I am happy to share the 2018 Selah Award Finalists. There are some wonderful books and authors on the list, and I’m humbled that two of my titles are listed among them! 
The Outcast’s Redemption from “The Secret Admirer Romance Collection” made the cut in the western category.
Union Pacific Princess from “Of Rags and Riches Romance Collection” was among the novella finalists. Such a great honor!
Winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony of Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference on May 23, 2018. The ceremony will also be available on Facebook Live.
Congrats to all my fellow finalists!!! Here is the complete list.
2018 Selah Awards Finalist
Listed Alphabetically by Book Title
Children’s
Children’s Picture Books
Does God Take Naps by Crystal Bowman & Teri McKinley
I Love you the Mostest by Michelle Medlock Adams (Illustrated by Paige Snedeker)
My First Day of School by Michelle Medlock Adams
Fiction
Middle Grade Novel
Stranded on Thin Ice by Sharon CassanoLochman
The Wish I Wished Last Night by Shelley Pierce
Trial at the Ridge by Kinsey M. Rockett
YA Fiction
Escape to Vindor by Emily Golus
Merlin’s Wood by Anne Hamilton
Suburban Dangers by Megan Whitson Lee
Contemporary Romance
Magnolia Storms by Janet W. Ferguson
Saving Parker by Dan Walsh
The Secret Life of Bethany Hollenbeck by Bethany Turner
Contemporary Women’s
Abide With Me by Shellie Arnold
A Fragile Hope by Cynthia Ruchti
The Long Highway Home by Elizabeth Musser
First Novel
Still Waters by Lindsey P. Brackett
Tinsel in a Tangle by Laurie Germaine
Turtles in the Road by Rhonda Rhea and Kaley Rhea
Historical/Biblical
Devil in the Dust by Cara Luecht
The Gates of Sheol by Karl A. Bacon
With This Peace by Karen Campbell Prough
Historical Romance
My Heart Belongs in Ruby City, Idaho by Suzanne Dietze
The Return by Suzanne Woods Fisher
The Sound of Rain by Sarah Loudin Thomas
Mystery/Suspense
Anchored by Death by Catherine Finger
Murder is No Accident by Ann H. Gabhart
The Faithful One by Michele Chynoweth
Novella
Abundance of the Heart by Connie Stevens
Keara’s Escape by Anne Greene
Union Pacific Princess by Jennifer Uhlarik
Romantic Suspense
Doubly Dead by Lisa Wessel
Moving Target by Lynette Eason
Unintended Consequences by Dan Walsh
Speculative Fiction
Children of the Forgotten by Charles Franklin
The Genesis Tree by Heather LL FitzGerald
The Revisionary by Kristen Hogrefe
Western
Meghan’s Choice by Donna L. H. Smith
Rush by Jayme H. Mansfield
The Outcast’s Redemption by Jennifer Uhlarik
Nonfiction Books
Bible Study
Breaking the Chains (compiled & edited by Katy Kauffman)
Following God Onto the Stage by Alisa Hope Wagner
The Unexplainable Church: Reigniting the Mission of the Early Church by Erica Wiggenhorn
Christian Life
7 Steps to Get Off Sugar & Carbohydrates by Susan Neal
Marriage: Make It Or Break It by Andrea Merrell
When God Says Wait by Elizabeth Laing Thompson
General Nonfiction
Rhinestones on My Flip-Flops by Jane Jenkins Herlong
Spiritual Prepper by Jake McCandless
The God You Need to Know by Linda Evans Shepherd
Inspiration & Gift
Loved Baby: 31 Devotions Helping You Grieve & Cherish After Pregnancy Loss by Sarah Philpott, PhD
Ordinary Graces: Word Gifts for Any Season by Lucinda Secrest McDowell
Too Blessed to be Stressed: Inspiration for Every Day by Debora M. Coty
Memoir
Forgiveness in the First Degree by Margot Starbuck, Randol Hammer, & Phillip Robinson
Just a Little Girl by Victoria Sarvadi (With Allison Bottke)
Your Dream God’s Plan by Tiffany Smiling
SaveSave
It was a pins and needles kind of week for me. Wednesday, May 23, was the date that the Selah Awards were to be announced, and all day, I was anxious for 7 PM ET to arrive. Of course, I couldn’t be at Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference this year (drat! I missed everyone!!!), but they were kind enough to try and set up a live feed for those like me who couldn’t attend. The live feed wasn’t without its issues, but the word did trickle out. Slowly…very, very slowly! LOL
Admirer Romance Collection) WON for the best western title in 2018! I say stunned because it was facing very stiff competition–two wonderful novel-length entries, one by Jayme Mansfield and the other by Donna L. H. Smith. I thought for sure that my 20,000-word novella didn’t have much chance, since novels provide so much more opportunity to develop characters and plotlines. But Lucky and Maisie’s story won! I’m very humbled and honored!
Jennifer Uhlarik 