Here are the contents of this month’s Family Newsletter:

• Broadcasting News
• 1)   The Burning Bush Men’s Conference
• 2)   Focus on the Family Program on Children’s Health
• Publication Update
• 1)   Writing Hazel Creek
• 2)   Writing Sugar Fork
• 3)   Writing Guy Talk
• 4)   The Influenza Bomb translated into Dutch
• Events of the last month
• Upcoming Events

1) The Burning Bush Men’s Conference
Last month, I spent an enjoyable evening and morning with a new friend, Sammy Tippit, who is an international evangelist (you can learn more about Sammy’s ministry here). The purpose of our time together was to film him interviewing me about some of the principles in my book, 10 Essentials of Happy, Healthy People: Becoming and staying highly healthy.

Sammy is organizing a series of city-wide men’s conferences that will be called “The Burning Bush: Renewing a man’s heart, health, and home. The five-part, Friday-Saturday conferences will kick off in San Antonio, TX, on September 8-9. During the conference, Sammy will include video appearances by me and Jerry Jenkins. Jerry will speak about some of the principles from his book, Hedges. After the conference, each man will be encouraged to access a parallel 30-day video devotional series by Sammy.

2) Focus on the Family Program
I was interviewed on the topic, “Common Questions Parents Have About Their Children’s Health,” for the national Focus on the Family radio program on August 31^st. I was interviewed by Jim Daly, Juli Slattery, and John Fuller. You can listen to this wide-ranging discussion here.

‘Publishing Update
1) Writing Hazel Creek
I’ve deeply appreciated your prayers as I’ve worked so hard writing my first two solo novels. The first, Hazel Creek, is wrapping up. I finished reviewing the galleys and had them in, on time, to the publisher (Howard Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster) on September 2.
I thought you might like to see the first endorsement for Hazel Creek. It’s from Christy-award-winning fiction writer Chris Fabry:

Walt Larimore isn’t just a great storyteller. He paints word pictures that linger like country woodsmoke – so  strong you can’t get it out of your mind. Once you experience Hazel Creek, you’ll never want to leave.

Here’s some information from the back cover of the novel (to wet your appetite a bit more):

In the Hazel Creek Valley of the Great Smoky Mountains, Nathan and Callie Randolph, with their five unique daughters, wrestle to maintain their farm, forests, family, and faith against an unforgiving wilderness. An evil lumber company manager is seeking by every means possible to pilfer their land and clear cut their virgin forest.
A cast of colorful characters, including a menacing stranger, gypsy siblings, a granny midwife, and a world-famous writer … even a flesh-and-blood Haint … collide in a gripping struggle of good and evil amidst eruptions of violence and tragedy. Our heroine, fifteen-year-old Abbie Randolph, has to help save her family’s farm and raise her sisters while preserving her faith.
This important story, based upon almost ten years of research and four years of living in the area, captures the speech, ways, and beliefs of these unique pioneers at a crucial and irreversible turning point in this Smoky Mountains community of the Southern Appalachians. With the march of the industrial age, especially commercial lumbering, the traditional life and ways of our southern highlanders in general, and the Randolphs in particular, were about to change forever.
Walt Larimore, MD, has been called one of “America’s best-known family physicians” and is listed in “Distinguished Physicians of America,” “The Best Doctors in America,” and “Who’s Who in America.” Walt was awarded the 2004 Christianity Today Book Award for cowriting Going Public with Your Faith: Becoming a Spiritual Influence at Work and he has been a Gold Medallion Book Award finalist three times. He also authored the best-selling Bryson City books and coauthored the TSI series with Paul McCusker. He lives in Monument, Colorado.

Hazel Creek is scheduled for publication in March 2012.

2) Writing Sugar Fork
I’m also working to finish the initial draft for my second solo novel, Sugar Fork. This will be the sequel to Hazel Creek and the manuscript is due to the publisher on October 3, 2011. The release date is set for one year later, which will be 6 months after the release of Hazel Creek – roughly October 2012.

3) Writing the Guy’s Body Book
My book for boys heading toward and through puberty has been renamed by the publisher, ZonderKidz. The new title is … drum roll please … The Guys’ Body Book: Not-so-stupid questions about your body.
I’m told I’ll have the galleys to review in a few weeks. I think the book is still scheduled for publication in March 2012. Here’s a draft of the cover they are considering (of course the title will be changed):

4) The Influenza Bomb
My second novel, co-written with my friend, Paul McCusker, has just been released in Dutch as Dr Griepbom.  You can order it here for any of your Dutch friends.

 If you’d like a copy of the book, in English, signed by both authors, they are available here.

Events of the last month

• Most of this last month was spent finishing the galley edits for my first solo novel, Hazel Creek, which I just sent to the publisher (Howard Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster) and working on completing my second solo novel, Sugar Fork” the sequel to Hazel Creek—which is due to the publisher on 10/1. Hazel Creek is scheduled for release in March 2011.
• Aug 21-22, I made a quick trip to Washington, DC, to be part of a technical panel discussing reimbursement issues for primary care physicians.
• Aug 23 – Sep 7, we took a long family vacation at Pensacola Beach. Kate, Scott, Jennifer, and the grandchildren joined us for the first week. The second week Barb, Kate, and I enjoyed staying at Barb’s parents’ beach home. We do this almost every year and always looking forward to our family time together. It was a blessing to have each other and have this time together.

Upcoming Events

• Sept 11-14, I’ll be flying to Orlando to attend the American Academy of Family Physicians’ Annual Congress of Delegates and Annual Scientific Assembly. I’ll be speaking three times while there.
• Sept 15-16, I’ll be attending a Board Meeting for HCJB Global in Colorado Springs. Prayers for wisdom will be appreciated.
• Sept 21-25, Barb and I will be in Chicago. I’ll be attending the AMA’s RUC meeting while Barb enjoys the city. We always look forward to our evenings together in the windy city.

Past issues of our family newsletter

• September 2011
• August 2011
• July 2011

You can get more information on many of my upcoming events here.