Fun also for me was reconnecting with Frank Martin and Connie and Johnny Floyd, all high school friends from Gadsden who now live, at least part-time, in Orange Beach. And the surprise visit from Elsie Crain Lyons with her new husband. Special moments.

Mary Northcutt and Rick BraggBook display--before the rain

As the Sycamore Grows named in USA Best Books 2011 Awards.

Award-winning finalist in USA Best Books 2011 competition among books published in 2010 and 2011 from major and independent publishers in the U.S.  Sycamore named finalist in the Women’s Issues category.

This award brings Sycamore’s tally to SIX literary awards. Previous awards were top honors in Narrative Nonfiction, Memoir and the Southeast Region from Reader Views Literary Awards and International Book Award finalists in two categories.

I found it on the sidewalk in Wickenburg, Arizona, two years ago, a dollar bill folded into a tight wad. When I straightened it out, I found a message sending me to an online address. The site tracks each sighting of the dollar and asks each finder to drop it off somewhere else so it will continue it’s journey.

So—I’ve launched two copies of As the Sycamore Grows, one called Ginger and the other Jennie, as travel books. They each left Atlanta over the weekend and, if people follow directions, we’ll keep up with them as they travel from reader to reader.  Instructions are taped inside the front cover and the front of the books are marked.

What do you think? Any bets on how far they’ll go? Or for how long? Send your estimates here. A prize for the one coming closest  in miles by this date 2012.

——

JUST IN:

Kathy Striplin

Publishers Weekly cover March 28

Here it is at last! The cover of Publishers Weekly. Squint. Look hard. There, front and center, is As the Sycamore Grows. You can borrow my magnifying glass, if need be.

So how did Sycamore wind up on the cover of PW?

Luck of the draw. And that’s all. PW made no selection; Sycamore wasn’t chosen as some honor. Nevertheless, I like the way it looks. I like Sycamore as a cover story.

Here’s how it came about: Recognizing the trend toward self-publishing, Publishers Weekly now adds a supplement on self-publishing at least once a year. IBPA, the trade association of independent book publishers, and PW reached an agreement whereby IBPA bought ad space and offered bits of it to the members. The fourteen books on the PW cover were selected at random from those who bought ad space.

So, luck of the draw. But what luck, what exposure!

AS THE SYCAMORE GROWS Receives Multi-Awards

At The Prestigious Reader Views Literary Awards

Atlanta, GA – -  Author Jennie Helderman’s book AS THE SYCAMORE GROWS has swept the prestigious Reader Views Literary Awards, including top honors in its Humanities, Memoir & Biography categories and  first place honors in  the RVLA’s  southeast Regional Awards category, covering such states as KY, NC, SC, GA, FL, and AL. “I am thrilled beyond words to get such recognition for my book,” remarked author Ms. Helderman.  The book also received the top award from book marketing firm Pump Up Your Book for a package of services.

RVLA are given annually to authors of books published in English by small or university presses and independent book publishers and targeted for the North American market.

Criteria for judging are content/originality, presentation/design, innovation, social relevance, production quality, enjoyment/impact, plot/story line, and resourcefulness.  All initial judging is done by reviewers from Reader Views.   “Three finalists in each category are determined by a point system.  Final judging is determined by a jury of judges,” says the RVLA.

Several top U.S. book reviewers are raving about AS THE SYCAMORE GROWS, the true story of one woman’s escape from isolation and abuse in a cabin behind a padlocked gate and the Bible-toting, pistol-packing man who admits the abuse and would do it all over again.  Both speak in the book.  Mike, the man, says God made women to serve, it’s their job.  Ginger, the woman, is now an official in the domestic court system.

Said James A. Cox, Editor-In-Chief of the prestigious Midwest Book Review:  “Deftly written by an accomplished author, AS THE SYCAMORE GROWS is especially recommended reading for anyone having to deal with their own struggle for personal empowerment against a culture and an husband indoctrinated with the attitude of women as property; [the book] should be part of academic library Contemporary Social Issues and Women’s Issues resource collections, and community library 20th Century American Biography collections.”

“I would recommend AS THE SYCAMORE GROWS for anyone who is (or has been) in an abusive relationship.  I would also strongly advocate this book for anyone who counsels people that have been in abusive relationships or have been accused of being abusive.  This book will be painful to read but absolutely necessary to get the victim on the road to safety,” remarked reviewer Barbara Miller, Pacific Book Review.

A most significant event, an even more significant date.

Sept. 29 marked five years since I first met Ginger in a sandwich shop to write a magazine article. My 1500 word article with the two-week deadline turned into 90,000 words and five years.

Sept. 29, 2010, marked ten years to the day of Ginger’s escape from the cabin in the woods.

Ginger and Jennie at launch of As the Sycamore Grows