Winner Fiction: Religious The 2020 Best Book Awards
What would happen if an astronaut from Earth, a fallen and sinful man, discovered a planet where Adam and Eve had not eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
Adam Lang, a self-professed atheist, travels to the ends of the universe to discover intelligent life on the only perfect planet left, Adon. There he discovered something he least expected to find . . . God.
Best-selling author, Terry Toler is a well-written, rising star in literary fiction, with his epic fantasy story, The Longest Day, the first in The Eden Stories series and the one that started the franchise. As much as it is about a strange journey across the stars, it’s also about people, and consequences, both of which are captured expertly. The Longest Day is one man’s story of romance, loss, science, discovery, mystery, sin, and salvation.
Thirty-two days, divorced. Moving day has arrived for Nadine Parker, but she needs a plan of execution. Nadine struggles to find the strength to break free from the hold of what-once-was with Zane Willibe. After being a couple for sixteen years, thirty-two days of marriage revealed the truth about Zane. And now, the secrets begin to unfold. There's a war going on between old and new Nadine. Under the surveillance of her hawk-eye mother-in-law, Nadine is held captive in her role as Zane's wife. And her mother-in-law has made it her full-time job to keep Zane and Nadine married until death-do-them-part. But Nadine's mother and father are in the background praying for her to get untangled from the devil's love triangle. Will Nadine continue to be Zane's oxygen, while suffocating in her own cage of guilt? Or will she make the right decision to set both her and Zane free?
Dominic Barratt is a Catholic priest who is ordered to help, in secret, other priests with problems. But he has his own demons to confront.
Once engaged to be married, Dominic split up with his fiancée Hazel to join the priesthood. Now she comes back into his life, hoping to convince him that he has made a mistake. She wants him to resign and marry her.
Already unsettled by events that challenge his faith, Dominic is tormented by his reawakened feelings for Hazel. Bound in conscience by his vows of Chastity and Obedience, he now faces a seemingly insoluble dilemma.
The year is 2033, and something is happening in Washington State. In this first book in the Melchizedek series, follow a jaded journalist, a true believer, and a hardened atheist on their adventures through a dystopian future, where some seek to escape society as others try to protect it. Take the opportunity to examine yourself and your faith (or lack thereof) and remember, Griefers gonna grief.
An Ordinary Girl Becomes An Extraordinary Woman Just One Step From Destruction
What Sheryl remembered most about her life up to now was the cycle of chaos – brief moments of happiness soon snuffed out by misery – again and again and again.
Now married, she thought those days were finally behind her. She had strong faith, a wonderful husband, and a baby in her womb. So, why were dark thoughts flooding her mind? Why was she walking to the cliff in the dead of night? Why was a tall, lanky stranger intensely studying her from the darkness?
This epic thriller in the Clay Austin series follows the twisting journey of Sheryl Landing as she struggles to rebound from an oppressed childhood in search of herself and love.
Tess Lee is a novelist. Her inspirational books explore people’s innermost struggles and the human need to believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Despite her extraordinary success, she’s been unable to find personal happiness. Jack Miller is a federal agent. After spending decades immersed in a violent world, a residue remains. He’s dedicated everything to his job, leaving nothing for himself. The night Tess and Jack meet, their connection is palpable. She examines the scars on his body and says, “I’ve never seen anyone whose outsides match my insides.” The two embark on an epic love story that asks the questions: What happens when people truly see each other? Can unconditional love change the way we see ourselves?
Nicky Covo is a Holocaust survivor. In 1990, Nicky – a Brooklyn psychiatrist – receives a letter from Abbess Fevronia, the head of a women’s monastery in Greece. Although Nicky believes the rest of his family died at Auschwitz, he learns that Theodora, a mysteriously silent nun who’s lived at the monastery since 1944, may be his baby sister, Kal. With his old friend and new love, Helen, Nicky returns to Greece – to harrowing memories of his fighting with the partisans and to a reunion with his beloved sister. The Flight of the Veil explores the intersections of guilt and memory, faith and tragedy, fate and miracle.
Finalist Fiction: Religious The 2020 Best Book Awards
When fifteen-year-old Emily Greene wakes up to police banging on her door, she is shocked to see her mother arrested on drug charges. Uprooted and in disbelief, Emily moves to a new town to stay with her grandmother, known as Crazy Carol for her outspoken faith and quirky behaviors. As if the arrest isn’t enough, kids at her new school immediately begin to stereotype and judge her based on the news they’ve heard about her mom.
Emily is sure her mother's fiancé is to blame for the crime. He has conveniently disappeared since the day of the arrest. She’s determined to find him, and prove he’s at fault. But something awful happens, shaking her world yet again.
After this string of tragedies, Emily starts to question God, but is gently and consistently reminded by her grandmother, through stories she tells of all the sticks, leaves, and stones she collects, that God is her good and faithful parent.
Emily must learn that the words others say about her don’t matter, that her mom’s mistakes don’t define her, and she is always deeply loved by her heavenly father. If only she can learn to forgive herself.
Finalist Fiction: Religious The 2020 Best Book Awards
Ex-Army Medic, Silton, has had a rough go as of late. Soon after being discharged from the military his wife suffered a tragic accident, then slipped into a coma and died. Now alone, drinking fills his days, and restless sleep plagues his nights. He feels that God is finished with him, that he has no purpose in life, so he ends it all. He falls. Naked and confused, he falls. Silton awakens on a taught expanse of warm Skin Land. Acrid air stings his lungs, tiny hairs jut up like grass under his feet, and the pale blue eye of Heaven stares down on him. In the distance he hears a scream, and as he bounds towards it, finds a fetid swamp of others who have fallen, sinking into the soupy flesh. Quick to his training Silton pulls a woman out of the mess, only to find her legs ravaged with breaks. Using his medical skills and the flesh around him, he binds her injuries, easing her pain. Far off in the distance, on their huge moving home called the Sled, a group of demons set off on a journey out into the Skin Land to harvest those lucky enough to survive the fall. Those like Silton. Silton drags his newfound friend to a distant shelter of bone as they share the reflections of life that have brought them here. With each step the mystery of this place unfolds revealing its true beauty, and its terrifying reality. As the demons draw near, and the pale blue eye of Heaven watches above, it becomes clear that God is not finished with Silton. God has a new purpose for him, a purpose for him in Hell. “Sin follows the sinner, it does not lead them.”
Finalist Fiction: Religious The 2020 Best Book Awards
As Hitler and his Nazis march across Europe...
The splendors of Detroit's ballrooms spin Esther (McConnell) Meir around like a princess in a fairy tale Here she meets junior engineer Eric Erhardt. But will Eric abandon his playboy ways for Esther?
When war comes to America's shores, Esther questions whether she has the grit to carry on the McConnell legacy. Meanwhile, Eric comes face to face with death when he's drafted into the Army and shipped to fight in Italy.
Once again, war separates a McConnell woman from the man she loves as the Destiny saga reaches a page-turning conclusion.
Award-winning historical fiction author Catherine Ulrich Brakefield weaves fiction with real life events to create this inspirational fourth book of the Destiny series.
Finalist Fiction: Religious The 2020 Best Book Awards
A maximum-security inmate. A young family. Under one roof.
Corrections officer Rey Mendoza's decades-old dream of systemic prison reform appears to be within reach when he accepts a new position. He’ll not only better provide for his son’s special needs, but also carry forward his father’s failed mission.
It's a grave miscalculation.
His ideal job requires hosting an unwelcome house guest — an inmate from a maximum-security prison.
As a former prison guard, Rey can handle the imminent threat, but can his wife and two young children survive under the same roof?
Rey hangs on tight to his mission for inmate reform only to see it slip further away. His once-promising dream becomes a nightmare.
If he can't find a solution, fast, Rey must abandon everything he's worked for to protect his family from the danger he invited into their home.
Finalist Fiction: Religious The 2020 Best Book Awards
“The Convergence,” plunges deep into the healing of the human heart and spirit. Lost in tragedy, Weston Tanner sets out on a crash course to find real answers to haunting questions, ones that plague his mind and rob him of inner peace. He loved a woman perfectly, to no avail. Due to the death of his young and beautiful wife Brooklyn, he cannot come to terms with why a God that could have healed her did not, and blames God for his loss. In alternating chapters, the parallel story of Mark Turner is one of epic love, elevating readers to a high position of thought and inspiration. Can these two men’s radically different lives converge in a place where healing is possible? This book addresses the hard subjects of suffering, loss, and grief, with thought provoking insight on life questions such as “Why do bad things happen to good people?”
Finalist Fiction: Religious The 2020 Best Book Awards
They watched a man die. It’s been many years since Gentry and Rosling visited their hometown. It’s been even longer since they spoke to each other. When they were only children, they witnessed a murder. The pain of that day drove a wedge between them and has haunted them ever since. Now, Gentry is the pastor of the local church —the same church where Rosling has taken over her dying grandmother’s duties. Together again in their small Southern town, the two adults wrestle with their faith. Gentry’s faith is strong, while Rosling struggles to believe at all. As they come face-to-face with the pain of their childhoods, they must learn how to be whole again, even when healing seems impossible. Heartbreaking and inspirational, The Thing about Mustard Seeds is a tale of redemption in the face of insurmountable odds.
