Charles Martin is a well-known author of Christian fiction, with almost 15 books under his belt. Two of them are part of a series titled Awakenings, while the rest are standalone novels that touch on deep human issues.
While the author’s works are not like as those of Tim LaHaye, he is still considered a Christian fiction novelist. His books always start with the main character starting with a hardship of some sort and then trying to find his way to light and peace.
Here are the Charles Martin books in order of publication and reading order, which in this case only refers to the Awakening series, in which case the order is the same.
New Charles Martin Books
Send Down the Rain, 2018
What If It’s True?, 2019
Awakening Series
- The Dead Don’t Dance (Awakening #1), 2004
- Maggie (Awakening #2), 2006
Standalone Charles Martin Books
- Wrapped in Rain, 2005
- When Crickets Cry, 2006
- Chasing Fireflies, 2007
- Where the River Ends, 2008
- The Mountain Between Us, 2010
- Thunder and Rain, 2012
- Unwritten, 2013
- A Life Intercepted, 2014
- Water from My Heart, 2015
- Long Way Gone, 2016
- Send Down the Rain, 2018
- What If It’s True?, 2019 (non-fiction)
Awakening Series Summary
The Dead Don’t Dance
Dylan and Maggie Styles are a happy couple living ina small town in South Carolina, who are expecting their first child. Sadly, complications arise and Dylan’s religious beliefs are put to the test when his newborn child dies and his wife ends up in a coma. Now Dylan takes a job at the community college to teach English, and by this, his love for teaching is reawakened. A sweet and moving story that shows what love and faith can do when all seems to be lost.
Maggie
When Maggie finally awakes from the coma, Dylan feels he can release his long-held breath once again. But now Maggie has to face her own loss of which she was not aware while in the coma and her resulting deep grief. And the two have to face their past if they want to move to a new, hopeful future. But now that Maggie lost her baby, it seems the couple needs to adopt if they want to have a new child. Tragedy, lost, and finally, a light at the end of the tunnel is what the author offers in his breathtaking two-book series.
Charles Martin Biography
The author Charles Martin was born in 1969 in the US. He grew up inJacksonville, Florida, where he enjoyed fishing and canoeing on the St. John’s River during his childhood.
He started writing short stories at the age of 15, where he was struggling with lots of questions that an introvert of that age would have to deal with. He soon realized that one way for him to deal with those questions is to write them down in prose form. Actually, not the actual issues he was struggling with, but more the emotions those created in him.
Charles Martin attended Bolles High School, during which time he loved playing football. He attendedGeorgia Tech, but then he transferred toFlorida State, during which time he enjoyedracing bicycles on the East Coast.
He started with accounting, however, after getting a D, he moved to the English department, from where he actually graduated with aB.A. in English.
Next, he moved again, this time toAtlanta, where he worked as a waiterat Houston’s Restaurant, where he saved enough money to buy his fiancee a ring. He married his wife,Christy, in 1993, and then they moved toVirginia Beach where he enrolled in grad school.
At night Charles was working at the UPS loading packages, and during the day he was in classes. He got hisM.A. in Journalism and Ph.D. in Communication from Regent University in Virginia.
When his wife got pregnant with their first child, they moved back home to Jacksonville, to be around family.
He tried getting jobs at various school, but nobody would hire him. So he became an insurance salesman, where he worked for two years until he got a job at a Fortune 500 company for a VIP position.
He didn’t accept the high-paying job, however. He also quit his job as a salesman, and got some other jobs doing random stuff such as tree surgeon’s helper, pressure washer, dock builder, cabinet maker, handyman, all while he tried selling his debut novel,The Dead Don’t Dance, which would become the first book in his Awakening series, published in 2004.
Charles Martin started writing his book in 1996, but he had to put it on hold while being at the university. He shelved it for a few years until he picked it up once again in 1999 when he finished his dissertation.
After finishing the book, some eight months later, when he got the job offer of a vice president at a large insurance firm, with his encouragement from his wife, Chrissy, he decided that he would get his story published.
He sent the book to around 100 publishers, out of which he got back 86 rejection letters.
Two of the most important people who taught him the various parts of becoming a writer wereJohn Dyson, an editor withReader’s Digest, who pushed him to the max, and Davis Bunn, a writer who believed in him and helped him with the business side of the craft. He was also the author who made a few phone calls to some publishing houses and eventually, it worked. Charles Martin got his first novel published.
Soon after,Hallmark Hall of Fame optioned the movie rights for the first Charles Martin book. And then the ball started rolling. His publisher offered a second contract for more books, so now Charles Martin has become a real book author.
He did say once that he always wanted to write, but Charles Martin never really cared for being labeled a writer. However, as he mentioned in an interview, “Being published, and ‘being a writer’ has just come with the package.”
The Charles Martin books are all full of soul, pain, suffering, but also hope. There is always light at the end of the tunnel in the books by Charles Martin. He usually starts the books by throwing his main character into turmoil, and then gently guides them to the light.
Currently, the author Charles Martin lives with his wife and three kids in Jacksonville, very close to the same river he used to fish at as a child.
His book, The Mountain Between Us, has been made into a romantic survival drama film in 2017 featuringKate Winslet and Idris Elba.
Praise for Charles Martin
Martin’s latest is another beautifully written winner. . . Amazingly heartfelt statements about love, loss and the true meaning of friendship will resonate deeply with readers. (RT Book Reviews)
Martin (The Mountain Between Us) explores themes of grace, mercy, and forgiveness in this sweeping love story. . . In this relatable tale of recovery from physical and emotional trauma, Martin beautifully captures the essence of Christian principles of sacrifice and forgiveness. (Publisher Weekly)
A beautiful story of love, redemption, and football. A winning combination. (Library Journal about A Life Intercepted)
Charles Martin’s latest,A Life Intercepted, takes the football novel to the next level….A modern classic. (The Florida Times-Union)
References
Books Reading Order » Christian Fiction Authors » Charles Martin