BIG NEWS!

Good morning, friends. Here’s the news item I’ve been hinting at for some time, an announcement I’d planned on making the week of Thanksgiving; but “details” (read, “editing, formatting, design, cover art, etc”) have proved tricky.

But I’m finally ready, so here goes: My first new book in three years, some of the best writing I’ve shared to date, is now available!

Additionally – both daunting and exciting at the same time – it’s my first 100% independent project. So I’ll share a few bullets, paste in the link so you can get your own copy, then summarize the blurb from the marketing folk.

PILGRIM IN PROGRESS: Notes from the Journey

My challenge this time around was to write a book that pulsates with the same sense of immediacy that keeps blog posting fresh, compelling, and “now.” So – as my raw material – I used 99 of the stories, events, issues, situations, and interactions that prompted me to journal over a three-year period. I then re-wrote the visceral, “this is happening now” posts, regrouping them under eleven sub-headings or chapters.

Life, Faith, Family, Community, The Bible, The Church, Passages, Learning, Story, The World, Travel… The style is part story, part Op-Ed, part conversation, part journalling, part memoir.

The result is a book that reads easily, one essay at a time, but that is also linked by a common thread. The thread is this, “Live like you mean it; because God certainly meant something wonderful when you were created.”

Here are a few highlights:

• I took the cover photograph at the top of Mt. Sinai. The introduction – “Sinai at Dawn” – is one of my favorite stories, setting the tone for the book.
• “Passages” covers the time leading up to and surrounding the end of my brother’s life, and his passing into eternity. Geoff Maul’s indomitable spirit puts a special spark in that section. It’s worth getting the book just to read these 15 posts.
• The title, “Pilgrim in Progress” is a play on the classic Pilgrim’s Progress. It’s quite possibly the best phrase to describe where I am, spiritually. I am a work in progress; and these stories are notes from my journey.
• The badge “DRM-BOOKS” stands for Derek-Rebekah-Books. I’ve included Rebekah’s name because it’s my goal, once day, to publish a book with her name on the front cover!
• I can guarantee you will find errors, typos, grammatical faux-pas, and more in this project. They even show up in my five titles for Upper Room Books. If you want to be a helper so I can improve the next edition, thank you. But please don’t be condescending when you do!
• Share this with your friends. Better yet, buy them a copy for the New Year.

THE BLURB: Okay, so here’s the marketing blurb:

Derek Maul’s sixth book finds its voice as an inspirational memoir, chronicling profound meaning in the people and events of everyday life. Pilgrim in Progress features beautiful prose, surprising stories, humor, and cutting edge social commentary.

“There’s always something more to be said,” Maul writes; “there’s always something more to look forward to; there’s always something more to experience. This is why life is so powerfully dynamic, and why the best relationships are – so beautifully – persistent, insistent, intentional works in progress. We have stories to live, you and I, and we have great exploits to unwrap; sometimes one careful layer at a time, and sometimes plunging over the precipice on a wing and a prayer….”

Featuring 99 essays grouped in 11 categories (chapters), award-winning author Derek Maul’s latest title takes a candid look at life, death, faith, struggle, joy, heartbreak, travel, and adventure.

Peace and blessings this wonderful Christmas week! – DEREK

If you’re interested, please click on this link: PILGRIM IN PROGRESS; Notes from the Journey