One Holy Night Wins CSPA Book of the Year Award

Tuesday I received notice that One Holy Night has been chosen as the 2009 Fiction Book of the Year by Christian Small Publishers Association! Needless to say, I am thrilled—and admittedly a bit stunned. I’d forgotten I even entered the contest. LOL!

It’s also entered in the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year contest for long contemporary novels, and it’ll be interesting to see how it does there. Winners in all the categories will be announced at the ACFW conference in September, so I’ll have to wait a while to find out, and that’s always hard. In the meantime, however, Sheaf House will be doing additional promotions in upcoming weeks featuring the award and will also feature One Holy Night again for the holiday season.

Tomorrow, April 18, I’m having a book signing at the Perry Bookstore, 907 Carroll Street, in downtown Perry, Georgia, from 11 to 1. In addition to One Holy Night, I’ll also be signing Wind of the Spirit, and will have copies of books 1 and 2, Daughter of Liberty and Native Son, available at a discount. I appreciate your prayers for a good weather and a good turnout, and if you happen to be in the area, I would love to have you stop by! This is also the weekend for the annual Dogwood Festival in Perry, and there’ll be lots going on downtown, not to mention the Mossy Creek Barnyard Festival, which is close by. Come on out and join in the fun!

Below is an excerpt from a recent review by Jackie Cooper, who is known in the middle Georgia area as the “entertainment man” for his entertainment reviews. His short stories have been used as commentary on Georgia Public Radio and he is also a popular after dinner speaker as well as a noted author. Jackie’s latest release is The Sunrise Remembers.

“Author J. M. Hochstetler has crafted a story that will drive us to tears but also lift our spirits at the same time. . . . It is a “family” story that all readers can enjoy and one to which they can relate in some way. Hochstetler takes us on a journey with these characters as they move through times of joy and times of sadness. Each person described in the story comes alive and takes his/her place in the order of things. The author even brings in side characters to flesh out the story and she does it with inventiveness and skill. If you do not enjoy or appreciate a story of faith then this is not the book for you. But for those who do like this type of religious material as the backdrop for a good story, this is an excellent choice.”