Southern rock group Rhett Walker Band debuts on Essential Records (Provident Distribution) in July 2012 with Come to the River. The band is led by the son of a preacher who has outgrown his teen rebellion and come into his own as a family man who sings of the grace that saved him.

This is your debut in the Christian market, so our readers will want to get acquainted with you. Would you share some of your story with us?

I’m just a sinner singing about grace. I’m blessed with a beautiful wife and two children, with one on the way, who have walked this journey with me every step of the way. The three main things that make up who I am are faith, family and country. These are the three most important things in my life, things that echo throughout this entire album. See, I’ve lived a lot of life in some very short years.  I’ve realized nothing is as amazing as God's love and mercy, and that’s what I wanted to write about. Life songs. Songs written about not only the stress and pains of life that we face every day, but songs written about His mercy that we don’t deserve, yet He so freely gives, and it is what I respect and honor. Come to the River is me. It's made up of songs that tell my story.

Known for her Amish-themed fiction, best-selling author Wanda E. Brunstetter is helping children understand the simple life and morals of the Amish in her children's fiction. As the first of her "Double Trouble" series from Barbour Publishing, What a Pair! releases in June 2012.

Do you enjoy writing for children more than adults or vice-versa, or simply like both audiences?

Who buys your children’s books? What’s the demographic?

Parents and grandparents buy my children’s books for boys and girls ages 8-12 (some even younger, depending on their reading level). Based on the fan mail I’ve received, I’d say that the young readers are from all over the United States. I’ve even received some mail from children in Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Lara Landon’s sophomore project, Overcome, released on her own Wise Sam label. Co-produced by the artist in cooperation with Mitch Dane, Steve Wilson and Brian Hitt, the album is available from New Day Christian Distributors (phone: 800-251-3633; fax: 800-361-2533).

Who is Lara Landon as an artist?

The music that I write is just an extension of who I am in everyday life. Just like all believers, I have some really hard times and some great moments, and music for me is an expression of that. I try to make music that I would like to hear, music that is really honest and stylistically close to what I grew up loving—folk, musical theater, pop, classical.

Latest project: When It All Falls Apart: Finding Healing, Joy, and Victory Through the Pain (Charisma House).

How would you say you have grown through suffering, having experienced a divorce due to the infidelity of your husband, pastor Zachery Tims; his unexpected death; and being “discarded” by your church? Heb. 5:8 says, “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.” Through my pain, agony and devastation, I learned that there is only one person that I can trust with my life, my hope, thoughts and dreams. It was through these times that He taught me how to hear his voice. There was so much deception and manipulation around me; I had to learn obedience to Him.

Sadly, your husband had multiple affairs, though you had a long marriage. You realized that you enabled him—how so? I misunderstood the principles of submitting to my husband. When I reached out for help from others in ministry and my husband became aware, I was called a rebellious wife for speaking to others. I wanted the first priority to be his restoration, not getting back to the pulpit. I felt that if he was not truly restored spiritually, he could not effectively lead others. Although he stopped preaching for a while, he still ran the church behind the scenes. He never fully stepped down to get healed. I should have been more forthright regardless of what he or others thought of me. I believe this enabled him to continue in his struggles. 

You called one of the women with whom your husband had had an affair and ended up leading her to the Lord—how did that happen? It was around the time that I became aware of one of my husband’s affairs, when one of his mistresses started posting details of their affair on the Internet. I did not want my children to see all the horrid details, so I contacted her with the intent of asking her to stop. While talking to her, the Holy Spirit impressed on me to pray for her and to let her know that my husband’s action did not reflect the actions of those who follow Christ, and I wanted her to know that Jesus loved her.

What was the turning point in your attitude toward him? A friend told me that though [I was] no longer married, the covenant of praying for my spouse still existed. When I learned that I still had to pray for him, my heart changed. The extreme anger began to leave, and true forgiveness came. I began to have compassion and sometimes pity for him and his struggles. I only wanted to see him whole again.

How hard was that to be open about your struggles? It wasn’t difficult for me to be transparent about my life. That is the basis of the Majestic Life Ministry. I want the light of truth to shine. Also, when I was going through my depression and anger, I wanted to hear from someone who successfully completed the journey that I was taking. I looked for books and I looked for speakers that could identify with the pain that I was feeling. I believe the more transparent I am, the more I can help someone walk in healing and wholeness. I hope this book shows the things that I did right as well as the things I did wrong so others can maneuver through their own personal journeys.

You write that one of the most painful things in life is “church hurt.” Why do you think that is? The church is a place of healing and restoration. It is a hospital for those who are sick and hurting spiritually and physically. That is where you should go to find love and understanding. However, if you are shunned, ignored and judged at church, where else do you go?

You write that “depression wanted to devour” you. How do you feel God is restoring you now? God has restored and is restoring most everything in my life. I love ministry. I love being around the people of God, and I am not afraid to stand up to those who are in perpetrating the church. I have a sense of balance. I am not confused about the illusion of the professional church. I clearly recognize the spiritual church.

How do you think God will use this book in others’ lives? When I tried to minister to people who were going through divorce or betrayal, I could not fully help them because I did not understand the depth of the pain. This book can help someone who may have the spirit of death on them and they have no one to talk to because their family and friends just don’t understand their pain or situation. I hope this book will be a voice to them that someone understands and can help them make it through the struggles. Or this book can help a family member of someone going through.

ASK THE AUTHOR: Yvonne Lehman

Latest project: Hearts That Survive: A Novel of the Titanic (March).

Publisher: Abingdon Press.

Have you always been interested in the Titanic, and did your interest grow in writing this book? Both. Such a tragedy and disaster are events that touch the heart and mind and remind us that we are not in control in this life, no matter how much expertise goes into a project, and the Titanic was a wonder of the world in 1912. I’m always interested in what are called “man-made, natural or act of God” tragedies and disasters. My interest grew as I learned more about how people react in time of tragedy, the fear and the nobility of the human spirit, the natural instinct to call upon God [and] acknowledge Him, at least when all else fails.

Why do you think there is such a fascination with the Titanic? People are naturally fascinated with tragedy, perhaps because we all are so closely akin to it, personally or with those close to us. We tend to want the answer to “Why?” Being a writer, I know there must always be conflict in a story. That’s what readers expect and must have in novels. It’s what we have in life. We identify with difficulties whether they’re labeled big or small. We seek answers. I think we want to know why such a thing as the sinking occurred.

How did the plot unfold? Like a miracle. The acceptance of the proposal came almost too late for me to be able to write it. From the moment I asked Ramona Richards (editor with Abingdon), “Would you like a book about the Titanic?” and she said, “Yes,” the only thing on my mind was this book. I’ve never written so much in so short a time. I’ve never had characters come alive so quickly and so completely. I’ve never felt the flow of creativity, nor the presence of God in writing, as much as I did while writing this book. The characters let me know how they felt from the moment Ramona said, “Yes,” and my fingers stayed on the keyboard every possible waking moment for weeks. This is my 50th novel, but in so many ways it feels like a first. 

If you had to describe Hearts That Survive in two or three words, what would you say? I prefer to choose the description from what my endorsers say, which includes: “Wonderful. Chilling. Compelling.”

Jim Cymbala wants believers to fully embrace the power of the Holy Spirit, without which, he says, “Christianity is impossible.” Anxious for the church to live in that vitality, the best-selling author and pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle offers Spirit Rising: Tapping Into the Power of the Holy Spirit (978-0-310-24125-6, $19.99), written with Jennifer Schuchmann and releasing from Zondervan this month.

Observing that one side of the church emphasizes the Word over the Spirit and the other may attribute every manifestation to God’s Third Person, Cymbala writes: “The Holy Spirit is underappreciated and underpreached by the twenty-first-century church. There is a prejudice of sorts against the Holy Spirit that impedes many from learning more about him.”

But, he asserts, truly following the Scriptures means that faith should be both grounded in the Word and full of the Spirit—the kind of faith he has taught in previous best-sellers such as Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire and Fresh Power.

Cymbala shares testimonies of individuals such as Roma Black, a former “player” in New York City’s drug scene who was radically transformed by God, and Terry Kehm, led out of a life of promiscuity.

Teaching that it takes more than having daily devotions, listening to preachers and going to worship services, Cymbala shows believers how to connect with the Spirit and what that looks like—a life filled with joy, power, love, overcoming fear and more.

Joy makes the believer distinctive in this world, Cymbala argues. “All joy comes from the Holy Spirit,” he writes. “We can’t manufacture it, call it up, try harder to get it, or make it happen on our own.”

To order Spirit Rising, call 800-727-1309, or visit www.zondervan.com.