by J.A. Webb | Nov 3, 2025 | Blog post
Last week I was honored to be invited to appear as a panelist for the 2025 Faith and Fellowship Book Festival- and was even more honored . . . and shocked . . . to learn that Inheritance was awarded honorable mention for the 2025 Angel Awards in the Mystery/Thriller/Suspense category.
Thanks so much to FFBF for the privilege, and congratulations to all the winners of the 2025 Angel Book Awards!
Here is the FFBF official announcement for the 2025 Angel Book Awards:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2025
The Faith & Fellowship Book Festival Announces the Winners of this year’s Angel Book Awards.
Nonfiction
Honorable Mention – A Trustworthy Anchor: God’s Hope & Encouragement in the Storms of Life by Shirley Quiring Mozena
Third place – 25 Symbols of Christmas: Finding Jesus—A Devotional by Annie Yorty
Second place – Reclaimed: A Course to Guide You Through Betrayal & Infidelity Trauma by Stephanie Broersma
First place – Stitching Your Story Piece by Peace: A 13 Week Devotional Pursuing the Peace of God by Naomi Fata
Children’s ages 2-8
Honorable Mention – Little Sprout Says Yes! by Jennifer E. Terrell, Illustrated by Lissette Blanco
Third place – Phooey Kerflooey vs. The Fancy, Fancy Teacup: Phooey Tales, Spring #1 by Kristin Joy Wilks
Second place – I Don’t Like Kindness (Picking the Fruit (of the Spirit)) Book #3 by Dawn Caldwell De Wulf, Illustrated by Jen Grafton
First place – When I Talk to God, I Talk about Feelings
by Chrissy Metz & Bradley Collins, Illustrated by Lisa Fields
Children’s ages 8-12
Honorable Mention – Just a Piece of Stone by Mary Ann Hake
Third Place – Disaster! Around the Bend by P. Lynn Halliday
Second Place – Road Trip Redemption, Book 3 in Road Trip Rescue, by Becca Wierwille
First Place – Paws-itive Inspirations: 90 Devotions for Kids and Dog Lovers by Michelle Medlock Adams & Wendy Hinote Lanier
Young Adult
Third Place – The Painted Fairytale by Lara d’Entremont, Illustrated by Ellie Tran
Second Place – Ride a Summer Wind by Ann Cavera
First Place – The Revelation of Emery Audubon by Ann Roecker
Historical Fiction
Honorable Mention – Heidi’s Faith, Rugged Cross Ranch, Book 4 by Jill Dewhurst
Third place – Whatever it Takes: A Split-Time Sisters in Arms Novel by Sarah Hanks
Second place – A Song of Deliverance, The Singing Silver Mine, Book 1 by Donna Wichelman
First place – What I Left For You, Echoes of the Past, Book 3 by Liz Tolsma
Mystery/Thriller/Suspense
Honorable Mention – Inheritance, The Seekers Series, Book 2 by J.A. Webb
Third place – Waterfall, The Waterfall Mysteries by Linda K. Rodante
Second place – Death Under the Ice, Trouble in Pleasant Valley, Book 4 by Deborah Sprinkle
First place – Lethal Standoff by DiAnn Mills
Contemporary
Honorable Mention – Every Life Filled with Purpose, A Weldon Novel, Book 3 by Shelia Stovall
Honorable Mention – Take My Hand by Ane Mulligan
Honorable Mention – Love’s True Home, True Calling, Book 2 by Lori DeJong
Third place – Escape to Whispering Creek by Barbara M. Britton
Second place – Love’s True Measure, True Calling, Book 3 by Lori DeJong
First place – New Creations by Sarah Hanks
Speculative
Third place – Bronze Circle by Becky A. Little
Second place – Starry Starry Night, Time Passengers Novel by D.K. Till
First place – The Root of the Matter, The American Puritans, Book 1 by Lynne Basham Tagawa
Novella
Third place – Heart of Honor, Hearts of the West, Book 3 by Patience O’Brien
Second place – Nazar’s Journey, Time Passengers Novel by Paul T. Mascia
First place – Jingle Bell Matchmakers, from A Match Made at Christmas by Lori DeJong
The purpose of the awards is to promote excellent books with a Christian worldview. The fees help support the Faith & Fellowship Book Festival, whose purpose is to connect readers with Christian authors. The judges are independent avid readers and not affiliated with the Faith & Fellowship Book Festival. FFBF is an activity within the Mordecai Brown Legacy Foundation, a registered 501c3 charity.
by J.A. Webb | Sep 21, 2025 | Blog post
The above photo is the view from one of our pastures, and this is the exact place where Fragments: Book One of the Seekers Series was born. It was this very spot I had in mind, that I was in fact looking at, when I wrote Lars’s first solo scene in that book.
And do you want a behind-the-scenes tidbit? This was originally the opening scene of what was going to be a much different story . . . but as I wrote this passage something happened that completely blew me away . . . and forever changed the entire trajectory of the book.
And yes, before you ask, I’m the most discovery of discovery writers. It’s such a thrill to watch a story take shape as I write it- because, like you, when you’re reading the book for the first time, I, too, am seeing it for the first time as I write it, and have no idea what’s about to happen, what God has in mind for me.
What incredible fun!
So here it is- that very scene, excerpted From Fragments: Book One of the Seekers Series
Lars looked out over the farm, sighing with the satisfaction of a productive day’s work. The green hillsides shone verdant in the late summer sun while sweet, clean air filled his lungs, his heart swelling along with his chest.
It was such a joy to come here, soaking up the peace and the wide-open spaces, spending the day with his grandparents and soaking up the love, there, too. Besides, Not much he could do at the mill, shut down for inspection as it was.
He stood over Grandpa’s garden beds, holding Grandma’s vegetable basket in one hand while with the other he was just about to pick the reddest, juiciest tomato when a convulsion, something like a shiver, but deeper and more disturbing, shook him. A shadow passed over the sun.
Shading his eyes, he tilted his face upward, but the sky spread out as bright as ever, no cloud in sight. Not even a bird.
He rubbed those goose-pimpling shivers from his bare arms. From somewhere yet distant, there came the bark of tires on pavement. Beyond the eastern fence and far down the hill, a line of three official vehicles sped bullet-like toward the farm. At their passage, the tall grasses bordering the road shuddered in a long, rippling wave which reached even past the field fences, the crops there bowing beneath the blast.
The basket forgotten and left to fall bouncing among the bordering marigolds, he sprinted toward the house and slammed through the front door . . .
Want to read more? Fragments is on sale until Monday 9/22/25, or free to read on Kindle Unlimited, at least for a short time. Don’t miss out!
by J.A. Webb | Jul 27, 2025 | Blog post
Acid trips or Aplogetics? How to reach the modern Seeker through the Power of Story.
My professional life remains in the middle of the summer crunch- and so my own blog posts are still on hiatus- though rest assured, the work on Interregnum, Book Three of The Seekers Series, continues apace- and the book is still slated for release by the end of the year. So I’m taking this opportunity to share with you something interesting that recently blessed me. A man I know and who I consider a friend, Thomas Umstadtt Jr., just published the latest episode of The Christian Publishing Show- in which he explores the question: “Acid trips or Apologetics? How to reach he modern Seeker through the Power of Story.”
The content was so fantastic I had to feature it here.
As you may know, I spent a great deal of my adult life as an atheist before- thanks to the workings of our Creator God- I eventually came to the truth and was saved.
My choice (at a very young age) to reject God and to embrace a materialistic/atheist world view was largely driven by the 20st century scientific arguments of “billions of years” and “the Proven Science of Evolution”, the watering down of the Christian faith in the main-line church where I grew up in, the disdain for Christianity which the culture had adopted in general, and the particularly rabid strain of that disdain- or more accurately contempt- which prevailed in the halls of education . . . and most of all in the Speculative Fiction I so loved.
Yes, there is great Power in Story.
So, you would think that it would have been arguments along the very same lines which would have led to my eventual choice to seek God. But in fact, it wasn’t. Modern apologetics helped reinforce that choice, once I was already seeking Him. But logical arguments did not precipitate that Search for Truth.
This month, Thomas Umstattd, Jr. digs deeper into the state of the culture and the difficulties of reaching the current generations with that same Truth, given the Post Modern world in which we now live. And he’s done so with what some may consider some controversial ideas, such as:
Christianity has always been under attack. The current weapon of choice is “deconstruction.”
Recent generations that were raised on pornography now reject Christian morality and then deconstruct their faith altogether. As a Christian writer in the 21st century, you’re not fighting a theological battle over truth but an emotional battle over morality.
Or:
But the political question today is very different. It’s moral. It’s spiritual . . .
One party that advocates for killing babies and “transitioning” children.
At the last political protest I attended, the Democrats were chanting, “Hail Satan,” and the Republicans were singing “Amazing Grace.”
This is 21st-century politics.
Read the full article- or listen to the podcast– and let me know what you think!:
by J.A. Webb | May 18, 2025 | Blog post
Something happened this week that caused me to ask: Is there any fiction genre left written for Christian men?
In the course of my ongoing and indeterminable search for great speculative fiction written for Christian men, I ventured into the Fantasy aisle at my local Christian bookstore. After all, who doesn’t love a rollicking, medieval tale of stalwart heroes combating great evil and horrible monsters? And if all else fails, a guy knows that’s the one place he might find books still written for him.
But . . . but . . . Something happened in the fantasy aisle when I wasn’t looking.
Gone are the chiseled warriors standing atop craggy mountain summits and overlooking forbidding castles, hands folded on the pommels of their swords, feet resting atop slain foes.
Instead, I now find those self-same heroes holding the waists of gowned maidens, their once determinedly set jaws now slack as they gaze into the fawning eyes of their female companions.
No monster in sight.
What’s worse, someone spilled pink ink all over the covers. And glitter!
I ran stumbling from the store, hair fisted in one hand, the knuckles of the other pressed tight to lips closed in a failed attempt to stifle my wails of mourning. Must a guy simply give up reading altogether?
In my lament, I sought solace in that well-worn office bookshelf, the one housing some of my favorite classics. I pulled a cherished tome free and hugged it to my chest while I sat, rocking forward and back, eyes unfocused. I worked through the shell shock, struggled to come to grips with this new world- one in which even that once venerable and safely testosterone-infused genre, the one formerly known as fantasy, has gone the way of the dodo bird.
Extinct. Deceased. An ex-genre, as John Cleese might say.
Finally, my heartbeat settled, and I wiped the tear-blurriness from my eyes. I opened that well-worn leather volume I clutched in still-shaking hands, laid it on the green desk blotter, clicked on my brass reading lamp, and lost myself once again in this manly tale of globe-trotting adventure, high-seas disaster, tyranny, betrayal, true loyalty, and long-delayed justice. Once in which even Jesus himself makes a early cameo and a final, triumphant entrance.
Of course, I’m speaking of the timeless epic, Ben Hur. As a baby Christian, this is one of the first Christian fiction books I found, and it’s still a favorite.
If your sole exposure to this tale is from the movies, I’ll only say you’re missing out. How can a two-hour movie capture this one-thousand two-hundred word masterpiece of a book? It can’t. And even though the movies were, in fact, great- the book is even better.
And it’s available in full-length audio! (. . . but avoid the virtual voice version). My own publisher, Blackstone Audio/Downpour, has a fantastic human-narrated unabridged audio release. And I say that not because they’re my publisher- this was a favorite long before I ever published, or even thought of such. (BTW, Downpour still, for most titles, lets you download an audio file you really own- and can keep forever- to play anywhere sans the restrictive corporate app)
So- even if the world is being turned slowly upside down, and everything a guy thought he could count on continues to crumble- there are still wonderful Christian books a guy can enjoy.
Perhaps soon we’ll be able to bring you one that’s not one hundred and forty-five years old!!???
by J.A. Webb | May 4, 2025 | Blog post
Is pulp Sci-Fi making a comeback? Is this a good thing for Christian readers?
As a lad I consumed bushel basketfuls of what were, even then, vintage paperbacks from the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Voraciously. Much of it blatant (and unabashed) pulp fiction, but some of it extremely well-written. There were even a few unsung masterpieces, glittering jewels which still shine bright in memory while the thousands upon thousands of others have been forgotten.
So it’s been with a sense of remorse that, in recent years, I’ve largely abandoned the genre. It’s just too frustrating to pick up book after book after book, all of which look so appealing on the shelf, only to find inside those glowing covers an endless array of tiresome and alarmist Climate Change diatribes, LGBTQ normalization, and various other flavors of cultural indoctrination too numerous to mention.
I mean, come on Lois McMaster Bujold! Miles Vorkosigan is a great read, and so much fun. Why you gotta mess it up like that?
It makes a guy want to give up. At least I did. Nearly.
But every now and again, I give it another try. I won’t say this week’s selection is a classic that will continue to inhabit memory for decades. But it was a story worthy of attention.
Nether Station by Kevin J. Anderson is a tale that hearkens back to those of my youth. The story itself evinces memories of Arthur C. Clarke, Larry Niven, Poul Anderson and company. A great concept and an exciting tale, just enough action and mystery to keep the pages turning.
What keeps this from being one of those timeless jewels, at least for me, are but a few minor annoyances.
First, I sense in the backstory a hint of what may develop, in later books, into a full-blown case of transpermia. At least in the spiritual sense, if not the literal. Those faint echoes, vaguely reminiscent of Chariots of the Gods, are even now beginning to give me hives. (Okay, fine- look it up if you can’t resist, but don’t waste your time reading it- other than as a cautionary example of the dangerous places the unrestrained and God-denying imagination . . . and fraudulent archaeology . . . can go) Where’d I put that Calamine lotion, anyway?
But I hope I’m wrong, and I guess I’ll have to read on to find out if Kevin was really hinting that Satan was nothing more than a really mean alien visitor. Will he seriously go there?
Second is this. I nearly broke a molar gritting my teeth every time I heard the words “he knew” and “he realized” and “he wondered”. A circumstance which occurred repeatedly. In every paragraph.
Is it just me just me? After all, much of that Golden Age Sci Fi I spoke of was a mishmash of Omniscient POV, shallow sensory detail, non-existent internal dialogue, thumb-fisted narrative “telling”, and head-hopping.
The thing is- over time, fiction has trended to a closer, deeper POV, a more tightly focused mental “camera” and a less intrusive narrator. This change has been good, in my opinion. Give me compelling deep POV, put me INSIDE the head of the protagonist, make me FEEL what he’s feeling. Don’t tell me about it.
Lately I’ve noticed that a lot of modern hard Sci-Fi is written in that older, “telling” narrative style. Perhaps it’s intentional? I’ve had several people, both readers and writers, tell me they prefer this. I’ve even heard it suggested it’s making a comeback. A new trend.
However, I contend that Strunk and White’s Elements of Style was around long before the Golden Age of Science Fiction. That these are not valid writing styles but errors which impede the story. That the transformation of narrative style has been a good thing- creating more evocative, deeper, more compelling fiction.
But perhaps I’m wrong. Perhaps there is a contingent out there that really enjoys this style. If you’re one of those folks, let me know. Send me an email- tell me I’m wrong. And why.
Now, back to the story . . . and in this case, thankfully, we’re talking about a “clean” story that a Christian Man could enjoy, even through the occasional gritted jaw. And aside from the (potential) denial of the history of Creation that I sense waiting in the wings- one worthy of your time . . . when you, like I, can’t find great Christian-made fiction for men.
A condition that still, even in the midst of our epic and ongoing search for great Christian fiction, I still all-too-often suffer.
