Welcome to the Dernier Publishing Newsletter, February 2017
Thanks for being here again, reading our news, and for all your support and prayers. We simply wouldn’t be here without you. Yesterday I heard that one of the big Christian publishers have cut their staff by two thirds. We can’t take anything for granted in the publishing business. Every prayer you offer on our behalf, every book you buy, keeps us going. Book production costs are high, and margins low. So please accept my heartfelt thank you for all you do. Keep up the good work! 🙂
Youth Club Visit
I spoke at a local youth group recently – what a privilege! And it was such fun! I took along a couple of packs of playing cards, and we built card houses which was tricky. Isn’t it just so frustrating when things are looking good, then the whole thing collapses? 🙂
The point I wanted to make was that whatever awful things happen in life; even when the whole house seems to be coming down around you and nothing seems to be going right, God is still right there. I wanted the young people to know that the Lord will be with them and help them in every difficulty that comes their way, small or large. I gave them some books, too, to read and review. One girl had already read London’s Gone and told me it was one of her favourite books – yippee! And another young lad said how much he liked the cover of The City Kid. Hurray! Please pray for young people like these, most of whom are church children, who need every encouragement to keep walking in the faith they have learnt from their parents. Who knows – maybe something from one of the books will touch their hearts and change their lives. Please pray with me!
Random Gifts
I mentioned in a previous email that back in the autumn Age UK approached us with a request for a raffle prize, to raise money for a Christmas dinner for elderly people who would otherwise be on their own. I have no idea where they got our name from, but, always on the lookout for opportunities to get our books into children’s hands, I sent them a set of five random books like this:
A couple of weeks ago I received a thank you letter – they raised £900 for the raffle, and the elderly people had a lovely day. What a wonderful thing to be able to help with! Not only that, the books will have found a home – I wonder where? One thing I do know: our Lord doesn’t do random, so we have been praying that the books will end up exactly where they are needed. Exciting, isn’t it – maybe one day we will hear an amazing story!
I’ve got a few of these ‘random’ sample packs of books left from a trade event and was wondering what to do with them . . . here’s an idea: would you like one of them to put in a tombola, offer as a prize, at a club or camp or fair or fête or whatever? Imagine the impact we could make if each of us gave away a pack of books away in our corner! Who knows how far the books could go, how many children we could reach! Maybe, together, we can do a miracle.
If you’d like one or more of these packs (five books in each pack), as long as you promise to give them away (and this is only available to subscribers of our newsletter): £20.00 (free UK p+p). Get your pack/s now and put them away for the summer, because when they’re gone they’re gone. You can have as many packs as you like, but you can’t choose the books, it’s pot luck! Please contact me if you’d like a pack. Or more than one!
(If you are reading this and you are not a subscriber to our newsletter, please sign up so you can join in the fun – it would be lovely to have you.)
Books in Croatian
Look at these! Now the first three Beech Bank Girls, and The Treasure Hunt, are available in Croatian! Don’t you just love the spy on the Treasure Hunt cover? 🙂 
May these books bless many, and may they be the first of many to reach children for whom English is not their mother tongue.
Reviews
Thank you Brenda, a secondary school teacher, who kindly took the time to work out how to put reviews on our website! This is what she wrote, to help potential purchasers:
Beech Bank Girls, Every Girl Has a Story: “An excellent book. Eleanor Watkins has a good grasp of the issues faced by 11-14 year old girls today combined with an ability to write for them in an engaging, interesting and relevant way.
I would particularly recommend this book for girls who will be moving on to secondary school in the foreseeable future, as well as those already in years 7 and 8.
It is just a pity that the cover does not, in my opinion, reflect the modern real-life nature of the book. I look forward to reading the others in the series.”
London’s Gone: “A good well-paced story with plenty of action and some unexpected twists, it easily holds your interest. Many readers will find it easy to empathise with 16 year old Maria who is frequently at odds with the world. She is contrasted by Arthur, an idealistic holy-joe, set on doing the right thing at all times whatever the circumstances. They both have much to learn but somehow manage to work together towards a common goal. I did find Arthur somewhat irritating at times – but I’ve been told that he is supposed to be so.
I thought that the Christian part of the ending was well handled. No quantum leaps thankfully; it suited the overall flow of the story.
It is refreshingly different to other books around at the moment. I look forward to the sequel.”
The Only Way: “Wow!
You don’t often find a book like this.
It walks that fine line between our world today and a whole other spiritual world. It offers depth and hope to kids who are struggling.
It will appeal to a wide range of readers.
Brilliant!”
The City Kid: “This is an up-to-date realistic story that will resonate with teens from a range of cultures, regardless of whether they have a church background or not.
The issues that John faces are relevant to modern life. It is well paced and easy to read. It is the sort of Christian book you could comfortably give to a friend. It also has some challenges for those already Christian.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
If you or your children have read any of our books, please do leave a review on our website – even if it’s just a short sentence. “My daughter really enjoyed this,” (or didn’t!) is all that’s needed. Thank you!
Christian Bookshops
Don’t forget you can buy all our books from Christian bookshops in the UK, as well as through our website. Do support them, they do a great job.
Have a wonderful February (spring is nearly here!),
Janet
P.S. Don’t forget to contact me for your give-away book packs!