Greetings and Salutations -

Wow, I'm just over the moon :) They finally finished updating the IPPY award page to have all the categories filled in -

http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1653

My medieval romance novel Finding Peace has won a silver medal! It's about a young woman escaping from an abusive father and fiance. The book that won a gold in my category is about the sister of a young woman who dies from a drug overdose, and how drugs affected her family. I'm so thrilled that IPPY is helping to promote these kinds of causes and helping people talk about and face them. It makes me so, so happy.

Interestingly, my book won its silver in the Young Adult category. I have ten medieval romances written -

http://www.lisashea.com/medievalromance/

I'd been told by romance publishers that they aren't "sexual" enough, so I finally self-published them rather than damage them (in my mind) by adding in content I didn't want. I hadn't thought of them as young adult books, though. So this award is having me think of them in a whole new light. It shows that sometimes thinking outside the box is the way to achieve your goals! My goal is to help battered women and to help readers realize they deserve better than being in an abusive relationship. Maybe reaching readers as teens is the best way to go about that! And I'm sure adults read young adult books too ...

Give that thought in your own writing. Is there another angle you could work from? Another audience you could reach? Another avenue for reaching your dreams? Post in the forums and we'll help you brainstorm! You never know which new view will be the one to help you achieve your fondest wishes.

Have a great week!

Lisa Shea, owner
BellaOnline.com

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