American Christian Fiction Writers is a writing organisation devoted to improving the craft of Christian Fiction. Members can benefit from:
- Online critique groups, writing training, and webinars.
- Discounted entry to the First Impressions and Genesis Awards for unpublished writers.
- Discounted entry to the Carol Awards for novels published in the previous year.
- Free announcements of new releases.
- Member rates for the annual ACFW Conference.
ACFW also has regional zone groups and local chapters. The Beyond the Borders zone covers all members outside the USA—there are almost 100 of us, from over a dozen different countries.
We’re sharing what our members have achieved in the last few months.
Contest News
Two of our members finalled in the 2022 ACFW First Impressions contest:
- Iola Goulton was a Short Novel finalist.
- Sophie Neville was a Historical finalist.
Sophie Neville won the 2022 Eyelands Book Award for her unpublished historical novel, A Girl Called Redemption. It was shortlisted by Fiction Factory’s 2022 First Chapter competition, The Virginia (Woolf) Prize for Fiction, 2022 and by Flash 500 Novel Opening, 2022.
Bitter Truth (Green Dory Inn Mystery # 3) by Janet Sketchley, received second place in the Angel Book Awards.
To Find Her Place by Susan Anne Mason was a finalist in the Historical Romance section of the 2022 Selah Awards.
Jennifer Mistmorgan finalled in the Romance Writers of Australia Sweet Treats contest, and her story Love and Little Vittles will be published in their anthology August this year.
Writing News
Morgan Tarpley Smith has submitted her first traditionally published novella to her publisher.
Laurie Wood has completed the first draft of Northern Redemption.
Debb Hackett has completed her latest manuscript.
New Releases
A Feeling of Home by Susan Ann Mason
Can she set aside the pain from the past to embrace a new love?
Isabelle Wardrop’s well-to-do life has completely unraveled. Within months, she’s lost both her parents, her fortune, and her home. With nowhere else to turn, she and her younger sister move in with a trusted former servant in an impoverished area of the city. Desperate for work but having no qualifications, Isabelle is forced to accept help from Dr. Mark Henshaw, the very man she blames for her mother’s death.
Mark Henshaw has admired Isabelle for several months, but after the tragic death of her mother, he vows to make amends for the past and help her find her way. But when Mark learns his younger brother has formed an undesirable friendship with Isabelle’s sister–one that brings a whole new set of problems into their lives–he doesn’t know if Isabelle will ever forgive him.
When startling developments begin to take place, both within Isabelle’s heart and their siblings’ relationship, her future looks very different than anything she could have imagined.
Lilly’s Promise by Terrie Todd
Orphaned and adopted as a toddler in 1922, Lilly Sampson pursues a nursing career in hopes that it will redeem the shameful crime of arson she committed as a child. When her self-sabotaging choices only build the ash heap higher, will she find the love she desperately seeks?
In 2019, while unraveling a mysterious link in her ancestry, thirty-six-year-old Diana DeWitt is at a crossroads as she tries to help a teenager in crisis. Will the truth she uncovers about her grandmother, Lilly, inspire her to let go of her fear and rise to the occasion?
Refining Josie by Carolyn Miller
What’ll it take for the prodigal daughter to share her deepest secrets… and her heart?
Josephine Green returns to the islands in an attempt to reconcile with her family, but with a cloud over the family business, and little in the way of gardening skills, Josie’s painful past and flaky ways prove less than endearing for Greener Gardens’ hardworking crew.
Stuck without any other options, Josie is forced to accept her sister’s offer of a job that takes her to Breakers Head where she encounters Aussie teacher, Lachlan Jones.
A long-lost relative might’ve brought Lachie to a tiny music recording studio on the Independence Islands, but it’s also brought questions about how to care for someone he barely knows, especially considering he’s the last family she has. Questions regarding his future soon pale when he encounters the vibrant-haired Josie, whose sass and attitude takes some getting used to.
Neither imagined more until they began to bond over music and environmental causes. Both discover that first impressions need not be lasting ones.
But with the future of Greener Gardens looking shaky, and Josie’s faith and self-worth just as tenuous, can deepening a friendship into something more ever work? And what happens when Lachlan’s work means he has to return to Australia after Christmas? What’ll it take for two hearts to heal and make a future possible?
This Breakers Head novel is Carolyn Miller’s final book in the Independence Islands Series featuring five islands, six authors, and a boatload of happily-ever-afters.
Alaskan Avalanche Escape by Darlene L Turner
After surviving a sudden avalanche, mountain survival expert Jayla Hoyt and her search-and-rescue K-9 discover that it was no accident — someone’s deliberately triggered a mountain explosion. To uncover the culprit, she’ll have to partner with Alaska Park Ranger Bryson Clarke, a man she doesn’t trust. But when the investigators become targets, can they capture the criminal mastermind…before they’re buried alive?
Muskoka Hearts by Carolyn Miller
Toni Wakefield may be a talented artist, but past choices means this single mother never feels the equal of those around her—especially her brother’s best friend, investment funds manager Matt. Matt long ago fell in love with his best friend’s younger sister, and try as he might, he just can’t fall out of it. And between his crazy working hours and the fact she’s now settled two hours away in beautiful Muskoka it seems they never have any time together. How can he persuade her to consider to give him a chance, when she’s sworn the only man she can care about is her baby boy?
Every Flower of the Field by Sara Davison
Safe is the most dangerous feeling of all.
For as long as she can remember, Rose Galway has been a captive, controlled by one man or another. To her, though, God is the one holding the keys, refusing to set her free despite the desperate pleas she has sent heavenward.
Detective Laken Jones has known hardship too, including the daily trauma of racism. Still, nothing he has gone through compares to what Rose has endured. He wants nothing more than for her to experience hope and healing and maybe even happiness in her life.
But first he has to find her.
Laken is willing to risk everything to set Rose free. And to help her find her way to God. Even if that means letting go of her—and the future he envisions for the two of them—forever.
Never Find Another You by Narelle Atkins
Her heart belongs in Trinity Lakes.
Hannah Gilbertson has deep roots in her small East Washington home town, including a lake named after her family. Sporty and hard working, she loves running the rowing club and supporting the town’s water recreation tourism. She’s determined to avoid dating and becoming entangled in her mother’s matchmaking schemes, and she wants to prove to her successful father that she’s worthy of carrying on his legacy.
Joel Manning left behind his life in Sydney, Australia, and a broken heart, to start over in Trinity Lakes. A tiler by trade, he’s embarking on a year long working vacation adventure, and he’s not looking for love.
The handsome Aussie captures Hannah’s interest when she hires him to do repair work at her rowing club. Joel is drawn to the beautiful American, and values spending time with her. Their shared faith and love for kayaking lays the foundation for their friendship to become something more.
A shocking secret combined with family upheaval leads to more questions than answers, and threatens to push Joel and Hannah apart to faraway shores. Can their love overcome the miles between them?
Upcoming Releases
Dawn’s Untrodden Green by Carolyn Miller
Releases 11 April 2023
Not much happens in Theodosia Stapleton’s tiny Northumberland village. Certainly not to her. She has resigned herself to spinsterhood, caring for her ailing mother in the home of her grandfather, known to the locals as “General Contrary.” When her dear friend dies and leaves behind a daughter, it’s simple enough to take the child into her own quiet world. That is, until her ward’s famous uncle unexpectedly arrives and throws Theo’s tidy orbit completely off-kilter.
Fame was the last thing Daniel Balfour sought when he fought in the Peninsular War. But his brave exploits caught the attention of the King, and now the honors he was given hound him everywhere . . . even on his rushed trip to rescue his orphaned niece.
Theo’s quick wit and warm smile reassure him that Rebecca is in good hands, and he finds himself free to swiftly return to London and his responsibilities. But those caring hands are beginning to look like they could also safely hold his heart, and he’s tempted to linger. Unfortunately, marriage is simply not in the cards; the army is spouse enough for him.
Then an accident and a scandal lead both Theo and Daniel to discover that their best-laid plans may not have been what God designed for them after all.
Always By My Side by Iola Goulton
Releases 30 May 2023
A hardworking introvert meets a handsome adventurer longing to settle down.
Tabitha Thomas longs to leave Trinity Lakes and travel the world in honor of the beloved grandmother who raised her and her siblings. But she’s needed at home—she’s the responsible triplet, the one who stayed home to run the family inn while her brother and sister left to live their dreams.
Kiwi Logan Wylde doesn’t call any place home. When an injury frustrates his travel plans, he accepts an invitation to return to Trinity Lakes and recuperate at the Lakeview Inn, where he hopes to rediscover his purpose in life.
When Tabby and Logan find a property deed while cleaning out Gran’s rooms, Tabby embraces a new challenge—to solve the mystery of the floodplain and renovate the old boatshed. Working with Logan reignites long-suppressed feelings, but will their differences drive them apart?
An opposites-attract, friends-to-more, small town contemporary Christian romance.
Love Somebody Like You by Carolyn Miller
Releases 27 June 2023
For Lexi Franklin, returning to Trinity Lakes feels a little like running home with her tail between her legs. But what’s a girl to do, when her life has been turned upside down on the other side of the world? She needs a place to regain hope and healing – just didn’t count on meeting a cowboy whose own battered heart might need nursing back to health too.
Jackson Reilly has his own set of troubles, between caring for his ranch, his mom, and the black hole of finances. So when a pretty redhead with a sassy tongue offers some distraction – and a potential solution to one of his most pressing concerns – he’s not going to say no.
But as they spend time together, questions soon rise about their future, and whether faith can truly win over fears. Will Jackson be able to save his ranch, and his hopes and heart, before Lexi returns to Australia?
Muskoka Spotlight by Carolyn Miller
Releases 10 August 2023
Jackie O’Halloran never expected her actions at a friend’s wedding in Muskoka to go viral. Even less did she expect to gain the notice of a famous actor, Lincoln Cash, and all the temptation his handsome presence provides. But she’s a good Christian girl, so a man like him has to be out of the picture. Or so she thinks.
Linc’s visit to see his ailing grandfather was supposed to be a quick visit to Muskoka. He hadn’t counted on meeting a forthright young lady whose courage made headlines around the world. But as he gets to know her he’s tempted to stay, which just might prove dangerous for his agent’s peace of mind, and for Linc’s own heart.
Can these two opposites push past mere attraction to find real love? And what does faith have to do with it at all?
Hi Iola, Thanks for sharing our new releases and writing news. 😊