Hear ye, hear ye!

This month, I received the news that two of my books won awards! Jessa and the Lost Goddess won second place in the Romance/Fantasy category of the 2022 BookFest Awards and Death's Curses won second place in the Fiction/Supernatural category of the 2022 Pencraft Awards of Literary Excellence.

I tried submitting my books into contests in the beginning of my publication journey because awards are impressive and contest hosts will usually promote books that place first, second, and third. Unfortunately, a lot of book contests rely heavily upon reader votes and I hated having to ask for others to vote for my books. I felt like I was begging for a favor I hadn't earned, and bothering my followers. I think people could feel that negative vibe because I couldn't get the necessary amount of votes I needed. Since there's usually a fee to enter books into a contest, I didn't think it was worth the struggle and the money. So I gave up for a while. I thought maybe this was a sign that my books weren't good enough. Yet.

For Death's Curses, I had a little more wiggle room financially and I was very confident in the product that I and my coauthor had created. I compiled a list of contests (which didn't rely on reader votes but instead on a review team and a board of judges from the publication world) and we submitted the book. Months passed. I didn't hear anything so I thought we didn't place and I was discouraged again. Then Death's Curses won third place in the Urban Fantasy category of the 2021 BookFest Awards. That was all the encouragement I needed to submit Jessa and the Lost Goddess to the same contest the following year. And then that book placed too! I was so honored and blown away. Now Death's Curses has won a second award and that's truly amazing! I'm so proud of that one!

Being recognized by fans and book reviewers is great, don't get me wrong. But there is something about being recognized by other people in the publication business. They know the process for writing and producing a book (they have undergone it themselves!) so it speaks volumes when they say, "You've created something remarkable. Here's a sticker and a certificate that says you stand out amidst the hundreds of other books we looked at." It's also proof to me that I've grown as a writer and that's so encouraging. I'm always doubting myself.

Thanks so much for following me and supporting my writing journey!

If you haven't checked these books out yet, you totally should, even if they're not your usual genre. They may surprise you. ;)