In the spring of 1999, nearly a dozen Christian publishers confirmed the need for establishing a Christian fiction award to recognize novelists and novels of excellence in several genres of Christian fiction. By late summer, ideas and planning had come together to launch The Christy Award, named in honor of Catherine Marshall’s novel and of her contribution to growth of the fiction Christians love to read.
The Christy Award is designed to:
■Nurture and encourage creativity and quality in the writing and publishing of fiction written from a Christian worldview.
■Bring a new awareness of the breadth and depth of fiction choices available, helping to broaden the readership.
■Provide opportunity to recognize novelists whose work may not have reached bestseller status.
There are 9 categories in the Christy Awards: Contemporary Romance, Contemporary Series, Sequels, and Novellas, Contemporary Standalone, First Novel, Historical, Historical Romance, Suspense, Visionary, and Young Adult.
The Winners:
Contemporary Romance:
Paige Rogers, the kindly librarian of Split Creek, Oklahoma, has a secret. She’s a former CIA agent, the sole survivor of an attack on her team during a covert mission in Angola. Paige thinks that Daniel Keary, their leader at the time, caused the deaths of her friends. Knowing that someone wants her dead, too, Paige has stayed hidden in her quaint, quiet Oklahoma town for the past seven years.
But now, a stranger has come to town, and he’s asking a lot of questions. In addition to this, Keary has just announced his candidacy for governor of Oklahoma, and it’s time for him to finally destroy the major roadblock to his successful campaign—Paige.
This masterfully crafted suspense novel immediately hooks the reader with a pervasive sense of imminent danger. A real page-turner, Breach of Trust is the first book in Mills’ faith-based Call of Duty series.
Contemporary Series, Sequels, and Novellas:
(Book 2 in the House of Hope Series)
“Who Do I Talk To? is one of the strangest books I've ever read,” wrote Neta's editor after reading the manuscript. “Don't get me wrong, I loved it—love it! But seriously: It's about [Gabby Fairbanks] learning to walk in faith while homeless, trying to get her sons back from her conniving husband. And then her mom dies, and she [along with Jodi Baxter] drives the corpse across country in a casket in the back of a van with her homeless friend [Lucy] and Dandy the dog in tow.... And yet you pull it off beautifully. And I was so blessed by the journey.”
And now you are invited to come along for the ride!
As reviewer Lori Kasbeer wrote, “I believe a good author has you thinking about the book even when you are not reading it. Neta Jackson is that type of author. I found when I set the book down, I was often wondering why Gabby made certain decisions, what if she tried a different alternative. Who Do I Talk To? has unexpected twists and turns, but through it all you see God's hand moving in unexpected ways.”
For everyone who loves the best-selling
Yada Yada Prayer Group novels
, the
Yada Yada House of Hope series features familair faces and places with a fresh new life all its own.
Contemporary Standalone:
The Passion of Mary-Margaret by Lisa Samson (Thomas Nelson)
- Mary-Margaret yearned to dedicate her life to the Lord. Jesus had another idea.
When Mary-Margaret Fischer met Jude Keller, the lighthouse keeper's son, she was studying at a convent school on a small island off Chesapeake Bay. Destined for a life as a religious sister, she nevertheless felt a pull toward Jude--gorgeous, rebellious, promiscuous Jude. But Jude, driven by demons no one really understood, disappeared into Baltimore's seamy red-light district. Mary-Margaret moved on with her life, preparing to serve God with her sisters as a teacher and artist.
Then Jude comes home--but now he's bitter, dissolute, and diseased. And Mary-Margaret receives a divine call that shakes her to the core, a call to give up her dreams for the troubled man who befriended her so long ago. For Jesus' sake, can she forsake the only life she ever wanted for a love that could literally cost her life?
First Novel:
“The summer I turned thirteen, I thought I killed a man.”
So begins the story of Jessilyn Lassiter, a young girl whose world is torn apart the summer of 1932. When Jessilyn’s best friend, Gemma, loses her parents in a tragic fire, Jessilyn’s father vows to care for her as his own, despite the fact that Gemma is black and prejudice is prevalent in their southern Virginia town.
It doesn’t take long for the Lassiters to attract the attention of a local band of Ku Klux Klan members, who make increasingly violent threats on Jessilyn and her family.
As she struggles to navigate a complex world of first crushes, loyalties, and betrayals, Jessilyn ultimately discovers what it takes to be a bright light in a dark world.
Historical:
"Thank goodness you're such a plain child. You'll have to rely on your wits."
So went the words of Grandma Bebe. And for all of my growing-up years, I scoffed at the beauty of my sister and what I saw as her meaningless existence. But my wits hadn't served me well in this instance, for here I was, in jail. And while I could have seen it as carrying on the family tradition (for Grandma Bebe landed in jail for her support of Prohibition), the truth is, my reasons for being here would probably break her heart.
So how did I end up becoming a criminal? I've been pondering that question all night. Perhaps the best way to search for an answer is to start at the very beginning.
Historical Romance:
But now that she has, what is Lord Bradley to do with her? He cannot let her go, for were the truth to get out, he would lose everything--his reputation, his inheritance, his very home.
He gives Miss Keene little choice but to accept a post at Brightwell Court, where he can make certain she does not spread what she heard. Keeping an eye on the young woman as she cares for the children, he finds himself drawn to her, even as he struggles against the growing attraction. The clever Miss Keene is definitely hiding something.
Moving, mysterious and romantic, The Silent Governess takes readers inside the intriguing life of a nineteenth-century governess in an English manor house where all is not as it appears.
Suspense:
Among the dirt-poor barrios and ultra-wealthy enclaves lining the hills of southern
California, a construction project unearths a long-lost Spanish mission. This discovery sets off a chain of events that presents four unrelated people—Reverend Tucker Lockwood, Concha Rivera, Delano Jones, and Detective Harmony Killeen—with difficult choices. In every case, a greater good could be served with a compromise of some basic moral value. Lockwood could steal to feed the poor. Delano Jones could lie—or at least bury the truth—to protect his monument to God's law. Concha Rivera, a Christian with a strong sense of mission, could trespass to preach the Gospel. Detective
Killeen could betray her sense of legal responsibility to defend her family. It seems these devil's alternatives will inspire these modern people to perpetuate the very crime that left the mission buried and forgotten 250 years ago—a mystery that is gradually revealed through research into a mysterious triptych excavated at the mission site, as well as through historical flashbacks. At least two themes of magical realism appear repeatedly through the story. First is the appearances of Santos, a mysterious being characterized by a crooked nose, in both the contemporary and historical storylines. And second, the gradual appearance of faces on the triptych as the story's four protagonists—often with the help of a mysterious Hispanic man with the crooked nose—decide whether they will repeat the mistakes of the past.
Visionary:
By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson (Marcher Lord Press)
-
Half of Er’Rets is locked beneath an impenetrable shroud. On the side that still sees the sun, two young people struggle to understand the mind-communication abilities thrust upon them. It’s called bloodvoicing. Some say it’s a gift. One of the newly “gifted” wish it had never come.
Achan has been a slave all his life. He is consigned to the kitchens of a lord and forced to swallow a foul potion every day. When an enigmatic knight offers to train Achan for the Kingsguard, he readily accepts. But his new skills with the sword do not prepare him for the battle raging between the voices in his head.
Vrell Sparrow is not who she seems. She masquerades as a boy to avoid capture by the powerful forces that seek to exploit her. But Vrell feels called to help a young squire who recently discovered his bloodvoicing gift, even if doing so requires her to work with those who could destroy her.
While Achan learns to use his new ability, Vrell struggles to shut hers down. All the voices strive to learn Achan and Vrell’s true identities—and a different kind of voice is calling them both.
Young Adult:
In order to survive, the Igibys must flee to the safety of the Ice Prairies, where the lizardlike Fangs of Dang cannot follow. First, however, they have to escape the monsters of Glipwood Forest (1), the thieving Stranders of the East Bend (2), and the dreaded Fork Factory (3).
But even more dangerous are the jealousies and bitterness that threaten to tear them apart, and Janner and his siblings must learn the hard way that the love of a family is more important than anything else.
1. All possessing very sharp teeth.
2. Murderous scoundrels, the lot.
3. Woe!
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Tomorrow: The INSPY Awards.
- I compare this book to a Ted Dekker suspense/thriller novel. The plot is fast-moving and the antagonists are pretty scary. It shouldn't take me very long to read this 496-page book.
- I have enjoyed several of Mrs. Macomber's books, and this one is as good as all the rest. It was a delightful read for the holiday season.
(Tyndale House Publishers)
(Thomas Nelson) 
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- Olivia Keene is fleeing her own secret. She never intended to overhear his. 
- Janner, Tink, and Leeli Igiby thought they were normal children with normal lives and a normal past. But now they know they’re really the Lost Jewels of Anniera, heirs to a legendary kingdom across the sea, and suddenly everyone wants to kill them.