News, News, News!!

Hi Friends,


Well, this has been a week full of big news. So, I figured I'd share the news and some thoughts on Beyond the Night too, all in fun interview format. So, read on, you don't want to miss this . . .



Inquiring Minds: So, I heard your Veil of Fire has been named a finalist in a big national contest. Is that true?

Marlo sez: Yep. Got the call this week that Veil of Fire is a finalist in the ACFW (that's the American Christian Fiction Writers) Book of the Year Contest in the Long Historical category. Yay!


Inquiring Minds: What else happened this week? Something surprising? Something OH WOW??!!??

Marlo sez: Okay, well, I suppose I’ll just break the news here for those who haven't heard . . . I’m pregnant. And that is a HUGE surprise. I still can hardly believe it. After spending most of my adult life (15 years) dealing with infertility, never ever being able to have a baby without extreme medical intervention (some of which worked, many of which didn’t), finally coming to end of that journey (I thought), turning the big 4-0, and giving away every last bit of my maternity clothes, nursing clothes, baby clothes, baby equipment, everything … I’m pregnant.

Can you hear God chuckling? I’ve been in shock (happy shock, but shock!), and hoping that nothing goes wrong (after having four awful miscarriages last year to end our hopes for a last baby, it’s been a bit scary wondering if this baby would make it . . .but we’ve made it out of the touchy first trimester and so far so good! Feel free to pray for me and new baby, please!)




And the latest from yesterday . . . we had our 21-week ultrasound and baby looks perfectly fine. AND IT'S A BOY! His four sisters are ecstatic, and so are we. What fun!

Inquiring Minds: Wow, after that big news, let's move on to talk a bit about your latest novel, Beyond the Night. A significant setting in Beyond the Night is Stanford University, your alma mater. What made Stanford perfect for this book?

Marlo sez: Setting the story partially at Stanford was SO MUCH fun! It allowed me to pluck out a some neat memories from my husband’s and my own love story and sprinkle those things throughout Paul and Maddie’s story. Mem Chu, Tressider, and the Quad … it was fun to go back relive moments through Paul and Maddie’s eyes. And when Paul and Maddie take their trip to the city (that is, San Francisco), well, let’s just say Sam Wo’s is a place not to be missed!

Plus, for Maddie’s situation, I needed a university that would both work with its students to keep them enrolled but was also highly dedicated to its educational standards, a place where most students are pursuing a specific vision for their lives, a vision, which for Maddie, is interrupted by blindness. Stanford fit the bill there too.

So, if readers want to find out more about the connection between Stanford, me, my hubby, and Paul & Maddie’s story, I encourage them to check out the fun, informal Stanford video tour on my website (just click the video player on the bottom right side of my front page!) http://www.marloschalesky.com/


Inquiring Minds: And lastly, what do you hope people take away after reading Beyond the Night?

Marlo sez: Funny thing is that if you’d asked me that when I first proposed this book, I would have said something about the enduring qualities of real love. And that still is part of what Beyond the Night is all about. But as I started to write, I soon discovered the story, at its heart, was really about overcoming fear – fear of the unknown, fear of death, fear of getting hurt, fear of letting go – the kinds of fear that regular, not-particularly-fearful people still have to face in their everyday lives.

Then, as the story progressed, I began to see that overcoming fear isn’t really about “getting up the courage” or trying to be brave. Not at all! What truly defeats fear is a glimpse of the breathtaking wonder of a vivid God. It’s about the awe of knowing that “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has risen to understand what God has prepared for those who love Him” (my translation from the Greek of 1 Corinthians 2:9). Just as light drives out darkness, so fear is driven out by hope, and hope is found in God’s amazing love.

So, that’s really what I’m hoping people will take away after reading Beyond the Night – that glimpse of God and His breathtaking love, that glimmer of beauty, that “wow” of seeing a bit more of the wondrous love of God – the love that drives out our fears.



Inquiring Minds: Okay, any last words for today?

Marlo sez: I hope y'all will pick up a copy of Beyond the Night and give it a read! Let me know what you think ... I'm gathering up reader quotes for my sales reps and would love to include you! (As always, handy links to Amazon and CBD are on my website.)

Also, the contest for Beyond the Night is still running, so you can still play to win a great gift bag filled with Beyond the Night related surprises. Fun!