelle Griep

An Ivy Hill Christmas by Julie Klassen

Last Chance Wife by Janette Foreman

Letters for Phoebe by Sally Briton

The Lost Lieutenant by Erica Vetsch

Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey by Abigail Wilson

No Ocean Too Wide by Carrie Turnasky

The Rebel Bride by Shannon McNear

A Return of Devotion by Kristi Ann Hunter

The Spice King by Elizabeth Camden

Three Little Things by Patti Stockdale

Veiled in Smoke by Jocelyn Green

Waltz in the Wilderness by Kathleen Denly

“Wonders of His Love” by Erica Vetsch

Author Interviews – By Author Last Name

Kathleen Denly

Patti Stockdale

2020 ACFW New Releases

With the closures of so many libraries and bookstores, it has become harder and harder to just browse new titles. Hopefully, this review of 2020 Releases will give you that opportunity to find new reads for 2021.

January 2020 New Releases

Feburary and March New Releases

April 2020 New Releases

May 2020 New Releases

June 2020 New Releases

July 2020 New Releases

August 2020 New Releases

September 2020 New Releases

October 2020 New Releases

November 2020 New Releases

Decemeber 2020 New Releases

Before all this happened it was my goal to have a short story written and edited for my newsletter subscribers and the draft of my second book 3/4 of the way done before edits on my first book came back. I’m happy to announce that I have met at least ONE of those goals (though I am a good way closer to my second book goal than before all this happened). I even created a cover, which is substantially better than the cover I designed for the deleted chapter. Without further ado, here is the cover and blurb for my short story:

Banking on Love

She expected to save her brother, not rob a bank.

November 1884

When Eunice Reed discovers her younger brother has been arrested for public intoxication, she travels from Cincinnati to Chicago to save him from himself. But public intoxication is the least of their problems. Irvin is tangled up with a dangerous bank robber. Will the love and ingenuity of a sister be enough to save Irvin from making the biggest mistake of his life?

This short story is exclusively for my newsletter subscribers. Not one yet? You can sign up here. My newsletter crew members are the first to know about titles, book covers, launch team member callouts, contests, and they get a monthly chance at winning a $15 Amazon gift card.

So was this post a shameless plug for my newsletter? Yep, but I put a lot of work into this 7500-word baby, and it’s one I hope you’ll enjoy.

THANK YOU so much for supporting me and encouraging me through this journey. Not much will change for my blog posts, they will still primarily be book reviews of Historical Romance/Fiction. 🙂  If you want to join my newsletter crew, you can sign up to the right, or you can visit www.bitly.com/ccaudillwrites.

So I guess I am going live now. Hi, it’s a little nerve-wracking to be online in front of everybody but I am so excited to come before you on Facebook Live as best I can to share some amazing news of God’s grace and mercy and His blessing in my writing journey. But a wise friend told me to kill a few seconds to give people to click the Facebook Live link to kind of catch up, and I don’t want anyone to miss out on this news. I am going to try and follow comments but I’m not sure if I can. This is my first Facebook Live.

The most important thing that I want you to get from this announcement today is that God sees you, He knows your heart, and loves you anyways, and He enjoys showing you that love in ways you never expected or dreamed.

So I always have written but I never really dreamed of publication. It was something I thought was “Yeah, that would be cool one day,” but that wasn’t something I sought. God really pushed me into pursuing publication about five years ago, and as much as I would love to spend time telling you God’s grace and mercy and how He’s worked through me in that, that’s not what this announcement is about.

God is the fulfiller of promises and the giver of dreams. So it is with great joy, and awe, and gratefulness that I announce that God has seen fit to bless me with a three-book contract with Kregel Publications for my Secret Service Historical Romance Series.

This was such big news that I had to do it live as best I could. I wish you could be here and have a cup of tea, some chocolate, and really get to celebrate it with me, but I had to share. This writing journey has just been filled with so many twists and turns, ups and downs, and guys you are the ones who have been there supporting me and encouraging me, and I just want to say thank you. This writing journey would not have been what it is without you. I just want to say thank you so so much.

It’s my humble prayer that you will be blessed by these stories as I have been. This is a long publication process. So the first book won’t actually come out until early 2022, even though my first manuscript is due October 15th of this year. But between now and then, there is going to be title reveals, cover reveals, call for launch team members, contests, and just any way I can get interactive with you, get to know you, and get you excited about this story as much as I am.

My newsletter subscribers are the first people to find anything out so there are quite a few of you out there that already knew this news. But if you want to join my newsletter and be in the loop and see all those things first hand, I will pop that link down in my comments here in a little bit.

But you probably want to know a little bit about the series. So I’m a huge fan of stories that have danger, history, love, hope, and that’s exactly like the type of story that I write. The series that I’ve been contracted to publish is about the Secret Service during the 1880’s. It focuses on three particular Secret Service operatives, and this was the era before they protected the president.

The Secret Service has an amazing history that is just so fascinating, and I won’t go into all the details and bore you, I promise I won’t. I could spend hours on it, but during the time of my story, they were focused on hunting down counterfeiters and arresting them. I read some amazing first-hand accounts by those operatives from that time period. I can’t wait to share some of those stories that have been inspired by that. And especially the women that I threw into their lives. Because I’m cruel and I’m evil, and I like it.

Life isn’t easy and I certainly don’t make it easy for my characters, and I just hope through their experiences and through the story that you read that you will have some excitement and entertainment, but that you also see how God will work through our lives in the good times and the bad times, and the really really bad times. God is always there and His hope is always there, and so that’s the underlying theme of the Secret Service series.

But before I sign off, I do want to share with you the Bible verses that have been the guide for my writing journey. And it comes from 1 Peter 4:10 -11 and it says: “Based on the gift each one has received, use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God. If anyone speaks, it should be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, it should be from the strength that God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.”

It is only through God’s grace and mercy that I’ve been given this opportunity.  I pray that this gift He’s given me will be something that glorifies Him today, tomorrow, and forever, and that through this writing, that you will know exactly how much He loves you.

So, thank you so much for your continued support on this writing journey. I’ll throw up the newsletter link here in the comments if you’d like to keep in the loop that way. Again, thank you so much, guys. You’ll never know exactly how much your support means to me. God bless, have a great weekend, and thank you, thank you, thank you.