“This book had me at the heartstrings right from the get-go.” (Read is to Breathe Review of River to Redemption)
I was sitting here wondering what to write about for my post tonight when I got a Facebook message with pictures from a writer friend, Ginger Biggs Harrington, who was attending the Selah Book Awards event. Seems my book River to Redemption won the Selah Historical Romance Award. How exciting is that! And I missed being there to pick it up.
I did attend the award ceremony a few years ago when my book Love Comes Home was a Selah finalist. I had heard how beautiful the North Carolina area is where they have the Blue Ridge Writers Conference and so I thought it would be fun to go check out the scenery. It is as beautiful as advertised. Plus, it was almost on the way to give me an excuse to head on down to see my daughter in South Carolina. I didn’t expect to win. Of course, I hoped to, but prior to then, my books had been finalists for awards a few times but were always the book bridesmaids and not the winner.
But Love 
Comes Home changed that. That story not only won the Historical Romance of the Year Award, it also won the Selah Book of the Year. You could have knocked me out of my chair with a feather. And then when I did recover from the surprise and got up on the stage to get the award from Eva Marie Everson, it looks like I’m ready to dance or speak or who knows. Maybe fly.
I didn’t win the Book of the Year Award this time, but I was very happy to find out River to Redemption won in the Historical Romance category. I wasn’t sure when I sent the book in for the contest if the story would really qualify for a historical romance. It was more historical than romance, but the historical award was paired with Biblical fiction. So I wasn’t sure the story fit there either. And there is romance in River to Redemption. That’s just not the main focus of the story.
The true historical bit about Louis and what he did during the cholera epidemic and how he was eventually repaid by the people of Springfield is what inspired my story. And so when I think of the book I truly believe that Louis, even though he isn’t a viewpoint character, is the heart of my story. Perhaps River to Redemption is a love story in a different way as it features a man who loved the Lord and his fellow man even while he was enslaved. It shows the gratitude of a town that recognized and rewarded that love. And then my fictional characters had to figure out some romantic decisions too. So perhaps the story is a romance, after all. And I’m very happy to say it is the Selah Historical Romance Book of the Year.
Thanks for letting me share my good news.
Do you like hearing good news from other people? Do you share your good news? If you’ve had some good news lately, share it with us now so we can all smile along with you.