Thoughts on Winning a Christy Award...

...and growing up in England.

"You can't cry while wearing a pink dress, or you'll never be taken seriously again as long as you live."

So writes Anne Elisabeth Stengl on her reaction to winning the 2011 Christy Award for Best First Novel. Her thoughts on her Christy Award experience can be read in full in her very entertaining blog post.

It takes a long time for a book to come to publication, and there are often many influencing factors along the way. It turns out that the Goldstone Woods of Anne Elisabeth's books were strongly influenced by the English common on which she used to play as a child when her father was stationed at Lakenheath in Suffolk with the USAF. Her family went exploring on this local common almost every day and it seems her parents and brothers encouraged her sense of imagination:

There was a dragon on the Common. We saw it a few times, though it was disguised as a mean tabby cat at the time. "Just because a dragon is disguised doesn't mean it's any less a dragon," Papa said.
So dragons clearly had an early influence on Anne Elisabeth!

As well as dragons, there were elves, which the 8-year-old Anne Elisabeth was certain were living in the ancient hollow oak trees. The trees themselves became sailing ships and castles as the Stengl children played in them.

So it was that a small-ish, wild-ish, open English space became to a young child an enchanted forest, and perhaps it was from one of the acorns from an ancient English oak tree in that 'real' yet magical place that Goldstone Wood grew...

For more on Anne Elisabeth's English childhood, and much more on Goldstone Wood, see her blog post W is for Wood.

Read a sample chapter of Heartless here.

Anne Elisabeth's next book Veiled Rose is out in the UK in August.

Finding God in Ordinary Things

There will always be a tree that isn't mine. But I'd be a fool to miss the forest that is, longing for it.

Do you ever think about the 'Holy' when looking at the 'everyday' things of life? If you do, you'll love The Sacred Ordinary . If you've never thought about such things before, this book may change your way of thinking.

Within its pages are 112 meditations covering all sorts of things - from old chandeliers to hymns and junk drawers. Wonderful, eclectic, and thought-provoking.

Here's the piece on other peoples' trees:

I have a wish list, even though it isn't written down anywhere. I'll bet you do too. I don't know what's on your list, but I can quickly cite some of the bigger, recurring items on mine: A buttercream, VW Beetle with a black rag top. A good, godly husband and a family of my own. A horse... and a place to put it that doesn't violate municipal deed restrictions. And anything hanging in my closet with a size 8 tag that I could comfortably wear. (NOTE FROM THE BLOG POSTER: Size 8 US is size 10 UK - don't panic, ladies!)

I saw the car on my list this week. I even parked next to it so that I could peek inside. And I've imagined that I glimpsed my husband more than once - although not recently. I finger the size 8's (10s!) in stores from time to time, but even at my leanest - given the bone structure I inherited on my father's side of the family - it's not likely to happen. Each time I see something on my wish list, I feel my heart go out. There's an insistent little voice that says, "I still want that. Why hasn't God allowed me to have it?"

It's far, far too easy to consider the account of man's fall in the book of Genesis and imagine (go ahead and laugh) that if I’d been Eve, things might have happened differently. But let’s face it: we all want the tree that isn't ours. Any tree that isn't ours.

There's no doubt in my mind that Eden was lush... beautiful... fragrant. I'm sure it was a treat for the senses and a deeply satisfying place to call home. But confronted with the one thing that was off-limits to her, Eve's satisfaction with Paradise wilted. Told that there was one tree that wasn't hers, she could think of little else. She wanted little else. All the goodness of the garden lost its shine when she remembered that single tree.

And most days, I'm no different.

But what if I saw those other 'trees' as cues to offer thanks for all that is mine? What if every “Beetle sighting” was my cue to thank God for safe, reliable transportation – or that my car actually started up this morning when I got in and turned the key. What if dinner with married friends or a trip to Baby Gap for a shower gift reminded me to thank him that I’m not unhappily married and that there are children all around me who need extra love? What if a drive to the country in April didn’t make me sigh deeply for the horse I don’t have but made me grateful for the cute, apartment-sized dog draped over the back of my city-girl sofa? And what if a glance at a well-clad, gaunt mannequin remind me that I’m clothed in righteousness and made me glad? Wouldn’t that be a healthier approach?

There will always be a tree that isn’t mine. But I’d be a fool to miss the forest that is, longing for it.

Four Christy Awards for Baker Publishing Group

Winner: Suspense. The Bishop by Steven James.

"In the fourth Patrick Bowers thriller—after The Pawn (2007), The Rook (2008), and The Knight (2009)—the FBI criminologist is called to the scene of a gruesome murder. At a primate research facility, a woman was attacked by two chimpanzees, but this was no accident: someone had tied the victim, a congressman’s daughter, to a tree and set the animals on her. Patrick, who’s faced his share of twisted killers, might be encountering his most clever foe. This is a fine thriller, featuring a strong, compassionate protagonist and a couple of pretty scary villains (imagine if Bonnie and Clyde were serial killers, and if they were completely mad). James, an accomplished writer who seems equally at home writing hard-edged thrillers and books about spirituality for adults and younger readers, clearly knows how to spin a yarn; and—despite its thematic similarities to the television series Criminal Minds—this novel is fresh and exciting."David Pitt, Booklist Reviewer.

For more information and a sample chapter click here.

Winner: Historical Romance. The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen.

Mariah Aubrey lives in hiding in the gatehouse of a distant relative's estate. Supporting herself and her servant by writing novels in secret, her life becomes even more complicated when Captain Matthew Bryant leases the estate...

"Christy and RITA nominee Klassen creates a wonderful cast of engaging characters while neatly stirring in a generous dash of mystery and danger into the plot of her latest, charmingly romantic inspirational romance." John Charles, Booklist

For more information and a sample chapter click here.

Winner: First Novel. Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl.

"Heartless is a great Christian fantasy tale, which is suitable for children and adults. It is very easy to read but hard to put down, I read it myself and now my younger nephews are fighting over it so I have had to purchase another! A great gift that will have you waiting for the next instalment! I am very impressed by Anne Elisabeth Stengl." Alex Pickering Eden.co.uk

For more information and a sample chapter click here.

Winner: Historical. While We're Far Apart

"For anyone who can remember the Second World War, this stirs up memories of how it used to be. Although set in America, the heartache felt by the children in this story was repeated in many countries, not least in the UK. Esther and her young brother had lost their mother and now it seemed they were going to lose their father too. Eddie has announced one Sunday afternoon that he has enlisted in the army. No argument, he has already signed up. Will their grandmother look after the children? No! What then? Penny, a young woman who has long loved Eddie from afar – next door actually, but it could have been a million miles – offers to help. Penny moves into the children’s home – which they resent - and over time the three of them get to know their elderly Jewish widower neighbour who is blaming God for taking his wife and always seeking news of his son and family in Hungary amidst all the news of what the Nazis are doing to the Jews in Europe. There are many other threads to this novel, and some surprising twists and turns that make for an excellent read that I can highly recommend." Mary Bartholomew, The Good Book Stall.

For more information and a sample chapter click here.

Review: "The Dog Next Door"

This book is perfect for any dog lover. I would not put myself in that category (liking dogs but not being a 'dog person') but I still really enjoyed it. Suzanne Woods Fisher, author and guide dog puppy walker says "These powerful stories will resonate with anyone who has loved a dog." She's right.

Full of short stories of people and their pets, it makes for an easy read as you can read just a short section, or a whole series of stories one after another.

In the story 'A New Calling' Jim and Sherri have bought a German Shepherd puppy. Sherri travels a lot with her job "which sounds glamorous but actually ranked slightly above getting hit by a truck on the fun meter" and on one of her trips she bought a book about search and rescue dogs. That book turned out to be life changing as Sherri - and her whole family - became involved in canine search and rescue.

That's just one story. Others include the story of the dog who saved a little girl from being attacked by a sexual predator, the dog with a particular bond to children with special needs, the dog who saved her owner from a devastating fire and many dogs who simply taught their owners things about life. My favourite is 'The Dog of My Heart', but you'll have to buy the book to read it!

Price: £7.99
ISBN: 9780800734190
Published by: Revell (An imprint of Baker Publishing Group)
Available through any good bookshop or online

To further whet your appetite, you can read a sample chapter here.