Today’s Top 10 Tuesday topic is a Genre Freebie. As I always do, I am tweaking the prompt. đ I’m not featuring genre fiction, but 5-star general fiction. According to languagehumanities.org, general fiction is —
General fiction is the catch all term for novels and other literature that don’t fit into a particular genre. Romance, Western, mystery, science fiction and other genres each have a particular theme that is fitting to its classification. General works, on the other hand, don’t have enough elements of any one theme to be classified within a certain genre. The story and plot of general fiction is no less strong, and in many cases even stronger, than that of genre works.
General fiction offerings, in my experience, are well-told stories and are some of my favorite books. I hope you like my list and find a book to love!
For more genre favorites, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.
Top 5-Star General Fiction
Before I Saw You by Amy K. Sorrells
The Edge of Belonging by Amanda Cox
The Nature of Small Birds by Susie Finkbeiner
No One Ever Asked by Katie Ganshert
The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox
Welcome to the Blog Blitz for The Christy Award Finalists organized by ECPA and hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours! We extend our sincere and enthusiastic congratulations to The Christy Award 2022 Finalists!
The Christy Award Finalists 2022
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
All That Really Matters by Nicole Deese (Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group)
Bookshop by the Sea by Denise Hunter (Thomas Nelson Publishers)
Husband Auditions by Angela Ruth Strong (Kregel Publications)
FIRST NOVEL
All That Is Secret by Patricia Raybon (Tyndale House Publishers) Recorder by Cathy McCrumb (Enclave Publishing, a division of Oasis Family Media) Sugar Birds by Cheryl Grey Bostrom (She Writes Press)
GENERAL FICTION
The Letter Keeper by Charles Martin (Thomas Nelson Publishers) The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox (Revell/ Baker Publishing Group) Under the Magnolias by T. I. Lowe (Tyndale House Publishers)
HISTORICAL
Between the Wild Branches by Connilyn Cossette (Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group) Drawn by The Current by Jocelyn Green (Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group) The Widows of Champagne by Renee Ryan (Love Inspired) Yours is the Night by Amanda Dykes (Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group)
HISTORICAL ROMANCE
As Dawn Breaks by Kate Breslin (Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group) Hope Between the Pages by Pepper Basham (Barbour Publishing) Shadows of Swanford Abbey by Julie Klassen (Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group) Until Leaves Fall in Paris by Sarah Sundin (Revell/ Baker Publishing Group)
MYSTERY/SUSPENSE/THRILLER
Aftermath by Terri Blackstock (Thomas Nelson Publishers) The Barrister and the Letter of Marque by Todd M. Johnson (Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group) On the Cliffs of Foxglove Manor by Jaime Jo Wright (Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group)
SHORT FORM
A Texas Christmas Carol (in Under the Texas Mistletoe) by Karen Witemeyer (Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group) Mr. Nicholas: A Magical Christmas Tale by Christopher de Vinck (Paraclete Press) False Pretense by Heather Day Gilbert (WoodHaven Press)
SPECULATIVE
A Time to Seek by Tracy Higley (Stonewater Books LLC) Dark Intercept by Brian Andrews & Jeffrey Wilson (Tyndale House Publishers) Recorder by Cathy McCrumb (Enclave Publishing, a division of Oasis Family Media) Windward Shore by Sharon Hinck (Enclave Publishing, a division of Oasis Family Media)
YOUNG ADULT
A Gentle Tyranny by Jess Corban (Wander, an imprint of Tyndale House Publishers) Realms of Light by Sandra Fernandez Rhoads (Enclave Publishing, a division of Oasis Family Media) Shadow by Kara Swanson (Enclave Publishing, a division of Oasis Family Media)
TOUR GIVEAWAY
(1) winner will receive print copies of The Christy Award finalist titles from one category of their choice!
Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight November 3, 2022 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on November 10, 2022. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Art of Writing on November 17, 12:30-5 pm at Lipscomb University in Nashville $99 A conference for writers, storytellers, and publishing curators.
The Christy Award Gala on November 17, 7-9 pm at Lipscomb University in Nashville $89 Celebrate this year’s finalists and winners with authors, editors, publishers, and readers!
Bundle the Art of Writing Conference & The Christy Award Gala $139
The Christy AwardÂŽ is a program of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) and is the foremost award honoring and promoting excellence in Christian fiction since 1999. For more information about ECPA, visit ECPA.org. For more information about the Christy Awards and Art of Writing conferences, visit ChristyAwards.com or email TheChristyAward@ecpa.org
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
Congratulations to all the fabulous authors who are 2022 Christy Award Finalists. I’ve read several of these books, including 4 that were my book club’s choices. All look so good! You are welcome for the additions to your TBR pile! đ
Romance
All That Really Matters by Nicole Deese
Bookshop by The Sea by Denise Hunter
Husband Auditions by Angela Ruth Strong
First Novel
All That Is Secret by Patricia Raybon
Recorderby Cathy McCrumb
Sugar Birds by Cheryl Grey Bostrom
General Fiction
The Letter Keeper by Charles Martin
The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox
Under the Magnolias by T. I. Lowe
Historical
Between The Wild Branches by Connilyn Cossette
Drawn by The Current by Jocelyn Green
The Widows of Champagne by Renee Ryan
Yours Is The Night by Amanda Dykes
Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Aftermath by Terri Blackstock
The Barrister And The Letter of Marque by Todd M. Johnson
On The Cliffs of Foxglove Manor by Jaime Jo Wright
Speculative
A Time to Seek by Tracy Higley
Dark Intercept by Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson
Recorder by Cathy McCrumb
Windward Shore by Sharon Hinck
Historical Romance
As Dawn Breaks by Kate Breslin
Hope Between The Pages by Pepper Basham
Shadows of Swanford Abbey by Julie Klassen
Until Leaves Fall in Paris by Sarah Sundin
Short Form
A Texas Christmas Carol by Karen Witemeyer (in Under The Texas Mistletoe collection)
Happy Friday! Today I randomly selected a book from my shelves. Charles Martin is a favorite, and I really need to read this book! Maybe I’ll sneak it into my book club’s reading list. đ Send Down The Rain sounds so good. Have you read it? I would love to know your thoughts.
Here’s the first line:
The breeze tugged at my hair and cooled my skin.
Allie is still recovering from the loss of her familyâs beloved waterfront restaurant on Floridaâs Gulf Coast when she loses her second husband to a terrifying highway accident. Devastated and losing hope, she shudders to contemplate the futureâuntil a cherished person from her past returns.
Joseph has been adrift for many years, wounded in both body and spirit and unable to come to terms with the trauma of his Vietnam War experiences. Just as he resolves to abandon his search for peace and live alone in a remote cabin in the Carolina mountains, he discovers a mother and her two small children lost in the forest. A man of character and strength, he instinctively steps in to help them get back to their home in Florida. There he will return to his own hometownâand witness the accident that launches a bittersweet reunion with his childhood sweetheart, Allie.
When Joseph offers to help Allie rebuild her restaurant, it seems the flame may reigniteâuntil a forty-five-year-old secret begins to emerge, threatening to destroy all hope for their second chance at love.
Send Down the Rain will take you on a journey that spans the sweltering migrant worker routes of south Florida, muddy battlefields of Vietnam, thickets of northwest North Carolina, and the idyllic shores of Americaâs most beautiful beach (Cape San Blas). At the storyâs center lies the question: What does it meanâand what level of sacrifice does it takeâto truly love someone?
Charles Martin is a New York Times bestselling author of 16 previous novels, including his most recent, TheRecord Keeper‘. His work is available in 35+ languages. He lives in Jacksonville, Florida with his wife and their three sons.
This week’s TTT topic is favorite books written over ten years ago. I decided to revisit bookclub selections from 2010. I was pleasantly surprised that our picks that year would still be on a recommended list. I’ve included all twelve — there’s plenty to choose from.
For more nostalgic reading recs, visit That Artsy Reader Girl.
Book Club Picks from 2010
Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin
Distant Echoes by Colleen Coble
Face of Betrayal by Lis Wiehl and April Henry
Greater Love by Robert Whitlow
Her Daughter’s Dream by Francine Rivers
Her Mother’s Hope by Francine Rivers
Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs
The Hope of Refuge by Cindy Woodsmall
Listen by Rene Gutteridge
The Night Watchman by Mark Mynheir
Predator by Terri Blackstock (now free with Amazon Prime)
Welcome to the Blog Tour for They Turned the World Upside Down by Charles Martin, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: They Turned the World Upside Down Author: Charles Martin Publisher: Thomas Nelson Release Date: January 5, 2021 Genre: Christian Life/Spiritual Growth
In the aftermath of Jesusâ resurrection, the testimonies of those who had followed him were so bold and so powerful that they turned the world upside down. What would happen if we lived with that same kind of faith today?
Walk in the shoes of the disciples, as New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin brings their stories to life with his storytellerâs perspective.
In the first century, believer didnât just mean someone who heard and agreed with Jesus; it meant someone who acted on that belief. And when the outside world saw the faith of these new believers, they declared âthey turned the world upside downâ (Acts 17:6).
Thatâs the kind of believer Charles Martin wants us to be. The kind who understands that the truth of Jesusâ life, death, and resurrection is so powerful, it reshaped history. The kind of believer who lives with that same world-changing faith today.
In his second non-fiction work, he uses his talents as a novelist to walk you through the lives of the disciples in the aftermath of the Resurrection and as they spread the message of the Gospel and âturn the world upside downâ, leading up to Paulâs ministry in Thessonalica. In his beloved lyrical style, Martin illuminates key moments from Scripture and shares stories from his own life as a disciple.
With the same depth, sensitivity, and emotion that have made his novels beloved to millions, Martin will helps you engage with your faith in a new and inspiring way.
EXCERPT
What Exactly Do You Believe?
Throughout the earthly ministry of Jesus, and leading up to and through the resurrection, the apostlesâ problem was our problem. Belief. This has always been the problem.
So, let me dig at you a bit: What exactly do you believe? Let me put some teeth into this question.
⢠If God asked you to build an ark, would you?
⢠If He asked you to sacrifice your son, would you?
Okay, let me bring it closer to home.
⢠If He asked you to pray for the sickâ someone who was in a coma on life support attached to a ventilator, moments from being âunpluggedââ would you?
⢠If He asked you to cast out a demon, would you?
⢠If He asked you to pray for a dead person, to bring them back to life,
would you?
Still too tough? Okay, what if He asked you to:
⢠Forgive someone who didnât deserve itâ at all. Would you?
⢠Tell the Muslim with the prayer rug in the cubicle next to you about
Him. Would you?
⢠Risk a relationship with someone you love to tell them that their sin is not righteousnessâ even though they adamantly and defiantly claim that it is. Would you?
⢠Go to a friendâs house to pray for their child who is a cutter. Would you?
⢠Tithe before you pay taxes and your bills when money is already tight. Do you?
According to Jesus, the kingdom of heaven has come to us (Rev.12:10). If you are in Him, then you are in the kingdom. He also tells us that unless we become like a child, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18:3). Why is that?
âTaken from They Turned the World Upside Down by Charles Martin. Copyright Š2020 by Charles Martin.
Used by permission of Nelson Publishing, an imprint of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.comâ.
Charles Martin is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of fifteen novels and two nonfiction books. He and his wife, Christy, live in Jacksonville, Florida.
(1) winner will receive a print copy of They Turned the World Upside Down and What If It’s True?!
Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight February 16, 2021 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on February 23, 2021. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
The reactions of my book club members to Burden of Proof by Davis Bunn ranged from didnât like the ending to didnât like the book at all! LOL! So, one strike so far for our 2021 selections. Not a promising start to a new year of reading. However, the book did spark a lot of great discussion — a win in my book. I especially liked the answers to the question âif you could go back in time to change something, would you?â.
What did (or didn’t) you like about Burden of Proof?
I liked Burden of Proof, as did my husband. If you are in that seeming minority too, here are some book recommendations for more great reading. All three novels deal with past regrets and making amends (but no time travel đ ).
Not in The Heart by Chris Fabry
Truman Wiley used to report news stories from around the world, but now the most troubling headlines are his own. Heâs out of work, out of touch with his family, out of his home. But nothing dogs him more than his sonâs failing heart.
With mounting hospital bills and Trumanâs penchant for gambling his savings, the situation seems hopeless . . . until his estranged wife throws him a lifeline â the chance to write the story of a death row inmate, a man convicted of murder who wants to donate his heart to Trumanâs son.
As the execution clock ticks down, Truman uncovers disturbing evidence that points to a different killer. For his son to live, must an innocent man die? Trumanâs investigation draws him down a path that will change his life, his family, and the destinies of two men forever.
The Promise of Jesse Woods by Chris Fabry
The Summer of 1972 was the most pivotal of Matt Plumleyâs childhood. While his beloved Pirates battle for back-to-back World Series titles, Mattâs family moves from Pittsburgh to Dogwood, West Virginia, where his father steps into the pulpit of a church under the thumb of town leader Basil Blackwood. A fish out of water, Matt is relieved to forge a fast bond with two unlikely friends: Dickie Darrel Lee Hancock, a mixed-race boy, and Jesse Woods, a tough-as-nails girl with a sister on her hip and no dad in sight.
As the trio traipses the hills and hollers, Matt begins to fall for Jesse, and their promises to each other draw him deeper into her terrifying reality. One night, the wrath of the Blackwoods and the secrets of Jesseâs family collide, and Matt joins Jesse in a rescue that saves one life and ends another . . . and severs the bond of their friendship.
Years later, Matt is pulled back to Dogwood and to memories of that momentous summer by news of Jesseâs upcoming wedding. He could never shake the feeling that there was more to the story of that fateful night, and heâs determined to learn the truth behind the only promise Jesse Woods ever broke.
Water from My Heart by Charles Martin
Charlie Finn had to grow up fast, living alone by age 16. Highly intelligent, he earned a life-changing scholarship to Harvard, where he learned how to survive and thrive on the outskirts of privileged society. That skill served him well in the cutthroat business world, as it does in more lucrative but dangerous ventures he now operates off the coast of Miami. Charlie tries to separate relationships from work. But when his choices produce devastating consequences, he sets out to right wrongs, traveling to Central America, where he will meet those who have paid for his actions, including a woman and her young daughter.
Will their fated encounter present Charlie with a way to seek the redemption he thought was impossible — and free his heart to love one woman as he never knew he could?
Top 10 Tuesday is a Love Freebie today, so I decided to list some books I loved with Heart(s) in the title. Some are romances to get you going this Valentine’s Weekend, but others are not and include contemporary, historical, Biblical, and suspense fiction — so there is something for everyone’s tastes! hope yo find a a book you can love too!
Top 10 Books with Heart(s) in The Title
Engraved on The Heart by Tara Johnson (historical romance)
Ghost Heart by Lynne Gentry and Lisa Harris (suspense)
The Heart Between Us by Lindsay Harrel (women’s fiction)
The Heart of A King by Jill Eileen Smith (Biblical)
The Hearts We Mend by Kathryn Springer (contemporary romance)
Not in The Heart by Chris Fabry (general fiction)
A Rebel Heart by Beth White (historical romance)
A Tale of Two Hearts by Michelle Griep (historical romance)
Water from My Heart by Charles Martin (general fiction)
Here are the finalists for the 2019 Christy Awards. A top honor in Christian fiction, you can be sure of an excellent read when choosing one of these books. Congrats to all the talented authors!
Many of the books I review are provided to me free of charge from publishers, authors, or other groups in return for a review. The opinions expressed in the reviews are mine and mine alone. No monetary consideration is given. This disclaimer is in accordance with FTC rules.
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Title: They Turned the World Upside Down
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