And yes, it’s a bit thrilling as a writer to have MY column on the front cover — even better, because it’s not about me. God only used me to help spread the message of Liz Curtis Higgs — her journey of grace, forgiveness, and hope.

It all started with an email I received from her publicist several months ago — offering me the opportunity to interview her. I about fell out of my chair. You see, last summer, I read her book, Grace in Thine Eyes, which I reviewed for Christian Book Previews here. I remember thinking — wow, Liz is living the dream life of an author!

Liz is one of those rare modern novelists who takes enough time to thoroughly research her historical fiction — so that readers are completely transported to 19th-century Scotland, or whatever era she’s writing about.

If I’m going to take the time to read a novel, I want to be transported, don’t you? It’s the second-best thing to actually visiting a place — which happens to be the romantic isle of Arran, off the coast of Scotland. And Liz stayed there, in a real castle, talked to real people — then brought it all back for us armchair travelers through her delicious prose.

I ate it all up — piece by piece — not even realizing that she was taking me along for a spiritual ride as well. Ah, the power of words.

So I had a great time asking her about her most recent trip to Scotland (did you know she’s collected over 800 books on Scotland for her personal library?) She’s been there so many times it’s like a second home to her. I just stare at these photos and dream.

You can also click here to learn more about her new book that is coming soon, My Heart’s in the Lowlands: Ten Days in Bonny Scotland, which is “an entertaining armchair travel guide to Dumfries and Galloway—the land where fictional Jamie, Leana, Rose, and Davina have roamed through our imaginations, and where fascinating, real characters live today!”

And I hesitate to share this with you because it will lower my own chances of winning (heh heh) — but her publisher is offering a free nine-day TRIP FOR TWO TO SCOTLAND if you click here. You must go to the Waterbrook Press website to learn all the details — the deadline is April 30, 2007.

The rest of the January issue of CWO is great as well, with a brand new column debut from Allison Bottke, Boomer Babes Rock! Allison writes:

Did you know there are over 38 million baby boomer women? Considered to be some of the healthiest, wealthiest, and best educated women to ever hit midlife, we’re a diverse group between the ages of 42 and 60, born from 1946-1964. An obvious example of diversity is our age range, which spans 19 years and means that while some boomer women are grandparents (like me) others on the lower range who started their families later in life are still getting kids into preschool.

The other columns and articles will give you plenty to read this month, keeping you inspired to start your new year with fresh steps of faith.