Dear Readers,

Last week Momma and I got another pawsome surprise!  We were notified that my second book, Sit Stay Pray, was named a finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards (NIEA) competition.  NIEA also named the winners in the same communication, and unfortunately, SSP was not among them.  (Is this where I woof that human expression, “always a bridesmaid, never a bride?”) Perhaps, but we were nevertheless thrilled to be finalists, and will be adding more “award” stickers to our books!

This Excellence Award is especially meaningful for Momma and me because it is the second award we have garnered for SSP  — the first being the Benjamin Franklin Award for Humor.  This competition had over 1,000 entrants, and we were finalists in the Animals & Pets category.

Rather than try to explain the background and import of NIEA, I am attaching its press release about their 14th Annual Awards.  You can click on Finalists to see my book in that group.  You can also click on Winners to look for SSP (like Momma did about ten times in case there was some mistake) but will not find it.  Read on please.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

14th ANNUAL NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE® AWARDS ANNOUNCED

​The 14th Annual National Indie Excellence® Awards (NIEA) recognize the Winners and Finalists from this year’s robust competition of entries originating from all across the United States of America.

​A leader and veteran of publishing award contests, The National Indie Excellence® Awards are open to recent English language books in print from self and independent publishers. Judging is now completed for the 14th year of this competition and the results commend a wide range of truly exceptional titles.

​The National Indie Excellence® Awards celebrate independent publishing as a strong and vital sector of our industry. Recognizing excellence in all aspects of the final presentation, NIEA champions self-publishers and the independent presses who produce the highest quality books across a spectrum of metrics. Established in 2005, NIEA’s entrants are meticulously judged by experts from various facets of the book industry profession including publishers, writers, editors, and designers.

​Winners and Finalists are determined on the basis of superior written matter coupled with excellent presentation in every facet of the final published product. Jurors value the synergy of both content and form as they review entries spanning multiple genres. Sponsorship awards and monetary prize awards are selected from the overall group of Winners and Finalists.

​”This year’s entries continue an upward trend in high-quality publishing, even among first time or newer authors. The competition is intense. Indie Excellence® proudly celebrates the talent, dedication and love they put into the book product.”

– Doug Fogelson, President National Indie Excellence® Awards

​To view the 14th Annual NIEA Winners and Finalists click here: Winners, Finalist

https://www.indieexcellence.com/

Because this is such a special occasion, I wanted to wear one of my designer scarves, but Momma had a “better” idea.  I can barely hold my head up.

Lina, Humbled Hound Wearing Heavy Medal!

WOOFDA!

Pawscript:  Please don’t forget we have copies of SSP (and Lina Unleashed) on hand, so if you’d like to buy a copy (or two or three), I would be happy to pawdograph them for you, and Momma will make sure you receive your copy/copies.  So much better than ordering the book from another source because it will bear my priceless paw print, plus there will be more proceeds to pass along to the Animal Humane Society and Helping Paws Minnesota.

Also, don’t forget Momma and I still have some openings for bookclub meetings.  (You can tell your friends that my first book, Lina Unleashed, won an award in the Humor category and Sit Stay Pray won awards in both the Humor and Animals & Pets categories!)  In fact, we will be appearing at one in September for Momma’s good friend, Sandy Becker (see the Events page on my website).  We are even up for Zoom or outdoor meetings to ensure that we are following appropriate distancing protocols.