I Won! Why Do I Care?

[Peg Herring]

They'll tell you that awards mean nothing. No big sales surge. No extra attention from publishers and agents. No movie deals. Got it. Nevertheless, when I got word yesterday that I won Best Mystery of the Year with THE DEAD DETECTIVE AGENCY, I forgot all that and succumbed to joy. Somebody--whether several or dozens or hundreds or hordes of somebodies--thinks my book is worth reading, worth recommending, worth the term "Best". When I wrote the first Dead Detective mystery (now deemed "Award-winning"), it was sort of unconscious. No idea where the scenario came from, no intent to write paranormal (in fact that term sometimes makes me cringe.) When I found a publisher who liked my off-the-wall idea, I was pleased. It's fun to do something different, and while I love writing the historicals, change of pace is good. So the writing was fun. The publishing was fairly painless and very professional. The readers reacted well. It was all that a writer could hope for---and then it gets named Best Mystery of the Year. How's that for icing on the cake?

[Cammy May Hunnicutt]

So you won an Eppy?  That's great, Peg.  It's... epic/

Not to get in your business, but I don't understand why you didn't mention that up front.  Or why you'd play it down.   It's a nice kudo, flaunt it.

No point tooting your horn if you don't give it the full razzmatazz.

(I'm sure Susan Fleet would endorse that metaphor)

Congratulations.

[Peg Herring]

EPIC is the electronically published industry coalition, a group that promotes quality e-books. I actually met the publisher for the Dead Detective Mysteries at one of their conferences a few years ago.

http://www.epicorg.com./

Thanks, Dana! You know how long I've been working toward this!

[Cammy May Hunnicutt]

Wow, that's great, Peg.  What or who was it that did this naming?

[Dana King]

Congratulations, Peg.