I hope you're all having a wonderful autumn. The view from my office window is gorgeous--tons of trees in shades of yellow, orange and red. It's hard to believe tomorrow is November 1st. I wanted to take a minute to thank you all for your amazing support of my Alaskan Courage series. Because of you my latest release, Stranded, along with my debut novel, Submerged, made the bestseller list for October. Thank you! I'm so grateful for your continued support, and I love receiving your emails. I truly treasure them. Please continue to write. I love hearing what you think of the stories and the McKenna clan. I also wanted to share a sneak peek of Silenced, which is available for pre-order now and will be released in May. Here's the cover and catalog copy. Hope you enjoy!

A relaxing day of rock climbing takes a disturbing turn when Kayden McKenna’s route leads her face to face with a dead climber. Is it a terrible accident or something sinister? When the case is handed to the overburdened sheriff, he turns to Jake Westin. With Jake’s past now revealed, he’s ready to use his talent for investigation again–but he could never prepare for where the case will take him.

Kayden and Jake soon realize that the death was no accident. And worse, it seems the killer is on to them. When strange things begin happening in Yancey, Jake is terrified that once again his world may put someone he loves in danger. But the truth is far worse than he could ever imagine.

Coming May, 2014

Happy Monday, everyone! I'm getting ready to take the rest of the week off in preparation for my daughter's wedding Saturday, but wanted to share something fun with you first.

I'm happy to officially announce SILENCED will be Jake and Kayden's story and even more exciting....here's the cover!!!

Would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Thank you so much to everyone who entered to win an advanced copy of Stranded.

I was overwhelmed by your enthusiasm! You guys rock! I wish you all could win, but since I only have one advanced copy left, the winner is:

• Patty H.

Congratulations, Patty. If you could email me your mailing address I will get Stranded and your gift card in the mail. You can email me at: dani@danipettrey.com

And, as an extra thank you for everyone's amazing support, I'm giving away two more prizes.

• Crystal Goldman and Megan Williford: you've both won a Shattered Travel mug, keepsake bookmark and $5 Starbucks gift card. Just email me your mailing address.

Thanks again to everyone who entered. I hope you will all enjoy Stranded when it releases September 1st.

God bless,

As promised, I'm giving away another Advanced Reading Copy of Stranded--my upcoming release from Bethany House Publishers. I'll also be including a $5 Starbucks gift card so you can enjoy your favorite drink while reading Gage and Darcy's story.

All you have to do to enter is leave your name and email address in the comments section below.

I will let this run through midnight on Friday, July 26th and will announce the winner right here on my blog Saturday, July 27th.

Thanks so much for your amazing support and encouragement!

Blessings,

Thank you SO much to everyone who entered to win an Advanced Reading Copy of Stranded. I'm thrilled by your excitement for Gage and Darcy's story. Thank you for your kind and encouraging words. Have I mentioned that I have the best readers? I deeply appreciate you all. The winner of Stranded's Advanced Reading Copy is Caitlyn Santi. Congratulations, Caitlyn! Email your mailing address to me at dani@danipettrey.com and I will get Stranded and your gift card in the mail :)

If you aren't today's winner, don't worry. I'll be giving away two more Advanced Reading Copies of Stranded--one the last week of June and the other in mid-July.

In case you missed the announcement on my FB Author Page, check out your chance to join Team McKenna!

If you've posted a review for Submerged or Shattered (or both!) on GoodReads, Shelfari, Amazon, Facebook, or your blog, I've got a very fun opportunity for you. Find out more, here: http://danipettrey.com/join-team-mckenna/

Hi all, Some fun news to share and a giveaway to show my thanks! I've just learned that:

• Submerged has gone to its 4th printing.
• Shattered has been chosen as The Book Club Network's Book of the Month for May. Thanks to all who voted!
• Shattered is being translated into Norwegian. My full-blooded Norwegian father is extremely excited about this :)

I have the most amazing readers! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. In deepest appreciation for your continued support and encouragement, I'm giving away the first of three Advanced Reader Copies of Stranded--my September 1st release. I'm also including a $5 Starbucks gift card so you can enjoy your favorite drink while reading Gage and Darcy's adventure.

What do you have to do to enter?

Simply leave your name and email address in the comment section below. On Monday, June 10th, I'll randomly select a winner and announce the winner right here on my blog Monday night.

Best of luck, and thank you again for your amazing support!

Blessings,

Thank you to everyone who joined me on Bethany House's Book Banter last night. I had an amazing time getting to chat with you all! Thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule to banter with me. If you asked a question that didn't get answered, please feel free to either ask it in the comments section below or on my FB Page and I will be more than happy to answer it :)

And now.....the winners of last night's Book Banter:

Misty Wilson

Teresa Lampkin Snyder

Musa Polat

Jeanene Boucher

Melanie De Jong

Cassie Dupre

Mandy Wadsworth

Tina StClair Rice

To get your complimentary copy of Shattered, simply email your mailing address to noelle.buss@bethanyhouse.com and she'll get your copy in the mail. Hope you'll enjoy Shattered if you haven't read it yet, and if you have, feel free to use the book as a giveaway (if you have a blog) or simply share it with a friend or family member you think will enjoy it.

If your name is not listed, there's still a chance to win a copy of Shattered. Visit me on Coffee Cups & Camisoles today for another chance to win.

Thank you again for joining me last night! It was a joy getting to know you.

Blessings,

After so many months of waiting, I am amazed the day is finally here. Today is Shattered's official release date! Yay!! To celebrate the launch, and give you an inside glimpse of Landon and Piper's world, I've put together a Pinterest board for their story. Click the image below to see the board.

You do not need to have an account on Pinterest to view the board, but if you do have a Pinterest account, I'd love if you'd add me as a friend :)  I look forward to seeing your favorite boards and connecting with you.

P.S. Think I've missed something on Landon & Piper's board? Some scene, recipe, or fun photo you think should be included? Post the link in my comments section below. Your suggestion might show up at the top of my Shattered board in the next few weeks!

Blessings,

Thanks to everyone that helped celebrate Dee-Day yesterday on the Full Disclosure Facebook site.

As promised, I'm announcing the winner here.

The winner of signed copies of Full Disclosure and signed advanced copies of Jennifer: An O’Malley Love Story for the her and five of her friends is.......Drum roll please......

Jan Benton Scott

Congratulations, Jan!  Email your mailing address to Bethany House Fiction Publicist Noelle Buss at noelle.buss@bethanyhouse.com and she'll get your wonderful prize package in the mail.

Thank you again to everyone that joined in. Thank you for letting me host. It was lovely getting to know you all!

Blessings,

I just returned from a fun-filled long weekend at the beach! It was the last trip of the summer before my college girl returns to school and we had a fabulous time. While there we were able to take in several days of The Dew Tour. Thought I'd share some pictures with you. Hope your weekend was as fun-filled as mine :)

Unfortunately the waves were pretty calm, but we still enjoyed swimming.

  Reigning X-Games Big Air Gold Medalist Bob Burnquist 

Amazing 15 year old Mitchie "Little Tricky" Brusco

Last, but certainly not least Baltimore-area native Bucky Lasek.

Bucky is the reigning X-Games Silver Medalist in Skateboard Vert.

Hoping your day is full of adventure and joy,

I hope you are all having a wonderful day. A few weeks ago I attended ICRS (International Christian Retail Show) in Orlando and thought it'd be fun to share a bit about that with you all. It was my first time at ICRS and I was a bit in awe to learn that Phil Vischer and Matthew West were there, though I didn't realize that until I was on the plane flying home and actually had time to read through the convention program. Bummer.

The trip kicked off meeting my fabulous roommate and dear friend Kelli Standish. Kelli and I have worked together for a few years now, but it was the first opportunity we've had to meet in person. We met at the airport and made a midnight breakfast run to Denny's. I think we got all of four hours sleep that night and it started a trend :)

Sunday began with Books & Such brunch. It was a joy getting to meet my lovely agent in person.

Sunday night I attended the Baker dinner where I had a wonderful time reconnecting with friends and fellow Bethany House authors.

Monday I headed over the convention center and was thoroughly impressed. There were so many Christian publishers represented there along with Christian music companies, film production companies, stores, and vendors. So many people yearning to share Christ with the world. I felt like a drop in a much greater ocean. An ocean hopefully reflecting our Father's love and majesty.

I spoke at a Fiction event (hosted by the fabulous SuzyQ) alongside authors I greatly admire, and had the privilege of signing books afterwards.

Monday night I attended the Christy awards where I got to cheer on numerous Bethany House authors. I am so blessed to be part of such an amazing publishing family.

Tuesday I taped a video interview with Ray Sadler (super fun guy!) for LifeWay Christian Stores, I did a signing in the Bethany House booth next to Davis Bunn (I so admire him), and wrapped up the afternoon sitting on a panel about Christian Fiction's Impact on Faith and Culture. Quite an interesting discussion. It was such an honor to be on the same panel as Colleen Coble, Rachel Hauck, and Kim Vogel Sawyer.

ICRS was a wonderful experience. Great food. Time with fellow writers and even more importantly, fellow believers in Christ. But it was good to return home to my tiny office, to quiet time with the Lord, to focusing on the story He's laid on my heart. To shift the focus off of me and onto Him because it's all for His glory. I'm just so thankful He provides opportunities for story lovers to group together from time to time (like at ICRS and ACFW), and incredibly grateful that He's always guiding us through this journey He's called us to.

Praying you feel God's leading on your life and your journey.

Blessings,

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I'm busy working away on the final revisions for Shattered (Book Two in my Alaskan Courage series). Loving this story. Hope you'll all love it too! I'm taking a short break from edits to chat with Crystal Kelly over on Inspired Shelves. Hope you'll drop by and say hi!

Blessings,

Want an inside peek at Yancey, Alaska where Submerged is set? Then hop on over to A Novel Bookshelf (LifeWay's blog) today. You can get a glimpse inside the town, and I've even included a recipe for Moosetrack Milkshakes (Bailey's favorite). Mmmm!

I'm guest blogging today over on Cathy West's A Blog About Books! Chatting about why I love writing adventurous characters.

Blessings,

Romantic Times Book Club is doing a feature on their blog today about my writing journey and Submerged! Hope you'll drop by and ask your burning writing/publishing questions.

Want to learn more about Cole and Bailey? You're in luck! They're in the spotlight today on Relz Reviewz.

Drop by to get the inside scoop.

Yes. That's right. Today is the official release date of my debut novel Submerged. What does that mean exactly? It means that as of today Submerged is available in stores, online and for download on your e-reader of choice. It's such an exciting day and I'm looking forward to celebrating with my family tonight.

I have been especially blessed to enjoy this debut experience with three very talented authors:

Beth Vogt

Olivia Newport

Katie Ganshert (Katie's debut will officially release May 8th)

Join us on May 15 for our Debutantes’ Story Soiree: a live, worldwide online party to celebrate our debuts and also learn more about Heart of the Bride, a nonprofit ministry devoted to meeting the needs of orphans worldwide.

Also celebrating a release today is fellow Bethany House author Becky Wade. Yay, Becky!  I feel so very blessed to be surrounded by such lovely women.

Just wanted to let you all know that I'm guest blogging about inspiration over on In Others' Words today. Come share what inspires you.

Blessings,