But Lauren and Shane still struggle to move past their opposing beliefs about war, politics, and faith. When tragedy strikes, can they set aside their opposing views so that love — God’s love — might win, no matter how great the odds?
Available in stores and online!
Between Sundays
Karen Kingsbury,
New York Times Bestselling Author
Aaron Hill has it all — athletic good looks and the many privileges of a star quarterback. His Sundays are spent playing NFL football in front of a televised audience of millions. But Aaron’s about to receive an unexpected handoff, one that will give him a whole new view of his self-centered life.
Derrick Anderson is a family man who volunteers his time with foster kids while sustaining a long career as a pro football player. But now he’s looking for a miracle. He must act as team mentor while still striving for the one thing that matters most this season — keeping a promise he made years ago.
Megan Gunn works two jobs and spends her spare time helping at the youth center. Much of what she does, she does for the one boy for whom she is everything — a foster child whose dying mother left him in Megan’s care. Now she wants to adopt him, but one obstacle stands in the way. Her foster son, Cory, is convinced that 49ers quarterback Aaron Hill is his father.
Two men and the game they love. A woman with a heart for the lonely and lost, and a boy who believes the impossible. Thrown together in a season of self-discovery, they’re about to learn lessons in character and grace, love and sacrifice.
Because in the end, life isn’t defined by what takes place on the first day of the week, but how we live it between Sundays.
Available in stores and online!
Oceans Apart
Karen Kingsbury,
New York Times Bestselling Author
A riveting story of secret sin and the healing power of forgiveness.
Airline pilot Connor Evans and his wife, Michele, seem to be the perfect couple living what looks like a perfect life. Then a plane goes down in the Pacific Ocean. One of the casualties is Kiahna Siefert, a flight attendant Connor knew well. Too well. Kiahna’s will is very clear: before her seven-year-old son, Max, can be turned over to the state, he must spend the summer with the father he’s never met, the father who doesn’t know he exists: Connor Evans.
Now will the presence of one lonely child and the truth he represents destroy Connor’s family? Or is it possible that healing and hope might come in the shape of a seven-year-old boy?
Available in stores and online!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
NO BOOK COMES TOGETHER WITHOUT A GREAT AND TALENTED team of people making it happen. For that reason, a special thanks to my friends at Zondervan who combined efforts with a number of people who were passionate about Life-Changing Fiction™ to make Leaving all it could be. A special thanks to Moe Girkins, whose commitment to excellence at Zondervan is unparalleled, and to Steve Sammons, who may be one of the only execs in publishing who actually gets the big picture of what we’re doing for the Kingdom. Also, of course, a special thanks to my dedicated editor, Sue Brower, and to Don Gates and Alicia Mey, my marketing team. Thanks also to the creative staff and to the sales force at Zondervan who worked tirelessly to put this book in your hands.
Also, thanks to my amazing agent, Rick Christian, president of Alive Communications. Rick, you’ve always believed only the best for me. When we talk about the highest possible goals, you see them as doable, reachable. You are a brilliant manager of my career, and I thank God for you. But even with all you do for my ministry of writing, I am doubly grateful for your encouragement and prayers. Every time I finish a book, you send me a letter that deserves to be framed, and when something big happens, yours is the first call I receive. Thank you for that. But even more, the fact that you and Debbie are praying for me and my family keeps me confident every morning that God will continue to breathe life into the stories in my heart. Thank you for being so much more than a brilliant agent.
A special thank you to my husband, who puts up with me on deadline and doesn’t mind driving through Taco Bell after a football game if I’ve been editing all day. This wild ride wouldn’t be possible without you, Donald. Your love keeps me writing; your prayers keep me believing that God has a plan in this ministry of Life-Changing Fiction™. And thanks for the hours you put in working with the guestbook entries on my website. It’s a full-time job, and I am grateful for your concern for my reader friends. I look forward to that time every day when you read through them, sharing them with me, and releasing them to the public, lifting up the prayer requests. Thank you, honey, and thanks to all my kids, who pull together, bring me iced green tea, and understand my sometimes crazy schedule. I love that you know you’re still first, before any deadline.
Thank you also to my mom, Anne Kingsbury, and to my sisters, Tricia and Sue. Mom, you are amazing as my assistant — working day and night sorting through the mail from my readers. I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know. Traveling with you these past years for Extraordinary Women and Women of Joy events has given us times together we will always treasure.
Tricia, you are the best executive assistant I could ever hope to have. I appreciate your loyalty and honesty, the way you include me in every decision and the daily exciting website changes. My site has been a different place since you stepped in, and the hits have grown a hundredfold. Along the way, the readers have so much more to help them in their faith, so much more than a story. Please know that I pray for God’s blessings on you always, for your dedication to helping me in this season of writing, and for your wonderful son, Andrew. And aren’t we having such a good time too? God works all things to the good!
Sue, I believe you should’ve been a counselor! From your home far from mine, you get batches of reader letters every day, and you diligently answer them using God’s wisdom and His Word. When readers get a response from “Karen’s sister Susan,” I hope they know how carefully you’ve prayed for them and for the responses you give. Thank you for truly loving what you do, Sue. You’re gifted with people, and I’m blessed to have you aboard.
And to Randy Graves, a very special thank you, as well. Randy, you and your family have been friends to our family for more than a decade, and now as my business manager and the executive director of my One Chance Foundation, you are an integral part of all we do. What a blessing to call you my friend and coworker. I pray that God always allows us to continue working together this way.
Thanks also to Olga Kalachik, my office assistant, who helps organize my supplies and storage areas, and who prepares our home for the marketing events and research gatherings that take place here on a regular basis. I appreciate all you’re doing to make sure I have time to write. You’re wonderful, Olga, and I pray God continues to bless you and your precious family.
I also want to thank my friends at Premier, Roy Morgan and the team, and my friends at Women of Joy and Extraordinary Women. Thanks also to the artists I sometimes tour with — Jeremy Camp, Mandisa, Britt Nicole, Newsong, Charles Billingsly, and Matthew West. Your music inspires not only me but my characters. How wonderful to be a part of what God is doing through all of you. Thank you for including me in your family on the road.
Thanks also to my forever friends and family, the ones who have been there and continue to be there. Your love has been a tangible source of comfort, pulling us through the tough times and making us know how very blessed we are to have you in our lives.
And the greatest thanks to God: You put a story in my heart, but you have a million other hearts in mind — something I could never do. I’m grateful to be a small part of what you’re doing! The gift is yours. I pray I might use it for years to come in a way that will bring you honor and glory.
Other Life-Changing Fiction™ by Karen Kingsbury
9/11 Series
One Tuesday Morning
Beyond Tuesday Morning
Every Now and Then
Lost Love Series
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Even Now
Ever After
Above the Line Series
Above the Line: Take One
Above the Line: Take Two
Above the Line: Take Three
Above the Line: Take Four
Stand-Alone Titles
Oceans Apart
Between Sundays
This Side of Heaven
When Joy Came to Stay
On Every Side
Divine
Like Dandelion Dust
Where Yesterday Lives
Shades of Blue
Unlocked
Redemption Series
Redemption
Remember
Return
Rejoice
Reunion
Firstborn Series
Fame
Forgiven
Found
Family
Forever
Sunrise Series
Sunrise
Summer
Someday
Sunset
Red Glove Series
Gideon’s Gift
Maggie’s Miracle
Sarah’s Song
Hannah’s Hope
Forever Faithful Series
Waiting for Morning
Moment of Weakness
Halfway to Forever
Women of Faith Fiction Series
A Time to Dance
A Time to Embrace
Cody Gunner Series
A Thousand Tomorrows
Just Beyond the Clouds
This Side of Heaven
Children’s Titles
Let Me Hold You Longer
Let’s Go on a Mommy Date
We Believe in Christmas
Let’s Have a Daddy Day
The Princess and the Three Knights
Go Ahead and Dream (Spring 2011)
Far Flutterby (Fall 2011)
Miracle Collections
A Treasury of Christmas Miracles
A Treasury of Miracles for Women
A Treasury of Miracles for Teens
A Treasury of Miracles for Friends
A Treasury of Adoption Miracles
Miracles — a Devotional
Gift Books
Stay Close Little Girl
Be Safe Little Boy
Forever Young: Ten Gifts of Faith for the Graduate
www.KarenKingsbury.com
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT KAREN KINGSBURY’S BOOKS
Karen’s book Oceans Apart changed my life. She has an amazing gift of bringing a reader into her stories. I can only pray she never stops writing.
Susan L.
Everyone should have the opportunity to read or listen to a book by Karen Kingsbury. It should be in the Bill of Rights.
Rachel S.
I want to thank Karen Kingsbury for what she is doing with the power of her storytelling—touching hearts like mine and letting God use her to change the world for Him.
Brittney N.
Karen Kingsbury’s books are filled with the unshakable, remarkable, miraculous fact that God’s grace is greater than our suffering. There are no words for Ms. Kingsbury’s writing.
Wendie K.
Because I loaned these books to my mother, she BECAME a Christian! Thank you for a richer life here and in heaven!
Jennifer E.
When I read my first Karen Kingsbury book, I couldn’t stop…. I read thirteen more in one summer!
Jamie B.
I have never read anything so uplifting and entertaining. I’m shocked as I read each new release because it’s always better than the last one.
Bonnie S.
I am unable to put your books down, and I plan to read many more of them. What a wonderful spiritual message I find in each one!
Rhonda T.
I love the way Karen Kingsbury writes, and the topics she chooses to write about! Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us, your readers!
Barbara S.
My husband is equally hooked on your books. It is a family affair for us now! Can’t wait for the next one.
Angie
I can’t even begin to tell you what your books mean to me…. Thank you for your wonderful books and the way they touch my life again and again.
Martje L.
Every time our school buys your next new book, everybody goes crazy trying to read it first!
Roxanne
Recently I made an effort to find GOOD Christian writers, and I’ve hit the jackpot with Karen Kingsbury!
Linda
When Karen Kingsbury calls her books “Life-Changing Fiction™,” she’s merely telling the unvarnished truth. I’m still sorting through the changes in my life that have come from reading just a few of her books!
Robert M.
I must admit that I wish I was a much slower reader … or you were a much faster writer. Either way, I can’t seem to get enough of Karen Kingsbury’s books!
Jillian B.
I was offered $50 one time in the airport for the fourth book in the Redemption Series. The lady’s husband just couldn’t understand why I wasn’t interested in selling it. Through sharing Karen’s books with my friends, many have decided that contemporary Christian fiction is the next best thing to the Bible. Thank you so much, Karen. It is truly a God-thing that you write the way you do.
Sue Ellen H.
Karen Kingsbury’s books have made me see things in ways that I had never thought about before. I have to force myself to put them down and come up for air!
Tabitha H.
I have read many of Karen’s books and I cry with every one. I feel like I actually know the people in the story, and my heart goes out to all of them when something happens!
Kathy N.
Wow, what an amazing author Karen Kingsbury is! Her stories are so heart-wrenching … I can’t wait until the next book comes out…. Karen, please don’t ever lay your pen down.
Nancy T.
Karen Kingsbury’s words leap off the page…. I just finished a new series last night and once again she has touched me beyond compare!
Kendra S.
FOREVER IN FICTION®
FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS NOW, I’VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF offering Forever in Fiction®* as an auction item at fund-raisers across the country. So many of my more recent books have had Forever in Fiction characters that I hear from you reader friends how you look forward to this part of my novels, reading this section to see which characters in the coming pages are actually inspired by real-life people, and learning a little about their real stories. Then you enjoy looking for them in the coming pages, knowing with a smile how it must feel to their families, seeing their names Forever in Fiction.
In Leaving I bring you two very special Forever in Fiction characters. The first is Kassie Garman, a darling three-year-old who lost her battle with leukemia a few years back. Kassie was a precious sweetheart, loved by all who knew her — especially her grandparents, Ivan and Charmaine Garman — who won Forever in Fiction at the Lams Lititz Area Mennonite School auction.
During her brief life Kassie loved to play with her two older brothers, one of whom was a perfect match for a bone marrow transplant, which was performed five months before her death. She loved sucking her thumb and cuddling with her family and looking at picture books. Kassie lived with a mild form of Down Syndrome, so communication was usually done through her own form of sign language. But her favorite way to convey her feelings was simply with a smile. When Kassie smiled, everyone felt loved. She had that special sort of gift, a gift that today has made heaven a little brighter as a result.
I chose to keep Kassie’s place in Leaving very much like her place in life. In the pages of this book, she plays the role of a sick girl who gives one of the main characters greater purpose in life. Because that’s how Kassie was in real life, bringing purpose and meaning to the lives of everyone who loved her.
Ivan and Charmaine, it is my prayer that you will smile when you see Kassie honored in the page
s of Leaving and that you will treasure this book, where she will live on, Forever in Fiction.
My second character Forever in Fiction is Roberta Johnson, a mother of five and a leukemia survivor. Roberta was placed Forever in Fiction by her friend, Jennifer Grieve, who won this chance at the St. Joseph’s Catholic School auction. Roberta loves God and her family, and is known by her friends for her outgoing, positive attitude and her strong ability to live as an example for others around her.
Roberta is the mother of six children, including one she gave up for adoption when she was twenty-three. She loves reading and teaching the Bible, and has found ways to bring Scripture to life by doing mission work in Chimbote, Peru. Twice she has hosted exchange students from Mexico. She volunteers her time at homeless shelters and encourages her adult children to do the same.
I chose to make Roberta the neighbor of Jenny Flanigan, a friend who has said goodbye to young adult children, and who can understand the season of life Jenny is entering. Roberta, I pray that you feel honored by your placement in Leaving, and the way that your friend Jennifer chose to put you Forever in Fiction. Keep shining for Jesus!
In addition, here are the names of reader friends who helped raise money for a field campaign at King’s Way Christian High School in Washington State. These winners each donated $100 for the privilege of having themselves or someone they love recognized here, Forever in Fiction:
Maggie Westover for Kylie Young
Terree Marvin for Karen Thommen
Tiffany Hargreaves for Irene Lenz
Liz McLean for Laurie Copelin
Rhonda Bradberry for Sherri Rash
Melissa Olson for Darin Olson
Monica Gere
Steve Tingwall for Virginia Tingwall
Carolyn Masek for Jaina Masek
Lamont Bourque for Haley June Bourque
Sheilah Hanes for Joyce Reneman