Cramer fans should also check out this Faithfulreader.com interview with Cramer.

Writing Style and Books:

When asked by Christianbook.com what writer most influenced him, Cramer made this reply: “Steinbeck. I’ve read most of his stuff more than once. I love the writing. Steinbeck is one of those guys I can pick up any book at any time and open it anywhere and start reading and I’m just blown away— by his wonderful economy, more than anything else. He has a way of putting so much into a sentence. That’s where I got a lot of my training, by going back to Steinbeck, searching for what it is that makes him so different, and seeing how he does things.”  Click here to read the rest of Christianbook.com’s interview with Cramer.

Here is a list of the books Cramer has written so far (and here’s hoping he writes many more!):

Sutter’s Cross

Cramer’s first novel started as the idea of a biker who crashes in the woods near a small southern town and shakes up the local townspeople.  In one of the opening scenes of the book, Harley (the biker) shows up at a church picnic wearing the pants of one of the parishioners.  The book received numerous positive reviews, and was named as one of Booklist’s top 10 Christian Novels for Oct. 2002-Sept. 15, 2003.


Bad Ground

Here's what I had to say in my review of Bad Ground: "The story moves the reader along, but along the way allows us to really get inside the heads and hearts of the characters. This book will both entertain you and make you think about life. Cramer well deserves the accolades he is getting as one of the best current writers of contemporary Christian fiction.”  Bad Ground received many other positive reviews and was awarded the 2005 Christy Award for General Fiction.  It also was selected as one of Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2004 and chosen as one of Booklist's Top 10 Christian Novels of the Year (from Sept. 2003-Sept. 2004).


Levi’s Will

Here is an excerpt from my review posted earlier on Papercuts: “This is a book to savor and become immersed in as it describes Amish life with all of its weaknesses exposed.  The story of one man’s unusual life path gives the reader a look at how God can help people reconcile and forgive—even in the most difficult of circumstances.”  Levi’s Will was given a starred review by Booklist and Library Journal, named best Christian novel of the year (Oct. 05-Oct. 06) and it won the Christy Award for best contemporary novel.

Summer of Light

Cramer’s latest release (in 2007) uses his experiences as a stay at home dad to tell the story of Mick Brannigan, a construction worker who loses a good-paying job because of some freak accident.  He finds himself playing nursemaid to his three kids and he is flustered by the fact that his wife, Layne, now forced to get a job to keep a paycheck coming in. Mick isn't the stay-at-home-dad type, but for this family to survive he’s going to have to find a whole new side to himself.