Color me flabbergasted. Tiger Lily is the first novel I ever published (not the first I ever wrote of course, not by a long shot) and for me was a loving culmination of the years I’d spent studying and living in Japan.

I am honored and thrilled to announce that it’s been chosen by the Book Blog The Qwillery as a finalist for the Self Published Fantasy Blog-Off 2017.

As of now, ALL the other finalists are male author names. From the covers, they look very male-action orientated. To say the least, Tiger Lily is not action oriented. And, as the quote listed on Amazon’s website intimates, it’s got some gender-bending stuff that might not appeal to ye olde straight up Across the Nightingale Floor or Fated Blades fans.

It’s also alternate history, so while its loosely based on the Ashikaga Shogun period in Medieval Japan, I twist things around quite a lot, especially the relationship between Buddhism and Shinto.

But despite all that, I’m tickled pink the Qwillery chose it. I have no expectations it will come close to winning (take a look at all the other finalists and you’ll also be singing “one of these things is not like the others”), but am really pleased my little oddball book is pleasing someone, somewhere.