This has been the week of exciting news! First on Monday I got the news that my short story “Letting Off Steam,” is one of the finalist for the short audio category of the Realm Awards! This is the first time I’ve ever finalled. I am excited to see if I win the award but at the same time looking at the three finalists makes me want to point somethings out.
First thing I want to point out is that the entries list the narrator and the publisher of each submission. The author gets no mention. Anyway even though “Letting Off Steam” is listed under the name of the talented narrator Rena Gail. I promise that I wrote it.
The other thing to point out is that these are not all short stories.
Sing to Me of Rain, is a novella by E.B. Dawson and narrated by Lila-May Murdoch.
The Prophecy’s Chosen Heir, is a middle grade novel written and self-narrated by Trista Shaye.
My little steampunk superhero story is on the longer side of short but it’s still under ten thousand words. Make of this what you will.
The DOSA Files has two other finalists.
“Rethink” by H.L. Burke and “Playdate” by Jenelle Leann Schmidt both finalled in the short story category.
This little superhero anthology is really getting it’s time in the spotlight.
Today I got the Second Announcement:
Daisy Dunlap and the cartoon Carnival is one of the Reader’s Choice nominees. That means that you can help get it to the top by voting for it.
However there are some catches:
- You can only vote once. Any duplicate entries will be disqualified.
- Only vote for books you’ve read. Be fair to the authors.
- List your Top 3 favorites. If more than one book stood out, we want to know.
- Voting happens in the RealmSphere.
- What this means is that you need to create a free account in the RealmSphere (a social media platform where authors and readers can get together and discuss books, writing, or anything creative really.)
RealmSphere link: https://realm-makers.mn.co/
Once you create your account make sure you know which three books you’re voting for before you start voting. Because. you only get one entry. There are 25 books that got nominated and you may recognize some of them.
THE TOP 25 NOMINEES
A Stolen Heart, by Selina R. Gonzalez
Blood of the Stars, by Karyne Norton
Daisy Dunlap & the Cartoon Carnival, by C.O. Bonham
Falling Through the Black, by E.A. Hendryx
Flashpoint, by C.M. Banschbach
Game On, by H.L. Burke
Guardian, by Cathy McCrumb
Hearts of Stone and Steel, by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt
Hybrid, by Candace Kade
Ignite, by Kara Swanson
Lightshed, by Crystal D. Grant
Memoria, by J.J. Fischer
Mortal Queens, by Victoria McCombs
Page Magic, by Dawn E. Dagger
Protector, by Megan Schaulis
Saints and Monsters, by Ellen McGinty
The Chaos Grid, by Lyndsey Lewellen
The Immortal Abyss, by Katherine Briggs
The Nightmare Virus, by Nadine Brandes
There Bleeds the Light, by Andrea Renae
Thread of Dreams, by Emily Barnett
To Weave the Wind, by Sharon Rose
Waters Break, by Sophia L. Hansen
What Comes of Attending the Commoner’s Ball, by Elisabeth Aimee Brown
Winter’s Maiden, by Morgan L. Busse
Now that you have your RealmSphere account, you can come hang out next week at the Realm Makers, Spring Book Fest. It’s April 24th through the 25th.
There’s going to be fun, games, giveaways, and author Q&As.
And don’t forget: to vote for a book you need to have read it.
Have you read Daisy Dunlap and the Cartoon Carnival yet?
It’s in Kindle Unlimited, ebook and print: https://amzn.to/4216XY0
You can listen to the audio as part of your Spotify Premium https://open.spotify.com/show/14hn7gTm6VbfCGhfx9HmoS
Audio is also available in other markets I did a whole blog post where I list them all: https://open.spotify.com/show/14hn7gTm6VbfCGhfx9HmoS
C. O. Bonham 