Books by our Authors

Check out these books written by our authors.  



Gunner's Run 
by Rick Barry

Welcome to 1943. Young and confident Jim Yoder has decided that he's going to be the master of his own fate. So he leaves home and enlists in the Army Air Force, where he becomes a gunner on a B-24 bomber in England. But when unexpected events strand Yoder alone, on the ground, and behind enemy lines, he realizes he has a choice: either allow himself to be captured, or set his sights on England and make a run for it. Gunner’s Run is two journeys in one: a physical journey as struggles to travel across Europe without getting killed or captured, and a spiritual journey as he finally learns to trust in God.

Can Jim make it back to England before his pursuers catch or kill him? And will Margo, the girl he left back home, wait for him, or will she conclude he's dead and marry another? Join Jim Yoder on this unexpected adventure, where it's sometimes difficult to tell friend from foe.


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Kiriath's Quest 
by Rick Barry

When King Jekoniah of Xandria is kidnapped by evil Grishnaki, the royal family searches for a way to save him. The ransom demanded by the Grishnaki is impossible, and an outright war on the Grishnaki would end in disaster—so Prince Kiriath resolves to undertake a secret mission into the Grishnaki's valley.

Strange creatures, roaming bands of Grishnaki, and a stretch of desolate land called the Deserted Kingdom pose unexpected dangers. As the ransom deadline approaches, Kiriath fears that he might not reach his father in time.

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The Methuselah Project 
by Rick Barry

 
Roger Greene is a war hero. Raised in an orphanage, the only birthright he knows is the feeling that he was born to fly. Flying against the Axis Powers in World War II is everything he always dreamed―until the day he's shot down and lands in the hands of the enemy.


When Allied bombs destroy both his prison and the mad genius experimenting on POWs, Roger survives. Within hours, his wounds miraculously heal, thanks to those experiments. The Methuselah Project is a success―but this ace is still not free. Seventy years later, Roger hasn't aged a day, but he has nearly gone insane. This isn't Captain America―just a lousy existence only made passable by a newfound faith. The Bible provides the only reliable anchor for Roger's sanity and his soul. When he finally escapes, there's no angelic promise or personal prophecy of deliverance, just confusion. It's 2015―and the world has become an unrecognizable place.

 Katherine Mueller―crack shot, genius, and real Southern Belle―offers to help him find his way home. Can he convince her of the truth of his crazy story? Can he continue to trust her when he finds out she works for the very organization he's trying to flee?

Thrown right into pulse-pounding action from the first page, readers will find themselves transported back in time to a believable, full-colored past, and then catapulted into the present once more. The historical back-and-forth adds a constantly moving element of suspense to keep readers on the edge of their seats.

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Mellisa Blackburn

Sandy King, a twenty-four-year-old Christian and daughter to an up-and-coming senator, interns at Green Growers International. She discovers that one of their partners, Blue Mill Farms, is an elaborate cover for a Mexican cartel to run drugs and smuggle people across the border to the farm in the San Juan Valley of Colorado.

Fearing for her life, Sandy escapes with crucial evidence to the one place she feels safe: Camp Genesis, a small Bible camp in the mountains west of Denver. Through a series of connected events, she teams up with DEA agent Luke Shepherd to break up the ring and bring the group to justice.

It takes every ounce of faith Sandy can muster as she and her friends are hunted by human traffickers bent on revenge and will stop at nothing to take them down.

Sandy King, a twenty-four-year-old Christian and daughter to an up-and-coming senator, interns at Green Growers International. She discovers that one of their partners, Blue Mill Farms, is an elaborate cover for a Mexican cartel to run drugs and smuggle people across the border to the farm in the San Juan Valley of Colorado.

Fearing for her life, Sandy escapes with crucial evidence to the one place she feels safe: Camp Genesis, a small Bible camp in the mountains west of Denver. Through a series of connected events, she teams up with DEA agent Luke Shepherd to break up the ring and bring the group to justice.

It takes every ounce of faith Sandy can muster as she and her friends are hunted by human traffickers bent on revenge and will stop at nothing to take them down.  

Taking on Twins 

(Love Inspired Historical) by Mollie Campbell (our own Abbey Downey)

 Jake Hadley expects challenges when he returns to his frontier hometown to establish a medical practice—but caring for orphaned toddler twins wasn't part of the equation. The new doctor would be out of his depth without Coralee Evans's help. Once his sweetheart, now his best friend's widow, Coralee has a tender way with the children that makes him long for a second chance. Until Jake is faced with a choice: Coralee or his career…



Orphan Train Sweetheart 

(Love Inspired Historical) 

Spring Hill is the orphan train’s last stop—a final chance for Simon McKay to find homes for his young charges. When his fellow placing agent quits, Simon enlists help from the frontier town’s pretty schoolteacher. Cecilia Holbrook is as intriguing as she is independent, yet Simon’s devotion to his mission will soon call him back to New York.



Books by Sally Carpenter 






Flower Power Fatality

Psychedelic Spy cozy mystery series book 1. It’s 1967, a time of miniskirts, rock music, pop art—and murder. Actress Noelle McNabb, 26, plays the Winter Witch in a corny musical revue at the Country Christmas Family Fun Park in Yuletide, Indiana. She dreams of landing major acting roles and escaping her stifling small town life if she could only get to Hollywood, California. But real-life drama ensues when a stranger with a fatal gunshot wound collapses on her front porch. After the man’s taken to the hospital, he disappears. When Noelle asks questions, super secret spy agency SIAMESE (Special Intelligence Apparatus for Midwest Enemy Surveillance and Espionage) recruits her for undercover work. Soon she’s on the trail to find hidden microdots along with her streetwise black partner, Destiny King. As the mission unfolds, Noelle finds her Christian values challenged by the demands of spy work. Yuletide is based on the real-life town of Santa Claus, Indiana. Buy link at https://sandyfairfaxauthor.com/


Hippie Haven Homicide

Psychedelic Spy cozy mystery series book 2. A busload of young adults with the counterculture sect SPARK (Spiritually Pure And Radiant Kin) invades the staid town of Yuletide, Indiana. The conservative townsfolk aren’t happy about the group’s aggressive evangelism, but Noelle makes a friend with one of the sect members, a young woman named Blossom who seems to have a secret. The police blame Blossom’s unexpected death on a drug overdose, but Noelle suspects foul play. The SIAMESE spy agency sends Noelle, or rather, her cat, on a mission as “acoustic kitty.” The cat is outfitted with a collar and microphone to record agents as they talk. The mission leads to a high-speed boat chase on the Ohio River and danger as Noelle’s swept overboard. “Acoustic kitty” is based on a real-life CIA project of the 1960s. Buy link at https://sandyfairfaxauthor.com/


The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper (second revised edition)

The Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol cozy mystery series book 1. In the late 1970s, Sandy Fairfax was at the top of his game, a wildly successful pop singer and start of the hit TV show, Buddy Brave Boy Sleuth. Now it’s 1993 and he’s a 38-year-old has been. His ex won’t let him see his kids again until he stops drinking and starts working. Desperate to make good, Sandy takes the only job offer available as the guest celebrity at a disorganized Beatles fan convention in Evansville, Indiana. While navigating obsessive fans and his own demons, a member of the tribute band is shot and the police finger Sandy as the prime suspect. The only way he can get home soon is to find the real killer himself, with a little help from his new friends. The setting is based on real-life Beatles fans conventions that I’ve attended in Chicago and Pasadena. Finalist for 2012 Eureka! Award for best first mystery novel.

 Buy link at http://sandyfairfaxauthor.com/


The Sinister Sitcom Caper The Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol Series book 2. The 38-year-old former pop star finds rebooting his career is slow going. He’s hired as the guest star of Off Kelter, the lowest-rated sitcom of the season. But one of the actors is cancelled first, dropping dead at Sandy’s feet. Sandy sleuths with the help of a little person and an animal actor. And he falls head over heels for Cinnamon, the show’s choreographer. Can they make beautiful music together? Sandy plans to reveal the killer during the live-audience taping of the show—that is, if he can escape from the killer’s death trap in the backlot. The research is based on my observations when I worked at a major motion picture studio and ushered audiences for the sitcom shoots.


The Cunning Cruise Ship Caper

The Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol cozy mystery series book 3. Sandy and his sister, Celeste, who is blind, are booked for a week of concerts aboard the SS Zodiac cruise liner. First Celeste must overcome her grudge against Sandy, whom she blames for squelching her brief singing career in the 1970s, and also her terror of strange places and crowds. Once onboard, there’s troubled waters ahead when, during their first show, Sandy finds a body in his backstage dressing room. Since the ship security would rather hide the death from the passengers, Sandy sets out to find the killer while he’s watching after Celeste and attempting to strike up a romance with Cinnamon, a choreographer he met on a previous job. Trouble is, Cinny’s with a boyfriend. At the final night costume party, Sandy unmasks the killer, who isn’t willing to give up without a fight.


Buy link at http://sandyfairfaxauthor.com/

The Quirky Quiz Show Caper

The Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol cozy mystery series book 4. When Sandy’s estranged brother, Warren, is framed for the murder of one of his college students, Sandy must make amends while he investigates. Meanwhile, Sandy’s ordered to take a dive when he’s a celebrity panelist on a rigged TV game show, Raise the Stakes. To complicate matters more, Sandy begs his parents to let him perform at the fundraiser gala to save his father's orchestra as a way to please his parents—but father hates Sandy’s style of music. Can Sandy's budding romance with Cinnamon provide some comfort in his hectic life?



The Notorious Noel Caper

The Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol cozy mystery series book 5. December in Southern California brings the soft opening for the new Santa’s Magic theme park. During a charity bowling tournament at the park, the automatic pin setter dumps a body in the lane where Sandy’s bowling. When a personal friend of Sandy’s is arrested for the murder, the case gets personal for the pop star. During rehearsals for the park’s Miss North Pole Pageant—Sandy’s the emcee—one of the young, healthy contestants drops dead. Another body turns up in one of the dark rides. Is the park the deadliest place on earth? Cinnamon demonstrates her love for Sandy by assisting with his sleuthing. With the wife of a studio executive coming on to Sandy and Surfing Santas, it’s truly the most wonderful time of the year.



The Highland Havoc Caper

The Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol cozy mystery series book 6. Sandy celebrates his Scottish heritage—his real name is Farmington—with a performance at the Seaside Highland Games. When he takes his teenaged son on a tour of the local castle relocated from Scotland, Chip wanders off the tour and finds a body. But when Sandy and Chip bring assistance, the body has disappeared. How can Sandy search for a killer when he doesn’t know who died? The next day a man falls out of the castle tower and vanishes in the ocean below. To aid in his sleuthing, Sandy takes a guest role in a TV show filming that week in the castle and battles with the obnoxious teen actor staring in the show—an actress who’s also putting the moves on Chip, to Sandy’s chagrin. Sandy’s feelings for Cinnamon are growing even strong. But first, he and Chip must work together to escape a deadly trap set by the killer.







Northkill (Northkill Amish Book 1)

by Bob Hostetler and J. M. Hochstetler

In 1738 Jakob Hochstetler and his family arrive in America, seeking sanctuary from religious persecution in Europe and the freedom to live and worship according to their Anabaptist beliefs, which include the doctrine of nonresistance. Along with other members of their church, they settle in the Northkill Amish Mennonite community on the Pennsylvania frontier between civilization and wilderness. They build a home near Northkill Creek, for which their community is named. 

For eighteen years, the community lives at peace. Then, while the French and Indian War rages, the Hochstetlers’ way of life is brutally shattered. Early on the morning of September 20, 1757, their home is attacked by a party of Delaware and Shawnee warriors allied with the French. Facing certain death with his wife and children, Jakob makes a wrenching choice that will tear apart his family and change all of their lives forever. 
Northkill is closely based on an inspiring true story well-known among the Amish and Mennonites. It has been documented in many publications and in contemporary accounts preserved in the Pennsylvania State Archives and in private collections.


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J. M. Hochstetler

A beautiful rebel spy and a jaded British officer fight a war of wits and words . . . and a love that will not be denied.

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J. M. Hochstetler





Caught between two worlds at war, he could lose everything—his country, his faith, and the woman who holds his heart captive.


As the patriot cause falters, can her love bridge the miles between them—and the savage bonds that threaten to tear him forever from her arms?  


She rescued him from the hangman’s noose. Now, in her most desperate hour, can he save her from an even more agonizing fate? 



 
 
Forge of Freedom, book 7 and the final installment of her American Patriot Series on the American Revolution, released October 1st. She is now changing directions for her next project, which is going to be set at the end of World War II.

 Forge of Freedom (The American Patriot Series Book 7) by [J. M. Hochstetler]



Christian Small Publishers 2009 Book of the Year. It’s 1967, and the Vietnam War is tearing the country apart, slicing through generations and shattering families. Because of Japanese atrocities he witnessed as a Marine in the South Pacific during WWII, Frank McRae despises all Asians. Now his son, Mike, is a grunt in Viet Nam, and his wife, Maggie,  is fighting her own battle against cancer. When Mike falls in love with Thi Nhuong, a young Buddhist woman, and marries her in spite of his father’s objections, Frank disowns him. Then, as Christmas approaches,  Frank’s world is torn apart, and he turns bitter, closing his heart to God and to his family. 
But what Frank doesn’t know is that on this bleak Christmas Eve, God has in mind a miracle. As on that holy night so long ago, a baby will be born and laid in a manger—a baby who will bring forgiveness, peace, and healing to a family that has suffered heart-wrenching loss. 
 

J. M. Hochstetler
 
 
  
 
 

Rebel Against the Eagle  by Carl K. Matlock

Roman Legions, marching under the hated imperial Eagle Standard, collide with Zealot rebels in a life and death struggle for supremacy. Will family life and young love be sacrificed to the extreme demands of Jewish loyalties?
A young Jewish man comes of age in first century Palestine, heart torn asunder by concern for family, nation, and his beautiful childhood sweetheart. Jacobs decisions will have eternal consequences as he chooses between his beautiful Ruth, his parents, his Zealot friends, and an unusual Messiah preaching a message of forgiveness, love, and redemption. A much older, wealthy rival desires marriage to the lovely Ruth after loss of his wife. Will Jacob be able to make the decision between love and happiness or hatred and constant warfare before it is too late? Will the Jewish Rabbi, who some claim to be the promised Messiah, be able to influence Jacob in his choices between life and death?
Through the eloquently worded story that weaves together history, love, war, and forgiveness, the reader will gain an appreciation for the difficult decisions confronting those living during the time that Jesus of Nazareth walked on this earth. You are invited to come along for the journey as we travel back 2,000 years in time to those tumultuous days.

New Beginnings - Rivertown Chronicles -- 

Book 1 by Carl Matlock

Ben, as one of the first emergency medicine specialists, faces the unique challenge of creating an emergency department in rural small-town America. It would become a severe point of tension in his life. Hospital politics could make life miserable.
Ellen, as a young widow of a prominent family, has her own issues to deal with. Haunted by her past failures, she faces the challenge of being provider, protector, and loving parent of her children in a town where everyone knows all about everyone else, so different from life in Chicago where Ben grew up.
Caught up in a world of narcotic kingpins and kidnappers, will the peace and love of God bring healing to their lives?
This cozy medical mystery is a fictional story in a real setting, Madison, Indiana, situated on the beautiful Ohio River in 1980.




Linda Samaritoni writing as Linda Sammaritan

The rubella epidemic of 1964-65. The Vietnam War. Both converge on twelve-year-old Debbie when her sister is born with disabilities and her father may be flying into danger. Labeled as a “rubella baby,” Debbie’s sister Krista is born blind in one eye and with a hole in her heart. Although she survives risky open-heart surgery, months pass, and she doesn’t babble or crawl like most babies do. Doctors decide Krista is cognitively challenged—she’ll never be able to learn—and they advise her parents to put her in an institution. Just forget about her and raise their three “normal” kids.

Not on Debbie’s watch. She’s sure Krista is deaf, but no one will believe a kid. Along with all the medical drama, Debbie must deal with problems at school—best friendswho move away, mean girls who don’t, bullies, and boyfriends. Refusing to give in to self-pity, she soldiers on as Krista’s champion.However, Debbie’s optimism falters when her father’s next orders will send him to the war in Vietnam. Can she hang tough for her mother, keep helping Krista, and prepare for life without Dad, possibly forever? 

How can an Air Force kid survive junior high when her dad’s at war, her little sister is deaf, and friends have abandoned her?

 

It’s 1967 and Debbie Hansen hates her life. She has to leave all of her New York friends, move to California’s Mojave Desert, then back to New York, all because her dad will be sent to Vietnam for a year. And three out of five pilots never come home. Debbie could be fatherless before she starts high school.

 

Her only comfort? She’d have her old friends to lean on if the worst happened. Wrong. When Debbie returns to her hometown, she finds the group moved on without her. She tries to reconnect, but their message is clear—NOT interested.

 

Living under the shadows of war, Debbie and her brothers mask their fears by acting out in  anger toward each other until a final showdown erupts into near tragedy. Meanwhile, Mom forbids Debbie to teach Krista sign language. “Experts” say deaf children need to speak. Debbie defies them.

 

Krista is the only one who’s happy. She blossoms in her world without sound. Before Dad returns, if he returns, Debbie needs to choose—she can keep struggling to earn a place with the “in crowd,” or she can learn to dance with her sister in the silence.

 

Dancing Up a Storm: A Storming the Short Story Anthology - includes Linda Sammaritan's "Save the Last Dance."

 

 

 Faith Like a Mustard Seed: A Storming the Short Story Anthology includes Linda Sammaritan's "Do Not Pass Me By."

 

Havok: Sensational 

includes: Linda Sammaritan's "Always Beauty"

 


  
The First Principle by Marissa Shrock 

IN the not-too-distant future, the United Regions of America has formed. Governors hold territories instead of states, and while Washington, DC, is gone, the government has more control than ever before. For sixteen-year-old Vivica Wilkins, the daughter of a governor, this is life as usual. High school seems pretty much the same--until one day, that controlling power steps right through the door during study hall.

When Vivica speaks out to defend her pregnant friend against the harsh treatment of Population Management Officer Martina Ward, she has no idea she's sowing the seeds of a revolution in her own life. But it isn't long before she discovers her own illegal pregnancy. Now she has to decide whether to get the mandatory termination--or follow her heart, try to keep the baby, and possibly ruin her mother's chances at becoming president.

A rebel group called the Emancipation Warriors, who are fighting to restore freedoms once held unalienable, offer her asylum. Can Vivica trust these rebels to help her or will they bring everything crashing down around her? Accepting their help may come with consequences she isn't ready to face.

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www.marissashrock.com

before I knew you  (Choices Matter Book 1)                   by Beth Steury

Can Maggie afford to let her guard down around the charming Preston? Will Preston’s past jeopardize his chances with the one girl who could anchor his future? 

After a series of bad choices rocked his world, seventeen-year-old Preston charts a new course as far from his ladies’ man ways as he can get. He distances himself from the dating scene and avoids his party-loving friends—the things that once dominated his life. Then he meets Maggie, the new girl in town, the first day of their junior year. She’s beautiful on the inside and out, knows nothing of his past, and he can’t get her out of his mind.

After a disastrous first date leaves her skeptical about the guys at Madison High, Maggie slows down her pursuit of a guy to trust with her white-wedding-dress future. She wants a boyfriend, sure, but he’d have to be nothing like the jerk who forced her first kiss. Someone more like Preston, who’s been nothing but sweet and helpful, not to mention, easy on the eyes. But he is so out of her league.




 because I know you (Choices Matter book 2)  by Beth Steury
    In this sequel to “before I knew you”— Maggie’s head is spinning. The best and the worst parts about junior year at Madison have one thing in common: Preston. If only his past hadn’t collided with their present. But it did. Now, his ex is back in the picture, and Maggie has a big decision to make. Time will help her figure things out and make the right choice, won’t it?
     
    With his past revealed and the worst behind him, Preston has big plans to salvage what’s left of his junior year. No. What’s left of their junior year. Yep. Life will settle down for him and Maggie. Soon the nightmare will be just a bad memory. His baggage has been unpacked, so things can only get better, right?
   
    She needs time. He’s willing to wait. But nothing is ever that simple.


saving sex for marriage in a Fifty Shades world (Waiting Matters Book 1) by Beth Steury

Can you imagine a society molded around the principle that sex is a gift? An awesomely amazing gift from GOD? You know, the guy who created it? 
A place where people totally get that sex is more than simply a pleasurable physical act.

Oh, everyone knows that sex is incredible. But because it’s so good, sex is protected from anything or anyone who would try to abuse it. 
Can you even imagine such a place? Barely, right?

Because instead, ours is a “Fifty Shades of Grey” world where sex has been so trivialized that saving sex for marriage is labeled old-fashioned, unnecessary, unimportant. Even worse ridiculous or dumb.

But I’m here to convince you that GOD’s design for sex is amazing. That waiting does matter. That sex is worth saving for marriage. Even in this Fifty Shades world.

  ____________________________________________________________________

FORMER ACFW INDIANA MEMBERS

A Pair of Miracles: A Story of Autism, Faith, and Determined Parenting by Karla Akins

When Karla Akins hoped that her autistic sons could learn to read and function independently, doctors warned her that those expectations would never be met. She set out to prove that, despite those warnings, all things are possible through God.

Laced with humor and compassion, A Pair of Miracles is the heartwarming story of her journey rearing adopted twin sons, each diagnosed with autism and fetal alcohol disorder. This is more than a moving biography from a mom on the front lines, however. It is a powerful tool, full of practical help for parents, educators, and church members working with children who have intellectual disabilities, speech impairments, and other limitations on the autism spectrum. It is also a challenge to the church to welcome and celebrate all the members of their congregation, no matter their abilities.

The Pastor's Wife Wears Biker Boots
Pastor's wife, Kirstie Donovan, lives life in a fishbowl, so when she hops on the back of a bright pink motorcycle, tongues start to wag at the conservative, century-old First Independent Christian Community Church of Eels Falls. Kirstie loves roaring down a road less traveled by most women over forty, but she's not just riding her bike for the fun of it. Kirstie has a ministry. However, certain church members have secrets to hide, and when God uses Kirstie's ministry to fill the pews with leather-clad, tattooed bikers, those secrets could be exposed... and some will stop at nothing to hide the truth. Join Kirstie and her motorcycle "gang"—two church matrons and a mouthy, gum-smacking non-church member—as they discover that road-toughened bikers are quite capable of ministering to others, and faith is fortified in the most unexpected ways.


Great Plains Brides by Ramona Cecil
Visit the Great Plains in two historical romances where shady pasts and family secrets threaten to undo love for a female photographer and a farmer’s daughter.








 The Time for Healing
Ginny Red Fawn McLain, a Shawnee medicine woman, is thrust back into the world of her birth family twelve years after her abduction. While she eschews the Christianity preached by her birth uncle who found her, Ginny's heart refuses to shun his friend and fellow Christian minister, Jeremiah Dunbar. Jeremiah is immediately smitten with his friend's long-lost niece. But unless Ginny Red Fawn joins Christ's fold—something she adamantly resists—any future with the woman he loves is impossible. 




 



Gail Kittleson 
 
Ready to get into the Christmas spirit? Light the Yule log in your fireplace, grab a snuggly blanket and a mug of hot chocolate, and settle in for a long winter’s read of stories celebrating the season. This festive collection honors your beloved traditions, reminds you of your moorings, and warms your heart. The authors include short stories and novellas that take you on a journey from the 19th century to today. You'll travel from Bethlehem with the angel Gabriel to Korea with abandoned orphans, then back to the Midwest where you see old friends fall in love and new loves become best friends, then to Texas where you witness acts of selflessness in an airport. Lena Nelson Dooley, Lisa Bell, Gail Kittleson, Cleo Lampos, and Paula Peckham offer these tales to you during this wonderful season of hope and possibility. Welcome to Christmas Love Through the Ages.