I have waited a long, long time for this one.

My novel Amara’s Prayer is currently up for pre-order at the Bad Moon Books’ site. Pre-orders are currently being taken for a very exclusive signed hardcover edition. The print run of this hardcover will be determined by the number of pre-orders taken. There will also be a regular release in trade paperback.

The book features fabulous artwork by my favorite cover artist, Kirk Alberts. Really, I was so lucky to be reunited with Kirk for this novel. Look at that cover. It is exactly what I wanted for this book.

For those not familiar with the history of this novel, it has quite a story of its own. The novel was completed as my University of Oklahoma College of Liberal Studies master’s thesis in late 2004. It then went to the … person who was masquerading as my agent at the time. She never sent it out. I changed agents and sent him the book, along with a couple of publishing leads I’d worked up. He tied it up for at least two years, never really knowing what he was doing, I now know, until we finally parted company. Not long after that Bad Moon Books accepted the novel, but the economic crash slowed their publishing schedule so much that the book is just now seeing the light of day.

Amara’s Prayer is a very personal book to me. As explained in the introduction, it was written at a time when I was still in a pretty bad emotional place due to the betrayal of some people I was associated with during my undergraduate years. This story was my way of trying to work through that issue, as well as deal with my forever ongoing spiritual quest.

It’s worth noting that Amara’s Prayer will be my first solo full-length novel that is not part of The Werewolf Saga. Even I find that hard to believe.

Okay, that’s the news portion of this post. What you’ll find below is the back cover synopsis, along with some early blurbs for the book.

Is your faith real if it’s never tested?

When Rev. Milton Agnew learns that his church’s Brazilian mission has been mysteriously destroyed, he rushes to the rainforest to see for himself. His friends and the natives they went to convert are all dead or gone. But the village isn’t empty. What he finds is a strange woman who says her name is Amara. Milton determines he will continue his mission work with this single unsaved woman, no matter how many laws of man he has to break.

Do you forgive me?

Back home in Oklahoma City, Amara causes Milton to lose his family, his career, and everything be believed in. Everything but Amara. After each seemingly innocent event she begs his forgiveness, and he gives it. Until she betrays him.

What do you cling to when all is lost?

Alone and homeless, stripped of everything he valued, Milton can finally see the truth about himself, what he believes, and the secret of who Amara really is. But can he save her and himself, or is it too late?

J. Madison Davis, President of the International Association of Crime Writers and Edgar nominee, said:

The vision of a naked woman in the jungle begins a missionary’s journey into realms of depravity and the supernatural he could never imagine. Steve Wedel’s novel demonstrates exactly how fragile even the most controlled life can be and how civilization is just one short step from chaos.

James A. Moore, author of Blood Red and Serenity Falls, said:

Wedel’s Amara’s Prayer is a rare treat: a story of personal horror and personal hope that leads you through the rise and fall of one man and one family touched by supernatural temptation. More than that, however, it is a story of redemption. A powerful, glorious tale that is highly recommended.

Christopher Fulbright, author of Red Chalice, said:

Steven Wedel is a story craftsman of the highest order. He builds tales with characters you love and villains you love to hate, each with a struggle that takes them dangerously close to the line between good and evil.  Who will live, who will die … who will cross the line and who will hold true? Every book by Wedel is a road on the map of human trials with hairpin turns at high speed and moments of zen at cruising speed in the dark.  I wouldn’t miss a thing.