ICRS, Christy Awards, and website problems

Monday I'll be signing copies of The Healer's Apprentice at the International Christian Retail Show--right after Karen Kingsbury. (Thank you, Karen, for drawing the crowd!) Should be fun. I've never been to the ICRS, but I'm very excited about it. There will be actual famous people there, like the Duggar family, Bethany Hamilton of Soul Surfer fame, and others. I will only be there one day, but I hope to post some pictures.

Monday night I will also be attending the Christy Award dinner, which should also be fun. Or at least nerve-wracking! It's really exciting to be a finalist, I must say.

And lastly, you may have noticed that my website is down and showing an error message. I have called the server about this and it is supposedly being fixed, but it is taking quite a long time. Grrrr. Right now I have no one to maintain my site, and I am pitiful, just pitiful, when it comes to anything having to do with making updates to a website. I tried once and it was not pretty. But the person I had hired to do my website and make updates has decided not to do it anymore, so if you or someone you know knows anything about HostGator or anything about websites, please, please, please let me know. I want to put the cover and trailer for my new book, The Merchant's Daughter, on my website, and I need help. Help, help, help. Please help the pitiful, old-fashioned author who has zero ability to work on a website.

Okay, end of pathetic-ness confessions and rants.

I'm a Christy Award Finalist!!!

In case you haven't heard me screaming and laughing the past three days ...
The Healer's Apprentice is a Christy Award finalist!!!
Here's the whole list of finalists from the Christy Awards website:

Contemporary Romance/
Blood Ransom

by Lisa Harris (Zondervan)
Indivisible

by Kristin Heitzmann (WaterBrook Press)
Sworn to Protect

by DiAnn Mills (Tyndale House Publishers)

Contemporary Series, Sequels, and Novellas/
The Reluctant Prophet

by Nancy Rue (David C. Cook)
The Thorn

by Beverly Lewis (Bethany House Publishers,
a division of Baker Publishing Group)
The Waiting

by Suzanne Woods Fisher (Revell Books,
a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Contemporary Standalone/
Almost Heaven

by Chris Fabry (Tyndale House Publishers)
Lady in Waiting

by Susan Meissner (WaterBrook Press)
A Season of Miracles

by Rusty Whitener (Kregel Publications)

First Novel/
Crossing Oceans

by Gina Holmes (Tyndale House Publishers)
Heartless

by Anne Elisabeth Stengl (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)
A Season of Miracles

by Rusty Whitener (Kregel Publications)

Historical/
Chosen: The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther

by Ginger Garrett (David C. Cook)
For Time & Eternity

by Allison Pitman (Tyndale House Publishers)
While We’re Far Apart

by Lynn Austin (Bethany House Publishers,
a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Historical Romance/
The Girl in the Gatehouse

by Julie Klassen (Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group)
She Walks in Beauty

by Siri Mitchell (Bethany House Publishers,
a division of Baker Publishing Group)
Within My Heart

by Tamera Alexander (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Suspense/
The Bishop

by Steven James (Revell Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group)
The Bride Collector

by Ted Dekker (Center Street)
Predator

by Terri Blackstock (Zondervan)

Visionary/
To Darkness Fled

by Jill Williamson (Marcher Lord Press)
Konig’s Fire

by Marc Schooley (Marcher Lord Press)
The Last Christian
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by David Gregory (WaterBrook Press)

Young Adult/

The Charlatan’s Boy
by Jonathan Rogers (WaterBrook Press)

The Healer’s Apprentice
by Melanie Dickerson (Zondervan)

Motorcycles, Sushi, and One
Strange Book
by Nancy Rue (Zondervan)

And if that isn't enough, The Healer's Apprentice is a DOUBLE finalist in the National Readers Choice Awards! Check out the list of all the finalists.

My cup runneth over. It's truly a dream come true to final in the Christy Awards. I've been dreaming about it since I started writing, hoping to get a Christian novel published. I am so honored and feel so blessed. Thank you, God!!!