Hello Reader Friends,

I love recommending books to readers and today I want to recommend the other four books that are finalists for a Selah Award in the category of Contemporary Women’s Fiction.   I want to give a special acknowledgment of thanks to Deb Raney who critiqued the first few chapters of my novel, Every Window Filled with Light a few years ago at the ACFW Conference. Also, another finalist, Cynthia Ruchti has been a mentor and friend. Truly, the best blessings of the writing journey are the friendships made along the way.  I’ve not yet had the opportunity to meet Suzanne Wood Fisher or Carrie Facett Pagels, but I’m sure they too, are servants of the Lord and I can’t wait to read their books and meet them at the awards banquet. The Selah Awards are awarded to books within Christian publishing that are considered excellent in their genre. This year, more than four hundred books were submitted for consideration and below I’ve listed the finalists. I hope you’ll read them and let me know what you think. You can click on the cover to link to the book’s Amazon page.

Warm regards,

Shelia

Bridges by Deborah Raney

Facing an empty nest for the first time since the death of her husband, Dan, three years ago, Tess Everett immerses herself in volunteer work for the Winterset public parks, home of the famous covered bridges of Madison County, Iowa. But when former resident J.W. McRae shows up at one of the bridges with paintbrushes and easel, sparks fly—because J.W. was once married to Tess’s late friend Char. Worse, J.W. was a deadbeat dad to Char’s son, Wynn—then a college student—who Tess and Dan took under their wings after his mom’s death.
J.W. hopes to make amends with his son now that there’s a new little granddaughter in the picture. But when Tess agrees to rent the backyard garage apartment to J.W., hoping to be a bridge to reconcile father and son, sparks of a different kind are kindled. As their friendship grows, Tess and J.W. must discover if what they have together is worth rearranging their entire lives for. And whether they can build bridges that will mend broken relationships.

Butterfly Cottage by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Life-changing journeys begin when three generations of women unexpectedly spend a summer at the family’s Straits of Mackinac cottage.

Three generations of women unexpectedly head out to the family’s cottage at the Straits of Mackinac for a small-town Michigan summer together. Jaycie begins an Archeology internship on Mackinac Island. Her mother, Tamara, takes a break from teaching kindergarteners. And her grandmother, Dawn, struggles with a decision to sell her successful travel agency and possibly retire. Each has her own journey to pursue during this short respite time from “normal” life. One of them has a secret that will change all of their lives. Can she make this one special summer to remember or will all be devastated? Faith for family and friends will be tested, with some finally able to put the past behind them and begin anew.

Facing the Dawn by Cynthia Ruchti

While her humanitarian husband Liam has been digging wells in Africa, Mara Jacobs has been struggling. She knows she’s supposed to feel a warm glow that her husband is nine time zones away, caring for widows and orphans. But the reality is that she is exhausted, working a demanding yet unrewarding job, trying to manage their three detention-prone kids, failing at her to-repair list, and fading like a garment left too long in the sun.

Then Liam’s three-year absence turns into something more, changing everything and plunging her into a sunless grief. As Mara struggles to find her footing, she discovers that even when hope is tenuous, faith is fragile, and the future is unknown, we can be sure we are not forgotten . . . or unloved.

At Lighthouse Point by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Blaine Grayson returns to Three Sisters Island with a grand plan–to take Camp Kicking Moose to the next level. Her dream starts to unravel when she discovers Moose Manor’s kitchen has been badly remodeled by her sister, Cam, who doesn’t know how to cook. Added to that blow is the cold shoulder given by her best friend, Artie Lotosky, now a doctor to the unbridged Maine islands.

As old wounds are opened, Blaine starts to wonder if she made a mistake by coming home. Little by little, she must let go of one dream to discover a new one, opening her heart to a purpose and a future she had never imagined.

Every Window Filled with Light by Shelia Stovall

A heartwarming small town story of faith and forgiveness, friendship and family, and hope for a better future. Welcome to Weldon, where the only things the locals love more than fried fruit pies are gossip and match-making.

Librarian Emma Baker, a young and childless widow, believes her dream to build a family is over. It’s been two years since a student accidentally stabbed Emma’s husband to death, and her grief has stifled any interest in romance—until she meets Pastor Luke Davis. But when Emma learns Luke is counseling her husband’s killer fresh out of jail, her temper gets in the way.

Meanwhile, Emma discovers twelve-year-old Harley, abandoned by her drug-addict mother, hiding in the library, and takes the girl in as her foster mom. Then a young mother is made homeless by an apartment fire, and Emma opens her home again. One person and one prayer at a time, Emma begins to discover hope.