I can’t begin to describe how excited I am to work on this book! Not only are we with an amazing editor and a powerhouse publisher, Rose Hilliard at St. Martin’s, but I get to work with The Man Behind the Words, bestselling author Cecil Murphey!!

I’ve had several people ask me how this all came about and all I can say is that God brought us together. A couple of years ago, Cec lost his house in a tragic fire. He lost everything. Our agent, Deidre Knight, contacted her clients to let them know about Cec’s loss and asked if any of us could reach out to him, to please do so. I only knew of Cec from his book 90 MINUTES IN HEAVEN, but Deidre speaks the world of him, so I just had to do something to help.

My office was moving at that time and we were in huge de-clutter and dispose mode. We had stacks and stacks of office supplies that were either going to go in the trash or to a local charity. All I could think of was that Cec is this amazing writer…and he has no office supplies. So, I got a ginormous box and filled it with everything I could get my hands on that was going to go to File 13 anyway…a laptop case, paper, pencils, pens, ruler, paper clips, binders, scissors, post-its, tape, staples, stapler, staple remover, tape dispenser, pen cup, markers, highlighters, index cards, etc. I received the nicest letter ever from Cec, who was blown away at my generosity. Of course…it was the right thing to do!

Flash forward to early this spring when Cec and I met face-to-face for the first time. It was like seeing a dear friend. Deidre took one look at us and said, “Y’all need to write a book together.” (Imagine it being said in Deidre’s lovely accent.) So, we brainstormed and played around with ideas with Deidre and thus, CHRISTMAS MIRACLES was born.

The great thing about this project is we need your submissions! If you or anyone you know has a true story of a Christmas Miracle, we want to hear it! Here are the guidelines for submission as per our Christmas Miracles website:

=======================================

Christmas Miracles is a book project by New York Times bestselling author Cecil Murphey and young adult author Marley Gibson who have contracted with St. Martin’s Press for late 2009 release. We seek true stories of miracles that took place at Christmas. They must revolve around that special time of year.

We prefer first-person narratives.

This is an excellent opportunity to see your writing in a book with other outstanding authors. You must follow these guidelines:
• Deadline for stories is December 24, 2008.
• All entries must be double-spaced, 12-point font, Times New Roman, Word document.
• Stories may run from 900 to 1,300 words. We will not consider longer pieces.
• We will edit all stories we accept so that they have a unified voice.
• Your name will be listed with your story and you’ll have a four-line information/resume paragraph at the end of the book.
• Every story must have a positive solution that results from a miracle through events or timing at the Christmas season.
• Every story must have a positive application. That is, you must tell us what you learned from that miracle or how it changed your life.
• You may send an original or a reprint. (If a reprint, please tell us where it was published and assure us that you own the reprint rights.)

If we accept your story, you will retain rights. You’ll also receive a $50 honorarium and a free copy of the book when it is released in October 2009. We will offer special discounts for contributors who wish to buy additional books. (We will send that information to you.)

For more information or to submit, please visit: http://www.christmasmiraclesbook.com/

Thanks so much!
Marley = )