All is not well in the home of successful pastor and parenting expert Clayton Loverage, who has found that none of his proven techniques work on his youngest daughter, Ellen. Ellen and her father live in hostility and silence that is broken only after Ellen starts trespassing regularly in her English teacher's home. Power hungry church members and menacing criminals threaten to unravel the delicate bond redeveloping between Clayton and his daughter. A suspenseful, yet sweet story about what it takes to mend a relationship gone wrong.

Other Finalists for First Novel 2005:

• THE DEAD DON'T DANCE by Charles Martin {WestBow}
• THERE IS A WIDENESS by Mark McAllister {RiverOak}

Deep in the earth, brilliant clusters of quartz crystals lie hidden in fissures and crevices. But such treasures can only be found in fractured, unstable, dangerous earth—places miners simply call "bad ground." Jeremy Prine, a fearful seventeen-year-old boy, needs to grow up, and fast. When Jeremy's mother dies, he finds himself seeking help from the unlikeliest of people--his estranged uncle, a badly scarred hard-rock miner. Uncle Aiden is a bitter recluse who, when he's not "making hole" underground, stays holed up in his apartment on the south side of Atlanta. But Jeremy's presence—and the memory he evokes—changes everything for both of them.

Other Finalists for General Novel 2005:

• NO DARK VALLEY by Jamie Langston Turner {Bethany}
• TIGER LILLIE by Lisa Samson {WaterBrook}

Set during the darkest days of World War II, King’s Ransom tells the heroic story of Tsar Boris III, King of Bulgaria, and his extraordinary efforts to save his country’s Jewish population from Hitler’s concentration camps. Aware of the price he might pay for his risks, Boris faced the Third Reich with courage and resolve, firm in his Christian convictions that would not permit him to abandon nearly 50,000 Jews. Boris, along with members of the Orthodox Church, Jewish religious leaders, and others, ultimately ensured that no Bulgarian Jews lost their lives to Hitler’s regime.

Other Finalists for Historical Novel 2005:

• RETRIBUTION by Randall Ingermanson {Zondervan}
• THIRD WATCH by Bodie & Brock Thoene {Tyndale}

Antonia stared out the Studebaker’s rear window as it sped away from her grandfather Quillan’s Sonoma villa, leaving behind the vineyard that had been life to her family, a life now lost. What are the secrets to be unveiled at a lovely old villa? Don't miss Kristen's Heitzmann's award-winning novel of love and intrigue!

Other Finalists for Romance Novel 2005:

• WILD HEATHER by Catherine Palmer {Tyndale}
• WINTER WINDS by Gayle Roper {Multnomah}

Stefanie Peng abandons her comfortable American life for a desperate quest—gaining the release of her grandfather, an underground pastor, from an oppressive Chinese labor camp. But the “Beijing Tiger,” a Chinese master spy, stalks her every move; clawing for leverage over America through her father, a world-renowned physicist, and the leaders of the Chinese church. Only the courage of the enigmatic man who loves her can save her. From the labor camps to illegal union meetings, from prison to the underground church, Stefanie comes face-to-face with the value of her freedom and the cost so many pay for the faith.

Other Finalists for Suspense Novel 2005:

• THE ASSIGNMENT by Mark Andrew Olsen {Bethany}
• RIVER'S EDGE by Terri Blackstock {Zondervan}

Abramm Kalladorne returns to Kiriath to claim the crown he thought he would never wear and to prepare his people for the inevitable attack of the Armies of the Black Moon. Though fiercely opposed by his own kin and reluctant to thrust his country into civil war at the worst possible time, he nevertheless believes this course of action is Kiriath’s only hope of salvation. Against a backdrop of somber council meetings and back-alley sword fights, of magnificent ballrooms and windswept mountain fortresses, plots and counterplots unfold as old alliances dissolve and new ones form. If he is to succeed, Abramm must come to terms with his own limitations—and the sufficiency of the one who controls his destiny.

Other Finalists for Visionary Novel 2005:

• BEYOND THE SUMMERLAND by L.B Graham {P&R Publishing}
• DRAGONSPELL by Donita K. Paul {WaterBrook}