Happy Dancing

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the ACFW national conference in St. Louis. Many of our IBLF blogging buddies were there. What fun to see Cara, Deb, and Jody. I heard Angela was there, too, but I don’t think our paths crossed. There is something so energizing about meeting up with writing friends. It renews my passion and my dedication to the writing craft.

Many of my dearest author friends were part of the Baker Publishing breakfast on Saturday morning. This included authors from both Bethany House and Revell. A collection of precious friendships in full flower and new relationships just starting to bud. I wish we could have had more time to catch up with each other.

Not only did I come home renewed from seeing dear friends, but I also brought home some exciting new hardware. My novella, A Texas Christmas Carol, won the prestigious ACFW Carol Award! What a huge honor. Here is a somewhat blurry montage of what happened, captured by various friends in the audience. My mind is still a bit blurry about it all too! You might notice that one of my friends from the breakfast photo, Gabrielle Meyer, is the person who presented the award to me, making the moment extra sweet.

As timing would have it, the e-single version of my winning novella released this week with a new cover.

Since I’m still in a celebratory mood, I’ll give away a Kindle copy of
A Texas Christmas Carol to one reader who leaves a comment today.

If books awards were like the Oscars, and you could create an award category to value the aspects you most enjoy reading, what category would you want to include?

Funniest Fictional MomentMost Tear-Jerking SceneMost Swoony HeroCleverest HeroineMost Heart-Pounding SuspenseBiggest Plot TwistMost Surprising WhodunitBest Sigh-Inducing Kissing SceneMost Spiritually Poignant???