'Back Home' on Award Shortlist

Books from small publishers seldom get reviewed in the newspapers. Fortunately, we have review bloggers. I've been reviewing quite a few books on my blog lately, but I just dabble at it around other things. For some bloggers, book reviews are the centre of their online lives.

Bloggers can be very influential. Rosie Amber stands out. She doesn't just review by herself, but heads a team of reviewers whose reviews are all posted at https://rosieamber.wordpress.com

I have had not one, but two, very positive reviews for Back Home on this site, which has made me feel better about a book that (so far) has had excellent reviews but not particularly exciting sales. What has made me feel really excited, though, is that the Rosie Amber Book Review Team has short-listed Back Home for its Historical Fiction Book of the Year Award.

Will this guarantee that I will become a bestseller? Will I make a speech at a fancy awards dinner? Alas, no. But, for a still relatively unknown author struggling to stand out, it will substantially increase my visibility on the web. And, much more important, it will make me feel a whole lot better.

It takes about a year to research, write, and edit a historical novel. I enjoy doing it, but it's definitely hard work. You can buy Back Home as an e-book for £2.99 so I'm clearly not going to make a fortune from it. Getting recognition from awards like this is the most that I can really hope for. I know that (like almost all the writers I know) I'm always asking people to write reviews and I do understand that a lot of you find it difficult. This time I'm just asking you to go to https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/rbrt-book-awards-2016-vote-here/ and vote. If you have enjoyed Back Home, please do.