The last month has been a WHIRLWIND! I won the Word Awards! Heart of a Bowman won first place in the category of Young Adult Fiction and I am overjoyed. The Word Awards are Canada’s top awards for Christian literature and, being Canadian, I can’t tell you how honoured I am. On top of that, Heart of a Spy just launched for pre-orders. I am so thankful that my release date falls before Christmas this year and the pre-orders will arrive on December 15^th, so people can buy them as gifts for their favourite teens and tweens.

But maybe the greatest encouragement over the past six weeks has come from fellow authors. I requested endorsements from some of the authors I respect most and sent off my manuscript. An endorsement is a big “ask”. When someone agrees to endorse your book, they are setting aside time to read the story cover to cover and then write a concise summary that praises what they loved best. Hopefully they loved it. If they didn’t they must decline endorsing it. The entire process is stressful. Everyone in this industry is too busy for their own good and I actually feel bad asking authors to take time to read my work. And then there’s the little voice inside that whispers they’re not going to like it and won’t send in the endorsement. What if they make excuses? They have the right to decline or explain they were too busy to get to it by the endorsement dealine. This happens all the time. Yikes!

This month, I was lavished with blessing. All five of the authors who agreed to “try” and read the manuscript replied with an outstanding endorsement! The best part of this was the emails I received telling me that they loved Heart of a Spy even better than Heart of a Bowman. I’m a rookie at this, but they all informed me that it’s VERY rare for readers to love a sequel more than they first book and fantastic for the series. That’s exactly what you want, for readers to love each book progressively more than the last. Maybe the most encouraging part of their response was the fact they all claimed they weren’t able to put Heart of a Spy down. This was so encouraging because I always consider the Vertical Horizon Series as a Young Adult saga. The authors I approached to endorse it are mature, insightful, godly, grown women who excel in the craft, and they LOVED the story. The fact that Heart of a Bowman and Heart of a Spy appealed so strongly to them, is just so encouraging. It’s not just for teens. And men young and old have also raved. I am just so very thankful. I’ve included a couple of their endorsements below:

“Having adored Book 1, my expectations for Book 2, Heart of a Spy, were as high as the Vertical Horizon itself. But just when I thought this series couldn’t get any better, Heart of a Spy completely blasted me out of the water with an action-packed plot that barely let me put this book down until the nail-biting cliff-hanger. This has to be the perfect fantasy series. I cannot wait for the finale!”

—      J. J. Fischer, Christy award–winning author of The Nightingale Trilogy, The Soul Mark Duology, and the Painted Wind Series

Jil Koller’s Heart of a Spy is filled with intrigue, suspense, and engaging characters. This captivating fantasy kept me turning the pages, eager to discover what would happen next. A must-read for fantasy lovers who crave adventure, danger, and a story that stays with them long after the final page. Highly recommended!

—Darlene L. Turner, New York Times bestselling author

This Christmas I hope you share Heart of a Spy with someone you love. It will encourage, and inspire, and challenge them to persevere for truth and justice. 😊