It’s time to check in on the international members of American Christian Fiction Writers … and to find out what they love most about their country.
First, our awesome contest news!
Contest News
Carol Awards (for published books)
When All the Birds Sing by Suzie Peace Pybus is a finalist in the Mystery/Suspense/Thriller category of the 2025 Carol Awards from American Christian Fiction Writers.
Congratulations, Suzie!
This is the first year all self-published books have been eligible to enter the Carol Awards, and it’s great to see how many have finalled. It shows that what is important is having a great story readers can relate to, not how the book is published.
Winners will be announced at the 2025 ACFW Conference in Springfield, Missouri September 4-6, 2025.
Genesis Awards (for unpublished books)
We also have several semi-finalists in the 2025 Genesis Awards. These people are names to watch, because they’re writing the books we’ll read in coming years!
- Naomi Currie – Historical Romance
- Daniel Lewczuk – Novella
- Sophie Neville – Historical
Finalists will be announced at ACFW’s national conference in September.
Who’s the best?
This month, I asked our members to share their answer to this question:
What’s the thing you love most about your country?
(And yes, I did ask them to keep it short!)
Here’s what they said (in alphabetic order by first name, to try and keep it fair ) …
Aurora Bell (Canada)
So, my favourite thing about Canada 
is the Maple Syrup 
my kids and I love having it on waffles 
Carolyn Miller (Australia)My favourite thing about Australia is our sense of freedom – from big blue skies to kids feeling safe in schools, there’s a lot to appreciate about living here.
Christine Hill Suntz (Canada)
I love Canada’s natural beauty and our commitment to peacekeeping.
Daniel Lewczuk (Canada)
The thing I like the most about Canada is that we still have a lot of good churches here and we can go and worship with all our hearts.
Dienece Darling (Australia)
What I love most about Australia is how laid back and easy going the people are. It’s peaceful and welcoming.
Iola Goulton (New Zealand)
I love New Zealand’s beauty, and the fact our country is so safe – there are no deadly snakes or spiders or other creepy-crawlies.
Janet Sketchley (Canada)
What I love most about Canada is the diversity of beautiful scenery (especially the Atlantic Ocean–can you guess which coast I live on?)
Megan Short (Australia)
I love Australia because each part of the country is has its own culture, cuisine, climate, and scenery. Traveling domestically is like visiting dozens of different countries—no passport necessary!
Michelle Teigrob (Canada)
Naomi Currie (Australia)
What I love most about Australia is how easy it is to find places to enjoy nature where you are the only person around. Even in cities, you are only an hour or two from country or coast.
Pearl Ada Pridam (Canada)
What I love most about Canada is the four seasons Snow in winter, blossoms in spring, warm summer, and colourful leaves in fall.
Rume Emma-Okerhe (Nigeria)
I love the jovial nature of Nigerians. You can never have a dull time living in Nigeria. I also love the beautiful variety of really good food.
Suzie Peace Pybus (Australia)
I’ll go with my favourite animal, the platypus. I can imagine God as He created it, saying, “Let’s see you try and put this one in a box.”
Tanja Riegel (Switzerland)
My favorite thing about living in Switzerland is that there are so many different landscapes – and all within a three-hour drive. Mountains, snow, hills, palm trees and lakes.
Don’t we have a lot of Australian and Canadian members?
Where are you from, and what’s your favourite thing about your country? Let us know in the comments!
Writing News
Aurora Belle has submitted her debut manuscript to her editor, and is now working on her second medieval fairytale retelling.
Daniel Lewczuk has completed two manuscripts.
Carolyn Miller has sold a book to Barbour – contemporary reimagining of Jane Austen’s Emma, but set in Sydney Australia, and which uses Australian spelling!
Megan Short has sold her third book to Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense.
Michelle Teigrob has completed three manuscripts in the last year – a book on grief, a Christian romance novel, and a children’s chapter book.
New Releases
Harfe der Hoffnung (Harp of Hope) by Tanja Riegel
Released 17 December 2024
(Isn’t it great to see Christian fiction in languages other than English?)
Vergangenheit ist Gegenwart – Gegenwart ist Zukunft.
Das Medizinstudium ist weitaus strenger, als Anna es sich vorgestellt hat. Umso mehr freut sie sich, die Semesterferien in London bei Ed zu verbringen und mit ihm die gemeinsame Zukunft zu planen.
Ed hat die Gang und die Straßen Londons hinter sich gelassen und jagt nun seinem neuen Traum nach: Einem Leben mit Anna.
Doch als ein ehemaliges Gangmitglied behauptet, der Vater ihres Neugeborenen zu sein, steht ihre gemeinsame Zukunft plötzlich auf wackeligen Beinen.
Eine unüberlegte Handlung zieht sie einmal mehr in den Strudel der Zeit.
Frankreich 1713: Der Kampf zwischen den Katholiken und den Hugenotten tobt unerbittlich.
Als Anna und Ed unweigerlich zwischen die Fronten geraten und auseinandergerissen werden, beginnt ein Lauf gegen die Zeit. Können sie den Weg zurück in die Gegenwart finden, bevor sie die Verfolgung – oder sogar der Tod – einholt?
Eine Geschichte über Entscheidungen, deren Folgen und die Kraft der wahren Liebe.
These Long Shadows by Jennifer Mistmorgan
Released 21 March 2025
London, 1945:Â 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.
The Wanderer’s Legacy by Natasha Woodcraft
Released 1 April 2025
Adah lives trapped between the life she longed for and the life she chose. She’s failed to produce an heir for her once devoted husband. As Lamech becomes increasingly unpredictable and domineering, Adah seeks refuge in legends about the mysterious Wanderer.
Then Lamech takes another wife. Adah flees to her family home, where freedom causes hope to rise once more. But her body hides a secret that will propel her back into danger. Can a legend come to her rescue? Or does someone else hold the power to help her dwell in safety?
The Wanderer’s Legacy is a standalone story in The Wanderer Series, exploring the tale of Lamech and his two wives from Genesis 4 in Biblical Historical Fiction. If you love fresh spins on ancient Bible stories and diving deep into the human condition, then you’ll love The Wanderer’s Legacy.
Muskoka Miracle (Muskoka Shores #7) by Carolyn Miller
Released 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
Released 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.
Preorders
The Lawyer and the Laundress by Christine Hill Suntz
Releases 10 June 2025
Lawyer James Kinney isn’t looking for love, and laundress Sara O’Connor doesn’t want to be found. When their paths cross in a British colony on the brink of rebellion, a marriage of convenience may be their best hope of survival.
Canada, 1837. Widower James Kinney knows his precocious daughter, Evie, needs more than his lessons on law and logic, but Toronto offers few options. Classes with the neighbor children seem ideal until James discovers Evie is secretly spending her time with Sara O’Connor, a kind and mysteriously educated servant. For propriety’s sake, James forbids their friendship. But then Evie falls victim to the illness ravaging the city, and James must call upon Sara’s medical knowledge and her special bond with Evie to save his daughter’s life.
When Sara’s presence in his household threatens scandal, however, James offers an unexpected solution: become his wife, in name only, and help him raise Evie to be a proper young lady.
If Sara can ignore the sparks she feels when they’re together, his logical proposal could keep her secret secure forever. But soon, the forces of rebellion unravel their tidy arrangement. When James is accused of treason, Sara must find the courage to face a past that could save her husband’s life.
Old Town Symphony by Milla Holt
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?
Oh, with Australian spelling! That’s exciting!
Congratulations everyone!