Getting the word out about the Christy Awards nominees

Today is Word Out Wednesday, and today I'm pleased to get the word out about the Christy Award nominations. I'm delighted that several of the books I've read and showcased here have been nominated for Christy awards.

According to the Christy Awards website, the awards are 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.
--Provide opportunity to recognize novelists whose work may not
have reached bestseller status.

The awards are named after Catherine Marshall's classic novel, Christy.

The complete list of nominees is here, but I'm just going to re-visit the nominees I've blogged about. Here we go:

Quaker Summer, by Lisa Samson

Quaker Summer was the first month's pick in Cindy's Book Club last summer (now defunct, the Book Club was a lot of fun!)

I interviewed Lisa Samson about Quaker Summer, and blogged about it here.

(One of the soundclips is no longer working.)



Jane Kirkpatrick tells me that this is her very first Christy Award nomination--a long time in coming, but totally well-deserved!

I apparently didn't blog about A Tendering in the Storm, although I read and enjoyed it very much. However, I reviewed the first book in the series, A Clearing in the Wild, here.

I'm now reading the latest in the series, A Mending at the Edge, and I'm totally engrossed. I'm excited about interviewing Jane for my radio show next week!




After my daughter and I read Sandra Byrd's delightful Let Them Eat Cake, we couldn't say enough about it!

I blogged about my interview with Sandra, complete with soundclips, here.










I thoroughly enjoyed Angela Hunt's Doesn't She Look Natural? Although I only blogged about it in passing. Only a writer as skilled and talented as Angela could set an absorbing and enjoyable story in a funeral parlor!












I'd always liked Deborah Raney's writing, but reading Remember to Forget reaffirmed my respect for her talent. I blogged about my interview with Deborah here, complete with soundclips.













Sharon Hinck's The Restorer was another Cindy's Book Club pick...and all the participants really enjoyed reading and discussing it.

I blogged about the book and my interview with Sharon here. (One of the soundclips is no longer working...sorry!)

I also read and really liked the sequel, The Restorer's Son.







Auralia's Colors, by Jeffrey Overstreet, was such an unusual book that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get into it...but I ended up loving it, and being a little stunned by the sheer beauty of Overstreet's writing.

Here's my post about my interview with Jeffrey, including a soundclip.

The book is actually nominated in two categories for Christys--Visionary and First Novel.

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Congratulations to these authors and all who received nominations!