Dear Reader

December 2008

As the holidays approach and the year begins to wind down, I’ve been taking a little inventory of my life. And even though there were some rough spots this year, compared to 2007 it’s been smooth sailing. I’m so very grateful that my parents’ health has improved. My husband has recovered from his bad fall last Christmas, which left his arm badly broken in two places. Last summer, he and I took a wonderful trip to Tuscany. Early reaction to my debut suspense novel, which will be released in February, has been excellent. And I won one prestigious award and was nominated for two others. So despite the scary stuff happening with the stock market—not to mention the takeover of my husband’s company, which has left all employees feeling unsettled and worried about their jobs—overall it’s been a good year. I hope the same is true for you.

If all goes according to plan (I’m knocking on wood as I write this!), I’m hoping to wrap up my current work-in-progress by mid-December and take two week off over the holidays for a much-needed break. With six news books and a reissue scheduled for 2009, I’ve been putting in LOTS of long hours at the computer. Too many. I left the corporate world five years ago to add some balance to my life, and I’m determined to get back to a more reasonable schedule. That’s one of my resolutions for next year.

In the meantime, lots of good things are happening. Romantic Times BOOKreviews magazine is currently featuring me in its “Authors in the Spotlight” section. Follow this link for a look: http://www.romantictimes.com/stage/authors_spotprev.php?id=511. And at christianbook.com, you can find an interview, an article I wrote about breaking into the novel-writing business, and discussion questions for my debut suspense novel, AGAINST ALL ODDS. Just follow this link: http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/cms_content?page=2066269&sp=67484&event=67484RNF|1780367|67484.

Over the past couple of months, I’ve had a number of readers write to ask me where they can find copies of my older books. Two good sources of my titles from the past couple of years are www.christianbook.com and www.target.com. For older titles, I just discovered www.allbookstores.com, which will search the Web to help you locate a copy. Most will be used, but sometimes you can find new copies there, too.

Right now, I’m finishing up Book 3 in my Nantucket-based Lighthouse Lane series for Steeple Hill. That will be out next fall. In the interim, watch for APPRENTICE FATHER in February, TIDES OF HOPE in May (Lighthouse Lane Book 1) and THE HERO NEXT DOOR (Lighthouse Lane Book 2) in August. On the suspense front, I’ve already mentioned AGAINST ALL ODDS, the first book in my FBI-based Heroes of Quantico series. That will be followed in September by AN EYE FOR AN EYE. If you’d like to read excerpts from my February releases, check out the Novel News section of this Web site.

And now back to work. I really do want to take those two weeks off! Be sure to visit again in January, but in the meantime, feel free to drop me a line at irenehannon@irenehannon.com. I love to hear from readers!

Wishing you cozy nights by a warm fire with the one you love.

Merry Christmas!