I have some wonderful news to share with you today, my friends.

I just received a message to say that the e-book version of Tom Thorneval, my very first tale to appear in paperback, has been judged and named a Benjamin Franklin Digital Award GOLD HONOREE.



Discovering that my unlucky but plucky little Tom was a winner of this distinguished award gave me a short trip to the moon and back. The Benjamin Franklin awards are administered by the Independent Book Publishers Association in the land of America, and the people who judge the entries are librarians, bookstore owners, reviewers, designers, publicity managers, and editors. So you can imagine my excitement - particularly when I read this from the judge (I guess I am allowed to share it :)

The design was clean, easy to read, and flowed very nicely. This was the first time I've ever seen lyrics in a story and not automatically skipped over them, because they went along with the audio! The simple, melodic songs stuck in my head as I was reading, giving the entire book a vaguely Irish folktale tone. I liked that there were links to the sheet music. I loved the two 'forks' that gave alternate storylines that then converged back into the rest of the book. I've seldom seen a book so well-suited to the electronic platform. It does things that are impossible with a standard print book, all to enrich the story without distracting from it.

They went on to call the whole book "Exceptional" and "beautifully written". I really hope the tale and the experience of reading it on an electronic device makes you as happy as it did this reader (thank you again!) Please share this wonderful news with your friends looking for something quite unique to read this month.

Now to break the news to Tom, quietly minding his own business on my sideboard (scroll to the left to find him).