Catholic Writers Guild Chooses Finalists for Lily Awards
The Catholic Writers Guild has announced the finalists for the first Catholic Arts and Letters Awards (CALA), also known as the “Lily Awards.”
The presentation of the Lily Awards will take place at a special breakfast during Catholic Marketing Network’s (CMN) annual retail trade show, which is held in conjunction with the Catholic Writers Conference LIVE August 3-5, 2011 in Valley Forge, PA. The conference is cosponsored by the Catholic Writers Guild.
The Lily Awards finalists are:
In the category of adult fiction:
Murder in the Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes, by Ann Margaret Lewis (Wessex Press)
Rachel’s Contrition, by Michelle Buckman (Sophia Institute Press)
Theophilus, by Michael O’Brien (Ignatius Press)
In the category of children’s/young adults fiction:
Alex O’Donnell and the 40 Cyberthieves, by Regina Doman (Chesterton Press)
Hiding the Stranger, by Joan Kelly (Bezalel Books)
Tristan’s Travels, by Karl Bjorn Erickson (Rafka Press)
One winner will be selected from each category. Congratulations to all finalists!
The conference provides Catholic authors with a prime opportunity to meet and share their faith with editors, publishers, fellow writers, and bookstore owners from across the globe. To register, or for more information, go to http://www.catholicwritersconference.com.
Come My Beloved on Amazon’s Inspirational Top Twenty
CWG Vice President Ellen Hrkach’s newly released Come My Beloved: Inspirational Stories of Catholic Courtship was #20 on Amazon Kindle’s Inspirational books. This compilation of twelve love stories will inspire you!
Help Ellen get her book to Number One on Amazon by purchasing the e-book for only $2.99! If you don’t have Kindle, you can download it for free on your PC, iphone, ipad, etc.
In Florida Next Week? Meet Heather St. Aubin-Stout at a Book Signing of Not My Mother’s Journey
CWG member Heather St. Aubin-Stout has a book signing at Sun Dog Books in Seaside, FL, on June 28 from 9-11 a.m.
Not My Mother’s Journey is Heather’s very candid and personal account of her fight against breast cancer as she confronts her memories of her mother’s death to breast cancer. Not My Mother’s Journey has gotten excellent reviews for this beautiful story of courage and faith (and will be featured in the CWG News in a few weeks). Recently Heather guest blogged on Catholicmom.com as well. And check CWG News for her future book signings and speaking events. Look for Heather in the Michigan area in August!
Viper Will Be Released in Paperback on July 1, 2011
CWG member John Desjarlais is “pleased to be part of Sophia’s Press’s effort to bring fiction with a Catholic coloring to the public. It matches CWG’s mission to revive a movement of Catholic arts and letters.” John is currently working on a third book in the series starring insurance agent and ex-DEA agent Selena De La Cruz.
Haunted by the loss of her brother to drugs and a botched raid that ended her career with the DEA, insurance agent Selena De La Cruz hoped to start afresh in rural Illinois. But her gung-ho former boss needs her back to hunt “The Snake,” a dealer she helped arrest who is out of prison and systematically killing anyone who ever crossed him. His ‘hit list’, appended to a Catholic Church’s All Souls Day ‘Book of the Deceased,’ shows Selena’s name last. Working against time, small town prejudice and the suspicions of her own Latino community, Selena races to find The Snake before he reaches her name while a girl visionary claims a “Blue Lady” announces each killing in turn. Is it Our Lady of Guadalupe or, as others believe, the Aztec goddess of Death?
Sounds thrilling? Check out the video trailer here. Regina Doman, author of The Shadow of the Bear and The Midnight Dancers states, “I just couldn’t put it down!” Tony Perona of Second Advent and Angels Whisper says, “Desjarlais keeps you guessing as the action accelerates faster than Selena De La Cruz’s souped-up vehicle. Viper strikes fast and sinks its teeth into you. You won’t be able to put it down.”
Read more great reviews at www.johndesjarlais.com and check out his book tour. On July 30, you can find him at Sylvia Ramsey’s blog. He’ll also be at the Catholic Writers Conference and Catholic Marketing Network Trade Show August 2-5 where you can meet him in person. Order Viper and bring it with you to the conference!
