You read that right! Mistress of Legend doesn’t even come out for 22 more days, and it’s already on its way to its first award! It has been short-listed for the Chaucer Award for historical fiction talking place prior to 1750 by Chanticleer Reviews.
I’m especially honored to be on the list with my friend, the amazing writer Anna Belfrage, who is shortlisted for not one, but two novels! And there’s another Arthurian book on the list. I hope this is the beginning of trend!
Remember how The Once and Future Queen won Non-fiction Book of the Year in the Author’s Circle awards not long ago?
Well, I just found out that a really good friend of mine, Sara Dahmen’s, novel Widow won for Fiction Book of the Year! I reviewed Widow a while back, under its original title, Dr. Kinney’s Housekeeper. It’s definitely one to put on your list immediately.
I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that we were both honored in the same year. Sara and I met at the Chanticleer Author’s Conference in 2016, just after Daughter of Destiny was published. (That’s the same event at which Daughter was named Book of the Year by Chanticleer Reviews.) We have been to several conferences together and are pretty close online. I am so proud of her.
Now, go read her book!
Holy crap, y’all. I just found out that The Once and Future Queen was named Non-fiction Book of the Year by Author’s Circle, the same group that named Camelot’s Queen Fiction Book of the Year last year.
I don’t even know what to do with this. I didn’t even know the book was in the running this year. At the time I sent my ARC (Advanced Reader’s Copy) into the contest, they told me it wouldn’t be in the contest until 2019 because I missed the deadline (through no fault of my own; long story.) I guess they changed their minds.
I can’t even begin to process that this is my third Book of the Year designation. Much less out of five books. I never thought it would happen once…but three times…I don’t even know what to do with that.
As the notification came in, I was finishing the second/third (I’m not sure) draft of Mistress of Legend. No pressure on that one…not at all!
I think I’m supposed to post something all professional and humble when something like this happens. But you’re getting my real, honest-to-God reaction. If you need me, I’ll be on my patio, staring off into space and repeating “Oh my God,” over and over…
It’s contest season, and I’m thrilled to announce that The Once and Future Queen took home two awards at this year’s Next Generation Indie Book Awards! It won (in a tie) in the General Non-fiction category and is a finalist in the Historical Non-fiction category. They give out medals to both finalists and winners, so I will have a gold and silver to add to my collection!
I’m so happy that is book got recognition from my peers. I wrote it out of passion for Guinevere and to make a contribution to Arthurian scholarship, knowing it wouldn’t likely sell much because the topic is so niche. To have it honored gives me a great boost of confidence going into my next non-fiction books and is great reassurance I didn’t write this book for nothing. (We writers can be so insecure, you know.) Plus, it will be displayed at the American Library Association (ALA) Conference, which is huge.
Hi everyone! Just a quick note to share the good news that Madame Presidentess is a finalist in the Eric Hoffer Book Awards. It didn’t end up winning, but it is on the list with my friend Neal Katz’s book Outrageous, which is also about Victoria, which is an honor. As I told him, two books about Victoria on one prize list should be enough to change the cosmos, at least a little!
According to an email from the contest organizers, they had over 1,500 entries and those who finaled were in the top 10% of entrants.
I’m happy to be able to say that The Once and Future Queen recently received two awards:
Here are some comments from the Indie BRAG reviewers:
“When I chose this book, I wanted to send out a warning to the author “I LOVE Guinevere stories and have read a great many of them. Well, good for you Ms. Evelina, this was not a disappointment! This is a very well researched book told in a very fluid and readable way. I will certainly be looking forward to the next book in this incredible story. Thank you.”
“This is a very thorough examination of Queen Guinevere in literature for at least 1000 years. It is well-researched and well-documented with an abundance of footnotes. There is a clear line discussing the changes in the character through the years. I enjoyed the book very much.”
“Extremely well-researched with comprehensive footnotes. An excellent compendium of scholarly research and fictional sources, both ancient and modern. A useful reference book to have in the library of anyone interested in this period.”
“This is a very well researched book with a number of new, to me, insights. I will be interested in reading what the author does next.”
I’m so happy to finally be able to announce that Been Searching for You won the Long Contemporary Category in the 2017 Heart of Excellence Reader’s Choice contest, sponsored by the Ancient City RWA chapter. Camelot’s Queen also took third place in the Strong Romantic Elements category.
I’ve known about this since before Christmas and keeping it a secret was just killing me! So soon, this little trophy on the right will join the others in my curio cabinet.
This is the first RWA contest that Been Searching for You has won (it has finalled in several others) and this one was a reader-driven contest, so it means even more because of that. That novel sits somewhere between traditional romance and women’s fiction and it doesn’t follow a lot of the traditional genre conventions, so a lot of romance readers don’t really know what to do with it. It matters so much to me that these readers understood and loved it, so it was finally recognized by an RWA chapter.
1) I found out last night that both Been Searching for You (long contemporary) and Camelot’s Queen (mainstream with romantic elements) finaled in the Heart of Excellence Readers’ Choice Contest! That’s an RWA contest hosted by the Ancient City Romance Writers chapter.
2) A few days ago, Madame Presidentess was named an Honorable Mention in the Reader’s Favorite book awards in the fiction – historical personage category. It may not be a win, but it is still and honor (no pun intended), and it puts me in the company of Anna Belfrage, who blurbed both of the Guinevere books. She also received an Honorable Mention and a second book of hers was a finalist. That is the kind of company I want to keep!
3) I am hard at work on beta reader edits to The Once and Future Queen. I’m hoping for a late October release, but it may end up being early November. I will let you know for sure once my editor and proofreader have seen the book.
4) If you’re in St. Louis/St. Charles, Missouri, be sure to stop at Main Street Books. They are now selling all of my books!
I should have news on Madame Presidentess audio soon, so stay tuned for that…
I’m proud to announce that Been Searching for You has been awarded the Indie B.R.A.G. Medallion for excellence in independent fiction.
I have to share this feedback that came along with the news because it’s exactly what every writer wants to hear:
“I have read a number of books in the women’s Lit/Romance genre and found this book exceptionally fresh. The main character, Annabeth, was an extremely real, believable character involved in the kind of real life dilemma that I could easily relate to…I would most certainly read other books by this author and others in this series. I am extremely grateful for the chance to read and comment on this book.”
I guess that means I should get going on the novella and four other books in this series, eh?
Camelot’s Queen and Madame Presidentess also have earned the B.R.A.G. medallion.
The B.R.A.G. medallion is one of a handful of honors that attempts to distinguish the best of independently published books in an effort to help readers weed through the glut of books and showcase the professionalism and excellence of certain works. It differs from programs like Library Journal’s SELF-e program in that it is not run by a particular organization within the publishing field, but rather by readers.