Today's blog will highlight some of the achievements of our members from October to December 2021
Jeanette O'Hagan & the Admin Team
Awards
2021 Omega Writers CALEB Awards
The winners of the Omega Writers CALEB Awards for published books were announced at the Omega Writers Dinner conference in October 2021 and included CWD members. The winners were:
Adult Non-Fiction - Sinned Against: Exploring the Scriptures by Valerie Wressell
Adult Biography of Memoir - On the way: an Australian Doctor in Yemen and Pakistan by Michael Babbage
Children’s Picture Books - Grandma’s Treasured Shoes written by Coral Vass and Illustrated by Christina Huynh
Early Reader and Middle Grade - How Not to be Popular by Cecily Paterson
Young Adult Fiction - Apprentice by Kristen Young
Adult Fiction - The Silk Merchant of Sychar by Cindy Williams
Barnabas Award (which recognise a writer who has gone out of their way to support and encourage other writers.) - Elaine Frazer
Encouragement Award (for writers Omega Writers would like to recognise and encourage) - Jeannie Wood and Raewyn Elsegood
New Releases, Pre-orders & Cover Reveals
The Craving by J F Saxby
The Craving is a split-time YA Christian romance, by J F Saxby. What happens when two people long to be together but are worlds apart? A music concert accident results in a coma and a breath taking journey. With themes of isolation, hardship, and a search for meaning in life, this is a novel for today.
Winner of 2020 CALEB Award for unpublished YA, The Craving J F Saxby was published by Ironstone Press November 18, 2021.
Watch the book trailer HERE and you can buy a copy HERE
Bio: Jean is a teacher, blogger and award-winning author of fiction and non-fiction, including inspirational stories and well-being content.
https://towardsrecovery.com.au
https://jeansaxby.com.au
https://thefangs.com.au
Where there’s always darkness; never daylight.
https://thefangs.com.au
Mirror by Elizabeth Klein
Where there’s always darkness; never daylight.
Does magic still linger in the mist-shrouded places of Scotland? With his aunt’s untimely death, Ash Wood inherits her cottage and becomes the next custodian of a mirror she always claimed belonged to Snow White’s evil stepmother.
The truth about his aunt soon becomes far darker and more tangled than anything Ash is prepared for. The hidden world of faery waxes very real and terrifying when fae creatures invade the cottage and he becomes trapped inside the mirror’s shadowy world with no way back. Who can he trust when each decision could be his last?
Mirror was published on November 9th and paperback on November 10th.
You can buy it HERE
Elizabeth Klein also has a short story, Dragon Gift, by Storm Cloud Publishing in their anthology Christmas Tales 6 - A collection of Christmas stories for kids 8 – 12 years. Christmas Tales 6 was published on December 1st 2021
You can buy it HERE
Elizabeth Klein also has a short story, Dragon Gift, by Storm Cloud Publishing in their anthology Christmas Tales 6 - A collection of Christmas stories for kids 8 – 12 years. Christmas Tales 6 was published on December 1st 2021
Elizabeth Klein has written 20 books and countless short stories, plays and articles, and lives in a caravan with her husband.
Poetica Christi's Silver Linings
Jeanette O'Hagan was thrilled to have two poems published in Poetic Christi's latest anthology, Silver Linings.
Time’s Lathe reflects on the her dad's journey with Alzheimer's while Time Reformed is a palindrome on the revolution of time.
Time’s Lathe reflects on the her dad's journey with Alzheimer's while Time Reformed is a palindrome on the revolution of time.
Silver Linings has many other wonderful poems from a wide range of fabulous poets. It was launched on 12 December 2021. You can order a copy HERE.
The fabulous cover image for Silver Linings was taken by CWD member Eric Skattebo.
Grace Across the Miles by Christine Dillon
How can you belong when you don't know who you are?
Gina Reid is surrounded by people getting married or having babies. She's under pressure to settle down but how can she do that when she doesn't even know where she came from? Since the startling revelation that she was adopted, it's felt like there is something missing. But fear has kept her from searching for her biological parents.
What if learning the truth is worse than not knowing?
Now an overheard comment has propelled her into action. Can Gina find out who she truly is? Or will she discover that some secrets are best left undisturbed?
Grace Across the Miles is Book 6 in the Grace series (final)
Released 15 December 2021. Links in the Chain Press. You can buy it HERE.
Christine Dillon is a Bible storyteller and trainer who works in Asia and Australia. Her book, Telling the Gospel Through Story: Evangelism that keeps hearers hungry for more (IVP, 2012) has inspired many to start telling the greatest story of them all.
Blinding Revelation by Donita Bundy
What if the Unseen was more blinding than the Seen?
The crew have survived the chaos and hardships of Sodom to arrive in Laodicea’s lap of luxury. A city ahead of its time: beautiful, pristine and enemy-free. It is the perfect place to rest, recover and regroup.
But all is not what it seems.
Something sinister lurks beneath the sterile exterior of the golden city.
How will the refugees from Sodom adjust to life in this foreign city?
With no common enemy to fight, what will hold them together?
Is this place heaven on earth, or is it the threshold of hell?
Donita Bundy lives in the Somerset Shire (Queensland, not England) with her husband, two boys, her socially inappropriate cat and irrepressible red dog.
Find out more at https://www.donitabundy.com/books/
Untruth: Exploring truth in a post truth world by Ruth Embery
This book comes with a warning. If you are looking for answers or proofs for set positions, either theologically or socially, you may not find them here. Rather, the purpose is to prompt the questions we often fail to ask; to create a place where aspects of faith and culture we take for granted as truth, or are prescribed to us as truth, are opened up for discussion and examination to determine whether they actually stand up to close scrutiny.
We live in an era where many seem to be throwing out much of what we have believed as truth or culturally acceptable in the past in exchange for something new and progressive. When there are so many voices shouting that their way is the only right way, it is vitally important that we reassess our foundations. Are we really standing on what we think we are? And are these foundations actually stable or sufficient for the way ahead?
Untruth explores these questions and others to help open the way for conversation, greater understanding and increased certainty around what we do believe is truth and, more importantly, why we believe it is truth.
Publication Date: Dec 2021
Publisher: Voice in the Dark Publishing
Ruth has a background in teaching and is passionate about shalom healing, wholeness and restoration in individuals, communities and the world as a whole.
New releases and pre-orders for Carolyn Miller
Reclaiming Hope by Carolyn Miller
“Opposites can attract, but can they last?”
Reclaiming Hope, published December 7 by Celebrate Lit, short blurb: You can buy it HERE
The Breakup Project by Carolyn Miller
“What happens if her personal Mr Darcy is her twin brother’s off-limits best friend?”
Carolyn Miller's Pre-orders
Love on Ice, out January 27
“She wants gold; he wants to lose the player tag. Can a fake relationship come something real?”
You can pre-order it HERE
Checked Impressions, out February 24
“Sparks fly when a hometown hockey hero meets a classy art-loving museum guide hiding a secret…”
You can pre-order it HERE
Luke, the youngest Lockley son, has completed University, and his life has no direction. No job, no money and no love. Desperately alone, he prays for guidance, and his brother Wills turns up with a suggestion. Reverend William Clarke needs assistance on a Government Mineral Survey. Would Luke be interested in joining the expedition? The challenge, adventure and their finds are life-changing for many. However, it gives Luke meaning, purpose and direction.
How can Luke trust God has a plan for him if he can’t even work out how to get a job? He does the only thing he can… he prays.
Within a week, life has changed... oh how it has changed! The condition of his heart problems also takes a turn. Can he walk away?
Author of two new Australian Colonial Series all set in Parramatta from 1792 to 1902.
Born and raised on NSW Central Coast, Sara loved learning about the faith of her ancestors and now weaves them into these delightful stories.
Sara Powter spowter@bigpond.net.au
Power to Change Australia has a vision to help people encounter Jesus today, impact Australia tomorrow and reach the nations for eternity. In a rapidly changing nation with such rich diversity this vision finds many different expressions.
Power to Change Australia is asking writers to enter a compelling short story into their 2022 Short Story Competition. The judges are looking for a fiction or fictionalised story with a link to Christian mission in contemporary Australia that reflects the theme “power to change”.
Theme: “Power to Change”
Closes: 31 January 2022
Word Limit: 3,000
Entry Fee: Free
Prize: $1,500 for first place. Writers will receive $150 for each story selected for publication.
Winners will be announced in Power to Change Australia’s ChangeMakers email, and contacted directly. First place and nine other stories will be published by Power to Change Australia in an anthology. Find out more HERE.
Rhiza Press is looking for interesting explorations of biblical fiction, including aspects of historical fiction, and encourage participants to write about the more ‘unusual’ parts of biblical history to create unique stories.
Congratulations to all our members for your milestones and achievements and wishing you all a Blessed Christmas and a Joyful New Year.
Carolyn Miller lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children. Together with her husband she has pastored a church for ten years, and worked as a public high school English teacher. A longtime lover of romance, especially that of Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer and LM Montgomery, Carolyn loves drawing readers into fictional worlds that show the truth of God’s grace in our lives. Her contemporary romance series includes the Original Six hockey romance series, and the Independence Islands series, and her historical series include the Regency Brides and Regency Wallflowers series.
Diamonds in the Dirt by Sara Powter
Sara Powter has a new release coming up in January, on 26th, currently available on pre-order. Diamonds in the Dust is book 3 in her Lockleys of Parramatta series.
This one covers the discovery of Diamonds in NSW, but is also more about the growth of the town of Parramatta and how one family of faith can change a town.
This one covers the discovery of Diamonds in NSW, but is also more about the growth of the town of Parramatta and how one family of faith can change a town.
DIAMONDS, LOVE AND MONEY
but there’s much more to life.
How can Luke trust God has a plan for him if he can’t even work out how to get a job? He does the only thing he can… he prays.
Within a week, life has changed... oh how it has changed! The condition of his heart problems also takes a turn. Can he walk away?
Diamonds in the Dust is available for pre order on Amazon and for order in all good bookstores in Australia from Woodslane Press. ($20)
Available on pre-order HERE
Available on pre-order HERE
Born and raised on NSW Central Coast, Sara loved learning about the faith of her ancestors and now weaves them into these delightful stories.
Sara Powter spowter@bigpond.net.au
Other News
Power to Change Short Story Competition
Power to Change Australia has a vision to help people encounter Jesus today, impact Australia tomorrow and reach the nations for eternity. In a rapidly changing nation with such rich diversity this vision finds many different expressions.
Power to Change Australia is asking writers to enter a compelling short story into their 2022 Short Story Competition. The judges are looking for a fiction or fictionalised story with a link to Christian mission in contemporary Australia that reflects the theme “power to change”.
Theme: “Power to Change”
Closes: 31 January 2022
Word Limit: 3,000
Entry Fee: Free
Prize: $1,500 for first place. Writers will receive $150 for each story selected for publication.
Winners will be announced in Power to Change Australia’s ChangeMakers email, and contacted directly. First place and nine other stories will be published by Power to Change Australia in an anthology. Find out more HERE.
Rhiza Press Short Story Submissions
What do you have to do?
Write a creative and exciting story that engages with our theme. Word count to be between 2000 and 5000 words.
These stories are to be fictional and appropriate for teens through to adults to read (12+ stories). This means limited swearing, stories that will be able to sell to schools. Please age and voice your characters appropriately.
Up to 17 stories will be shortlisted and included in the anthology Through Their Eyes. Successful entrants will each receive a complimentary copy of the book at publication and a $50.00 credit with Wombat|Rhiza.
Entry fee: there is none!
This year’s Rhiza Press Short Story Submissions are free entry. All we ask is that you please adhere to our requirements and terms and conditions. Entries for the Biblical Fiction theme close on September 1st, 2022. You can find out more HERE.
Write a creative and exciting story that engages with our theme. Word count to be between 2000 and 5000 words.
These stories are to be fictional and appropriate for teens through to adults to read (12+ stories). This means limited swearing, stories that will be able to sell to schools. Please age and voice your characters appropriately.
Up to 17 stories will be shortlisted and included in the anthology Through Their Eyes. Successful entrants will each receive a complimentary copy of the book at publication and a $50.00 credit with Wombat|Rhiza.
Entry fee: there is none!
This year’s Rhiza Press Short Story Submissions are free entry. All we ask is that you please adhere to our requirements and terms and conditions. Entries for the Biblical Fiction theme close on September 1st, 2022. You can find out more HERE.
Thank you for this interesting post. I have enjoyed reading about these books listed and will look at reading some. I am on a Sara Pieter at the moment. It was good to see the available competitions, too. God bless.
ReplyDeleteHeather - pleased that that the books have spiked your interest :) There are some great ones there. Enjoy.
Delete