Just wanted to wish everyone good luck at the Lambda Literary Awards tonight!
Happiness
It’s been a good day all around. I just found out that an excellent local chain delivers to my complex, so I had a delicious pizza for lunch. Their salads are good, too. Whenever possible I prefer to support local businesses (restaurants, bookstores, games stores), so I was very happy to find this place.
The book I mentioned last week is still on the NY Times list, always exciting. Also, the Romantic TImes book awards nominees have been announced, and some titles I worked on have been nominated. I’m very happy for the authors! It’s fabulous that they’re getting recognized for their hard work.
::jumps up and down with glee::
I’m currently working on the fifth book in a series. It’s so much fun to be on board for a series and be able to see it through from the beginning. I feel like I know these people (the characters), and I think it probably helps the editing as well that I’m familiar with the characters and the settings, the back stories, all of that. I don’t know if it helps the author, or at least causes less trepidation, to hand over a book to someone who knows what’s going on, but I’m always excited when I hear that the next book is in!
It’s chilly here in Austin today, which means I’ve had a warm, purring kitty curled up close. Hard not to smile under such conditions!
IPPY!
The Independent Publisher’s Awards have been announced – this year instead of a winner, a finalist and honorable mentions they have awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze awards. A total of 2,690 national entries came from all 50 U.S. states, 8 Canadian provinces, and 17 countries overseas.
The complete listing can be found here.
Romance
Gold: Mistress in Training, by Edwina Columbia (Dorian Press)
Silver: Turn Back Time, by Radclyffe (Bold Strokes Books)
Bronze: The Devil’s Bastard, by Charlsie Russell (Loblolly Writers House); The Vengeance Trap, by A.L. Hansen (Ophir Publishing); The Crossroads Cafe, by Deborah Smith (BelleBooks)
Erotica
Gold: Best Women’s Erotica 07, edited by Violet Blue (Cleis Press)
Silver: Erotic Interludes 4: Extreme Passions, edited by Radclyffe and Stacia Seaman (Bold Strokes Books)
Bronze: Room with a View, by Lucy Fur (Feral House); The Smart Girl’s Guide to Porn, edited by Violet Blue (Cleis Press); Gay Art: A Historic Collection, by Felix Lance Falkon with Thomas Waugh (Arsenal Pulp Press)
The Erotic Interludes books are so much fun to work on. So many amazing women, so many amazing stories. Thanks to everyone who contributed (authors, beta readers, proofreaders, our amazing cover designer) and to everyone who reads the books! YAY!
some good news!
First, from Radclyffe, came this announcement:
The Independent Publisher Book Awards were conceived as a broad-based, unaffiliated awards program open to all members of the independent publishing industry. The awards are intended to bring increased recognition to the thousands of exemplary independent, university, and self-published titles produced each year, and reward those who exhibit the courage, innovation, and creativity to bring about change in the world of publishing. This year there were 65 categories with several thousand entries. I am very pleased to announce that Bold Stokes Books has two semifinalists in the Romance and Erotica categories (these are not specifically LGBTcategories):
Romance
Turn Back Time, by Radclyffe (Bold Strokes Books); The Devil’s Bastard, by Charlsie Russell (Loblolly Writers House); The Vengeance Trap, by A.L. Hansen (Ophir Publishing); Mistress in Training, by Edwina Columbia (Dorian Press); The Crossroads Cafe, by Deborah Smith (BelleBooks)
Erotica
Erotic Interludes 4: Extreme Passions, edited by Radclyffe and Stacia Seaman (Bold Strokes Books); Room with a View, by Lucy Fur (Feral House); The Smart Girl’s Guide to Porn, edited by Violet Blue (Cleis Press); Gay Art: A Historic Collection, by Felix Lance Falkon with Thomas Waugh (Arsenal Pulp Press); Best Women’s Erotica 07, edited by Violet Blue (Cleis Press)
Then I got the news that a book I edited is on the USA Today Top 150 list.
I’m still feeling a bit battered, but I’m much happier now than I was a few hours ago.
awards redux
The same romance novel I mentioned earlier has picked up another nomination, and also won another award – a big one (Romantic Times). I’m really happy for this author; it’s a great book, it’s a great series, and I hope she continues to do well!
::dances around room::
happiness
The awards season is in full swing, and one of the romances I worked on last year has already picked up an award. She’s a new author, so it’s especially exciting. Yay!