I can’t lie. The following comments from Writer’s Digest really made my day.

Tailwinds Past Florence by Doug Walsh is a book of hope, change, evolving married love, and so many other things all rolled into 329 pages. Walsh has managed to capture the essence of what happens in so many marriages—falling into a rut, inch-by-inch, day-by-day. However, in the opening chapter, that rut becomes so rough, the only way out for the main character is to give in to something he should have done long ago.

This is one of those books that are hard to put down, and it stays in your head and heart long after it’s finished. That is difficult for any author to do. The book starts at a major turning point in the characters’ lives and takes readers on a journey that has many twists and turns.

There are only a couple of things that can take this book to the next level of greatness. First of all, there needs to be a smoother transition from Chapter One to Chapter Two because it was confusing. It felt like I was reading a completely different book. Just a simple paragraph would help. The second issue is a small amount of over-explaining. This happens in several places, including the beginning of Chapter Twenty-One. It isn’t a major issue, but it is unnecessary.

This is an excellent book that I would recommend to anyone who wants something different. The contrast between the cities and rural settings as the main character and his wife pedal from one place to another is parallel to the changes in their relationship. The supernatural element adds to and enhances the surprises.

– Judge, 27th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards

Tailwinds Past Florence scored a 29/30 in the Mainstream/Fiction category but didn’t make the list of finalists in what is likely one of the biggest annual contests in the English-speaking world. This commentary — and the second paragraph in particular — certainly took the sting out of not winning. Not bad for a debut novel by an indie author.

Tailwinds Past Florence is available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook everywhere books are sold.

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