Crown of Vengeance wins the 2010 Pluto Award!

Today is a very special day, as I just received word that Crown of Vengeance was announced as the winner of the 2010 Pluto Award.

Six nominees were announced in November, with 2 finalists declared on December 4th, and Crown of Vengeance made the final cut earlier today. This is my first national/international literary award, so it will always be extra, extra special in my heart. It is a real thrill to know that a jury thought so much of my work to nominate it, and choose to move it forward in the following rounds.

So much work goes into these books. The series itself has been in development for over 15 years, even though book 2, Dream of Legends, is only now being published. An award like this is a real validation and encouragement, and I can't say enough how amazing it was to get the word that Crown of Vengeance won.

I would also like to recognize a couple of other individuals for whom this award is significant. One is Amanda DeBord, my hard-working editor on Crown of Vengeance. I have always loved working with her, as she is a very gifted editor, and know she will be very happy about this award. The other is Matthew Perry, who did the cover art and set of illustrations in Crown of Vengeance. As everyone knows, I have had a great collaboration with Matt with his artwork and my books, and I think Matt will be very pleased to hear about this award as well.

I extend a huge thanks to the board and jury of the Pluto Award. I promise that I will continue to put a 250% effort into all the future installments of the Fires in Eden Series, and that the confidence you have shown me in selecting Crown of Vengeance was well placed. This series is from the heart, and I put my all into it, to create an epic adventure that has rays of light within it, even if the challenges presented to the characters might seem impossible at times. I don't think you will be disappointed with where this series is headed! :)