Welcome to Relz Reviewz - Your source for Christian fiction reviews and author interviews

The Christys are almost here!

The 13th annual Christy Awards for excellence in Christian fiction will be presented at a dinner to be held at 7:00 p.m., Monday, July 16, 2012, at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando. The delightful Liz Curtis Higgs is emcee and the lovely Rachel Hauck is the guest commentator on the live blog – be sure to register for the live blog so you don’t miss any of the action! The live blog is a great way to participate if you can’t be at the dinner in person.

I’ve read and enjoyed many of the …

Getting to know Davis Bunn

Veteran novelist, Davis Bunn, returns with his second Marc Royce story, Rare Earth, the sequel to Lion of Babylon. This time the Kenyan countryside comes alive for readers.

Enjoy getting to know Davis a little better at Relz Reviewz!

~~~~~~~~

What appeals to you most about writing fiction?

The creative aspect. That may sound overly simplified, but many authors find the actual writing of a story to be a real grind. I love it. I am impatient with most of the other aspects—redrafting, marketing, all speaking except when I am teaching the craft of writing. I just can’t wait …

Character Spotlight ~ Nancy Mehl’s Lizzie Engel & Noah Housler

Nancy Mehl’s new Kingdom series combines mystery, suspense and romance

Inescapable

Bethany House

The Story

Lizzie Engel is used to running away. At eighteen, she left her Mennonite hometown, her family, and her faith with plans never to return. Five years later, Lizzie finds she’ll have to run again. False accusations at her job, a stalker, and a string of anonymous threatening letters have left her with no other options. This time, however, her escape is back to Kingdom, her hometown.

As Lizzie becomes reacquainted with Kingdom, she realizes she may not have left her Mennonite roots and her faith …

Harvest of Rubies by Tessa Afshar with giveaway

Synopsis:~

The prophet Nehemiah’s cousin can speak numerous languages, keep complex accounts, write on rolls of parchment and tablets of clay, and solve great mysteries. There is only one problem: she is a woman.

In her early childhood years, Sarah experienced the death of her mother and her father’s subsequent emotional distance and she came to two conclusions: that God does not care about her, and that her accomplishments are the measure of her worth – the measure of her self.

Sarah, the talented scribe and cousin to Nehemiah, is catapulted into the center of the Persian court, working too …

The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck

With an uncanny talent for matching brides with their perfect wedding dress, Charlotte Malone’s bridal boutique is garnering quite the reputation in Birmingham, yet when it comes to finding her own bridal gown Charlotte is at a loss. Confused by her reluctance to finalise her wedding plans and her fiance’s similar stalling, Charlotte’s life is further complicated by the discovery of a vintage wedding dress in a old trunk she felt bound to purchase from an estate sale.

Pursuing the small clues contained in the trunk alongside the beautiful dress, Charlotte undertakes a journey of discovery unearthing the history of …

Character Spotlight ~ Nikki Arana’s Zaki ben Hassan

Nikka Arana’s suspenseful and challenging story will keep you up well into the night

The Next Target

David C Cook

The Story

It only took one bullet. Austia’s friend and student fell dead. And with a glimpse of a newspaper headline, the young and recently widowed Austia knows more about what happened than the police. From that fatal night, Austia’s secret outreach to the U.S. Muslim community—in the guise of English language classes—becomes a target. Local Muslim extremists set their sights on ending her ministry and even her life. And the women she ministers to will be next.

A thick …