Category: Book Recommendation

31 August 2016

I Won a 2016 Genesis Award!

Yes, I know this week was meant to be my book recommendations for August, but I’ve got exciting news to share and I couldn’t wait a whole week.

I won a 2016 Genesis Award!

Play On, Jordan won the 2016 Genesis Award for unpublished authors from American Christian Fiction Writers in the Novella category!

The results were announced on Saturday night at the ACFW Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. I couldn’t be there, so Wellington author Kara Isaac kindly agreed to collect the award on my behalf (which you can see on YouTube at 29:45).

My win was unexpected—I only prepared an acceptance speech because Kara asked me to. I didn’t think she’d need to actually read it!

Jebraun Clifford, who currently lives in Rotorua (about an hour from me) won the Young Adult category. Here she is with her plaque:

You can find the official list of 2016 Genesis Award winners at the ACFW website.

2016 Carol Award Winners

ACFW also announced the winners of the 2016 Carol Awards, for the best in published fiction across a range of genres. The winners were:

Contemporary:

The Art of Losing Yourself by Katie Ganshert, Waterbrook/Multnomah (Random House)

Historical:

Secrets She Kept by Cathy Gohlke

Historical Romance:

A Worthy Pursuit by Karen Witemeyer

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller:

The Aleppo Code by Terry Brennan

Novella:

A Bride for Bear from The Convenient Bride Collection by Erica Vetsch

Romance:

Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Beth K. Vogt

Romantic Suspense:

No Place to Hide by Lynette Eason

Short Novel:

Covert Justice by Lynn Huggins Blackburn

Speculative:

The Five Times I Met Myself by James L. Rubart

Young Adult:

Dauntless by Dina L. Sleiman, Bethany House

Debut:

The Calling of Ella McFarland by Linda Brooks Davis

More books to add to my to-read pile!

2016 CALEB Prize Finalists

Closer to home, Omega Writers have announced the finalists in the 2016 CALEB Prize. Omega Writers are a group of Australian and New Zealand Christian writers, and I’m a member.

Children’s Picture Books

Same – Katrina Roe
The Word War – Mark Hadley
Fearlessly Madison – Penny Reeve
Hey! Is That How God Made Animals? – Penny Morrison
Jesus Walks on Water – Shan Joseph

Published Adult

Zenna Dare – Rosanne Hawke
The Pounamu Prophecy – Cindy Williams
Too Pretty – Andrea Grigg
Invincible – Cecily Paterson
Empires Children – Patricia Weerakoon

Unpublished Manuscripts

The Peacock Stone – Nick Hawkes
The Boy in the Blue Hoodie – Cate McKeowan
Jurisdiction – Joye Alit
The Fraught Ambitions of Man – Rebecca Hayman
10 Things I Hate About God – Susan Barnes

The winners will be announced at the 2016 Omega Writers Conference to be held in Sydney in October 2016. I’m looking forward to attending and cheering for the winners.

20 August 2016

Book Review: A Plain Death by Amanda Flower

From USA Today Bestselling Author Amanda Flower aka Isabella Allan

Chloe Humphrey is a twenty-four-year old Masters graduate, a computer geek with a pet cat called Gigabyte. She counts two suitcases full of obsolete computer parts among her most precious possessions. She is moving from Cleveland to Appleseed Creek, Ohio, to take a two-year job as Director of Computer Services. As she is driving to her new home , she picks up an Amish woman who is being harassed by two men.

Nineteen-year-old Becky has recently left home, following an argument over her artistic desires. Chloe finds herself with an unexpected boarder who places her in the middle of a family argument.

Things get even more untidy when Becky borrows Chloe’s car without permission, and has an accident which kills the Amish Bishop. But what appears be a simple car accident turns into a murder investigation. Chloe works with Becky’s handsome older brother, Timothy, to determine the likely victim and investigate the accident.

I really enjoyed A Plain Death. It is a cozy mystery set in an area with significant Amish and Mennonite populations, and involves both Plain and Englisher characters. I find this more interesting than a story centred solely around the Amish. There was a good level of suspense, and a little romance as well.

All that was missing was … um, no. That would be a spoiler. I look forward to reading more about Chloe, Timothy and Appleseed Creek in future books.

Thanks to B&H Books and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Amanda Flower at her website, and you can read the introduction to A Plain Death below:

13 August 2016

Review: Ring of Secrets by Roseanna M White

Have you signed up for my Newsletter? If so, you’ll already have received my entirely biased list of 50 novels from my favourite Christian authors. If not, sign up on the right! Today I’m reviewing Ring of Secrets by Roseanna M White, one of my favourite historical romance novelists.

Introducing The Culper Ring …

Winter Reeves’ pretty smile and vacant expression belie her intelligence. She’s a spy for the Culper Ring, collecting information in 1779 New York, a British stronghold. She must hide her true allegiance from everyone except Robbie Townsend, her childhood friend, and Freeman, a loyal family servant who is treated no better than a slave by her Loyalist grandparents.

Bennet Lane is a Yale professor sent to New York to try and find the source of the intelligence leaks. He meets Winter and is attracted to her—he believes that she is more than she appears. He also recognises that a courtship with the beauty will give him a reason for being in the company of New York’s elite, which should aid his quest.

Ring of Secrets is told in the third person from the viewpoints of Winter and Bennet, with occasional scenes from more minor characters (actually, I thought these were probably unnecessary). Winter and Bennet are both well-rounded and likeable characters. It is said that any character with an interesting secret has a good chance of coming alive, and this can certainly be said of both Winter and Robbie (her contact in the spy ring). There is also the added complication of Colonel Fairchild. Winter has cultivated a relationship with Fairchild in order to gain intelligence, but he wants a more permanent relationship.

Overall, I thought the romance was well-developed and the story excellent. I did find some of Winter’s prayers a bit long-winded (even for Christian fiction), and there were a couple of too-convenient coincidences towards the end.

I really enjoy historical fiction that is based on history, as Ring of Secrets is.

Even I, as a non-American, recognised some of the historical figures. A note at the end of the book enlightened me more about the founders of The Culper Ring, an organisation which may still exist—a rumour the CIA will neither confirm nor deny. Recommended.

Thanks to Harvest House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can read the introduction to Ring of Secrets below:

30 July 2016

Review: The Pounamu Prophecy by Cindy Williams

If you’ve signed up for my monthly Newsletter, you’ll already have received my entirely biased list of 50 novels from my favourite Christian authors. If you haven’t, sign up on the right!

Today I’m reviewing The Pounamu Prophecy, the debut novel from New Zealand author Cindy Williams. It’s a sensitive and compelling look at part of New Zealand history.

A Compelling Debut

James and Helene are both too busy chasing their respective careers (as graphic designer and doctor, respectively) to have time for each other, and after five years, the spark has gone out of their marriage. Mere comes to stay, looking for a quiet place where she can write her memoir without interruption. Helene especially values Mere’s quiet advice, shared from a place of having come to terms with knowledge, suffering and forgiveness.

The Pounamu Prophecy is a split timeline story.

In the present, it’s the story of Brisbane couple James and Helene, their disintegrating marriage. And it’s the story of Mere, their visitor from New Zealand visitor, and the way Mere subtly encourages them to think with a different mindset. In the past, it’s Mere’s story, the story of a Ngati Whatua child growing up in Okahu Bay, Auckland, in the midst of the Maori land protests. It’s also the story of Mere working through her reactions to the age-old grievances.

I live in New Zealand.

I remember the Bastion Point protests. I was only a child and too young to understand what they were about—or how far back the grievances went. I’ve driven past Okahu Bay more times than I can remember. I’ve visited Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World (now Kelly Tarlton’s SeaLife Aquarium), which is built in the old sewage tanks mentioned in The Pounamu Prophecy.

I enjoyed that combination of familiarity and new information, and I thought The Pounamu Prophecy was an outstanding novel. I liked the characters (well, I liked Mere better than Helene or James, who both needed a good talking to). I liked the way the two stories were integrated.

I especially liked the sensitive way the novel brings out the Maori culture and the injustices of the time—a combination of greed and perhaps patriarchal thinking. The injustice is plain. It seems the New Zealand Government of the time had a lot in common with the biblical Laban.

Overall, The Pounamu Prophecy is an excellent story of rising above difficult situations, and learning to forgive what some might think can’t be forgiven.

Recommended.

You can read the introduction to The Pounamu Prophecy here:

27 July 2016

What Did You Read in July 2016?

It’s been a busy month. I’ve managed to produce almost 40,000 words of the first draft of my first novella (being the first in the series, not the first I’ve written). And I’ve read a few books …

The best books I read in July 2016 were:

Missing by Lisa Harris, the newest thriller from this award-winning author (you can read my review here)

Deep Shadows by Vanetta Chapman, a thought-provoking near-future dystopian novel set in Texas (you can read my review here)

When Mountains Move by Julie Cantrell, the second novel from an author who took Christian fiction by storm with her debut (you can read my review here)

The Things We Knew by Catherine West, a poignant look at family and love (you can read my review here)

20 July 2016

2016 RITA, Grace and ICR Award Winners

Three more sets of writing awards have been announced this week … so I’m here to share the winners with you.

The 2016 RITA® Award Winners

The RITA® Awards are run by Romance Writers of America, and are named after the organisation’s first president, Rita Clay Estrada. The Awards are specifically for romance novels, in a range of sub-genres (including Inspirational) and lengths (including long, short and novella).

Inspirational Romance

A Noble Masquerade by Kristi Ann Hunter

Historical Romance – Long

Tiffany Girl by Deeanne Gist (Howard Books)

The 2016 Grace Award Winners

The Grace Awards were established in 2010 to “expand the tent pegs of Christian fiction”. They allow traditionally published and self-published novels, and make no distinction between paper or digital formats: anyone can enter, as long as the book is Christian Fiction. The 2016 winners were:

Womens Fiction/General Fiction

Annabelle’s Ruth by Betty Thomason Owens

Romance/Historical Romance

Bridge Of Faith by Catherine West

Mystery/Romantic Suspense/Thriller/Historic Suspense

Trial By Twelve by Heather Day Gilbert

Speculative Fiction

Storming by K. M. Weiland

Action-Adventure/Western/Epic Fiction

Saving Eric by Joan Deneve

Young Adult

To Get To You by Joanne Bischof

2016 Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award Winners

The IRCA is run by the Faith, Hope and Love Chapter of Romance Writers of America.

Long Contemporary

Together With You by Victoria Bylin

Long Historical

To Win Her Favor by Tamera Alexander

Short Contemporary

Second Chance Reunion by Merrillee Whren

Short Historical

Out of the Ashes by Sandi Rog

Romantic Suspense

Gone Without a Trace by Patricia Bradley

Women’s Fiction

Ties That Bind by Cindy Woodsmall

Novella

Daughters of the Wind by DiAnn Mills

Congratulations to all these authors! And a huge thank you to the contest organisers and judges. It’s a big job.

6 July 2016

2016 Christy and INSPY Award Winners and Carol Finalists

It’s been a busy week in terms of awards for Christian fiction. American Christian Fiction Writers have announced the finalists in the Carol Awards (with the winners to be announced at their conference in August), and the 2016 Christy Award and 2016 INSPY Award winners have been announced.

Winners of the 2016 Christy and INSPY awards

So if you’ve been looking for a Christian novel to read, here are some great choices!

First up, the winners of the 2016 Christy Awards: