The first quarter of 2019 has been an exciting time. Two recognitions have come my way, for which I am both surprised and grateful.
CrimeMasters of America
The Detective Emilia Cruz series won the Poison Cup award from CrimeMasters. I was quite overwhelmed when the Poison Cup arrived in an enormous FedEx box and revealed itself to be an impressive trophy.
Cup winners included categories for standalone suspense, mystery series, true crime, and blogs. This is a peer-based award, which makes it doubly precious.
Hall of FAME
On 28 April, I’ll join 6 others as inductees into the Arts Hall of Fame of my hometown of Rome, NY. Every year, people who are from Rome or who have contributed to the arts life of the city, are inducted with a ceremony. There is a display of accomplishments for each inductee as well. Read the press release: https://romesentinel.com/stories/seven-area-artists-to-be-inducted-into-rome-arts-hall-of-fame
I’m working on the display right now, which will include book covers images, quotes from reviewers, and an excerpt.
REFLECTION
I’m coming up on my 7th anniversary of being a published author. It all started with THE HIDDEN LIGHT OF MEXICO CITY, the book I wrote because I wanted to say something about Mexico’s rigid social structure.
Who expected awards!? I was thrilled if I sold a book each month.
To be honest, my goals have been small and fairly selfish:
- Write books that aren’t the usual.
- Challenge yourself to create puzzles and tangles that stretch your brain.
- Meet fellow wordsmiths.
- Catch moments of “flow” that leave you charged with adrenaline and feeling like you are growing your skills.
Thank you, CrimeMasters and the Arts Hall of Fame, for the honors.
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