CAROL STREAM, Ill.— June 29, 2016— Tyndale House Publishers (@tyndalehouse) is pleased to announce that three Tyndale fiction authors, Lisa Wingate, Cathy Gohlke, and Rachelle Dekker, received Christy Awards, which were announced online on June 27th at www.ChristyAwards.com. Christy Awards honor and promote excellence in Christian fiction.
Author Lisa Wingate won the 2016 Christy Award in the Contemporary Standalone category for her title, The Sea Keeper’s Daughters. From modern-day Roanoke Island to the sweeping backdrop of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains and Roosevelt’s WPA folklore writers, past and present intertwine to create an unexpected destiny for a young restaurant owner desperate to save her business from a hostile takeover. Selected among Booklist’s Top 10 for two consecutive years, Lisa Wingate skillfully weaves lyrical writing and unforgettable settings with elements of traditional Southern storytelling, history, and mystery to create novels that Publishers Weekly calls “masterful” and Library Journal refers to as “a good option for fans of Nicholas Sparks and Mary Alice Monroe.”
Cathy Gohlke won her 2016 Christy Award in the Historical category for Secrets She Kept, which paints a deeply moving faith picture by weaving the timeless themes of forgiveness and redemption against the backdrop of the Holocaust. In this book, Gohlke tells the story of Hannah Sterling as she seeks to unlock the secrets of her estranged mother’s past by traveling to Germany to meet her grandfather. Longing for connection, yet shaken by all she uncovers, Hannah must decide if she can atone for her family’s tragic past and how their legacy will shape her future. Publishers Weekly praises Secrets She Kept as “a touching example of the healing power of forgiveness and the rejuvenating power of faith.” Romantic Times made it a “Top Pick” saying, “Gohlke takes the reader on a compelling journey, complete with mystery and drama…It is well researched, and the multilayered characters demonstrate the power of love and sacrifice.” This is Gohlke’s third Christy Award.
Rachelle Dekker received her Christy Award for The Choosing, in the Young Adult category.
She received numerous accolades for this debut novel. Family Fiction says, “Rachelle…is carving out a space of her own. Her debut novel, The Choosing, is a rich statement about the author’s future and her impact on Christian fiction.” In this dystopian story, Carrington Hale finds herself ripped from her family when her Choosing ceremony ends in disaster. She is forced to spend her days serving as a Lint, the lowest level of society. As Carrington begins this nightmare, rumors of rebellion rattle her beliefs. She’s offered an unprecedented chance at the life she’s always dreamed of, yet she can’t shake the feeling that it may be an illusion. Dekker explores the theme of identity and finding freedom in God’s truth and who He says we are.
The Christy Awards are online at:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChristyAward
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ChristyAward
