Hi all, Some fun news to share and a giveaway to show my thanks! I've just learned that:

• Submerged has gone to its 4th printing.
• Shattered has been chosen as The Book Club Network's Book of the Month for May. Thanks to all who voted!
• Shattered is being translated into Norwegian. My full-blooded Norwegian father is extremely excited about this :)

I have the most amazing readers! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. In deepest appreciation for your continued support and encouragement, I'm giving away the first of three Advanced Reader Copies of Stranded--my September 1st release. I'm also including a $5 Starbucks gift card so you can enjoy your favorite drink while reading Gage and Darcy's adventure.

What do you have to do to enter?

Simply leave your name and email address in the comment section below. On Monday, June 10th, I'll randomly select a winner and announce the winner right here on my blog Monday night.

Best of luck, and thank you again for your amazing support!

Blessings,

I'm celebrating Shattered's release with some fun events, interviews and giveaways. Thank YOU so much for your support, and for sharing Shattered with your friends and family. It's because of YOU that Shattered has made the CBA, ECPA and LifeWay Bestseller lists this month!!!!

• Facebook Author Chat Party

• Guess the Name of Book #4 Contest

One person who guesses correctly will win an Alaskan Courage Prize Pack, which includes:

Autographed copies of Submerged and Shattered Submerged and Shattered custom travel mugs Submerged and Shattered keepsake bookmarks Submerged tote bag Bag of Moose Munch (Piper McKenna's favorite snack) 1lb. Caribou Coffee (Another McKenna family favorite) Chocolate covered espresso beans (to start your day off right) And a $10 Starbucks giftcard (a Dani favorite :) )

Winners will be announced during my FB Party on March 14th. You can submit a new guess each day! Open Internationally!

Can't wait to hear your guesses.

• Goodreads Giveaway

Shattered (Alaskan Courage, # 2) by Dani Pettrey (Goodreads Author)

Release date: Feb 01, 2013

Piper McKenna couldn’t be more thrilled that her prodigal brother, Reef, has returned to Yancey, Alaska, after five years. But her happiness is short-…more

Enter to win

Giveaway dates: Mar 06-Mar 28, 2013

5 copies available

Countries available: US and CA

• Recent Interviews

Sherri Wilson Johnson's Blog PLUS Giveaway of Shattered and Submerged!

Christian Novels Blog

Novel Crossings

I'm so appreciative to Sherri, Abbi, and C.J. for hosting me!

• Local Events

If you are in the Maryland area, I have two upcoming book signings and would love the chance to meet you. You can find more details on the News Page of my website.

March 24, 2013 – 2-4 PM EST -Local Author Day at the Bel Air Public Library | 100 E. Pennsylvania Ave, Bel Air, MD 21014

April 5, 2013, 5-7 PM - Booksigning at Fenwick Books |  41655A Fenwick Street, Leonardtown, MD 20650

• Fun Extras

In case you haven't already checked them out, there are a lot of new extras on my FUN Page including:

Submerged and Shattered's Playlists

Shattered Pinterest Board

Shattered Snow Cam

Book Club Packets (full of yummy McKenna recipes).

Plus, a video interview!

Hope you'll drop by and dive into the McKenna's world.

Thank you again for all your support and encouragement!

Blessings,

I know it's been a while since I've shared a Favorite Friday with you, but today I have a really fun one. We (my family and I) love superhero movies. There's just something about them--action, adventure, fighting for what's right, self-sacrfice, and of course, humor. One of our new favorites is The Avengers. I hope you had the chance to see it on the big screen. It was amazing, But if you didn't, don't fret. It will be available for purchase on September 25th. We can hardly wait! And...it appears that they have a few fun surprises in store for us. Fandango shared this unaired clip on its Movie Blog today. Thought you'd enjoy! Such a love story waiting to be written, or rewritten, here :) Yes, I'm a diehard romantic at heart.

*Spoiler Alert* You may not want to watch if you haven't seen the movie yet.  Here's another clip from The Avengers for you to enjoy, and our absolute favorite part in the entire movie.

What other superhero movies do we enjoy? I'm glad you asked.

• Thor
• Iron Man 1 & 2
• Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
• Captain America (huge fan of Chris Evans--he is who I envision Gage McKenna from my Alaskan Courage series looking like).

Not too shabby, huh? :)

• Sky High (yes, not your traditional superhero movie, but so much fun and the same principles exist--the underdog overcoming and justice prevailing).
• Spiderman 1-3 (with Tobey MacGuire)
• The Amazing Spiderman
• Batman Begins and  The Dark Knight--which is a little scary for me in all honesty. Haven't seen Dark Knight Rises yet, but plan to. My daughters have seen it and enjoyed it.
• The Incredible Hulk (with Ed Norton).
• X-men and X-Men 2 (not a fan of the rest).
• The Incredibles (yes, it's animated, but it's fabulous).
• Underdog (a little cheesy in parts, but really funny).

Hope you have a superhero kind of day!

I just returned from a fun-filled long weekend at the beach! It was the last trip of the summer before my college girl returns to school and we had a fabulous time. While there we were able to take in several days of The Dew Tour. Thought I'd share some pictures with you. Hope your weekend was as fun-filled as mine :)

Unfortunately the waves were pretty calm, but we still enjoyed swimming.

  Reigning X-Games Big Air Gold Medalist Bob Burnquist 

Amazing 15 year old Mitchie "Little Tricky" Brusco

Last, but certainly not least Baltimore-area native Bucky Lasek.

Bucky is the reigning X-Games Silver Medalist in Skateboard Vert.

Hoping your day is full of adventure and joy,

Want an inside peek at Yancey, Alaska where Submerged is set? Then hop on over to A Novel Bookshelf (LifeWay's blog) today. You can get a glimpse inside the town, and I've even included a recipe for Moosetrack Milkshakes (Bailey's favorite). Mmmm!

I'm guest blogging today over on Cathy West's A Blog About Books! Chatting about why I love writing adventurous characters.

Blessings,

Want to learn more about Cole and Bailey? You're in luck! They're in the spotlight today on Relz Reviewz.

Drop by to get the inside scoop.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Friday. I'm knee-deep in my first draft of Stranded--Gage McKenna's story and I'm having so much fun getting to know him.

Today I'd like to share one of my favorite fundraisers: Brenda Novak's Annual Online Auction for Diabetes Research. Brenda started this auction because it is very near and dear to her heart. Brenda' youngest son, Thad, was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes at the age of five, so she knows firsthand how difficult the disease is. To date, she has helped raise more than a million dollars for this great cause.

I've been participating since the auction began a number of  years back, and I'm doing so again this  year.

To celebrate the launch of Submerged with Bethany House, I'm donating a Bethany House Reader's Basket. It's filled with great titles from my very talented Bethany House colleagues along with an autographed copy of Submerged and some fun goodies.

The auction starts May 1st and runs until May 31st. You can find more information on Facebook,  Twitter, or Brenda's For the Cure website.

I hope you'll drop by and check it out. The money goes to a great cause and the items available for bidding are fantastic!

Here are a couple I'm keeping my eye on:

Alaskan Cruise

Hawaiian Getaway

Hope your days are filled with adventure,

One of my absolute favorite places to visit is Durango, Colorado. It is this gorgeous little town nestled the Animas River Valley and surrounded by the San Juan Mountains. In high school I was living in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Durango was a short four-hour drive away. My girlfriend and I would take off for the day and go shopping and enjoy lunch in Durango. There's a great ski resort there. The slopes, the lodge and the ski village are all wonderful! If you ever get the chance you should definitely visit. My family and I visited a few years back and we had a wonderful time. My eldest daughter fell in love with the place and has been bugging us to move there ever since.

Here are a few of our local favorites:

• Gazpachos Restaurant

I highly recommend the Posole and Carne Adovada. The stuffed sopapillas are pretty spectacular too!

• Purgatory Lodge at Durango Mountain Resort

• Shopping in downtown Durango

Downtown Durango is a Nationally Registered Historic District that's been around since 1881.

And, of course, no vacation is complete for us with out some fabulous outdoor adventure. Besides the wonderful skiing, Durango offers many outdoor adventures:

• Rock Climbing
• Biking
• Fly Fishing
• Hiking
• Horseback Riding
• Kayaking
• Rafting (a favorite of ours)

Check out our guide in the back left of the photo (right behind me). Doesn't he look like Matthew McConaughey?

Bear Grylls

I hope you are all having a wonderful week. Today I'd like to feature another of my favorite adventure athletes, Bear Grylls. Perhaps you've seen him on Man vs. Wild. That's where I first learned of him and thought 'Wow! Here is a guy who takes adventure to the extreme, but knows how to survive and how to truly live--not just for himself but for others."

There are so many things about Bear that I admire:

• He served his country in the British Special Air Service.

• He was one of the youngest people to summit Mount Everest at age 23.

• He pursues his passion for a living (adventurer, explorer, expedition leader)

• He is a Christian with an amazing outlook on life. Here are a couple quotes that exemplify his outlook:

“If you risk nothing you gain nothing”

“The difference between ordinary and extra-ordinary is so often just simply that little word - extra. And for me, I had always grown up with the belief that if someone succeeds it is because they are brilliant or talented or just better than me… and the more of these words I heard the smaller I always felt! But the truth is often very different… and for me to learn that ordinary me can achieve something extra-ordinary by giving that little bit extra, when everyone else gives up, meant the world to me and I really clung to it…”

• He is a devoted father and husband. He's recently authored a book for his sons called To My Sons: Lessons for the Wild Adventure Called Life which sounds wonderful!

• Last but not certainly not least, Bear is a giver. He participates with many charities and has led  record-breaking expeditions which in turn raised more than $2.5 million for children around the world.

If you haven't seen Bear in action on  Man vs.Wild, I highly recommend checking it out. My family loves watching Bear on his amazing adventures and I hope you will too. Bear is exactly the type of hero I love to bring alive in my novels.

If you love Bear Grylls, check out his wife, Shara — she’s an amazing woman!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year! Writing adventurous romantic suspense novels like Submerged, I spend a lot of time researching athletes and looking for inspiration.  Today I'd like to share a bit about an adventurous athlete that inspires me.

• Bethany Hamilton

Perhaps you already know about her. The recent movie Soul Surfer was about her shark attack and miraculous come back.  She's a Christian, a surfer, and an amazing young woman who likes to help others. You can visit her website for more details about the ministries she partners with. I'd like to highlight one in particular:

Friends of Bethany is a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing the hope and love of Jesus Christ worldwide by supporting and inspiring people through the life stories of Bethany Hamilton and others.Bethany's  family and friends started the foundation with the goal of supporting and encouraging shark attack survivors and traumatic amputees, along with presenting inspiring life stories through movies, projects, and activities.

Suffering such a traumatic and life-altering injury, Bethany could have easily given up on her dream to become a pro surfer, but instead she chose to trust God with her dream and she got back on that surfboard only a month after the attack. Amazing! Bethany's hope, determination, and abundant faith inspire me.

To learn more about Bethany visit her webpage or blog. Trust me, you'll be inspired.

Enjoy the Adventure,