Although we’re still filling book orders and things are hopping with Gavin, I’ll be spending the next week or more concentrating on my husband who goes into the hospital tomorrow morning for a double bypass and valve replacement. Fortunately, we caught it before there was any heart damage, so we’re very optimistic. We’d appreciate your prayers.

Since Lent is such a “special” time of year for soul-searching and because Gavin offers so many opportunities for readers to dig deeper, Fruitbearer Publishing is offering a “Lenten/Easter Special.” When you order online (click on the “Buy Stuff” tab), enter Discount Code “Lent” to receive 20% off every item you place in your cart. Put Gavin Goodfellow in somebody’s Easter basket this year! This offer is good through Sunday, March 23. Spread the word!

There was a great article by David Hochman in last month’s Reader’s Digest about Denzel Washington’s devotion to family and faith. What does this have to do with Gavin? Well, Denzel asked RD to gather ideas from the readers on what he should give his wife for their 25th anniversary. My husband Drew thought Denzel’s connection with the Boys & Girls Club would be a great springboard to introduce him to Gavin, so we brainstormed and submitted the following. Of course, it’s a long shot, but we covet your prayers just the same; we can never tell what unorthodox paths the Lord has chosen for Gavin to walk: 

If you’re looking for a novel idea for your anniversary that has lasting, faith-building value, consider this: You could sponsor a “Denzel and Paula Pearson Washington Special Edition” print run of a novel for distribution to Boys and Girls Clubs with a forward that you write together. The book we have in mind is a Christian fantasy, Gavin Goodfellow: The Lure of Burnt Swamp, which was released in Oct. 2007 and is currently being used by the Merit Program as required reading at the Western Sussex Boys and Girls Club in Seaford, DE. With biblical values woven throughout the book, Christian schools are also having success with it in the classroom. The story is about 12-year-old dyslexic Gavin who encounters Christ while battling witchcraft in Burnt Swamp where the fires have been burning for ten years. Not only is the protagonist “a little guy up against the big guys” but so is the book itself which is published by a small press owned by the author and her husband. Regardless of whether or not you pursue the idea of a “Denzel and Paula Pearson Washington Special Edition” of Gavin, Fruitbearer Publishing would be pleased to send you a complimentary, numbered, first edition hardback, autographed to Pauletta dated June 25, 2008, in honor of your 25th anniversary. For more information visit www.GavinGoodfellow.com; contact Candy Abbott at fruitbearer.publishing@verizon.net.