Faith 'n Fiction Saturday January 10, 2009

Amy at http://www.myfriendamysblog.com/ hosts a question every Saturday called Faith 'n Fiction.

Today's Question:

There are a lot of great new books being published in 2009! But which ones are you the most excited about? Please pick some Christian fiction books you are excited to read this year and tell us all about them! But just to give this a little twist...be sure to visit everyone else's posts and find some books you might be interested in reading as well that are different from your picks! It will come in handy for a fun bonus question next

I am so excited about lots of new books coming out:

A Vote of Confidence by Robin Lee Hatcher.

In A Vote of Confidence, the stage is set for some intriguing insight into what it was like during 1915 to be a woman in a “man’s world.”Guinevere Arlington is a beautiful young woman determined to remain in charge of her own life. For seven years, Gwen has carved out a full life in the bustling town of Bethlehem Springs, Idaho, where she teaches piano and writes for the local newspaper. Her passion for the town, its people, and the surrounding land prompt Gwen to run for mayor. After all, who says a woman can’t do a man’s job?But stepping outside the boundaries of convention can get messy. A shady lawyer backs Gwen, believing he can control her once she’s in office. A wealthy newcomer throws his hat into the ring in an effort to overcome opposition to the health resort he’s building north of town. When the opponents fall in love, everything changes, forcing Gwen to face what she may have to lose in order to win.
Taking Tuscany by Renee Riva which is the sequel to Saving Sailor which my whole family loved.

A. J. Degulio loved the idea of a visit to the Old Country... until her family decided to stay. It's 1972 and she's turning fourteen in a crumbling castle on a hill in Tuscany, wishing she were back in Idaho with her beloved dog, Sailor. In Italy, her blonde hair makes her stick out like a vanilla wafer in a box of chocolate biscotti, and she's so lonely her best friend is a nun from the local convent.
The challenges of roots and relatives are nothing new to A. J., but she's going to need more than the famous Degulio sense of humor to survive. Can't anyone see that Italy isn't really home? It will take a catastrophe - and a few wise words from a friend - for A. J. to understand that sometimes the only thing you can change is your perspective.

Return Policy by Michael Synder

I loved his first My Name is Russell Fink. In his second book, novelist Michael Snyder introduces us to three very unusual and distinct voices all torn by tragedy: Willy Finneran, washed-up genre novelist with an espresso maker that just won’t die and a habit of avoiding conflict even if it means putting the truth on a sliding scale. Ozena Webb, single mother and Javatek’s top customer service representative. She spends every evening playing board games with her twelve-year-old son who is mentally crippled from an early childhood accident. Shaq, a small and scraggy homeless man with trauma-induced blank spots on his memory, trying to piece together the story of his life while assisting Father Joe at the Mercy Mission. As their stories intersect, the narrative vacillates between hope and naïveté, comic relief and postmodern ennui. Startling in its authenticity, this unforgettable novel reveals that no matter how far one has strayed from hope, there is always a way to return.

A Moment Between by Nicole Baart. Her first two books are After the Leaves Fall and Summer Snow both of which were favorites of mine for 2008.
Abigail Bennett was completely in control of her life until tragedy pushed her to the brink of something she's never experienced: Obsession. Now she's given up everything she's worked for to chase down the object of that obsession. His name is Tyler Kamp. As Abigail follows him across the border into Canada, her journey is awash in memories of family and childhood, especially those of her younger sister, Hailey. Even as Abigail races into her future, her past pulls her back. Only when she is brought to the edge of her obsession will she be able to come to terms with the tragedy that ignited it.

Try Fear by James Scott Bell. I love the Try series including Try Dying and Try Darkness.

I cannot find a description but it is the third book in the Buchcan series.

Spring of Candy Apples by Debbie Viguie. Join Candy Thompson on a sweet, lighthearted, and honest romp through the friendships, romances, family, school, faith, and values that make a girl’s lie as full as it can be.It’s the end of Candace’s senior year, and life’s getting sticky.A promotion to The Zone’s Candy Counter means Candace gets to create gooey treats all day long. She is a finalist for The Zone’s college scholarship (Florida anyone?), things with Kurt are getting really weird, and she’s bothered by all the questions about her future. Not unlike the challenge of making candy apples, Candace struggles to resist getting stuck and believe in what is truly at her core.

The House in Grosvenor Square by Linore Rose Burkard. Readers who loved the author’s first book, Before the Season Ends, will delight in this charming sequel set in Regency London. I loved the first book and am highly antipating the second.

Meltdown (Task Force Valor Series Three) by Chuck Holton. The global war on terror has reached catastrophic proportions, leading the U.S. Special Operations EOD team–Task Force Valor–to Chernobyl, where ghosts of past disasters are nothing compared to the nuclear nightmare about to unfold. With CIA Agent Mary “Phoenix” Walker heading her first Special Ops mission and Master Sergeant Bobby Sweeney fighting demons on and off the battlefield, Task Force Valor races to stop a terrorist threat in the Ukraine before Europe is turned into a radioactive wasteland. But when the terror reaches American shores, the team is powerless to help until they can save themselves. And when they finally track down the source of the chaos, what they find is worse than anything they could have imagined.

Nothing but Trouble (PJ Sugar Series #1) by Susan May Warren. From the Back Cover

PJ Sugar knows three things for sure: After traveling the country for ten years hoping to shake free from the trail of disaster that’s become her life, she needs a fresh start. The last person she wants to see when she heads home for her sister’s wedding is Boone—her former flame and the reason she left town. Her best friend’s husband absolutely did not commit the first murder Kellogg, Minnesota, has seen in more than a decade. What PJ doesn’t know is that when she starts digging for evidence, she’ll uncover much more than she bargained for—a deadly conspiracy, a knack for investigation, and maybe, just maybe, that fresh start she’s been longing for.
The Passion of Mary-Margaret by Lisa Samson

When Mary-Margaret Danaher met Jude Keller, the lightkeeper's son, she was studying at convent school on a small island in the Chesapeake Bay. Destined for a life as a religious sister, she nevertheless felt a pull toward Jude-rough and tumble, promiscuous Jude.
After sojourning as a medical missions sister in Swaziland, Mary-Margaret returns to the island to prepare for her final vows. Jude, too, returns to the island, dissolute and hardened. Mary-Margaret can hardly believe it when the Spirit tells her she must marry the troubled boy who befriended her all those years ago, forsaking the only life she ever wanted for a man she knows she'll never love.

If I had a list of everything being published this year I am sure I could come up with more. :)