She’s best known as a #1 bestselling novelist, but pigeonholing Karen Kingsbury as simply a “Christian Fiction” writer doesn’t begin to tell her story.

It’s hard to think of any novelist with a more varied resumé than Karen. She cut her teeth as a sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times, then took a job as a beat writer for the LA Daily News. Her debut novel, Missy’s Murder, was based on a crime case she covered as a reporter. Today she has 40 novels to her name, with nearly 13 million copies in print.

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She’s in the middle of a 10-book contract, yet somehow found time to break into the music business at age 49. She co-wrote the song “Walls” with Gary Baker and Richie McDonald, which appeared on McDonald’s inspirational album in 2009. She’s written a song for a forthcoming album from Marie Osmond, and wrote a Christmas song for McDonald. Her budding songwriting career prompted her family’s move from the Pacific Northwest to Nashville two years ago.

Today’s top Buffet pick is The Beginning, a short prequel to Karen’s recent novel The Bridge.

Her next novel, The Chance, is slated for simultaneous release in hardcover and on Kindle March 5. (To me, that is powerful evidence of Kindle’s growing market clout. As recently as a year ago, the conventional wisdom among big publishers was to delay Kindle editions until a title’s hardcover and trade paperback had run their course — so as not to erode the perceived value of paper editions.)

As usual, each book listed here has gone FREE within the past 24 hours (except for the “Kindle Daily Deals” on page 3). Warning: Kindle book promotions can end without notice, so before downloading click the link “See Kindle price at Amazon” to verify that the book is still free. (Prices and availability may differ outside USA.)

The Beginning: An eShort prequel to The Bridge

Religious Fiction

Author: Karen Kingsbury

The Beginning: An eShort prequel to The Bridge

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury comes this e-short prequel to her upcoming novel, The Bridge, shedding light on the love story behind the bookstore and how it came to be a place of hope and encouragement.

A Feral Darkness

Fantasy

Author: Doranna Durgin

A Feral Darkness

As a child, dog-loving Brenna Fallon naívely invokes an ancient Celtic deity to save her beloved hound–and inadvertently anchors the new-found power at a spring on her family’s farm.

She doesn’t know she’s also left an opening for a far more malevolent force.

Years later, thanks to the actions of several angry young men, Brenna discovers the terrible potential of that gateway. With a devastating plague unfolding abruptly around her, she must depend on her wits, a stranger she doesn’t trust, and a mysterious stray dog who becomes more than just a faithful companion as she struggles to drive back the threat of a modern Black Death.

Welded by a desperate sacrifice, woman, man, and dog face the feral darkness together.

Speaking of Jesus: The Art of Not-Evangelism

Religion & Spirituality

Author: Carl Medearis

Speaking of Jesus: The Art of Not-Evangelism

Some of us fear moments when we need to defend our theology. Some of us seek them out. But we are seldom ready the way Jesus seemed to be ready. So how do we draw others to God in the midst of these ordinary conversations the way Jesus did?
In Speaking of Jesus, Carl Medearis draws on his experience of international reconciliation between Muslims and Christians to remind us of the heart of the matter: Jesus. Here he gives us tools, stories, and the foundation we need to move beyond “us” and “them” and simply talk about the One who changes it all.

All The Way Home (Historical Fiction Best Sellers)

Religious Fiction

Author: Ann Tatlock

All The Way Home (Historical Fiction Best Sellers)

Against the turbulent backdrop of the Vietnam War, journalist Augie Schuler Callahan reflects on her girlhood in 1938 Los Angeles as she travels to a small Southern town to cover a story. She fondly recalls the Japanese American family who all but adopted her and her friendship with their daughter, Sunny, and agonizes over the end of their relationship when Sunny’s family was sent to an internment camp after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

When Augie arrives in Mississippi, she discovers that the woman who convinced her to come is Sunny, who is working to establish voting rights for blacks. As the two get reacquainted, they become involved in the conflict between the Ku Klux Klan and the local African American community.

Bouquet Toss

Contemporary Fiction

Author: Melissa Brown

Bouquet Toss

Ever since Daphne Harper graduated from college, all of her friends have fallen in love, become engaged and walked down the aisle. Be it a blessing or a curse, Daphne (a hopeless romantic and perpetual single girl) catches the bouquet at every single wedding she attends.

Daphne’s love life is a mess. Her first love, Mayson, haunts her heart and keeps her from pursuing happiness with any man who comes along. As she struggles to move on from the one who got away, Daphne wonders if she will ever break her curse and find her happily ever after.

Untraceable (The Nature of Grace, Book 1)

Mystery & Thrillers

Author: S. R. Johannes

Untraceable (The Nature of Grace, Book 1)

Grace has lived in the Smokies all her life, patrolling with her forest ranger father who taught her about wildlife, tracking, and wilderness survival. When her dad goes missing on a routine patrol, Grace refuses to believe he’s dead and fights the town authorities, tribal officials, and nature to find him.

One day, while out tracking clues, Grace is rescued from danger by Mo, a hot guy with an intoxicating accent and a secret. As her feelings between him and her ex-boyfriend get muddled, Grace travels deep into the wilderness to escape and find her father.


THE NAVY SEAL’S PROMISE

Romance

Author: Soraya Lane

THE NAVY SEAL'S PROMISE

With only 48 hours back on home soil, United States Army Corporal Saskia Cullen is desperate to spend every minute with her young son. So when heavy snowfall closes JFK airport and she misses her connecting flight, she’s devastated. Until Navy SEAL Luke Gray offers to keep her company… and then does everything within his power to get her home.

God Drives a Tow Truck

Religion & Spirituality

Author: Vicky Kaseorg, Vicky Kaseorg

God Drives a Tow Truck

A compilation of true stories about the author’s quest to find God. In her voyage from atheist to believer, she gradually discovers that while God’s face may not be clearly seen, the brush of His fingertips is often felt. In a personal treasure hunt for infinite value, the search for God in the everyday occurrences of life is humorously depicted in sometimes eerily strange situations. The stories unfold from seemingly commonplace events to miraculous conclusions.

Dream War

Science Fiction

Author: Stephen Prosapio, Irina Ivanova

Dream War

Decades ago, the CIA developed the technology to enter our dreams and extract information. It was just a matter of time before they took things a little too far…

1980. Hector Lopez joins a CIA enterprise capable of entering dreams and extracting information. Lopez saves hundreds of hostages’ lives by dream-linking to terrorists and foiling their plans. When the Red Brigades, an Italian terrorist group, kidnaps a US General, Lopez and his team execute every technique available for extracting information–including one that links our world to a dimension never meant to be discovered.

Present Day. The Sogno di Guerra–a Red Brigades sect–plans the slaughter of millions. And they’ve the help of Luzveyn Dred, the entity ruling the dimension the CIA inadvertently opened a portal to–the Spatium Quartus.

The In Between (The In Between Series, Book One)

Teens

Author: Catherine Converse

The In Between (The In Between Series, Book One)

Two girls with opposing backgrounds join a secret intelligence agency located deep in the earth, where their psychic dreams are used to prevent murder. As the girls form a unique friendship, they begin to dream about the same serial case, triggering a chaos that spirals through the agency tunnels, and proves the lives they need to save are their own.

The Case of the Flashing Fashion Queen: A Dix Dodd Mystery (Dix Dodd Mysteries)

Humor

Author: Heather Doherty, Norah Wilson

The Case of the Flashing Fashion Queen: A Dix Dodd Mystery (Dix Dodd Mysteries)

Tired of getting no respect at the big P.I. firm where she’s worked for years, Dix Dodd has hung out her own shingle at the ripe age of 40. There are plenty of cheating husbands to go around, and Dix has a knack for busting them. Problem is, it doesn’t always pay so well. Conscious that the guys back at the old firm are laying bets about how soon she’ll come crawling back, she figures she’s got six months to make a go of it. The going gets even tougher when she hires Dylan Foreman. But when he told her about getting fired from his law firm and disbarred for putting common decency before the firm’s interests, she hired him on the spot.

Shaman, Healer, Heretic (Olivia Lawson Techno-Shaman)

Fantasy

Author: M. Terry Green

Shaman, Healer, Heretic (Olivia Lawson Techno-Shaman)

Even for a techno-shaman, a kachina in the bedroom isn’t exactly part of the drill. When Olivia Lawson wakes to find one towering over her, she panics. A Hopi god visiting the real world isn’t just wrong-it’s impossible.

Or is it? 

Soon Olivia learns that the kachina is the least of her worries. As she struggles to save her clients, clashes with other shamans, and fends off the attacks of real-world vigilantes, Olivia finds herself in the destructive path of a malevolent ancient force intent on leaving the spiritual realm to conquer this one.

Jimmy

Horror

Author: William Malmborg

Jimmy

High school can be a difficult time in a young person’s life, especially toward the end where one has to start making the sudden transition into adulthood. For Jimmy Hawthorn it is even worse. Not only does he need to successfully make that transition, he has to do it while hiding the fact that he is the one responsible for the disappearances of two fellow high school girls, both of whom are prisoners in a secret underground fallout shelter he discovered behind an abandoned house on the outskirts of town.

Ancient Awakening (The Ancient)

Fantasy

Author: Matthew Bryan Laube

Ancient Awakening (The Ancient)

Hell comes home to Jersey.

Seven ancient demons known as the Fallen have awakened in New Jersey after a hundred years. Fortunately for Mike and Ann, so has the one man who can stop them, Joseph Miller. Trapped in a hospital filled with mythical monsters, only together can they unravel the mystery of the Cursed and escape with not only their lives but also their very humanity.

Slow Burn

Contemporary Fiction

Author: Ebony Farashuu

Slow Burn

Serafina has the blues. Her soul mate lies on his deathbed while she struggles to maintain hope and remain true. Her best friend, Ayzha, is trapped in a marriage where intimacy is non-existent and the desire to cheat is overwhelming. Sexy, hilarious, and heartbreaking, Slow Burn follows two women as they pursue love, make love, lose love, and learn what true love and friendship really mean.

Inappropriate Thoughts (Victoria Wilde #1)

Erotica

Author: Ian Dalton

Inappropriate Thoughts (Victoria Wilde #1)

Jillian Grayson is a disillusioned divorcée and best-selling romance novelist who suddenly can’t write a chapter without her hunky male heartthrob suffering ED, an STD, or even worse. Brian Nash is a tennis-obsessed college senior who’s unlucky in love and the roommate and best friend of Jillian’s son, Rob. When Rob brings Brian home for Spring Break, and Brian meets the surprisingly young and tennis passionate Jillian, their shared interest quickly develops into an intense mutual attraction.

Island of Fog (Book 1)

Fantasy

Author: Keith Robinson

Island of Fog (Book 1)

A lonely, foggy island is home to eight families. Twelve-year-old Hal and his friends have always wondered what happened all those years ago on the mainland, that unseen place Out There beyond the fog, and after an astonishing discovery in the woods the children are more determined than ever to find out what their parents are hiding. But their lives are turned upside down when Abigail reveals her closely guarded secret. According to her, the children are slowly changing into monsters! Are they freaks of nature, or subjects of a sinister experiment?

Avionce’s Story ~ Part 1 (The Pen Pal Series)

Contemporary Fiction

Author: Rayven Skyy

Avionce's Story ~ Part 1 (The Pen Pal Series)

Avionce Griffin was only sixteen when he was sentenced to fifty-eight years in prison for murder. Not long after his eighteenth birthday, Avionce is transferred to an adult male prison, exposing him to a way of life he was not prepared for. He later joins the prison’s ‘Pen Pal’ program with the hopes of escaping the mental anguish he suffered from daily prison life, as well as, secrets from his past which led to his incarceration.

The Loyal Heart (The Noble Hearts)

Historical Fiction

Author: Merry Farmer

The Loyal Heart (The Noble Hearts)

Lady Aubrey has a problem. Several problems. Her childhood love, Ethan, has returned home from the Crusades, but he’s more interested in winning his land back than wooing her. She has to rescue a pair of nuns who are being held prisoner in Derby Castle’s tower by the sadistic Sheriff Buxton. And to top it all off, she’s developing scandalous feelings for Buxton’s lackey, the dark and devilish Crispin.

Pies, Savory and Sweet (Easy, Cheap Comfort Eats)

Cooking, Food & Wine

Author: Cynthia Hill Durham

Pies, Savory and Sweet (Easy, Cheap Comfort Eats)

Over 125 pie recipes, ranging from the traditional apple pie to old time favorites such as lemon merinque, peach, and cherry. All sorts of sweet pies, such as gooseberry, mock cherry, chocolate and blackberry, along with pie fillings you’ve probably never thought could exist.

Features 48 pie crust recipes, including unique recipes such as cottage cheese, sour cream, and meringue. Plus dozens of meat pie recipes, guaranteed to get you in and out of the supper kitchen in no time.

… See the rest of today’s Editor’s Picks and the Kindle Daily Deal here on page 2