Wow! How exciting to open my email and discover that my novel Big Green Country is a finalist in this year’s National Indie Excellence Awards, a second honor after winning a Gold medal this Spring in the IPPYS. Thanks to all my readers who have supported me and Big Green Country. The book groups that have read it and have invited me in person prior to shelter at home and more recently via ZOOM have been terrific. I’m very appreciative. It’s super hard to get word out about an independently published book at the best of times so it’s great to be winning some awards and seeing that Big Green Country continues to sell online in print and ebook. Here’s the press release from NIEA. It’s kind of a big deal for an indie writer. Happy Dance at my desk! The 14th Annual National Indie Excellence® Awards (NIEA) recognize the Winners and Finalists from this year’s robust competition of entries originating from all across the United States of America.A leader and veteran of publishing award contests, The National Indie Excellence® Awards are open to recent English language books in print from self and independent publishers. Judging is now completed for the 14th year of this competition and the results commend a wide range of truly exceptional titles.The National Indie Excellence® Awards celebrate independent publishing as a strong and vital sector of our industry. Recognizing excellence in all aspects of the final presentation, NIEA champions self-publishers and the independent presses who produce the highest quality books across a spectrum of metrics. Established in 2005, NIEA’s entrants are meticulously judged by experts from various facets of the book industry profession including publishers, writers, editors, and designers.Winners and Finalists are determined on the basis of superior written matter coupled with excellent presentation in every facet of the final published product. Jurors value the synergy of both content and form as they review entries spanning multiple genres. Sponsorship awards and monetary prize awards are selected from the overall group of Winners and Finalists.”This year’s entries continue an upward trend in high-quality publishing, even among first time or newer authors. The competition is intense. Indie Excellence® proudly celebrates the talent, dedication and love they put into the book product.”– Doug Fogelson, President National Indie Excellence® AwardsTo view the 14th Annual NIEA Winners and Finalists click here: Winners, Finalisthttps://www.indieexcellence.com/