Christianbook.com Fiction Blog

Early Bird Session:

Renowned author James Scott Bell opened ACFW with an early bird session on writing where he declared that all writers are weird! How cool is that! That simple statement got a huge round of applause, several “amens,” and palpable relief resonated throughout the room. From that point on, everyone relaxed and was hooked into what he had to share. By the time Jim was finished with the four hour session on plot and structure, everyone learned valuable lessons, a whole lot of trivia about Jim’s favorite movies,” The Fugitive“, “Moonstruck, “City Slickers,” and of course the legendary “Odd Couple.” Jim lives in L.A. capital of movie land, and he uses his movie knowledge to effectively demonstrate examples of plot and structure, while keeping his audience captivated!

Cynthia Ruchti opened ACFW with wonderful words of praise to all those devoted to making ACFW the extraordinary event that it is. Held in the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Indianapolis, the setting for a scene in a famous movie, everyone who came to the conference was in awe of the beautiful lobby, the glass elevators rising to a fancy restaurant that circled the city at the top. What I was privileged to find out by eating at this restaurant with ACFW president Cynthia Ruchti and VP Becky, the food prepared throughout the entire conference was prepared on the same quality level as their ***** five star restaurant.  (They could make pork chops taste as extraordinary as the best filet mignon.) Cynthia Ruchti was in charge of preparing the menu for the entire 4 days, the best conference fare ever served; among the several thousand other responsibilities she oversaw throughout the conference.

To start the ceremony, Becky Germany from Barbour publishers awarded three never- before-published authors an award of a contract. What a thrill for them and what a way to begin the ACFW conference!

Brandilyn Collins opened ACFW with a story about her experience arriving at the Indianapolis airport.  As she deplaned in the Indianapolis airport and headed to the baggage claim area, it was announced over the loud speaker that everyone must evacuate the area.  Thinking it was a bomb scare, everyone skedaddled out as fast as they could, but not before a huge door came down right in front of Brandilyn. To this day she has no idea what was going on behind these instructions. When they lifted the door, she ran, and as a daily runner, she didn’t hesitate; just grabbed her bags as they circled around the baggage claim and ran, until she got to the car and out of the airport. As she stated; “Suspense follows me wherever I go.”

We all joined in for praise and worship music, the singing led by Rachel Hauck with Denise Hunter on drums.

 Next to speak was Tim Downs, who has a long list of credentials; life experiences, including a syndicated column as a comic strip writer, a marriage counselor, and of course, writer extraordinaire. As Brandilyn described the character from the Bug Man series as “about as socially inept as one can get, but knowing everything there is to know about…well…maggots,” Tim came on stage with several stories which held us all captivated!

 Dinner, breakfast and lunch were perfect opportunities to meet authors, agents other newbies and aspiring writers. No matter which table you sat at, you were sure to meet someone God led to you for help and support.

Throughout the conference, there were classes for all levels of writers, from veteran writers such as Gayle Roper, Colleen Coble, Brandilyn Collins, Terri Blackstock, James Scott Bell and founding author, Tracie Peterson to aspiring writers looking for direction, help and support.  It was impossible to catch all the classes, author signings, agent meetings and publisher discussions. By the end of the action packed four days, most people attending were actually ready to go home, so they could have a chance to digest all they learned and experienced.

The award ceremony was the culmination of the year’s efforts by so many volunteers.  As writers took the stage to accept their awards, most had a funny quip to make, poignant story to tell, and the ceremony seemed to be over in a blink of an eye.

Award Ceremony Highlights:

 The Genesis awards which represent outstanding potential by unpublished authors were presented by one of my favorite people, Camy Tang, author for Zondervan. Camy has a real heart for aspiring writers and is very involved the Genesis awards, spending many, many hours reading over manuscripts, along with several other volunteers.  Although they are not awarded a contract on the spot, historically, almost all Genesis award winners are given a contract within a very short period after receiving the Genesis award.

The Carol Award: As a tribute to Carol Johnson, the real pioneer behind the expansion of Christian fiction, Janette Oke presented the very first Carol Award to Carol Johnson for her lifetime achievements.  Both women  received a well-deserved standing ovation and an extended round of applause!

 Double Award Winners:

 Susan May Warren won two awards; one was the “Mentor of the Year award,” dedicated to her for going above and beyond to encourage other authors and aspiring authors along their journey. 

Susan also won an award for “The Great Christmas Bowl.” The genesis of the book came when she and another author asked the magical two words, “What if?”  The joke between them was that the first one who wrote a book about the football teams and Christmas would be the winner…as it turns out, on more than one level!

 The surprise for me was the speech that  double award winner newcomer Dan Walsh delievered for “An Unfinished Gift.” It wasn’t a surprise that he received the awards for the book, he’s garnered many five star reviews; the surprise was his heartfelt acceptance speech where he mentioned that he’d been a pastor for twenty-five years; what a privilege it was to be among so many talented women and how humbled he was by the encouragement he received throughout the conference. Frankly, his acceptance speech was so poignant, heartfelt and gracious, I was ready to sign up for any broadcasts he may have as a pastor and definitely make a point of reading all his books.

More  Highlights:

 Terri Blackstock also won in the suspense category for her book called, “Intervention.” As she elegantly graced the stage in her beautiful copper gown, she walked to the microphone and made the joke, “I’m the Susan Lucci of the fiction world.” She’s been nominated on numerous occasions but this is her first award that she’s received.  The best part about this award and this book, is that “Intervention” is her authentic story about her family, and she had to reach deeply into her soul to write this story.  Special congratulations to Terri Blackstock!

 After reading most of the books in the finalists category,  how  does  the ACFW committee could select one book from the many choices on the finalist lists?  Most categories had more than the usual number to select from based on ties. If you take a look at the finalists, Christian fiction just keeps getting better and better!

To summarize the growth in the Christian fiction industry; five years ago, for all Christian products sold, fiction was approximately 12% of the total Christian industry. In the last six months Christian fiction has gone from 15% TO 19% of the total Christian industry.

Here at ACFW, Cindy Woodsmall decided to have an Amish Author party!  Eight wonderful women came together to collaborate, laugh, talk, play games and just plain have fun together.  What an opportunity to hear their insights, backgrounds, why they write Amish fiction, some silly quirks they exchanged and some poignant moments. Who would have thought that these incredible ladies would be so humble, loving and comfortable cheering one another on?  As Christian fiction writers it  wouldn’t be any other way. The participants were newbie, Kelly Irving from Harvest House, veteran author Gayle Roper also from Harvest House, beloved author Shelley Shepard Gray from Avon, new author Vanetta Chapman from Abingdon, Leanna Ellis who is writing a unique Amish/Vampire book for ABA, Beth Wiseman from Thomas Nelson, and Marta Perry from Penguin/Putnam.

Have you dreamed of becoming a writer? The ACFW conference is a writer’s nirvana for getting energized! Your hopes and dreams to be published, to meet your favorite author can be realized; whether you bump into

Cynthia Ruchti ACFW President

Cynthia Ruchti, ACFW’s president, at the front desk, or browse through the enormous bookstore and happen to notice Cara Putman admiring Colleen Coble’s newest book, The Lightkeeper’s Bride, #2  in the Mercy Falls series, everyone is more than willing to stop and say “hello!” Even with 2,200 people and growing, no matter where you go, alone or with a friend, here at the ACFW conference, you feel as if you’re at a large (very large!) family reunion with friends/sisters (and even some brothers) in Christ.

They Almost Always Come Home by Cynthia Ruchti

Cynthia Ruchti shared the incredible backstory, the inspiration behind her debut novel, “They Almost Always Come Home,” which has garnered 14 five star***** reviews.  Her husband and 21 year old son chose to vacation for a week in the wilderness. Isolated on an island where they’d kayaked, her husband became seriously ill. Her son had no way to get help except to lay out a yellow tarp on the beach and write SOS in charcoal from the fire onto the tarp, and pray! Five days later, someone spotted the tarp, flying overhead and called for help, but they had to wait until the winds died down enough to land the plane. Finally, a two hour window opened up and they were able to land the plane and rescue Cynthia’s husband and son. The doctor’s told Cynthia, that if her husband had been left for even one more hour, he would have died; amazing!

The Bishop, Patrick Bowers Series #4 by Steven James

The Bishop by Steven James is number four in the Bowers Files Series, but can easily be read as a stand-alone  If you enjoy watching NCIS, CSI or other shows of this genre, you will love The Bishop. As Steven James immediately immerses you in a complicated serial crime investigation, with the criminals killing for kicks, like a complicated chess game.  It’s hard to believe there are people out there who think like this, but it’s just another project for Patrick Bowers to unfurl.  Steven James clearly does his homework, he comes up with weapons and equipment that sound like something out of a James Bond movie, yet, after further investigation, are currently being used  real CSI and FBI. Plan to stay up all night to finish the book, it’s that good!

It’s getting close to the time to pack for ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) Conference on September 17- September 20, 2010, one of the premiere conferences of the year!  To say it should be a requirement for the serious fiction writer is an understatement!  The opportunities available at this conference are nothing short of miraculous and clearly God’s hand is in the entire conference. 

For starters, the most powerful room at the conference is the prayer room, located just outside the area where aspiring writers meet their assigned mentors for the first time.  Talk about positioning! Here’s the most important 15-30 minutes of a beginning writer’s career, and you have the opportunity to pray with someone, or many, beforehand.  How powerful!  The prayer room is manned 24/7 throughout the entire conference, and most often you’ll pray  with a gregarious, gracious, stunning redhead (both inside and out) named Brandilyn Collins.

 The conference has too many classes to take advantage of every one, but whatever you choose, each class is well worth your time. It may seem overwhelming at first with over two thousand members strong, but without a doubt, you will meet many new friends and make connections to enhance your writing career, whether it’s a local writer’s chapter or a friend who becomes a your sounding board.  Everyone at the conference is on the same road of writers, at different stages of the continuum, and without exception, everyone who attends this conference will walk away a changed person.