PLANETARY AWARDS 2017

It’s again time to vote for the Planetary Awards, the chance to nominate your favorite novel and shorter story for last year.

 

 

The contest is promoted by PLANETARY DEFENSE COMMAND and you can go HERE and learn how to list and promote your “darlings” – which is quite easy on the technical side, and not so easy where the actual choice is concerned.

I discovered this hard truth by looking at my 5-star reviews for 2017: picking one for the full-length novel was the hardest choice of all, so I started with an elimination process that excluded the authors in my “buy sight unseen” list, for the simple reason that they are all well-known, much acclaimed authors and since this year I had the incredible luck of discovering several amazing debut novels, I wanted to spotlight them, so their authors could get some more visibility.

Not that this made my choice any easier… So I had to resort to the time-honored, if not scientifically sound, method of writing the titles of these novels on pieces of paper, mixing them in a box and picking one with my eyes closed. Then I repeated the process for the shorter works, just to keep feeling… solomonic.

So ((loud drum roll)) I’m very pleased to announce the winners and my nominees for the 2017 Planetary Awards:

     Full Length Novel: AGE OF ASSASSINS, by R. J. Barker

    Short Story or Novella: ACADIE, by Dave Hutchinson

Go and vote for your favorite authors/stories: it’s another way of showing our gratitude for the many wonderful hours we spend immersed in some other world…

My thanks for Planetary Defense Command for hosting the awards!

One Lovely Blog Award

I found an unexpected and delightful surprise today, when I came home from work and turned my computer on: the talented Ana, from Ana is the Bookworm, nominated me for this wonderful award.  It was not just a surprise, it was a great way to start the blissfully free part of my day!  Thank you Ana!

Now, I should share seven facts about me, as the rules of this “game” require… Well, I’m too much of a private person for that, sorry!   (((Insert sheepish smile)))  On the other hand, I can freely admit to being a bookworm…  Ok, that’s not much of surprise, is it?

And finally, I need to nominate fifteen blogs I enjoy: I don’t have that many on my list, mostly because my time is so limited – but I can assure you that the blogs you will see listed here make up the shortness of the list with sheer quality.

Dragons, Heroes and Wizards

Old Bat’s Belfry

Rinn Reads

Oh, the Books!

Fantasy Review Barn

Ashley Capes

Two Dudes in the Attic

Bdhesse

Quinn’s Books

JW Kurtz

I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I do.

And again, many heartfelt thanks (and my best wishes for plentiful and successful writing) to Ana!

SciFi Month 2014!

A couple of months ago I saw an exciting post on a blog I follow: the announcement for an event called SCI-FI MONTH,  a month-long series of posts, discussions, fun and games and whatever you might want to think about centered on science fiction.

How could I resist this siren call?  I signed on immediately, of course.

Now the deadline of November 1st, when the fun starts, is drawing near, and the 70-odd bloggers who, like me, signed on for the event are getting ready to jump right in and have a great time. If you are interested, tune in, or better yet, sign on too and share the fun!

SCI-FI MONTH is hosted by Rinn Reads and Oh, The Books! and you can find information about the event both HERE and HERE, or find updates on the dedicated Twitter feed @SciFiMonth and hashtag #RRSciFiMonth

The countdown has already started, but it’s not too late to come aboard!

New Discussion Forum!

Old Bat’s Belfry just announced the birth of a new discussion forum, centered on all aspects of Speculative Fiction where you will be able to recommend, review and discuss the books you read and, if you’re an author, to promote them.

What are you waiting for? Run to the FORUM, register and meet like-minded people!
The more, the merrier…