Best African American Christian Valentine's Day Novels Announced

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

For the past month I have taken nominations for best christian fiction romance. Today the top nominees are announced as well as our Valentine's Day 2010 pick. Congratulations.

*not in any order

1. Jacqueline Thomas Prodigal Husband
2. Claudia Mair Burney Zora & Nicky
3. Kendra Norman Bellamy For Love and Grave
4. Reshonda Tate Billingsley The Pastor's Wife
5. Sharon Ewell Foster's Passing By Samaria
6. Tia McCollors A Heart of Devotion
7. Vanessa Davis Griggs Promises Beyond Jordan
8. Patricia Haley No Regrets
9. Bishop T. D. Jakes Not Easily Broken
10. Victoria Christopher Murray Temptation

Christian Fiction Blog's Valentine's Day 2010 New Book Spotlight is Kimberla Lawson Roby's New York Time's Bestseller Be Careful What You Pray For

Creating Romance Couples: Tense Twosomes

This week ACFW has a fun topic question going on: What couples in literature and/or cinema has the most tension, were the most fun, and the most unforgettable? My picks are below. But before you peak I want to ask you 2 things:

1. Are Christian romances playing into the Romeo and Juliette Syndrome, whereby love isn't good unless it's full of near death experiences and trauma? Is that a true account of love? Or does Christ think otherwise?
2. What are your favorite tense twosomes and why?

My answers:

• The Sound of Music: Fraulein Maria and Captain Van Trapp.
• The Matrix: Trinity and Neo.
• Nicholas Sparks' A Walk to Remember: Landon and Jamie
• Dirty Dancing: Baby and Johnnie
• Claudia Burney's Zora and Nicky (April 2008 release)
• Rocky: The Movies: Adrienne and Rocky
• The Bodyguard: Frank and Rachel
  

Photocredit: Molodova

LeapYear Valentine's for Men: Part I

Ok, ladies. Since it's leap year you have to shower your man with Valentine's gifts. I have some great ideas. Stay tuned and subscribe as I will count them down this week and next week. But in the meantime you need something romantic for yourself. Try these Christian romances on for size:

For Season Married Sisters - Stephanie Perry Moore's Wearing My Halo Tilted

For New Moms- Marilynn Griffith's Happily Even After

For College Chicas- Sherri Lewis' Dance into Destiny

For CSI/ Law & Order Lover's- Claudia Burney's Murder, Mayhem & a Fine Man

For Single Sisters- Kim Brook's He's Saved, But is He for Real

For BFFS and Bookclubs- Tia McCollors' The Truth About Love

I've read all these books and you will love them all. Check the both the top and bottom slideshows on Christian Fiction Blog to purchase these titles.

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CFB Interview: Do you Believe in Soul Mates?

For Christian singles the Holidays shouldn't be the loniest days of the year, but peer pressure, recent proposals, family expectations and enough New Year's Eve party invitations to make you want to stop answering your phone, this time of year can add unnecessary stress to you. All I Want for Christmas is A Good Man. You find yourself praying. But is there such thing as a soul mates? In this current culture of divorce and cohabitation, who wants to plural up?

My writing buddy, Linda Dominque Grosevenor has the answer.

In her new book, The Plural Thing: Spiritually Preparing for Your Soul Mate she tells the unadulterated, hard-hitting, tough-loving, no-nonsense truth with Biblical principles, keen insight, self-disclosure to boot. Linda provides guidance to those struggling with sexual soul ties, an adulterous relationship, low self-esteem and have resigned themselves to settling for second-best or finally want the freedom to receive God's blessings for their lives.

Sounds like my year, so I sat down with Linda and asked her this book.

Linda, how do you believe The Plural Thing: Spiritually Preparing for Your Soul Mate will change lives?

I believe that people will change their thinking when provided with a viable solution. The Plural Thing: Spiritually Preparing for Your Soul Mate is Biblically-based and snatches away the excuses that many people give as to why they can't find a nurturing relationship. When women and men read the book so many have come back and said how it made them look inward and search themselves. Sometimes when we are complaining about a string of failed relationships, the common denominator is us. This book will prayerfully change the way people approach relationships and how they conduct themselves once they've found someone they're led to be in a relationship with.

How would you say that your fiction writing differs from your non-fiction writing and which do you prefer?

I'm a writer so I love writing period. There are times when I don't want to hide behind adjectives and it is at those times when I lean toward non-fiction. I'm currently working on several ideas, but The Plural Thing: Spiritually Preparing for Your Soul Mate is the closest one to my heart and my spirit. On days when I want to play around with words, those are the times I pull out my novels in progress. I'm currently completing my 8th novel. I'm having a fabulous time with its premise.

What was your greatest obstacle in life?

I'd have to say writing this book. When you start reading you'll see how it has been under constant attack since its inception, and how everything that could have come up against it--did. Even in pulling this edition together there was a delay with the cover that threw off the whole printing schedule and had readers contemplating canceling their pre-orders, and the file for the "original" version of the book wasn't made available to me and I had to scour the Internet for a copy of my own book. I purchased a copy and someone dear to me took on the task of typing the entire manuscript over page by page for me, however, with all of that I realize, nothing can hinder something that's mean to be and I feel that this book has risen from the ashes on several occasions.

How has the reception to The Plural Thing: Spiritually Preparing for Your Soul Mate been so far?

There are people who support me no matter what I do, be it poetry, fiction or non-fiction. At times they appeared to be more excited about the project than I did. Then the pre-orders started coming. I started getting calls and emailing telling me to "hurry up" or asking, "what's taking so long?" so, once the book was finally available, word spread pretty quickly and it appears that The Plural Thing: Spiritually Preparing for Your Soul Mate was well received. It is moments like that that truly make me proud to be an author.

How can CFB readers purchase a copy?*

I always get excited when people want to read anything by me. They can log on to ThePluralThing.com or visit their local bookstore. If they don't have a copy on the shelf, urge them to stock it. I believe we need to make certain that tools to help us as Christians is just as accessible as everything else out there.


Linda Dominique Grosvenor has made her foray into non-fiction with the inspirational smash hit The Plural Thing: Spiritually Preparing for Your Soul Mate. The author of several popular novels including the summer sizzler The Hamptons, she maintains a popular online advice column at AskPrincessDominique.com and a pop culture blog at PrincessDominique.com/blog. Visit her at www.LindaDominiqueGrosvenor.com .

* You can also purchase the Plural thing by clicking on the title here or through CFB's Fav Book for December Slidebar above this post.