NEW "KISS THE BRIDE" COVER

This is the cover of my new book, Kiss the Bride, which will be released in September. Coauthors are: Kristy Dykes, Aisha Ford, Vickie McDonough, Carrie Turansky.

What was the inspiration for this book? I was bred on the Bible and Nana's layer cakes in the Deep South (and not necessarily in that order!). I also love to entertain. As a pastor's wife whose hobby has been cooking and entertaining, I've often felt like I've run a B&B with all the people I've hosted, such as missionaries, evangelists, singing groups, etc. When I worked for a New York Times subsidiary, one day the editor said they needed a story about cooking. I remarked, "I've cooked for 100 people in my home and love to cook. Last week, I had a dinner party for 22 people and had a ball." The editor said, "Write me a story! By tomorrow." So I did, and a weekly column entitled "Kristy's Kitchen" was born.

When I dreamed up Kiss the Bride, I envisioned four young women in the food business. They all own restaurants, they meet at a restaurant convention, and they bemoan the lack of men in their lives. Then, each novella tells each of their love stories. During the entire book, they pass around an apron with the words Kiss the Cook on the front. The last groom crosses out Cook and writes Bride because the girls have all become brides by the end of the book. Fun!

We four coauthors had a great time working on this project. In writing Christian fiction, I always hope my readers will experience The Three E's: to be entertained, encouraged, and enlightened. All of our novellas are based on scriptures, plus the book has a fun theme with a traveling apron among four cooks, so I think those expectations will be met. Each story features a special recipe, and these recipes will be in the book at the end of each novella.

Look for Kiss the Bride in stores in September. We plan to do a book signing at American Christian Fiction Writers conference in Dallas in September.