Featured Author Interview: Anne Mateer

Anne Mateer is a three-time Genesis Contest finalist who has long had a passion for history and historical fiction. 

While she has been writing for what feels like her whole life, she began seriously studying the craft in 2000. Since then she has completed five novels, had several pieces published in local periodicals, attended six writing conferences and managed to final in ACFW's Genesis contest in 2006, 2008, and 2009. Her first historical novel, Wings of a Dream, released in September 2011.

Anne Mateer lives in Texas with her equally history-obsessed husband. They are the parents of three young adults,  who have spent many a family vacation touring historical sites.

The following is a September 2013 interview with Anne.

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ENTER THE GIVEAWAY 
AT THE END OF THE INTERVIEW

Be in to win a copy of 
A Home for My Heart 
by Anne Mateer

One copy to be won

Contest open to entrants in the USA and Canada only.

Contest runs from 27 September - 10 October NZDT

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The Carol Awards: 2013 Winners Announced

The Carol Awards are ACFW's recognition for the best Christian fiction published by traditional publishing houses in the previous calendar year.

The following are the winners for the 2013 Carol Awards that were announced during the the Gala held at the 2013  ACFW National Conference in Indianapolis on  September 15, 2013.

Feel free to leave comments of congratulations at the end of the blog post.

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Featured Debut Novelist: Michèle Phoenix

Michèle Phoenix is an international writer with multi-cultural sensitivities, having been born in France to an American mother and a Canadian father.

A graduate of Wheaton College, she taught writing, music, and theater at the boarding school for missionaries' children she attended as a teenager.

With a background in screenwriting, Michèle soon turned her attention to novel writing.  Two of her novels have been published by Tyndale House Publishers: Tangled Ashes and In Broken Places. In 2013, Tangled Ashes was nominated for a Christy Award.

The following is a September 2013 interview with Michèle. 

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ENTER THE GIVEAWAY 
AT THE END OF THE INTERVIEW
Be in to win a digital copy of either 
Tangled Ashes or In Broken Places

 One copy of each to be won. 

Contest open to entrants worldwide.

Contest runs from 20 September - 3 October NZDT

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September New Releases in Category Fiction

New Releases in Category Fiction for September 2013 include titles from Love Inspired, Love Inspired Suspense, Love Inspired Historical, and Heartsong Presents. 

The following is a listing with descriptions of each release.

Featured Author Interview: Laura Frantz

Laura Frantz is a lover of history, is the author of The Frontiersman's Daughter, Courting Morrow Little, and The Colonel's Lady, and currently lives in the misty woods of Washington with her husband and two sons.

Passionate about all things historical, she writes her manuscripts in longhand first. Her stories often incorporate Celtic themes. Her family lineage is Scottish, English, and Irish.

Laura Frantz credits her grandmother as being the catalyst for her fascination with Kentucky history. Frantz's family followed Daniel Boone into Kentucky in the late eighteenth century and settled in Madison County, where her family still resides.

The following is a September 2013 interview with Laura.

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ENTER THE GIVEAWAY 
AT THE END OF THE INTERVIEW

Be in to win a copy of 
LOVE'S AWAKENING 
by Laura Frantz

One copy to be won
Contest open to entrants worldwide.

Contest runs from 13-26 September NZDT

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Featured Debut Novelist: Julie Cantrell

Julie Cantrell is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Into the Free, which won Christy Awards for Best Debut Novel and for Book of the Year 2013. 

Cantrell has served as editor-in-chief of the Southern Literary Review and is a recipient of the Mississippi Arts Commission Literary Fellowship. She and her family live in Mississippi, where they operate Valley House Farm. Her new novel, When Mountains Move, hit shelves from September 1, 2013.

The following is a September 2013 interview with Julie.

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ENTER THE GIVEAWAY 
AT THE END OF THE INTERVIEW

Be in to win a set of Julie's novels - two sets to be won
~One USA winner (print copies)
~One international winner (digital copies)

Contest open to entrants worldwide.

Contest runs from 6-19 September NZDT

 

ACW Blog Launch: Book Giveaway Bonanza

Today is the launch of the new Australasian Christian Writers group blog. To celebrate launch week up to 16 books including fiction and non-fiction in both print and ebook format are being given away.

To join in the celebrations and enter the week long book giveaways from today until Friday 6th September, please visit the blog at http://australasianchristianwriters.blogspot.com

The following fiction titles are available to be won...

September New Releases in Christian Fiction

New Releases in Christian Fiction for September 2013 include titles from Nancy Mehl, Jody Hedlund, Julie Cantrell, Dani Pettrey, Irene Hannon and Keli Gwyn, among many others. 

• Choose your September favourites and be in to win a new release title from these authors and more. 
• See the end of the blog post for contest entry details. 
• Contests end 14 September 2013 NZDT.

Archive All-Stars: Featured Authors Super Giveaway

Seven Previously Featured Authors are giving away copies of their novels to you, the reader! 

Simply visit each interview and leave a valid comment for the author and you are then eligible to enter that author's giveaway.

Each Featured Author Interview has it's own contest so you can enter as many or as few as you like. One contest is open to worldwide entrants; the others are for residents of the USA only. Feel free to spread the word!

Contests run from August 26 - September 12 NZDT.

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Featured Author Interview: Judith Miller

Judith McCoy Miller is an award-winning author whose avid research and love for history are reflected in her bestselling novels.

Judith started writing her first book while commuting sixty miles to work each day. When the book was completed, it was tucked away. Judith was introduced to Tracie Peterson who worked down the hall from her and Tracie gave her some pointers about what to do with the finished manuscript. Together they co-authored several bestselling novels, in addition to the many novels they have penned individually.

When time permits, Judy enjoys traveling, visiting historical settings, and scrapbooking the photographs from her travel expeditions.

The following is an August 2013 interview with Judith.

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ENTER THE GIVEAWAY 
AT THE END OF THE INTERVIEW

Be in to win a copy of one of Judith's novels - winner's choice - two copies to be won. 

Contest open to entrants worldwide.

Contest runs from 19-25 August NZDT

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Featured Debut Novelist: Rachel Coker

Rachel Coker resides in Virginia with her parents and two sisters. She has a passion for great books, and has been surrounded by them all her life. In fact, as a young child, Rachel helped her parents in a family-run Christian book business.

Her gift for writing became apparent at the age of eleven at which time her parents signed her up for a year of lessons with a professional writing coach. She signed with Zondervan in 2010, resulting in the publication of her YA fiction novel, Interrupted, in March 2012, when she was sixteen. Chasing Jupiter is her second book.

When she is not writing or playing the piano, Rachel enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

The following is an August 2013 interview with Rachel.

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ENTER THE GIVEAWAY 
AT THE END OF THE INTERVIEW

Be in to win a copy of either Interrupted or Chasing Jupiter - one copy of each to be won. 

Contest open to entrants in the USA only.

Contest runs from 16-31 August NZDT

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Featured Author Interview: Vannetta Chapman

Vannetta Chapman writes inspirational fiction full of grace. 

She has published over one hundred articles in Christian family magazines, receiving more than two dozen awards from Romance Writers of America chapter groups. She discovered her love for the Amish while researching her grandfather’s birthplace of Albion, Pennsylvania.


Her novel, Falling to Pieces, was a 2012 ACFW Carol Award winner for best mystery. All of her books have been Christian Book Distributor bestsellers. She currently writes Amish fiction for Abingdon Press, Zondervan, and Harvest House.


The following is an August 2013 interview with Vannetta.

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ENTER THE GIVEAWAY 
AT THE END OF THE INTERVIEW

Be in to win a copy of one of Vannetta's novels - winner's choice - one print copy for USA entrants and one digital copy for international entrants. 

Contest open to entrants worldwide.

Contest runs from 12-18 August NZDT

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Featured Author Interview: Kate Lloyd

Kate Lloyd is a novelist, a mother of two sons, and a passionate observer of human relationships.

A native of Baltimore, Kate spends time with family and friends in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the inspiration for her Legacy of Lancaster series. She is a member of the Lancaster County Mennonite Historical Society.

Kate and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest, the setting for Kate's first novel, A Portrait of Marguerite. Kate studied painting and sculpture in college. She has worked a variety of jobs, including car salesman and restaurateur.

The following is an August 2013 interview with Kate.

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ENTER THE GIVEAWAY 
AT THE END OF THE INTERVIEW

Be in to win a set of Leaving Lancaster 
and Pennsylvania Patchwork. 

Contest open to entrants worldwide.

Contest runs from 5-11 August NZDT

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Featured Debut Novelist: Patrick W. Carr

Patrick W. Carr teaches high school math and is the author of the fantasy series The Staff and the Sword from Bethany House Publishers.

Patrick was born on an Air Force base in West Germany at the height of the cold war. He has been told this was not his fault. As an Air Force brat, he experienced a change in locale every three years until his father retired to Tennessee.

Patrick saw more of the world on his own through a varied and somewhat eclectic education and work history. He graduated from Georgia Tech in 1984 and has worked as a draftsman at a nuclear plant, did design work for the Air Force, worked for a printing company, and consulted as an engineer.

The following is an August 2013 interview with Patrick.

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ENTER THE GIVEAWAY 
AT THE END OF THE INTERVIEW
Be in to win one of two sets of
A Cast of Stones and The Hero's Lot. 
Contest open to entrants in the USA only.
Contest runs from 1-15 August NZDT

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Archive All-Stars: Featured Authors Mega Giveaway

Twenty Previously Featured Authors and Début Novelists are giving away copies of their novels to you, the reader! 

Simply visit each interview and leave a comment for the author and you are then eligible to enter that author's giveaway.

Each Featured Author Interview has it's own contest so you can enter as many or as few as you like. Some contests are open to worldwide entrants; others are for residents of the USA only. Feel free to spread the word!

Contests run from July 29-August 18 NZDT.