Becky Nesbitt, vice president and editor in chief for Howard Books, who acquired world rights for the title, said: "Frank Peretti is a natural storyteller and we're pleased to collaborate with him on delivering this next title to his waiting audience. We believe the book will captivate readers in much the same way as his New York Times best-selling titles This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness."

"Writing is my passion and being surrounded by a team as motivated as I am is very exciting," said Peretti, who has more than 12 million books in print. "I'm very pleased to have the Howard Books and Simon & Schuster team partner with me on my next novel."

The new, as-yet-unnamed novel will be his first since the 2006 release of House (Thomas Nelson), a best-seller co-written with Ted Dekker, and the first title written solely by Peretti since the 2005 New York Times best-selling Monster (Thomas Nelson). Peretti's 1998 title This Present Darkness (Crossway) appeared on Bookstore Journal's best-seller list every month for more than eight years.