Dave at Faith-in-Fiction brings word of the 2006 Christy Award Winners:
Contemporary – Dale Cramer, Levi’s Will (BHP)
Contemporary Series – Vanessa Del Fabbro, The Road to Home (Steeple Hill)
Historical – Liz Curtis Higgs, Whence Came a Prince (Waterbrook)
Suspense – Athol Dickson, River Rising (BHP)
Romance – Deeanne Gist, A Bride Most Begrudging (BHP)
Visionary – Karen Hancock, Shadow Over Kiriath (BHP)
First Novel – Nicole Mazzarella, This Heavy Silence (Paraclete)
Dave doesn’t toot his own horn, but he is a fiction acquisitions editor at Bethany House (BHP) and so has every reason to be proud of the results. Congrats to the authors and to Dave and Bethany House.
BTW, I reviewed This Heavy Silence last fall:
This Heavy Silence would be a depressing book were it not for its note of redemption and grace. I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t read it, but in the end Dottie comes to a realization about her life; she comes to understand the repercussions of her choices and her actions. Thankfully, Mazzarella doesn’t attach some cheesy miraculous happy ending to this poignant tale. Rather, Dottie must still deal with life as it is but she can begin to work toward undoing the damage and begin to mend the relationships in her life. She can see the world with a new perspective and begin to appreciate the small graces in her life.
This Heavy Silence is a gem of a book. A powerful story about the choices we make and the relationships we build while at the same time a poignant, insightful portrait of the struggles of life in rural America. I heartily recommend it.
Another award winner, River Rising, is in the TBR pile and I hope to get to it soon. I will, of course, report back when I am done.
What are the Christy Awards? See here.
