OKLAHOMA BOOK AWARDS

Saturday night was the annual Oklahoma Book Awards Celebration presented by the Oklahoma Center for the Book. I was honored that Chasing Lilacs was a finalist for the Fiction category. So many great authors and illustrators come from my state, it's hard not to feel a teensy bit proud. And while my book didn't win, I was glad when the author who sat next to me at the book signing event did take home the medal. Congrats to David Gerard for his book God's Acres!

David Gerard, Winner of the Fiction Award

These kinds of events both scare me and thrill me somehow. Several judges came by and talked to me about my book and how relevant it was to life in the fifties. Others chatted with Max and made him feel welcome. Oklahomans are like that - good people who take you in and make you feel special. An unexpected treat was meeting Kitty Pittman who reviewed my book on her Okie Reads blog. Here's her summation of the Book Award evening. What she failed to mention was that she - Kitty Pittman - received the Glenda Carlile Distinguished Service Award. Kudos!

Kitty Pittman - as lovely in person as she is on her blog

My favorite date, as always!

Former Oklahoma Lieutenant Governor, Jari Askins, was the master of ceremonies and shared about her lifelong love of books and memories of trips to the library as a child. Rilla Askew, a beloved Oklahoma author received the lifetime achievement award.

Our good friend Jingyau

Sounds of the harp filled the background as we enjoyed a scrumptious dinner, good fellowship, and added another page to the scrapbook of lovely memories. Have I mentioned lately that I LOVE books? I love to read them, write them, talk about them, and most of all celebrate them.









Thanks Oklahoma Center for the Book for making the celebration a night to remember!!

In Good Company

One of the scariest aspects of writing (and there are many) is allowing your work to stand against other writers and books. It would be easy to simply say, "Okay, I have a book published; it's lovely to hold and look at; people are saying nice things," and just let it go at that. And yet, there is this tiny part of a writer's heart that says, "Yeah, but how does it compare to other books?"

There are numerous places to submit published works. Conference contests. National book awards. Regional prizes. Genre contests named after famous authors like Agatha or Bram Stoker. Either the author or publisher has to submit to these contests, and it is time sensitive in that most awards given in 2011 are for books published in the previous calendar year.

Like I said, it's a scary business, and yes, I've thrown my debut book, Chasing Lilacs, out there with a few prayers. The Oklahoma Center for the Book is the organization that presents the premiere Oklahoma Book Awards, choosing winners from finalists in five published categories. The criteria is specific: books must be set in Oklahoma or the author must be an Oklahoma native or resident. And as you might have guessed by now, this Oklahoma girl's Chasing Lilacs is a finalist in the fiction category along with five others. I'm honored and humbled.

How will my little coming-of-age story stack up against the others? I have no idea. I did check out the other finalists in fiction. The stories all sound fascinating and it makes me a little nervous. I think the competition will be tough, but come what may, I'm already honored to just be a finalist.

You may see a list of all the finalists here or here. Also I found this new review at Okie Reads last week.

The award ceremony is April 9 in Oklahoma City. Will I be scared? Probably.

But I'm glad I entered.