The Awards Issue...

So, this is a special post.

I usually find myself updating my status in A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) or announcing some new book or project, but this post is all about a couple of awards.

The first is for the short story that started it all for me, Seven Lives to Repay Our Country, which has recently been nominated for the Military Writers Society of America (MWSA) award for Literary Fiction - time will eventually tell if it wins this award, but you can make your voice heard here: 

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/23214.MWSA_Awards_2012_Nominees#13056832

If you've read this story and are a Goodreads member, please take a moment to cast a vote - it would be much appreciated!

The next award is a "Versatile Blogger" award which I received from Lynn Thompson. Thanks, Lynn!

To accept it, I'm supposed to share 7 random facts about myself, and to nominate 15 other bloggers for this award... Now, I have some issues with these sorts of awards, because shouldn't writers be writing, not passing around electronic badges? But OK, I'll play along...

First, here are my nominees... Check out their blogs, you'll be glad you did:

http://lindsayandjaneviewsandreviews.blogspot.com/ 
Great reviews, and a beautiful site!

http://shahwharton.com/ 
Oone of the prettiest (and most diverse!) blogs I've seen...

http://jenniferblood.net/ 
Crime & Mystery readers / writers check this out!

http://www.mohanalakshmi.com/ 
Lots of reviews and some craft pieces...

http://thethingsthatcatchmyeye.wordpress.com/ 
Historical fiction resources and more!

http://www.bibliogrind.com/ 
A lot of great short pieces on this one!

http://westceltgypsy.com/ 
"Meet the Writer" interviews and other great stuff...

http://site.kristinecayne.com/ 
Romantic suspense? Look no further!

http://www.sarenastraus.com/ 
The wait is almost over for her new book...

http://www.meredithbond.com/ 
Because the list needs at least ONE paranormal romance blog!

http://universecityblog.wordpress.com/ 
Reviews, travel, writing - this site has it all!

http://newenglandmuse.wordpress.com/ 
My newest Tribemate on Triberr - check her out!

http://www.albertaross.co.uk/ 
A great (British!) connection!

http://ttoria.blogspot.com/ 
A great UK review site... She got me started!

http://www.charityparkerson.com/ 
Hot stuff... Mmm, yeah, THAT kind of hot!

OK, now my 7 things...

1. Wiener-schnitzel isn't all it's cracked up to be.
2. I enjoy swimming with sharks, within reason.
3. I like big butts and I cannot lie... Well, sometimes I can...
4. My writing knows no genre.
5. I am a good, bad influence on my nieces and nephews.
6. I have a lot of scars. Some of them are on the outside.
7. It is a minor miracle that I've made it this far.

Right, the rain has let up, and so it's time to mosey down the cobbled Bavarian streets to the snug little apartment that I'm calling home for the next few days.

Best regards,
Edward

Epic Fail? Yes, it Was Awesome! Plus ROW80 Check-In, Crossover Karma, and more!

At the Wat Chan Temple

Well, checking in from the People's Democratic Republic of Laos, where I've been traveling for the last few days. Tomorrow it's onward to Vietnam, first stop, Ho Chi Minh City (still commonly referred to as Saigon!)

First, a big thank you to anyone who supported my first Indie Crossover Karma artists, the rock/rap group 7LIONS - after the millions of votes were tabulated, they came in a close second in Macy's iHeart Radio contest - so, while it's unfortunate that they won't be headed to Vegas in September to play that big festival, hopefully the fact that they beat 22 other bands and solo acts from around the nation will help move them closer to getting a big recording contract, and it's certainly helped showcase their music!

The Final Analysis

I am also happy to report failure in my attempt to break into the Amazon Kindle "Top 100 Free" with my latest short fiction release, and also the failure to give away 1000 free copies of Lethargica. Why am I happy? Because we learn more from our failures than our successes, and I learned a lot with this latest release, all of which I'll document for the benefit of others in a future post.

Another product of the week that will get more discussion in the future was the creation of a Social Media Plan - something that every self-published author needs, and that I now (finally!) have...

Meanwhile, what about those darn ROW80 goals?

WRITING

- Wr0te Another Chapter of The Notorious Mister Wickham - yes, I know I'm supposed to be working on Charming, The Artillerists and Merry Christmas, Mister Washington, but it's bad form to argue with your Muse!

PUBLISHING

- Publish German Translation of Happily Ever After - I sent a follow-up note to the German lady who has offered to do the translation - she's very busy, so who knows? (FYI, I'm looking for a French translator, too - so, if you know anyone, leave me a comment!)

FITNESS / LANGUAGE

- Sigh... this keeps falling through the cracks... Between a shoulder injury, lack of a fixed schedule, and lack of gyms in the little towns in which I keep finding myself, I'm finding this hard to stay on top of. But I am trying to send as many SMS messages to my French-speaking friends in French, and am studying off and on... Bad me! Will try to do better and have something useful to report next Sunday.

NETWORKING

- Stayed caught up on the Author Karma Facebook Liking List...

- Wrote a guest post for Nicole Basaraba's Writer's Uni-Verse-City on the topic of short stories...

- Created a Social Media Plan

PROMOTION

- Ran the last of my target KDP Select Promotions!

ADMINISTRATION

- Create a “Short Story Contest” website Cancelling this goal... Maybe next time!

So, that's what's new in my neck of the woods... Will look forward to reading about what other folks have going on, and happy to entertain your questions or comments.

Best always,

Edward