The Christy Award nominees have been announced at the Christian Book Expo! Have a read through and let me know your thoughts!
The nominees for the 2009 Christy Awards:
Contemporary Romance category:
Beyond the Night by Marlo Schalesky (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group) Finding Stefanie by Susan May Warren (Tyndale House Publishers)
Zora and Nicky: A Novel in Black and White by Claudia Mair Burney (David C. Cook)
Rel: Wow – I have read all of these and you couldn’t get a more diverse set of books so ably written by such amazing women. Do yourself a favour and check all three books out. I’m really interested to see who eventually takes away the prize!
Contemporary Series, Sequels & Novellas category:
Sisterchicks Go Brit! by Robin Jones Gunn (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)
Summer Snow by Nicole Baart (Tyndale House Publishers)
You Had Me at Good-bye by Tracey Bateman (FaithWords)
Rel: Summer Snow is brilliant so that would be my pick in this category. You Had Me at Goodbye is a fun read but I’ve never got into the Sisterchicks series – just not my cup of tea – hehehe!
Contemporary Standalone category:
Dogwood by Chris Fabry (Tyndale House Publishers)
Embrace Me by Lisa Samson (Thomas Nelson)
Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon by Debbie Fuller Thomas (Moody Publishers)
Rel:~ Only read Embrace Me in this category although I know Dogwood is excellent. Embrace Me is provocative, moving and vintage Lisa Samson!
First Novel category:
Blue Hole Back Home by Joy Jordan-Lake (David C. Cook)
Rain Song by Alice J. Wisler (Bethany House Publishers)
Safe at Home by Richard Doster (David C. Cook)
Rel: Yikes – haven’t read any of these although Rain Song is in my TBR and I am very keen to get to it!
Historical category:
Shadow of Colossus by T.L. Higley (B&H Publishing Group)
Until We Reach Home by Lynn Austin (Bethany House Publishers)
Washingtonโs Lady by Nancy Moser (Bethany House Publishers)
Rel: LOVED Shadow of Colossus ๐ Lynn Austin is a fabulous writer and Until We Reach Home is another in my TBR I will get to soon.
Historical Romance category:
Calico Canyon by Mary Connealy (Barbour Publishers)
From a Distance by Tamera Alexander (Bethany House Publishers)
The Moon in the Mango Tree by Pamela Binnings Ewen (B&H Publishing Group)
Rel: My pick would be Tamera’s From A Distance although my friend Tracy, who reviewed The Moon in the Mango Tree may beg to differ!! Calico Canyon is a fun read but I think I tend more towards a serious read to win.
Suspense category:
By Reason of Insanity by Randy Singer (Tyndale House Publishers)
The Rook by Steven James (Revell)
Winter Haven by Athol Dickson (Bethany House Publishers)
Rel: Hands down By Reason of Insanity although I can’t say this with any integrity as I haven’t read the other two – LOL! The Rook is one I am keen to read so I may waver on this one ๐
Visionary category:
The Battle for Vast Dominion by George Bryan Polivka (Harvest House Publishers)
Shade by John B. Olson (B&H Publishing Group)
Vanish by Tom Pawlik (Tyndale House Publishers)
Rel: I’m cheering for John Olson’s Shade here!! But again the other two are in my TBR so I reserve the right to change my mind…although don’t hold your breath. John’s Melchi is a unique and complex character.
Young Adult category are:
The Fruit of My Lipstick by Shelley Adina (FaithWords)
I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires by Cathy Gohlke (Moody Publishers)
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)
Rel: I haven’t read any of these although my daughter loved Andrew’s book!
March 22, 2009 at 12:35 am
I loved Dogwood in spite of not being sure about its ending, Zora and Nicky, and it would be very tough to choose in the suspense category. By Reason of Insanity wasn’t my favorite Randy Singer read, but loved both The Rook (better than The Pawn) and Winter Haven. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Athol win another one, though. Embrace Me is in my TBR pile, but Lisa’s latest (The Passion of Mary-Margaret) made my all-time Top Ten.
March 22, 2009 at 5:03 am
I’ve nowhere near read all of the books or even one in each category.
For contemporary stand alone though, I’ve read Embrace Me and Dogwood and I think I would only just barely lean towards Dogwood. They’re both excellent though.
Historical…I guess is this a little unfair as I haven’t read the other two, but The Moon in the Mango Tree is a magnificent story that really captured me so my vote goes there.
When does the final announcement get made Rel?
March 22, 2009 at 7:11 am
As much as I loved From A Distance, The Moon in the Mango Tree is such an epic story…just far and away one of the best books I read last year. And I love Pamela! I hope it wins!
March 22, 2009 at 2:47 pm
I loved the Rook by James. The characters are great.
March 23, 2009 at 9:53 am
Ooo.. THe contemperary romance category winner will be interesting. I thought Zora and Nicky was brilliant. Lots of the others I have not read but Reason of Insanity was great and i loved Summer Snow! I haven’t read The Moon in the Mango Tree and will add that onto my list. Please let us know where to go to see the winners.
March 23, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Hey there – loved all your comments!
The winners are announced in July ๐
March 24, 2009 at 5:24 am
I’ve read all three of the suspense, and I’ll have to say that whoever picks the winner has a tough choice ahead of them. They were all great reads in my opinion.
March 29, 2009 at 11:25 pm
The Rook is the only one I’ve read of his and enjoyed it! Loved Higley’s book. Glad to see Adina’s book in the YA category tho it would’ve been nice to see Debbie Viguie there or Brayn Davis and Robert Liparulo. Thanks for sharing.
Blessings,
Mimi B
Woven by Words
June 8, 2009 at 10:51 pm
Oh, there are some great books on this list. I can only speak for those I've read personally, but here are some I'm cheering for.
Zora and Nicky
Dogwood
The Rook
By Reason of Insanity
*yes, I know those last two are in the same category, but I loved them both
Now the real question is: how does any of this Christy stuff translate into more readers for these titles? This is something CBA needs to deal with aggressively, otherwise it's a pat on the back to some fantastic authors…and little else.