2009 American Christian Fiction Writers
Book of the Year Contest
Finalists
Debut Author
• A Passion Most Pure (Julie Lessman)
• Courting Miss Adelaide (Janet Dean)
• Every Good and Perfect Gift (Sharon K. Souza)
• Hero, Second Class (Mitchell Bonds)
• In the Shadow of the Sun King (Golden Keyes Parsons)
Lits
• Faking Grace (Tamara Leigh)
• Picket Fence Promises (Kathryn Springer)
• Single Sashimi (Camy Tang)
• Sweet Caroline (Rachel Hauck)
• Truffles by the Sea (Julie Carobini)
Long Contemporary
• Lookin Back Texas (Leanna Ellis)
• One Holy Night (J.M. Hochstetler)
• Stuck in the Middle (Virginia Smith)
• Summer of Joy (Ann H. Gabhart)
• Symphony of Secrets (Sharon Hinck)
Long Contemporary Romance
• Along Came a Cowboy (Christine Lynxwiler)
• Controlling Interest (Elizabeth White)
• The Convenient Groom (Denise Hunter)
• Finding Stefanie (Susan May Warren)
• Zora and Nicky: A Novel in Black & White (Claudia Mair Burney)
Long Historical (6 finalists due to a tie)
• The Apothecary’s Daughter (Julie Klassen)
• Calico Canyon (Mary Connealy)
• Deep In the Heart of Trouble (Deeanne Gist)
• From A Distance (Tamera Alexander)
• I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires (Cathy Gohlke)
• My Heart Remembers (Kim Vogel Sawyer)
Mystery
• The Case of the Bouncing Grandma (A.K. Arenz)
• Death on a Deadline (Christine Lynxwiler, Sandy Gaskin, and Jan Reynolds)
• Drop Dead Diva (Christine Lynxwiler, Sandy Gaskin, and Jan Reynolds)
• For Whom the Wedding Bell Tolls (Nancy Mehl)
• Of Mice . . . and Murder (Mary Connealy)
Novellas
• The Cookie Jar (Janet Lee Barton in A Connecticut Christmas anthology)
• Dressed in Scarlet (Darlene Franklin in Snowbound Colorado Christmas anthology)
• Santa’s Prayer (Diane Ashley in A Connecticut Christmas anthology)
• Snowbound for Christmas (Gail Sattler in A Connecticut Christmas anthology)
• Stuck On You (Rhonda Gibson in A Connecticut Christmas anthology)
Short Contemporary
• Buffalo Gal (Mary Connealy)
• Clueless Cowboy (Mary Connealy)
• Family Treasures (Kathryn Springer)
• Her Unlikely Family (Missy Tippens)
• White as Snow (Janice Thompson)
Short Contemporary Suspense
• Bayou Paradox (Robin Caroll)
• Broken Lullaby (Pamela Tracy)
• Countdown to Death (Debby Giusti)
• Forsaken Canyon (Margaret Daley)
• Killer Cargo (Dana Mentink)
Short Historical
• Family of the Heart (Dorothy Clark)
• Masked by Moonlight (Allie Pleiter)
• Reckless Rogue (Mary Davis)
• Return to Love (Susan Page Davis)
• Sandhill Dreams (Cara Putman)
Speculative
• The Book of Names (D. Barkley Briggs)
• DragonLight (Donita K. Paul)
• The Restorer’s Journey (Sharon Hinck)
• Shade (John B. Olson)
• Summa Elvetica: A Casuistry of the Elvish Controversy (Theodore Beale)
Suspense
• Anathema (Colleen Coble)
• The Black Cloister (Melanie Dobson)
• Fossil Hunter (John B. Olson)
• Lonestar Sanctuary (Colleen Coble)
• Perfect (Harry Kraus)
Women’s Fiction (7 finalists due to a tie)
• A Month of Summer (Lisa Wingate)
• Every Good and Perfect Gift (Sharon K. Souza)
• My Sister Dilly (Maureen Lang)
• The Perfect Life (Robin Lee Hatcher)
• The Shape of Mercy (Susan Meissner)
• Stepping into Sunlight (Sharon Hinck)
• Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon (Debbie Fuller Thomas)
Young Adult
• The Big Picture (Jenny B. Jones)
• The Fruit of My Lipstick (Shelley Adina)
• It’s all About Us (Shelley Adina)
• The Owling (Robert Elmer)
• Trion Rising (Robert Elmer)
