Saturday, July 19, 2014

2014 Christy Award Winners

According to www.bookreporter.com
"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; and provide opportunity to recognize novelists whose work may not have reached bestseller status."

Book of the Year
BURNING SKY by Lori Benton (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)
Contemporary
STONES FOR BREAD by Christa Parrish (Thomas Nelson, HarperCollins Christian Publishing)
Contemporary/Romance/Suspense
DANGEROUS PASSAGE by Lisa Harris (Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group)
Contemporary Series
TAKE A CHANCE ON ME by Susan May Warren (Tyndale House Publishers)
First Novel
BURNING SKY by Lori Benton (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)
Historical
BURNING SKY by Lori Benton (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)
Historical Romance
HARVEST OF GOLD by Tessa Afshar (River North, from Moody Publishing)
Suspense
OUTLAW by Ted Dekker (FaithWords, a division of Hachette Book Group)
Visionary
DRAGONWATCH by Anne Elisabeth Stengl (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)
See last year's nominees and winners: 2013 Christy Awards

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Michigan History and Romance
Captured by love by Jody Hedlund

Jody Hedlund begins her historical romance with the near murder of Angelique MacKenzie at the hands of a starving British soldier on the island of Michilimackinac in Michigan, 1814.  After her rescue by a mysterious and yet, a somehow familiar man, Angelique’s adventure and romance commences. Her would be rescuer turns out to be Pierre Durant, a childhood friend, who has been gone from the island for four years.  During the harsh winters of British occupation, Angelique has been helping his blind and elderly mother survive by bringing her food and ministering to her needs, In the years of his absence,   Pierre has been going through a spiritual transformation.  As he struggles to depend on God, Pierre presents a different character to Angelique.  Together two navigate the troubled times of the British and American War and their own growing interest in one another.  This book gives the reader a taste of what it must have been like on the Island during the War of 1812 and, at the same time, provides a suspenseful story of perseverance and love in times of strife.