Sometimes the Stars Really Do Line Up

When Laura Pearl first brought Finding Grace to Bezalel Books, I was impressed with her writing. At Bezalel Books, we don’t publish everything that comes our way—even if the author is willing to pick up the publishing costs. Rather, we read a sample chapter or two, a synopsis and then get a “feel” for the author’s passions and skills. Pretty much the Holy Spirit is part of everything and we are okay to say “no” if things don’t seem like a good fit.

Laura was a great fit.

Laura’s work at marketing and blogging and even entering the world of Twitter continued to impress me. Laura is the mother of five grown sons and I am the mother of three grown sons so there’s that, too. But I just continued to find her wit and insight to be inspiring. Every time I read a blog of hers I found myself smiling or laughing or in some way connecting with her spirit.

So it was that I began praying about approaching Laura to write a second book with one big difference: this one would be on our dime. We’d take the chance on her because what we saw in her first book and in her continued foray into the world of Catholic fiction really captured what we are about at Bezalel Books.

Needless to say, after months (literally) of praying, I approach Laura with the proposal for a second book. Knowing it took Laura years to write Finding Grace in between her duties as wife and mother, I also knew that I had a timeline in mind—as well as a smaller book. 

Finding Grace is epic. The sort of book that continues to draw you back and that you really sink your teeth in.

I wanted Laura to condense her abilities into a book that would be considered Young Adult but would capture the interests of all ages—from tween through adult.

Now it was Laura’s time to pray…

The contract has since been signed and Laura has just sent me the first six chapters of Erin’s Ring.

Once in a while, the stars line up and God’s blessings are so evident it feels miraculous. That’s how I felt reading these chapters of Erin’s Ring. This will be the sort of book that makes the YA audience the fasting growing audience in literature among adults.

We’ve got a spring 2015 release set for Erin’s Ring; in the meantime, I highly recommend Finding Grace if you haven’t yet come up with a great summer reading book. If nothing else, check out Laura’sblog. You’ll be glad you did!

(the picture used is ID 5121949 © Connie Larsen | Dreamstime.com)