Category: Christian Fiction

Merry Christmas, Dear Readers!

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

merry christmasIt’s hard to believe this is my last blog post of 2013. 

Where does the time go?

I want to say a hearty thank you to all the people who signed up for my Welcome Note and Devo! Last night, I used random.org to select a name from my welcome note list. So without further ado, the winner of a signed copy of Wildflowers from Winter and Wishing on Willows is…..

Alicia Unger!

Congrats, Alicia!

For another chance to win, head over to my Facebook author page and help me name the town in my 4th novel!

Thank you readers, for all your support and encouragement. Connecting with you is one of the highlights of being an author.

I wish you all a blessed Christmas filled with comfort and joy. 

And for those who find themselves in a place of hurt or longing, for you….

I pray that God, THE source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the holy spirit. ~Romans 15:13

Join me in 2014 and stay tuned for an invitation to be a part of the launch team for A Broken Kind of Beautiful!

Oh – and don’t forget to enter the Christian Fiction Christmas Giveaway. The contest closes soon!

December is Here, Christmas is Near

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

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Tis the season!

For giving away gifts (we’ll get to that in a minute!). For trees and lights, poinsettias and holly. For Deck the Halls and Oh Holy Night. For It’s a Wonderful Life and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. For freshly fallen snow, baking cookies, sipping hot chocolate, wrapping presents, hanging stockings, and that red kettle outside of stores.

Most importantly, ’tis the season for celebrating the amazing miracle that is God incarnate. 

That’s what advent is all about.

Expectantly awaiting that one moment in history when everything changed.

When God reached down into humanity and said, “I will be your rescue.”

Immanuel. God with us.

This is the first year my (not so) little man seems to “get it”. And his innocent, childlike excitement is contagious.

He was busting at the seems to decorate the tree….

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 To make his homemade advent calendar…..

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To put up his own little Christmas nightlight in his room…DSCN4264We listened to Christmas music and we counted Hershey kisses and talked about the first Christmas lights and the meaning of the star at the top of our tree.

It was a fun, magical night. 

I hope one of many more to come.

Let’s Talk: How do you prepare for Christmas? What are your favorite Christmas traditions?

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Don’t miss the Christian Fiction Christmas Giveaway!

From now until Christmas Eve, you may enter to win a basket of books and prizes – either to keep for yourself or give away as gifts to friends and family! Scroll down to enter via Rafflecopter!

Basket contents: Wildflowers from Winter and Wishing on Willows by moi, Made to Last by Melissa Tagg, Shadowed by Grace by Cara Putnam, Catch a Falling Star by Beth Vogt, The Heiress of Winterwood by Sarah Ladd, A Sweethaven Christmas by Courtney Walsh, an advanced reader copy of Kristy Cambron’s debut novel, The Butterfly and the Violin. As well as Peppermint Twist lotion from Bath and Body Works, Heartstrings Stringed Quartet Christmas CD, a handmade ceramic hummingbird ornament, two $5 gift cards to Starbucks, Christmas in Connecticut DVD, and a piece of handcrafted art by Courtney Walsh. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Questions, Questions, Questions

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Before we get to my onslaught of questions, let’s start with a little publishing verbiage.

There are two major markets in the world of publishing. The CBA and the ABA. CBA stands for Christian Book Association and is the Christian market. ABA stands for the American Book Association and is the secular market. Almost every major ABA publishing house has a CBA division.

For example. I get my paycheck from Random House. My contract went through Random House. Waterbrook Multnomah is the Christian division of Random House. And since I write for the CBA, I work with the people at Waterbrook Multnomah.

The debate over what makes a book Christian is a hot topic these days. But that’s not what I’m interested in right now. For the sake of establishing a common ground, when I refer to “Christian fiction” I am simply referring to any book published by the CBA.

Today, I have lots of questions. Today, I’d love for you to join in the discussion. Even if you’re a lurker who doesn’t normally comment.

Do you read Christian fiction? If so, why? If not, why not?

What’s your favorite genre within the CBA? Why?

What expectations do you have when you pick up a book published by the CBA?

What do you wish Christian books had more of? What do you wish Christian books had less of?

Every time I browse Amazon and find a CBA book that went free on Kindle, I notice this pattern. They get an onslaught of bad reviews from readers who wouldn’t typically buy a CBA book, but did because it was free. And often, these readers point to their dissatisfaction with the Christian themes.

Do you think it’s Christianity in general that bothers these readers, or the way the Christian themes are handled?

Pick a question. Any question. Or perhaps, pick all of them!

I can’t wait to read what you have to say.removetweetmeme