Greetings from Chris
After all, the gospel hangs on the thin, crimson thread of a story, preserved and shared for 2,000 years.
I tell stories, hoping one will scamper somewhere near the back door of your heart and knock. I hope that one day I will write something that has the impact of the story Nathan told David that revealed the truth in a story. David was incensed at the injustice of the story. He was looking in a mirror.
I grew up listening to stories told in the smoke-filled kitchen of my grandmother, my uncles smoking Camels, their elbows on their knees, hunched forward and spinning a yarn. I can close my eyes and still hear them, still hear the laughter, and still feel the exhilaration of a story well-told.
Stories can change the world because stories reach the heart. I hope you find a good one among those I have written.
Awards
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New Release: Lifemark, the Novel
For eighteen years, she tried to believe she had made the right decision—for him.
But if she never saw him again, how could she ever be sure?
Melissa had clung to the thin thread of hope given by the adoption agency that someday her newborn son might want to connect with her. When his eighteenth birthday arrived, she called the agency to simply update her contact information, not expecting a response.
Susan and Jimmy Colton had raised their boy with openness about his adoption. After the heartbreaking loss of two infant sons that marked their early years of marriage, they promised themselves they would try not to hold too tightly to David or hold back any information he wanted about his birth. And so they waited on him.
David was hesitant to talk about the questions and curiosities about his birth story that often haunted him. But as he neared adulthood, his need to know the full story of his life became something he couldn't shake. Until the call came to the Coltons from the adoption agency, and the first tentative bits of communication and connection set in motion a story that would change all their lives forever.
From the team that brought you the movies Courageous and War Room comes Lifemark, the novelization of the new film inspired by a true story of adoption, redemption, and hope.
Read More about Lifemark
A Piece of the Moon
When eccentric millionaire Gideon Quidley receives a divine revelation to hide his earthly treasure somewhere in the hills, he sets out to find a fitting hiding spot, choosing only a few Bible verses as clues leading to untold riches of gold, silver, cash . . . and one very unexpected—and very costly—item.
Treasure hunters descend upon the hills of West Virginia, including those surrounding the small town of Emmaus, where TD Lovett and Waite Evers provide the latest updates and the beating heart of the community on radio station Country 16. Neither man is much interested in a wild-goose chase for Quidley's treasure, though. Waite is busy keeping the station afloat and caring for the bruised souls who have landed there. Meanwhile, TD's more intent on winning over local junkyard owner Pidge Bledsoe, who has taken in a shy, wounded boy to raise.
But after an estranged friend goes missing searching for the treasure, TD is unexpectedly drawn into the hunt. As TD joins the race to find Quidley's wealth, he discovers where his own real treasure lies, and he begins to suspect there's a hidden piece to Gideon Quidley's treasure that no one could've expected.
Read More about A Piece of the Moon
"A powerful story of faith and the material things people hold dear. . . . This is Fabry's best yet."
— Publishers Weekly
Christy Award Hall of Fame
Chris is honored to be an inductee into the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association's Christy Award Hall of Fame.
Awarded to authors who have received four or more Christy Awards, the Hall of Fame designation is conferred as "the highest author honor of the program, recognizing the author's legacy and contributions to Christian fiction." Five of Chris' novels—Dogwood, Almost Heaven, Not in the Heart, The Promise of Jesse Woods, and Looking into You—have been recipients of the Christy Award.
Karen Watson, publisher of Tyndale House fiction, stated, "We are always delighted when the excellent work of our authors is recognized. Tyndale's long-term investment in bringing impactful stories and skilled, God-gifted authors to the marketplace is an important part of our mission. Chris Fabry has been an integral part of achieving this mission at Tyndale."
Find out more about the Christy Award Hall of Fame at the Christy Awards website.
Under a Cloudless Sky
A lush and storied coal-mining town—and the good people who live there—is in danger of being destroyed for the sake of profit. Will the truth about the past—including the decades-old secret of a feisty octogenarian named Ruby—be the town's final undoing or its saving grace?
1933. In the mining town of Beulah Mountain, West Virginia, two young girls form an unbreakable bond against the lush Appalachian landscape, coal dust and old hymns filling their lungs and hearts. Despite the polarizing forces of their fathers—one a mine owner, one a disgruntled miner—Ruby and Bean thrive under the tender care of Bean's mama, blissfully unaware of the rising conflict in town and the coming tragedy that will tear them apart forever.
2004. Hollis Beasley is taking his last stand. Neighbors up and down the hollow have sold their land to Coleman Coal and Energy, but Hollis is determined to hold on to his family legacy on Beulah Mountain. Standing in his way is Buddy Coleman, an upstart mining executive who hopes to revitalize the dying town by increasing coal production and opening the Company Store Museum. He'll pay homage to the past—even the massacre of 1933—while positioning the company for growth at all costs.
What surprises them all is how their stories will intersect with a feisty octogenarian living hundreds of miles away. When Ruby Handley Freeman's grown children threaten her independence, she takes a stand of her own and disappears, propelling her on a journey to face a decades-old secret that will change everything for her and those she meets.
Read More about Under a Cloudless Sky
"Under a Cloudless Sky captivated me from page one. I cared immediately what happened to Ruby and Bean, and the stakes kept rising as tidbits of history were revealed, unraveling the mystery that held Ruby captive. A terrific reading experience!"
— Francine Rivers, New York Times bestselling author
Featured Interview
FamilyFiction Magazine recently featured an interview with Chris exploring the creation of his novel Lifemark.
"I was arrested by the courage of the birth mother to choose life in the midst of a hard situation. I hope the film and book cause someone to choose life. I think this is the only book I’ve ever written where I feel like words on a page might save a life."
To read the full interview, visit the FamilyFiction website.
A Real-Life Radio Story
In Chris' recent novel A Piece of the Moon, much of the story revolves around characters who work at Country 16, a small-town radio station in West Virginia.
In a guest post at Tyndale's Crazy4Fiction website, Chris shares a personal story from his early days in radio and how it inspired a scene in his novel.
Find the guest post here: Where Fact and Fiction Meet: A Real-Life Radio Story and A Piece of the Moon