2011 Christy Award Nominees Announced

 

2011 Award Nominees

The Christy Advisory Board is pleased to announce nominees in nine categories for the 2011 Christy Awards honoring Christian fiction.

The 2011 Christy Award nominees are:

Contemporary Romance/

Blood Ransom

by Lisa Harris (Zondervan)

Indivisible

by Kristin Heitzmann (WaterBrook Press)

Sworn to Protect

by DiAnn Mills (Tyndale House Publishers)

Contemporary Series, Sequels, and Novellas/

The Reluctant Prophet

by Nancy Rue (David C. Cook)

The Thorn

by Beverly Lewis (Bethany House Publishers,
a division of Baker Publishing Group)

The Waiting

by Suzanne Woods Fisher (Revell Books,
a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Contemporary Standalone/

Almost Heaven

by Chris Fabry (Tyndale House Publishers)

Lady in Waiting

by Susan Meissner (WaterBrook Press)

A Season of Miracles

by Rusty Whitener (Kregel Publications)

First Novel/

Crossing Oceans

by Gina Holmes (Tyndale House Publishers)

Heartless

by Anne Elisabeth Stengl (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

A Season of Miracles

by Rusty Whitener (Kregel Publications)

Historical/

Chosen: The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther

by Ginger Garrett (David C. Cook)

For Time & Eternity

by Allison Pitman (Tyndale House Publishers)

While We’re Far Apart

by Lynn Austin (Bethany House Publishers,
a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Historical Romance/

The Girl in the Gatehouse

by Julie Klassen (Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

She Walks in Beauty

by Siri Mitchell (Bethany House Publishers,
a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Within My Heart

by Tamera Alexander (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Suspense/

The Bishop

by Steven James (Revell Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

The Bride Collector

by Ted Dekker (Center Street) [George Kerrigan the book cover photographer for Dekker’s The Bride Collector also did my cover for A Good Excuse to Be Bad. How cool is that? :)]

Predator

by Terri Blackstock (Zondervan)

Visionary/

To Darkness Fled

by Jill Williamson (Marcher Lord Press)

Konig’s Fire

by Marc Schooley (Marcher Lord Press)

The Last Christian

by David Gregory (WaterBrook Press)

Young Adult/

The Charlatan’s Boy

by Jonathan Rogers (WaterBrook Press)

The Healer’s Apprentice

by Melanie Dickerson (Zondervan)

Motorcycles, Sushi, and One Strange Book

by Nancy Rue (Zondervan)

Congrats to all the nominees. However, I thought Stacy Hawkins Adams should have been a nominee for  Contemporary Romance Standalone for The Someday List (Revell). Perhaps Revell nominated her and she didn’t make the end cut, but still. This book sparked a movement last summer. What do you think? FYI: I was a Christy Awards Judge for four years

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• The RITA Reading Challenge 2011 (smartbitchestrashybooks.com)

2011 Faith & Fiction Retreat Book Club Gift Basket Promo for Authors Announced

 

Have you spent money on print products for your books and fees to place those print products at book events, to no avail? Don’t know if anyone seen the material? Saw your book marks in the trash?

What if you could promote your book to a specific book club at that event? What if you could be the only author pitched to them?

The 2011 Faith and Fiction Retreat has that opportunity for faith based publishing houses, authors, and or publicists, who cannot attend the event with our Book Club Retreat Gift Basket Promotion.

Here’s how it works…

For $149.99 the Faith & Fiction Retreat will create a special gift basket for one of our book clubs with a size larger than ten, that have registered for the 2011 Retreat (June 23-25 .) This basket will include:

 your media kit by DeeGospel PR specifically designed for the retreat
 a sales letter created by DeeGospel PR specifically designed for the retreat
 10 of your paper bookmarks
 10 autographed book plates (created by DeeGospel PR specifically designed for the retreat )
 1 autographed book supplied by you
 1 Digital CD of your book excerpt(we will create) and book trailer(if you have one)
 Gift Basket goodies that fit the theme of your book
 Chocolates
 Fruit (Tangerines, Limes, Lemons)
 1 Bottle Sparkling White Grape
 10 bags of Beach Snacks (Trail Mix, Sunflower Seeds, or Pretzel)

Faith and Fiction retreat averages 10-15 national book clubs per year. This year we will prepare ten baskets. If you would like to have your book featured in a gift basket, please contact Dee Stewart at deegospelpr@gmail.com by June 6, 2011. She will invoice you for your basket, once the invoice is paid, she will schedule a time to chat with you about your book and the type of basket that needs to be created.

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• 10 Step Winning Strategy for Book Vending (deegospelpr.com)

God’s Sovereignty, Setting, and Screenwriting Booker T. Mattison Speaks

Booker T. Mattison is an author and filmmaker who wrote the screenplay for and directed the film adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston’s The Gilded Six-Bits, which aired on Showtime. His debut novel,Unsigned Hype, has been optioned, and he is currently writing the film adaptation of the book. Mattison has taught literary criticism at the College of New Rochelle, film production at Brooklyn College, and advanced directing and actor coaching at Regent University. Snitch is his second novel.

Snitch, which releases this month, has received praise from some of the most acclaimed movie producers of our time, such as Lisa Cortes(Precious) and Stephanie Allain Bray (Hustle & Flow) and has also received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly. What is even more fantastic about Mattison’s success is that he writes for Revell, a Christian publisher.

This month Christian Fiction Online Magazine speaks with Mattison about Snitch, a writer’s responsibility, and what defines Christian fiction. This is the end of our Thrilling the Romantic Soul Series. Read the interview here.

Is your Christian Fiction Novel a Summer Read?

Good Monday. I am seeking  Christian Fiction authors who have novels releasing in June, July & August for my Summer Beach Read 2011, to spotlighted on my blog, CFOM & some other spots. Publicists and/or authors message me. First five pages, synopsis, contact info. Book must have national in store distribution. Deadline 5/15/11. Email to deegospelpr at gmail dot com.

Psst… my debut novel, A Good Excuse to Be Bad releases June 28, 2011. If you would like to review it, message me.

Royals A New Chapter & Author Expectations

"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire." — St. Catherine of Siena #royalwedding

This morning I watched the Royal Wedding. It was beautiful and sweet, a modern day fairy tale coming to life. Billions of people watched, anticipated and shared in the writing of a new chapter of the British Monarchy. It was a very celebratory and heartfelt morning all over the world.

Then I thought about my writing and an author’s responsibility to our readers. Like the Prince and Duchess they knew that there was a great deal of expectation in today’s wedding ceremony(the dress, the kiss, the vows.) When you write a sequel or when you’ve written more than one book you have inadvertently established a brand, an expectation.

Writing the second book has been tough, because of the expectations that I have put on myself. I want a better book 2. I want my editor to be glad that she decided to take a chance on me, and I want my readers to not be disappointed. I don’t want to be a one book writer. This is my life.

So as I prepare to work through another draft of Book 2, Someone Bad and Something Blue, I pause to wish Prince William and Duchess well and to thank you for sharing this journey with me.

Book 1 A Good Excuse to Be Bad releases July 2011. Learn more about it here.

Christian Retailing Retailer’s Choice Awards Announced

I’m excited! Some of my favorite books of 2010 (and friends) have been picked as finalists for the 2011 Christian Retailing Retailers Choice Awards. Publishers submit books that they feel fit the nominee criteria for the award. Those nominees are “judged on the impact they have had on staff and customers, their ability to be evocative, open minds to new ways of thinking and encourage and affirm Christlike living.” Winners will be announced at Christian Retailing's Retailing ReBoot 2011 event, to be held April 26-28 at the Florida Hotel and Conference Center in Orlando, Fla.

Nominees in the various Christian Fiction categories are:

Fiction: Contemporary Romance

Lydia's Charm, Wanda E. Brunstetter (Barbour Publishing)
Nightshade, Ronie Kendig (Barbour Publishing)
Seek Me With All Your Heart, Beth Wiseman (Thomas Nelson)
Tender Vow, Sharlene MacLaren (Whitaker House)
The Bridge of Peace, Cindy Woodsmall (WaterBrook Multnomah)
They Almost Always Come Home, Cynthia Ruchti (Abingdon Press)
Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball, Donita K. Paul (WaterBrook Multnomah)

Fiction: General

Greater Love, Robert Whitlow (Thomas Nelson)
Her Mother's Hope, Francine Rivers (Tyndale House Publishers)
Unlocked, Karen Kingsbury (Zondervan)

Fiction: Historical Romance

Embers of Love, Tracie Peterson (Baker Publishing Group)
Here Burns My Candle, Liz Curtis Higgs (WaterBrook Multnomah)
The Gathering Storm, Bodie & Brock Thoene (Summerside Press)

Fiction: Mystery and Suspense

Immanuel's Veins, Ted Dekker (Thomas Nelson)
The Bishop, Steven James (Baker Publishing Group)
The Twelfth Imam, Joel C. Rosenberg (Tyndale House Publishers)

First-Time Authors

Crossing Oceans, Gina Holmes (Tyndale House Publishers)
Life Without Limits, Nick Vujicic (Doubleday Religion)
The Devil in Pew Number 7, Rebecca Alonzo (Tyndale House Publishers)

Congrats to the nominees.

On a side note: I still wish for the day that Christian Retailers are more racially inclusive.  So I will I add a Category that will be added on that great day my wish comes true.

Fiction: Regardless of the Color of the Author

In the Midst of It All, Tiffany L. Warren (Hachette)

The Someday List, Stacy Hawkins Adams (Revell)

Inconvenient Friend: Rhonda McKnight (Urban Christian)

More Church Folk, Michelle Bowen (Grand Central)

Selling My Soul, Sherri L. Lewis (Urban Christian)

Samson, Jacquelin Thomas (Gallery)

Long time Coming, Vanessa Miller (Abingdon Press)

The Voice, the real one

“The voice of my beloved! Look, he comes, leaping upon the mountains,bounding over the hills.” -Song of Solomon 2:8

I’m on my final rewrite for my novel, Someone Bad and Something Blue. It releases July 2012. My editor was nice to give me an extension. The book was due April 15.

However, the morning I was about to send it in, a still small voice whispered, “This is not our book.”

I tell you. I wanted to fall through the floor.

Continue reading "The Voice, the real one" »