I've had two pieces of wonderful news this month. First, Artifacts was given the Patrick D. Smith Florida Fiction Award by the Florida Historical Society. This award was established to recognize the valuable contributions made by writers of Florida fiction in stimulating the promotion and study of the Florida’s history and heritage. My husband David and I went down to Melbourne last week for the awards banquet and found that the historical society is just full of gracious and knowledgeable folks. I'm so proud that they liked my book.
The second piece of news is just as exciting. Artifacts is one of three finalists for the Benjamin Franklin Award in Mystery/Suspense. It's a national award given by the Publishers Marketing Association to recognize excellence in independent publishing, and the winner will be announced at a gala banquet in Chicago on the eve of Book Expo America. One of the other nominees is my friend Libby Hellmann, who is also a Poisoned Pen Press author. We'll both be attending the banquet, glad to be finalists and hoping for a win for Poisoned Pen.