Mindy Starns Clark's Blog

     I'm thrilled to announce the re-release of my Million Dollar Mysteries series, both in paperback and ebook format!  After several years of the books being unavailable (or at least really hard to find), they should now be popping up for sale all over the place. Yaaaaay! Here they are with their shiny new covers...

Re-Release #3

     This was the first series I ever wrote, with A Penny for Your Thoughts first coming out from Harvest House Publishers in 2002 and the other four books following about every six months after that. Then in 2011, Harvest House re-released a slightly revised version of all five books with new covers.

     Now in 2025, these books are coming out yet again with another set of all-new covers, this time from Creekview Press. They've also been revised and updated, though they're still set in the original time period. I hope you like the (minor) changes that I've made to the stories and that you can enjoy getting re-acquainted with Callie and Tom all over again.

     To celebrate this exciting release, I'm giving away a free e-book copy of the new A Penny for Your Thoughts. You can learn more and enter to win by clicking here:

     I hope you're as excited about this new re-release as I am! Over the years I've heard from so many readers asking if there will ever be any more Million Dollar Mysteries to come out. I won't say for sure, but I must admit I have been tinkering with a new project that I've been calling Million Dollar Daughter, which revisits Tom and Callie--and their kids--exactly twenty one years after Penny was first released. If this sounds like something you might like to see, do let me know in the comments below. It's still in the early phases right now, but I've got some really fun ideas and am having a blast seeing how their love story has been playing out.

     In the meantime, I hope you'll check out the new and improved Million Dollar Mysteries series--and spread the word that they're finally about to come out, wherever books are sold.

NOTE: The books should be available for purchase by May 5th. Thanks for your patience!

I love this quote from Susan Meissner on AmishReader.com, in a discussion about the Amish and technology...

I'm so thankful for my sweet husband, John, who has always been an amazing father to our children! Here he is with our younger daughter, Lauren, at a Father-Daughter dance in 2002 and then at Lauren's wedding this past New Year's Eve. So special!

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website.

Contemporary Romance: The Art of Rivers by Janet Ferguson -- Can a woman whose life has been damaged by addiction trust her heart to a man in recovery? (Contemporary Romance, Independently Published)



Cross My Heart by Robin Lee Hatcher -- Horse rescue farmer Ashley helps Ben start an equine therapy barn on his great-great grandfather’s farm. When they consider a relationship together, her bitter experience with her opioid addict brother reins in any hope for a future with Ben, who is five years in recovery from alcoholism. Ben knows that with God, all things are possible—but will Ashley find it within herself to give love a chance? (Contemporary Romance from HarperCollins Christian Publishing)

Risking Love by Toni Shiloh -- Nikki lives with a perfect trifecta of noes. No guys. No dates. No way. After years of keeping men at bay, Nikki Gordon has it down to a science. No one, not even sweet, hunky Shorty Smalls can change her mind. Period. So if she’s got it all figured out, why does her heart sink to her toes when she sees Shorty with another woman? (Contemporary Romance from Celebrate Lit)

General: Uncharted Destiny by Keely Brooke Keith -- When Bailey sets out to rescue her lost friend in the Land’s dangerous mountain terrain, she discovers more about the Land—and herself—than she bargained for. (General from Edenbrooke Press)




Six Houses Down by Kari Rimbey -- Two days after Sharon Webster’s distant husband returns for a surprise visit, their autistic son slips out of the house and is lost in historic Washington D. C. As they search for their boy, Sharon is forced to rely on the husband she believes no longer loves her. An elderly black couple down the street seems to understand her unspoken hurts. Has God sent them to help her find trust again? (General Contemporary, Independently Published)



Historical: In the Shadow of the King by Melissa Rosenberger -- Beset by doubts and jealousy about prophecies spoken over her brother Yeshua, Hannah struggles to see the truth before her eyes until it is too late…or is it? (Historical from Carpenter's Son Publishing)




Historical Romance: This Healing Journey by Misty M. Beller -- An adventure-seeking wilderness girl and an ex-cavalryman looking to settle down fall in love while caring for a wounded Indian child that shows up in his barn. Will their differences keep them apart or become their greatest strengths? (Historical Romance, Independently Published)



  Cameo Courtships by Susanne Dietze, Debra E. Marvin, Jennifer Uhlarik, and Kathleen Y'Barbo -- In 1851, a special cameo is gifted by Queen Victoria to Letitia Newton, who though considered an old maid, meets the perfect gentleman minutes after donning. Told by the Queen the cameo is to be shared, Letitia gifts the "Victoria Cameo" to a woman in her family, hoping adventure and romance will follow each of its subsequent wearers. Adventure indeed follows two competing journalists, one of whom carries the cameo while looking to expose a smuggler, a trouser-wearing frontierswoman and a reverend who are on a mission to ransom the cameo from a manipulative brothel owner, two Pinkertons who are charged with the care of the cameo but must rely on one another when the cameo is once again stolen, and a young woman who doubts the cameo can help her when a handsome Scottish library administrator ruins her dream of overseeing the new Carnegie Library children’s department and keeps a social chasm between himself and her father. (Historical Romance from Barbour Publishing)

  Mail-Order Refuge by Cindy Regnier -- Carly Blair from Baltimore buys a train ticket to Kansas where she will become the wife of a man she’s never met. She must leave Baltimore to escape the evil plans her ex-fiance has for using her artistic talents for a counterfeit operation. Rand Stafford, Kansas cattle rancher is looking after his two orphaned nieces, but knows they need a mother. He’s not interested in love since being left at the altar so he advertises for a mail-order bride, willing to do whatever it takes to give Mary Jo and Jenna a proper home and upbringing. Can Carly and Rand find love where they least expect it, or will the shadows of the past dash their hopes for the future? (Historical Romance from Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas)

  No Ocean Too Wide by Carrie Turansky -- Between the years of 1869 to 1939 more than 100,000 poor British children were sent across the ocean to Canada with the promise of a better life. Those who took them in to work as farm laborers or household servants were told they were orphans—but was that the truth? (Historical Romance from Waterbrook/Multnomah [Random House])



Romantic Suspense: Darkwater Truth by Robin Caroll -- Adelaide Fountaine, general manager, is enthusiastically renovating parts of the Darkwater Inn. Her intentions come to a screeching halt when a skeleton is found behind a makeshift wall—an axe beside it. As Adelaide works alongside owner Dimitri Pampalon and Detective Beau Savoie, the two men who have been pursuing her heart, she learns the eerie death has tentacles that reach deep into the seedy past of both the Darkwater Inn and the evil underground of New Orleans. The past and the present collide as the stakes are upped—not only for Adelaide’s heart, but for her very life and her father’s life as well. The threats are deadly, the coils of evil are tightening around everyone involved, and they are more powerful than anyone could have ever imagined. (Romantic Suspense, Independently Published)

  Over the Line by Kelly Irvin -- Gabriela's brother is missing, he's a suspect in a murder, and she's in the cross hairs of a criminal organization. The only person who can help her is the one man she can't trust. Will Gabby & Eli find her brother before it's too late? (Romantic Suspense from HarperCollins Christian Publishing)


  Long Walk Home by DiAnn Mills -- As an Arab Christian pilot for a relief organization, Paul Farid feels called to bring supplies to his war-torn countrymen in southern Sudan. But with constant attacks from Khartoum’s Islamic government, the villagers have plenty of reasons to distrust Paul, and he wonders if the risks he’s taking are really worth his mission. American doctor Larson Kerr started working with the Sudanese people out of a sense of duty and has grown to love them all, especially Rachel Alier, her young assistant. But despite the years she’s spent caring for them, her life feels unfulfilled. It’s a void noticed both by Paul and by Rachel’s older brother, Colonel Ben Alier of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army. When Rachel is abducted, Paul, Ben, and Larson agree to set aside their differences to form an unlikely alliance and execute a daring rescue. Their faith and beliefs tested, each must find the strength to walk the path God has laid before them, to find their way home. (Romantic Suspense from Tyndale House)

  The Last Chaplain by Carl M. White -- At the request of Pastor John Grant, the last chaplain of the United States Senate, Lisa Smithy embarks on the adventure of a lifetime: find a former Senate staff member and convince him to reveal to a DC reporter the plot that led to Dr. Grant's removal and the discrediting of his best friend, a United States Senator. From the South, to the West, to the Midwest, evil men are desperate to stop her, and romance surprisingly finds her. Can she bring together the former Senate staffer who knows all and the Washington reporter who can tell all, while eluding the men who would end it all? (Romantic Suspense from Austin Brothers Publishers)

Here's this month's FREE COLORING PAGE FOR READERS, just as a thank-you for visiting my blog. Feel free to print, download, share, and duplicate as desired. Enjoy!

The child in the above photo is my daughter, Lauren, many years ago in Arlington National Cemetery while visiting the grave of my uncle, Willard Starns. Willard died on September 6, 1943–just one month short of his 25th birthday–in the service of his country.  Today we remember him and all of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Family MattersWillard was a First Lieutenant in the Army Air Force (AAF) and served as a navigator for the second mapping squadron. He was the oldest of five children and, prior to the war, had been the valedictorian of his high school class and attended Louisiana State University. He joined the military on November 17, 1941.

My dad (the boy on the left) and his family prior to the war:  Alma, Bob, Millie, Fan, Willard, Emma, and Fred Starns
Lifelong Loss
My father, who thought of his beloved older brother as his own personal hero, was fourteen years old when the family received news of Willard's death by airplane crash in Peru.  My dad was utterly devastated and mourned his brother for the rest of his life.

As you can see from the document below, Willard was originally buried in Panama but was reinterred at Arlington five years later.








Over the years, my father was able to visit Arlington several times, where he tearfully paid his respects to the brother he loved and missed so very much.

High FlightA few years ago as I was going through some old photos, I ran across this portrait photo of Willard (so handsome!) then realized that someone had written a poem on the back of the picture...

  



To more easily read the poem, "High Flight", which was written by John Gillespie Magee, Jr., visit this link.  





I especially love the final line, in which the pilot tells of flying so high that he put out his hand "and touched the face of God." Amen to that.
Thanks for letting me share about this brave fallen soldier from our family.  Blessings to all on this beautiful Memorial Day!

Will you be taking any driving vacations this summer? Recently, I was reading an article about road trips and ran across this quote, which I thought was great. Enjoy!