Happy Tuesday, readers! Today’s Top Ten topic is “Books Set in [select location].” Originally, I was going to do Books Not Set in the U.S. or England, since most of my reads are set there, but then I realized I’ve read a surprising number of books set in Germany, too. Some of these may also have other countries represented, but at least a portion of the story is set in Germany.
Note for my clean readers: Books marketed as Christian Fiction are labeled with an * below.
The Good German Girl by Erica Marie Hogan *
The School for German Brides by Aimie K. Runyon
Cradles of the Reich and The Girls of the Glimmer Factory by Jennifer Coburn
The Girl I Left Behind by Andie Newton
The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff
In Another Time by Jillian Cantor
Saving Amelie and Secrets She Kept by Cathy Gohlke *
“Born for Adversity” novella within Every Life Treasured by Aubrey Reiss Taylor *
Have you read any of these? Are there any other books set in Germany that you would recommend?
Welcome back to the Extra Edition newsletter! Usually, this newsletter features bonus content for my books and and the history behind them, but today I’m featuring eight of my latest cover designs.
What’s in this Edition:
Latest Cover Designs – 8 books to check out
Top Tips for Working with a Designer – From author/designer Madisyn Carlin
Need a Cover? – How to work with me on your book.
Latest Cover Designs
As always, it was an honor to work with these Christian authors and especially fun to design in several different genres. Make sure to check out their books and follow them for more info.
Some Melodious Sonnet is the first book in Jennifer Q. Hunt‘s new 1830s series set in Georgia during the Trail of Tears. This cover diverged from Jennifer’s usual covers, but I love how it turned out. Available September 2025, Book 1 of 3.
Braving Strange Waters is the first book in Sarah Hanks‘ Time Sailors series about a woman who finds herself tossed from her Hawaiian cruise onto the Arabia steamship in the 1850s, shortly before it’s destined to sink. This was a cover redesign, which meant keeping to the spirit of the story while diverging enough to respect the original design. Now available, Book 1 of 4.
Splinters and Seams is Courtney Rivera‘s impressive debut novel about a young woman who delves into her family’s history in order to find her own place in the world. For this one, the author requested a legal version of a Canva-created cover, although we ended up taking a much different path with it. Now available as a standalone novel.
A Name to Remember by Hannah Hood Lucero is YA Romantic Military Suspense about a gold star daughter and the misunderstood “bad boy” in town. Silhouettes ended up being a perfect way to add people to this cover without purchasing stock photos. Now available as a standalone novel.
Foster Faith and Blossom as Saints are books 3 and 4 in Allison Ramirez‘s nonfiction Rosary devotionals series. For this series, we worked together to pick flowers and colors that were either Marian in nature or kept to the theme of the book. I also designed the covers for book 1 and 2 which are now available. Book 3 releases in September 2025 and Book 4 releases in December 2025.
Every Life Treasured and Every Captive Freed are multi-author anthologies from the Brave Authors group. Each cover focuses on the book’s theme: pro-life for ELT and human trafficking for ECF. The cover for Anthology 3, Every Voice Heard, will be released August 6 and focuses on church hurt. Publication dates are October 2025, November 2025, and December 2025.
Top Tips for Working with a Designer
A few days ago, fellow author and designer, Madisyn Carlin, posted some helpful tips for authors when working with your cover designer. I felt it really keyed into the top areas of conflict between authors and designers and is a good read for anyone in the business. Really, it all comes down to common courtesy and mutual respect.
Are you an author in need of a cover? My focus is historical fiction and contemporary fiction, but am happy to design and/or consult for any genre, except erotica. All book content must be PG-13 or cleaner. I always make sure to source my stock photos from legal sources and never use generative AI. I also provide discounts for members of the Catholic Writers Guild, the Christian Mommy Writers group, and the Daughters of the American Revolution. Contact me for a quote.
Happy Tuesday, readers! Today’s Top Ten topic is “Books with Honorifics in the Title” such as King, Prince, Princess, Queen, Captain, Mr., Mrs., Miss, etc. I cheated a little bit since the Desolation series has four in one. 🙂
The Captain’s Bride by Lisa T. Bergren
The Mark of the King by Jocelyn Green
The Rejected King, The Promised Prince, The Stolen Princess, and The Forgotten Queen by Kortney Keisel
Becoming Mrs. Smith and Stealing Mr. Smith by Tanya E. Williams
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
My Dear Miss Dupre by Grace Hitchcock
Have you read any of these? Are there any others you would recommend?
Happy Tuesday, readers! Today’s Top Ten topic is “Books I’d like to Re-Read,” so here are my most re-read books (not including my own which I’ve read too many times to count).
Sorrow and Song series by Jennifer Q. Hunt – Late 1910s-1940s Christian Historical Fiction
Molly Chase series by Rhonda Ortiz – 1790s post-American Revolution Catholic Christian Historical Fiction
Northern Lights series by Lisa T. Bergren – Christian historical fiction set in the 1890s. My most read series of all time and one of the main reasons I decided to write family sagas.
The Madman’s Daughter series by Megan Shepherd – YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy series of retellings of The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Frankenstein
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – the original Regency Romance
Desolation series by Kortney Keisel – Not your typical dystopian romance, my favorite series of hers
The Hunger Gamesseries by Suzanne Collins – YA Dystopian, I’ve only re-read the original three
Divergent series by Veronica Roth – YA Dystopian
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling – YA Fantasy
Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder – Children’s Pioneer Fiction
Have you read any of these? Which books do you like to re-read?
Happy July, readers, and Happy recent Independence Day to those in the United States!
What’s in this Edition:
Catholic Media Association Awards – 3 of my books recognized
Title Reveal for my Next Novel
Need Even More Summer Reads? – Writing Off Social Reading Lists
Releasing in July– Other authors’ new releases I’m most excited about
Catholic Media Association Awards
I am triple-honored to have had three of my books acknowledged in this year’s Catholic Media Awards. Broken Lines received 2nd Place for Christian Romance, Unsettled Shores received an Honorable Mention for Faith-based Novels, and Sparks Fly Upward also received an Honorable Mention for Catholic Novels.
Several of my fellow Catholic Writers Guild fiction authors also received awards including The Divided Kingdom by Allison Ramirez (1st place), Misshelved Magic by S.R. Crickard (2nd place), A Cloud of Witnesses by Emily Hanlon (2nd place), Markmaker by Mary Jessica Woods (3rd place), and A Very Chapel Falls Christmas by Amanda Lauer (3rd place). Congratulations to all!
Read on for the first official back cover blurb and the title of my next book.
How fine the line between inspiration and insanity…
Avila Kohlfeld has spent most of her life in the shadow of Hawthorn Asylum. As the superintendent’s daughter, she grew up outside the institution’s inner workings, yet never quite apart from them. Then one night, a reckless visit to its walls claims the life of her sister—or does it? Avila doesn’t know what to make of the altered girl who is restored to their family. Is Callie truly inspired by God from her experience or is she as insane as the patients at the asylum? As whispers and speculation circulate, the community questions the superintendent’s suitability for his position. With her entire family’s future in jeopardy, Avila works on a desperate plan to prove that Hawthorn Asylum is caring for its patients, body and soul.
Abandoned by his parents due to his inability to read or write, Matthias Ward was diagnosed as “backward” and given a job where he can’t cause any harm—asylum mortician. He resolves to treat each body with the same dignity as he would if they were living. When the superintendent’s daughter ends up in his mortuary, the resulting whirlwind tosses his basement-dwelling days upside down. Avila encourages him to consider a different path, despite her own tenuous future. Is it possible that God has more for him outside of Hawthorn’s walls?
In a place where many enter but few leave, could the halls of Hawthorn Asylum still hold room for another miracle?
This description is subject to change as I get further into drafting. I never know when one of my characters will throw a curve ball that changes everything. But for now, I feel safe saying that the main elements will remain the same.
Ready for the title? Let me know what you think!
Need Even More Summer Reads?
Looking for some summer reads? Writing off Social’s Ultimate Summer Reading List highlights books from listeners of the Writing Off Social podcast, including my War Across Waters and Larksong Legacy series. If you haven’t heard of this podcast, it’s specifically for Christian authors who are looking for ways to promote their books without relying as much (or at all) on social media. It was the encouragement I needed to finally step away from my social media pages a year and a half ago, and I haven’t regretted it at all. My one exception is Goodreads; follow me there to find out what I’m currently reading! Thank you to Writing Off Social for including my books in their list.
Need another read? Here are the new releases I’m excited about:
The Highland Heist by Pepper Basham – the fourth book in the Freddie and Grace historical mysteries series
An Uncharted Dream by Abbey Downey – An early 1900s explorer in search of answers, a determined protector, and an expedition that could cost them everything.
The Collector of Burned Books by Roseanna M. White – World War II historical about the power of words where two people form an unlikely friendship amid the Nazi occupation in Paris and fight to preserve the truth that enemies of freedom long to destroy.
These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas – The story of a German pianist and local deputy set in the mountains of North Carolina in the tumultuous years before World War II.
Buried Wilderness Secrets by Jaime Jo Wright – a Montana park ranger must solve a murder before the killer finds her
Want to know what I’m currently reading? Follow me on GoodReads.
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