Friday, November 8, 2019

My First Trophy! RONE Award Winner Best #paranormal #romance #amwriting

Guess what arrived?  I was over the moon to learn that The Haunting of Hillwood Farm won InD'Tale Magazine's 2019 RONE Award for Best Paranormal - Short...and now it's even more "real", with a beautiful glass trophy that makes me smile every time I see it!

Opening the box made me realize this might be the first physical trophy I've ever received.  The only sports teams I was ever on in my younger years were poms in junior high and cheerleading in high school, and neither one of our squads was anywhere near good enough to compete.  For various achievements over the years, I've received a few plaques, some ribbons and medals, electronic badges and banners - all which were thrilling to earn and an honor to wear, share, or hang on the wall.  But I've never had a trophy to display on a shelf!  First time for everything right?  And for it to be for one of my books--the labor of love I spend so much time and effort on--is all the more rewarding.

The judging for the RONE Award is rigorous, with three rounds to get through.  First, a book only gets nominated if it earns a 4.5 star or higher review from InD'Tale.  Over twenty titles were nominated into my category: Paranormal - Short (meaning novella length).  The next round involved reader voting, and I asked readers, fans, and friends to help get me there...which you did, so THANK YOU again!  Becoming one of the six Finalists was such an honor, and I had no expectations beyond that.  The last round, to choose the winner, involved judges reading each of the titles and rating them.


On the weekend of the awards ceremony, I was absolutely shocked to open my phone and see a message from an author friend congratulating me on the RONE Award!  I did a double-take, read the message twice, asked for confirmation, and then pulled up Youtube to watch the ceremony myself.  It was true!


A beautiful solid glass book,
with my name and the book title engraved

I'm honored to have been among so many great books in the contest, and I appreciate everyone who voted during the Finals round!  

If you haven't read The Haunting of Hillwood Farm, it's going to be on sale for 99c on Kindle starting mid-November ~ if you'd like a reminder, and more news on my books and upcoming sales and giveaways, sign up for my newletter here.




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