From Kathy’s Heart...
January 2010

"Now it is God who makes us stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."
—2 Corinthians 1:21-22

I don’t know about you, but I could use some good news as this New Year begins. The world we live in doesn’t offer much security, and there’s no guarantee it’s going to be a better place for our children and grandchildren. But one thing I know: God has a plan and we’re a part of it. As believers, our eternal future is guaranteed. I want to spend my days here using my gifts to honor His name and bring others closer to Christ. By focusing on working for Him, I’ll be less inclined to worry about things I have no control over. That’s my New Year’s resolution.

How is Sophie Trace Doing?

I am excited to tell you that the first two Sophie Trace Trilogy books were national bestsellers,  and reader feedback continues to be fantastic and encouraging. I was honored to be featured in the October 2009 issue of Romantic Times and have been busy with radio interviews, blog interviews and podcasts to promote this series.

The third and final Sophie Trace book, The Right Call, will release March 1, 2010. And, in case you didn’t know, all three Sophie Trace books will be available on CD. Tim Lundeen of Oasis Audio did the reading, and I love the way he captured my characters!  So for those of you find it hard to make time to read, you can “listen” to CDs in the car or as you go about your day.

More than 300,000 Kathy Herman books are in print throughout the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. And over the past year the Seaport Series was printed in Dutch and distributed in Amsterdam. It’s exciting to see what God is doing. What a blessing to have reached so many readers with stories I hope they found inspiring and challenging as well as entertaining.

New Series in the Making

Paul and I just got back from a road trip to Cajun country. We drove the back roads of South Louisiana, and I began piecing together sights, sounds, and mouth-watering dishes to use in my fictitious town of Les Barbes (pronounced lay-barb) in the Langley Manor Trilogy.  Les Barbes is French for “beards,” and I got the idea from the Spanish moss that hangs from the trees.

For me, the most fun part of starting a new series is deciding on the setting and then going to that area in search of a location for my fictitious town. I incorporate a little of this and a little of that until I can see the fictional setting clearly in my mind. The images help me, but the final creation is whatever my words cause each of us to envision. These are some of the images that stuck with me.

Till Next Time…

In closing, I want to say thanks for supporting my work. It is your comments, your input, your sharing how God is using my words in your life that keeps me motivated to continue on this busy journey. Until you hear from me again, I’ll be working on the first Langley Manor book and praying that God will bless you with a great new year.

In Him,

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