It's been a crazy week. As y'all know, DEAD RECKONING was free on Kindle from the 22nd-29th, and with it came several 2-star reviews that broke the TWENTY-EIGHT 4- and 5-star review streak. These reviews were very harsh, angry that it was a Christian book and free, called the story a mess, said they don't have "interstates" in India (um, explain that to India's national transportation system with more than 900K miles of paved highways that stretch ACROSS India's states (INTER-STATE highways), with 8 lanes in some areas).
Anyway...it was tough to see those when I was sitting here in my cave trying to peck out the last 1/4 of WOLFSBANE, Discarded Heroes #3. But I kept giving the whole writing thing to God, praying and spending quiet time with Him, reminding myself that I write for Him and when I use the gift He gave me, that's all the approval I need. :-D God loved on me a lot this past week. It was so beautiful!
But this morning--a wonderful email arrived in my inbox.
DEAD RECKONING made the short list for the 2010 INSPY Awards in the Thriller/Suspense category!! In case you haven't heard, this is a contest run by bloggers. Their motto is: "The Bloggers' Award for Excellence in Faith-Driven Literature."
I have to say--I love this. It's organized by bloggers/readers and judged by bloggers/readers. How kewl is that?!? It's a brilliant idea, and I'm so glad to see this type of contest.
Here is the full list--amazing authors and reads!!
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE FINALISTS!!!!
Announcing the INSPY Shortlists
October 1, 2010
The INSPY Advisory Board is pleased to announce the shortlists for the 2010 INSPY Awards. We thank you for your enthusiastic nominations of books and acknowledge the difficulties in narrowing the field with so many quality nominations.
General & Literary Fiction
The Christmas Glass by Marci Alborghetti, Guideposts, 1st October, 2009
Life in Defiance by Mary DeMuth, Zondervan, 1st May, 2010
Lost Mission by Athol Dickson, Howard Books, 1st September, 2009
Lucky Baby by Meredith Efken, Howard Books, 13th April, 2010
Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes, Tyndale House, 1st May, 2010
Creative Non-Fiction
Evolving in Monkey Town by Rachel Held Evans, Zondervan, 15th June, 2010
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller, Thomas Nelson, 29th September, 2009
Halfway to Each Other by Susan Pohlman, Guideposts, 1st September, 2009
God Hides in Plain Sight by Dean Nelson, Brazos Press, 1st October, 2009
Hear No Evil by Matthew Paul Turner, Waterbrook Press, 16th February, 2010
Historical Fiction
The Frontiersman’s Daughter by Laura Frantz, Revell Books, 1st August, 2009
The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen, Bethany House, 1st January, 2010
The Fiddler’s Gun by AS Peterson, Rabbit Room Press, 1st December, 2009
She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell, Bethany House, 1st April, 2010
Her Mother’s Hope by Francine Rivers, Tyndale House, 1st March, 2010
Thriller/Suspense/Crime
Priceless by Tom Davis, David C Cook, 1st June, 2010
The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker, Hodder & Stoughton, 27th May, 2010
The Clouds Roll Away by Sibella Giorello, Thomas Nelson, 16th March, 2010
The Knight by Steven James, Revell Books, 1st August, 2009
Dead Reckoning by Ronie Kendig, Abingdon Press, 1st March, 2010
Speculative Fiction
Green by Ted Dekker, Thomas Nelson, 1st September, 2009
The Last Christian by David Gregory, Waterbrook Press, 4th May, 2010
A Star Curiously Singing by Kerry Nietz, Marcher Lord Press, 1st October, 2009
Eternity Falls by Kirk Outerbridge, Marcher Lord Press, 1st October, 2009
Rooms by James L. Rubart, B&H Publishing, 1st April, 2010
Amish Fiction
Love Finds You in Charm, Ohio by Annalisa Daughety, Summerside Press, 1st September, 2009
An Honest Love by Kathleen Fuller, Thomas Nelson, 16th March, 2010
Winter’s Awakening by Shelley Shepard Gray, Avon Inspire, 1st February, 2010
Anna’s Return by Marta Perry, Berkley, 1st June, 2010
Plain Paradise by Beth Wiseman, Thomas Nelson, 30th March, 2010
Romance/Romantic Suspense
A Lady Like Sarah by Margaret Brownley, Thomas Nelson, 29th December, 2009
Blood Ransom by Lisa Harris, Zondervan, 1st April, 2010
Seaside Letters by Denise Hunter, Thomas Nelson, 6th October, 2009
Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart by Beth Patillo, Guideposts, 1st February, 2010
Sons of Thunder by Susan May Warren, Summerside Press, 1st February, 2010
Young Adult Fiction
A Little Help From My Friends by Anne Dayton & May Vanderbilt, FaithWords, 15th October, 2009
This Gorgeous Game by Donna Freitas, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 25th May, 2010
So Over My Head by Jenny B Jones, Thomas Nelson, 4th May, 2010
Beautiful by Cindy Martinusen Coloma, Thomas Nelson, 3rd November, 2009
Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr, Little Brown, 1st October, 2009
Note: Dates from the publishers’ sites were used to determine eligibility
EDITED [by INSPY] TO ADD:
Correction: We just became aware that one of the books initially listed on the INSPYs shortlists was ineligible because of the date it was published. We’ve updated the list above. The INSPY Advisory Board sincerely apologizes for this mistake.
WOW! What an awesome line-up of books. I'm so excited to find out who won!
Debut Author
Bonnie Grove - Talking to the Dead (David C. Cook Publishing)
Liz Jonson - The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn (Steeple Hill)
Kirk Outerbridge - Eternity Falls (Marcher Lord Press)
Jill Eileen Smith - Michal (Revell)
Dan Walsh - The Unfinished Gift (Revell)
Contemporary Novella
6 Finalists due to a tie
Barbara Cameron – One Child (Thomas Nelson)
Barbara Cameron – When Winter Comes (Thomas Nelson)
Debra Clopton – A Mule Hollow Match (Steeple Hill)
Susan May Warren – The Great Christmas Bowl (Tyndale House)
Beth Wiseman – A Change of Heart (Thomas Nelson)
Beth Wiseman – A Choice to Forgive (Thomas Nelson)
Historical Novella
Victoria Bylin – Home Again (Steeple Hill)
Vickie McDonough – A Breed Apart (Barbour Publishing)
Vickie McDonough – Beloved Enemy (Barbour Publishing)
Janet Tronstad - Christmas Bells for Dry Creek (Steeple Hill)
Carrie Turansky - A Shelter in the Storm (Barbour Publishing)
Long Contemporary
6 Finalists due to a tie
Christina Berry - The Familiar Stranger (Moody Publishers)
Mary Ellis - A Widow's Hope (Harvest House Publishers)
Joyce Magnin - The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow (Abingdon Press)
Susan Meissner - White Picket Fences (Waterbrook Press)
Marlo Schalesky- If Tomorrow Never Comes (Multnomah)
Susan May Warren - Nothing But Trouble (Tyndale House)
Long Contemporary Romance
Candace Calvert - Critical Care (Tyndale House)
Denise Hunter - Seaside Letters (Thomas Nelson)
Jenny B. Jones - Just Between You and Me (Thomas Nelson)
Beth Wiseman - Plain Promise (Thomas Nelson)
Cindy Woodmsall - The Hope of Refuge (Waterbrook Press)
Mystery
A.K. Arenz - The Case of the Mystified M.D. (Sheaf House)
Mindy Starns Clark - Under the Cajun Moon (Harvest House Publishers)
Darlene Franklin - A String of Murders (Heartsong Mysteries)
S. Dionne Moore - Polly Dent Loses Grip (Heartsong Mysteries)
Janice Thompson writing as Janice Hanna - Pushing up Daisies (Heartsong Mysteries)
Long Historical
Deeanne Gist - A Bride in the Bargain (Bethany House)
Robin Lee Hatcher - Fit To Be Tied (Zondervan)
Maureen Lang - Look to the East (Tyndale House)
Siri Mitchell - Love's Pursuit (Bethany House)
Allison Pittman - Stealing Home (Multnomah)
Long Historical Romance
8 Finalists due to a tie
Amanda Cabot - Paper Roses (Revell)
Mary Connealy - Cowboy Christmas (Barbour Publishing)
Mary Connealy - Montana Rose (Barbour Publishing)
Laura Frantz - The Frontiersman's Daughter (Revell)
Ann Gabhart - The Believer (Revell)
Julie Lessman - A Passion Denied (Revell)
Janice Thompson writing as Janice Hanna - Love Finds You in Poetry, Texas (Summerside Press)
Kathleen Y’Barbo - The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper (Waterbrook Press)
Short Contemporary
Debra Clopton - His Cowgirl Bride (Steeple Hill)
Myra Johnson - Autumn Rains (Heartsong Presents)
Vickie McDonough - A Wagonload of Trouble (Heartsong Presents)
Mae Nunn - A Texas Ranger's Family (Steeple Hill)
Glynna Sirpless writing as Glynna Kaye - Dreaming of Home (Steeple Hill)
Short Contemporary Suspense
6 Finalists due to a tie
Jill Elizabeth Nelson - Evidence of Murder (Steeple Hill)
Sandra Robbins - Final Warning (Steeple Hill)
Virginia Smith - Murder at Eagle Summit (Steeple Hill)
Virginia Smith - Scent of Murder (Steeple Hill)
Jenness Walker - Double Take (Steeple Hill)
Lenora Worth - Code of Honor (Steeple Hill)
Short Historical
Lyn Cote - Her Patchwork Family (Steeple Hill)
Laurie Alice Eakes - The Glassblower (Heartsong Presents)
Laurie Kingery - The Outlaw's Lady (Steeple Hill)
Lynette Sowell - All That Glitters (Heartsong Presents)
Dan Walsh - The Unfinished Gift (Revell)
Speculative (includes Science Fiction, Fantasy, Allegory)
6 Finalists due to a tie
Kirk Outerbridge - Eternity Falls (Marcher Lord Press)
Donita K. Paul - The Vanishing Sculptor (Waterbrook Press)
Steve Rzasa - The Word Reclaimed (Marcher Lord Press)
Stuart Vaughn Stockton – Starfire (Marcher Lord Press)
Fred Warren - The Muse (Splashdown Books)
Jill Williamson - By Darkness Hid (Marcher Lord Press)
Suspense/Thriller
Terri Blackstock – Intervention (Zondervan)
Colleen Coble - Lonestar Secrets (Thomas Nelson)
Brandilyn Collins – Exposure (Zondervan)
Harry Kraus - Salty Like Blood (Howard/Simon & Schuster)
DiAnn Mills - Breach of Trust (Tyndale House)
Women’s Fiction
7 Finalists due to a tie
Julie Carobini - Sweet Waters (B&H Publishing)
Kathryn Cushman – Leaving Yesterday (Bethany House)
Sara Evans & Rachel Hauck - Sweet By and By (Thomas Nelson)
Rene Gutteridge & Cheryl McKay - Never the Bride (Waterbrook Press)
Deborah Raney - Yesterday's Embers (Howard/Simon & Schuster)
Deborah Raney - Above All Things (Steeple Hill)
Lisa Wingate - The Summer Kitchen (New American Library/Penguin)
Young Adult
Shelley Adina - Who Made You a Princess? (Hachette FaithWords)
Brandilyn & Amberly Collins - Always Watching (Zondervan)
Jenny B. Jones - I'm So Sure (Thomas Nelson)
Jenny B. Jones - So Not Happening (Thomas Nelson)
Booker T. Mattison - Unsigned Hype (Revell)
Well, it's been forever, but I'm determined to revive this blog. I want to use it more for stuff about me (Ronie, in case you forgot whose blog you came to) and my life, which includes, family, faith, children, writing, etc.
I guess the most obvious topic right now is that my military suspense/thriller NIGHTSHADE has released! OORAH!! For the unacquainted, here is the blurb:
This former Navy SEAL is fighting a new battle: the home front!
Soldiers all across the globe are returning home to their families after brutal tours of duty. They are discharged from the service. . .and on their own. Meet Max Jacobs, one of these discarded heroes, as he faces a wall of failure—in his career, his friendships, and his marriage. Failing again—this time to end his life—he is offered a thread of hope. Are covert operations the answer for him, or will they only bring more danger and dissension upon his broken family?
There are nearly a dozen 5-star reviews on Amazon and Christianbook.com. If you are curious as to whether the book is good, hop on over there and check it out. But to give you a sample of what you'd find on Amazon, this is what a few people had to say:
VALOR, ACTION, ROMANCE, HEART... Nightshade is the perfect blend of everything I like best in a story. I can’t recommend it enough! ~~John B. Olson, Christy Award-winning author of Oxygen and Powers
Nightshade kept me up all night! A tight plot, heartthrob heroes, and description so rich I could hear the jungle noise, feel the heat slide down my back. I’ll be clearing out a shelf to make room for Ronie’s books! ~~Susan May Warren, Rita Award-winning author of Nothing But Trouble
Ronie Kendig has outdone her debute release, Dead Reckoning with Nightshade. This intense story full of action, is also full of emotion and life. Men dealing with issues they hadn’t planned on. Surprise after surprise and bomb after bomb set this adventurous trail with the reader racing to the end. I found myself crying and smiling and hated it when it ended. But, I have it on good authority that that there are more Discarded Heroes stories coming. Ronie, I can’t wait! ~~Jan Crow Katy's Budget Books
Awards!
Dead Reckoning is an Inspy Short List Finalist!
