Tag: Iola Goulton

18 May 2016

2016 Christy and INSPY Award Finalists

It’s Award Time!

Over the last two weeks I’ve introduced you to my six favourite awards for Christian novels (I’d love to be on any of these lists one day!). Today I’m back with the Christy Award finalists, and the INSPY Award shortlists. Lots more books for the to-read pile!

The 2016 Christy Award Finalists

Contemporary

The Art of Losing Yourself by Katie Ganshert (WaterBrook Press)

As Waters Gone By by Cynthia Ruchti (Abingdon Press)

The Sea Keeper’s Daughters by Lisa Wingate (Tyndale House Publishers)

Contemporary Romance/Suspense

Falling Like Snowflakes by Denise Hunter (Thomas Nelson

Sabotaged by Dani Pettrey (Bethany House Publishers)

The Wedding Chapel by Rachel Hauck (Zondervan

Contemporary Series

Anna’s Healing by Vannetta Chapman (Harvest House Publishers)

Come Rain or Come Shine by Jan Karon (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Beth K. Vogt (Howard Books)

First Novel

The Choosing by Rachelle Dekker (Tyndale House Publishers)

Irish Meadows by Susan Anne Mason (Bethany House Publishers)

A Noble Masquerade by Kristi Ann Hunter (Bethany House Publishers)

Historical

The Girl from the Train by Irma Joubert (Thomas Nelson)

Secrets She Kept by Cathy Gohlke (Tyndale House Publishers)

The Wood’s Edge by Lori Benton (WaterBrook Press)

Historical Romance

Beyond All Dreams by Elizabeth Camden (Bethany House Publishers)

The Lost Heiress by Roseanna M. White (Bethany House Publishers)

Luther and Katharina by Jody Hedlund (WaterBrook Press)

To Win Her Favor by Tamera Alexander (Zondervan)

Suspense

The Bones Will Speak by Carrie Stuart Parks (Thomas Nelson)

Twisted Innocence by Terri Blackstock (Zondervan)
Vendetta by Lisa Harris (Revell)

Visionary

The Five Times I Met Myself by James L. Rubart (Thomas Nelson)

A Time to Speak by Nadine Brandes (Enclave Publishing)

Waking Beauty by Sarah E. Morin (Enclave Publishing)

Young Adult

The Choosing by Rachelle Dekker (Tyndale House Publishers)

Rebel by R.J. Anderson (Enclave Publishing)

To Get to You by Joanne Bischof (Independently Published)

Winners will be announced the last week in June.

The 2016 INSPY Award Finalists

Debut

The Thorn Bearer by Pepper D. Basham (Vinspire Publishing)

Jaded by Varina Denman (David C. Cook)

A Noble Masquerade by Kristi Ann Hunter (Bethany House)

Love’s Rescue by Christine Johnson (Revell)

Irish Meadows by Susan Anne Mason (Bethany House)

General Fiction

A Cup of Dust by Susie Finkbeiner (Kregel)

The Art of Losing Yourself by Katie Ganshert (Waterbrook)

Secrets She Kept by Cathy Gohlke (Tyndale)

Water From My Heart by Charles Martin (Center Street)

The Bronte Plot by Katherine Reay (Thomas Nelson)

Contemporary Romance/Romantic Suspense

London Tides by Carla Laureano (David C. Cook)

The Dandelion Field by Kathryn Springer (Zondervan)

Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Beth K. Vogt (Howard)

A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade (Bethany House)

The Wonder of You by Susan May Warren (Tyndale)

Historical Romance

The Wood’s Edge by Lori Benton (Waterbrook)

Not by Sight by Kate Breslin (Bethany House)

The Mistress of Tall Acre by Laura Frantz (Revell)

Luther and Katharina by Jody Hedlund (Waterbrook)

Through Waters Deep by Sarah Sundin (Revell)

Speculative Fiction

The Methuselah Project by Rick Barry (Kregel)

Heir of Hope by Morgan L. Busse (Enclave Publishing)

The Shock of Night by Patrick W. Carr (Bethany House)

The Curse of Crow Hollow by Billy Coffey (Thomas Nelson)

Embers by Ronie Kendig (Enclave Publishing)

Mystery and Thriller

The Last Con by Zachary Bartels (Thomas Nelson)

A.D. 33 by Ted Dekker (Center Street/Hachette)

Vendetta by Lisa Harris (Revell)

Falcon by Ronie Kendig (Shiloh Run Press/Barbour)

The Bones Will Speak by Carrie Stuart Parks (Thomas Nelson)

Literature for Young Adults

Season of Fire by Lisa T. Bergren (Blink/Zondervan)

Shades of Doon by Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon (Blink/Zondervan)

The Choosing by Rachelle Dekker (Tyndale)

An Uncertain Choice by Jody Hedlund (Zondervan)

Siren’s Fury by Mary Weber (Thomas Nelson)

Winners will be announced on 28 June 2016.

14 May 2016

Book Review: Feast for Thieves by Marcus Brotherton

If you’ve signed up for my monthly Newsletter, you’ll already have receive 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 Feast for Thieves, the debut novel from author Marcus Brotherton. It’s historical fiction with a definite masculine tone—a departure from my romance recommendations—but it’s got an excellent plot, and the writing is fabulous.

This review first appeared at Australasian Christian Writers.

I was asked to review Feast for Thieves months ago, and for some reason never got around to reading it. I was reminded of it again when I saw it was a finalist for the 2015 Christy Awards in the First Novel category, so thought I’d better open it up and see what I was missing.

I was hooked from the first page. And I don’t say that often.

Feast for Thieves begins with Crazy Ake and Rowdy Slater robbing the bank in the small town of Cut Eye, Texas, in the spring of 1946. It’s written in the first person, from Rowdy’s point of view, and right from that first line two things are evident. Marcus Brotherton can write. And Rowdy Slater isn’t your typical Christian fiction hero. After a near escape from death by drowning, Rowdy sees a vision …

Now, I’ve read other books with fantastic opening hooks which simply fizzled out after that one fast-paced and original scene. But Feast for Thieves just kept going. Rowdy decides to return the money, which causes the Sheriff of Cut Eye a few problems. Sure, it’s good that he solves the crime, but the expense of a trial is sure going to put a dent in the county budget, and his chances of re-election. And he’s got another problem: the town needs a preacher. So the Sheriff delivers Rowdy an ultimatum: spend a year as Cut Eye’s minister, or go to jail.

Rowdy knows nothing about God, preaching or running a church, but he knows enough about jail not to want to go back there. Besides, he’s got other problems, and he’s going to need a paying job to fix them. It’s an excellent plot, with lots of twists, yet all making perfect sense, and tied together with a cast of true characters.

Rowdy is an especially fascinating character. He’s a likable rogue, with a little too much rogue to make a good minister. But he has his own unique way of dealing with problems—serving in the Army during some of the toughest battles means he probably knows more about human nature than many preachers.

But what really made Feast for Thieves stand out from the opening line was the voice. Rowdy isn’t an educated man, and his language is earthy (but stops short of being vulgar). What makes him unique is his vocabulary and way of speaking—I could hear every word in that Texan accent, yet there wasn’t a single misspelled word to indicate accent.

There was an Author’s Note at the end in which Brotherton explained how he developed Rowdy’s voice, and it took extensive research and a deep knowledge of the time and place. It took a lot of effort to make Rowdy’s voice seem this easy and this authentic. Writers, if you are ever looking for a way of expressing dialect without apostrophes and misspellings, read Feast for Thieves.

Men, if you’ve been bemoaning the fact that too many Christian novels are sappy romances (especially Amish romances!), read Feast for Thieves. While I’m not a betting man (well, I’m not a man at all, not that you could tell based on the spam email I receive), I’d say even your non-Christian friends would enjoy this one.

But it’s not all manly stuff. There is a solid and real Christian message in here, and even whispers) a little romance. I can absolutely see why Feast for Thieves was nominated for a Christy Award. Recommended.

Thanks to River North fiction for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Marcus Brotherton at his website (and make sure to read his article on why men need to read more fiction). You can read the first chapter here:

11 May 2016

2016 Grace and RITA® Award Finalists

It’s Award Time!

Last week I introduced the six awards I look to in the Christian publishing industry. Today I’m bringing you the finalists for two of these awards: The Grace Awards, and the RITA Awards. Next week I’ll be back with the INSPY Award and Christy Award finalists.

The Grace Awards

The finalists for the 2016 Grace Awards are:

Womens Fiction/General Fiction:

(Serious women’s/men’s issues, can have humor and suspense elements)

Freed To Forgive by Julie B. Cosgrove (Prism Book Group)

Waters Of Separation by Carol Mcclain (Desert Breeze Publishing)

Annabelle’s Ruth by Betty Thomason Owens

Romance/Historical Romance

(Primary element is love/courtship/marriage, be it set now or then)

The Thornbearer by Pepper Basham (Vinspire Publishing)

Plum Upside Down by Valerie Comer (Greenwords Media)

Bridge Of Faith by Catherine West (Amazon Digital Services)

Mystery/Romantic Suspense/Thriller/Historic Suspense

(Crime fiction, probably a body)

No Place To Hide by Lynette Eason (Amazon Digital Services)

Trial By Twelve by Heather Day Gilbert (Woodhaven Press)

Sabotaged by Dani Pettrey (Bethany House)

Speculative Fiction

(Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Etc.)

Storming by K. M. Weiland (PenForaAword Publishing)

Angelhood by A.J. Cattapan (Vinspire Publishing)

A New Threat by Aaron Demott (Altwit Press)

Action-Adventure/Western/Epic Fiction

(Exploits, quest, daring, expansive)

Saving Eric by Joan Deneve (Write Integrity Press)

Two Days In Caracas by Luana Ehrlich (Potter’s Word Press)

A Lady For The Lawman by Jewell Tweedt (Prism Book Group)

Young Adult

(Including Middle Grade And New Adult)

To Get To You by Joanne Bischof (Mason Jar Books)

Roped by Diane Gates (Prism Book Group)

Stone And Snow by Sibella Giorello (Running Girl Productions)

Winners Will Be Announced On 31 May 2016.

The RITA® Awards

The 2016 RITA finalists in Inspirational Romance are:

A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade (Bethany House)

Mistletoe Justice by Carol J. Post (Love Inspired Suspense)

The Mountain Midwife by Laurie Alice Eakes (Zondervan)

A Noble Masquerade by Kristi Ann Hunter (Bethany House)

The Rescued by Marta Perry (Berkley)

Note that while the RITA® rules say that Inspirational can include any religious or spiritual belief system, it’s rare to see a finalist that isn’t Christian fiction.

Some Christian novels have also been named as finalists in other categories:

Best First Book

A Noble Masquerade by Kristi Ann Hunter (Bethany House)

Historical Romance – Long

Tiffany Girl by Deeanne Gist (Howard Books)

(I reviewed Tiffany Girl, and was disappointed at the lack of Christian content. I guess this nomination confirms that Gist is now focused squarely on the general market. Readers checking out her earlier books will find them a little different.)

Romance Novella

Toward the Sunrise by Elizabeth Camden (Bethany House)

Winners will be announced on 16 July.

7 May 2016

Book Review: Close to You by Kara Isaac

Extremely Biased Review Ahead

Amazon Description

A disgraced scholar running from her past and an entrepreneur chasing his future find themselves thrown together—and fall in love—on a Tolkien tour of New Zealand.

Allison Shire (yes, like where the Hobbits live) is a disgraced academic who is done with love. Her belief in “happily ever after” ended the day she discovered her husband was still married to a wife she knew nothing about. She finally finds a use for her English degree by guiding tours through the famous sites featured in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies. By living life on the road and traveling New Zealand as a luxury tour guide, Allison manages to outrun the pain of her past she can’t face.

Jackson Gregory was on the cusp of making it big. Then suddenly his girlfriend left him—for his biggest business competitor—and took his most guarded commercial secrets with her. To make matters worse, the Iowa farm that has been in his family for generations is facing foreclosure. Determined to save his parents from financial ruin, he’ll do whatever it takes to convince his wealthy great-uncle to invest in his next scheme, which means accompanying him to the bottom of the world to spend three weeks pretending to be a die-hard Lord of the Rings fan, even though he knows nothing about the stories. The one thing that stands between him and his goal is a know-it-all tour guide who can’t stand him and pegged him as a fake the moment he walked off the plane.

When Allison leads the group through the famous sites of the Tolkien movies, she and Jackson start to see each other differently, and as they keep getting thrown together on the tour, they find themselves drawn to each other. Neither expected to fall in love again, but can they find a way beyond their regrets to take a chance on the one thing they’re not looking for?

My Review

To the best of my knowledge, Close to You by Kara Isaac is the first novel from a New Zealand author contracted and published by a major US Christian publisher. That alone is worth five stars, at least from this parochial Kiwi reader. Those of you who can’t see the appeal of a romance novel set in the Land of the Long White Cloud (and the land of hobbits) should leave now and go back to … I don’t know. What do people who don’t like New Zealand or hobbits read? Do they read? Can they read?.

Anyway, on to the novel.

Allie is short of money, as her funds are currently tied up in a messy divorce. She’s working as a tour guide delivering high-class (i.e. seriously expensive) tours of New Zealand’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movie locations, making good use of her PhD in English literature. Unfortunately, she now loathes all things Tolkien.

Jackson’s company has just gone bust, and he’s accompanying a long-lost—and rich—uncle on Allie’s Lord of the Rings tour in the hope he can persuade uncle to invest in his next business idea. Unfortunately, he knows nothing about Tolkien, hobbits or Lord of the Rings … despite telling his uncle he’s a die-hard fan.

Naturally, Allie and Jackson start off on the wrong foot and equally naturally (this is Christian romance!), things change as they start to get to know each other. Throw in a tour bus full of seriously eccentric characters, a wily uncle and a weasly almost-ex-husband, and the stage is set for fun and romance.

I loved all the Kiwi touches, from the nail-biting approach to Wellington Airport to the lush greenery of the Waikato, the “scents” of Rotorua, the majesty of Queenstown, and the Tolkien tourist mecca of Hobbiton (which is even better in real life). The writing was good, with a good dose of humour (people actually speak Elvish?) and a subtle underlying Christian theme.

Recommended for fans of Carla Laureano and Susan May Warren. And New Zealand, and Tolkien. So that should cover pretty much everyone.

This review was previously posted at Iola’s Christian Reads. Thanks to Howard Books and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

4 May 2016

Introducing the Major Christian Fiction Awards

It’s Christian Fiction Award Time!

It’s coming to that time of year again, when the publishing industry seeks to honour the best of the books published in the last calendar year. Entries to the various Christian fiction awards have closed, judging has commenced, and authors are waiting to find out if they’ve made the longlist or the shortlist or if they’ve won. I imagine each announcement brings a sense of relief for those authors still in the running for a prize, but also a raised sense of anxiety: so close, and yet so far.

Today I’m going to give you information on the six contests I watch every year. Over the next few weeks I’ll introduce you to the finalists in each Award, as they are announced. If you’ve ever wondered what to read next, these lists will provide some ideas—and you’ll see a few of the same titles popping up on several lists.

Introducing the major Christian Fiction Awards

The CALEB Prize

The CALEB Prize is organized by Omega Writers, a writing organization for Australian and New Zealand Christian Writers. Entry is open to Australian and New Zealand authors, and there are two categories for the 2016 prize: fiction, and children’s picture books.

CALEB is an acronym: it stands for Christian Authors Lifting Each other’s Books. That’s why Omega Writers sponsor the CALEB Prize. It’s about giving all entrants a higher profile for their books, regardless of whether they win or not . . . Promoting excellence, for the glory of God, so that the highest quality books are given that little bit of extra ‘oomph’.

The Christy Awards

The Christy Awards are named for Christy, the groundbreaking novel by Catherine Marshall, who wrote over two dozen books which have sold in excess of 25 million copies. The awards were established in 1999 to honour and promote excellence in Christian fiction, and to showcase the diversity of Christian fiction genres.

The Carol Awards

The Carol Awards were established by American Christian Fiction Writers in 2002 to recognize the best in Christian fiction. Both print and ebooks are accepted, but ebook authors must submit print copies. Novels must be nominated by their authors, must be written from a Christian world view, and may be self-published or traditionally published.

ACFW define “traditionally published” as being where the author did not “participate financially in the production or distribution of their book, including any requirement to buy a certain number of books from their publisher”.

Independent authors must apply to ACFW for Qualified Independently Published (QIP) status if they have not previously been traditionally published. In order to achieve QIP status, an author has to show evidence they have earned at least $4,000 from the sale of one novel over a 12-month period.

The Grace Awards

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, and 55,000 words or longer. Novels should be:

Traditional Christian, Inspirational, realistic and/or gritty Christian and edgy Christian, stories from a Christian worldview, redemptive themed, biblical, Messianic, catholic, faith-based, Christian and/or Messianic mystical themes, values imbued, grace and forgiveness oriented, marriage and family friendly, depicting Christian lifestyle (can be struggling with it), spiritually and emotionally healing fiction

The Grace Awards were founded by a group of small-press and independent authors, so they tend to feature a lot of small press and self-published books that are overlooked by the larger industry awards (which didn’t necessarily permit entries from these authors and publishers when the Grace Awards were founded).

Their process is unique: readers, reviewers and bloggers nominate titles along with a 40+ words outlining why they like the book. All nominated novels are then put to public vote, and three finalists are chosen for each category. A panel of judges then read the finalists and decide on a winner.

The INSPY Awards

The INPSY Awards were established in 2010, and is described as the Bloggers’ Award for Excellence in Faith-Driven Literature. The INSPY Awards are only open to print books from a publishing house (be it a large traditional house, a small press, or a micropress publishing as few as two authors).

The Awards are looking to recognize books of exceptional literary qualities including but not limited to: innovative, original writing, and depth of characterization. The book must respectfully grapple with some element of the Christian faith.

Novels are nominated by readers (self nominations by authors are not permitted). The INSPY Advisory Board (also bloggers) determine a shortlist of five finalists in each category. A team of three blogger judges then choose a winner. Judges are chosen by the Advisory Board from a pool of self-nominated bloggers which makes the INPSY Awards unique, as the creators of the award have limited influence on the overall winners.

The RITA® Awards

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).
While the RITA® Awards were originally restricted to novels published through a traditional publisher, they now permit self-published novels, and several categories feature self-published or hybrid authors (being authors who have both self-published and been published by a traditional publisher).

Books are nominated by their author or publisher, and nominated authors act as first-round judges (not in their own category, of course). All novels achieving higher than a specific score are announced as finalist, which is unusual—most contests have a set number of finalists (usually three or five), and the top-scoring novels qualify. The RITA® approach caused problems one year, when one category had more than ten finalists and two others (Inspirational and Erotic) had only two each.

I’ll be back next week with the finalists for the Grace and RITA® Awards, and we can talk about our picks for each.

30 April 2016

Book Review: The Goodbye Bride by Denise Hunter

We all have bad days, but none of mine have been like Lucy Lovett’s bad day: waking up in a strange diner with no idea how she got there, wearing a wedding dress she doesn’t remember buying, and wearing white shoes she remembers not buying because they were so expensive.

Now, that’s a bad day.

Zac Callahan’s bad day starts when he gets a telephone call from ex-fiance Lucy Lovett, the woman who ran out on him with no explaination seven months ago, just weeks before their wedding. Now she wants to pick up their relationship where it left off, because she has no memory of the last seven months. No memory of dumping Zac.

There is something about amnesia stories which intrigues me, and The Goodbye Bride was certainly intriging. Why had Lucy left Zac? How had she got herself engaged to someone else so quickly? And why was she in the diner in her wedding dress, when surely she should have been actually getting married?

It takes a while, but we eventually discover the answers to all these questions as we watch the exquisitely awkward dance between Lucy and Zac: Lucy, whose most recent memory is being head over heels in love with Zac, and Zac, who has spent the last seven months trying to get over Lucy.

The Goodbye Bride is a romance, but it’s also a story of rediscovery and of healing, as one character explains:

“Our reactions don’t always seem rational, but they make perfect sense in light of our experiences.”

As we discover more of Lucy’s past, her actions and reactions do make sense, but will it be too late for her and Zac?

The Goodbye Bride is the second book in Denise Hunter’s Summer Harbor series.

I read the first, Falling Like Snowflakes, thought it was excellent, especially the way it set up the whole series. I had hoped this second book would be Riley’s story . . . now I’m hoping the next book, Just a Kiss will be.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. This review previously appeared at Australasian Christian Writers.

27 April 2016

What Are You Reading?

My picks of the top Christian fiction for April 2016

What Christian fiction have you been reading over the last month? And what are you planning to read in May? Here are my top Christian fiction picks for April 2016, and a quick look at some of the books I’m planning to read and review in May.

The best novels I’ve read over the last month were:

Close to You by Kara Isaac (click here to read my review. My extremely biased because it’s set in New Zealand review)

On the Edge by Theresa Santy (click here to read my review)

Sit Stay Love by Dana Mentink (click here to read my review)

Like Never Before by Melissa Tagg (click here to read my review)

I’m looking forward to my May reads: I’ve got Dressed for Death, the latest in Julianna Deering’s 1930’s-era detective series (a must-read for fans of Agatha Christie), Someone Like You by Victoria Bylin (one of my new favourite authors), and Her One and Only (contemporary Christian romance from Becky Wade).

What were the best novels you read in April? And what are you planning to read in May?

23 April 2016

Book Review: The Bridesmaid’s Hero by Narelle Atkins

Amazon Description

Serena Blaxland’s job at her parents’ B&B in Snowgum Creek, Australia, is only temporary. Sparks fly when hire car driver Harry Westmore saves the beautiful pastry chef from disrupting her sister’s wedding day, but the opportunity of a lifetime threatens to push them apart. Can Harry and Serena’s love and faith overcome the obstacles in their path?

My Review

Okay, I’m slow. I’d wondered why Bridesmaid’s Hero was part of a box set was called Love Blossoms. There was the obvious: that each of the seven stories had a flower or garden theme. But I’ve only just realised that it’s also around spring blossoms, because was published as the Northern Hemisphere was coming into spring. Duh. It’s high summer here. Spring is almost a year away.

Anyway . . .

The Bridesmaid’s Hero is a standalone story which is part of a series (although after reading it, you might just want to check out more in the series).

It was a fun Aussie story featuring two characters who have to decide if their attraction and common faith is enough to overcome the obstacles in their way. I did have to question the sanity and intelligence of one of the characters: surely no normal person would call a snake ‘pretty’! (However, it did provide the hero with an early opportunity to be a hero.

It’s a short story, but a fun easy read for a bright summer day (or a long winter night).

Thanks to Narelle Atkins for providing a free ebook for review. Disclosure: I edited Bridesmaid’s Hero, so there might be a slight element of bias in my review . . . This review previously appeared at Iola’s Christian Reads.

20 April 2016

Remembering ANZAC Day

Next Monday, 25 April, is ANZAC Day.

It’s the day New Zealanders and Australians join together to commemorate all those who served in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. Other countries have similar days of remembrance: the US have Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day, while the UK has Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday.

ANZAC Day is an important day for us. It’s a public holiday, and only essential services are allowed to be open. There are heavy fines for businesses who open on the morning of ANZAC Day: as a nation, we want everyone to be able to attend a commemoration service. No, not everyone does, but they can. ANZAC Day is also observed in Canada and many Pacific Island countries.

Australia and New Zealand chose this day specifically to commemorate the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign, which began at dawn on 25 April 1915, when the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps—the ANZACs—landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey. It was the first major battle either country had been involved in which led to major casualties, and forged our identities as nations.

As I’ve done for the last five or six years, I will be awake, showered and dressed long before dawn. I’ll attend the Dawn Service in the grounds of the local Returned Services Association (RSA), wearing the green and black uniform of the local Brass Band, sitting front and centre and playing my tenor horn.

The Dawn Service is special.

We arrive while it’s still dark and watching the sun rise as the music plays and prayers are intoned. I’m always impressed by the number of families with children. Some wear medals that used to adorn the chest of their father, grandfather or perhaps great-grandfather. They wear these medals with pride, in memory of men they may never have met, men who have become legends for their service and sacrifice.

Also present are the legends themselves, men who fought in France, Crete, North Africa, Korea, Vietnam, the Falklands, Afghanistan. These men wear the medals they earned facing enemy fire under what were often horrific conditions.

There are no longer any veterans of Gallipoli with us, but we still meet at dawn on 25 April to remember and honour the men who served in that disastrous campaign. And we meet to honour those who served in subsequent wars in the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as those who served in the merchant navy to keep the home nations supplied and fed, and who were just at risk of being torpedoed or bombed as their army and navy counterparts.

The veterans and visitors sing as we play the God Save the Queen, the national anthems of Australia and New Zealand, and a hymn. I will be able to hear a pin drop when Peter, our lead cornet player, stands to play the Last Post, as we pay silent tribute to those who fought and died for freedom.

After the Dawn Service and a hot breakfast at the RSA, we’ll head to the civil service at the city’s official war memorial, Memorial Park. This service starts with a march, led by shuffling veterans who have fortified themselves at the RSA bar, followed by the cadet forces marching proudly, then groups such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides.

A group of Army, Navy and Air cadets will form the honour guard, standing to attention throughout the service. The choir will lead the congregation in singing hymns and the National Anthem. The band will play quietly as wreaths are laid by representatives from local community groups. An Army chaplain will pray for the fallen. Peter will play the Last Post again—still poignant, although not as spine-chilling as in the pre-dawn light of the Dawn Service. A student representative from one of the local high schools will read the famous poem, In Flanders Fields.

Everyone will be silent, as befits such a solemn occasion.

Another student, perhaps the Head Girl of one of the local high schools, will deliver a speech about what ANZAC Day means to her. She’ll be wearing the formal school uniform: tie, jacket, and stockings. She might mention a family connection to one or both World Wars, or possibly a later conflict. She will talk about freedom from oppression, and about innocent young men who travelled far from home and made the ultimate sacrifice, their lives in exchange for our freedom. She might even quote the Bible: For greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

But her polished speech will miss the most important sacrifice: the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for your sins and for mine. She will miss the end of the story of sacrifice: the victory Jesus gained through the resurrection. ANZAC Day without Jesus is like Good Friday without Easter Sunday.

It’s only half the story.

ANZAC Day is important. It’s a time to come together as a community and remember those who have gone before, those who gave their lives that we might live. But it’s more than a commemoration of sacrifice.

It’s the story of victory.

Lest we forget.

16 April 2016

Book Review: Turnabout’s Fair Play by Kaye Dacus

As I am not an American, I had never heard of author (Mary) Flannery O’Connor, for whom the heroine of this novel is named (to the heroine’s continued annoyance). Apparently, O’Connor is a famous American author whose works are frequently studied by high school and college students. There, so I learnt something from reading a Christian romance novel!

Flannery MacNeill is a 30-something Christian fiction editor for a small publisher in Tennessee. She is feeling somewhat depressed because one of her best friends is about to get married, the other is engaged, and she is afraid that they will both have personality changes and no longer want to maintain the relationship once they marry. However, her friends would like to introduce her to some nice young men. Just as long as they don’t suggest Jamie O’Connor, the wedding usher and a gorgeous, overconfident Sports Marketing executive…

Jamie O’Connor is up for promotion to Sports Marketing Director at the Nashville advertising agency where he works – or so he thinks. A shock announcement forces him to rethink his career and his life, and he realises that fitting in with the boys at work may have meant that he has moved away from the person he really is, like the friends he used to have and the secret he is at pains to hide… Meanwhile, the grandmother who raised him is trying to marry him off, and that Flannery MacNeill seems like a good candidate, particularly when she is accompanied by her extremely attractive grandfather…

I really enjoyed Turnabout’s Fair Play – so much so that I read it twice, back-to-back.

I liked the interaction and friendly banter between the hero and heroine, I liked the way the hero and heroine had so much in common, I liked the way their ‘secrets’ came out as a natural part of the relationship so there was no dreading ‘big misunderstanding, I liked the way that their faith was woven into the plot without making a big deal about it, and I liked the way that the story did not just revolve around the hero and heroine, but had a very satisfying secondary romance as well as some real relationships with friends and family (good and not-so-good).

Only one thing was missing – the recipe for the Parmesan Smashed Red Potatoes that Jamie loved. I can live without the accompanying corned beef and cabbage, but those potatoes sounded good!

Although Turnabout’s Fair Play is the third in The Matchmakers series (following Love Remains and The Art of Romance), it can easily be read as a standalone novel.

Kaye Dacus was nominated for the 2010 Christy Award (Contemporary Romance) for her novel, Stand-in Groom . This is now on my Wish List, and I look forward to reading Dacus’s backlist (including the first two in The Matchmakers series). The 2010 Christy Award was actually won by Diann Mills for Breach of Trust, which I have previously mentioned as one of my favourite novels – so to come second behind Mills is no mean feat!

Thanks to Barbour and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. This review was previously published at Iola’s Christian Reads.