#ibpa

My book is a finalist for a IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award! I am so thrilled and honored, and will be anxiously awaiting the results in April ^___^ 

If you want to see what all the hype is about, check out The Traveling Triple-C Incorporeal Circus now!

RUNNING WITH LIONS, Julian Winters’ heartwarming coming of age novel set in a summer soccer camp, has been named a finalist for two Benjamin Franklin Awards™ by the Independent Book Publishers Association.

The book was one of three finalists in categories recognizing Best Teen Fiction and Best Small Format Cover Design for artwork by Interlude Press Art Director C.B. Messer.

In addition to the Benjamin Franklin honor, Winters has also been nominated for a Georgia Author of the Year Award for Best First Novel. 

Messer previously received a Benjamin Franklin Award for her cover design of Killian B. Brewer’s LUNCH WITH THE DO-NOTHINGS AT THE TAMMY DINETTE.

This year’s IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards are moving online, and I invite everyone to join me from May 5th-8th, 4-6pm each day, to celebrate some amazing figures in the world of independent publishing.

Congratulations to Interlude Press Art Director C.B. Messer, whose artwork for Killian B. Brewer’s LUNCH WITH THE DO-NOTHINGS AT THE TAMMY DINETTE has been named a finalist for an IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award™!

The design and artwork for the romantic comedy was selected as a finalist for Cover Design (Small Format, Fiction) in the association’s 30th annual awards for independent publishing excellence.

Now in its thirtieth year, the Independent Book Publishers Association’s Benjamin Franklin Award™ program recognizes excellence in books released by independent publishers during calendar year 2017. From close to 1,500 entries, three or four finalists were named in each of fifty-four categories. The winner of each category will be announced during a special ceremony on April 6th in Austin, Texas.

The IBPA is the largest not-for-profit trade association of independent publishers. The Benjamin Franklin Awards, which include more than fifty categories recognizing excellence in book editorial and design, are regarded as one of the highest national honors for indie publishers and self-published authors.

Brewer’s fish-out-of-water romantic comedy tells the story of a diner chef who sees his inheritance of a small town Georgia house as his ticket out of town—until a lovable collection of busybodies and a handsome mechanic cause him to rethink his priorities. It is available from the IP Web Store, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Smashwords, Kobo, Book Depository, Indiebound and other book retailers.

A quick recommendation for you this week. Write on!

Late this week because we went to Disneyland Paris. You can read more about that adventure at stevefey.com Wowzers! From what I’ve seen on the news, it’s pretty cold in the USA right now. I have to tell you, it’s pretty cold in France, too. -5 degrees this morning (25 degrees Fahrenheit.) Since our heavy coats were lost on their way to France, it is a tad chilly for my taste. Nevertheless, once…

That’s right. The lasagna. See my new post at AUTHORS ELECTRIC!

REVIEW

The Crane Wife by Max China

 Drawn to read this book due to the reference to it not being a fairy tale, I had to read it. I loved fairy tales when young and many retellings of them that I have read have provided nice escapes. Once finished with the last page of this book, I looked up the myth-fairytale this story referred to and read what it was about. There are some similarities between this and the Japanese tale that include a crane, a beautiful woman, weaving, sacrifice, love, and loss. That said, this is and is not like the original though it might be likened to a rather dark and grim modernized Grimm’s fairytale.

 Dream, nightmare, illusion, imagined or real…what happens in the telling of this story has Jericho Mathers dealing with and eventually working his way through a heavy load he has been carrying. His military missions sounded difficult and psychologically traumatizing to the point that he suffered PTSD, closed himself off from those he loved, and isolated himself after his wife’s death. I felt sorry for him as it felt reality at times eluded him or became something else entirely while at the same time illusion seemed all too tangible and real. I wondered at the end of the book how much was and was not real and yet in Jericho’s mind…all of it was exactly as he experienced it.

 There were a few times the thread of the story switched characters without notice but I was quickly able to follow what was happening. I might have liked a bit more at the end to let me know who the man on the mountain was that Jack met and a hint of how the lives of Jericho and his children would be in the future.

 This was a sometimes dark and gritty intriguing story that had me wondering what would happen next and hoping that all would work out positively for Jericho and his family.

 Thank you to NetGalley and IBPA for the ARC – This is my honest review.

 4-5 Stars

      BLURB