Seal of Excellence Recipients

Fortunate

Fortunate
Title: Fortunate
ASIN: B00DGQ9DJO
Publisher:
Published: June 17, 2013
Author's Twitter: @AndrewJHSharp
Locked into a lonely future by a cruel twist of fate, Beth reaches breaking point, leaves her husband, and flees to faraway Zimbabwe. But there she finds herself at the centre of a deadly struggle for the ownership of a farm. From a guest of honour at the President’s table to a disastrous decision that betrays a good man, her fresh start threatens to end in catastrophe. Does the land and its painted rocks hold clues to atonement and re-found love?

Assessed 

The Night Before The Night Before Christmas

The Night Before The Night Before Christmas
Title: The Night Before The Night Before Christmas
ASIN: B006CDH8JA
Publisher:
Illustrator: Darren Geers
Published: November 3, 2014
At Santa’s workshop, the night before the night before Christmas is hardly a time to rest. The elves work tirelessly to get the final toys made before Christmas Eve, but Elfie just can’t keep pace. He spends too much time making his toys perfect, and when Santa comes to check on production, everyone is surprised by his reaction.

Assessed for 

 

Worlds Within Worlds

Worlds Within Worlds
Title: Worlds Within Worlds
ASIN: B00PMPNSIO
Publisher:
Published: November 28, 2014
Author's Twitter: @TahliaNewland
Imagine living in a multi-layered reality of separate but complimentary worlds—physical, mental, spiritual and technological—when a bully you thought safely tucked away in the cyberworld suddenly appears in your physical world looking suspiciously like your worst nightmare. Can you stuff him back into your computer? And if not, can the Magan Lord’s daughter from the fantasy book you’re editing, your dreams of a rabid beast, your visions of a Tibetan Yogi and your reawakened memories help you maintain your sanity and survive the darkest night of your life? Find out in the double award-winning metaphysical thriller Worlds Within Worlds when all this happens to author, editor and reviewer Prunella Smith. This inspirational, transrealist work—a mix of psychological thriller, fantasy and romance—has been awarded the Awesome Indies Seal of Excellence and a BRAG Medallion of Excellence in Independent Fiction. Worlds Within Worlds has a unique perspective on the nature of creativity. Its touch is light, its humour distinctive but it reaches deep into the nature of human experience.

Assessed 

The Commons: Book 1: The Journeyman:

The Commons: Book 1: The Journeyman
Title: The Commons: Book 1: The Journeyman
ASIN: B00L5RI87O
Series:
Publisher:
Published: June 19, 2014
Author's Twitter: @michaelapeck
 “Paul Reid died in the snow at seventeen. The day of his death, he told a lie–and for the rest of his life, he wondered if that was what killed him.” And so begins the battle for the afterlife, known as The Commons. It’s been taken over by a corporate raider who uses the energy of its souls to maintain his brutal control. The result is an imaginary landscape of a broken America-stuck in time and overrun by the heroes, monsters, dreams, and nightmares of the imprisoned dead. Three people board a bus to nowhere: a New York street kid, an Iraq War veteran, and her five-year-old special-needs son. After a horrific accident, they are the last, best hope for The Commons to free itself. Along for the ride are a shotgun-toting goth girl, a six-foot-six mummy, a mute Shaolin monk with anger-management issues, and the only guide left to lead them. Three Journeys: separate but joined. One mission: to save forever. But first they have to save themselves.

Assessed 

The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky

The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky
Title: The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky
ASIN: B00K434HRU
Published: May 3, 2014
Author's Twitter: @davidlitwack
After centuries of religiously motivated war, the world has been split in two. Now the Blessed Lands are ruled by pure faith, while in the Republic, reason is the guiding light-two different realms, kept apart and at peace by a treaty and an ocean.  Children of the Republic, Helena and Jason were inseparable in their youth, until fate sent them down different paths. Grief and duty sidetracked Helena’s plans, and Jason came to detest the hollowness of his ambitions. These two damaged souls are reunited when a tiny boat from the Blessed Lands crashes onto the rocks near Helena’s home after an impossible journey across the forbidden ocean. On board is a single passenger, a nine-year-old girl named Kailani, who calls herself The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky. A new and perilous purpose binds Jason and Helena together again, as they vow to protect the lost innocent from the wrath of the authorities, no matter the risk to their future and freedom. But is the mysterious child simply a troubled little girl longing to return home? Or is she a powerful prophet sent to unravel the fabric of a godless Republic, as the outlaw leader of an illegal religious sect would have them believe? Whatever the answer, it will change them all forever… and perhaps their world as well.

Assessed for Awesome Indies

Shattered

Shattered
Title: Shattered
ASIN: B00ESK45RW
Published: 26 Oct. 2012
Author's Twitter: @MyBliss1
Life has become very complicated for twelve year old Vanessa. Dealing with her parent’s separation, moving into a new house and becoming estranged from her two best friends has been a breeze compared to what lays in store for her with the discovery of a mysterious glass ball. Is she going crazy or does this ball really have control over her life?

Assessed for Awesome Indies

The Evolution of Reptilian Handbags and Other Stories

The Evolution of Reptilian Handbags and Other Stories
Title: The Evolution of Reptilian Handbags and Other Stories
ASIN: B00I3Q9Y6E
Published: 24 Jan. 2014
Author's Twitter: @mlamaga
An unhappy housewife flees with her lover as civilization collapses in a tsunami of trash. A bank teller aids invisible thieves. A welder learns she has the power to kill with a kiss. A hive of women transforms tourists with arcane sexual rites. A Korean War sniper stalks his doppelganger: a children’s television host. Amnesiac goddesses-turned-farmers struggle for survival in war-torn, post-apocalyptic Iowa. By turns emotionally resonant and irreverent, surreal and sexy, these ten stories swirl with unseen currents, blending the fantastic and the mundane to get to the deeper truths of our existence.

Assessed for Awesome Indies

The Stone Lions

The Stone Lions
Title: The Stone Lions
ASIN: B01AJGYIWK
Published: January 12, 2016
Author's Twitter: @Gwen_fntsy_writ
In the throes of the 14th century, Islamic Spain is under pressure from Castile and Aragon. Ara, the twelve-year old daughter to the Sultan, finds herself in the center of a political intrigue when her eunuch tutor is magically transformed by the evil Wazir. Can a little girl save her friend and tutor with the help of a Sufi mathemagician. Intertwined in a mystery of math, art and magic, Ara races to find the seven broken symmetries before time runs out? Will she succeed or will the Alhambra fall and with it all that she loves? And will the stone lions awaken in time to help her? This cross-cultural fantasy combines mystery and math to teach the geometry of symmetry.

Assessed for Awesome Indies

Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope
Title: Kaleidoscope
ASIN: B00HO16NJ0
Series:
Published: January 3, 2014
Author:
Author's Twitter: @kevinberryxxx
Chloe is different. She has Asperger’s Syndrome, Bipolar Disorder and probably a few other inconvenient conditions as well. She’s a quirky, resourceful and clever psychology student, but her world is literally about to be shaken apart. A devastating earthquake sparks a chain of events that spiral her life out of control. She’s off her meds. Her oddly-named cat is missing. She doesn’t know what she wants out of life any more. Misfortune and uncertainty don’t mix well with bundles of energy and Chloe’s tendency to ignore consequences. It’s as if mayhem and trouble are her constant companions. Will Chloe be able to cope with the earth-shaking events that rock her world? Share her journey.

Assessed 

1-Feb-2014