Diane sort of outed me last week (that is, outed my announcement!) but I’m going ahead with it anyway because, well — because I want to. And I’m that sort of person this week. I wanted to eat that chocolate cake and I did. And I don’t regret it. (I feel a new proud era of strong womanhood dawning already.)

I am strong! I am powerful! And I’ll eat chocolate cake if I want to!

Come on, everyone! Say it with me! We are strong! We are victorious! And we’ll eat just as much chocolate cake as we damn well please!

There now. Don’t you feel good? Don’t you feel powerful?

Now — on to my announcement!

Don’t you love bookstores? Don’t you love fondling all those beautiful books, and smelling them, and buying far too many? Don’t you just love the booksellers who make all that indulgence possible?

Even better, don’t you love the booksellers who talk to you about books, who recommend interesting new authors you’ve never tried, who totally understand your book buying habit? (And encourage it? And maybe — just maybe — are proud and strong chocolate cake eaters themselves?)

I remember discussing how wonderful McCaffrey’s Dragonsdawn was with one bookseller….and analyzing the state of the Regency market with another. There are booksellers who can tell you what picture book would be great for a 4-year-old boy who loves bees, and booksellers who can relate personal anecdotes about Larry Niven or Anne Stuart.

This is why I was so excited to learn that the bookseller judges of this year’s “Bookseller’s Best Contest” named My Lady Gamester the Best Regency of 2005!

My fellow finalists are all fantastic writers, and so I am thrilled and honored to be named the winner. Even better, this means that a bunch of booksellers (drawn from a pool located all across the country) read my book in the first round, and liked it well enough to name it a finalist…and then another bunch read it in the final round, and liked it well enough to vote it the winner!

So now there are booksellers who know my book…booksellers who like my book…booksellers who might just mention my book to their faithful customers…booksellers who are undoubtably confident chocolate-cake eaters themselves, and proud of it!

Yes!

Cara
Cara King — My Lady Gamester
“Booksellers’ Best” Award for Best Regency of 2005!