Congrats to all our award Winners and Finalists!
Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective by Christine Amsden is a finalist in the 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.
Caves, Cannons and Crinolines by Beverly Stowe McClure is a finalist in the Novella category of the 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and a finalist in the 2012 Eric Hoffer Book Award in the category Young Adult.
Dragon Fire by Dina vonLowenkraft is a finalist in the ForeWord 2013 Book of the Year award in the category of young adult fiction.
Hidden Shadows by Linda Lucretia Shuler is a Winner in the Fiction category of the 2016 NABE Pinnacle Book Achievement award; Short-Listed for the Eric Hoffer Award Grand Prize; Finalist for the Eric Hoffer First Horizon Award;
Honorable Mention, General Fiction, Eric Hoffer Award; Finalist, da Vinci Eye Award; Finalist, Debut category: WFWA (Women's Fiction Writers Association) Star Award Contest; Finalist, Literary Fiction, NIEA (National Indie Excellence Awards) and
Top Ten finisher, Best Other Novel, Predators & Editors Readers' Poll 2015.
Mind Games by Christine Amsden is the winner in the category of Paranormal in EPIC's 2015 eBook award and also won Silver in the Fiction Fantasy/contemporary category of the 2014 Global eBook Awards.
Secrets and Lies by Christine Amsden won Silver in the Fiction Fantasy/contemporary category of the 2014 Global eBook Awards.
Splintered Light. by Lee Denning is a finalist in the Fiction: New Age category as well as a finalist in the Fiction: Science Fiction category in the 2012 USA Best Book Awards and is also a finalist in the 2012 ForeWord Book of the Year Award in the category of Adult Fiction-Religious
Stolen Dreams by Christine Amsden is the winner in the Fiction Fantasy/Contemporary category of the 2015 Global eBook Awards.
Storytelling: The Indispensable Art of Entrepreneurism, by Rudy A. Mazzocchi won Silver in the Business Non-Fiction category of the 2014 Global eBook Awards.
The Curse Giver by Dora Machado is a finalist in the 2013 ForeWord Book of the Year award in the category of fantasy as well as a finalist in the Fiction: Fantasy category in the 2013 USA Best Book Awards.
The Immortality Virus by Christine Amsden is the winner in the Science Fiction category of the 2012 EPIC eBook Awards.
Touch of Fate by Christine Amsden is a finalist and won Honorable Mention in the Legacy Fiction category for the 2011 Eric Hoffer award.
Publishing Notes
Loren K. Jones has placed his SF novel, Inadvertent Adventures, with Twilight Times Books. A U. S. Navy veteran, Loren served as a nuclear reactor operator on attack submarines for six years before his honorable discharge in 1986. Loren makes his living as an instrumentation and controls technician, and writes because the stories won't leave him alone until he does.
Inadvertent Adventures: Sterling Albert Stevenson was a man adrift in the Confederated Star Systems. Ex-Navy, divorced, and alone, he takes a vacation at a resort casino satellite and makes his fortune. Unfortunately, the owners of the casino take a dim view of people who win and leave. Beaten and robbed, Sterling ends up shanghaied by the captain of the cargo ship Jolly Jane.
Barb Caffrey has placed her urban fantasy, A Little Elfy in Big Trouble, with Twilight Times Books. Barb is a writer, editor, musician, and composer. She holds two degrees and is an inveterate and omnivorous reader.
Elfy: Young Bruno the Elfy and Sarah, his mostly-human teenage girlfriend, are in deep trouble. Bruno's Elfy mentor Roberto the Wise is about to be sacrificed by Dennis the Dark Elf, with Sarah's parents' help. Things look bleak, but Bruno and Sarah have a few allies no one could possibly expect - human, Elfy, and ghosts. Can young love and desperation win out despite it all?
Stephen Caputi, has placed his memoir, I Should Have Stayed in Morocco, with Twilight Times Books. Stephen was an entrepreneur, business owner, and... federal inmate no. 96775-004. I Should Have Stayed in Morocco: Stephen Caputi opens up his heart and soul as he details a journey of betrayal that takes him from the back offices of some of the most spectacular international nightclubs to the bowels of the federal prison system. A dedicated business partner and loyal friend to Scott Rothstein, (Scott was one of the most notorious Ponzi schemers in Florida history), Stephen is dragged from the pinnacle of his success to be served up as one of many sacrificial lambs that Rothstein managed to destroy.
Ken Lizzi has placed a SF novel, Under Strange Suns, with Twilight Times Books. Ken is the author of the
SF/F novel, Reunion. When not traveling - and he'd rather be traveling - he lives in Portland, Oregon with his lovely wife Isa.
Under Strange Suns: The inventor of the Faster-Than-Light Drive is missing, lost undertaking the first interstellar voyage. A
terrorist attack leaves the Earth in a state of constant war. Amidst the global decline mankind begins emigrating to the stars.
Special Forces soldier Aidan Carson is tired of fighting. The niece of the FTL-drive's inventor thinks she knows where her uncle might be. The offer to join the search gives Carson a chance at a fresh start;
the starship Yuscehnkov offers a new home.
Christine Amsden has placed a dark fantasy novel, Madison's Song, with Twilight Times Books. Christine is the author of the popular Cassie Scot fantasy series. Madison's Song: Madison Carter has been terrified of Scott Lee since the night he saved her from an evil sorcerer – then melted into a man-eating monster before her eyes. The werewolf is a slave to the moon, but Madison's nightmares are not. Despite her fears, when Madison's brother, Clinton, is bitten by a werewolf, she knows there is only one man who can help.
Linda Lucretia Shuler has placed her debut novel, Hidden Shadows, with Twilight Times Books. Linda received a BFA in theatre from the University of Texas, and an MA in theatre from Trinity University. She taught theatre arts in college and high school for three decades. Hidden Shadows: Cassandra Brighton, devastated by the accidental death of her husband, moves from the city to a small town in the ruggedly beautiful Texas Hill Country. Alone in a ramshackle farmhouse steeped in long-forgotten family secrets, Cassie wages a battle of mind and heart as she struggles to overcome the sorrows of her past, begin anew, and confront the possibility of finding love again.
Florence Byham Weinberg has turned in the manuscript for her latest work, a nonfiction novel, Dolet. After earning a PhD, Florence spent 36 years as a professor of French language, literature and history, writing four scholarly books and ten novels, eight of which are in print. Dolet depicts the life and times of Etienne Dolet, a 16th-century publisher persecuted, imprisoned, and ultimately executed by the Inquisition for daring to publish the Bible in French translation.
Linda DeFruscio has placed her nonfiction book, Cornered: Dr. Richard J. Sharpe, As I Knew Him, with Twilight Times Books. Cornered is Linda's story of her long and often complex association with Dr. Richard J. Sharpe, the millionaire dermatologist from Gloucester, MA who was convicted of killing his wife in 2000. Cornered is her first book. Her second book, which is nearly complete, which will feature profiles of some of the many transgender people she has come to know through her work as an electrologist. Linda lives with her husband in the Boston area.
Joan Schweighardt has placed her latest novel, The Accidental Art Thief with Twilight Times Books. The Accidental Art Thief is Joan's fifth novel. A literary tale with a touch of magical realism and a collection of offbeat characters, this tender and humorous story explores the thin line between life and death and the universal forces that connect all things. Joan lives with her husband in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Christopher Nuttall has placed his fantasy, Schooled in Magic, with Twilight Times Books. Christopher is thirty-two years old – and has been reading science-fiction since he was five, when someone introduced him to children's SF. Born in Scotland, Chris attended schools in Edinburgh, Fife and University in Manchester before moving to Malaysia to live with his wife Aisha. Schooled in Magic follows the adventures of Emily who is kidnapped by a necromancer and brought to a wholly new world that's technically inferior to our own. Before the necromancer can truly harm her, Emily is rescued by an enigmatic sorcerer and finds out that she apparently has magical powers of her own. Compelled to go to school in order to learn how to use her magic, she also must learn how to survive.
Jean Moynahan has placed her mystery, The Black Fountain Goddess, with Twilight Times Books. Ms. Moynahan was born in Oregon but raised in Arizona. Before finishing her university studies, she served two years in Germany with the Army Signal Corps, an experience that years later would provide the basis for her first published book, a romance entitled Captain of Hearts. The Black Fountain Goddess: In rural Oregon, two ritualistic murders a century apart appear linked by an ancient cult. Jacob's ancestor hanged for the first crime; now a beautiful professor may be involved in the second. As Jacob finds the answers to more and more questions, one continues to haunt him: who is the Black Fountain Goddess?
Ken Lizzi has placed Reunion, urban fantasy with Twilight Times Books. Ken is an attorney and the author of an assortment of published short stories. When not travelling – and he'd rather be travelling – he lives in Portland, Oregon with his lovely wife Isa. He enjoys reading, home brewing, exercise, and visiting new places. Reunion: Two sundered, nigh identical Earths merge. The union is cataclysmic. Portland police officer Nick Gates is one of the survivors. But for how long? In an altered world now patrolled by savage armies, inhabited by strange beasts and sorcerers, can anyone survive the Reunion? And can one Portland cop fight back?
Dina von Lowenkraft has placed Dragon Fire, a paranormal romance with Twilight Times Books. Born in the US, Dina has lived on four continents, worked as a graphic artist for television and as a consultant in the fashion industry. Somewhere between New York and Paris she picked up an MBA and a black belt – and still thinks the two are connected. Dina is currently the Regional Advisor for SCBWI Belgium, where she lives with her husband, two children and two horses. Dragon Fire: A young shape-shifting dragon must choose between his forbidden love for a human and face death, or fulfill his duty in an ancient blood feud and kill her best friend – forever ending any possibility of finding true love.
Janis Hashe has placed The Ex-Club Tong Pang, a humorous mystery with Twilight Times Books. Janis began making her living as a writer when she was hired by Sunset Magazine's trade publications division in 1988, and has held various staff jobs over the years, but prefers the precarious life of the freelancer. She also works as a media relations consultant and teaches theatre arts classes part-time. The Ex-Club Tong Pang: In mid-80s LA, retail worker and sometime-playwright Hannelore Herald is fascinated by Korean nightspot The Club Tong Pang. But the very day she decides to venture into it, she finds it's closed—and encounters an attractive but elusive man who plunges her into a world of cross-cultural intrigue, crime and comedy.
Joan Heartwell has placed Hamster Island: a memoir with Twilight Times Books. Joan is a former indie publisher who makes her living now as a freelance writer, editor and book consultant while she continues to work on her own writing projects. Hamster Island is Heartwell's story of growing up ordinary in family that embodied dysfunction. Her childlike shame for her special needs siblings is balanced by a fierce love that, occasionally, enabled her to shed her diffidence and perform extraordinary feats of plunk and valor. Funny and heartbreaking simultaneously, Hamster Island is a coming-of-age in the tradition of such darkly comic memoirs as Mary Karr's The Liars Club and Augusten Burroughs' Running with Scissors; it delights while exploring issues of identity, transformation, and responsibility.
Barb Caffrey has placed her urban fantasy, An Elfy on the Loose, with Twilight Times Books. Barb is a writer, editor, musician, and composer. She holds two degrees and is an inveterate and omnivorous reader. Elfy: Bruno (né Jon) arrives in California from a parallel universe and is immediately confronted with problems galore. How can he rescue his mentor? What is a Dark Elf doing on Earth? Why is his new friend's house haunted? Ultimately, Bruno learns that no matter how screwed up things are, life and love are worth fighting for, while becoming yourself is the most powerful gift of all.
Dora Machado has placed her fantasy novel, The Curse Giver with Twilight Times Books. Dora is the award winning author of the Stonewiser series. She is one of the few Hispanic women exploring her heritage and her world through the epic fantasy genre today. The Curse Giver: an innocent remedy mixer condemned to die for a crime she didn't commit must ally with the embittered lord pledged to kill her in order to defeat not only the vile curse obliterating their lives, but also the curse giver who has already conjured their ends.
Bill Swears has placed his SF adventure, Zook Country with Twilight Times Books. Born in Great Falls, MT to an Air Force family, he averaged less than a year living anyplace until his late teens. He's lived in England, Iran, Germany, and nine states. He flew military helicopters for twenty-two years, seven for the Army, and fifteen for the Coast Guard. Zook Country: Zooks are victims of Metamorphic Plague, a fatal disease that causes victims to behave like rabid apes who move so quickly that a normal person can't track them by eye. Entire cities have been devastated, and nobody knows which way the fight to survive will go.
Natalie Roers has placed her urban fantasy, Lucid with Twilight Times Books. A veteran writer, voice artist, and on-air personality, Natalie Roers has been the host of hit radio and television shows in just about every region of the United States. Lucid: Disfigured at birth and ostracized at school, Travis Hunter dreams of acceptance and secretly yearns for the affection of a beautiful young woman named Corrine. When a mysterious doctor promises to help Travis through something called lucid dreaming, Travis gets more than he ever bargained for and soon finds himself learning the secrets of love and life in a fantastic unconscious world.
Maria DeVivo has placed her YA fantasy, The Coal Elf with Twilight Times Books. Maria is represented by Carolyn Jenks Agency. The Coal Elf: Ember Skye is not another spell casting wizard or vampire groupie. She is a fed up teenage Coal Elf with a big ashy chip on her shoulder. After six years of obedient service in the coal mines, her possession of the fabled "Naughty List" sets into motion a chain of events that will see her take on her demonic boss, a mysterious Council and the head of the North Pole himself: Santa Claus!
That's right. Santa Claus is real. But this is not your little sister's Christmas tale!
Ralph Freedman has placed the final (and revised) version of Divided with Twilight Times Books. Divided won the Lewis and Clark literary award in 1947 and was published by Dutton in 1948. Ralph wrote, "As the author at two moments of my life: ages 28 and 92, I hope to speak to both ends of my generation in helping to explain the world we now live in."
Travis "Doc" Taylor has placed a science fiction thriller Extraction Point with Twilight Times Books. Extraction Point, with Stephanie Osborn as co-author, is the start of an exciting new hard science fiction action-packed thriller series. Ray Brady leads an ultra-secret DHS team guarding against extraterrestrials and time-travelers. When they confront a mysterious man in NYC, he leaps from a ten-story building - vanishing in mid-air. Soon, researchers, gold, nuclear fuel, and other valuable commodities disappear world-wide. Who – or what – is this man? Can he be stopped?