So we hear and you may have seen the words Reader’s Favorite Award around social media and of course the shiny medal/coin on top of covers.
Authors, know it’s a well-known award to get and if you’re lucky enough to win, you’re then invited to a special evening where you’ll be presented an official cert and medal.
I’m proud to see the silver 5* awards medals on my client’s books. But when they win overall, in a sea of thousands, I couldn’t be prouder.
My client, author Maire Elena Alonso Sierra. has the silver 5* review award on each of her books and she has just come back from the ceremony where her short story collection, The Fish Tank and Other Stories, won a silver medal and her international thriller /romance, The Coin, won a bronze medal.
These are her words.
I wanted to share this last trip to the Readers’ Favorite award ceremony. It was super awesome, as my former students used to say, and it was for two reasons: not only was I receiving two medals in honor of my works, but this time around, my husband and my sons would also share in this event and see me receive accolades for my work. The pride I felt is difficult to describe. I arrived in Miami and on Friday, I spent the evening at the hotel at the Readers’ Favorite “Meet and Greet” event. All the winning authors milled around, talking, drinking, and having a great time. We got to know one another, shared business cards and writing stories. I met some wonderful people from Boston, California, Texas, and Philadelphia. It was a wonderful evening.
Next day, I milled around the Readers’ Favorite tent at the Miami Book Fair, where my books were up for sale. I spoke to wonderful readers from all over the US, some even from Brazil and England. I always like book fairs because it gives me an opportunity to discuss my novels and to answer questions—and my books sold out. Not only that, but 100% of the sales was given to the St. Jude Children’s Hospital and, that evening we were told the sales raised more than $10,000 for this worthy cause. The evening, however, was truly magical. I had a beautiful dress on, which made me feel like a princess. I was also super excited because my husband and my sons were sitting next to me, and the room was abuzz with laughter and cheer. I made a live FB video prior to the ceremony and you can hear how excited I was and how the room was electric. It’s in my FB author page Maria Elena Writes if you want to see it. Then I stood to get my two awards. It was so surreal and, at the same time, so wonderful. I couldn’t stop smiling. But the most incredible thing was holding those two medals in recognition of my work. It is such an honor. And it is a fulfillment of all the years of sacrifice and hard work you put into your work.
We, as authors, put all our heart and souls into our works, and to be recognized as one of three best in the genre is truly incredible. But…there was more. It was my 34th wedding anniversary, so, after the ceremony, the entire family went to celebrate at an Argentinian steak house. What a meal. All, in all, I felt like I had just attended the Oscars and had been given an award. It was an experience I’ll never forget.
Explosive Writer 