Huge congratulations to Monica Corish on her gorgeous book, “Leaf Light Moon”, winning the Carousel Awards for Irish Independent Authors in Chapters Book Shop, Dublin, last night. She won best in the fiction category and overall winner, the Golden CAP Award. I am proud that “Barren” was on the shortlist and that it was beaten by such a stunning book as Monica’s, which is set two thousand years before the ancient timeline in “Barren”. So far, I’ve only read the beginning of “Leaf Light Moon”, but it is superbly written and upholds the high standards that Indie-published books are putting out now, giving trad-pubbed books a quare run for their money! I’m looking forward to reading the rest of it.
Right now, I’m reading another of the shortlisted books, “Love Lost” by Mary Minnock, which is as heart-wrenching as it is intriguing, about parents coping with losing their daughter in a car accident… or maybe it wasn’t an accident… suffice it to say, I’m hooked and can’t wait to find out.
It was lovely to see Mary Minnock there in person last night as well. That is one of the best things about these events. The Indie Author community is a lovely bunch of people. I finally got to meet, in person, my long-time cyber-buddy, Tom Sigafoos, whose book “Pool of Darkness” was shortlisted too and is another that I’m looking forward to reading.
I also added Tatiana Tierney’s shortlisted “A Thread of Secrets” to my TBR pile. Her book is beautifully produced, with lush colours inside the cover too – these are the things I notice now about books! Such a pleasure to meet Tatiana Tierney in person too, and we shared a lovely moment signing each other’s books – apart from the fact that her handwriting was as gorgeous as her book cover and totally put my spider-scrawl to shame! Perhaps I need calligraphy lessons.
The only one of the fiction shortlistee I didn’t get to chat with was Millie Blackwood, whose book, “Oasis”, won best cover.
Perhaps it’s a good thing! I’m terribly biased about my cover art, by genius artist, Frances McKenna, and sure we wouldn’t want a bun fight over book covers, now, would we?
Huge thanks to Carolann Copeland (and Delorus, too) for their hard work in bringing us Indie writers into the spotlight. Being shortlisted for this award gave me confidence in my writing in a way that the gatekeepers of trad-pubbing give to their authors, and I am eternally grateful to you for that. The community spirit was tangible, the atmosphere last night, electric. I was especially delighted to see my good friend and writing comrade, Fiona O’Rourke – thank you so much for coming and supporting us.
But really, congratulations are due to all involved – especially those indie writers brave enough to submit in the first place. All the entry fees go to a great cause, Aware, a non-profit organisation providing education, support, and information on mental health, particularly depression, bipolar disorder, and positive mental health.
Because we all need help to see the sun shine at some time or other, I hope this sends many sunbeams to where they need to go.
Byddi Lee