It’s time to check in on the international members of American Christian Fiction Writers … and to introduce the 2025 ACFW Virtual Conference.
ACFW Virtual Conference
American Christian Fiction Writers is hosting a virtual writer’s conference on 21-22 March 2025, featuring award-winning author Kimberly Woodhouse and many more.
Recordings will be available (useful for those in awkward timezones).
Contest News
The American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis and Carol Awards are currently open for entries (closing 1 March 2025).
Click here to find out more about the Genesis Awards for unpublished manuscripts.
Click here to find out more about the Carol Awards for published Christian fiction.
In other contest news …
Ellen Pashley (writing as Ree Pashley) has won third place in the Christian Living Today writing award in the Nonfiction category.
Always In My Heart by Iola Goulton has finalled in the Small Town Romance category of the 2024 Australian Romance Readers Awards.
Full Circle by Kimberly Howell won a contest with Christian Writers for Life. Her short story will be published in the upcoming anthology, Prayers That Move Mountains, True Stories of God’s Power and Provision.
Writing News
Daniel Lewczuk has finished the first draft of his current work-in-progress, and is now revising and editing.
Kevin Miller is working with an editor to revised his current work-in-progress.
Ellen Pashley has completed her next manuscript, A Faint Flicker of Green.
Megan Short has sold Trapped on the Alaskan Glacier to Love Inspired Suspense.
Congratulations! We look forward to reading your stories.
Other News
Narelle Atkins has launched a new bookish podcast, Fan Girling with Narelle. Check it out here:
New Releases
Only You Can Love Me (Trinity Lakes #15) by Carolyn Miller
Released 25 February 2025
Wanted: someone hardworking, honest, humble, with a sense of humor, who can appreciate the simple things in life. Who loves God, loves family, and loves animals. Genuine seekers only.
Dr. Jess Martin–Doc Martin to her local community–might be used to solving the veterinary problems of rural south east Washington, but she can’t solve the problems of her lonely heart. When a dating app specializing in rural connections comes her way she figures she’s got nothing left to lose. Especially when she’s already lost the only guy who had touched her heart, who has made it clear his future lies in Silicon Valley and not in Trinity Lakes. It’s time to let go of the past, once and for all.
Cooper Reilly never pictured himself as finding his future or contentment on a ranch. His heart has always hankered for the finer things of life. But when a corporate reshuffle sees him kicked to the kerb, he finds himself right back where he started. And right back to trying to convince a certain pretty vet to give him a second chance. But she’s not playing, convinced she’s found her Dream Match already. But there’s something she doesn’t know…
Can these two friends look past previous mistakes and find a future? And what does a hunky fireman have to say about a perfect Dream Match?
Small Town Harmony by Milla Holt
Released 5 February 2025
Faith, fame, and family collide as a Christian music power couple hides a secret discord.
Ezra Falconer’s career with his brothers’ band always took center stage while his shy wife Martha was content to play a supporting role in the background. That all changed when Martha’s hidden talent was discovered and she became a breakout singing star. Shedding her frumpy image, her old-timey name, and 100 extra pounds, she transformed into the sultry and sophisticated “Morgan.”
Ezra, grappling with his own career setbacks, struggles to reconcile the confident superstar with the unassuming woman he married.
Martha returns from a sell-out international tour to a marriage on shaky ground. Unprepared for the pressures of fame, she navigates new opportunities that threaten to pull her and her husband even further apart.
As they hide their crumbling marriage from family, friends and fans, Ezra and Martha are asked to collaborate on a charity album, forcing them to confront the growing silence between them. How can they rediscover harmony while they’re singing in different keys?
Something Old and Something New by Pearl Ada Pridham
Released 28 January 2025
Jennifer, not yet that old grandmother of four, suddenly learns that she is soon to become a great grandmother already. Initially upset that her teenage granddaughter is pregnant, with the support of her husband, she puts things in perspective. As she knits a blanket for the baby, she recalls her own teen years, growing up in the sixties.
Always In My Heart (Trinity Lakes #14) by Iola Goulton
Released 24 December 2024
Sparks fly when an aspiring attorney comes face to face with his past mistakes.
Broke solo mother Maya Allen is raising her daughter, Sarah, as well as her dead best friend’s daughter … who just happens to be her own daughter’s half sister (thanks, cheating college boyfriend). When her lowlife landlord doubles her rent, she realizes it’s time to make a new plan and return to New Zealand with her children. First she has to do the unthinkable: make contact with her ex and compel him to relinquish his parental rights so they can legally leave the country … and not let her still-strong feelings for Trent get in the way.
Trent Thomas is an intern competing for a role in a prestigious Seattle law firm known for their family values. He figures he’s got the job sewn up when Sterling, Noble, and Wright send him to his hometown of Trinity Lakes to research a dodgy property deal under the guise of offering the townsfolk pro bono legal services. After all, no one will know the ins and outs of small-town Trinity Lakes gossip better than a lifelong resident.
But he hadn’t bargained on Maya, Sarah, and Kacey stealing his chance to get his dream job, stealing his opportunity to leave Trinity Lakes behind forever, or stealing his heart.
A second-chance small town contemporary Christian romance.
Hold Her Close by Hannah Currie
Released 1 October 2024
Firstborn of King Lior and heir to the throne of Raedonleith, Lady Rose has always known what was expected of her—marry a prince, bear a child, continue the royal line. None of that involved confirmation weeks before her wedding that she’s barren. Nor her betrothed deserting her at the news. Through years of pain, bleeding and loss, her faith has kept her strong but this last blow strikes deep into her spirit. Rose knew she was broken. Now the rest of Raedonleith will too.
More comfortable amid books than battles, Prince Nicholas of Belairisia is as surprised as anyone when he claims Lady Rose’s hand for himself upon first meeting. In front of every noble in Raedonleith. But neither does he regret it. Though it’s impulsive and out of character for the studious prince, there’s something in Rose’s fragile beauty that captivates Nicholas. She’s the treasure he’s searched his whole life to find. Armed with patience and hope, Nicholas determines to wait as long as it takes to prove his devotion.
But when an attempt on Rose’s life forces King Lior’s hand, the two are thrust into a marriage neither of them are prepared for, and a journey through enemy territory which may end the relationship before it’s barely begun.
The Niece’s Aussie Patient by Meredith Resce
Released 20 September 2024
Newly graduated in hospitality management, Stephanie Delafonte is looking forward to managing her aunt’s guest house for three weeks while Lina takes a well-earned break. The quaint English cottage in the delightful seaside village of Eden Cove will give Stephanie loads of experience in her chosen field, and help out her aunt at the same time. It will be a challenge, but she’s confident she can manage—until she gets a last-minute plea for help.
Tye Waterman is living the dream of a working holiday in the UK, close to the historical sites of Europe, and a long way from his parents in Australia. It’s time to prove to himself and others that he is ready for the responsible independent life. All is going to plan—until his appendix bursts and he is rushed into hospital for life-saving surgery. Sixteen thousand kilometers from home, suddenly independence doesn’t look so attractive.
In the past he would have objected to his mother’s interference, but with no energy or resources he is forced to accept help. She has arranged with an old pen-friend for him to recover at her seaside guest house.
But the woman who arrives to pick him up from the hospital is not his mother’s middle-aged friend. Instead, he finds himself at the mercy of an attractive young woman.
Preorders
These Long Shadows by Jennifer Mistmorgan
Releases 21 March 2025
London, 1945: Two years ago, Jonty Ables married Katie Baines to save her and her unborn baby from shame. But now the war is all but over, the baby is gone and they must work out where their shaky marriage fits into lives irrevocably changed by war.
Clinging to the memory of a time before all happiness evaporated, Katie works hard during the day as a seamstress. At night she comes home to a tiny terrace on a bomb-scarred street, crammed with her extended family and their problems. Years of estrangement sit between her and her recently demobilised husband. She’s not even sure she loves him. So why is she so crushed that he calls out another woman’s name in his sleep?
Jonty is determined to honor the vows he made no matter how many ghosts plague him. But with such separate lives, his wife is more of a stranger than ever. When Katie’s friend goes missing, Jonty seizes the opportunity to help her find him just so they have reason to talk. But the war casts long shadows over their efforts, and fighting for their future might just be the hardest battle of them all.
Muskoka Miracle (Muskoka Shores #7) by Carolyn Miller
Releases 24 April 2025
Sarah Walton might now be living out her dreams with her gorgeous husband and writing and recording music and touring with a globally famous Christian music group, but time spent in Muskoka is a slice of paradise, the perfect escape from that crazy busy world. She has so much to be thankful for… except there’s just one thing.
Dan Walton knows he is blessed, but can’t stop a niggling desire for something to change. Is it wrong to want more? Or should he just let go of his secret wish–one he can’t share with his wife?
When tragedy strikes, the lessons learned in Muskoka several years ago are put to the test again, as the struggle to trust God proves only too real, putting strain on a relationship already tested by busyness and health challenges. Then, when family circumstances lead to a separation on the opposite side of the world, the depth of their love for God and each other forces them to face the fire once more.
God can do miracles anywhere, but there’s always been something special about Muskoka…
My Achy Broken Heart by Meredith Resce
Releases 26 May 2025
How quickly things can change.
Last week Lucy was full of joy and hope, having finally met a Christian man who seemed to be crazy about her. One minute, she is full of heady passion and hope that a proposal is imminent—the next she is coming to terms with being alone, pregnant, and not understanding where he’s gone.
Her ‘dream’ man has turned into a nightmare, hiding behind his status as a worship pastor in a large church and his influential parents, denying he’s ever had anything to do with Lucy. And she’s fully aware that she’s stepped way outside her own moral boundaries—a fact that is being ruthlessly thrown in her face from some of the people she’d expect to have supported her. Only her close family are willing to stand by her in this difficult time. But the pressure is so great she decides to fly Downunder to visit her brother in Australia.
Will Phillips has finally found some hope after having lost the family farm and his long-term relationship. The small-town pastor, Caleb Kennedy, is proving himself to be not only a spiritual mentor, but a good mate.
And then his sister arrives from the states. She’s attractive and seems nice, but he’s not interested in starting a new relationship—still smarting from the last one.
But she seems sad, and Will’s caring side wonders why, despite himself. When he finds Lucy on the side of the road after an accident, he finds out her secret and all of his intentions to stay distant seem to have disappeared.
How quickly things can change.
Releases 30 December 2025
He knows fame and love don’t mix. She never wanted either—until now.
Kezia Blair has always believed that true talent doesn’t need shortcuts. But after years of performing to half-empty venues, her dreams of a musical career are fading fast. Now, as a reluctant contestant on the reality TV show Starbound, Kezia is forced to make a painful choice: chase stardom at the risk of losing her artistic soul, or stay true to herself and let her shot at success slip away.
Zach Falconer, a seasoned Christian music artist and Starbound judge, has been burned before by an ex who used him to climb the ladder to fame. Falling for another ambitious starlet? Not a chance. But Kezia’s raw passion and skepticism about the show challenge everything he thought he knew—awakening feelings he buried long ago.
As the competition heats up, Kezia finds her growing attraction to Zach makes her seem like the fame-hungry wannabe she’s always despised. Meanwhile, Zach struggles to trust that their connection can be real. In an industry that demands a choice between love and integrity, how can they have both without becoming another casualty of the fame game?
