My Final Ride
Winner
2015 Great Southwest Book Festival

Author: LeAnn Bednar My Final Ride is the story of Chuck Christensen’s epic mule-back Canada-to-Mexico journey while battling stage-three bone marrow cancer/multiple myeloma. Chuck faces mud bogs, giardia, broken bones, and deep discouragement. With food scarce, his mules begin to eat cowpies. Perseverance helps him triumph. Website: http://leannbednar.com/

The Man I Love
Honorable mention
2015 Los Angeles Book Festival

Author: Suanne Laqueur From author Suanne Laqueur comes an astonishing debut novel: a young man’s emotional journey to salvage relationships destroyed in the wake of a school shooting. Spanning fifteen years, The Man I Love explores themes of love and sexuality, trauma’s long-lasting effects, the burden of unfinished business and the power of reconciliation.

Rule of Capture
Honorable mention
2015 Los Angeles Book Festival

Author: Ona Russell Los Angeles, 1928. Oil, oranges and a stock swindle to rival any in American history. Protagonist Sarah Kaufman is a victim of the swindle, but her chance encounter with a Mexican woman leads her to discover a far more sinister crime and a dark secret upon which part of L.A. was built.

Three Years and Eight Months
Winner,
2014 Southern California Book Festival

Author: Icy Smith Based on true events during World War II, the book tells a compelling journey of hardships and human endurance of ordinary people in Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation. A 10-year-old Chinese American boy secretly joins the war resistance group to help save the lives of thousands of prisoners of war. Grab…

The Crossings
Winner
2015 Great Southeast Book Festival

Author: Barry Kienzle Captivating story of a boy and a dream set in 1932. His family struggles to survive the Depression and the father abandoning the family. A young Georgie succumbs to the stress of being the man-of-the-house and hops a freight train to travel to see Mardi Gras.

This. Only This.
Winner
2015 Great Northwest Book Festival

Author: Michael Brooks In his book, “This. Only This. Mindfulness Strategies for Discovering Peace in Every Moment.” author Michael H. Brooks begins with the knowledge that mental peace is ever present and always available to us, however it’s the habits of thought in which we constantly engage that cover up the peace we so desire….

Iron Shinto
Winner
2014-2015 DIY Book Festival

Author: Tricia Stewart Shiu Forget all that you know. Remember everything else. In the third book of the Moa Series, Hillary, her sister, Molly, and niece, Heidi, have each lost themselves literally. After saving the Hawaiian Islands with Moa and discovering the Statue of Ku in Egypt, a malevolent force has separated them from their…

Corr Syl the Warrior
Winner
2015 Great Southwest Book Festival

Author: Garry Rogers “Corr Syl the Warrior” is the story of a young rabbit descendent on an Earth where Humans are only one of the intelligent species.

“BONZER!”
Honorable mention
2015 Los Angeles Book Festival

Author: Sandy Thorne Hilarious (bonzer) adventures of a very naughty girl – always in trouble at home and at school – growing up in rural Australia in the different world of the 1950’s and ’60’s. Laugh! Cry! Gallop along with this tomboy who can ride anything!

A Story of Becoming
Winner
2015 Paris Book Festival

Author: Ayn Cates Sullivan A Story of Becoming, by Ayn Cates Sullivan, Ph.D. is an exquisitely illustrated story which speaks on many levels to the hearts of readers of all ages who will relate to the hopes, fears and dreams of the apple tree as she struggles to survive and fulfill her purpose.