In early 2015, Joel Rosenberg introduced readers to his latest fictional thriller series beginning with The Third Target. Now, that book–which reached #14 on the New York Times bestsellers list– is a finalist for a Christian Book Award!
On the heels of two other bestselling series, beginning with The Last Jihad (2002) and The Twelfth Imam (2010), Rosenberg once again shifted his focus–and even changed his writing style–turning his attention to ISIS. Writing in first person narrative for the first time in his career, Rosenberg puts the reader squarely in the shoes of New York Times reporter J.B. Collins as he chases a story about The Islamic State smuggling chemical weapons out of Syria.
Rosenberg has long been known for writing headline-beating thrillers that seem to morph from fiction to reality–with many of his plot lines coming true after the books have been released. That was especially true with The Third Target, which Rosenberg wrote in 2014 when nobody knew who ISIS was. In fact, at the time, even President Obama was referring to ISIS as a “JV team.”
Months later, everyone seemed to know exactly who ISIS was after the terror group continuously made international headlines for their barbaric acts of brutality. With the plot of Rosenberg’s novel once again starting to come true, his publisher, Tyndale House Publishing, moved up the release date to get the book out to readers in January of 2015.
Incredibly, Rosenberg followed up The Third Target with the second novel in his new series just eleven months later, releasing The First Hostage last December. If you haven’t read them yet, I highly recommend doing so as soon as possible!
According to their website, The Christian Book Awards aims to “recognize excellence in Christian books and are among the oldest and most prestigious awards in Christian publishing. Each year, finalists and winners are announced in Non-Fiction, New Author, Inspiration, Fiction, Children, Bibles, and Bible Reference; with one title chosen as The Christian Book of the Year.”
With more than 250 books submitted for consideration, seventy-two independent judges selected thirty-five finalists for various awards across seven different categories.
Winners will be announced during the ECPA Leadership Summit on May 3, at the Industry’s Awards Celebration in Nashville.
On behalf of readers and fans of Rosenberg’s novels everywhere, good luck Joel!