I am happy to announce that The Lost Secret of Dragonfire has won honorable mention in The San Francisco Book Festival on May 18. I was privileged to go to the awards ceremony and accept the award. It was my first walk up to a podium. After over 7 years of trying, I’ve finally gotten recognized for creating a great work of fiction. There can only be more.

I enjoyed meeting everyone at the book festival during the day. I met Patti Ptak Kogutek, the author of “A Change of Habit”. She has an outgoing personality, and I wanted to find out the story of her journey from Sister Mary Kateri to Sister Mary Vodka. So, I bought and enjoyed reading her book.

I also enjoyed listening to the informative panels of authors through out the day. There was a panel on marketing and promotions, children’s authors, and ebooks. I even met up with an author, Lloyd Lofthouse, that is on one of my yahoo writing groups. It was awesome to finally meet one of the people I’ve talked to through the internet for so long.

Plus, I learned that having some way for you to get noticed helps to break free from the crowd. I finally got to meet Bruce Haring, managing director of the SF Book Festival. One of the first things he mentioned was, “Hey, you’re the author that plays the harp.” For some reason, I’m guessing not many authors may pluck and write in their spare time as I do. So, pretty much, I’ve discovered a marketing break through. My harp playing as a hook. Really, so many legends connect harps and fairies. Harps are supposedly the way to call fairies to you. Combined with my new award win and harp playing, I feel the carving of a niche in the Indie book world.

Overall, it was a great experience for any writer. I accepted an award, met and exchanged information from others in publishing, and had a great time. Truly, there is something to be said about entering as many awards as possible. You might win one of them. So, keep trying, keep writing.