This is the last of the self promo posts for a while but I wanted you to know some exciting things happening this weekend. First off: Remember that social platform I told you about?
I’m going to participating in a Q&A event in the Realm Sphere. The Q&As are only available to subscribing members but there is a 30 day free trial.
My time slot is Saturday at 3pm eastern time. Once you make your account and sign up for you subscription then you just get on the realm Sphere at the correct time. If you are a subscribing member then you should see the live banner at the top of the scree. Click on that to join.
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.)
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?
Are you tired of looking at lists of award winning books that you haven’t and don’t plan on reading? Well never fear the Realm Awards Readers choice contest is here to save the day.
From April 2nd-23rd (I know I’m so late telling you about this) any reader can nominate books that they feel deserve the award.
There are some stipulations though: You may nominate up to three different books for the Realm Award Readers’ Choice Contest. To qualify, books must be:
Speculative in genre (Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror, or any of their related sub-genres)
Written by a professed Christian author
Published between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021
The first instance of publication of the work (no new editions, subsequent printings under a new imprint, etc.)
Novel length
A single work (no anthologies, collections, or compilations)
Written for middle grade, young adult, or adult audiences.
You’ll need the complete and accurate book title and author’s name for each entry as they appear on Amazon.
All these books written by my D&D party qualify!
It just so happens that my novel Runaway Lyrics qualifies.
I would be super honored if you would consider nominating my book but I understand if you have other books that you love more. Seriously, choosing only three book is very hard.
To avoid swaying you I won’t tell you which three I nominated. (No I did not nominate my own book even though there doesn’t seem to be a rule against it.)
All of the Frosted Roses novels qualify except The Bear which is too short.
Here are a dozen books that I loved from last year that qualify for the award (the three I nominated are on here somewhere):
C. O. Bonham 