Christian Retailing

Francine Rivers shares at Tyndale House fiction event Print Email
Written by Taylor Berglund   
Thursday, 24 September 2015 10:16 AM America/New_York

francine-rivers-tyndale-fiction-groupThe Tyndale House Publishers fiction team hosted Transformed Through Story: An Evening With Francine Rivers and Friends on Friday, Sept. 18, at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Dallas. The event allowed best-selling Christian fiction authors, including Francine Rivers, Candace Calvert and Janice Cantore, to interact with their readers.

At the event, Rivers spoke about her writing life and inspiration for her stories, among other topics. Rivers is the author of numerous best-selling novels, including Redeeming Love and Voice in the Wind.

Authors Eva Marie Everson, Pam Hillman, DiAnn Mills, Allison Pittman and Courtney Walsh shared about how they hoped their stories might transform readers’ lives.

The program was followed by a book signing and dessert meet-and-greet with the authors and fans. Those in attendance had a chance to win a variety of prizes throughout the evening, including books, gift cards and gift baskets put together by the authors. The Grand Prize—a Kindle Fire loaded with books from the participating authors—was awarded at the end of the evening.

Karen Watson, associate publisher for Tyndale House Fiction, emceed the event.

“Fans who came to hear and meet Francine received that opportunity and so much more!” said Watson. “Woman after woman said how much they appreciated the chance to get acquainted with and add great new authors to their ‘must read’ list.  We couldn’t ask for a better result than that. Many thanks to the staff at Prestonwood who made this a night to remember for our authors and fiction fans.”

The event exceeded every expectation, with over 700 in attendance, according to Cheryl Kerwin, senior marketing manager for Tyndale House Fiction.

“I was almost moved to tears sitting on stage and listening to our authors share their hearts,” said Kerwin. “Everyone seemed to be genuinely impacted by what the authors were saying, and several women even thanked me and gave me hugs after the event.”

Last weekend was a busy one for Rivers, who was also presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Christian Fiction Writers.