Some award-winning books to brag about

Being an editor, I often prefer to let other people's words—and their written works—speak for themselves. However, with three of my clients' books recently winning awards, I figured it was about time for me to brag a teensy bit.

Here's the scoop:
Claudia Whitsett 's middle-grade book, Between the Lines, was a medalist for the 2016 Independent Publisher Book Award (the “IPPYs” as they’re known), nabbing Silver in Multicultural Juvenile-YA Fiction. You've all heard me go on about the charming Between the Lines, which is the first in her Kids Like You series. Her website is claudiawhitsitt.com

And:
Leslie Johansen Nack's memoir Fourteen: A Daughter’s Memoir of Adventure, Sailing, and Survival, won in the Young-Adult Non-Fiction category at the 2016 National Indie Excellence Awards and was a Finalist in the Memoir (Overcoming Adversity/Tragedy/Challenges) category in the 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. I don't think of it as YA, specifically, but it would certainly be appropriate for mature, adventurous teens. See the trailer at lesliejohansennack.com

 
Last, but certainly not least:
Oz Monroe's debut novel, Soil-Man was named a 2016 IPPY Gold Medal Winner in the category of Horror (I consider it dark fantasy, but there you are) and was awarded the 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Winner for Best First Novelas well as a Readers' Favorite Five Star Rating. Read more about the author and and his book at ozmonroe.com

What do these three authors have in common? The courage to pursue their dreams, even when the hard work of being a writer goes on for years, unrewarded. The tenacity to do "one more rewrite" when everything screams, "I'm done!" The dedication to keep working on the manuscript, because it's not quite perfect, yet.

Oh, and they also have in common their proud editor...me. Congratulations, all of you—you truly deserve all the praise your work is getting!

Naturally, many of my clients are writers whose books have won readers' hearts and minds but not won awards (yet). No matter, as their readership looks forward eagerly to each new installment of the world(s) and characters they have created. Write on!

And, of course, I want to give a shout-out to my clients whose work has yet to win acclaim—and in some cases, even see the light of day, yet, because they are doing "one more rewrite"!—hang in there. Your readers await you, and they will be glad you took the time to make your book(s) exceptional. Let's keep working...

hasta pronto!

Beauty, and Other Powerful Words

Today's blog is part of the Beauty of a Woman Blogfest 2016. The blogfest is a fun, inspiring, and empowering event and I hope all my readers will stop by today or sometime this week to participate—there are valuable prizes galore, including a free manuscript evaluation from Jenny Redbug! Here is a link to the fest page: BOAW 2016

Last year, I posted a piece about the Language of Beauty, and I don’t think I’ve ever gotten so many comments on a blog post. I wrote about how much our society focuses on the external beauty of women, and how there’s so much more than appearance to every female human out there. Everyone applauded the idea of using words besides “beautiful,” “pretty,” and “lovely” to describe other women, and especially young girls.

Well, I’ve been working on it—trying to find other ways to express my love and support for my women friends, rather than buying into praising their “surface” appeal. On social media, I try to find more meaningful words to applaud their newest profile pic (“this photo of you really sparkles”), or the post about their weight loss (“you’re looking strong and healthy!”) or a new hairdo (“you’re so bold!”).

It’s been more than a social experiment for me—it has been a wonderful shift in my whole outlook on life. Words are powerful, and how we label what we see every day, people included, has a profound impact on how we think and feel about the world and ourselves.

Like most women my age (I’ll be 55 this month), I have spent my life defining men as strong, smart, and brave—women tend to get labeled as beautiful, or nowadays “hot” (or not). In trying to be aware of my words, and their real meaning, I find I’m much less likely to judge another’s looks, style, or body.

Now, when I watch TV or scroll through social media posts, I try to look beyond a woman’s (or man’s) obvious appeal, and see what I can find out about them as a human being. Are they upbeat or low—could they use a boost? Are they involved in causes I can help shed light on? Are they creating any kind of art they’d like to hear my feedback on? Are they working on their physical strength in any way, like walking or doing yoga? Praise for action speaks louder than praise for something you were born with, like good genes.

Naturally, this has affected my own “self-talk,” too. When I’m assessing my reflection in the mirror, I find myself thinking words like “strong,” “cheery,” and “energized,” rather than using all those tired comparisons to past reflections that cause me to focus on “imperfections” like wrinkles, sags, and bulges. After all, I don’t want others to see me as simply my physical body, so why should I focus my energy on it?

True beauty is so much more than smooth clear skin or shapely curves—it is attitude, courage, intelligence, and compassion. It is not just loveliness, but loving kindness. Inner beauty comes from a willingness to engage with the world; the generosity to reach out a hand to those in need, and to help those we interact with to see and achieve their best potential; and the ability to get back up when the world knocks us down. Using this criteria, rather than a bogus BMI, or a scale of 1 to 10, every one of the amazing women in my life is a real beauty.



I hope you enjoy the blogfest...and that you celebrate your beauty today and every day...

hasta pronto!