Category: Bookish Question

Do you request Christian books at your library?

Book Chat #400 | Do you request Christian books at your library?

I’m a member of two libraries, a result of having a home in one city while living in another.

I tend to use the library to read books from new-to-me authors, or books from authors I’m happy to read once. If I think I’ll want to re-read a book, I’m more likely to buy it on Kindle than borrow it from my library … and that includes most Christian books.

My home library has a lot of adult Christian fiction, including new releases, so I’ve never needed to request any.

I did request a few Christian children’s books once – books in a series my daughter had borrowed and read – but the library said the books she had already read weren’t borrowed often, so they weren’t going to buy the rest of the series.

My local library has some Christian fiction on the branch shelves and more available for request from the offsite storage. It’s mostly new releases, and I haven’t yet worked my way through the titles they have so haven’t requested they buy any.

What about you? Do you request Christian books at your library?

Have you ever been on a launch team?

Book Chat #399 | Have you ever been on a launch team?

I’ve been on several book launch teams.

The first big book launch team I was on was organised by a major publisher and was at least ten years ago. The publisher asked readers to complete ten weekly tasks, with the promise of an Amazon voucher for everyone who provided links to show they had completed all ten tasks.

Unfortunately, the final task was to review the book on Amazon, which broke Amazon’s rules about reviewers not getting paid for reviews. (Equally unfortunately, I hadn’t enjoyed the book!) Anyway, I didn’t review the book, didn’t get the Amazon voucher, and steered clear of similar launch teams for a while.

Since then, I’ve volunteered for many launch teams, some with smaller publishers but most for authors who are self-publishing their books.

Some have been very formal, with Facebook groups and regular tasks.

These are typically organised by publishers or by authors who have hired someone to organise their book launch. These might send a weekly email with promotional images to share on social media or similar tasks. I try to complete the tasks requested, but they are sometimes time-consuming and can feel a little overwhelming.

Others have been a lot more informal, where the author simply shares the book and perhaps a few images, and asks readers to review the book and share the promotional images if they can. I definitely prefer these less formal launch teams.

What about you? Have you ever been on a launch team? What was your favourite part?

What about you? Do you check out books that have won awards?

Book Chat #398 | Do book awards make you want to check out the book?

Yes, but not all book awards.

As I mostly read Christian fiction (especially Christian romance), I have a particular preference for book awards that are either specifically for Christian fiction (such as the Christy and Carol Awards), or which have a Christian or inspirational fiction category. I also have a preference for awards organised by writer or reader organisations.

What I’m less interested in is “participation awards”. You know the ones: they say they have over 500 authors entering the awards each year, but when you look at the website you realise there are close to 100 categories, with five finalists in each category …

What about you? Do you check out books that have won awards?

What author contests do you like best?

Bookish Question #396 | What author contests do you like best?

That’s easy: any contest that has a book as a prize!

Paperbacks are great but I’m happy with ebooks (because then I don’t need to figure out how to fit it on my bookshelf).

My other favorite contest is any contest that’s open to international readers. A lot of the contests I see advertised have interesting prizes like cute quilts or monogrammed mugs, but they are only open to US entrants. Not that I blame the authors – the cost of postage could be prohibitive, and there’s every chance a mug would never arrive intact.

What about you? What author contests do you like best?

Do you get excited when a favourite author interacts with you?

Bookish Question #395 | Do you get excited when a favourite author interacts with you?

I can still remember some of the earliest online and email interactions I had with real authors whose books I’d read. Seeing their names in my email inbox was a huge buzz, and one of those interactions quite literally changed my life.

How?

I’ve always loved reading, and loved reading Christian fiction since I was introduced to the genre by titles such as This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti, Glastonbury by Donna Fletcher Crowe, and A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers.

Later, I discovered Australian Christian writers such as Mary Hawkins and Paula Vince. I was thrilled when my local bookseller said he’d gone to a book fair in Australia, met Paula, and bought back her latest title to sell to me. I read and reviewed it, she contacted me, and that turned into an introduction to her publisher and my first paid freelance editing project – and an invitation to speak at the conference she was organising for Christian writers.

Over the years, I’ve made friends with some of my favourite Australian and Kiwi authors through that initial connection, including Narelle Atkins, Meredith Resce, Rose Dee, Christine Dillon, Jenny Glazebrook, and (of course) Paula Vince. Yes, I’m always excited to interact with them, mostly because they’ve become friends.

There are also the authors I regularly review for.

I look forward to their emails because it means they’re offering me a new book to review and I can’t wait to read them! Particular favourite authors in this category include Keely Brooke Keith, Carla Laureano, Emily Conrad, Liwen Y Ho, Tara Grace Ericson, and Emily Dana Botrous.

(If you want to make friends with authors, reviewing their books is a great first step. Then sign up for their email newsletter, so you’re first to hear about any opportunities to join their review team.)

What about you? Do you get excited when a favourite author interacts with you?

If you could ask an author a question, what would it be?

Bookish Question #394 | If you could ask an author a question, what would it be?

The existence of the internet means we have access to more information about our favourite authors than I ever could have imagined as a child. Most authors have a website with information about them and their books, giving us so much more than the two-paragraph author bio in the back of their books.

Many authors also have an email newsletter. Most share about their writing and aspects of their everyday life. Christian authors often share about their faith, or a way they’ve recently seen God move.

So we already know (or can find out) the answers to many of our questions … which makes this question hard to answer.

But there is one thing all Christian writers have in common, but which I don’t often see on their websites or in their newsletters (and I admit I am also guilty of not sharing this one):

What is your Christian story? How did you become a Christian, and how is God working in your life?

What about you? Readers, what question would you ask an author? Authors, feel free to answer my question!

If you could have a meal with three living authors, who would you choose and why?

Bookish Question #393 | If you could have a meal with three living authors, who would you choose and why?

I have attended a lot of writing conferences over the years, which means I’ve been lucky enough to share meals with many New Zealand and Australian authors, and even a few US authors. Highlights would be my fellow Trinity Lakes authors—Narelle Atkins, Amanda Deed, Rose Dee, Carolyn Miller, Lisa Renee, Meredith Resce, and Jessica Wakefield. I would love any opportunity to get together with these ladies (and Sara Beth Williams, who I haven’t met because she lives in the US).

So I’m going to pick three Christian authors I haven’t met:

Gabrielle Meyer, to get an insight into how she comes up with the ideas for her fabulous Timeless series (and tops on how she manages not to get stuck in endless internet rabbit holes while researching).

Beth Moran, a UK author who writes contemporary romance with comedic elements, often set in or around Sherwood Forest. I love her characters and the subtle way she weaves Christian elements into general market stories.

Roseanna M White, because I love her English spy novels—I love the characters, the settings, and the seamless way she weaves in an authentic Christian faith.

What about you? Which three living authors would you like to share a meal with … and why?

How are you doing with your 2025 reading challenge?

Bookish Question #392 | How are you doing with your 2025 reading challenge?

I am way ahead on mine.

According to Goodreads, I’ve read 94 of my target of 150 books for 2025.

Of course, that level of over-achievement hides the fact I haven’t written as much as should have this year. I’ve amped up my writing in the last couple of months, which means I haven’t read as much (and am even slightly behind on my reviews).

It’s all about balance … and that doesn’t appear to be one of my strong points.

What about you? How are you doing with your 2025 reading challenge?

Do you read Christian poetry, and do you have any recomendations?

Bookish Question #391 | Do you read Christian poetry, and do you have any recommendations?

No, I don’t read Christian poetry.

I do read the Bible, which includes a lot of poetry, but most of that is in the Old Testament (especially in Psalms). Technically, that’s not Christian poetry because it predates Jesus.

The last book of poetry I read was the clean but definitely not Christian Pam Ayres. If you haven’t heard of Pam Ayres, she’s a comedic English poet who rose to fame in the 1980s (or perhaps earlier). My grandfather, who normally favoured biographies and Winston Churchill, enjoyed her poetry.

The other poetry I read, when it crosses my Facebook feed, is Brian Bilston. They are short and to the point, but also not Christian.

Needles by Brian Bliston

(Is there a Christian equivalent of Brian Bilston that I should know about?)

What about you? Do you read Christian poetry? If so, do you have any recommendations?