There are so many new book deals being made in the inspirational market that we’ve decided to devote a new special column to them. Here are five of this week's most inspiring inspirational book deals — just after they’ve been announced!

Guidepost’s The Secrets of Mary’s Bookshop series is co-written by several different authors but all of the stories feature an amateur sleuth slash Cape Cod bookstore owner. We’ve just gotten word that the sixth installment will be penned by Melanie Dobson and published sometime this year.

A teacher's changing life is the focus of Jennifer Johnson’s Pantry Promises. In this story, the heroine has always dreamed of being a mother and is thrilled to meet a contractor who has a ready-made family. This sounds like a match in made in heaven, but will the man’s unemployment become a problem as the couple embarks on a new relationship?

Teachers are also the center of attention in the upcoming historical romance from Frances Devine. Whispers of the Wind is set in at a school for the deaf and blind Georgia in the 1800s and the story follows three school teachers that each find love.

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There are so many new book deals being made in the inspirational market that we’ve decided to devote a new special column to them. Here are five of this week's most inspiring inspirational book deals — just after they’ve been announced!

A Brother’s Gift by S. Dionne Moore tells the tale of an unlikely romance that develops between a Civil War soldier and a nurse when he returns her brother’s quilt from the frontlines. This story will be part of the Quilts of Love series, which is scheduled to begin with October 2012’s Storm’s Signal by Carolyn Zane and continue through March 2014 (although there’s no word yet on a pub date for A Brother’s Gift).

Another forthcoming installment of the Quilts of Love series will be written by Barbara Cameron. Her novel Scraps of Evidence will feature a vintage quilt that inspires a young woman to re-examine what she thought she knew about her aunt’s accident — and her family’s history.

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All week long, we have been giving readers the inside scoop on newly released inspirational series. Today we catch up with author Suzanne Woods Fisher, who kicks off her new Stoney Ridge series this month with The Keeper. This book is "a keeper" itself and features Amish characters facing difficult challenges. Find out just what's in store for Fisher's newest characters with today's special interview!

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What gave you the inspiration for your Stoney Ridge Seasons series?

This series is about the Lapp sisters—Julia, Sadie, M.K.—and each sister will take a turn as the main character. As for the inspiration behind the series…when I was researching my first non-fiction book about the Old Order Amish (Amish Peace), I became friendly with an Amish family who happened to have a red windmill. That red windmill became a metaphor for my experiences with the Amish—they’re always surprising me! The Lapp family in my story has a red windmill on their farm. They’re a quirky, endearing family whom I think readers will quickly love.  

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All this week we're taking a look at all the new inspirational series that are beginning in 2012. Author Becky Melby is among those embarking on a new collection in her Lost Sanctuary series. Today you can get a special look at this set of contemporary romances (with a historical twist) as the author chats about her series starter, Tomorrow's Sun!

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What gave you the inspiration for your Lost Sanctuary series?

My husband and I were having lunch at Chances, a restaurant in Rochester, Wisconsin. While we waited to order, I read the front of the menu and became fascinated with the history of the building, built in 1843 with eighteen-inch-thick walls. Local legend claims there was once a tunnel connecting Chances, then known as the Union House, to the river; and runaway slaves on their way to freedom in Canada found shelter at the inn. That was all the information needed to awaken the muse. Research showed evidence that several homes and buildings in the area were used to hide runaway slaves, so I started asking "What if" questions: What if a contemporary heroine moved into an empty house that had once been part of the Underground Railroad? How would she uncover the truth about the people who occupied the house more than a hundred and fifty years ago? Weaving strands of history into the fabric of a fiction story was a delightful challenge.

Will the books in this new series be similar to the writing style of your previous works, or can audiences expect something different? 

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It's a new year and with it come a plethora of new inspirational series. All week long we are taking a look at some of our favorite series starting titles and today we have Sue Duffy's suspense novel The Sound of Red Returning in our crosshairs. Here's what the author had to say about what readers can expect from her new series. 

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What gave you the inspiration for your Red Returning series?

A few years ago, I wrote a magazine feature about a concert pianist from Ukraine. Her story of life upon the world’s stages, played out against the backdrop of combustible politics and ideologies, fascinated me. Add to that the rising tide of tension between the U.S. and Russia plus the discovery of Russian spy rings operating in our midst, and a story began to percolate. 

Will the books in this new series be similar to the writing style of your previous works, or can audiences expect something different? 

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