It is no shocker that the publishing game is undergoing rapid-fire change. The astonishing growth in self-publishing (over half a million self-published titles were released in 2013, up 400 percent since 2008, according to a recent Bowker report), the continued improvements in ereaders and digital reading apps, the rise in print on demand, and mergers among the Big Six (now Big Five) publishers are creating ripple effects throughout the industry.
How are Christian publishers keeping pace? Cat Hoort, the marketing and publicity manager for Abingdon Fiction, finds the ever-evolving fiction market particularly challenging. “We frequently see shifts in the popularity of genres, and we all know that ebooks changed the game entirely, not only in pricing, distribution, and content (such as digital bundles and now tweetable ebooks) but—perhaps most importantly—in discoverability. Direct-to-consumer promotion is now more important than ever.” Change is not new, she argues. Publishers that can adapt to the changes are still going to be successful.
CF’s growing mainstream appeal
One way publishers are adapting is by reaching new audiences; for secular houses that means acquiring Christian fiction imprints and buying titles specifically designed to appeal to value-driven readers. This trend is especially notable in the romance category; despite the current craze for erotic romance, there remain plenty of fans who prefer a more traditional or gentle love story. If the Christian content is subtle and organic, such readers are willing to consider an inspirational novel. “I think we’ll see mainstream readers who prefer less explicit stories start to gravitate toward Christian romance,” says Christina Boys, a senior editor for Hachette’s FaithWords/Center Street imprints.
Grand Central publicist Julie Paulauski agrees. “Romance readers are voracious in consumption and diverse in taste, so our editorial team is always looking for all types of stories within the genre.” She cites two upcoming World War I novels from the publisher’s Forever imprint—Stacy Henrie’s Hope Rising (Dec.) and A Hope Remembered (Mar. 2015)—that will be marketed to both the inspirational and the mainstream demographic.
“I love Stacy’s willingness to fearlessly cross boundaries,” says associate editor Lauren Plude, who acquired these books because she enjoyed them so much. “The ‘Of Love and War’ series dips its toe into women’s fiction, romance, historical fiction, and Christian fiction. In many ways this series is undefinable—which I think makes her universally appealing.”
Crossover opportunities
If mainstream romance fans are increasingly willing to sample CF, inspirational readers—and publishers—are also more open to new genres. Sarah Freese, an agent at Wordserve Literary (a Christian-based agency whose clients include award winners Julie Cantrell, Katie Ganshert, and Jody Hedlund), notices more Christian readers accepting stories that fall under the literary fiction category. “While there are still rules and expectations within the CBA [Christian Booksellers Association], more readers are open to Christian fiction that [doesn’t offer] ‘typical Evangelical’ answers.”
Concurring with Freese’s assessment is Chip MacGregor, president of MacGregor Literary; among his clients are popular CBA author Mindy Starns Clark and best-selling crossover author Susan Meissner. “I see several CBA publishers trying to create fiction that is less constrained by strict Christian fundamentalist restrictions.”
Among them is the UK’s largest Christian publisher, Lion Hudson; its Lion Fiction imprint offers historical, mystery, contemporary, and fantasy titles that appeal to both religious and secular readers. [See Barbara Hoffert’s “Spotlight on Lion Fiction” for a full profile (ow.ly/DpWN5).—Ed.] Noelle Pederson, the marketing and publicity manager for Kregel Publications, which represents Lion Fiction in the United States, points to the crossover success of Elizabeth Flynn’s debut 2013 mystery, Game, Set and Murder, which attracted the attention of Gothic Bookshop’s (Durham, NC) International Mystery Book Club. When Dead Gorgeous, the second title in Flynn’s “D.I. Costello” series, publishes in November, Kregel’s marketing push will focus on both Christian and secular mystery outlets.
Testing new waters
Also seeking new opportunities is best-selling CF author Davis Bunn, who is set to release a completely new brand of novels, published by Revell Books, under the pseudonym Thomas Locke. “These novels will provide the same suspense and intrigue that his readers have come to expect, but with story lines targeted to the general market,” explains Revell publicist Claudia Marsh. His first Locke book, Emissary, is an epic fantasy (Jan. 2015), something new for Bunn, although he is an avid fan of the genre. In June arrives the second Locke title, Trial Run, a technothriller that launches the “Fault Lines” series.
Another award-winning CBA writer navigating the general market is Susan Meissner, whose second mainstream novel with NAL will be released in February. Dovetailing between the perspectives of a modern American scholar and a fashion designer during the London Blitz, Secrets of a Charmed Life examines the impact the choices we make have on our beliefs and behaviors.
As Meissner’s success demonstrates, women’s fiction continues to be a strong draw for crossover audiences, especially for those readers who gravitate to Debbie Macomber and Jodi Picoult. “We’ve watched Julie Cantrell achieve great crossover success,” says Abingdon’s Hoort, “and we expect to see more of this from such authors as Cynthia Ruchti.” Ruchti’s upcoming novel, As Waters Gone By (May 2015), is a story of spouses separated by hardship attempting to save a desperate marriage.
Diluting the message?
Does the mainstreaming of Christian fiction mean a watered-down faith element? Bethany House marketing vice president Steve Oates stresses that a house’s publishing philosophy is more important than whether the ownership is Christian. And author Ruchti, who is also the professional relations liaison for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), argues that secular companies can in fact connect readers who might not otherwise consider inspirational fiction. Recognizing CF’s clout, such publishers are not interested in diluting the very element that makes such fiction popular.
Abingdon’s Hoort doesn’t expect either secular or CBA publishers to abandon their core readers, believing it to be a “both and” situation. “There will still be future releases for readers who want a clear Gospel message in their novels alongside books that are clean, fun, and inspiring but not overtly religious.” She points to Sharyn McCrumb’s Christmas novella Nora Bonesteel’s Christmas Past (Abingdon, Nov.) as an example.
“Christian readers may find a Matthew 7:12/Golden Rule sort of inspiration, while at the same time crossover and mainstream readers will enjoy this as a fun read that includes the characters and setting that they’ve come to love—the very elements that have made McCrumb a repeated New York Times best seller,” Hoort says.
Going indie
Once considered a domain for those whose books couldn’t find a home at a traditional house, self-publishing is attracting even best-selling writers. Some are going this route to bring their out-of-print titles back into circulation without the high costs of traditional publishing. Other authors are using it as a tool to “build momentum” for hungry readers in between their book contracts. Still others are pleased with the greater control self-publishing puts into their hands, such as over the elements of pricing and timing.
Still, ACFW’s Ruchti maintains that the most successful independent authors are those who “cut their teeth” and built experience in the traditional publishing world. Karen Watson, Tyndale House associate publisher, fiction, agrees, noting that independent publishing can be a good source of income for established authors. But she questions whether it can be used as replacement income—even for those with a name in the industry. “What this will mean for these authors long- term is still too early to tell.”
For the moment, CF houses like Thomas Nelson and Tyndale House have picked up only a few previously self-published writers, a tiny portion of their lists, but the publishers are paying close attention to those indie authors who are building a fan base and who might be a good fit for their programs. “I think that by and large, the attitude of traditional publishers toward self-publishing has evolved from a sense of threat to a sense of opportunity,” says Thomas Nelson VP and publisher Daisy Hutton.
The hybrid model
Where others might fear to tread, small hybrid houses like Oklahoma-based Redbud Press are springing up to bridge the gap between self-publishing and the traditional model. Launched this year by authors Regina Jennings, Lacy Williams, and Erin Taylor Young, the self-described boutique publisher is using the digital-first and print-on-demand model. “We believe there is a need for more short inspirational romances (45,000–60,000 words), and we’ve also seen that many authors are nervous about taking the leap into self-publishing and want someone to manage the business side for them,” explains Williams, who is Redbud’s managing editor. “We are a traditional publisher in the sense that we maintain control of the print and ebook rights and final decisions on cover art and edits, but we are employing many of the same marketing tactics that successful self-published authors and online marketing gurus are using.”
Scheduled for a March 2015 rollout, Redbud’s initial list includes Cheryl Wyatt’s Out of the Deep, the first of a three-book series featuring Coast Guard heroes, and Susan Crawford’s debut novel, Saving Justice, about a teacher who clashes with a wealthy entrepreneur over an at-risk youth. “While many of the current contemporary romances feature small-town or Western settings, this novel takes place in an urban setting,” says Williams. Redbud is also actively acquiring backlist titles of authors who fit its readership.
Agent MacGregor represents numerous hybrid authors (authors who do some self-publishing as well as some traditional publishing), and he is encouraging most writers to consider that direction. “I think we’ve developed two basic markets—one for largely self-published authors, another for traditionally published authors.”
History in the making
Though Civil War novels and historicals set in the Old West are still favored by CBA readers, opportunities in new periods beyond the classic American frontier are emerging as a result of the mainstream popularity of early to mid-20th-century periods. “As the mainstream and Christian markets become more entwined, each market seems to influence the other,” comments FaithWords’ Boys.
The success of Downton Abbey (the new season starts in January on PBS) and this year’s World War I and World War II anniversaries (the centennial of the Great War’s start; the 70th anniversary of the D-day landings) continue to spur reader interest in both global conflicts. Shannon Marchese, fiction editor for WaterBrook/Multnomah, believes these trends will continue for a while, especially as the news from the real world feels overwhelming. “These are examples from history of triumph over evil and people of strength and faith carrying on after devastating experiences.”
“The World War II anniversary celebrations have been extensive in the UK and have quite captured the imagination there,” explains Kregel’s Pederson. “Lion Fiction is contributing to that zeal but combining it with its growing reputation as a mystery publisher to present a new hard-boiled series [set in wartime London], ‘The Blitz Detective,’ with debut author Mike Hollow.” The first book, Direct Hit, will publish next June. Kristy Cambron, author of the acclaimed The Butterfly and the Violin, will revisit the Holocaust in the second entry in her “Hidden Masterpiece” series, A Sparrow in Terezin (Thomas Nelson, Apr. 2015). As for the Great War, Kate Breslin’s sophomore effort, Not by Sight (Bethany House, Aug. 2015), offers a look at the role of spies in World War I England.
Bethany House acquisitions editor Raela Schoenherr also notices a surge in demand for stories about the prewar and postwar eras. Sarah Loudin Thomas’s Miracle in a Dry Season (Aug.), the first entry in her “Appalachian Blessing” series, “begins in the 1950s and is full of heart and charm that serves as a nice foil to the darkness of the war years.” Next August, Bethany House will publish Susan Ann Mason’s Irish Meadows, a debut novel that showcases romance and family drama prior to World War I. The 1920s were a time of new freedom for women and thus make the perfect period for A Flying Affair (FaithWords, Jun. 2015), Carla Stewart’s historical novel about a female pilot navigating love and life that is sure to appeal to readers with a strong sense of adventure. On Shifting Sand (Tyndale, Apr. 2015), Allison Pittman’s latest historical, explores the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s. Pittman and Stewart are both multiaward winners known for their character-driven fiction.
Tyndale’s Watson has also seen in the last few years novels that are pulling from the late 1950s and early 1960s, a time of significant change involving civil rights, social justice, and changing social mores. “There has been enough distance from those events to make them historical and ripe for exploration.”
Seems like old times
Biblical fiction’s popularity ebbs and flows, according to Bethany House’s Schoenherr, but the popularity of The Bible miniseries as well as the controversial release of Noah with Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott’s upcoming film Exodus: Gods and Kings starring Christian Bale as Moses “shows that ancient times hold new appeal.” If Scott’s film is a hit, there may be a ready audience for Cliff Graham’s Shadow of the Mountain: Exodus (Bethany House, May 2015), a gritty action-filled saga about Old Testament heroes Joshua and Caleb. Jill Eileen Smith’s “Daughters of the Promised Land” series launches next February with The Crimson Cord (Revell), which retells the story from the Book of Joshua about Rahab the Jericho prostitute who risks all to save Israelite spies.
A surprising entry in the New Testament genre is Ted Dekker, who turns to biblical fiction with A.D. 30 (Center Street, Oct.; see starred review). In this interpretation of Jesus’s life, Dekker (known for his chillers published by both CBA and mainstream houses) turns his thriller-writing skills in a new direction, adding (in senior editor Boys’s words) “strong characters and settings that bring history and the Bible to life, driven by action and adventure and some surprising twists.”
The GOT effect
Literary agent Julie Gwinn of the Seymour Agency (which represents Vannetta Chapman and Amanda Flower) likes to watch what is happening in television and film as early indicators of possible trends. “With Game of Thrones, we are now seeing more medieval themes.” Why the appeal of fiction set during the Middle Ages? Bethany House executive editor, fiction acquisitions, David Long suggests that particular historical period “seems poised on the knife’s edge of history and legend, fairy tale and real life…. There is a lasting appeal there that crosses generations of readers.”
Coming in January from Bethany House is Dina Sleiman’s Dauntless, a debut adventure novel that combines history, legend, and romance. With its heroine, a baron’s daughter–turned–bandit, this is bound to attract Robin Hood buffs and readers who like strong female protagonists in their historical fiction. For fans of George R.R. Martin’s and Bernard Cornwell’s medieval dramas, there is John Sadler’s visceral Blood Divide: A Novel of Flodden Field (Lion Fiction, Jan. 2015), which re-creates the bloody 1513 Battle of Flodden in which the English forces slaughtered the Scottish king, James IV, and 15,000 soldiers.
December marks the publication of William Peak’s The Oblate’s Confession (Secant), a debut historical novel about a seventh-century English monastery that takes readers “deep within the mind-set and spirits of our Christian forefathers.” Ron Sauder, editor and publisher at Secant Publishing, a small Maryland-based mainstream press specializing in new regional voices, notes that this novel would appeal to “anyone who wants to reflect on the role of faith, and prayer, in a time of great uncertainty.”
The rise of Christian sf/fantasy
For Kregel’s Pederson, the current medieval interest goes hand in hand with the rise in popularity of fantasy and speculative fiction. “Thanks to J.R.R. Tolkien, much of fantasy (Christian and otherwise) has a hint of the Middle Ages.” Anna Thayer, an English teacher who lectures on Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, concludes her “Knight of Eldaran” trilogy with The Broken Blade (Lion Fiction, Apr. 2015). Readers who admire Stephen R. Lawhead’s Celtic fantasies will want to follow C.E. Laureano’s “Song of Seare” YA series about a young harpist’s journey in a dangerous world ruled by the Red Druid; the second volume, Beneath the Forsaken City (NavPress), releases in February.
Meanwhile, the dystopian craze shows no signs of abating. The genre, explains Pederson, tells exciting stories with a strong moral message and, because of that, will remain popular in Christian YA fiction. “It’s this sense of purpose that makes dystopian fiction, like our debut author Marissa Shrock’s The First Principle (Jan. 2015), a good fit for a strong evangelical publisher like Kregel.” Steve Laube, a literary agent and president of Enclave Publishing, sees a certain fatigue in editors and booksellers. Still this past October Enclave published A Time To Die, the first volume in Nadine Brandes’s “Out of Time” trilogy; when 17-year-old Parvin Blackwater helps the rebels who destroy the clocks that determine their life span, she embarks on a pilgrimage to find meaning in what remains of her own life.
One of the few CF publishers to specialize in Christian sf/fantasy, Enclave is the new name of Marcher Lord Press, which Laube acquired from Jeff Gerke in 2013. Its other recent offerings include military sf (J. Wesley Bush’s Knox’s Irregulars), space opera (Kathy Tyers’s Firebird), fantasy (Gillian Bronte Adams’s Orphan’s Song), and YA speculative fiction (John W. Otte’s Failstate Nemesis).
End of end times?
With the success of the HBO series The Leftovers and the groundbreaking “Left Behind” series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, is there a resurgence in end-times fiction? Laube thinks most other end-times apocalyptic novels have struggled to find a fraction of the book-buying audience. (The 2014 Left Behind film starring Nicolas Cage was a critical and financial bomb.)
The Seymour Agency’s Gwinn disagrees. “With the recent flare-up of trouble in Israel, there has been again a spike in end-times (Revelation) discussions. What we are seeing now is a rise in popularity in themes where technology takes over to create blackouts and dystopian-type situations.” She points to such new television series as The Last Ship (pandemic) and Fallen Skies (aliens) as indicators of where this trend could be going. Tyndale’s Watson foresees more merging of the two genres of end-times literature: dystopian and biblical. There will be “less wrestling with the theology of end-times and more about waking up in a reality that leaves no other choice for characters than to examine their own lives and eternal destiny.”
Whatever direction Christian speculative fiction takes, its growing popularity is encouraging other CF authors to explore its imaginative possibilities. Next April, best-selling CBA author Jennifer AlLee is stepping out of her women’s fiction shoes with Vinnie’s Diner (Abingdon), about a most unusual roadside eatery, which Abingdon senior acquisitions editor Ramona Richards hopes will open a few more doors for her and for the genre.
Contemporary issues
Today’s contemporary faith-filled fiction is unafraid to tackle difficult social issues once avoided in more traditional CBA fiction fare and explore these subjects through the eyes of faith. ACFW’s Ruchti credits the make-a-difference mind-set of Millennials for driving story lines of novels that address pressing social issues. “Real needs. Real problems. Played out in the lives of imaginary characters.”
Cindy Sproles’s Mercy’s Rain (Kregel, Jan. 2015) takes on an immediacy with its themes of abuse and misconduct in the clergy, while Gerard Kelly’s The Boy Who Loved Rain (Lion Fiction, Jan. 2015) deals with teenage suicide, more timely than ever in the wake of Robin Williams’s death. Traveling a bit further, Kate McCord, a humanitarian aid worker in Afghanistan who wrote In the Land of Blue Burqas, a memoir about her experiences, now turns to fiction with Farewell, Four Waters (Moody, Oct.), which deals with the urgent issue of sex slavery. Even a popular author of Amish fiction like Cindy Woodsmall is tackling tough, real-life topics. In her September novel A Love Undone (WaterBrook), Woodsmall examines the fallout after an Amish wife abandons her family. “A complicated situation in any family, it is made even more difficult by the restrictions of the Amish belief system,” says WaterBrook’s Marchese.
Novelizations & romance
As the market for Christian-themed films expands, movie tie-ins are increasingly part of the contemporary landscape. Chris Fabry’s novelization (Tyndale, Jan. 2015) of the recent fall release The Song is a contemporary story of temptation and forgiveness that will resonate with readers. Rene Gutteridge’s contemporary romance Old Fashioned (Tyndale, Jan. 2015) is based on the film of the same name set to release this winter. Tyndale will also publish a nonfiction book on old-fashioned courtship and romance to coincide with both the book and the film release.
In the inspirational romance category, time of year and sense of place remain vital elements. Melody Carlson is launching the urban-themed “Follow Your Heart” series with New York City the setting for the first book, Once upon a Summertime (Revell, Jun. 2015) while thoughts of Cupid fill her Valentine’s-themed Love Gently Falling (Center Street, Jan. 2015). Another romance with a strong sense of place—and historical elements—is The Lost Garden (Lion Fiction, Jun. 2015), set in a former English vicarage. The author, Katharine Swartz, is an Anglican minister’s wife and lover of all things country, which colors her fiction.
Cozies & clerical sleuths
For Christian mysteries, cozy is the name of the game. Lion Fiction decided to publish mysteries, because it is a plot-driven genre that translates well to the inspirational fiction market. “And because they want them to fit in the Christian fiction market as well as the general market most [of Lion’s mysteries] can be classified as cozy,” says Pederson. Out this month is Martha Ockley’s A Saintly Killing (Lion Fiction), which introduces a clerical protagonist in the tradition of G.K. Chesterton’s popular Father Brown titles. Lynne Hinton, author of the best-selling “Hope Springs” series, is making her mystery debut, Sister Eve, Private Eye (Thomas Nelson, Nov.), featuring a crime-solving nun. On the thriller front, Zachary Bartels’s debut, Playing Saint (Thomas Nelson, Oct. 2014), has the pastor of a megachurch caught up in Da Vinci Code–like shenanigans but with more humor.
Suspense remains much in demand with readers, and some favorite best-selling authors are returning next year with new thrillers, including Dee Henderson’s abduction-themed Taken (Bethany House, Apr. 2015); Terri Blackstock’s conclusion to her “Moonlighters” series, Twisted Innocence (Zondervan, Feb. 2015); Colleen Coble’s latest romantic suspense, The Inn at Ocean’s Edge (Thomas Nelson, Apr. 2015); DiAnn Mills’s FBI thriller Double Cross (Tyndale, Apr. 2015), and Candace Calvert’s medical-themed By Your Side (Tyndale, Mar. 2015).
What’s new for bonnet fiction?
Despite an influx of Amish vampires and detectives, such angles may not hold any lasting impact on the genre, according to Bethany House’s Oates. “The dynamic that attracts a buyer to the Amish genre is the family-oriented lifestyle, the integration of faith and life, and the simplicity of the nontechnological life. Adding elements to the plot that don’t naturally occur in the Amish community isn’t going to appeal to the reader of these gentle stories.” Likewise, Kregel is sticking with the original Amish romance formula but adding a broader context. Its “Plain City Peace” series by Stephanie Reed (the second book, The Bachelor, just came out in October) is set in the 1970s and incorporates Vietnam and the Kent State shootings as well as the core Amish community in Plain City, OH.
Still, Abingdon’s senior acquisitions editor Ramona Richards thinks Amish fiction will continue to explore a variety of settings away from the traditional Pennsylvania and Ohio locations. One such example is Lynette Sowell’s Florida-based “Seasons in Pinecraft” series; the third volume, A Promise of Grace, is out next June from Abingdon. The town of Pinecraft is also a popular vacation destination in Shelley Shepard Gray’s The Promise of Palm Grove (Avon Inspire, Jan. 2015), the first title in her new “Amish Brides of Pinecraft” series. Richards also expects more cross-genre efforts (Amish mystery/suspense) and more novella collections, “which will provide some light, quick reads for the audience.” Indeed, Suzanne Woods Fisher will be mixing Amish history with inspirational romance in Anna’s Crossing (Revell, Mar. 2015), about the early Amish migration to America.
CF’s future
As the traditional CF audience ages, it is only natural that the new names coming up in the industry will be Millennials. According to Tyndale’s Watson, these authors are expressing their faith and the interpretation of it through their writing in fresh new ways. “In the same way that authors like Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker came onto the scene 20 years ago and changed the norm for CF, today’s new authors will do the same,” says Watson. Amy Haddock, WaterBrook’s senior marketing manager, adds that Millennial readers demand higher quality writing and less predictable plots. What WaterBrook and Tyndale look for now are highly skilled marketable new authors with original ideas. The challenge for publishers, notes Watson, is in finding the right balance of new and marketable.
What kind of inspirational fiction do young adults in their 20s and 30s want to read? Janet Kobobel Grant, founder of Books & Such Literary Management, thinks such readers are interested in stories about “units” of people (think Friends): “whether that be a depiction of an extended family; a saga of a family over generations; siblings striving to accomplish something together; or girlfriends figuring out life.” As for the budding genre of new adult fiction, agent Julie Gwinn says the more intense adult situations give some CF publishers pause.
In marketing to Millennials, houses are discarding the traditional book promotion of the past. Young adults, says Abingdon’s Richards, are more likely to stay loyal to a known author and seek to make connections to authors through social media. “This means that the way readers discover new authors continues to evolve and that an author’s visibility is going to be key in reaching new fans.” Today’s promotional campaigns spend more time trying to help an author build a following with personal interactions on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, and Skype.
In the end, says author Ruchti, Christian fiction is all about the story. Despite the challenging publishing climate and rapid technological changes, “The world hasn’t lost its love of story. And story hasn’t lost its power to move us, to make us think, dream, or reflect.”
Midlothian, VA–based freelance writer Julia M. Reffner has reviewed books and DVDs in a variety of genres for LJ and writes and reviews for several websites. She is also an assistant coordinator for the CAROL awards in Christian fiction for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW)
Seeking Christian Fiction
Mentioned in this article (and its online extension) are recently published and forthcoming Christian fiction titles that illustrate the genre’s diversity in all its forms
AUTHOR
TITLE
PUBLISHER
RELEASE
Adams, Gillian Bronte
Orphan’s Song
Enclave
Oct.
AlLee, Jennifer
Vinnie’s Diner
Abingdon
Apr. 2015
Bartels, Zachary
Playing Saint
Thomas Nelson
Oct.
Blackstock, Terri
Twisted Innocence
Zondervan
Feb. 2015
Brandes, Nadine
A Time To Die
Enclave
Oct.
Breslin, Kate
Not by Sight
Bethany House
Aug. 2015
Bush, J. Wesley
Knox’s Irregulars
Enclave
Nov.
Calvert, Candace
By Your Side
Tyndale
Mar. 2015
Cambron, Kristy
A Sparrow in Terezin
Thomas Nelson
Apr. 2015
Carlson, Melody
Love Gently Falling
Center Street
Jan. 2015
Carlson, Melody
Once upon a Summertime
Revell
Jun. 2015
Coble, Colleen
The Inn at Ocean’s Edge
Thomas Nelson
Apr. 2015
Crawford, Susan
Saving Justice
Redbud
Mar. 2015
Dekker, Ted
A.D. 30
Center Street
Oct.
Fabry, Chris
The Song
Tyndale
Jan. 2015
Fisher, Suzanne Woods
Anna’s Crossing
Revell
Mar. 2015
Flynn, Elizabeth
Dead Gorgeous
Lion Fiction
Nov.
Graham, Cliff
Shadow of the Mountain: Exodus
Bethany House
May 2015
Gray, Shelley Shepard
The Promise of Palm Grove
Avon Inspire
Jan. 2015
Gutteridge, Rene
Old Fashioned
Tyndale
Jan. 2015
Henderson, Dee
Taken
Bethany House
Apr. 2015
Henrie, Stacy
A Hope Remembered
Forever: Grand Central
Mar. 2015
Henrie, Stacy
Hope Rising
Forever: Grand Central
Dec.
Hinton, Lynne
Sister Eve, Private Eye
Thomas Nelson
Nov.
Hollow, Mike
Direct Hit
Lion Fiction
Jun. 2015
Kelly, Gerard
The Boy Who Loved Rain
Lion Fiction
Jan. 2015
Laureano, C.E.
Beneath the Forsaken City
NavPress
Feb. 2015
Locke, Thomas
Emissary
Revell
Jan. 2015
Locke, Thomas
Trial Run
Revell
Jun. 2015
McCord, Kate
Farewell, Four Waters
Moody
Oct.
McCrumb, Sharyn
Nora Bonesteel’s Christmas Past
Abingdon
Nov.
Mason, Susan Ann
Irish Meadows
Bethany House
Aug. 2015
Meissner, Susan
Secrets of a Charmed Life
NAL
Feb. 2015
Mills, DiAnn
Double Cross
Tyndale
Apr. 2015
Ockley, Martha
A Saintly Killing
Lion Fiction
Nov.
Otte, John W.
Failstate Nemesis
Enclave
Oct.
Peak, William
The Oblate’s Confession
Secant
Dec.
Pittman, Allison
On Shifting Sand
Tyndale
Apr. 2015
Reed, Stephanie
The Bachelor
Kregel
Oct.
Ruchti, Cynthia
As Waters Gone By
Abingdon
May 2015
Sadler, John
Blood Divide
Lion Fiction
Jan. 2015
Shrock, Marissa
The First Principle
Kregel
Jan. 2015
Sleiman, Dina
Dauntless
Bethany House
Jan. 2015
Smith, Jill Eileen
The Crimson Cord
Revell
Feb. 2015
Sowell, Lynette
A Promise of Grace
Abingdon
Jun. 2015
Sproles, Cindy
Mercy’s Rain
Kregel
Jan. 2015
Stewart, Carla
A Flying Affair
FaithWords
Jun. 2015
Swartz, Katharine
The Lost Garden
Lion Fiction
Jun. 2015
Thayer, Anna
The Broken Blade
Lion Fiction
Apr. 2015
Thomas, Sarah Loudin
Miracle in a Dry Season
Bethany House
Aug.
Tyers, Kathy
Firebird
Enclave
Oct.
Woodsmall, Cindy
A Love Undone
WaterBrook
Sept.
Wyatt, Cheryl
Out of the Deep
Rosebud
Mar. 2015