Author stresses the importance of common sense in knowing God’s will

Kevin DeYoung, pastor of University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Mich., and co-author of last year’s Why We’re Not Emergent (Moody Publishers), has a message in the form of a book for young people waiting for a sign to help them with big decisions—Just Do Something.

While accessible for all age groups, DeYoung’s book targets 18-35 readers who are facing life-altering choices and struggling with the concept of God’s will. With his church located across the street from Michigan State University, the author frequently encounters youthful seekers questioning their life journeys.

The author of mainstream suspense thrillers Don't Say a Word and True Crime on his new Christian retail young adult release The Last Thing I Remember (Thomas Nelson), writing for young adults, God and patriotism.

Dellosso's newest supernatural thriller, Scream, is a fast-paced journey centering on Mark Stone, a man experiencing a personal crisis. Mark’s marriage is falling apart because of his bad decisions while his faith is nonexistent because of the heavy-handed nature of his family.

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Close Up with Joni Earekson Tada

“People identify with my honesty in this wheelchair. I'm not afraid to admit that I wake up in the morning desperately asking God for help to face the day” – Joni Earekson Tada

Currently resides in: Calabasas, California

Current Project: A Lifetime of Wisdom (978-0-310-27342-4, Zondervan, $21.99)

Currently reading: Searching for Home by Craig Barnes (Brazos Press/Baker Publishing Group)

After so many books through the years, why was it time to share this 'legacy' message right now?

This year marks my 60th birthday and just a little over 40 years I've spent in a wheelchair. So many people—especially people with disabilities—are wondering how God can be so good in a world full of so much pain and suffering. I wrestled with that question when I was first injured and I answer it straight-on in A Lifetime of Wisdom.

Who is the target reader?

Anyone who has succumbed to discouragement—even despair—as a result of problems that overwhelm.

How have you found your experience making a connection for your readers?

People identify with my honesty in this wheelchair. I'm not afraid to admit that I wake up in the morning desperately asking God for help to face the day. I think most people wake up that way, but don't realize it.

What's the most important thing you've learned?

That God doesn't take His hands off the wheel for a nano-second when tragedies hit us.

What role does prayer have during a person's trials?

Everything. Prayer is our IV line to the blood of Christ which not only cleanses us, but restores, heals, refreshes and rejuvenates us with mercies that are new not just every morning, but every afternoon and evening.

Do you have any other projects you're currently working on?

I'm working on a book about healing. Yikes.

BoneMan's Daughters

Ted Dekker

Center Street (Hachette Book Group)

hardcover, 416 pages, $24.99

978-1599951959

BoneMan's Daughters, the first general market targeted release from popular fiction author Dekker, is just as intense and suspenseful as Dekker's Christian market releases, including the best-seller Three. The book takes the reader on an emotional and spiritual journey, as the author puts the characters through hell on earth, tearing them down to an extreme point of vulnerability. .

After being taken by the serial killer Boneman, who breaks the bones of his victims without breaking their skin, Bethany is able to identify with her captor. She is very much aware of the shallowness of her mother's love, and is scarred by the abandonment of her father, Ryan Evans. After a traumatic experience of his own, however, Ryan seeks to rescue her while wondering if he will find her too late, after she has already been broken and killed.

The overall theme deals with the issues of the pain of abandonment and rejection. It is a picture of the importance of a father in the lives of not only their children, but their children's mother as well. Longtime Dekker readers will once again be captivated by this book, although some Christian readers may find some of the language (PG-type slang and by-words) in the mainstream-targeted book questionable.

-Jon Grubbs