I'm happy to say that Midnight Calling is an award finalist again, this time for the Eric Hoffer First Horizon Book Award. The funny thing is, I stopped paying much attention to the awards to which I had submitted my book. Intentionally.
After the Kindle Book Award finalist designation set me on the roller coaster ride of winning (I can get addicted to anything), I decided to get off that ride. I haven't left the amusement park—I'm still submitting both of my books for certain awards—but I remind myself that I'm the same decent, hard-working author, win or lose, up or down.
And I'm keeping my focus on writing (I'm a quarter of the way into my third book) and promoting my second book, Breaking Midnight. These awards can be good publicity and some have their judges give thorough, honest reviews, which are always valuable.
But the best award I can ever get is an email or review from a reader about how my stories touched them. Those reader responses are like getting a little hug. I'll take a hug over a roller coaster ride any day.