Gift of the Phoenix Wins FOUR Awards!

Okay, this is just plain exciting. Gift of the Phoenix won an award in all four categories of the IBE Top Idaho Author and Book Awards.

Top 10 Fiction (all genres) – 3rd place

Best New Idaho Author – 1st place

Best Cover Design – Honorable Mention (designed by my lovely husband, Kevin McCain)

Best Interior Design – Honorable Mention

We enjoyed a beautiful reception at Beside Bardenay in downtown Boise. It’s actually on the Basque block, one of my favorite spots downtown, so the place had good mojo.

Here’s a pic of all the winners, in both fiction and nonfiction:

Some of these faces were new to me, but I’d already had the privilege of meeting several of these talented authors before. I’ve been active in the Idaho writing community for nearly a year now and it’s been such a pleasure. The writing community here is supportive, down-to-earth, and talented.

Some of the winning books I’ve already read, others were already on my to-read list. A few I’d never heard of before that night but they’re on my radar now. I currently have 17 books on my nightstand, waiting to be read. There’s always room for a few more.

Even though this was a nice event and we all dressed up so we could chat in style, and even though I got my five minutes of fame and a much-appreciated pat on the back for my years of hard labor, in the end it felt like getting together with friends.

And that’s what it was.

Thanks to Maryanna Young of Aloha Publishing for putting on the Idaho Book Extravaganza and these annual awards. Thanks to the many, many individuals (publishers, writers, editors, booksellers, avid readers) who make the Idaho writing community what it is. It’s a pleasure to be a small part of it.