New book cover for Family by Design!

By Heather Justesen

I've been sitting on this exciting news for a while, waiting for my final draft of the cover to arrive in my inbox, and for the back cover copy, so I'm totally excited to be able to share it now. My next book, published by Cedar Fort, inc. is at the printers right now and will be available for purchase in early January.

Cute, isn't it? I'm totally excited! And here's the back cover blurb:

Before he could think better of it, he blurted out, “I understand your concerns. I’m going to speak to my commander about getting an early discharge. My girlfriend, Rena, and I have talked about getting married. There just hasn’t been any rush.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wondered what he was thinking. Yes, they had discussed marriage, but not to each other! He and Rena had never even dated.

Tucker’s on his way to the biggest challenge of his life. Rena already has it all—except a family of her own. But neither one expected their friendship would take such a dramatic turn.

When Tucker becomes the guardian of his newly orphaned niece and nephew, he knows he can’t handle them alone, not when he might be shipped out with the Marines at any moment. Desperate, he turns to Rena for a major favor. His marriage proposal would give her everything she wants, but can she learn to live without the romance she’s always dreamed of?

As time, prayer, and a life-changing kiss work a little magic in her heart, Rena wonders if someone up there has a plan for her that’s better than anything she could’ve come up with on her own. And though it seems crazy at first, this could become her chance for a marriage that will last for eternity.

New books in the works!

By Heather Justesen

I've been pretty busy over the past few months getting one manuscript edited and out to my publisher after they accepted a third book (which is slated for a January release), trying to keep up with my critique groups (yes, I have more than one), and getting Blank Slate ready to publish. After many hours of tweaks and looking at photos for the cover, it's finally finished. I'm totally excited about how cute it turned out, and I can't wait to hold a copy in my hot little hands. Here it is:

Cute, huh!

And here's my back cover copy:

Adrianna Mueller may be a world-renowned concert pianist, but when she wakes from her coma after a serious car accident, her ability to perform has disappeared as completely as her lost memory. As she recovers from her injuries, she struggles with the expectations of everyone—her family, friends, and fiancé, Brock—who all want everything to go back to the way it was.

Everyone except Gavin, Adrianna’s brother’s business partner, who finds himself drawn to the woman she is now. But he has his own problems. As he tries to get a handle on a former employee’s embezzlement, he fights his growing feelings for Adrianna.

And then a trip to the emergency room shakes everything up, leaving her to stumble as she tries to regain her footing all over again.

The process of getting ready to publish a book on my own has been different than with a publisher handling most of the tiny details for me, but so far I've actually enjoyed it, even though I know it won't get nearly the distribution the other two have gotten. I have just a little more editing to do tonight and tomorrow and hope to get everything finalized and uploaded into CreateSpace by tomorrow night. That means I won't have time to get my proof copy, approve it, and order copies for the conference in two weeks, but that's what I get for allowing myself to get distracted over the past few months.

I'm going to work next week at getting it reformatted and loaded up on all of the ebook platforms, so I'm hoping it'll be available that way by then. And I still need to make some plans for publicity--so stay tuned to find out what fun things are coming up!

My new book cover for "Rebound"

By Heather Justesen

Okay, it's official, my book cover is here--isn't it cute? I love the flower (since there is a lot of talk about landscaping in the book) and purple just happens to be my favorite color, so that's a bonus! It's due for release on May 8th. Here it is, and the back cover blurb follows:

Lily's life is perfect--a perfect lie.

With a successful husband, a gorgeous home, and a growing family, Lily Drake has it all. But when the FBI shows up, she realizes her husband is not the man she thought he was.

Meanwhile, Lily's friend Curtis is about to be drafted by the NBA, but he suddenly feels pulled to find his birth family, and no one is prepared for what he'll discover. With so many obstacles in their way, Lily and Curtis must learn to rely on each other if they're ever going to find peace and learn to love again.

In this heartwarming family drama, Heather Justesen, author of The Ball's in Her Court, weaves a stirring story of hope. Reunite with your favorite characters and discover how determination, love, and faith can overcome even the toughest trials.

It's so exciting to see things coming together for this book and to start really planning launch parties and my book trailer and blog tour, among other things. Publicity is a fun but really time-consuming part of being an author. I love to talk to schools, church groups, and book groups, so if any of you are interested, drop me a line!