It’s official today, so I can share the surprising news…

… and my thanks to the Christy Award Advisory board and the judges who enjoyed Auralia’s Colors!

Ann Arbor, Mich.—The Christy Advisory Board is pleased to announce nominees in nine categories for the 2008 Christy Awards honoring Christian fiction. The Christy Awards dinner will be held Saturday evening, July 12, 2008, at The Rosen Centre in Orlando, Florida. Visit the Christy Awards online at www.christyawards.com for more information.

The Christy Awards 2008 Nominees

CONTEMPORARY (STAND ALONE)
¨ Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin (Thomas Nelson)
¨ In High Places by Tom Morrisey (Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group)
¨ Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson (Thomas Nelson)

CONTEMPORARY (SERIES, SEQUELS, AND NOVELLAS)
¨ Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon (Viking Penguin)
¨ A Time to Mend by Sally John and Gary Smalley (Thomas Nelson)
¨ What Lies Within by Karen Ball (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)

HISTORICAL
¨ Lady of Milkweed Manor by Julie Klassen (Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group)
¨ A Proper Pursuit by Lynn Austin (Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group)
¨ Tendering in the Storm by Jane Kirkpatrick (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)

LITS (four nominees due to a tie)
¨ Doesn’t She Look Natural by Angela Elwell Hunt (Tyndale House Publishers)
¨ Hallie’s Heart by Shelly Beach (Kregel Publications)
¨ Let Them Eat Cake by Sandra Byrd (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)
¨ Trophy Wives Club by Kristin Billerbeck (Avon Inspire, a division of HarperCollins Publishers)
ROMANCE
¨ Lightning and Lace by DiAnn Mills (Barbour Publishing)
¨ Remember to Forget by Deborah Raney (Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster)
¨ Remembered by Tamera Alexander (Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

SUSPENSE
¨ The Cure by Athol Dickson (Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group)
¨ My Hands Came Away Red by Lisa McKay (Moody Publishers)
¨ The Pawn by Steven James (Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

VISIONARY
¨ Auralia’s Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)
¨ The Restorer by Sharon Hinck (NavPress Publishing Group)
¨ Scarlet by Stephen R. Lawhead (Thomas Nelson)

FIRST NOVEL
¨ Auralia’s Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)
¨ Demon: A Memoir by Tosca Lee (NavPress Publishing Group)
¨ The Stones Cry Out by Sibella Giorello (Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

YOUNG ADULT
¨ Hollywood Nobody by Lisa Samson (NavPress Publishing Group)
¨ In Between by Jenny B.Jones (NavPress Publishing Group)
¨ Maggie Come Lately by Michelle Buckman (NavPress Publishing Group)

A few places online are displaying what they believe to be the cover art for Cyndere’s Midnight… but alas, they’re wrong. It’s a beautiful image, but it is not the final, offical cover art for the book.

Stay tuned. The official cover art will be posted very soon!

Auralia’s Colors is going into its second printing!

And to mark this event, WaterBrook has given the book a new look.

And there’s more good news today. But, well, that’s classified. Stay tuned, though, and I’ll share something very exciting soon…

At The Greenman Review, Matthew Winslow writes:

I’m so pleased to report … that Auralia’s Colors is one of the best fantasy books of 2007, reminiscent of Patricia McKillip, but more so.

…

Overstreet’s use of language is beautiful and lyrical, reminiscent of Patricia McKillip’s elegant prose. The book starts out slowly — to be honest, it took me a few attempts before I really got into the book — but once it gets going, it’s a page-turner, and that not just for the lovely writing: Overstreet gives us a story that we want to see to its end, but that we also do not want ever to end.

On Monday, February 4, I’ll be finished with my revisions

for Cyndere’s Midnight.

And then, the countdown begins.

Let me again answer what is bound to be the most commonly asked question:

It’s pronounced like the word “cinder.”

Auralia’s Colors has been inspiring some interesting responses from readers. Today, I received a package today from Vicki, an Auralia’s Colors reader in Manila.

Vicki works in Manila, but she was reading Auralia’s Colors while traveling to a scientific conference in Taipei.

This is the second time she’s sent me an extravagant package. (She wrote in response to Through a Screen Darkly too.) What fun. It reminds me of receiving care packages from home after I moved from Portland to Seattle for college. Anyway, I’m bowled over by the latest, which included a book about the life of J.R.R. Tolkien, and some photos like these:

The Grand Hotel in Taipei. (Click to enlarge.)

View over Taipei. (Click to enlarge.)

Auralia’s learned a few tricks from the lawn gnome in Amelie, I see.

Thanks, Vicki!

Don’t forget: I’ll be reading from Auralia’s Colors at the SPU Library on Thursday. The “Food for Thought” program coordinator wants me to mention that space is limited, so get there early.

Want a free copy of Auralia’s Colors? Jen just might give you one.

Want to read my conversation with Graeme at Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review? Here it is! Many thanks to Graeme Flory, who asked thoughtful questions. (He also wrote a detailed review.)

Kevin Lucia at TitleTrakk also asked me some questions about Auralia’s Colors. TitleTrakk’s review of Auralia’s Colors was published a while back.

Kevin Lucia at TitleTrakk asked me some questions about Auralia’s Colors. Like these:

• I see from your bio that you wrote your first fantasy story at the age of seven. Would you say then that having your first novel published is the culmination of a life long dream?
• Would you call yourself more of a movie fan, or movie critic?
• How is writing nonfiction different from writing fiction?
• How did Auralia’s Colors find its genesis? I don’t suppose that was the story you wrote at age seven?
• Do you feel it’s important for Christians today to constantly be evaluating and judging media at large?
• Auralia’s Colors is a work of fantasy; how does this genre, more than others, lend itself to the creative process?
• Would you consider any authors – contemporaries or otherwise – as inspirations?
• Christian entertainment has changed much in the last few years; especially in the areas of music, fiction, and movies. What do you see in the future for Christian entertainment?
• How do you feel about Amazon.com’s new wireless reading device? How do you feel about someone potentially downloading Auralia’s Colors on Kindle?
• Who reads your work – if anyone – before a publisher and editor does?
• If there was any advice you’d like to give to aspiring writers, what would it be?

TitleTrakk’s review of Auralia’s Colors was published a while back.

Many thanks to John Ottinger of “Grasping for the Wind” for his thoughtful questions in this new interview about Auralia’s Colors.

Fantasy Debut’s Tia Nevitt and I had a chat about Auralia’s Colors this week, and here’s the result!