I recently read Robert Liparulo's debut thriller Comes A Horseman, a book that's notable for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, it's a great tale--full of twists, turns and harrowing action. In fact, beginning to end, it's perhaps one of the fastest-paced thrillers I've read; kudos to Liparulo for packing a whallop, if you'll permit me to use such high-falutin' terms.

But I'm also quite interested in the book for purely selfish reasons; in many respects, it aims for the same markets my own book will. For starters, Comes A Horseman includes faith and spiritual elements, but isn't overt about them. Nor is it a Big Message book, filled with deep theological thoughts. It's entertainment, pure and simple, and odd as it sounds, for a writer of faith, that's a bit of a struggle. In a recent interview with InFuze Magazine, Liparulo talked about that struggle:

I struggled with the whole idea of, "Has God given me this gift to write so that I can write entertainment?" ... I realized in reading that it was okay, that I could write this way. And I trust that God is going to be there. Because I'm a Christian, God is going to be on every single page, even when I can't see it.

I've struggled with that myself. I'll be blunt and say I want to entertain first; I don't write with a Big Message in mind, even though I do have some messages to convey. But part of who I am as a person--the journey that brought me to faith--will be reflected in the story. Certain themes and messages, I think, will be a part of what I always write, because they've helped shape what I am. Liparulo's interview at InFuze was encouraging for me, in part, because it was nice to see another author with the same inner conflict.

On a related note, Comes A Horseman is in that grey area between the CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) and the ABA (American Booksellers Association). Liparulo's publisher has aggressively promoted this as an ABA novel, and rightly so: after all, the faith elements in the story are subtle and nuanced. At the same time, however, I'll bet the core market for this book will be CBA readers who embrace work by authors such as Peretti and Dekker.

It's a combination that seems to be working: Comes A Horseman has had solid Amazon rankings, regularly showing up in the top 100 thrillers during the month of November.

Here's hoping Comes A Horseman continues its successful ride in the months to come. I'll be thrilled to be on the shelf next to books such as this one.

We're steadily progressing toward ARCs for "Waking Lazarus" now--early December, I'm told--and I've made quite a bit of progress on possible endorsements from other authors. In fact, I've now had more than 20 authors write back and tell me they're willing to look at an ARC for possible endorsement.

I've said before this has been quite a thrilling exercise, and it has: it's fun to communicate with writers you've enjoyed and admired. Communicating with them is fun. Now comes the tough part. Because after they've said, "Yes, I'll read the book," I actually have to send them the book. Then they actually have to read it.

And that's something of a gulp-inducing prospect. What if I send out all these books, a voice inside you says, and the only thing I hear back is crickets? It's one thing for successful, best-selling authors to graciously email you and say they'll read your book. It's another thing entirely for them to actually like the thing.

It's enough to make a guy feel like Woody Allen.

The path to publication has many unexpected treasures along the way--things you never thought about, but enjoy so much when you stumble across them.

For me, one of those unexpected treasures has been writing to authors I admire, and asking them to consider my work for possible endorsement. I've been quite pleased with the list of folks who have written back to me and said, "Sure, send me an ARC and I'll read it." That includes Jonathan Kellerman, Lee Child, Jasper Fforde, F. Paul Wilson, Tess Gerritsen, David Dun, Peter Blauner, James Rollins, Joe Nassise, William Hjortsberg, Robert Liparulo and Justine Musk. Now, that doesn't mean these folks will love it and trip all over themselves to endorse it, but it's awfully nice of them to respond to my inquiries and say, "I'll take a look."

Of course, I've been disappointed by a few "no" answers--James Lee Burke, Kelley Armstrong, Carolyn Parkhurst and Peter Straub among them--but all of them have written polite responses. So really, how can I complain? And, I've just started to approach folks; I have plenty of other people to hit up.

Even better than asking folks to read the work, though, is having them actually respond with an endorsement. It's nice to know someone other than your mother gives a thumbs-up to your work. Here are the first three blurbs I've received:

"I've been a fan of T.L. Hines' writing for some time, and WAKING LAZARUS is the smart, stylish, compassionate, life-affirming thriller I've been waiting for. Readers will no doubt agree. Hines' protagonist Jude Allman is as original and fascinating as any in recent fiction. A page-turner, and a remarkable debut."
--C.J. Box, Anthony Award Winner and author of OUT OF RANGE and IN PLAIN SIGHT

"T.L. Hines is a fresh voice in the field of suspense, balancing dark moods with moments of emotion and redemption. He creates a likeable, conflicted character in Jude Allman, then pits Jude against an unforgettably chilling villain. I found myself holding my breath in more than one scene. With flawless pacing, Hines leads us to a final twist which is startling, yet satisfying."
--Eric Wilson, author of EXPIRATION DATE and DARK TO MORTAL EYES

"WAKING LAZARUS has one of the most compelling opening lines in all of literature--and a riveting story to back it up. T.L. Hines probes characters' thoughts and motives to give readers a psychological thriller that is both suspense-filled and spiritually complex."
--James BeauSeigneur, Author of The Christ Clone Trilogy

Thanks to these fine, fine authors who have been kind enough to read and respond to the work so far. Thanks to the authors who have been kind enough to read an ARC.

Oh, and thanks to my mother. She really does like the book.

As I've related before, The Call--letting you know you have a publishing contract--is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Something indescribably wonderful that fuels your step for months to come. It's four months and counting for me, and my feet have yet to touch the ground.

But The Call really is the end of one journey (your quest to be published), and the beginning of another (your path to publication). And oddly enough, the thing that makes it all so real, the thing that makes you say "Hey, my book's going to BE IN STORES," is your first peek at the book's cover.

That happened to me recently, and it's a magically surreal experience to see your name on the cover. Mind you, I've seen my name in print. I've written articles and such, even had a nonfiction book published. But to see your name on a true labor of love is something rare indeed. (The cover hasn't been released for public consumption just yet--I'll of course post it for all to see when I get the green light.)

And you know what? My immediate reaction was: "My name is so...so...big." Other authors--the James Pattersons, Stephen Kings and Frank Perettis of the world--well, you expect to see their names in big old all-cap letters. But T.L. Hines? In big block letters, anchoring the base of the cover? Well, that's indeed when it hits home: I have a novel about to be published. It will be in stores.

That should easily be enough to keep my feet off the ground for another four months.