Februrary Updates - The Discovery Weeks Away

I haven't updated my blog in over a month. So let's start with a quick health update (since my "stabbing" on Jan 10th). The surgery proved to be a great success. All the concerns the doctors hoped to address are dramatically improved. I've had one significant side effect. Insomnia. I guess after 4 days in the hospital where they wake you up every 2 hours, then 2 weeks sleeping at home on my back (which I never do), my sleep patterns got all out of whack.

I now believe sleeping well is one of God's great underrated gifts.

After over a month of being up most of the night, then finally falling asleep at 7am from sheer exhaustion, and trying one remedy after another, I've just now begun to sleep through the night (compliments of 2 Benadryl). Hopefully, after my clock gets reset, I'll wean off this and be back to normal.

So on to better things...

The Discovery Only 4 Weeks Away!

Things are ramping up for the release of my next book, The Discovery. I really enjoyed writing this book, and it's been great to see how it's being received. My wife, Cindi, has loved all my books so far but she agrees with award-winning author Sarah Sundin (who reviewed the book for an endorsement) that this novel is my best so far. Hard for me to say.

But it will hit the shelves (and be ready for Ebook downloads) on April 1st, less than 5 weeks from now.

I've received 2 more significant reviews for The Discovery the past few weeks. The first was from Christianbook.com, who featured it in their print catalog in a section called, "New and Recommended." This is a HUGE online and catalog book distributor. Here's their review:

"You don't often find a novel that appeals to men and women alike--but Walsh delivers one here! Taking you on a scavenger hunt leading to mystery, romance and intrigue, this book-within-a-book will tug at your heart and keep you in suspense. You'll get so caught up in the WW2 thriller you'll forget it's also a contemporary story. A feel-good read that commemorates the courage, integrity and sacrifice of the 'greatest generation.'"

-- Christianbook.com (Christine, Fiction Editor)

The 2nd big review came from RT Book Reviews magazine, which is the largest book review magazine in the country, covering every fiction genre (romance, historical, suspense, inspirational, etc.). They gave The Discovery a 4.5 Stars/Top Pick rating in the Inspirational category (their highest). Authors often await this magazine's review of their work, hoping for the best. To get this rating is extremely gratifying. This is now my 3rd novel (out of 5) to get it.

RT Books has also interviewed me about the book. It should show up on their website very soon.

Here's their review:

"Yet again, Walsh has crafted a novel so engaging that you will lose all sense of time as he draws you in and makes the reader a part of the story. Based on historical facts, this is the perfect blend of history, suspense and romance. Walsh’s “book within a book” concept is intriguing.The reader will be reminded that God alone can give us the peace that surpasses all human understanding."

-- RT Book Reviews Magazine

I've also learned from my publisher that USA Today plans to interview me for their fiction blog, an article about men who write romantic books. My novels are more like strong love stories (of the Nicholas Sparks variety) than traditional romances. I'm looking forward to this opportunity to hopefully reach a brand new block of readers.

My First Gary Smalley Novel Almost Done!

Dr. Gary Smalley

This week I'm writing the final few chapters of my first novel co-authored with Dr. Gary Smalley. I have a love/hate thing going when I get to this stage of a book. I love it, because by this point everything is humming. I know the characters very well, all the things I've been building in the plot are fusing together, and things really flow. I hate it because it flows too fast. I can still only write so much in a day, but I wish I could sit down and write the whole thing in one long blast.

For those who haven't read about this before, if you scroll through recent archives, you'll get a glimpse of what this project is about. I'm actually writing the book, drawing from some of Gary's most recent bestselling books on Marriage, Family and Relationships.

I've been sending him 2 chapters at a time to get his input or anything he'd like to add. In about a week, I'll finish the book, clean it up some, then send him the completed novel. He'll have it for a week or two, then send it to me with any further notes. I'll fix it up some more and send it in to the best editor in Christian fiction. This is not just my opinion, last year my editor, Andrea Doering, won the ACFW's Editor-of-the-Year award.

In mid-March, I'll start putting together the storyline for Book 2 of our series. The plan is to start writing this book on April 1st. Oh...I almost forgot. We've confirmed the title for Book 1 of the series will be called, The Dance.